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The Lutheran Reformation
A Bible Study
During this Reformation Festival, it is a good time for us as a body of believers to review once again the chief truths of
Scripture, and how they define what we believe. We call ourselves Lutherans. Do you remember what that means?
Let’s review the history of the early church – to the time of the Reformation.
The Early Christian Church (A.D. 65 – A.D. 313)
1. Rapid growth of the church
a. Gospel in Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Spain, Arabia, Egypt, N. Africa, S. France.
b. About 10 million Christians by A.D. 325.
2. The Devil looses his fury, persecuting the church for nearly 250 years.
3. Emperor Constantine in A.D. 313 is led to the Christian faith. No more empire-wide persecutions.
A Period of Internal Conflict (A.D. 300 – A.D. 450)
1. The Arian Controversy (4th Century)
a. Arius denies the deity of Christ, thereby denying the doctrine of the Trinity, saying Christ is not equal with
the Father.
b. To defend the truth, the Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) adopts the Nicene Creed, which declares Jesus Christ is
“God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God…being of one substance with the Father.”
c. Athanasius was the foremost defender of the faith at this time. The Athanasian Creed is named after him.
2. The Pelagian Controversy (5th Century)
a. Pelagius denies the doctrine of original sin and teaches that man can convert and save himself.
b. Augustine defends the faith, insists that Scripture says we are altogether incapable of good and owe our
salvation entirely to God’s grace (Romans 3:20-23; Romans 8:7; Ephesians 2:8,9).
3. Still the Church grows – spreads to Ireland; later to the rest of Europe; and then on to Russia and Scandinavia.
The Rise of the Roman Papacy (A.D. 200 – A.D. 1054)
1. A gradual development.
a. Ministers of larger congregations came to be called “bishops.”
b. Bishops in larger cities gradually exercise influence over bishops in surrounding areas.
c. The Bishops of Rome and Constantinople both want to be supreme.
2. The first major split in Christendom. The Eastern part of the church breaks off from Rome, dividing the Christian
church into the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.
3. The Bishop of Rome calls himself “pope,” meaning father – declares himself successor of Peter, representative of
Christ, and visible head of the whole Christian church.
A Period of Darkness (A.D. 1054 – A.D. 1517)
1. The Bible is relegated to the background.
2. Tradition, decrees of the church councils, pronouncements by the pope takes its place, giving rise to such teachings as
celibacy of priests and nuns, adoration of the Virgin Mary, purgatory, salvation by works, etc.
3. There is wide-spread corruption and immorality in the church.
God’s Word Shines Again
1. Martin Luther was born November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany.
2. Received Roman Catholic upbringing at home and school.
3. Against his father’s wishes, Luther leaves his study of law and becomes an Augustinian monk.
4. Luther is plagued by his desire to make himself right before God. The more he tries, the more he fails. He prayed,
fasted, and even beat his body, yet he could not on his own attain the perfection God demands.
5. Luther became a priest, later a doctor of divinity and university professor.
6. In an effort to resolve his spiritual conflicts, Luther was encouraged to study the Scriptures. He came to Romans 3:28
where the Apostle Paul writes, “For we maintain that man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”
7. About this Luther writes later, “Then the whole Scripture was opened to me and also heaven itself. Immediately I felt
as if born anew, as if I had found the open gate of paradise.”
The Reformation
1. The spark that kindled the blaze: a Dominican friar, by the name of John Tetzel, ventured into Germany to sell
indulgences. Indulgences were pieces of paper, signed by the pope, saying your sins were forgiven. The proceeds
from the sale of indulgences went to help pay for St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
2. October 31, 1517 – Luther nailed 95 theses (statements) to the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. These
statements emphasized the truth that forgiveness is free.
3. Luther was trying to reform the church – to get it back to the truth of God’s word.
4. The Roman Catholic Church sought to have Luther declared a heretic.
5. Luther was eventually excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Despite an edict that said he could be put to death,
God used Luther’s friends to keep him safe.
6. Luther continued to write and preach: he translated the Bible into the German language and developed a catechism to
help parents teach their children the truths of God’s word.
7. Followers of Luther became known as Lutherans in the middle of the 16th century.
The Motto of the Lutheran Church
Sola Gratia – We are saved by grace alone!
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“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by
works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
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“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23,24).
Sola Fide – We are saved by faith alone!
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“The righteous will live by faith” (Galatians 3:11).
“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).
Sola Scriptura – We are saved by Scripture alone!
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“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from
whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise
for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good
work” (2 Timothy 3:14-17).
The Chief Teaching in all of Scripture
The Lutheran Reformation helped to bring back into focus the chief teaching of all of Scripture: The Doctrine of
Justification. It is the scriptural teaching that sinners have been justified (declared “not-guilty”) of their sins because Jesus
served as their substitute and paid for their sins in full. Therefore, we are not saved by what we do. We are saved by
faith! The Doctrine of Justification is clearly what the Bible teaches. It is the teaching that makes you Lutheran.