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II. The Ninety-Five Theses

A. Sale of Indulgences

Indulgences were certificates supplied by the pope for a fee. The people were led to believe that by buying indulgences they were buying pardons for their dead relatives and friends in purgatory, and that if enough indulgences were purchased, a relative could be spared from purgatory entirely. A common saying to promote the sale of indulgences was, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, at once the soul up to heaven springs.” All sorts of techniques were used to sell the indulgences.

One seller of indulgences was Tetzel, who made the mistake of coming to where Luther was to try to sell his indulgences. The closer Tetzel got to Wittenberg, the more upset Luther became. By speaking out against the sale of indulgences, Luther thought he was defending the Church’s honor.

B. Posting of Theses

Having taken all he could, on October 31, 1517, Luther drew up a group of ninety-five theses and nailed them on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. This became the spark that ignited the Reformation. But to Luther it merely meant that he wanted to debate; this was a common means of indicating such a challenge. After all, he was a professor at the university. This gave him the right to debate, and he also felt that he had the grounds to debate. One thesis among the ninety-five stated that only God can forgive sins and this without money. Being greatly stirred by the situation, Luther also addressed a letter to the archbishop in which he wrote that Christ has nowhere commanded indulgences to be preached, only the gospel. Within two weeks these theses had spread throughout Germany, thanks to the invention of the printing press about fifty years prior.

It should be pointed out that God in His sovereignty had arranged the right environment for the Reformation. This was truly the fullness of the time for the Lord’s work of recovery. The printing press was a relatively new invention. Columbus had only recently discovered the New World. In l517 Magellan was preparing for his voyage around the world which, in effect, would open up the whole world to travel and, consequently, the gospel. We can only worship the Lord for how He brought all these events together to bring men out of darkness into light, out of the region and shadow of death into a place of liberty.