October 31 in Christian History

On October 31, 1517, a German monk armed with nothing but the word of God took on the entire western world and changed Christianity forever.

As Europe made its way into the 16th century, the storm clouds were brewing for a tempest centuries in the making. The Holy Roman empire held a tight grip over Europe. As Germany languished in poverty, the pope sent spokesmen to collect money from the peasants to add to the grandeur of Rome. The peasants were told that they must pay money for the forgiveness of sins and deliverance from purgatory for loved ones.

The Catholic church held that only the highest-ranking church officials could accurately interpret scripture. As the church became rife with corruption and greed, the common Christian was kept in ignorance. Harsh penalties were dealt to anyone who would dare challenge the authority of the church on any matter. Meanwhile, Europe descended into legalism and superstition.

Martin Luther was a fiery young monk who had been wrought with guilt and fear until he came to an understand of God’s abundant grace offered through faith. He stumbled upon the words of Paul in Romans 1:17: ”The Just shall live by faith.” These words transformed Luther’s understanding of God and released him from the fearful message of works and religiosity.

“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would steak his life on it a thousand times,” wrote Luther. And on the morning of October 31, 1517, he did exactly that.

As Pope Leo X sent a new wave of emissaries to collect money from the people, Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the doors of the Whittenburg university chapel. In them, Luther laid out a devastating critique of indulgences, church corruption, and the false religiosity that plagued Christendom. The German population took up his outcry, and the 95 Thesis were published and distributed all over Europe in an event that set the reformation in motion.

When ordered to recant his views, Luther stood up to priests, popes, and emperors—simply telling them that he would eagerly recant if only they could show his errors from Scripture. But soon he did not stand alone. At the diet of Augsburg in 1530, the German princes were ordered to recant the doctrines of Martin Luther. They stated that before they would deny their God and His gospel, they would rather have their heads cut off.

This opened the gates for religious freedom in Europe. Luther’s rediscovery of God’s grace shook the continent to its core. Luther’s influence shaped economics, art, music, science, marriage, politics, education, and language. Today, 900 Million Christians worship in churches birthed out of Martin Luther’s reformation.

Verse of the day: Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”