Martin Luther's 95 Theses

Celebrating the Protestant Reformation in the 21st Century

Peter DeHaan

• Publisher: PublishDrive
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781948082679
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: History of Christianity

Have you ever wondered what Martin Luther's 95 Theses actually said? If so, you're not alone. Finally, there's an accessible guide to Luther's most revolutionary words.

Martin Luther changed the course of church history. His 95 Theses are considered a groundbreaking document that sparked the Reformation and altered countless lives.

But most people today have never read them and don't understand them.

In Martin Luther's 95 Theses: Celebrating the Protestant Reformation in the 21st Century, Peter DeHaan takes Luther's contentions and turns them into understandable, bite-sized snippets, short enough to keep your attention. He explains their meaning and makes them accessible for today's reader.

With a helpful snapshot of Martin Luther's life, you'll get an easy-to-understand overview of the historical and religious context of his day, as well as the impact of his history-making document.

Martin Luther's 95 Theses combines a concise history lesson with an easy-to-digest breakdown of each one so that you can:

- Uncover the basics of the Reformation

- Learn why Luther was inspired to write his 95 theses

- Understand Luther's words in today's language

- See how the theses are relevant to your life and your church

- Discover how his message can inspire and transform your faith today

In Martin Luther's 95 Theses you'll get the inside story of what led Luther to post these vital statements and how they apply to people today. A discussion guide to use with your small group is included.

An advocate for authentic church practices, Peter DeHaan, PhD sees reform as an ongoing process in order to advance the kingdom of God. His desire is to encourage Christians to better align their lives with their faith.

Let Martin Luther's 95 Theses inspire you to learn more about the radical document that changed the course of church history and still impacts people today. You'll finally understand what Luther's words mean and how you can apply them to your life.

Get this accessible guide to the 95 Theses and start your journey to a new understanding of Martin Luther's most important work.

Part 1: Heaven Is Not for Sale

 

Martin objected to the abuse of indulgences. Though he mentioned the Church and the pope in some of his theses, he focused on the unbiblical excess of this one practice.

Here’s the background:

In a creative, though misguided, fundraising effort, some church leaders began selling full indulgences. Through the purchase of indulgences, people could purchase their salvation. They could also secure the eternal deliverance of others, both dead and alive. They could buy their way into heaven.

The money raised was supposed to go to Rome to build the new Saint Peter’s Basilica (a church), replacing the old building. It had stood over a millennium and reportedly served as the burial site for Jesus’s disciple Peter, also recognized as the first pope. Historians debate how much of the money collected made it back to Rome to help erect this shrine, but the promise of payment secured the permission to sell indulgences. The pope granted this authority to peddle eternal pardons to archbishop Albert of Brandenburg. Albert in turn tapped Johann Tetzel, among others, to carry this out. Tetzel pursued his assignment with much zeal. In the process, he earned Martin’s ire.

In the years leading up to this approval to market indulgences, Church decisions began to depart from a biblical understanding of salvation. This became a slippery slope that made their latest ruling feasible. The Church headship at that time had become corrupt and greedy. Ambitious religious leaders no longer saw the papacy as a way to serve God and lead his people. Instead, they viewed it as a means to live a life of luxury and wield unrestrained power.

But Martin objected to the Church selling what Jesus died to give away with no strings attached.

Martin’s main concern was that a full indulgence removed the need to repent to become right with God. Instead of professing remorse for sins, a person could pay a fee to secure their eternal reward. The price was often disproportionate to their economic condition. Beyond that, people could purchase the release into heaven for loved ones who had already died. They could also secure a future liberation for those still living. For these souls, their salvation happened without any action on their part. It wasn’t an act of personal repentance or even their decision to purchase forgiveness.

Martin advocated that we become living temples through our bodies instead of constructing church buildings. He placed Saint Peter’s as the least important of all Church structures. Martin may have considered Saint Peter’s Church last as a matter of hyperbole. However, as the costliest of Church facilities, he saw it as the biggest distraction to people from becoming living temples.

He based this view on what he read in the Bible. Paul wrote that our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), and we’re built on the foundation formed by the apostles and prophets, with Jesus as our chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Ironically, Peter—for whom the building was named—wrote that we are like living stones, which are being built into God’s spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5).

Martin also noted that the wealthy pope already had enough money to finance the new Saint Peter’s Basilica. He had no reason—other than greed—to approve a fundraising campaign. Yet by him granting authority to Albert to sell indulgences, even more money could pour into the Church’s treasury. This essentially grew the pope’s personal wealth. Instead of building this grand shrine, Martin advocated giving the money to the poor. These were the very people Tetzel and others fleeced when they hawked indulgences. Besides, few of Martin’s fellow Germans would ever make a pilgrimage to Rome. They would never see the building they helped finance with their purchases of indulgences.

Martin provided a voice for their simmering angst.

This message resonated with the German people. They had suffered under the corruption of Church leadership and felt the Church in Rome overlooked their plight in Germany. They also rankled under Martin’s revelation that they had wasted money to purchase full indulgences. He said the certificates they received held no value, either in this world or the next.

But Martin had more to say.

Part 2: The Pope Has No Power over Purgatory

 

Martin’s second group of theses addressed the pope’s authority over purgatory, or to be more correct, the pope’s lack of authority. Martin asserted that the pope had no power when it came to remitting sins and their penalty in purgatory. Though some accounts claim Luther found no biblical support for purgatory itself, his ninety-five theses don’t support this position.

He agreed that the sacrament of penance allows for forgiveness of sins to those who are truly sorry for their actions. He didn’t criticize penance. The difference between the sacrament of penance and the pope’s expanded extension of the concept may not be immediately apparent, but the distinction is significant.

The essential aspects of penance reside in admitting mistakes and being remorseful for them. After meeting these conditions, the priest offers forgiveness for the confessed sins.

What the pope had approved, however, was far different. He removed the elements of confession and repentance. Then he replaced them with a monetary payment. Next, the scope of forgiveness expanded to cover all sins, not specific ones. And last, instead of addressing forgiveness in this life, the pope authorized a future forgiveness in death.

Martin made his view clear: The pope had overreached. The papal indulgences didn’t, and couldn’t, remove guilt. These full indulgences fell short of being able to reconcile people with God, which comes solely from sincere repentance. The extent of the pope’s actual authority was limited to what he imposed, not what God established.

The pope didn’t have a stockpile of eternal credits. He couldn’t subjectively transfer salvation to others. Even if one person could go beyond what God requires, they couldn’t save their excess to use later for someone else, as some people believed. Only Jesus can do that. And he did. He freely offered forgiveness to all who believe, without any involvement of the pope.

From this Martin concluded that the pope had no real authority over purgatory. Martin argued that if the pope truly did have power to release one person from purgatory that he should release all. That out of love he could free everyone. This would effectively abolish purgatory. And if the pope intentionally left people in purgatory merely to raise money, his actions accounted for nothing more than greed.

Martin did, however, identify one thing the pope could do in relation to purgatory. He could pray for the early release of the people there, an action any member of the clergy could exercise.

Prior to Martin, others had proclaimed salvation only through Jesus and questioned the pope’s authority over purgatory. They did this without being charged with heresy. Had Martin restricted the focus to these points, he might have escaped the firestorm of attacks that followed. But he took one more step.

Part 3: There Is No Shortcut to Heaven

 

What most raised the ire of the Church against Martin and his ninety-five theses, however, was not his claim of salvation through Jesus alone or the pope having no power over purgatory, but his bold statement that indulgences served to hinder salvation.

Martin realized indulgences instilled a false sense of spiritual security in those who bought them. It was as if they had purchased a pass to enter heaven; they were good to go. Then they could live their life as they wanted, without regard for what God wanted. Instead, the people’s complete trust in papal indulgences to secure their salvation removed the requirement of repentance and damned them for eternity.

With their certificate of indulgence in hand, the people no longer felt a need to repent, Mark 1:15, or to work out their salvation by doing good and helping the poor, Philippians 2:12. Jesus, however, commends those who clothe the naked and care for the sick, Matthew 25:34–40. Yet all the attention given to buying indulgences removed the focus from those in need. Jesus didn’t say, “Sell your cloak and buy an indulgence.” (He said to “sell your cloak and buy a sword,” Luke 22:36.)

Martin noted that when people paid for their indulgences, they in effect diverted money from the poor and even the needs of their own families. Instead, they redirected it to the Church. Indulgences had the direct impact of producing less charity for those who needed it most. Instead, it provided more money to those in power who already had too much. The Church wanted the people’s money. They had already downplayed helping the poor so they could receive more. The sale of indulgences advanced their unethical quest to get more of their followers’ cash.

Indulgences were also dangerous because they encouraged complacency.

God’s work in the lives of his creation unfolds in a strange way. Only when a person feels completely lost can the light of God provide the needed illumination. Yet the crutch of indulgences kept people from ever feeling utterly lost and in need of God. True peace comes from faith in Jesus, not by receiving absolution through the purchase of an indulgence.

As a response to placing faith in Jesus comes the need to carry our cross to follow him as his disciple, Luke 14:27. We die to self to live for God. We deny our wishes and become crucified with Jesus, just like Paul, Galatians 2:20. The cross of Jesus, not an indulgence from a pope, provides the way to cover our wrongs.

The German people had long lived under the financial tyranny of the Church. They sought relief. Martin’s theses demanded financial liberation and resonated with them. They understood it. It became their manifesto against the Church’s corrupt money grab.

What most of the German people didn’t grasp, however, was Martin’s call to be crucified with Jesus. The people rallied around a vision of financial release from the Church’s practices, thanks to some of Martin’s theses. As a result, the other theses accompanied them. This pushed the group of ninety-five theses forward, even if the people didn’t understand them all.

Though Martin understood his theses, he had no idea of the problems they would cause.

The Latter Years of Martin Luther (1517 to 1546)

Martin intended to work out his theses within the Church leadership. However, once the masses read and heard them in their own language—through no fault of Martin’s—an internal Church discussion became impossible. A revolution brewed. The people, poised for change, saw to that.

But the leaders of the Church had a different reaction. They saw Luther as a threat. His views opposed them, their power, and their profit motives.

Yes, Martin wanted a reformation. But he wanted it to occur in an orderly fashion within the Church. He loved the Church and desired to remain part of her. He never planned to create a new church and certainly never wanted a Lutheran denomination named i...