October 11, 2021

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.  Proverbs 12:15

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.  Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25

As the sale of indulgences relentlessly continued, Martin determined to more fervently protest the presumptuous pretenses of authority by the church. Another practice heavily encouraged by the church was the veneration of relics, which stemmed from the old pagan practice of ancestor worship. The castle church at Wittenberg possessed many relics (skulls, etc), which were placed on exhibition on certain holy days. Anyone who came to venerate the relics on such an appointed day was granted “full remission of sins.” One of the largest such festivals was “All Saints Day,” November 1st. So on the day before, October 31, 1517, Luther nailed his famous protest to the door. This day was known as “All Hallows Eve,” from which we get the term “Halloween.”

Luther’s protest, from which we have the term Protestant, contained 95 Biblical propositions against the doctrine of indulgences. His purpose was to challenge discussion and debate. The 95 theses clearly laid out the Biblical truth, showing that the power to grant pardon for sin and to remove its penalty belongs to God. Luther’s propositions revealed that the scheme was to extort money by playing upon peoples’ superstitions and guilt; but the deeper truth, that it is a device of Satan to destroy souls who trust in these lying pretensions, was clearly communicated.

Luther’s 95 theses also expressed that the gospel of Christ is the most valuable treasure of His church. This gospel reveals the grace of God which is bestowed freely on everyone who seeks it by repentance and faith.

Luther’s challenge reverberated throughout Christendom. Many other devotees of the Roman faith had also lamented the corruptions they saw in the church. They read the 95 theses with joy and felt that the Lord had graciously set His hand to stem the tide of iniquity issuing from Rome. But the multitudes who were content with their sin (and the sophistries that supposedly swept it away) were upset that their peace, albeit a false peace, was being disturbed. While the gospel is the rock of truth, manmade doctrines added to it are untempered mortar. If used together for wall building, the wall will not stand.

“My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar—say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall.” Ezekiel 13:10-11a