We start today right where we left off last Sunday. Martin Luther at the door of the Castle Church. We ALL know what happened there don’t we? Well today we’ll do a little ‘myth busting’ and learning. Our topic today is “The Theses” and “The Tower”. The Theses may be self explanatory, but the Tower may be a new concept for you. The Tower refers to what scholars call Luther’s Reformation Breakthrough or his encounter with the Gospel that changes his life…and ours. I’ve been waiting for this, it’s going to be a fun hour!

Thesis and Theses the·sis noun plural noun: theses 1. A statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or provedThe posting of theses was a common occurrence in all universities at this time. From the University of Wittenberg Statutes (1502): “the rights of the doctor [Teacher] include the right to hold disputations on any subject and to preside over the granting of degrees, for which a candidate had to defend theses written by his teacher”. The theses were to be posted, “on the doors of the churches in town.”Just weeks before the “95 Theses” on October 31, 1517 - Luther had a “97 Theses on Scholastic Theology “ posted on September 4th that his student Franz Günther defended. The “97 Theses” is actually more controversial to the Roman Catholic Curia yet there is no recorded response. However within weeks of the posting of the “95 Theses” on Indulgence all of Saxony and every major city in Germany was in an uproar… How and why did this happen? Let’s look at the background…

The Jubilee Indulgence :

MARTIN LUTHER PAGE 21

in·dul·gence 2. historical (in the Roman Catholic Church) a grant by the Pope of remission of the temporal punishment in purgatory still due for sins after absolution. The unrestricted sale of indulgences by pardoners was a widespread abuse during the later Middle Ages.

WEEK 5 - The Theses & The TowerWhy The World Changed

The Indulgence controversy that inspired Luther’s “95 Theses” was an elaborate secret scheme between Albert of Brandenburg and Pope Leo X. Leo sold the vacant Archbishop of Mainz position (His third position) to Albert for 10,000 gold ducats that he borrowed from the bank to pay. Leo and Albert agreed to sell a new “Plenary” Jubilee Indulgence in Albert’s territories. The proceeds would be split 50/50 half to Albert to repay the loan and half to Leo to build St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. This was unknown to anyone at the time…

Pope Leo XAlbrecht of Mainz

St. Peter’s Basilica

The Players

“All Glory Be to God Alone”

1. All glory be to God alone, Forevermore the Highest One,

Who doth our sinful race befriend And grace and peace to us extend. Among mankind may His good will

All hearts with deep thanksgiving fill

(Hymn builds to the last two verses)

5. Thou only art the Holy One; Thou art o'er all things Lord alone.

O Jesus Christ, we glorify Thee only as the Lord Most High;

Thou art, the Holy Ghost with Thee, One in the Father's majesty.

6 Amen, this ever true shall be, As angels sing adoringly.

By all creation, far and wide, Thou, Lord, art ever glorified;

And Thee all Christendom doth praise Now and through everlasting days.

Behold, His glory filleth all the earth!" The beams and lintels trembled at the

Words & Music byMartin Luther 1

(1537)

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Treasury of Merit

Roman Catholic Catechism1476 “This treasury includes as well the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable, and even pristine in their value before God. In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission in the unity of the Mystical Body.” 1471 “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.”2

The Pope Owns The Treasury

“The distribution of the merits contained in the treasury of the Church is an exercise of authority (potestas iurisdictionis), not of the power conferred by Holy orders (potestas ordinis). Hence the pope, as supreme head of the Church on earth, can grant all kinds of indulgences to any and all of the faithful; and he alone can grant plenary indulgences.” 3

“As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul out of

purgatory springs”

“with this document and the giving of the monies for it, gives full and complete remission of sins.”

Name

Date

Location

Actual Jubilee Indulgence from 1517

Johann Tetzel - (1465 - 1519)

2003 Tetzel 1953 Tetzel

At this time the selling of indulgences was common place in the church. The real abuse here is the fact that, 1. No contrition was either expected or asked for. 2. The transfer of title to others. 3. The assumption of sins forgiven other than penance satisfied.

Luther’s 95 Theses We ALL know what really happened don’t we? It could be time for some “myth busting”.

Questions?1. Did it Really Happen? 2. Was it Actually Nailed? 3. What Was Luther’s Intent? 4. What Were Luther’s Expectations? 5. Why October 31, 1517? 5. What Does it Actually Say?Content of The ThesesUsually the first reaction after the reading the 95 Theses is something like, “Is that it?” There is really no critique of the Roman Catholic Church. There is no critique of the practice of Indulgences only questions about their abuse. There is no critique of, or the questioning of, the reality of Purgatory. There is really nothing in the Theses that gives a hint of what is to come. In short, there is no “smoking gun”It is the unlikely “reaction” to the Theses that sets snowball rolling down the hill. Immediate AftermathNot knowing the “arrangement” with the Pope, not only does Luther post the Theses on the Castle Church door, he the same day 10/31/1517. The same day he sends a copy and a personal letter to Albrecht humbly asking him to to look into the matter. Within 2 weeks additional printers are printing versions of the Theses in both Latin and German… It has become the 16th Century version of the “Walking Dead” The world literally changes - the age of mass communication has broken the separation of class, education, a fire has started that feeds off itself and is still ablaze.

Luther not only posted the 95 Theses in Wittenberg, he sent a copy of them and a letter to

Archbishop Albrecht on 10/31/1517

The Age of Celebrity & The Best Seller Begins

Luther’s “Breakthrough” / “Breakout”Turmerlebnis The “Tower Experience”The Reformation “Breakthrough” of Martin Luther his “Salvation experience” is one of the most discussed and debated aspects of Luther’s life. Luther discusses it several times in Table Talk and at length in his preface to the first published “Works of Luther” in 1545. Luther’s “Breakthrough” can actually be described as his understanding and embracing of the Gospel of Christ alone (Justification by Faith)and his “Breakout” from the Roman Catholic belief and practice of “Penance”. In reality a “new faith”, and a “new practice”. It would very soon demand both a new “Religion” and a new “Church”.How and when did this take place? The simple answer is… No one knows! It is very strange that of the 2 principal “magisterial” Reformers, Luther and Calvin, there is very little known of the exact details of when they came to trust Christ alone for their Salvation. As far as Luther goes we know how - here is his testimony being in his “Tower” at the Augustinian Monastery studying Romans 1:17

Luther says he is in his heated room at the “Tower” which no longer exists today. Luther’s study was right off of the first floor of the Monastery separated from the rest of the house. It is NOT the tower in the front of the building that many believe it is. There was no “room” there at the time.

The problem is the “timing” of the exact event. It is my belief that this was not a single earth shattering one time event, but a gradual coming to understand what this new found “faith” would lead him to. Between 1517 when he pens the Theses and 1520 when he pens his 3 Ecclesiastical and Theological masterpieces, The Freedom of a Christian, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church , and To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther comes full circle and is not only denies Purgatory & Penance but declares by the burning of his Papal Bull that the Pope is “Antichrist”

MARTIN LUTHER PAGE 23

“A Sermon onIndulgences and Grace”

It was 8 pages, 1500 words, 20 short 2+ sentence paragraphs and written in the language of the common people. It became the first “Best Seller” and cultural media sensation. Even people who could not read bought the book. For the first time for sale on the streets and shops was a book that anyone could afford, and the story itself was told in the art woodcut of the title page. In just a few short months an obscure Augustinian monk in an obscure little German city became the first modern day celebrity.

Within weeks after posting the Theses, all of Germany is a buzz with the “monk in Wittenberg. Luther quickly pens an explanation of the 95 Theses and dedicates it with a letter to Pope Leo. Luther’s purpose was clearly pastoral. When the noise does not die down Luther writes a short and simple book in German called “A Sermon on Indulgences and Grace”. From April through December of 1518 It goes through 13 printings (13,000 copies) in less than 30 days of its release, and becomes the most popular book ever printed. Luther went from being an unknown monk in an out of the way town to becoming the most popular person in Europe in the span of only a few months. He did not predict it, plan it, expect it, nor at the time even want it … That is the real story of Martin Luther and the Dawn of the Reformation. Luther himself will later say that, “The word did it

“I began to understand that in this verse the justice of God is that by which the just person lives by a gift of God, that is by faith. I began to understand that this verse means that the justice of God is revealed through the Gospel, but it is a passive justice, i.e. that by which the merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written: "The just person lives by faith." All at once I felt that I had been born again and entered into paradise itself through open gates. Immediately I saw the whole of Scripture in a different light.” (Preface to His “Printed Works “ (1545)

Luther’s Study & “Tower”

Bibliography & Notes1. Luther, Martin. The Hymns of Martin Luther.: Concordia Pub House, 2016. 14. Print.

2. The Catechism of the Catholic Church - The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm.

3. The Catholic Encyclopedia - Indulgences, http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=6095

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Q&A ...My Take a Ways...

Can you see how it was God not Luther that used the 95 Theses?

Can you relate to Luther’s “Tower Experience”?

Did you “Think hard, and be honest”?

“What I did toppled heaven and consumed earth by fire. I am denounced to the pope, commanded to go to Rome, and the entire papacy rises up against me alone.”

Luther on The 95 Theses(Preface to his “Works” 1545)

NEXT WEEK (Sunday January 29th)1520The most pivotal year in the life of Luther and the Reformation. We’ll follow Martin from Jan writing through the Dec. burning of the his Papal Bull…

All glory be to God alone,

Forevermore the Highest One,

Who doth our sinful race befriend

And grace and peace to us extend.

Among mankind may His good will

All hearts with deep thanksgiving fill

We praise Thee, God, and Thee we bless;

We worship Thee in humbleness;

From day to day we glorify,

The Everlasting God on high.

Of Thy great glory do we sing,

And e'er to Thee our thanks we bring.

Lord God, our King on heaven's throne,

Our Father, the Almighty One.

O Lord, the Sole-begotten One,

Lord Jesus Christ, the Father's Son,

True God from all eternity,

O Lamb of God, to Thee we flee.

Thou dost the world's sin take away;

Have mercy on us, Lord, we pray.

Thou dost the world's sin take away;

Give ear unto the prayer we say.

Thou sitt'st at God's right hand for aye;

Have mercy on us, Lord, we pray.

Thou only art the Holy One;

Thou art o'er all things Lord alone.

O Jesus Christ, we glorify

Thee only as the Lord Most High;

Thou art, the Holy Ghost with Thee,

One in the Father's majesty.

Amen, this ever true shall be,

As angels sing accordingly.

By all creation, far and wide,

Thou, Lord, art ever glorified;

And Thee all Christendom doth praise

Now and through everlasting days.

O Lamb of God, to Thee we flee.

All Glory Be To God Alone(All Ehr und Lob soll Gottes Sein)

1537