Who Was Martin Luther?
Question 13002
Today, October 31st, marks Reformation Day. So who was Martin Luther?
Luther was a German monk, tormented by his sin, desperately trying to earn salvation through religious practices and good works. He found no peace.
Then, whilst studying Romans 1:17 – “the righteous shall live by faith” – everything changed. He realised salvation doesn’t come through our works but through faith in Jesus alone.
On this day in 1517 – 508 years ago – Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, challenging the Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences and the entire system of earning salvation through works.
Luther gave us the five “solas”:
• Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone
• Sola Fide – Faith alone
• Sola Gratia – Grace alone
• Solus Christus – Jesus alone
• Soli Deo Gloria – Glory to God alone
He translated the Bible into German so ordinary people could read it. He recovered the gospel of grace that had been buried under centuries of tradition.
But we cannot ignore the dark side. Later in life, Luther wrote horrifically antisemitic things. In 1543 he published “On the Jews and Their Lies,” calling for synagogues to be burned and Jewish people to be persecuted. It was evil. Four centuries later, the Nazis quoted his words to justify their atrocities.
What do we learn? Never follow any man uncritically. Test everything against Scripture. Luther got the gospel right but got other things catastrophically wrong.
We stand against all Antisemitism. We owe them the gospel, the Scriptures, and Jesus Himself – “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).
Luther was used mightily by God to recover gospel truth. But he was also a sinner who wrote wicked things. Both are true.
Take the Biblical truth Luther recovered. Completely reject his Antisemitism.
Happy Reformation Day!
