Martin Luther

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MARTIN LUTHER: THE RELUCTANT REVOLUTIONARY PROF. M. M. NINAN that every word might be established through the mouth of two or three witnesses. It must give rise to suspicion that in order to substantiate this doctrine no more than one passage could be discovered in the entire Bible; moreover this passage is in the least important and most despised book. Especially since so much depends on this doctrine which is so important that, indeed, the papacy and the whole hierarchy are all but built upon it, and derive all their wealth and honor from it. Surely, the majority of the priests would starve to death if there were no purgatory. Well, they should not offer such vague and feeble grounds for our faith! Career of the Reformer II, Luther’s Works, Vol. 32 Purgatory, Luther argued, is not only unbiblical, but undermines the doctrine of salvation sola fide, sola gratia, solo Christos. Luther wrote, “Purgatory is the greatest falsehood because it is based on ungodliness and unbelief; for they deny that faith saves, and they maintain that satisfaction for sins is the cause of salvation. Therefore he who is in purgatory is in hell itself; for these are his thoughts: ‘I am a sinner and must render satisfaction for my sins; therefore I shall make a will and shall bequeath a definite amount of money for building churches and for buying prayers and sacrifices for the dead by the monks and priests.’ Such people die in a faith in works and have no knowledge of Christ. Indeed, they hate Him. We die in faith in Christ, who died for our sins and rendered satisfaction for us. He is my Bosom, my Paradise, my Comfort, and my Hope.” “Of purgatory there is no mention in Holy Scripture; it is a lie of the devil, in order that the papists may have some market days and snares for catching money. . . We deny the existence of a purgatory and of a limbo of the fathers in which they say that there is hope and a sure expectation of liberation. But these are figments of some stupid and bungling sophist.” C. Indulgences There is indeed clear scriptural support on indulgence. selling of the indulgence for money. Only part Luther repudiated was the Jesus sent out his Apostles saying “As the Father has sent Me, So I send you” Then he says: “Receive the Holy Spirit”“If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them” “If you hold them bound, they are held bound” This power was given to the Apostles and Evangelists. This is interpreted by the Catholics as now represented by the Priests. Luther claimed that this power is with all believers as he declared the Preisthood of all believers. D. Communion, Eucharistic Mass, Transubstantiation Communion is a fellowship meal The central act of Christian worship is a mystery embodied in a meal. Luther’s early Eucharistic theology is present in The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ. In this 1519 work, Luther states: 100
MARTIN LUTHER: THE RELUCTANT REVOLUTIONARY PROF. M. M. NINAN “The significance or purpose of this sacrament is the fellowship of all saints, whence it derives its common name synaxis or communio, that is, fellowship; and communicare means to take part in this fellowship, or as we say, to go to the sacrament, because Christ and all saints are one spiritual body, just as the inhabitants of a city are one community and body, each citizen being a member of the other and a member of the entire city. This fellowship is of such a nature that all the spiritual possessions of Christ and His saints are imparted and communicated to him who receives this sacrament.” (Martin Luther,1519 Treatise Concerning the Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ (Princeton: Princeton University Press)) “Therefore, it comes about that no one attains grace because he is absolved or baptized or receives Communion or is anointed, but because he believes that he attains grace by being absolved, baptized, receiving Communion, and being anointed in this way. It is not the sacrament but faith in the sacrament that justifies. Likewise the well-known statement of St. Augustine: “it justifies not because it is performed, but because it is believed.” Martin Luther, Lectures on Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968), 172. This work, published in 1520-1521, demonstrates a progression in Luther’s theology from that of his 1519 work on the Blessed Sacrament..]” 1849 Encylical of Pius IX and the concept of Mary being crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth. The Rejection of Mass as a Sacrifice This is because this has been done once and for all at the cross of Calvary. Eucharist involves a sacrifice of praise and self-offering that unites the believer with the sacrifice of Christ. The Sacrifice of Christ itself was a one-time event that is not “repeated” in the Eucharistic celebration. According to theRoman Catholic New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism, vol 2, question 357, "The mass is the sacrifice of the new law in which Christ, through the Ministry of the priest, offers himself to God in an unbloody manner under the appearances of bread and wine. The mass is the sacrifice of Christ offered in a sacramental manner . . . the reality is the same but the appearances differ." Question 358 asks "What is a sacrifice?" The answer given is "A sacrifice is the offering of a victim by a priest to God alone, and the destruction of it in some way to knowledge that he is the creator of all things." From the Baltimore catechism we can conclude that the mass is the offering of Christ by a priest. 101
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Martin Luther

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