Main A Unique Vessel A Strong Stand A Reformer and Shepherd

I. Early Life and Training

A. Early Life

Martin Luther was born in Eisleben in Saxony on November 10, 1483. He was born of simple parents. His father, a miner, was an upright and industrious man. His mother was of middle class origin.

When Luther was six months old his family moved to Mansfeld. At seven years of age he went to the local Latin school. He entered the school of the Brethren of the Common Life at Magdeburg when he was fourteen, at which time he exercised simple faith in Jesus Christ and opened his heart to the Lord.

The following year he moved in with his relatives in Eisenach and continued his education there. He could be seen going about the city singing in the streets. Some say he did this to beg for bread, indicating the financial state of his family. Others claim that there was nothing wrong with his parents, financially speaking, but that he just loved to sing. In either case, songs and hymns were of great importance to Luther then and in his later years.

B. Training

1. University of Erfurt

At eighteen years of age he went to the University of Erfurt where, in 1502, he received the bachelor's degree, followed by the master’s degree three years later. His intention was to become a lawyer.

It is interesting to note that it was not until Luther was twenty years old that he first saw a Bible. This was a Latin Bible which he found in the university library at Erfurt.

2. Augustinian Monastery

Although he had little or no knowledge of Scripture, from an early age Martin Luther desired to be saved from hell and to be rewarded with going to heaven. He knew God as the God of Mount Sinai rather than the God of Calvary; he had an intense fear of the wrath of God. Throughout all his studies he did not find the inner peace that he longed for, even when taking up theological studies. A change in the course of Luther’s life was brought about by a series of events, including an illness, an accident, the death of a close friend, and a violent thunderstorm in which he felt his life was threatened. As a result of all these he decided to give up the world, as he called it, and devote himself, his whole life, to serve God. Since he knew of no other way to do this but to become a monk, in 1505 he entered the Augustinian Monastery at Erfurt. Two years later he was ordained a priest.

Luther was chosen by the Augustinian order to represent them on a mission to Rome several years after his ordination. As he journeyed be became excited upon seeing Rome in the distance. When be reached the city be saluted it saying, “Hail, Holy Rome!” But the more he saw of Rome and the actual situation there, the more disillusioned he became. He was especially disappointed with the low level of morality among the priests.

During this visit to Rome some light began to dawn upon Martin Luther. In hope of obtaining an indulgence promised by the pope, he went to what was called Pilate’s Staircase in Rome and began crawling up it on his knees. While doing this he was halted by the words of the Scriptures which came to him: “The just shall live by faith.” This was like a great light that shone upon Luther. That realization was to have a strong impact on his life in later years.

3. Professor at Wittenberg

In 1508 he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at Wittenberg. In addition to teaching, he continued his studies at the university. Four years later he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology, at which time he declared two things: firstly, from that day forward he would preach the Bible, and secondly, he would help people understand the Word. This was a wonderful goal that Luther set for himself.

C. Change of Views

Gradually his views were changing. The more the light shone on him, the more he could not hold on to his former views.

1. From Philosophy to Scripture

Although philosophy had intrigued Luther for many years, this was giving way to a love of the Word. For his students he had some special Bibles printed with wide margins and wide spaces between the lines. This was to help them take notes from his lectures and from their own study of the Word.

As he opened the Word and got into it, Luther became more assured of his salvation, especially as he read the book of Romans and the Psalms as well. In addition to these two books he lectured on Galatians, Hebrews, Titus, and Judges. While studying Romans he was struck with 1:17: “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” One biographer wrote:

This was Luther’s great moment of discovery. He said later, “It seemed to me as if I had been born again and as if I had entered paradise through newly opened doors. All at once the Bible began to speak in quite a different way to me…. The very phrase “the righteousness of God,’ which I had hated before, was the one that now I loved the best of all. That is how that passage of Paul’s became for me the gateway to paradise.” [1]

Luther now felt free. The terror of God that he formerly felt had vanished. The gospel was clearer to him now than ever before. He saw himself, and every Christian, as, “Always a sinner, always sorry for his sins, always right with God.” Previously, righteousness, justice, and punishment seemed to go together leaving him in a state of fear. Now he saw that grace and righteousness are God’s gifts to us, not something we gain by fasting, giving money to the poor, repeating prayers, or receiving the sacraments. Luther was stirred to share this truth with others, but the more he shared it, the more trouble he caused.

2. Influence of Augustine, Bernard, and Tauler

Three people had a strong influence on Martin Luther. The first was Augustine, through whom he saw how necessary faith is for righteousness. The second was Bernard of Clairvaux, whose hymns Luther appreciated. A hymn by Bernard begins:

The third was Tauler, a mystic. Although Luther does not seem to have adopted many items associated with mysticism, he was helped to see clearly that man can have immediate communion with God independent of the sacraments and the so-called means of grace of the Roman Church.

3. Basis of salvation

Although he still considered himself a devout Roman Catholic, a faithful son of the Church, Luther was beginning to see the true basis of salvation. He saw, for instance, that the grace of God is through faith in Christ alone; man’s good works are just man’s sin, having nothing to do with salvation. He also saw the need for an inward righteousness to be worked into our being through the Holy Spirit and the Word. Luther viewed election and predestination as aspects of God’s grace for sinful man. The life that the sinner must live is one of faith with grace; since the new life begins with faith, it must continue in the same way.

The more Martin Luther saw, the more distance there was between him and the Catholic Church. Yet Luther seemed unaware, at first, of this discrepancy. He thought that these were surely matters which the Church had seen and agreed with all along. He did not realize that his views were gradually becoming diametrically opposed to the Roman Church’s teachings.

4. Work of Christ

Luther saw that the work of Christ fulfilled the law. It was Christ who bore our sins. He Himself is the object of our faith and hope. Christ lives or dwells in us by faith. Christ is in the Word as bread to us; the more we touch the Word, the more we enjoy Him as our bread.

5. The Church

Luther saw how the Catholic bishops, supposedly the leaders of the Church, were not preaching from the Word nor teaching the people the Word, which he felt should be their prime duty. Instead, they filled their Sunday sermons with legends and with the opinions of men. Strangely, though, Luther continued to maintain that obedience to the Catholic Church was obedience to Christ. This was soon to change also.