Feast Day of

Martin Luther (1483-1546): Was born in Eisleben, Germany.

His biblical rediscovery of God's grace in Jesus Christ inspired and ignited the sixteenth-century Reformation in the Western Church. His writings, translated into English, fill over fifty volumes.

He started out studying to earn a law degree (at his father's request) but became a monk instead. He was caught in a terrible thunderstorm and was so afraid that he promised St. Anne he would enter a monestary if she would see him through the storm. She did and he did...entering as a member of the Observant Augustinians in 1505.

Because of a strict upbringing, he proved to be an impeccable monk. Praying, fasting, flagellating, and going without sleep, he pursued the rule earnestly, exceeding its requirements. He once said, "If anyone could have earned heaven by the life of a monk, it was I." With a doctorate in theology he became a professor. Yet the nagging question remained: "How can I find a gracious God?" ...

The phrase that bothered Luther the most was "the righteousness of God." Luther and the people of his time believed that God's righteousness was satisfied by a system of cooperation between God's grace, dispensed sacramentally, and human efforts and good works. But the system did not work for Luther. He could find no peace. As Luther dug deeper into holy scripture, he discovered Romans 1:17: "The one who is righteous will live by faith." Luther discovered that faith is a gift given by the Holy Spirit. We are made right with God by grace through faith in Christ alone, apart from the works of the law. The whole Bible took on a new meaning in light of the gracious God known in Christ. Luther said he felt born again. ...

After this spiritual awakening to God's unconditional and unmerited grace in Jesus Christ, Luther publicly questioned the system of indulgences in ninety-five theses, followed by a variety of treatises promoting reform in the church. With the political support of the emperor, he was able to stand against the power of the papacy; and the Protestant Reformation began. ...

Luther wrote the Small Catechism to nurture Christians in the basics of faith, and he composed many hymns, including "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." He translated the Latin mass into German. ... On February 16, 1546, just before he died, Luther wrote down his last words, "We are all beggars. That is true." Luther's life taught him that we are beggars and sinners; yet God loves us, accepts us, and saves us as we are, with no conditions.

Most of this information came from MethodX