Friends, today four-hundred-ninty-six [496] years ago {October 31, 1517} in Wittenberg, Martin Luther is said to have nailed his 95 Theses on the 31st of October 1517, Sparking the Reformation. A Roman Catholic Clergyman nailed a Long list of religious statements to the door of the Cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany. Martin Luther was that clergyman. Martin Luther was the child of a rigid Legalistic System. He was a brilliant Scholar and Teacher. He was a Seeker after the ASSURANCE of SALVATION. In his searching and Bible study, Martin Luther Re-Discovered the phrase, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH, (in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11, however in both places, Paul is quoting from the Old Testament - Habakkuk 2:4) and as it became more and more clear to him, he came to stake his very life, here and hereafter on the truth of that one phrase. In 1516–17, Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar and Papal Commissioner for Indulgences, was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic Church to raise money to rebuild St Peters Basilica in Rome. On 31 October 1517, Martin Luther wrote to Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, Protesting against the Sale of Indulgences. He enclosed in his Letter a Copy of his [95 Theses] Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, which came to be known as The 95 Theses. Hans Hillerbrand writes that Luther had no intention of confronting the church, but saw his Disputation as a Scholarly Objection to Church Practices, and the Tone of the Writing is accordingly SEARCHING, rather than Doctrinaire. Hillerbrand writes that there is nevertheless an undercurrent of Challenge in Several of the Theses, Particularly in Thesis 86, which asks: Why does the Pope, whose Wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the Basilica of St. Peter with the money of POOR believers rather than with his own money? Luther Objected to a saying attributed to Johann Tetzel that As soon as the coin is in the coffer rings [Earning Salvation by Payment], the Soul from purgatory [also attested as into heaven] springs. He [Martin Luther] insisted that, since Forgiveness [A GIFT] was GODs alone to Grant, those who Claimed that Indulgences Absolved Buyers from all Punishments and Granted them Salvation were in ERROR. Christians, he said, must not slacken in following Christ on Account of such False ASSURANCES {Man Made assurance of Salvation}.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 15:47:16 +0000
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