REFORMATION DAY is observed annually on October 31. It was on that date in the year 1517 that a 33-year-old Augustinian friar named Martin Luther nailed his Disputation on the Power & Efficacy of Indulgences (also known as The Ninety-Five Theses) on the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther did this knowing it would be widely viewed the next day in the heart of the Holy Roman Empire1 on the Roman Catholic holy day of All Saints’ Day.

Luther’s letter had its desired effect: it was widely read and eventually led to his excommunication by Pope Leo X on January 3, 1521.

Endnotes

1. What is now Germany was in the heart of the (Roman Catholic) Holy Roman Empire, of which Voltaire famously said, “…is neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire….”

2. The even more famous statement, “Here I stand. I can do no other,” is disputed, but may also have been among his expressed sentiments.

3. Martin Luther, Disputation on the Power & Efficacy of Indulgences Commonly Known as The Ninety-Five Theses (first published 1517; Merchant Books, 2015), Thesis 7.

4. Council of Trent, Session 22 (17 September 1562), “Canons on the Sacrifice of the Mass,” Canon 3, in General Council of Trent: Twenty-Second Session, Papal Encyclicals Online, https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/trent/twenty-second-session.htm.

5. Martin Luther, Ninety-Five Theses, Theses 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 25, 26, and 29.

6. Luther, Thesis 18.

7. Luther, Thesis 25.

8. Luther, Theses 38, 41, 42, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 64, 69, 70, 71, 73, 75, 77, 78, 81, and 91.

9. Luther, Thesis 71.

10. Luther, Thesis 73.

11. Probably not these exact words, as he was speaking German, and the English rhyme would not be relevant.

12. Luther, Ninety-Five Theses, Thesis 75.

13. Luther, Thesis 77.

14. See Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), nos. 881–82.

15. Luther’s Works, Vol. 34: Career of the Reformer IV (Concordia Publishing House, 1960), pp. 336–37.

16. Martin Luther, On The Jews and Their Lies (first published 1543; CPA Book Publisher, n.d.), p. 26. [This is the non-scholarly version, omitting long theological dissertations.]

17. Luther, On The Jews, p. 17.

18. Luther, On The Jews,p. 33.

19. Luther, On The Jews, pp. 39-42.

20. Luther, On The Jews, p. 49.

21. Luther, On The Jews, p. 56.

22. Luther, On The Jews, p. 57.

23. Luther, On The Jews, p. 57.

We can truly say with Paul, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12). All we who love Christ deeply talk with Him constantly; He is our Lord, dearest friend, and Savior. We have authenticated His Word over and over in its archaeological, historical, internal, external, and prophetic proofs, and in its witness to our conscience. Times without number we have experienced the fulfillment of its promises to us in our daily lives. Nothing could ever justifiably shake our trust in Him.

Yet even some Christians are plagued with doubts and in need of encouragement from other believers through God’s Word. There are non-Christians, too, who sincerely seek answers to legitimate questions. They ask us for solid reasons for our faith, and we must be “ready always to give an answer…” (1 Peter 3:15).

BEFORE MAN WAS CREATED, Satan had already rebelled and taken countless angels with him. How many angels and how long before, we don’t know. Tragically, the insurrection spread from heaven to earth. At Satan’s enticement, the first man and woman defied their Maker, bringing destruction and death upon this new race which God had created in His image.

This mutiny had not caught God by surprise but was proceeding exactly as He had foreknown. He was still on the throne of the universe. How could man rebel against God’s absolute authority? Clearly, God had sovereignly given man the ability to submit to Him willingly in love. The ability to say yes, however, was meaningless without the equal ability to say no. Thus, the door God opened to loving submission could be slammed shut in willful revolt—as Adam and Eve had done.

Some Christians suggest that God willed for Adam and Eve to break His commandment not to eat of the tree of knowledge. Yet sin of any kind is contrary to God’s will. He must therefore have allowed sin to enter this world in order to further His ultimate purpose for mankind, all of whom He loves with an infinite love—the only kind of love that God, who is love, bestows.