FAQ

Who is martin luther anyway?

A Short Biography of Dr. Martin Luther

Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, a little town in Saxony, northern Germany. His parents were ordinary middle class people, but very religious. His father worked in the mines. In 1501, at the age of 17, he entered the University of Erfurt, and graduated with his Master’s Degree four years later.

His father wanted him to study law, but Martin was more interested in religion.

Martin thought that being a monk was the best way to be sure of being saved, so in 1505, he entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt He was ordained as a priest in 1507. There he found a Bible–the first Bible he had ever had a chance to read; and now he devoted all his spare time to studying the Scriptures.

In 1510 Martin was sent to Rome on monastery business. While on this trip he saw how corrupt the church of his day had become, and how ignorant the people were. Martin was made a Doctor of Theology in 1512. Then he was called to become a professor at the University of Wittenberg, a position he held until he died.

At Wittenberg Luther lectured on the Bible, and it was there that he made his great “discovery”–that a person is not saved by his own good works, but by trusting in the merits and death of Jesus.

In 1517 another priest, John Tetzel, came to a nearby town in a province just beyond the border of Saxony on his mission of selling indulgences. People were told that by the purchase of these certificates of penance, which were a cancellation of works of penance, they could gain release from purgatory for themselves and even for friends or relatives who had already died. Luther then decided that he must without delay share with others what he had learned about the way to salvation. He published 95 theses (sentences) which showed how far the church had moved away from the teaching of the Bible. This was on October 31, 1517, which we now celebrate as Reformation Day because it marks the beginning of the great Reformation of the Church.

These theses were not favorably received by the church authorities, however, and Luther was sharply criticized. The Pope issued a ban, ordering him to be silent and to say or write no more on this topic. In 1519 Luther had a great public debate with a famous professor, Dr. Eck, in Leipzig; it was there that Luther boldly declared that the Pope and the church were teaching things contrary to the Bible.

As a result of Martin’s criticism of the church, the Pope excommunicated him in 1520 and ordered him to take back all that he had said. In 1521 Luther was required to appear before Emperor Charles V in the city of Worms, to be questioned about what he had said and written. Martin bravely stated that he would not take back any of his statements, since he was simply teaching what the Bible taught. The emperor issued an order making Luther an outlaw, subject to arrest and death.

Martin stayed in Saxony, spending all his time in teaching, counseling and writing, because the Elector of Saxony, Prince Frederick, would not permit the Emperor’s men to arrest him anywhere in Saxony.

In 1522 Luther translated the entire New Testament from Greek into German to replace a number of inadequate translations of the official Latin Bible. In 1534 he completed the translation of the Old Testament from the Hebrew language.

In his concern for the pure Gospel, which he had learned from the Scriptures, Luther visited all the churches in Saxony.

In 1529 he published his Small Catechism, so that the priests and the people would have a clear, simple summary of the main teachings of the Bible.

On June 25th 1530 the Augsburg Confession was delivered so that the emperor could determine what the doctrine of Luther and his followers really was. This is still the basic statement of what Lutherans believe.

For the next sixteen years Martin wrote hymns, articles, books and letters–so many that his writings fill more than fifty large volumes in English.

Martin Luther died on February 18, 1546, at the age of 62, in his birthplace, Eisleben –one of the greatest servants God has given to His Church.