Martin Luther – The Man Who Started the Reformation!
“Since your Imperial Majesty requires a plain answer I will give one without horns or hoof! It is this: that I must be convinced either by the testimony of Scripture or by clear arguments. I cannot trust the Pope or Councils by themselves, since it is as clear as daylight that they have not only erred but contradicted themselves. I am bound by the Scriptures which I have quoted; my conscience is thirled (bound) to the Word of God. I may not and will not recant, because to act against conscience is neither honest nor safe. I can do nothing else; here I stand; so help me God!” -- Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms
These words spoken by Martin Luther at the conclusion of his examination at the Diet of Worms on August 18, 1521, are arguably the most famous lines he ever uttered. Furthermore, they marked the climax of his battle against the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church begun almost a decade earlier when he nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg on October 19, 1512. In fact, one ancient tradition recounts on his way in to the hall where he was to be examined Luther was stopped by the famous German warrior, General Frundsberg, who encouraged him with these words: “Thou art on thy way to make such a stand as I and many of my knights have never done in our toughest battles. If thou art sure of the justice of thy cause, then forward in the name of God, and be of good courage; God will not forsake thee!” The outcome was the Protestant Reformation. While some argue our Baptist heritage must be separated from that of the Reformers, none would fail to appreciate what God chose to do through the Reformers to recover for the true Church at large the doctrines of “Sola Scriptura” and “Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.” Therefore, there is great profit for all Baptists to study the lives of the Reformers and appreciate their service to Christ as imperfect or incomplete as it may have been in some areas. Such a man who stood boldly and effectively for truth was Martin Luther.
Of the many biographies on Luther’s life available to us, one that may be less familiar is Thomas Lindsay’s Martin Luther – The Man Who Started the Reformation. Lindsay’s biography is unique from a number of vantage points. First, it was written and published at the turn of the last century (April 1900). Second, it was written by a recognized Church Historian. Educated at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, Lindsay later served at Free Church College, Glasgow, as a professor of Church History. Furthermore, he was highly regarded as a student of the Reformation and published a two-volume work entitled History of the Reformation in Europe. Third, Lindsay had available to him many sources from the times of Luther that are now less readily available to modern writers. Consequently, there are details about Luther’s life and ministry not commonly known through other biographies. Finally, Lindsay wanted to do more than add another biography to those already available in his time. Instead, he attempted to set Luther’s life and contribution in the larger social, political, and religious context of Luther’s day. For example, in the introduction he reminded his reader that Luther’s Reformation was more than a religious revolution. It was also a political, intellectual, social, and economic revolution. In short, the Reformation changed or affected everything! In discussing Luther’s birth and upbringing, Lindsay gave a detailed look at what family life was like for the peasant class – a look that by itself is worth the price of the book! He recounted the familiar story of Luther’s conversion set in the context of monastic life of the day. Additionally, he presented Luther’s early ministry at Wittenberg in a fair amount of detail, all of which helps a contemporary reader understand how the famous indulgence controversy affected both Luther and the people to whom he preached. For example, Lindsay recorded Luther’s thoughts on the real motive driving the indulgence movement (a motive which has not changed some 500 years later) – “I saw that it was money and not doctrine that they cared for at Rome.” Lindsay’s description of the famous five-day debate between Luther and Eck is unmatched in any modern biography of which I am aware. He devoted a significant amount of space to the political and social revolts which happened throughout Germany during the Reformation period. While we would certainly grieve over the atrocities of this period of Protestant history, none-the-less familiarity with this information helps us better understand Luther and his times. One final segment merits attention. Lindsay provided a helpful and concise understanding of how Luther’s Reformation served to lay the foundation for the Evangelical Church, at least as it existed in 1900. Luther and other Reformers were greatly disturbed by the gross spiritual ignorance of their congregations. One example from Luther’s ministry will suffice. After one particularly depressing visit among parishioners of some of his student pastors, he wrote his well-known Small Catechism and introduced it with these words:
In setting forth this Catechism or Christian doctrine in such a simple, concise, and easy form, I have been compelled and driven by the wretched and lamentable state of affairs which I have discovered lately when I acted as a visitor. Merciful God, what misery have I seen, the common people knowing nothing at all of Christian doctrine, especially in the villages! And unfortunately many pastors are well-nigh unskilled and incapable of teaching; and although all are called Christians . . . they know neither the Lord’s Prayer, nor the Creed, nor the Ten Commandments, but live like poor cattle and senseless swine, though, now that the gospel is come, they have learnt well enough how they may abuse their liberty!
As a Baptist pastor in a predominantly Lutheran area, I wonder what Luther would say were he to visit with most members of the churches that bear his name and claim his theological heritage. May we appreciate Luther’s commitment to the authority of Scripture, and may we emulate Luther’s attempt to bring that authority to bear in the daily life of those to whom he ministered.
