MARTIN LUTHER
An Article from “The Christian Cyclopaedia”
by
Rev. James Gardner, M.D. & A.M
1858ad.
This eminent reformer was born at Eisleben, a small town in Saxony, on the
10th of November 1483. His parents, who appear to have been noted for their
industry, and integrity, and unostentatious piety, paid peculiar attention, not
merely to his education at school, but to his religious training at home; and,
accordingly, we find, that, through life, Luther retained an affectionate remembrance of the home of his early days. The vigorous energy of Luther’s
mind was soon apparent. At the age of twenty, having finished his literary
studies with marked success, he obtained the degree of Master of Arts; and,
more in accordance with the wishes of his parents than his own inclination, he
began to prosecute the study of the law. A remarkable providential occurrence,
however, at length determined him to change his profession. The sudden
death, whether by violence or accident is disputed, of an intimate friend and
companion, made a deep impression upon his mind, and seems to have thrown
him for a time into a state of melancholy. One day while labouring under this
depression of spirits, he happened, during a walk in the fields, to be overtaken
by a violent storm of thunder and lightning, which so alarmed him, that on the
spot he formed the resolution to withdraw from the world and retire into an
Augustinian monastery for life. To this proposal his father, who was a man of
strong practical good sense, was much opposed. “Take care,” said he to the
rash determined youth, “that you are not ensnared by a delusion of the devil.”
All remonstrances, however, were ineffectual; without delay Martin entered a
monastery at Erfurt.
In vain did Luther attempt to fly from himself, and to dissipate amid the
endless formalities of the Romish ritual, that feeling of restless inquiry which
seems to have taken possession of his mind. Under the influence of those serious impressions which he had imbibed under his father’s roof, he dwelt much
in his seclusion on the truths of religion. As yet his views were vague and indistinct; but still he felt that there was something which was absolutely necessary to be obtained before he could expect deliverance from the gloomy fears
and forebodings with which he was beset. A work of grace, in fact, appears to
have begun in his soul. He was labouring under a deep-rooted conviction of
his sin, and although he struggled to quiet his troubled conscience by the constant observance of the numerous ceremonies which the Church of Rome demanded, all was unavailing. His sadness and almost desponding melancholy
continued to increase rather than diminish. At length, to seek relief in the
sympathy, if not the advice of another, he resolved to unbosom his griefs to
Staupitz, the vicar-general of that order of monks to which he himself belonged. Staupitz, besides being a man of considerable sagacity, had himself
been subject to feelings similar to those which oppressed the mind of Luther.
His reply, accordingly, is somewhat remarkable: “You do not know,” said he,
“how useful and necessary this trial may be to you. God does not thus exercise
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you for nothing. You will one day see that he will employ you as his servant
for great purposes.”
At this time Luther was ignorant of the Scriptures; but the early instructions
of pious parents, aided by a natural tenderness of conscience, and strong reflective powers, led him to entertain more vivid impressions of divine things
than the extent of his knowledge would seem to warrant. He knew enough to
lead him to thirst after still further acquaintance with the truth. And at length,
in the wise providence of God, his wishes, in this respect, were most unexpectedly gratified. In the course of the second year after his admission into the
monastery at Erfurt, he met with a Latin Bible in the library. This was to him
like the opening of the eyes to the blind. He perused the Word of God for himself; and while poring, with earnest assiduity, over the sacred page, ever and
anon did he lift up his soul in prayer to the Father of lights, that he might be
enabled to understand the Scriptures. Nor was his prayer unanswered. The
light of divine truth shone into his soul with a brightness such as he had never
before beheld. His study of the Bible was incessant; and under the influence of
its refreshing statements, his gloom gave place to a steady cheerfulness,
founded on the possession of that “peace which the world cannot give, and
which it cannot take away.”
In the year 1507, he was ordained; and so highly was his learning appreciated, both secular and theological, that in the following year he was invited by
the vicar-general to the professorship of philosophy at Witternberg. Here he
became distinguished, both as a teacher of philosophy and a popular preacher.
His fame spread far and wide. While resident in the monastery, he had learned
from an old monk the doctrine of justification by free grace; and this vital, this
fundamental truth, he proclaimed with a boldness which attracted peculiar attention. “This monk,” exclaimed Martin Polichius, a doctor of law and medicine, “will confound all the doctors, will exhibit new doctrines, and reform the
whole Roman Church; for he is intent on reading the writings of the prophets
and apostles, and he depends on the Word of Jesus Christ. This, neither the
philosophers nor the sophists can subvert.” Such a declaration, more especially
from the mouth of a man who was himself accounted a wonder of his age,
clearly showed that Luther had made an open profession of his views in regard
to the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel, and more especially in regard to that
vitally important doctrine, which he himself afterwards termed the article of a
standing or a falling Church, justification by free grace, through faith in the
righteousness of the Redeemer.
This cardinal tenet seems, at an early period of his Scripture studies, to have
assumed the pre-eminence in his mind which justly belongs to it as the fundamental truth of revelation. And the more strongly he himself felt its importance, so much the more zealously did he labour to make it known to others. Such was the fervour, in fact, and holy eloquence, which characterized the
preaching of Luther, that he was regarded as one of the first orators of his
time. The theme which chiefly occupied his attention at this period, both in his
private meditations and in his pulpit labours, may be learned from the following extract of a letter which he wrote to a friend:—“I desire to know what your
soul is doing; whether, wearied at length of its own righteousness, it learns to
refresh itself and to rest in the righteousness of Christ. The temptation of presumption in our age is strong in many, and specially in those who labour to be
just and good with all their might, and, at the same time, are ignorant of the
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righteousness of God, which, in Christ, is conferred upon us with a rich exuberance of gratuitous liberality. They seek in themselves to work that which is
good, in order that they may have a confidence of standing before God
adorned with virtues and merits, which is an impossible attempt. You, my
friend, used to be of this opinion, or rather this mistake; so was I: but now I
am fighting against the error, but have not yet prevailed.”
Four years before writing this letter, Luther had been appointed professor of
divinity at Witternberg, an office which, of course, led him to a still more diligent perusal of the Sacred Volume. At first, he had access only to the Vulgate,
or Latin version of the Bible, but, anxious to draw his knowledge of divine
truth from the originals, he directed his attention, with the utmost perseverance
and success, to the study of the Greek and Hebrew languages. This enabled
him to understand still more clearly the precious Word of Inspiration—that
Word which, as he advanced in the knowledge of it, proved spirit and life to
his soul. His views became clearer and more deeply impressive. He had not
yet attacked the errors of the Romish Church, but his knowledge of the fundamental doctrines of religious truth was such as to lead many to regard him
as a heretic. There is an interesting incident which is recorded of Luther, and
which places in a strong light the undeviating fidelity with which he preached
the gospel in the face of all opposition. Having been requested to preach before the Duke of Saxony, he dwelt at great length upon the freeness of the
gospel offer even to the chief of sinners. An honourable matron, who had
heard the sermon, was asked by the Duke, at dinner, how she liked the discourse. “I should die in peace,” she said, “if I could hear such another sermon.” Enraged at this reply, the Duke exclaimed, “I would give a large sum of
money that a sermon of this sort, which encourages men in a licentious course
of life, had never been preached.” Within a month after this conversation, the
lady was confined to bed with sickness, and died rejoicing in the belief of the
glorious truths which Luther had preached.
The time had now arrived when, though reluctantly, Luther felt himself necessitated to enter the field against the gross errors of that Church to which he
belonged. In the course of his residence at Rome, on a mission which he had
undertaken in connection with the affairs of the Augustinian monks, he had
been shocked at the unbecoming and even immoral conduct of the clergy. But
still his attachment to the Romish Church was great; and while he himself
stood aloof from those of his clerical brethren who disgraced their office, he
made no attempt to expose them to the world. And it was not until he was
forced to assume the decided position of a Reformer, that he took steps to vindicate himself from the charge of heresy which was not infrequently brought
against him in private.
At length a circumstance occurred which roused the indignation of Luther.
One John Tetzel, a Dominican friar, had been employed to sell indulgences,
with the view of refilling the exhausted treasuries of Pope Leo X. This profligate friar, whose presumption and effrontery knew no bounds, gave absolution, not only for past, but also for future sins, and scattered his indulgences
with a profusion which shocked even those who were disposed to pay respect
to the demands of the Papal See. Luther was enraged at the conduct of Tetzel,
and made no secret of his disapprobation. He wrote to the Archbishop of
Mentz, calling upon him to put a stop to such shameless excesses. His remonstrances, however, were unheeded. Thus frustrated in his endeavours to inter-
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est his ecclesiastical superiors, he published to the world his opinions in regard
to the whole subject including indulgences, purgatory, and other kindred topics; at the same time inviting any one publicly to dispute with him. Tetzel,
alarmed at the appearance of Luther’s exposure, promptly replied, attempting
to refute the arguments which had been urged against the doctrines of the
Church of Rome. The Church was roused upon the subject; and it is said that,
at the first public disputation, no fewer than three hundred monks were present. Fair argument, however, was not sufficient for the ghostly Dominican.
He ventured even to wreak his vengeance upon the Augustinian heretic, as he
termed the Reformer, by causing his publication to be burned—an act of pitiful spite, which was speedily retaliated upon the work of Tetzel by the disciples of Luther at Witternberg. The Reformer himself was far from sanctioning
this rash act on the part of his followers; but on the contrary, alluding to the
report which was industriously circulated by his enemies, that he had been the
instigator of the deed, he thus expresses himself: “I wonder you could believe
that I was the author of the deed. Think you that I am so destitute of common
sense, as to stigmatize, in such a manner, a person in so high an office? I know
better the rules of ecclesiastical subordination, and have some regard to my
own character, both as a monk and a theologian, than to act so.”
The controversy, however, was not limited to Luther and Tetzel. It called
forth the strenuous exertions of others also, and, among the rest, of Henry
Duke of Brunswick, who afterwards distinguished himself in the cause of the
Reformation. Luther continued for several years to propagate his tenets, by
publishing theses, not only on the subject of indulgences, but also upon the
cardinal doctrines of Christianity. Nor was the contest confined to Germany.
From the very seat of the Papal power there issued severe attacks upon the
new doctrines; which, accordingly, Luther was compelled to defend. In these
answers to the Romanists, even his opponents admitted that a spirit of gentleness was obviously discernible. At this time, also, he wrote to his own diocesan and to his vicar-general. In his letter to the former he expresses himself
with that undaunted confidence which might be expected to characterize a person who was conscious of being engaged in a righteous cause. “I fear not,”
says he, “bulls and menaces; it is the audaciousness and the ignorance of men
that induce me to stand forth, though with much reluctance; were there not a
weighty cause for it, no one out of my own little sphere should ever hear of
me. If the cause I defend be not the work of God, I would have nothing to do
with it; let it perish. Let Him alone have glory to whom alone glory belongs.”
The position which Luther now occupied was one which harassed and distressed his mind. It was with the utmost reluctance that he felt himself compelled to oppose the Church with which he was connected, and more especially as the ground of his opposition was of such vital importance. Unwilling,
however, to be considered as disclaiming the authority of the pope, as his enemies alleged that he did, he requested his faithful friend and patron, Staupitz,
to transmit his writings to Rome, that all misrepresentation of his doctrines
might be prevented. “Not,” says he, “that I would involve you in my dangers. I
desire alone to stand the shock of it. Let Christ see to it, whether the cause be
mine or His. To the kind admonitions of my friends, who would warn me of
danger, my answer is, The poor man has no fears. I protest that property, reputation, and honours shall be of no estimation with me, compared with the defence of the truth. I have only a frail body to lose, and that weighed down with
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constant fatigue. If, in obedience to God, I lose it through violence or fraud,
what is the loss of a few hours of life? sufficient for me is the lovely Redeemer
and Advocate, my Lord Jesus Christ, to whose praise I will sing as long as I
live.” He even addressed a letter to the pope himself, explanatory of his conduct, and couched in such language as clearly shows that, at this period, he
had no intention of separating from the Church.
It is interesting to observe how clear, even at this early period of his history,
Luther’s views of divine truth were. The Bible had been for years his constant
study; prayer had been his unceasing exercise; and in the habitual use of these
two means of grace, his knowledge of the Gospel had become at once extensive and accurate. In the doctrines of free grace, more particularly, Luther gloried. “A Christian,” to use his own words, “may glory that in Christ he has all
things; that all the righteousness and merits of Christ are his own, by virtue of
that spiritual union with him which he has by faith: and, on the other hand,
that all his sins are no longer his, but Christ, through the same union, bears the
burden of them. And this is the confidence of Christians, this is the refreshment of their consciences, that by faith our sins cease to be ours judicially, because they are laid on him, ‘the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the
world.’” The righteousness of Christ the Reformer viewed as the sole foundation of the sinner’s hope; and he accordingly urged it, with the utmost earnestness, upon all who came within the sphere of his influence
Thus pure were the religious sentiments of Luther, at the outset of his career
as a Reformer, and before his doctrines had assumed such a prominence as to
attract the attention and call down upon him the wrath of the Papal See. The
Almighty had been gradually training him for the important duties which were
yet to devolve upon him, and which could only be discharged by one who was
specially enlightened by the Spirit of God. His work was arduous, and therefore he was endowed with peculiar qualifications, both of au intellectual and
moral kind.
On the accession of Charles V. to the empire, Luther found himself in a
very dangerous situation. Charles, in order to secure the Pope’s friendship, had
determined to treat him with great severity. His eagerness to gain this point
rendered him not averse to gratify the Papal legates in Germany, who insisted
that, without any delay or formal deliberation, the diet then sitting at Worms
ought to condemn a man whom the Pope had already excommunicated as an
incorrigible heretic. Such an abrupt manner of proceeding, however, being
deemed unprecedented and unjust by the members of the diet, they made a
point of Luther’s appearing in person, and declaring whether he adhered or not
to those opinions which had drawn upon him the censures of the Church. Not
only the emperor, but all the princes through whose territories he had to pass,
granted him a safe-conduct; and Charles wrote to him at the same time, requiring his immediate attendance on the diet, and renewing his promises of protection from any injury or violence. Luther did not hesitate for one moment about
yielding obedience; and set out for Worms, attended by the herald who had
brought the emperor’s letter and safe-conduct.
The reception which he met with at Worms was such as might have been
reckoned a full reward of all his labours, if vanity and the love of applause had
been the principles by which he was influenced. Greater crowds assembled to
behold him than had appeared at the emperors public entry. His apartments
were daily filled with princes and parsonages of the highest rank; and he was
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treated with an homage more sincere, as well as more flattering, than any
which pre-eminence in birth or condition can command. At his appearance
before the diet he behaved with great decency and with equal firmness. He
readily acknowledged an excess of acrimony and vehemence in his controversial writings; but refused to retract his opinions, unless he were convinced of
their falsehood, or to consent to their being tried by any other rule than the
Word of God. When neither threats nor entreaties could prevail on him to depart from this resolution, some of the ecclesiastics proposed to imitate the example of the Council of Constance; and, by punishing the author of this pestilent heresy, who was now in their power, to deliver the Church at once from
such an evil. But the members of the diet refusing to expose the German integrity to fresh reproach by a second violation of public faith, and Charles being
no less unwilling to bring a stain upon the beginning of his administration by
such an ignominious action, Luther was permitted to depart in safety. A few
days after he left the city, a severe edict was published, depriving him, as an
obstinate and excommunicated criminal, of all the privileges which he enjoyed
as a subject of the empire; forbidding any prince to harbour or protect him;
and requiring all to seize his person as soon as the term specified in his protection should be expired.
But this rigorous decree had no considerable effect; the execution of it being
prevented partly by the multiplicity of occupations which the commotions in
Spain, together with the wars in Italy and the Low Countries, created to the
emperor; and partly by a prudent precaution employed by the elector of Saxony, Luther’s faithful patron. As Luther, on his return from Worms, was passing near Altenstrain, in Thuringia, a number of horsemen, in masks, rushed
suddenly out of a wood, where the elector had appointed them to lie in wait for
him, and surrounding his company, carried him, after dismissing all his attendants, to Wartburg, a strong castle, not far distant. There the elector ordered
him to be supplied with every thing necessary or agreeable; but the place of
his retreat was carefully concealed until the fury of the present storm against
him began to abate, upon a change in the political system of Europe. In this
solitude, where he remained nine mouths, and which he frequently called his
Patmos, after the name of that island to which the Apostle John was banished,
he exerted his usual vigour and industry in defence of his doctrine, or in confutation of his adversaries; publishing several treatises, which revived the spirit of his followers, astonished to a great degree, and disheartened at the sudden
disappearance of their leader.
Luther, weary at length of his retirement, appeared publicly again at Witternberg, upon the 6th of March 1522. He appeared, indeed, without the elector’s leave; but immediately wrote him a letter to prevent him taking it ill. The
edict of Charles V., severe as it was, had given little or no check to Luther’s
doctrine; for the emperor was no sooner gone into Flanders, than his edict was
neglected and despised, and the doctrine seemed to spread even faster than
before.
The diet of the empire was held at Nuremberg, at the end of the year, to
which Hadrian VI. sent his Brief, dated November the 25th; for Leo X. died
upon the 2d of December 1521, and Hadrian had been elected Pope upon the
9th of January following. In his Brief, among other things, he observes to the
diet how he had heard with grief that Martin Luther, after the sentence of Leo
X., which was ordered to be executed by the edict of Worms, continued to
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teach the same errors, and daily to publish books full of heresies; that it appeared strange to him that so large and so religious a nation could be seduced
by a wretched apostate friar; that nothing, however, could be more pernicious
to Christendom; and that, therefore, he exhorts them to use their utmost endeavours to make Luther, and the authors of those tumults, return to their duty;
or, if they refuse and continue obstinate, to proceed against them according to
the laws of the empire, and the severity of the last edict.
The resolution of this diet was published in the form of an edict, upon the
6th of March 1523; but it had no effect in checking the Lutherans, who still
went on in the same triumphant manner.
In the beginning of the year 1524, Clement VII. sent a legate into Germany
to the diet which was to be held at Nuremberg. Hadrian VI. died in October
1523, and was succeeded by Clement upon the 19th of November. A little before his death, he canonized Benno, who was bishop of Meissen in the time of
Gregory VII., and one of the most zealous defenders of the holy see. Luther,
imagining that this was done directly to oppose him, drew up a piece with this
title, Against the new idol and odd devil set up at Meissen, in which he treats
the memory of Gregory with great freedom, and does not spare even Hadrian.
Clement VII.’s legate represented to the diet of Nuremberg the necessity of
enforcing the execution of the edict of Worms, which had been strangely neglected by the princes of the empire; but, notwithstanding the legate’s solicitations, which were very pressing, the decrees of that diet were thought so ineffectual, that they were condemned at Rome, and rejected by the emperor.
In October 1524, Luther flung off the monastic habit; which, though not
premeditated and designed, was yet a very proper preparative to a step he took
the year after; we mean his marriage with Catherine De Bore.
His marriage, however, did not retard his activity and diligence in the work
of reformation. He revised the Augsburg Confession of Faith and Apology for
the Protestants, when the Protestant religion was first established on a firm
basis.
In the year 1534, the Bible, translated by him into German, was first printed, as the old privilege dated Bibliopolis, under the elector’s hand, shows; and
it was published the same year. He also published this year a book against
masses and the consecration of priests, in which he relates a conference he had
with the devil upon those points; for it is remarkable in Luther’s whole history,
that he never had any conflicts of any kind within, but the devil was always his
antagonist. In February 1537, an assembly was held at Smalkald about matters
of religion, to which Luther and Melancthon were called. At this meeting Luther was seized with so grievous an illness, that there were no hopes of his recovery. He was afflicted with the stone, and had a stoppage of urine for eleven
days. In this terrible condition he would needs undertake to travel, notwithstanding all that his friends could say or do to prevent him. His resolution,
however, was attended with a good effect; for the night after his departure he
began to be better. As he was carried along he made his will, in which he bequeathed his detestation of Popery to his friends and brethren; agreeably to
what he used to say: Pesos eram vivus, moriens em mors tua, papa; that is, ‘I
was the plague of Popery in my life, and shall continue to be so in my death.’
This year the Pope and the court of Rome, finding it impossible to deal with
the Protestants by force, began to have recourse to stratagem. They affected,
therefore, to think that, though Luther had, indeed, carried things on with a
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high hand and to a violent extreme, yet what he had pleaded in defence of
these measures was not entirely without foundation. Luther published, about
the same time, a confutation of the pretended grant of Constantine to Sylvester, bishop of Rome; and also some letters of John Huss, written from his prison at Constance to the Bohemians. In this manner was Luther employed till his
death, which happened in the year 1546.
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