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07 - Luther's Seperation from Rome - The Great Controversy · Philosophy and Faith

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Speaker 1: Chapter seven Luther's separation from Rome. Foremost among those who
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Speaker 1: were called to lead the Church from the darkness of
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Speaker 1: popery into the light of a purer faith stood Martin Luther. Zealous, ardent,
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Speaker 1: and devoted, knowing no fear but the fear of God,
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Speaker 1: and acknowledging no foundation for religious faith but the Holy scriptures.
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Speaker 1: Luther was the man for his time. Through him, God
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Speaker 1: accomplished a great work for the reformation of the Church
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Speaker 1: and the enlightenment of the world. Like the first heralds
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Speaker 1: of the Gospel, Luther sprung from the ranks of poverty.
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Speaker 1: His early years were spent in the humble home of
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Speaker 1: a German peasant. By daily toil as a miner, his
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Speaker 1: father earned the means for his education. He intended him
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Speaker 1: for a lawyer, but God purposed to make him a
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Speaker 1: builder in the great Temple that was rising so slowly
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Speaker 1: through the centuries. Hardship, privation, and severe discipline were the
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Speaker 1: school in which infinite wisdom prepared Luther for the important
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Speaker 1: mission of his life. Luther's father was a man of
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Speaker 1: strong and active mind and great force of character. Honest, resolute,
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Speaker 1: and straightforward. He was true to his convictions of duty,
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Speaker 1: let the consequences be what they might. His sterling good
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Speaker 1: sense led him to regard the monastic system with distrust.
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Speaker 1: He was highly displeased when Luther, without his consent, entered
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Speaker 1: a monastery, and it was two years before the father
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Speaker 1: was reconciled to his son, and even then his opinions
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Speaker 1: remained the same. Luther's parents bestowed great care upon the
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Speaker 1: education and training of their children. They endeavored to instruct
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Speaker 1: them in the knowledge of God and the practice of
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Speaker 1: Christian virtues. The father's prayer often ascended in the hearing
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Speaker 1: of his son, that the child might remember the name
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Speaker 1: of the Lord and one day aid in the advancement
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Speaker 1: of his truth. Every advantage for moral or intellectual culture,
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Speaker 1: which their life of toil permitted them to enjoy, was
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Speaker 1: eagerly improved by these parents. Their efforts for earnest and
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Speaker 1: persevering to prepare their children for a life of piety
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Speaker 1: and usefulness. With their firmness and strength of character, they
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Speaker 1: sometimes exercised too great severity. But the reformer himself, though
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Speaker 1: conscious that in some respects they had erred, found in
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Speaker 1: their discipline more to approve than to condemn. At school
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Speaker 1: where he was sent at an early age, Luther was
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Speaker 1: treated with harshness and even violence. So great was the
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Speaker 1: poverty of his parents that, upon going from home to
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Speaker 1: school in another town, he was for a time obliged
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Speaker 1: to obtain his food by singing from door to door,
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Speaker 1: and he often suffered from hunger. The gloomy, superstitious ideas
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Speaker 1: of religion, then prevailing, filled him with fear. He would
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Speaker 1: lie down at night with a sorrowful heart, looking forward
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Speaker 1: with trembling to the dark future, and in constant terror
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Speaker 1: at the thought of God as a stern, unrelenting judge,
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Speaker 1: a cruel tyrant rather than a kind, heavenly father. Yet
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Speaker 1: under so many and so great discos ris, Luther pressed
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Speaker 1: resolutely forward toward the high standard of moral and intellectual
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Speaker 1: excellence which attracted his soul. He thirstooed for knowledge, and
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Speaker 1: the earnest and practical character of his mind led him
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Speaker 1: to desire the solid and useful rather than the showy
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Speaker 1: and superficial. When at the age of eighteen he entered
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Speaker 1: the University of Eyrfurt, his situation was more favorable and
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Speaker 1: his prospects were brighter than in his earlier years. His parents,
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Speaker 1: having by thrift and industry, acquired a competence. They were
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Speaker 1: able to render him all needed assistance, and the influence
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Speaker 1: of judicious friends had somewhat lessened the gloomy effects of
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Speaker 1: his former training. He applied himself to the study of
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Speaker 1: the best authors, diligently treasuring their most weighty thoughts and
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Speaker 1: making the wisdom of the wise his own. Even under
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Speaker 1: the harsh discipline of his former instructors, he had early
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Speaker 1: given promise of distinction, and with favorable influences, his mind
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Speaker 1: rapidly developed a retent memory, a lively imagination, strong reasoning powers,
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Speaker 1: and untiring application soon placed him in the foremost rank
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Speaker 1: among his associates. Intellectual discipline ripened his understanding and aroused
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Speaker 1: an activity of mind and a keenness of perception that
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Speaker 1: were preparing him for the conflicts of his life. The
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Speaker 1: fear of the Lord dwelt in the heart of Luther,
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Speaker 1: enabling him to maintain his steadfastness of purpose and leading
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Speaker 1: him to deep humility before God. He had an abiding
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Speaker 1: sense of his dependence upon divine aid, and he did
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Speaker 1: not fail to begin each day with prayer. While his
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Speaker 1: heart was continually breathing a petition for guidance and support.
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Speaker 1: To pray well, he often said, is the better half
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Speaker 1: of study. While one day examining the books in the
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Speaker 1: library of the university, Luther discovered a Latin Bible. Such
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Speaker 1: a book he had never before seen. He was ignorant
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Speaker 1: even of its existence. He had heard portions of the
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Speaker 1: Gospels and Epistles which were read to the people at
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Speaker 1: public worship, and he supposed that these were the entire Bible. Now,
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Speaker 1: for the first time, he looked upon the whole of
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Speaker 1: God's word with mingled awe and wonder. He turned the
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Speaker 1: sacred pages with quickened pulse and throbbing heart. He read
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Speaker 1: for himself the words of life, pausing now and then
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Speaker 1: to exclaim, Oh, that God would give me such a
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Speaker 1: book for myself. Angels of Heaven were by his side,
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Speaker 1: and rays of light from the throne of God revealed
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Speaker 1: the treasures of truth to his understanding. He had ever
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Speaker 1: feared to offend God. But now the deep conviction of
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Speaker 1: his condition as a sinner took hold upon him as
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Speaker 1: never before. An earnest desire to be free from sin
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Speaker 1: and to find peace with God led him at last
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Speaker 1: to enter a cloister and devote himself to a monastic life.
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Speaker 1: Here he was required to perform the lowest drudgery, and
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Speaker 1: to beg from house to house. He was at an
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Speaker 1: age when respect and appreciation are most eagerly craved, and
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Speaker 1: these menial offices were deeply mortified to his natural feelings.
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Speaker 1: But he patiently endured this humiliation, believing that it was
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Speaker 1: necessary because of his sins. Every moment that could be
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Speaker 1: spared from his daily duties he employed in study, robbing
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Speaker 1: himself of sleep and grudging even the time spent at
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Speaker 1: his scanty meals. Above everything else, he delighted in the
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Speaker 1: study of God's word. He had found a Bible changed
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Speaker 1: to the convent wall, and to this he often repaired.
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Speaker 1: As his convictions of sin deepened, he sought by his
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Speaker 1: own works to obtain pardon and peace. He led a
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Speaker 1: most rigorous life, endeavoring by fasting vigils and scourgings to
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Speaker 1: subdue the evils of his nature, from which the monastic
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Speaker 1: life had brought no release. He shrank from no sacrifice
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Speaker 1: by which he might attain to that purity of heart
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Speaker 1: which would enable him to stand approved before God. I
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Speaker 1: was indeed a pious monk, he afterwards said, and followed
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Speaker 1: the rules of my order more strictly than I can express.
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Speaker 1: If ever Monk could obtain Heavin by his monkish works,
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Speaker 1: I should certainly have been entitled to it. If it
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Speaker 1: had continued much longer, I should have carried my mortifications
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Speaker 1: even to death. As the result of this painful discipline,
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Speaker 1: he lost strength and suffered from fainting spasms, from the
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Speaker 1: effects of which he never fully recovered. But with all
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Speaker 1: his efforts, his burdened soul found no relief. He was
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Speaker 1: at last driven to the verge of despair. When it
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Speaker 1: appeared to Luther that all was lost, God raised up
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Speaker 1: a friend and helper for him. The pious Staupitz opened
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Speaker 1: the word of God to Luther's mind and bade him
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Speaker 1: look away from himself, cease the contemplation of infinite punishment
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Speaker 1: for the violation of God's law, and looked to Jesus,
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Speaker 1: his sin pardoning Savior. Instead of torturing yourself on account
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Speaker 1: of your sins, throw yourself into the Redeemer's arms. Trust
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Speaker 1: in him in the righteousness of his life, in the
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Speaker 1: atonement of his death. Listen to the Son of God
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Speaker 1: he became man to give you the assurance of divine favor.
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Speaker 1: Love him who first loved you. Thus spoke the Messenger
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Speaker 1: of Mercy. His words made a deep impression upon Luther's mind.
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Speaker 1: After many a struggle with long cherished errors, he was
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Speaker 1: enabled to grasp the truth, and peace came to his
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Speaker 1: troubled soul. Luther was ordained a priest and was called
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Speaker 1: from the cloister to a professorship in the University of Wittenburg.
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Speaker 1: Here he applied himself to the study of the scriptures
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Speaker 1: in the original tongues. He began to lecture upon the
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Speaker 1: Bible and the Book of Psalms. The Gospels and the
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Speaker 1: Epistles were open to the understanding of crowds of delighted listeners. Staupitz,
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Speaker 1: his friend and superior, urged him to ascend the pulpit
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Speaker 1: and preach the word of God. Luther hesitated, feeling himself
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Speaker 1: unworthy to speak to the people in Christ's stead. It
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Speaker 1: was only after a long struggle that he yielded to
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Speaker 1: the solicitations of his friends. Already he was mighty in
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Speaker 1: the scriptures, and the grace of God rested upon him.
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Speaker 1: His eloquence captivated his hearers. The clearness and power with
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Speaker 1: which he presented the truth convinced their understanding, and his
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Speaker 1: fervor touched their hearts. Luther was still a true son
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Speaker 1: of the papal Church and had no thought that he
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Speaker 1: would ever be anything else. In the providence of God,
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Speaker 1: he was led to visit Rome. He pursued his journey
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Speaker 1: on foot, lodging at the monasteries on the way. At
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Speaker 1: a convent in Italy, he was filled with wonder at
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Speaker 1: the wealth, magnificence, and luxury that he witnessed. Endowed with
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Speaker 1: a princely revenue, the monks dwelt in splendid apartments, attired
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Speaker 1: themselves in the richest and most costly robes, and feasted
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Speaker 1: at a sumptuous table with painful misgivings. Luther contrasted this
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Speaker 1: scene with the self denial and hardship of his own life.
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Speaker 1: His mind was becoming perplexed. At last he beheld in
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Speaker 1: the distance the seven hilled city. With deep emotion, he
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Speaker 1: prostrated himself upon the earth, exclaiming, Holy Rome, I salute thee.
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Speaker 1: He entered the city, visited the churches, listened to the
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Speaker 1: marvelous tales repeated by priests and monks, and performed all
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Speaker 1: the ceremonies required. Everywhere he looked upon scenes that filled
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Speaker 1: him with astonishment and horror. He saw that iniquity existed
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Speaker 1: among all classes of the clergy. He heard indecent jokes
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Speaker 1: from prelates, and was filled with horror at their awful profanity.
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Speaker 1: Even during Mass, as he mingled with the monks and citizens,
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Speaker 1: he meant dissipation, debauchery. Turn where he would in the
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Speaker 1: place of sanctity, he found profanation. No one can imagine.
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Speaker 1: He wrote, what sins and infamous actions are committed in Rome.
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Speaker 1: They must be seen and heard to be believed. Thus
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Speaker 1: they are in the habit of saying, if there is
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Speaker 1: a hell, Rome is built over it, it is an abyss.
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Speaker 1: Whence issues every kind of sin by a recent a
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Speaker 1: credle an indulgence had been promised by the Pope to
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Speaker 1: all who should ascend upon their knees. Pilot's staircase, said
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Speaker 1: to have been descended by our Savior on leaving the
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Speaker 1: Roman Judgment Hall, and to have been miraculously conveyed from
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Speaker 1: Jerusalem to Rome. Luther was one day devoutly climbing these steps,
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Speaker 1: when suddenly a voice like thunder seemed to say to
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Speaker 1: him that just shall live by faith. He sprung to
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Speaker 1: his feet and hastened from the place in shame and horror.
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Speaker 1: That text never lost its power upon his soul. From
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Speaker 1: that time he saw more clearly than ever before the
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Speaker 1: fallacy of trusting to human works for salvation, and the
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Speaker 1: necessity of constant faith in the merits of Christ. His
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Speaker 1: eyes had been opened and were never again to be
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Speaker 1: closed to the delusions of the papacy. When he turned
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Speaker 1: his face from Rome, he had turned away also in heart,
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Speaker 1: and from that time the separation grew wider, until he
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Speaker 1: severed all connection with the papal Church. After his return
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Speaker 1: from Rome, Luther received at the University of Edinburgh the
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Speaker 1: degree of Doctor of Divinity. Now he was at liberty
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Speaker 1: to devote himself as never before, to the scriptures that
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Speaker 1: he loved. He had taken a solemn vow to study
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Speaker 1: carefully and to preach with fidelity the Word of God,
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Speaker 1: not the sayings and doctrines of the popes, all the
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Speaker 1: days of his life. He was no longer the mere
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Speaker 1: monk or professor, but the authorized herald of the Bible.
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Speaker 1: He had been called as a shepherd to feed the
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Speaker 1: flock of God that were hungering and thirsting for the truth.
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Speaker 1: He firmly declared that Christians should receive no other doctrines
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Speaker 1: than those which rest on the authority of the sacred Scriptures.
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Speaker 1: These words struck at the very foundation of papal supremacy.
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Speaker 1: They contained the vital principle of the Reformation. Luther saw
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Speaker 1: the danger of exalting human theories above the word of God.
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Speaker 1: He fearlessly attacked the speculative infidelity of the schoolmen, and
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Speaker 1: opposed the philosophy and theology which had so long held
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Speaker 1: a controlling influence upon the people. He denounced such studies
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Speaker 1: as not only worthless but pernicious, and sought to turn
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Speaker 1: the minds of his hearers from the sophistries of philosophers
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Speaker 1: and theologians to the eternal truths set forth by prophets
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Speaker 1: and apostles. Precious was the message which he bore to
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Speaker 1: the eager crowds that hung upon his words. Never before
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Speaker 1: had such teachings fallen upon their ears. The glad tidings
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Speaker 1: of a saviour's love, the assurance of pardon and peace
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Speaker 1: through his atoning blood, rejoiced their hearts and inspired within
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Speaker 1: them an immortal hope. At Wittenburg, a light was kindled
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Speaker 1: whose rays should extend to the uttermost parts of the earth,
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Speaker 1: and which was to increase in brightness to the close
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Speaker 1: of time. But light and darkness cannot harmonize. Between truth
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Speaker 1: and error, there is an irrepressible conflict. To uphold and
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Speaker 1: defend the one is to attack and overthrow the other.
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Speaker 1: Our Savior himself declared, I came not to send peace
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Speaker 1: but a sword, said Luther a few years after the
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Speaker 1: opening of the Reformation. God does not guide me. He
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Speaker 1: pushes me forward, he carries me away. I am not
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Speaker 1: master of myself. I desire to live in repose. I
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Speaker 1: am thrown into the midst of tumults and revolutions. He
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Speaker 1: was now about to be urged into the contest. The
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Speaker 1: Roman Church had made merchandise of the grace of God.
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Speaker 1: The tables of the money changers were set up beside
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Speaker 1: her altars, and the air resounded with the shouts of
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Speaker 1: buyers and sellers. Under the plea of raising funds for
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Speaker 1: the erection of Saint Peter's Church at Rome, indulgences for
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Speaker 1: sin were publicly offered for sale by the authority of
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Speaker 1: the Pope by the price of crime. A temple was
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Speaker 1: to be built up for God's worship the cornerstone laid
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Speaker 1: with the wages of iniquity. But the very means adopted
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Speaker 1: for Rome's aggrandizement provoked the deadliest blow to her power
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Speaker 1: and greatness. It was this that aroused the most determined
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Speaker 1: and successful of the enemies of Pokery, and led to
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Speaker 1: the battle which shook the papal throne and jostled the
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Speaker 1: triple crown upon the Pontiff's head. The official appointed to
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Speaker 1: conduct the sale of indulgences in Germany, Tetzel by name,
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Speaker 1: had been convicted of the basest offenses again society and
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Speaker 1: against the law of God, But having escaped the punishment
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Speaker 1: due to his crimes, he was employed to further the
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Speaker 1: mercenary and unscrupulous projects of the Pope. With great effrontery.
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Speaker 1: He repeated the most glaring falsehoods and related marvelous tales
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Speaker 1: to deceive an ignorant, credulous, and superstitious people. Had they
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Speaker 1: possessed the Word of God, they would not have been
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Speaker 1: thus deceived. It was to keep them under the control
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Speaker 1: of the papacy in order to swell the power and
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Speaker 1: wealth of her ambitious leaders. That the Bible had been
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Speaker 1: withheld from them, as Tetzel entered a town, a messenger
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Speaker 1: went before him, announcing, the grace of God and of
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Speaker 1: the Holy Father is at your gates, and the people
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Speaker 1: welcomed the blasphemous pretender as if he were God himself
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Speaker 1: come down from heaven to them. The infamous traffic was
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Speaker 1: set up in the church, and Tetzel, ascending the pulpit,
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Speaker 1: extolled indulgences as the most precious gift of God. He
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Speaker 1: declared that by virtue of his certificates of pardon, all
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Speaker 1: the thinds which the purchaser should afterward desire to commit,
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Speaker 1: would be forgiven him, and that not even repentance is necessary.
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Speaker 1: More than this, he assured his hearers that the indulgences
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Speaker 1: had power to save not only the living, but the dead,
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Speaker 1: that the very moment the money should cling against the
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Speaker 1: bottom of his chest, the soul on whose behalf it
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Speaker 1: had been paid, would escape from purgatory and make its
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Speaker 1: way to Heaven. When Simon Magus offered to purchase of
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Speaker 1: the apostles the power to work miracles, Peter answered him,
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Speaker 1: thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that
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Speaker 1: the gift of God may be purchased with money, but
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Speaker 1: Tetzel's offer was grasped by eager thousands. Gold and silver
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Speaker 1: flowed into his treasury. A salvation that could be bought
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Speaker 1: with money was more easily obtained than that which requires repentance, faith,
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Speaker 1: and diligent effort to resist and overcome sin. The doctrine
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Speaker 1: of indulgences had been opposed by men of learning and
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Speaker 1: piety in the Roman Church, and there were many who
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Speaker 1: had no faith in pretensions. So, contrary to both reason androv,
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Speaker 1: no prelate dared lift his voice against the iniquitous traffic.
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Speaker 1: But the minds of men were becoming disturbed and uneasy,
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Speaker 1: and many eagerly inquired if God would not work through
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Speaker 1: some instrumentality for the purification of his church. Luther, though
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Speaker 1: still a papist of the straightest sort, was filled with
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Speaker 1: horror at the blasphemous assumptions of the indulgence mungers. Many
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Speaker 1: of his own congregation had purchased certificates of pardon, and
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Speaker 1: they soon began to come to their pastor, confessing their
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Speaker 1: various sins and expecting absolution, not because they were penitent
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Speaker 1: and wished to reform, but on the ground of the
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Speaker 1: indulgence Luther refused them absolution and warned them that unless
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Speaker 1: they should repent and reform their lives, they must perish
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Speaker 1: in their sins. In great perplexity, they repaired to Tetzel
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Speaker 1: with the complaint that their confessor had refused his certificates,
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Speaker 1: and some boldly demanded that their money be returned to them.
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Speaker 1: The Friar was filled with rage. He uttered the most
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Speaker 1: terrible curses, caused fires to be lighted in the public squares,
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Speaker 1: and declared that he had received an order from the
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Speaker 1: Pope to burn all heretics who presumed to oppose his
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Speaker 1: most holy indulgences. Luther now entered boldly upon his work
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Speaker 1: as a champion of the truth. His voice was heard
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Speaker 1: from the pulpit in earnest solemn warning. He set before
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Speaker 1: the people the offensive character of sin, and taught them
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Speaker 1: that it is impossible for man, by his own works
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Speaker 1: to lessen its guilt or evade its punishment. Nothing but
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Speaker 1: repentance toward God and faith in Christ can save the sinner.
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Speaker 1: The grace of Christ cannot be purchased. It is a
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Speaker 1: free gift. He counseled the people not to buy indulgences,
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Speaker 1: but to look in faith to a crucified redeemer. He
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Speaker 1: related his own painful experience in vainly seeking by humiliation
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Speaker 1: and penance to secure salvation, and assured his hearers that
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Speaker 1: it was by looking away from himself and believing in
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Speaker 1: Christ that he found peace and joy. As Tetzel continued
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Speaker 1: his traffic and his impious pretensions, determined upon a more
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Speaker 1: effectual protest against these crying abuses. An occasion soon offered.
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Speaker 1: The Castle Church of Wittenburg possessed many relics, which on
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Speaker 1: certain holy days were exhibited to the people, and full
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Speaker 1: remission of sins was granted to all who then visited
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Speaker 1: the church and made confession accordingly. On these days, the
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Speaker 1: people in great numbers resorted thither. One of the most
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Speaker 1: important of these occasions, the Festival of All Saints, was approaching.
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Speaker 1: On the preceding day, Luther, joining the crowds that were
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Speaker 1: already making their way to the church, posted on its
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Speaker 1: door a paper containing ninety five propositions against the doctrine
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Speaker 1: of indulgences. He declared his willingness to defend these theses
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Speaker 1: next day at the university, against all who should see
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Speaker 1: fit to attack them. His propositions attracted universal attention. They
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Speaker 1: were read and re read, and repeated in every direction.
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Speaker 1: Great excitement was created in the university and in the
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Speaker 1: whole city. By these it was shown that the power
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Speaker 1: to grant the pardon of sin and to remit its
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Speaker 1: penalty had never been committed to the Pope or to
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Speaker 1: any other man. The whole scheme was a farce, an
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Speaker 1: artifice to extort money by playing upon the superstitions of
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Speaker 1: the people, a device of Satan, to destroy the souls
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Speaker 1: of all who should trust to its lying pretensions. It
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Speaker 1: was also clearly shown that the Gospel of Christ is
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Speaker 1: the most valuable treasure of the Church, and that the
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Speaker 1: grace of God therein revealed is freely bestowed upon all
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Speaker 1: who seek it by repentance and faith. Luther's theses challenged discussion,
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Speaker 1: but no one dared accept the challenge. The questions which
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Speaker 1: he proposed had in a few days spread through all Germany,
20:41
Speaker 1: and in a few weeks they had sounded throughout Christendom.
20:44
Speaker 1: Many devoted Romanists, who had seen and lamented the terrible
20:47
Speaker 1: iniquity prevailing in the Church, but had not known how
20:50
Speaker 1: to arrest its progress, read the propositions of great joy
20:55
Speaker 1: recognizing in them the voice of God, they felt that
20:59
Speaker 1: the Lord had graciously set his hand to arrest the
21:02
Speaker 1: rapidly swelling tide of corruption that was issuing from the
21:05
Speaker 1: See of Rome. Princes and magistrates secretly rejoiced that a
21:09
Speaker 1: check was to be put upon the arrogant power, which
21:12
Speaker 1: denied the right of appeal from its decisions. But the
21:15
Speaker 1: sin loving and superstitious multitudes were terrified as the sophistries
21:19
Speaker 1: that had soothed their fears were swept away. Crafty ecclesiastics,
21:24
Speaker 1: interrupted in their work of sanctioning crime, and seeing their
21:27
Speaker 1: gains endangered, were enraged and rallied to uphold their pretensions.
21:31
Speaker 1: The reformer had bitter accusers to meet. Some charged him
21:35
Speaker 1: with acting hastily and from impulse. Others accused him of presumption,
21:40
Speaker 1: declaring that he was not directed of God, but was
21:42
Speaker 1: acting from pride and forwardness. Who does not know? He
21:46
Speaker 1: responded that a man rarely puts forth any new idea
21:48
Speaker 1: without having some appearance of pride, and without being accused
21:52
Speaker 1: of exciting quarrels. Why were Christ and all the martyrs
21:55
Speaker 1: put to death? Because they seemed to be proud contemners
21:59
Speaker 1: of the wisdom of them time, and because they advanced
22:02
Speaker 1: novelties without having first humbly taken counsel of the oracles
22:05
Speaker 1: of the ancient opinions. Again, he declared, whatever I do
22:10
Speaker 1: will be done not by the prudence of men, but
22:13
Speaker 1: by the counsel of God. If the work be of God,
22:16
Speaker 1: who shall stop it? If it be not, who can
22:18
Speaker 1: forward it? Not my will, nor theirs, nor ours, but
22:22
Speaker 1: Thy will, O, Holy Father, which are in heaven. Though
22:26
Speaker 1: Luther had been moved by the spirit of God to
22:28
Speaker 1: begin his work, he was not to carry it forward
22:31
Speaker 1: without severe conflicts. The reproaches of his enemies, their misrepresentation
22:36
Speaker 1: of his purposes, and their unjust and malicious reflections upon
22:40
Speaker 1: his character and motives came in upon him like an
22:42
Speaker 1: overwhelming flood, and they were not without effect. He had
22:46
Speaker 1: felt confident that the leaders of the people, both in
22:49
Speaker 1: the church and in the schools, would gladly unite with
22:51
Speaker 1: him in efforts for reform. Words of encouragement from those
22:55
Speaker 1: in high position had inspired him with joy and hope.
22:58
Speaker 1: Already in anticipation, he had seen a brighter day dawning
23:02
Speaker 1: for the church. But encouragement had changed to reproach and condemnation.
23:07
Speaker 1: Many dignitaries of both church and state were convicted of
23:10
Speaker 1: the truthfulness of his theses, but they soon saw that
23:13
Speaker 1: the acceptance of these truths would involve great changes. To
23:17
Speaker 1: enlighten and reform the people would be virtually to undermine
23:20
Speaker 1: the authority of Rome, to stop thousands of streams now
23:23
Speaker 1: flowing into her treasury, and thus greatly to curtail the
23:27
Speaker 1: extravagance and luxury of the papal leaders. Furthermore, to teach
23:31
Speaker 1: the people to think and act as responsible beings looking
23:34
Speaker 1: to Christ alone for salvation, would overthrow the Pontiff's throne
23:39
Speaker 1: and eventually destroy their own authority. For this reason, they
23:43
Speaker 1: refused the knowledge tendered them of God and arrayed themselves
23:46
Speaker 1: against Christ and the truth. By their opposition to the
23:48
Speaker 1: man whom He had sent to enlighten them. Luther trembled
23:53
Speaker 1: as he looked upon himself, one man opposed to the
23:55
Speaker 1: mightiest powers of earth. He sometimes doubted whether he had
23:59
Speaker 1: indeed been of God to set himself against the authority
24:02
Speaker 1: of the Church. Who was I, he writes, to oppose
24:06
Speaker 1: the majesty of the Pope, before whom the kings of
24:08
Speaker 1: the earth and the whole world trembled. No one can
24:12
Speaker 1: know what my heart suffered during these first two years,
24:14
Speaker 1: and into what despondency I may say, into what despair
24:18
Speaker 1: I was sunk. But he was not left to become
24:22
Speaker 1: utterly disheartened. When human support failed, he looked to God
24:26
Speaker 1: alone and learned that he could lean in perfect safety
24:29
Speaker 1: upon that all powerful arm. To a friend of the Reformation,
24:33
Speaker 1: Luther wrote, we cannot attain to the understanding of scripture
24:37
Speaker 1: either by study or by the intellect. Your first duty
24:40
Speaker 1: is to begin by prayer. Entreat the Lord to grant you,
24:43
Speaker 1: of his great mercy the true understanding of his word.
24:47
Speaker 1: There is no other interpreter of the Word of God
24:49
Speaker 1: than the author of this word. As He himself has said,
24:53
Speaker 1: they shall all be taught of God. Hope for nothing
24:57
Speaker 1: from your own labors, from your own understanding. Trust solely
25:00
Speaker 1: in God and in the influence of His spirit. Believe
25:04
Speaker 1: this on the word of a man who has had experience.
25:07
Speaker 1: Here is a lesson of vital importance to those who
25:10
Speaker 1: feel that God has called them to present to others
25:12
Speaker 1: the solemn truths. For this time, these truths will stir
25:16
Speaker 1: the enmity of Satan and of men who love the
25:19
Speaker 1: fables that He has devised. In the conflict with the
25:22
Speaker 1: powers of evil, there is need of something more than
25:25
Speaker 1: strength of intellect and human wisdom. When enemies appealed to
25:29
Speaker 1: custom and tradition, or to the assertions and authority of
25:33
Speaker 1: the Pope, Luther met them with the Bible. And the
25:35
Speaker 1: Bible only here were arguments which they could not answer. Therefore,
25:39
Speaker 1: the slaves of formalism and superstition clamored for his blood,
25:43
Speaker 1: as the Jews it clamored for the blood of Christ.
25:46
Speaker 1: He is a heretic, cried the Roman zealots. It is
25:49
Speaker 1: high treason against the Church to allow so horrible a
25:52
Speaker 1: heretic to live one hour longer. Let the scaffold be
25:55
Speaker 1: instantly erected for him. But Luther did not fall a
25:59
Speaker 1: prey to their fury. God had a work for him
26:02
Speaker 1: to do, and angels of heaven were sent to protect him. Many, however,
26:06
Speaker 1: who had received from Luther the precious Light, were made
26:09
Speaker 1: the objects of Satan's wrath, and for the Truth's sake
26:12
Speaker 1: fearlessly suffered torture and death. Luther's teachings attracted the attention
26:17
Speaker 1: of thoughtful minds throughout all Germany. From his sermons and
26:21
Speaker 1: writings issued beams of light which awakened and illuminated thousands.
26:26
Speaker 1: A living faith was taking the place of the dead
26:28
Speaker 1: formalism in which the Church had so long been held.
26:32
Speaker 1: The people were daily losing confidence in the superstitions of Romanism.
26:36
Speaker 1: The barriers of prejudice were giving way. The Word of
26:39
Speaker 1: God by which Luther tested every doctrine and every claim,
26:43
Speaker 1: was like a two edged sword cutting its way to
26:46
Speaker 1: the hearts of the people. Everywhere there was awakening a
26:49
Speaker 1: desire for spiritual progress, everywhere, with such a hungering and
26:53
Speaker 1: thirsting after righteousness as had not been known for ages.
26:57
Speaker 1: The eyes of the people, so long our directed to
27:00
Speaker 1: human rights and earthly mediators, were now turning in penitence
27:04
Speaker 1: and faith to Christ and him crucified. This widespread interest
27:09
Speaker 1: aroused still further the fears of the papal authorities. Luther
27:13
Speaker 1: received a summons to appear at Rome to answer to
27:15
Speaker 1: the charge of heresy. The command filled his friends with terror.
27:20
Speaker 1: They knew full well the danger that threatened him in
27:22
Speaker 1: that corrupt city. Already drunk with the blood of the
27:25
Speaker 1: martyrs of Jesus, they protested against his going to Rome,
27:28
Speaker 1: and requested that he receive his examination in Germany. This
27:33
Speaker 1: arrangement was finally affected, and the Pope's legate was appointed
27:37
Speaker 1: to hear the case. In the instructions communicated by the
27:40
Speaker 1: Pontiff to this official, it was stated that Luther had
27:44
Speaker 1: already been declared a heretic. The legate was therefore charged
27:48
Speaker 1: to prosecute and constrain without any delay. If he should
27:51
Speaker 1: remain steadfast, and the Legate should fail to gain possession
27:54
Speaker 1: of his person, he was empowered to prescribe him in
27:58
Speaker 1: every part of Germany, to banish, curse and excommunicate all
28:02
Speaker 1: those who are attached to him. And further, the Pope
28:05
Speaker 1: directed his legate in order entirely to root out the
28:09
Speaker 1: pestilent heresy, to excommunicate all of whatever dignity in church
28:13
Speaker 1: or state, except the Emperor, who should neglect to seize
28:16
Speaker 1: Luther and his adherents and deliver them up to the
28:19
Speaker 1: vengeance of Rome. Here is displayed the true spirit of popery.
28:24
Speaker 1: Not a trace of Christian principle or even of common
28:27
Speaker 1: justice is to be seen in the whole document. Luther
28:30
Speaker 1: was at a great distance from Rome. He had had
28:33
Speaker 1: no opportunity to explain or defend his position. Yet before
28:37
Speaker 1: his case had been investigated, he was summarily pronounced a heretic,
28:41
Speaker 1: and in the same day exhorted, accused, judged, and condemned,
28:45
Speaker 1: and all this by the self style Holy Father, the
28:48
Speaker 1: only supreme infallible authority in church or state. At this
28:53
Speaker 1: time when Luther so much needed the sympathy and counsel
28:56
Speaker 1: of a true friend, God's providence sent Melancthon to theis Wittenburg.
29:01
Speaker 1: Young in years, modest and diffident in his manners. Melengthon's
29:05
Speaker 1: sound judgment, extensive knowledge, and winning eloquence, combined with the
29:09
Speaker 1: purity and uprightness of his character one universal admiration and esteem.
29:15
Speaker 1: The brilliancy of his talents was not more marked than
29:17
Speaker 1: his gentleness of disposition. He soon became an earnest disciple
29:22
Speaker 1: of the Gospel and Luther's most trusted friend and valued supporter,
29:27
Speaker 1: his gentleness, caution, and exactness serving as a compliment to
29:30
Speaker 1: Luther's courage and energy. Their union in the work added
29:34
Speaker 1: strength to the Reformation and was a source of great
29:37
Speaker 1: encouragement to Luther. Augsburg had been fixed upon as the
29:42
Speaker 1: place of trial, and the Reformers set out on foot
29:45
Speaker 1: to perform the journey thither serious fears were entertained in
29:49
Speaker 1: his behalf. Threats had been made openly that he would
29:52
Speaker 1: be seized and murdered on the way, and his friends
29:55
Speaker 1: begged him not to venture. They even entreated him to
29:59
Speaker 1: leave Wittenburg for a time and find safety with those
30:02
Speaker 1: who would gladly protect him. But he would not leave
30:05
Speaker 1: the position where God had placed him. He must continue
30:09
Speaker 1: faithfully to maintain the truth, notwithstanding the storms that were
30:13
Speaker 1: beating upon him. His language was, I am like Jeremiah,
30:18
Speaker 1: a man of strife and contention. But the more their
30:21
Speaker 1: threats increase, the more my joy is multiplied. They have
30:25
Speaker 1: already destroyed my honor and my reputation. One single thing remains.
30:29
Speaker 1: It is my wretched body. Let them take it. They
30:32
Speaker 1: will thus shorten my life by a few hours. But
30:35
Speaker 1: as for my soul, they cannot take that. He who
30:38
Speaker 1: desires to proclaim the word of Christ to the world
30:41
Speaker 1: must expect death at every moment. The tidings of Luther's
30:46
Speaker 1: arrival at Augsburg gave great satisfaction to the papal legate,
30:50
Speaker 1: the troublesome heretic, who was exciting the attention of the
30:53
Speaker 1: whole world seemed now in the power of Rome, and
30:56
Speaker 1: the Leggate determined that he should not escape. The former
31:00
Speaker 1: had failed to provide himself with a safe conduct. His
31:03
Speaker 1: friends urged him not to appear before the Legate without one,
31:07
Speaker 1: and they themselves undertook to procure it from the Emperor.
31:10
Speaker 1: The Legate intended to force Luther, if possible, to retract, or,
31:14
Speaker 1: failing in this, to cause him to be conveyed to Rome,
31:17
Speaker 1: to share the fate of huss and Jerome. Therefore, through
31:21
Speaker 1: his agents he endeavored to induce Luther to appear without
31:24
Speaker 1: a safe conduct, trusting himself to his mercy. This the
31:29
Speaker 1: reformer firmly declined to do. Not until he had received
31:32
Speaker 1: the document pledging him the Emperor's protection did he appear
31:36
Speaker 1: in the presence of the papal ambassador. As a matter
31:39
Speaker 1: of policy, the Romanists had decided to attempt to win
31:43
Speaker 1: Luther by an appearance of gentleness. The Legate, in his
31:46
Speaker 1: interviews with him, professed great friendliness, but he demanded that
31:50
Speaker 1: Luther submit implicitly to the authority of the Church and
31:54
Speaker 1: yield every point without argument or question. He had not
31:58
Speaker 1: rightly estimated the care of the man with whom he
32:01
Speaker 1: had to deal. Luther, in reply, expressed his regard for
32:05
Speaker 1: the Church, his desire for the truth, his readiness to
32:08
Speaker 1: answer all objections to what he had taught, and to
32:11
Speaker 1: submit his doctrines to the decision of certain leading universities.
32:15
Speaker 1: But at the same time he protested against the cardinal's
32:18
Speaker 1: course in requiring him to retract, without having proved him
32:21
Speaker 1: in error. The only response was retract. Retract. The reformer
32:27
Speaker 1: showed that his position was sustained by the scriptures and
32:30
Speaker 1: firmly declared that he could not renounce the truth. The legate,
32:35
Speaker 1: unable to reply to Luther's arguments, overwhelmed him with a
32:38
Speaker 1: storm of reproaches, gibes, and flattery, interspersed with quotations from
32:43
Speaker 1: tradition and the sayings of the fathers, granting the reformer
32:46
Speaker 1: no opportunity to speak. Seeing that the conference thus continued
32:50
Speaker 1: would be utterly futile, Luther finally obtained a reluctant permission
32:54
Speaker 1: to present his answer in writing. In so doing, said
32:58
Speaker 1: he writing to a friend, the oppressed find double gain. First,
33:02
Speaker 1: what is written may be submitted to the judgment of others,
33:05
Speaker 1: and second, one has a better chance of working on
33:08
Speaker 1: the fears if not on the conscience of an arrogant
33:11
Speaker 1: and babbling despot who would otherwise overpower by his imperious language.
33:16
Speaker 1: At the next interview, Luther presented a clear, concise and
33:20
Speaker 1: forcible exposition of his views, fully supported by many quotations
33:24
Speaker 1: from scripture. This paper, after reading aloud, he handed to
33:28
Speaker 1: the cardinal, who, however, cast it contemptuously aside, declaring it
33:33
Speaker 1: to be a mass of idle words and irrelevant quotations. Luther,
33:37
Speaker 1: fully roused, now met the haughty prelate on his own ground,
33:41
Speaker 1: the traditions and teachings of the church, and utterly overthrew
33:44
Speaker 1: his assumptions. When the prelate saw that Luther's reasoning was unanswerable,
33:50
Speaker 1: he lost all self control, and in a rage, cried
33:53
Speaker 1: out retract Or, I will send you to Rome, there
33:56
Speaker 1: to appear before the judge's commission to take cognizance of
33:59
Speaker 1: your cause. I will excommunicate you and all your partisans
34:03
Speaker 1: and all who shall at any time countenance you, and
34:05
Speaker 1: will cast them out of the church. And he finally declared,
34:09
Speaker 1: in a haughty and angry tone, retract or return no more.
34:14
Speaker 1: The reformer promptly withdrew with his friends. Thus declaring plainly
34:17
Speaker 1: that no retraction was to be expected from him. This
34:20
Speaker 1: was not what the cardinal had purposed. He had flattered
34:23
Speaker 1: himself that by violence he could all Luther to submission.
34:27
Speaker 1: Now left alone with his supporters, he looked from one
34:30
Speaker 1: to another in utter chagrin at the unexpected failure of
34:33
Speaker 1: his schemes. Luther's efforts on this occasion were not without
34:37
Speaker 1: good results. The large assembly present had opportunity to compare
34:42
Speaker 1: the two men and to judge for themselves of the
34:44
Speaker 1: spirit manifested by them, as well as of the strength
34:48
Speaker 1: and truthfulness of their positions. How marked the contrast. The reformer, simple, humble, firm,
34:55
Speaker 1: stood up in the strength of God, having truth on
34:57
Speaker 1: his side. The Pope's representative, self important, overbearing, haughty and unreasonable,
35:03
Speaker 1: was without a single argument from the scriptures, yet vehemently
35:07
Speaker 1: crying retract or be sent to Rome for punishment. Notwithstanding
35:11
Speaker 1: Luther had secured a safe conduct, the Romanists were plotting
35:15
Speaker 1: to seize and imprison him. His friends urged that as
35:18
Speaker 1: it was useless for him to prolong his stay, he
35:20
Speaker 1: should return to Wittenburg without delay, and that the utmost
35:24
Speaker 1: caution should be observed in order to conceal his intentions.
35:28
Speaker 1: He accordingly left Augsburg before daybreak on horseback, accompanied only
35:33
Speaker 1: by a guide furnished him by the Magistrate. With many forebodings,
35:37
Speaker 1: he secretly made his way through the dark and silent
35:39
Speaker 1: streets of the city. Enemies vigilant and cruel were plotting
35:43
Speaker 1: his destruction. Would he escape the snares prepared for him?
35:47
Speaker 1: Those were moments of anxiety and earnest prayer. He reached
35:50
Speaker 1: a small gate in the wall of the city. It
35:53
Speaker 1: was opened for him, and with his guide, he passed
35:56
Speaker 1: through without hindrance. Once safely outside, the fugitives hastened their flight,
36:01
Speaker 1: and before the Legate learned of Luther's departure, he was
36:04
Speaker 1: beyond the reach of his persecutors. Satan and his emissaries
36:08
Speaker 1: were defeated. The man whom they had thought in their
36:10
Speaker 1: power was gone, escaped as a bird from the snare
36:13
Speaker 1: of the fowler. At the news of Luther's escape, the
36:17
Speaker 1: Legate was overwhelmed with surprise and anger. He had expected
36:21
Speaker 1: to receive great honor for his wisdom and firmness in
36:24
Speaker 1: dealing with this disturber of the Church, but his hope
36:27
Speaker 1: was disappointed. He gave expression to his wrath and a
36:30
Speaker 1: letter to Frederick, the Elector of Saxony, bitterly denouncing Luther
36:34
Speaker 1: and demanding that Frederick send the Reformer to Rome or
36:37
Speaker 1: banish him from Saxony. In defense, Luther urged that the
36:41
Speaker 1: Legate or the Pope show him his errors from the scriptures,
36:44
Speaker 1: and pledged himself in the most solemn manner, to renounce
36:47
Speaker 1: his doctrines if they could be shown to contradict the
36:50
Speaker 1: word of God. And he expressed his gratitude to God
36:53
Speaker 1: that he had been counted worthy to suffer in so
36:56
Speaker 1: holy a cause. The Elector had as yet little knowledge
37:00
Speaker 1: of the Reformed doctrines, but he was deeply impressed by
37:03
Speaker 1: the candor, force, and clearness of Luther's words, and until
37:07
Speaker 1: the Reformer should be proved to be an error, Frederick
37:10
Speaker 1: resolved to stand as his protector. In reply to the
37:13
Speaker 1: Legate's demand, he wrote, since doctor Martin has appeared before
37:18
Speaker 1: you at Augsburg, you should be satisfied. We did not
37:21
Speaker 1: expect that you would endeavor to make him retract without
37:24
Speaker 1: having convinced him of his errors. None of the learned
37:27
Speaker 1: men in our principality have informed me that Martin's doctrine
37:30
Speaker 1: is impious, anti Christian, or heretical. The Prince refused, moreover
37:35
Speaker 1: to send Luther to Rome or to expel him from
37:37
Speaker 1: his states. The elector saw that there was a general
37:41
Speaker 1: breaking down of the moral restraints of society. A great
37:44
Speaker 1: work of reform was needed. The complicated and expensive arrangements
37:48
Speaker 1: to restrain and punish crime would be unnecessary if men
37:52
Speaker 1: but acknowledged and obeyed the requirements of God and the
37:55
Speaker 1: dictates of an enlightened conscience. He saw that Luther was
37:59
Speaker 1: laboring to secure this object, and he secretly rejoiced that
38:02
Speaker 1: a better influence was making itself felt in the church.
38:06
Speaker 1: He saw also that as a professor in the university,
38:09
Speaker 1: Luther was eminently successful. Only a year had passed since
38:13
Speaker 1: the reformer posted his thesis on the Castle Church, yet
38:17
Speaker 1: there was already a great falling off in the number
38:19
Speaker 1: of pilgrims that visited the church at the Festival of
38:22
Speaker 1: All Saints. Rome had been deprived of worshippers and offerings,
38:26
Speaker 1: but their place was filled by another class who now
38:29
Speaker 1: came to Wittenburg, not pilgrims to adore her relics, but
38:32
Speaker 1: students to fill her halls of learning. The writings of
38:36
Speaker 1: Luther had kindled everywhere a new interest in the Holy scriptures,
38:40
Speaker 1: and not only from all parts of Germany, but from
38:42
Speaker 1: other lands. Students flocked to the university. Young men coming
38:47
Speaker 1: inside of Wittenburg for the first time raised their hands
38:50
Speaker 1: to Heaven and praised God for having caused the light
38:53
Speaker 1: of truth to shine forth from this city, as from
38:56
Speaker 1: Zion in times of old. And whence it spread even
38:59
Speaker 1: to the most distance and countries. Luther was as yet
39:04
Speaker 1: but partially converted from the errors of Romanism. But as
39:07
Speaker 1: he compared the Holy Oracles with the papal decrees and constitutions,
39:11
Speaker 1: he was filled with wonder. I am reading he wrote
39:14
Speaker 1: the decrees of the Pontiffs, and I do not know
39:17
Speaker 1: whether the Pope is Antichrist himself or his apostle, so
39:20
Speaker 1: greatly as Christ misrepresented and crucified in them. Yet, at
39:25
Speaker 1: this time Luther was still a supporter of the Roman Church,
39:27
Speaker 1: and had no thought that he would ever separate from
39:30
Speaker 1: her communion. The reformers writings and his doctrine were extending
39:34
Speaker 1: to every nation in Christendom. The work spread to Switzerland
39:38
Speaker 1: and Holland. Copies of his writings found their way to France,
39:42
Speaker 1: and Spain. In England, his teachings were received as the
39:45
Speaker 1: word of life. To Belgium and Italy. Also, the truth
39:48
Speaker 1: had extended. Thousands were awakening from their deathlike stupor to
39:53
Speaker 1: the joy and hope of a life of faith. Rome
39:57
Speaker 1: became more and more exasperated by the attack of Luther,
40:00
Speaker 1: and it was declared by some of his fanatical opponents,
40:03
Speaker 1: even by doctors and Catholic universities, that he who should
40:07
Speaker 1: kill the rebellious monk would be without sin. One day,
40:10
Speaker 1: a stranger with a pistol hidden under his cloak, approached
40:13
Speaker 1: the reformer and inquired why he went thus alone. I
40:17
Speaker 1: am in God's hands, answered Luther. He is my strength
40:20
Speaker 1: and my shield. What can man do unto me? Upon
40:24
Speaker 1: hearing these words, the stranger turned pale and fled away,
40:27
Speaker 1: as from the presence of the angels of heaven. Rome
40:30
Speaker 1: was bent upon the destruction of Luther. But God was
40:33
Speaker 1: his defense. His doctrines were heard everywhere, in cottages and convents,
40:38
Speaker 1: in the castles of the nobles, in the universities, and
40:41
Speaker 1: in the palaces of kings and noble Men were rising
40:44
Speaker 1: on every hand to sustain his efforts. It was about
40:48
Speaker 1: this time that Luther, reading the works of huss found
40:52
Speaker 1: that the great truth of justification by faith, which he
40:55
Speaker 1: himself was seeking to uphold and teach, had been held
40:57
Speaker 1: by the Bohemian reformer. Of all, said Luther, Paul, Augustine
41:02
Speaker 1: and myself been Hussites without knowing it. God will surely
41:06
Speaker 1: visit it upon the world. He continued that the truth
41:08
Speaker 1: is preached to it a century ago and burned. In
41:12
Speaker 1: an appeal to the Emperor, a nobility of Germany in
41:15
Speaker 1: behalf of the Reformation of Christianity, Luther wrote, concerning the Pope,
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Speaker 1: it is a horrible thing to behold the man who
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Speaker 1: styles himself Christ's viceturant, displaying a magnificence that no emperor
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Speaker 1: can equal. Is this being like the poor Jesus or
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Speaker 1: the humble Peter? He is? Say they the lord of
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Speaker 1: the world. But Christ, whose vicar he boasts of being,
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Speaker 1: has said, my kingdom is not of this world. Can
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Speaker 1: the dominions of a vicar extend beyond those of his superior?
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Speaker 1: He wrote thus of the universities, I am much afraid
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Speaker 1: that the universities will prove to be the great gates
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Speaker 1: of Hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy
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Speaker 1: Scriptures and engraving them in the hearts of youth. I
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Speaker 1: advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures
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Speaker 1: do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are
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Speaker 1: not unceasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt.
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Speaker 1: This appeal was rapidly circulated throughout Germany and exerted a
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Speaker 1: powerful influence upon the people. The whole nation was stirred,
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Speaker 1: and multitudes were roused to rally around the standard of reform.
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Speaker 1: Luther's opponents, burning with a desire for revenge, urged the
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Speaker 1: Pope to take decisive measures against him. It was decreed
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Speaker 1: that his doctrines should be immediately condemned. Sixty days were
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Speaker 1: granted the reformer and his adherents, after which, if they
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Speaker 1: did not recant, they were all to be excommunicated. That
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Speaker 1: was a terrible crisis for the Reformation. For centuries. Rome's
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Speaker 1: sentence of excommunication had struck terror to powerful monarchs. It
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Speaker 1: had filled mighty empires with woe and desolation. Those upon
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Speaker 1: whom its condemnation fell were universally regarded with dread and horror.
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Speaker 1: They were cut off from intercourse with their fellows and
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Speaker 1: treated as outlaws to be high to extermination. Luther was
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Speaker 1: not blind to the tempest about to burst upon him,
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Speaker 1: but he stood firm, trusting in Christ to be his
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Speaker 1: support and shield. With a martyr's faith and courage, he wrote,
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Speaker 1: what is about to happen, I know not, nor do
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Speaker 1: I care to know. Let the blow light where it may.
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Speaker 1: I am without fear, not so much as a leaf
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Speaker 1: falls without the will of our father. How much rather
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Speaker 1: will he care for us. It is a light thing
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Speaker 1: to die for the Word, since the Word which has
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Speaker 1: made flesh, hath himself died. If we die with him,
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Speaker 1: we shall live with him, and, passing through that which
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Speaker 1: he has passed through before us, we shall be where
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Speaker 1: he is and dwell with him forever. When the papal
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Speaker 1: bull reached Luther, he said, I despise and attack it
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Speaker 1: as impious false. It is Christ himself who is condemned.
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Speaker 1: Therein I rejoice in having to bear such ills for
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Speaker 1: the best of causes. Already I feel greater liberty in
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Speaker 1: my heart, for at last I know that the Pope
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Speaker 1: is Antichrist, and that his throne as that of Satan himself.
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Speaker 1: Yet the mandate of Rome was not without effect. Prison,
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Speaker 1: torture and sword were weapons potent to enforce obedience. The
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Speaker 1: weak and superstitious trembled before the decree of the Pope,
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Speaker 1: and while there was general sympathy for Luther, many felt
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Speaker 1: that life was too dear to be risked in the
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Speaker 1: cause of reform. Everything seemed to indicate that the reformer's
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Speaker 1: work was about to close, but Luther was fearless. Still.
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Speaker 1: Rome had hurled her anathemas against him, and the world
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Speaker 1: looked on nothing, doubting that he would perish or be
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Speaker 1: forced to yield. But with terrible power, he flung back
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Speaker 1: upon herself the sentence of condemnation and publicly declared his
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Speaker 1: determination to abandon her forever. In the presence of a
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Speaker 1: crowd of students, doctors, and citizens of all ranks, Luther
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Speaker 1: burned the Pope's bull with the canon, laws, the decretals,
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Speaker 1: and certain writings sustaining the papal power. My enemies have
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Speaker 1: been able by burning my books, he said, to injure
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Speaker 1: the cause of truth in the minds of the common
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Speaker 1: people and destroy their souls. For this reason I consumed
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Speaker 1: their books in return. A serious struggle has just begun
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Speaker 1: hitherto I have been only playing with the pope. I
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Speaker 1: began this work in God's name. It will be ended
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Speaker 1: without me and by His might. To the reproaches of
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Speaker 1: his enemies, who taunted him with the weakness of his cause,
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Speaker 1: Luther answered, who knows if God has not chosen and
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Speaker 1: called me, and if they ought not to fear that
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Speaker 1: by despising me, they despise God himself. Moses was alone
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Speaker 1: at the departure from Egypt, Elijah was alone in the
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Speaker 1: reign of King Ahab, Isaiah alone in Jerusalem, Ezekiel alone
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Speaker 1: in Babylon. God never selected as a prophet either the
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Speaker 1: high priest or any other great personage, but ordinarily he
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Speaker 1: chose low and despised men once, even the shepherd Amos.
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Speaker 1: In every age, the saints have had to reprove the
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Speaker 1: great kings, princes, priests, and wise men at the peril
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Speaker 1: of their lives. I do not say that I am
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Speaker 1: a pro but I say that they ought to fear,
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Speaker 1: precisely because I am alone, and that they are many.
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Speaker 1: I am sure of this, that the Word of God
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Speaker 1: is with me, and that it is not with them.
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Speaker 1: Yet it was not without a terrible struggle with himself
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Speaker 1: that Luther decided upon a final separation from the church.
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Speaker 1: It was about this time that he wrote, I feel
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Speaker 1: more and more every day, how difficult it is to
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Speaker 1: lay aside the scruples which one has imbibed in childhood. Oh,
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Speaker 1: how much pain it has caused me. Though I had
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Speaker 1: the scriptures on my side to justify it to myself,
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Speaker 1: that I should dare to make a stand alone against
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Speaker 1: the Pope and hold him forth as Antichrist? What have
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Speaker 1: the tribulations of my heart not been? How many times
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Speaker 1: have I not asked myself, with bitterness, that question which
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Speaker 1: is so frequent on the lips of the papists. Art
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Speaker 1: thou alone? Wise? Can everyone else be mistaken? How will
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Speaker 1: it be if, after all it is thyself who art wrong,
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Speaker 1: and who art involving in thy error so many souls
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Speaker 1: who will then be eternally damned. Twas so I fought
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Speaker 1: with myself and with Satan, till Christ, by his own
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Speaker 1: infallible word, fortified my heart against these doubts. The Pope
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Speaker 1: had threatened Luther with excommunication if he did not recant,
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Speaker 1: and the threat was now fulfilled. A new bull appeared,
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Speaker 1: declaring the reformer's final separation from the Roman Church, denouncing
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Speaker 1: him as accursed of heaven, and including in the same
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Speaker 1: condemnation all who should receive his doctrines. The great contest
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Speaker 1: had been fully entered upon opposition is the lot of
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Speaker 1: all whom God employs to present truths specially applicable to
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Speaker 1: their time. There was a present truth in the days
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Speaker 1: of Luther, a truth at that time of special importance.
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Speaker 1: There is a present truth for the Church to day.
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Speaker 1: He who does all things according to the council of
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Speaker 1: His Will has been pleased to place men under various circumstances,
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Speaker 1: and to enjoin upon them duties peculiar to the times
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Speaker 1: in which they live and the conditions under which they
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Speaker 1: are placed. If they would prize the light given them,
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Speaker 1: broader views of truth would be opened before them. But
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Speaker 1: truth is no more desired by the majority to day
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Speaker 1: than it was by the papists who opposed Luther. There
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Speaker 1: is the same disposition to accept the theories and traditions
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Speaker 1: of men instead of the word of God as in
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Speaker 1: former ages. Those who present the truth for this time
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Speaker 1: should not expect to be received with greater favor than
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Speaker 1: were earlier reformers. The Great controversy between truth and error,
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Speaker 1: between Christ and Satan is to increase in intensity to
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Speaker 1: the close of this world's history, said Jesus to his disciples.
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Speaker 1: If he were of the world, the world would love
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Speaker 1: his own. But because he are not of the world.
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Speaker 1: But I have chosen you out of the world. Therefore
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Speaker 1: the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said
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Speaker 1: unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord.
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Speaker 1: If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
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Speaker 1: If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
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Speaker 1: And on the other hand, our Lord declared plainly, woe
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Speaker 1: unto you, when all men shall speak well of you,
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Speaker 1: for so did their fathers to the false prophets. The
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Speaker 1: spirit of the world is no more in harmony with
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Speaker 1: the Spirit of Christ to day than in earlier times,
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Speaker 1: And those who preach the Word of God and its
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Speaker 1: purity will be received with no greater favor now than then.
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Speaker 1: The forms of opposition to the truth may change, the
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Speaker 1: enmity may be less open because it is more subtle,
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Speaker 1: but the same antagonism still exists and will be manifested
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Speaker 1: to the end of time. End of Chapter seven