October is Heritage Month
at The Presbyterian Church of Wyoming
Martin Luther (1483–1546)
We are just now into the 501st anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The term, “Protestant” came from the pejorative word given to these leaders of “protest” against the established order and authority of the Roman Church. Seeking reform within that church, Luther struck a chord of protest that resounded through the world of the time. Presbyterians are Protestors. How about that! This is a protest against any authority that seeks to usurp God’s role revealed in Scripture and witnessed to us by the Holy Spirit.
“On October 19, 1512, at the age of 28, Luther received his doctor’s degree in theology, and von Staupitz turned over to him the chair in biblical theology at the University of Wittenberg, which Luther held the rest of his life. “As Luther set to work reading, studying, and teaching Scripture from the original languages, his troubled conscience seethed beneath the surface — especially as he confronted the phrase “the righteousness of God” in Romans 1:16–17. To Luther, “the righteousness of God” could only mean one thing: God’s righteous punishment of sinners. The phrase was not “gospel” to him; it was a death sentence.
But then, in the work of a moment, all Luther’s hatred for the righteousness of God turned to love. He remembers, “At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, “In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’” . . . And this is the meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which [the] merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, “He who through faith is righteous shall live.” (John Piper, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/here-he-stood).
In time, Luther was dismissed as a Priest of the Roman Church. Many began to experience the spiritual freedom of the Gospel because of Luther’s teaching and writing. His followers began to be known as Lutherans.
Passion for the Scriptures as authoritative and God’s Word to us was ignited across Europe. This movement led to massive change when the printing press was invented and the printed Bible was available for mass distribution.
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