“It vexes me that we must read and learn such shameless, gross, crazy lies in the canon law, and must even hold them for Christian doctrine, when they are devilish lies.”
This quote by Martin Luther was made in a proposition to the rulers of Germany in An Open Letter to The Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate, 1520.
Yes, that is right the year was 1520, and it was around 1529-33 that 100 thousand Germans were killed by the Papal Roman agents because of Luther's so called heresy. Luther translated the Greek Bible to Latin then to German so that any one including peasants could read the New Testament. This was such an affront to the Catholic leaders that they ordered every Bible burned and anyone who owned one to be arrested.
Why such a stir over a Bible in one’s native tongue? Well the most obvious reason is that if one could read the Bible one might understand that most of the teachings that Rome was selling as God’s Word were nothing but lies especially the selling of indulgences.
Luther made his mark scolding Rome concerning the selling of indulgences. An indulgence was a donation that was made to get time relieved from ones sentence in Purgatory. Indulgences could be used for an Aunt or Uncle, Mother or Father etc. Luther was particularly disgusted with this practice and based much of his famous 95 Thesis on eliminating this practice. Theses 21 said, “Hence those who preach indulgences are in error when they say that a man is absolved and saved from every penalty by the pope's indulgences.” Theses 22 said, “Indeed, he (the pope) cannot remit to souls in purgatory any penalty which canon law declares should be suffered in the present life.” There is a saying that I was reminded of recently when I was watching a movie about Martin Luther called “Luther” I highly recommend the film to you. It stars Joseph Fiennes and was released in 2003 and now is on DVD. The saying goes like this “As the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs”. This reduces the selling of indulgences to what it really was, a sham to rob the people of their money.
Today we are faced with many lies about what the scriptures say, and because we can all read the Bible for ourselves the lies have to be more subtle and seemingly more harmless. Lies are lies nevertheless and we must be on guard to keep fast the Word in our hearts and let no man beguile us of our reward. Too often we take the word of man over the Word of God and the result is that we are not approved before God as workman rightly dividing the Word of Truth II Tim. 2:15. Even though Martin Luther was very simple and elementary in his teaching some not even purposed in the Word we must admire the conviction and the strength of character he had to do the will of God at the time with what he knew.
Martin Luther the author of the then-controversial 95 Theses and founding father of the Protestant church who, with the courage of his convictions, faced the wrath of the church in the 16th century, all in the name of religious freedom. We have no other choice but to face those who would lie and do not teach the truth or we will be bound like slaves to ungodliness.