Martin Luther and 95 Theses

Martin Luther and the 95 theses, Why it was a good thing he did not recant.

Luther famously said when asked to recant on his statements known as the 95 theses ‘On this I take my stand. I can do no other’.  There are a number of reasons why it is a good thing Luther did not recant; good for him and good for the church.  These center around the idea that certain things needed examining and bad habits and practices had entered the church over a long period of time.  In his own town people were buying indulgences in order to avoid confession.  Then Johann Tetzel, licensed by the papacy, in league with the local archbishop to raise funds, began selling indulgences which he claimed could redeem the sins of those already dead.

 When Luther nailed his theses to the church door in 1517 the church was long overdue for reform.  The archbishop was shamed, but had already promised the money according to the Solent Communications article ‘Johann Tetzel’ (2010).^[1]  So it seems the matter was more to do with greed than faith.

Yes Luther’s action did cause people to rethink their faith.  They also caused division, but the church was already divided into East and West and despite his subsequent fame Luther was not the first Protestant.  Stupperich (1977)^[2]  in his short biography tells how not only did he question the teaching behind the sale of indulgences , but  he also reminded the church  that its real treasure lay not in earthly things , but in the gospel.  His actions were to cause a great spring cleaning of the church.  C.D. Merriman (2005) ^[3] has described his actions as a catalyst inspiring reform. He was not just decrying the abuses he had observed within Catholicism, but was trying to call upon the Pope to return the church to sound Biblical values.

When, in December 1517 the Archbishop of Mainz sent a complaint about him to the Vatican Luther dug his heels in, denying the supremacy of the pope and his councils.

He was not just a fanatic though.  When called upon to recant before the Diet of Worms he was willing to do so if they could refute his ideas on scriptural grounds – which was impossible and excommunication followed. There were extremists among his followers, but he sought to control these. He did not seek to destroy the church, merely to put it back on the right track, his argument being that salvation was entirely in God’s hands, nothing to do with the works of men. He stressed preaching, the sharing of the communion and singing by the congregation. Unlike many other Protestants who followed he interpreted the communion meal as the real presence of Christ, as the Roman Catholic Church taught rather than just a symbolic remembrance. His actions were always dictated by scripture which then led to personal convictions. He had found for himself that keeping  the rules of his monastery with its regime of prayer , fasting and manual labor ( He was an Augustinian monk) bought him no nearer to God  He perceived that monastic mysticism was seen as a way of climbing to heaven – a way which did not work. Man by his own efforts could not succeed. Man’s sin was what kept him away from God, only through Christ was the gap closed. In 1507 Luther was ordained as a priest. This began a period of intense study for the young man, culminating in his study of Romans. It was reading verse such as Romans 1 v 17:-

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is

written, the just shall live by faith.

that led him to fully realize that it is not good works, but God’s grace alone, which leads to justification.

Luther did not bring about changes in creeds or doctrines. What he did do was to understand such doctrines in the light of Christ alone.  This led to the three main principles behind the Reformation.

1st God’s word was the ultimate authority. Luther believed that God spoke through scripture, and continued to speak to men in love – and men could respond to that in faith.