¤[Music]¤ 00:01:30.05\00:01:40.10 ¤[Music]¤ 00:01:40.10\00:01:47.30 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. 00:01:49.47\00:01:51.54 Thanks for joining me for 500. 00:01:51.57\00:01:54.38 Our special series on the Reformation, 00:01:54.41\00:01:56.48 which is 500 years old, 00:01:56.51\00:01:58.78 thanks to, 00:01:58.81\00:02:00.38 an extraordinary life and an extraordinary ministry. 00:02:00.42\00:02:03.92 Martin Luther is the subject of this program. 00:02:03.95\00:02:07.86 We're going to take you to Germany, 00:02:07.89\00:02:09.19 Luther's Germany and beyond for "Here I Stand," 00:02:09.22\00:02:12.96 words made famous by Martin Luther. 00:02:12.99\00:02:16.33 And I'm honored that our special guest on this program 00:02:16.36\00:02:18.93 is Dr. Leslie Pollard, the President of Oakwood University 00:02:18.97\00:02:22.44 in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:02:22.47\00:02:23.67 Dr. Pollard, thanks for joining me. 00:02:23.71\00:02:25.04 >>Dr. Pollard: My pleasure, thank you. 00:02:25.07\00:02:26.14 I'm glad to be here. 00:02:26.17\00:02:27.18 >>John: Briefly, who was is this Martin Luther? 00:02:27.21\00:02:29.08 Tell me something about the man and his impact. 00:02:29.11\00:02:30.98 >>Dr. Pollard: Okay, I'll say it in three words: 00:02:31.01\00:02:32.71 lover, fighter, visionary. 00:02:32.75\00:02:34.68 Martin Luther. 00:02:34.72\00:02:35.38 >>John: That was Martin Luther. 00:02:35.42\00:02:36.99 Well you're going to hear more about Martin Luther 00:02:37.02\00:02:39.25 as this program goes by. 00:02:39.29\00:02:40.49 He was all of that. 00:02:40.52\00:02:42.19 Martin Luther was a man who successfully changed his world 00:02:42.22\00:02:45.83 and he changed ours. 00:02:45.86\00:02:48.63 We're going to travel together to Wittenberg in Germany. 00:02:48.66\00:02:51.67 It's a city of around 50,000 people these days 00:02:51.70\00:02:54.67 in a part of the world once known, a generation ago, 00:02:54.70\00:02:58.47 as East Germany. 00:02:58.51\00:03:00.41 It's interesting that during the communist East German times, 00:03:00.44\00:03:04.91 the Martin Luther sites in Wittenberg languished. 00:03:04.95\00:03:09.78 They were neglected and they fell into a state of disrepair. 00:03:09.82\00:03:13.92 In recent times, 00:03:13.96\00:03:15.06 there's been a lot of work done to bring Wittenberg 00:03:15.09\00:03:17.49 up to its current splendor, 00:03:17.53\00:03:19.96 the Luther premises have been refurbished. 00:03:20.00\00:03:22.76 The Lucas Cranach studio has been rebuilt 00:03:22.80\00:03:27.17 or sort of reenacted. 00:03:27.20\00:03:29.57 Melanchton's home is right there on the same street 00:03:29.60\00:03:32.44 as where Luther used to live, 00:03:32.47\00:03:33.71 and that's now a place for tourists to visit as well. 00:03:33.74\00:03:37.11 So the restoration of democracy in what was East Germany 00:03:37.15\00:03:42.72 has been good for the restoration 00:03:42.75\00:03:45.32 of the Protestant sites of historic value. 00:03:45.35\00:03:49.32 Wittenberg is a place in sort of place. 00:03:49.36\00:03:53.06 It's hard to know just how much 00:03:53.09\00:03:55.13 the average Wittenbergan knows or cares about Martin Luther. 00:03:55.16\00:04:00.54 But in the last few years there's been a lot of 00:04:00.57\00:04:03.34 caring as the entire town has been, 00:04:03.37\00:04:06.84 well, spruced up a little bit for what's taking place 00:04:06.88\00:04:09.84 late in 2017. 00:04:09.88\00:04:12.41 Huge celebrations, 00:04:12.45\00:04:13.78 huge commemorations will happen in Wittenberg, 00:04:13.82\00:04:17.62 October 31 being the 500th anniversary 00:04:17.65\00:04:22.16 to the day of what we call the founding of the Reformation. 00:04:22.19\00:04:26.09 At that time really the sites of the world 00:04:26.13\00:04:28.90 will be trained on Wittenberg in Germany. 00:04:28.93\00:04:33.84 Martin Luther was a revolutionary. 00:04:33.87\00:04:36.20 He was a radical but he did not set out to be any of that. 00:04:36.24\00:04:41.21 He simply wanted to reform his church. 00:04:41.24\00:04:43.48 He realized that there was certain things 00:04:43.51\00:04:45.31 being taught in his church that not only did not 00:04:45.35\00:04:48.92 measure with the Bible, 00:04:48.95\00:04:50.02 but he felt also robbed people of their joy. 00:04:50.05\00:04:52.45 If you examine the 95 Theses, 00:04:52.49\00:04:55.82 you see that one of the things that pops up again and again, 00:04:55.86\00:04:59.76 about 15 different times, is purgatory. 00:04:59.79\00:05:03.83 I'm certain I'll be speaking with Dr. Pollard 00:05:03.87\00:05:05.90 about purgatory a little later on. 00:05:05.93\00:05:08.94 Now, if you don't have a background 00:05:08.97\00:05:11.41 in what this is all about, 00:05:11.44\00:05:12.67 then perhaps it's not that easy for you to appreciate. 00:05:12.71\00:05:16.04 In Roman Catholic thinking, 00:05:16.08\00:05:17.18 if you're not good enough to get to heaven, 00:05:17.21\00:05:19.28 and pardon me for phrasing it that way, 00:05:19.31\00:05:21.05 if you deem it incorrect, 00:05:21.08\00:05:22.02 and not bad enough to go to hell, 00:05:22.05\00:05:24.25 there is a place you can go to be purged of your sins, 00:05:24.29\00:05:27.79 it's purg-a-tory, 00:05:27.82\00:05:29.52 purgatory, what we know it as today. 00:05:29.56\00:05:32.46 The place of purging so that you can be purified from your sins 00:05:32.49\00:05:37.13 and then go to heaven. 00:05:37.17\00:05:38.37 Of course, on the one hand, 00:05:38.40\00:05:39.70 it provides believers with an enormous amount of assurance. 00:05:39.73\00:05:44.04 I wasn't good enough the first time around, 00:05:44.07\00:05:47.11 God will cleanse me, 00:05:47.14\00:05:48.98 purge me in purgatory and ready me for everlasting life. 00:05:49.01\00:05:53.31 But imagine being as I was a kid, 00:05:53.35\00:05:55.88 I remember this just about as vividly as I remember 00:05:55.92\00:05:59.95 anything in my life, 00:06:00.06\00:06:02.29 being a young person considering purgatory. 00:06:02.32\00:06:04.93 Of course, I'd of preferred to gone to heaven, 00:06:04.96\00:06:07.00 but I didn't think I was good enough for that, 00:06:07.03\00:06:08.83 who thinks they're good enough for that. 00:06:08.86\00:06:10.20 And nobody wants to consider that 00:06:10.23\00:06:11.57 they're going to go to hell. 00:06:11.60\00:06:12.40 That's the worst alternative of all. 00:06:12.43\00:06:15.57 But as purgatory was explained to me, 00:06:15.60\00:06:17.51 it was a place where you would pay for your sins, 00:06:17.54\00:06:20.31 atone for your sins, 00:06:20.34\00:06:22.01 where you'd be punished for your sins. 00:06:22.04\00:06:24.68 And while I didn't have a good idea in my mind 00:06:24.71\00:06:27.42 exactly what that would be like, 00:06:27.45\00:06:29.25 I knew it wasn't gonna to be good. 00:06:29.28\00:06:31.85 And I knew I could be in a place of suffering 00:06:31.89\00:06:34.52 for thousands of years, 00:06:34.56\00:06:36.29 at least that's how it was explained to me 00:06:36.32\00:06:37.89 by the nuns who educated me. 00:06:37.93\00:06:40.93 And so there I was as a kid. 00:06:40.96\00:06:42.46 When you're a kid, a day is a long time, 00:06:42.50\00:06:45.10 you get a little bit older, 00:06:45.13\00:06:47.14 a year just flies by. 00:06:47.17\00:06:49.54 So imagine being south of 10 years old and thinking about 00:06:49.57\00:06:52.87 thousands of years in a place of suffering. 00:06:52.91\00:06:56.75 I'd do anything I could do to avoid that. 00:06:56.78\00:06:58.68 Anything at all. 00:06:58.71\00:07:01.05 So you can understand how in Luther's day 00:07:01.08\00:07:03.69 when the church dominated entirely where the pope was 00:07:03.72\00:07:08.59 as God in the minds of the people. 00:07:08.62\00:07:11.93 When they were confronted with purgatory 00:07:11.96\00:07:14.76 and they knew it's awful, 00:07:14.83\00:07:16.03 in fact, what they knew about it was what the priests 00:07:16.06\00:07:19.73 told them about it because they had no access 00:07:19.77\00:07:22.07 to reading material on the subject and of course, 00:07:22.10\00:07:25.27 purgatory is a mythical place anyway. 00:07:25.31\00:07:28.41 When you're a peasant and you're illiterate 00:07:28.44\00:07:31.71 and you're ignorant in your ways 00:07:31.75\00:07:33.05 and somebody says to you for a sum of money 00:07:33.08\00:07:36.72 that's all, 00:07:36.75\00:07:38.75 you can be freed from your future time in purgatory, 00:07:38.79\00:07:43.09 for a sum of money you can get time off your time in purgatory, 00:07:43.12\00:07:47.96 for a sum of money your wife or your children 00:07:47.96\00:07:50.00 or your parents can be spared much of the suffering 00:07:50.03\00:07:52.90 in purgatory. 00:07:52.93\00:07:54.90 You think that has an impact on you? 00:07:54.94\00:07:56.91 I know from experience it has an impact on you. 00:07:56.94\00:08:01.14 Martin Luther knew that people who are bound up 00:08:01.18\00:08:04.61 in this type of theology were essentially slaves 00:08:04.65\00:08:08.45 to these teachings that were not true and would demonstrably 00:08:08.48\00:08:12.42 and monstrously false. 00:08:12.45\00:08:15.82 And so he felt compelled to do something about it. 00:08:15.86\00:08:20.50 So Martin Luther Here I Stand words he spoke with conviction 00:08:20.53\00:08:26.17 at the Diet of Worms, 00:08:26.20\00:08:28.10 Worms, a city in Germany, 00:08:28.14\00:08:29.70 the diet was a council, 00:08:29.74\00:08:31.94 it was where he was brought to recant his positions, 00:08:31.97\00:08:36.51 to deny his Biblical faith, 00:08:36.54\00:08:39.15 to turn his back on, 00:08:39.18\00:08:40.58 to repudiate what he had written as a Protestant. 00:08:40.62\00:08:45.12 Luther arrived at that Diet with fire in his bones, 00:08:45.15\00:08:50.56 recant, he could not. 00:08:50.59\00:08:53.13 "Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God." 00:08:53.16\00:08:58.40 In just a moment, 00:08:58.43\00:08:59.27 Here I Stand, the Martin Luther story. 00:08:59.30\00:09:02.17 It's part of 500, 00:09:02.20\00:09:04.71 our look at The Reformation, 00:09:04.74\00:09:07.04 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:09:07.08\00:09:09.44 I'll be back in just a moment. 00:09:09.48\00:09:11.15 ¤[Music]¤ 00:09:11.18\00:09:16.38 The prophesies of The Book of Revelation 00:09:17.85\00:09:19.52 announce startingly that Babylon is fallen. 00:09:19.55\00:09:24.06 What does that mean? 00:09:24.09\00:09:24.99 How do we understand the fall of Babylon? 00:09:25.03\00:09:28.03 I'd like to send to you today's free offer, 00:09:28.06\00:09:29.86 it's entitled "The Fall of Babylon." 00:09:29.90\00:09:33.07 Call us on 800-253-3000 00:09:33.10\00:09:36.27 or visit us online at itiswritten.com 00:09:36.30\00:09:40.04 or you can write to the address on your screen. 00:09:40.08\00:09:42.81 I'd like you to receive our free offer 00:09:42.84\00:09:44.65 The Fall of Babylon. 00:09:44.68\00:09:47.65 Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 00:09:47.68\00:09:49.45 exists due to the gracious support of the people like you. 00:09:49.48\00:09:53.32 It's your support that makes it possible for It Is Written 00:09:53.36\00:09:55.66 to share Jesus and the great truths of the Bible 00:09:55.69\00:09:58.49 with the world. 00:09:58.53\00:10:00.16 You can send your tax-deductible gift 00:10:00.20\00:10:01.96 to the address on your screen 00:10:02.00\00:10:03.70 or you can support It Is Written through our website 00:10:03.73\00:10:06.07 itiswritten.com. 00:10:06.10\00:10:08.87 Thanks for your generous support. 00:10:08.90\00:10:10.34 Our number is 800-253-3000 00:10:10.37\00:10:13.81 and our web address is itiswritten.com. 00:10:13.84\00:10:17.28 >>John: This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. 00:10:18.28\00:10:20.85 Thanks for joining me. 00:10:20.88\00:10:23.08 What makes a reformer? 00:10:23.12\00:10:26.59 Consider with me Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 00:10:26.62\00:10:28.96 ¤[Music]¤ 00:10:28.99\00:10:31.49 The son of a minister, raised in Atlanta, Georgia, 00:10:31.53\00:10:35.30 not raised in privilege, 00:10:35.33\00:10:38.13 but raised in society that was designed to disadvantage him. 00:10:38.17\00:10:42.70 Yet he then went on to become a revolutionary, 00:10:42.74\00:10:44.87 an agent of change. 00:10:44.91\00:10:47.58 He boldly confronted a powerful system. 00:10:47.61\00:10:50.31 You might ask why? 00:10:50.35\00:10:52.58 What drives a man to do that? 00:10:52.61\00:10:55.52 But Martin Luther King Jr. 00:10:55.55\00:10:56.85 was driven to act, 00:10:56.89\00:10:58.39 to write, 00:10:58.42\00:10:59.05 to speak, 00:10:59.09\00:10:59.85 to organize, 00:10:59.89\00:11:00.79 to protest by a system that was broken, 00:11:00.82\00:11:05.13 by a society that gloried in its brokenness 00:11:05.16\00:11:08.56 and was determined to preserve its dysfunction. 00:11:08.60\00:11:11.77 "I still have a dream," he said, 00:11:11.80\00:11:14.40 one last summer's day in 1963 on the mall in Washington, DC. 00:11:14.44\00:11:20.01 It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. 00:11:20.04\00:11:23.51 I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up 00:11:23.55\00:11:26.65 and live out the true meaning of its creed: 00:11:26.68\00:11:29.32 We hold these truths to be self-evident, 00:11:29.35\00:11:32.42 that all men are created equal. 00:11:32.45\00:11:35.22 By the time Dr. King was murdered outside room 306 00:11:35.26\00:11:38.76 of the Lorraine Motel in 1968, 00:11:38.79\00:11:42.10 there would be no stopping the progress that he 00:11:42.13\00:11:44.30 and so many others along with him had made 00:11:44.33\00:11:47.14 in advancing the American civil rights movement. 00:11:47.17\00:11:51.01 Looking back on those days, 00:11:51.04\00:11:52.54 it's difficult to imagine that a country would choose 00:11:52.57\00:11:55.04 to live with the system it had created. 00:11:55.08\00:11:58.11 In the land of the free, 00:11:58.15\00:11:59.81 millions of people were not free. 00:11:59.85\00:12:03.18 Self-determination was the lot of some, 00:12:03.22\00:12:06.62 not all, intolerance was normal, 00:12:06.65\00:12:10.99 the struggle to right the wrongs of civil injustice 00:12:11.03\00:12:13.70 in the United States was long and hard. 00:12:13.73\00:12:17.20 It cannot be suggested the revolution, 00:12:17.23\00:12:20.54 if you'll let me call it that, should not have been waged. 00:12:20.57\00:12:25.57 So what is it that creates a revolutionary? 00:12:25.61\00:12:28.98 You might say it's the times, 00:12:29.01\00:12:31.65 an individual sees a need that must be met. 00:12:31.68\00:12:34.35 Hears a call he or she cannot ignore. 00:12:34.38\00:12:37.69 People like Gandhi, 00:12:37.72\00:12:38.95 Susan B. Anthony, 00:12:38.99\00:12:40.66 Harriet Tubman, 00:12:40.69\00:12:42.29 William Wilberforce. 00:12:42.32\00:12:44.49 I suspect many reformers, social or religious, 00:12:44.53\00:12:48.46 will tell you they ultimately didn't choose 00:12:48.50\00:12:50.70 the role they assumed, the role chose them. 00:12:50.73\00:12:54.50 Martin Luther King Jr. was not named Martin when he was born. 00:12:56.74\00:13:01.11 He was named Michael after his father, 00:13:01.14\00:13:04.21 but when little Michael was just five years old, 00:13:04.25\00:13:06.48 Michael Sr. made a trip to Germany 00:13:06.51\00:13:09.62 to attend a church congress in Berlin. 00:13:09.65\00:13:11.45 And while he was there he was so deeply impressed by the life 00:13:11.49\00:13:16.42 and ministry of a certain German gospel minister 00:13:16.46\00:13:20.40 that he made a decision to change his name 00:13:20.43\00:13:22.30 and that of his son from Michael to Martin. 00:13:22.33\00:13:26.47 Not only did Martin Luther impress Pastor Michael King, 00:13:26.50\00:13:30.24 Martin Luther changed the world. 00:13:30.27\00:13:33.74 On October the 31st, in the year 1517, 00:13:33.78\00:13:37.11 Martin Luther defied the system that was essentially 00:13:37.15\00:13:40.52 governing Western civilization. 00:13:40.55\00:13:43.69 His contribution to history is so immense 00:13:43.72\00:13:47.19 that Time Magazine ranked him fourth on the list of 00:13:47.22\00:13:50.36 the greatest men of the millennium. 00:13:50.39\00:13:53.03 It all happened here, in Wittenberg, Germany, 00:13:53.06\00:13:56.56 in the part of Germany that for more than 40 years 00:13:56.60\00:13:58.90 was known as East Germany. 00:13:58.93\00:14:02.14 In the 1500s Wittenberg was part of the kingdom of Saxony, 00:14:02.17\00:14:06.84 and while the town now officially known 00:14:06.88\00:14:09.34 Lutherstadt Wittenberg is a popular tourist destination. 00:14:09.38\00:14:13.78 In Luther's day it was anything but. 00:14:13.82\00:14:17.99 Wittenberg is a pleasant town today 00:14:18.02\00:14:19.59 with a population that hovers around 50,000. 00:14:19.62\00:14:23.06 It's 60 miles southeast of Berlin 00:14:23.09\00:14:25.23 and just a two-hour drive to the border with Poland. 00:14:25.26\00:14:28.03 It sits on the Elbe River, which starts in the Czech Republic 00:14:28.06\00:14:31.93 and flows through Germany right past Hamburg, 00:14:31.97\00:14:35.17 Germany's second largest city and to the North Sea. 00:14:35.20\00:14:39.81 During communism, 00:14:39.84\00:14:41.04 Wittenberg's sites of religious significance were neglected. 00:14:41.08\00:14:44.25 In preparation for the 500th anniversary of the starting 00:14:44.28\00:14:47.52 of The Reformation, October 31, 1517, 00:14:47.55\00:14:52.32 the town is being revitalized, 00:14:52.35\00:14:54.62 the Castle Church is being renovated 00:14:54.66\00:14:57.19 and there's a lot of pride in Wittenberg's favorite son. 00:14:57.23\00:15:01.70 Wittenberg, in Luther's day had a population of around 3,000 00:15:01.73\00:15:05.70 and it was hardly the sort of place that you would have 00:15:05.73\00:15:08.50 thought would launch a revolution. 00:15:08.54\00:15:11.31 Luther called it miserable. 00:15:11.34\00:15:13.11 His right-hand man in reform; Philipp Melanchthon 00:15:13.14\00:15:15.61 referred to Wittenberg as a hamlet comprised 00:15:15.64\00:15:18.98 not of regular houses but only of little ones. 00:15:19.01\00:15:22.88 Bad huts built of clay and covered with hay and straw. 00:15:22.92\00:15:26.62 Duke George of Saxony called Wittenberg a hole. 00:15:26.65\00:15:31.03 And one theologian wrote to a friend about the poor, 00:15:31.06\00:15:33.86 miserable, filthy, little town of Wittenberg. 00:15:33.90\00:15:38.53 Now that theologian couldn't stand Martin Luther. 00:15:38.57\00:15:41.17 That might have colored his view, 00:15:41.20\00:15:42.50 but you get the idea nevertheless. 00:15:42.54\00:15:44.11 That this place was hardly the garden of Eden. 00:15:44.14\00:15:47.61 Martin Luther was born here in Eisleben 00:15:47.64\00:15:50.81 about 60 miles from Wittenberg on November 10th, 1483. 00:15:50.85\00:15:56.38 This whole area was part of what was known for centuries 00:15:56.42\00:15:59.19 as the Holy Roman Empire. 00:15:59.22\00:16:02.56 He grew up in poverty. 00:16:02.59\00:16:04.79 His parents were peasants. 00:16:04.83\00:16:07.03 His father worked as a miner. 00:16:07.03\00:16:09.23 Hardship shaped his upbringing. 00:16:09.26\00:16:12.80 Luther's father, Hans, 00:16:12.83\00:16:14.60 wanted him to become a lawyer and he was appalled 00:16:14.64\00:16:18.57 when Martin instead shows to enter a cloister 00:16:18.61\00:16:22.18 to trying to become an Augustinian monk. 00:16:22.21\00:16:24.25 However, it was in that cloister that Martin Luther 00:16:24.28\00:16:28.58 found a Bible chained to the monastery wall. 00:16:28.62\00:16:31.82 It was the first time she'd ever seen a whole Bible. 00:16:31.85\00:16:34.76 You can imagine how he felt as he read the gospels 00:16:34.79\00:16:37.06 and the epistles of Paul, he was moved. 00:16:37.09\00:16:41.20 At the same time, 00:16:41.23\00:16:42.30 he was overcome by the sense of his own sinfulness. 00:16:42.33\00:16:45.13 He wanted to find peace with God and so he did 00:16:45.17\00:16:47.20 what they told him to do at the monastery. 00:16:47.24\00:16:49.64 He fasted, he prayed for hours, 00:16:49.67\00:16:51.97 he even resorted to the flagellation. 00:16:52.01\00:16:54.24 Later he would say, 00:16:54.28\00:16:55.58 if ever a monk could obtain heaven by his monkish works 00:16:55.61\00:16:59.31 then I should certainly have been entitled to it. 00:16:59.35\00:17:03.15 But Luther had a mentor during his training, 00:17:03.18\00:17:06.35 a man named Johann von Staupitz. 00:17:06.39\00:17:09.76 Luther would later say: 00:17:09.79\00:17:11.33 "if it had not been for Dr. Staupitz 00:17:11.36\00:17:13.86 I should surely have sunk in hell." 00:17:13.90\00:17:17.03 Staupitz encouraged Luther by telling him this. 00:17:17.07\00:17:19.93 Instead of torturing yourself on account of your sins 00:17:19.97\00:17:23.67 throw yourself into the Redeemer's arms, 00:17:23.71\00:17:26.74 trust in Him, 00:17:26.78\00:17:28.11 in the righteousness of His life, 00:17:28.14\00:17:30.58 in the atonement of His death. 00:17:30.61\00:17:33.35 Listen to the son of God, 00:17:33.38\00:17:35.38 he became man to give you the assurance of divine favor. 00:17:35.42\00:17:40.22 Love Him who first loved you. 00:17:40.26\00:17:43.06 Between 1501 and 1505, 00:17:46.03\00:17:48.36 Luther studied at the University of Erfurt, 00:17:48.40\00:17:50.80 a two-day walk from his home here in Eisleben. 00:17:50.83\00:17:53.77 He earned a master's degree, then he began studying law 00:17:53.80\00:17:56.74 but he dropped out of law school to enter the cloister. 00:17:56.77\00:18:00.28 But the fastings and the endless prayers 00:18:00.31\00:18:02.74 and all that came with it, left Luther desperate. 00:18:02.78\00:18:06.08 So in 1508 he accepted a call to teach theology 00:18:06.11\00:18:10.25 at the University of Wittenberg. 00:18:10.29\00:18:13.05 The university had been founded only a few years before 00:18:13.09\00:18:16.12 by Frederick III, the Elector of Saxony. 00:18:16.16\00:18:19.79 Frederick was a prince in the state of Saxony. 00:18:19.83\00:18:21.83 He was known as an Elector because he was one of the elite 00:18:21.86\00:18:25.53 who elected the king of the Romans. 00:18:25.57\00:18:28.04 He was a powerful man. 00:18:28.07\00:18:30.41 Not only was Luther born here in Eisleben, 00:18:30.44\00:18:32.84 but he died here as well. 00:18:32.87\00:18:34.11 In fact, 00:18:34.14\00:18:35.31 he died right here in this building behind me in the 1540. 00:18:35.34\00:18:38.95 It was from this humble little spot 00:18:38.98\00:18:42.12 virtually in the middle of the German nowhere 00:18:42.15\00:18:44.69 that Luther was thrust into the global spotlight. 00:18:44.72\00:18:48.49 Yet you come to town like this, busy towns. 00:18:48.52\00:18:50.26 This is Lutherstadt Eisleben it's called 00:18:50.29\00:18:53.23 or Lutherstadt Wittenberg, that's the city's official name. 00:18:53.26\00:18:56.97 If you come to places like this, 00:18:57.00\00:18:58.77 there's throngs of tourists, people visiting, 00:18:58.80\00:19:01.50 people coming and going 00:19:01.54\00:19:02.64 and you realize that the vast majority of those people 00:19:02.67\00:19:06.21 haven't got a clue why Martin did what he did. 00:19:06.24\00:19:08.61 The essence of Luther's protest has been lost. 00:19:08.64\00:19:14.48 So why did he do it? 00:19:14.52\00:19:15.85 Why he nailed his 95 Theses to the door 00:19:15.88\00:19:18.62 of biggest church in town? 00:19:18.65\00:19:20.26 Why did he pick a fight 00:19:20.29\00:19:21.62 with the most powerful people on the planet. 00:19:21.66\00:19:24.39 People he knew who didn't lose fights like those. 00:19:24.43\00:19:28.56 I'll tell you in just a moment. 00:19:28.60\00:19:30.47 ¤[Music]¤ 00:19:30.50\00:19:35.87 >>John: I'm John Bradshaw from It Is Written 00:19:36.60\00:19:38.77 inviting you to join me for 500. 00:19:38.81\00:19:42.44 Nine programs produced by It Is Written 00:19:42.48\00:19:44.71 taking you deep into the Reformation. 00:19:44.75\00:19:47.88 This is the 500th Anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation 00:19:47.92\00:19:52.05 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses 00:19:52.09\00:19:54.56 to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. 00:19:54.59\00:19:57.43 We'll take you to Wittenberg and to Belgium, 00:19:57.46\00:19:59.63 to England, 00:19:59.66\00:20:00.46 to Ireland, 00:20:00.50\00:20:02.00 to Rome, 00:20:02.03\00:20:02.93 to the Vatican City and introduce you to 00:20:02.96\00:20:05.23 the people who created the Reformation, 00:20:05.27\00:20:07.10 who pushed the Reformation forward. 00:20:07.14\00:20:09.10 We'll take you to sites all throughout Europe 00:20:09.14\00:20:11.04 where the Reformers lived and in some cases died. 00:20:11.07\00:20:13.88 We'll bring you back to the United States 00:20:13.91\00:20:15.54 and take you to a little farm in upstate New York 00:20:15.58\00:20:18.58 and show you how God spread the Reformation here. 00:20:18.61\00:20:21.52 Don't miss 500. 00:20:21.55\00:20:23.59 You can own the 500 series on DVD. 00:20:23.62\00:20:26.65 Call us on 888-664-5573 00:20:26.69\00:20:31.23 or visit us online at itiswritten.shop. 00:20:31.26\00:20:35.86 ¤[Music]¤ 00:20:36.50\00:20:41.40 >>John: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 00:20:41.44\00:20:44.11 It was on October 31st, 1517 that Martin Luther 00:20:44.14\00:20:48.94 nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church 00:20:48.98\00:20:53.52 and he launched the movement that became known to history 00:20:53.55\00:20:56.08 as the Protestant Reformation. 00:20:56.12\00:20:58.89 But when Martin Luther did that he wasn't 00:20:58.92\00:21:01.06 a radical and he wasn't a revolutionary. 00:21:01.09\00:21:03.93 He wasn't even a reformer. 00:21:03.96\00:21:06.29 He was a loyal son of the Roman Catholic church. 00:21:06.33\00:21:10.23 But when he was around 27 years old 00:21:10.27\00:21:12.43 he traveled to the city of Rome. 00:21:12.47\00:21:15.34 What he found when he got there shook him to his core. 00:21:15.37\00:21:19.81 As a young monk, 00:21:19.84\00:21:21.34 Luther had been living a strict lifestyle of self-denial, 00:21:21.38\00:21:25.08 but when he arrived in Rome, 00:21:25.11\00:21:27.08 he found priests and monks and bishops 00:21:27.12\00:21:29.38 living in luxury and debauchery. 00:21:29.42\00:21:32.69 He found so much spiritual corruption that he stated: 00:21:32.72\00:21:35.36 "If there is a hell Rome is built over it. 00:21:35.39\00:21:40.56 "One event in particular profoundly affected him. 00:21:40.60\00:21:43.80 Pope Julius II had recently made a decree 00:21:43.83\00:21:46.94 that a special indulgence was available 00:21:46.97\00:21:49.17 to those who would walk on their knees 00:21:49.20\00:21:51.01 up what had become known as Pilate's staircase. 00:21:51.04\00:21:55.38 The staircase was believed to have been the very staircase 00:21:55.41\00:21:58.65 Jesus walked on during His trial before Pontius Pilate. 00:21:58.68\00:22:02.95 And the church claimed it had been miraculously transported 00:22:02.98\00:22:05.95 from Jerusalem to Rome. 00:22:05.99\00:22:07.82 Luther was determined to acquire this indulgence 00:22:07.86\00:22:11.23 and so one day he devoutly 00:22:11.26\00:22:12.89 climbed these stairs on his knees. 00:22:12.93\00:22:14.86 But suddenly a voice seemed to declare in his ears 00:22:14.93\00:22:18.87 like thunder the words of the apostle Paul 00:22:18.90\00:22:21.67 quoting the prophet Habakkuk in the Book of Romans, 00:22:21.70\00:22:24.51 "The just shall live by faith," Romans 1:17. 00:22:24.54\00:22:30.58 Luther sprang to his feet and left the place in shame. 00:22:30.61\00:22:34.65 He'd been practicing salvation by works. 00:22:34.68\00:22:38.12 The idea that a person's good deeds merit favor with God 00:22:38.15\00:22:42.66 as opposed to simply being a response 00:22:42.69\00:22:45.13 to the goodness and the love of God. 00:22:45.16\00:22:47.20 But he heard God say to his heart, 00:22:47.23\00:22:49.33 "The just shall live by faith." 00:22:49.36\00:22:52.47 And Martin Luther was a changed man. 00:22:52.50\00:22:54.84 ¤[Music]¤ 00:22:54.87\00:22:58.64 Not long after he began teaching in Wittenberg, 00:22:58.67\00:23:01.24 the church embarked on a grand new project, 00:23:01.28\00:23:04.65 the building of the largest church in the world: 00:23:04.68\00:23:08.48 St. Peter's Basilica, in what is now Vatican City. 00:23:08.52\00:23:13.66 To help pay for the project, 00:23:13.69\00:23:15.02 the church offered its people the chance 00:23:15.06\00:23:16.89 to purchase indulgences for their sins. 00:23:16.93\00:23:20.16 An indulgence is a way to reduce the amount of punishment 00:23:20.20\00:23:23.13 you have to undergo for the sins you have committed. 00:23:23.16\00:23:25.03 So while it's not exactly the same as buying salvation, 00:23:25.07\00:23:29.20 you'd be buying pardon for sin which of course 00:23:29.24\00:23:32.81 flies in the face of the entire Bible. 00:23:32.84\00:23:35.34 Ephesians 2:8 tells us 00:23:35.38\00:23:36.95 "We are saved by grace through faith, which is a gift of God." 00:23:36.98\00:23:41.72 1 John 1:9 says that 00:23:41.75\00:23:44.92 "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just 00:23:44.95\00:23:49.69 to forgive us our sins." 00:23:49.72\00:23:51.79 Luther was appalled. 00:23:51.83\00:23:54.96 Commissioned by the Archibishop of Mainz, 00:23:55.00\00:23:58.07 a man named Johannes Tetzel began traveling around Germany 00:23:58.10\00:24:02.34 selling these indulgences. 00:24:02.37\00:24:04.67 Now that might have got passed Martin Luther once upon a time, 00:24:04.71\00:24:08.14 but not now. 00:24:08.18\00:24:09.14 Not now that he understood something 00:24:09.18\00:24:11.08 about the grace of God. 00:24:11.11\00:24:13.52 He found the selling of indulgences 00:24:13.55\00:24:14.98 to be completely sacrilegious. 00:24:15.02\00:24:17.25 How, he wondered, could anybody purchase salvation 00:24:17.29\00:24:20.66 or purchase lesser punishment for sin 00:24:20.69\00:24:23.59 or purchase lesser time spent in purgatory, 00:24:23.63\00:24:27.13 even if there was a purgatory? 00:24:27.20\00:24:29.60 In the Bible when Simon Magus 00:24:29.63\00:24:31.80 tried to purchase from Peter the power to work miracles, 00:24:31.83\00:24:35.70 Peter replied, 00:24:35.74\00:24:37.24 "Your money perish with you 00:24:37.27\00:24:38.81 because you thought that the gift of God 00:24:38.84\00:24:41.21 could be purchased with money." That's Acts 8:20. 00:24:41.24\00:24:45.68 Luther was strong in his opposition to the practice. 00:24:45.71\00:24:49.22 He contacted this bishop and voiced his concerns 00:24:49.25\00:24:52.09 and then he took those concerns public 00:24:52.12\00:24:55.39 when he nailed them to the door of the Castle Church. 00:24:55.42\00:24:58.53 Those concerns became known as Luther's 95 Theses 00:24:58.56\00:25:02.73 and they launched the Protestant Reformation. 00:25:02.76\00:25:05.47 The church, western civilization, 00:25:05.50\00:25:09.04 the world would never be the same again. 00:25:09.07\00:25:12.31 So what are the 95 Theses? 00:25:12.34\00:25:16.48 The first one lays the foundation 00:25:16.51\00:25:18.15 not only for those that follow, 00:25:18.18\00:25:21.38 but also for the most basic message 00:25:21.42\00:25:23.69 of the Reformation as far as human salvation is concerned. 00:25:23.72\00:25:27.92 "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 00:25:27.96\00:25:30.79 'Repent,' 00:25:30.83\00:25:31.66 He willed the entire life of believers 00:25:31.69\00:25:35.00 to be one of repentance." 00:25:35.03\00:25:36.30 The second follows right on, 00:25:36.33\00:25:38.40 "This word cannot be understood as referring 00:25:38.43\00:25:41.37 to the sacrament of penance, 00:25:41.40\00:25:43.30 that is, confession and satisfaction, 00:25:43.34\00:25:46.21 as administered by the clergy." 00:25:46.24\00:25:48.44 Later he writes in number 20, 00:25:48.48\00:25:51.18 "Therefore the pope, when he uses the words 00:25:51.21\00:25:54.45 'plenary remission of all penalties,' 00:25:54.48\00:25:57.85 does not actually mean 'all penalties,' 00:25:57.89\00:26:01.02 but only those imposed by himself." 00:26:01.06\00:26:04.83 Number 21, 00:26:04.86\00:26:06.06 "Thus those indulgence preachers are in error who say 00:26:06.09\00:26:10.37 that a man is absolved from every penalty 00:26:10.40\00:26:13.50 and saved by papal indulgences, 00:26:13.54\00:26:15.94 sacraments of the church, 00:26:15.97\00:26:17.97 or the purchase of indulgence." 00:26:18.01\00:26:20.48 Number 27, 00:26:20.51\00:26:21.78 "They preach only human doctrines who say that 00:26:21.81\00:26:25.95 as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, 00:26:25.98\00:26:28.55 the soul flies out of purgatory." 00:26:28.58\00:26:30.82 Number 86, 00:26:30.85\00:26:32.92 "Why does not the pope, 00:26:32.95\00:26:34.96 whose wealth today is greater 00:26:34.99\00:26:37.59 than the wealth of the richest Crassus, 00:26:37.63\00:26:40.73 build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own money 00:26:40.76\00:26:45.33 rather than with the money of poor believers?" 00:26:45.37\00:26:48.97 You can understand why Luther became so unpopular 00:26:50.17\00:26:54.11 with the leaders of the church. 00:26:54.14\00:26:56.61 His teachings spread throughout Germany 00:26:56.64\00:26:58.65 and soon they made it to Rome. 00:26:58.68\00:27:01.62 The pope demanded that Luther travel to Rome 00:27:01.65\00:27:04.29 and stand trial for his teachings. 00:27:04.32\00:27:06.72 German leaders refused. 00:27:06.76\00:27:08.56 They said that Luther's trial must be heard in Germany, 00:27:08.59\00:27:11.13 and so that's what took place. 00:27:11.16\00:27:13.43 During that trial, 00:27:13.46\00:27:14.76 Luther was told that he had to retract his teachings 00:27:14.83\00:27:17.30 and submit to the authority of the church 00:27:17.33\00:27:19.67 or he'd be sent to Rome for punishment. 00:27:19.70\00:27:22.14 But he managed to get away from Augsburg 00:27:22.17\00:27:24.11 where his case was heard by slipping through a gate 00:27:24.14\00:27:27.18 in the wall of the city. 00:27:27.21\00:27:28.94 And he made it back to Wittenberg and to safety. 00:27:28.98\00:27:31.78 Frederick, the Elector of Saxony protected Luther. 00:27:31.81\00:27:35.05 He refused to hand him over to the authorities of Rome, 00:27:35.08\00:27:38.02 saving Luther from certain death. 00:27:38.05\00:27:40.09 ¤[Music]¤ 00:27:40.12\00:27:46.13 >>Announcer: Every Word is a one-minute Bible-based 00:27:47.60\00:27:50.10 daily devotional presented by Pastor John Bradshaw 00:27:50.13\00:27:53.03 and designed especially for busy people like you. 00:27:53.07\00:27:55.70 Look for Every Word on selected networks 00:27:55.74\00:27:58.47 or watch it online everyday on our website 00:27:58.51\00:28:01.11 itiswritten.com. 00:28:01.14\00:28:04.15 ¤[Cricketts chirping]¤ 00:28:04.65\00:28:06.85 [Wolves howling] 00:28:06.88\00:28:09.18 ¤[Music]¤ 00:28:09.22\00:28:16.89 [Camera equipment rattling] 00:28:16.93\00:28:19.86 [Rustling in bushes] 00:28:19.89\00:28:22.40 [People talking] 00:28:22.43\00:28:24.40 [Wind blowing] 00:28:24.43\00:28:29.40 ¤[Music]¤ 00:28:29.44\00:28:39.48 ¤[Music]¤ 00:28:39.48\00:28:48.52 [Cheering] 00:28:48.56\00:28:57.77 ¤[Music]¤ 00:28:57.80\00:29:11.38 >>John: Luther was excommunicated 00:29:12.85\00:29:14.58 from the Roman Church. 00:29:14.62\00:29:16.79 It's said that this tree here in Wittenberg 00:29:16.82\00:29:20.06 marks the spot where he publicly burned the papal edict 00:29:20.09\00:29:24.43 announcing his excommunication. 00:29:24.46\00:29:27.76 Luther's writings began to spread throughout Europe 00:29:27.83\00:29:30.93 when he was summoned to appeal before a council 00:29:30.97\00:29:33.44 in the city of Worms. 00:29:33.47\00:29:35.47 Huge crowd greeted him when he arrived there. 00:29:35.50\00:29:38.31 It was found to be a heretic, 00:29:38.34\00:29:40.91 that was almost a given, 00:29:40.94\00:29:42.64 he'd be sentenced to death, 00:29:42.68\00:29:44.11 and the cause of the Reformation might just die along with him, 00:29:44.15\00:29:47.85 but if by some miracle 00:29:47.88\00:29:48.88 he escaped the sentence of death, 00:29:48.92\00:29:51.42 then the cause of the Bible would advance. 00:29:51.45\00:29:54.82 When he was asked to recant, 00:29:54.86\00:29:56.66 to retract his views and submit to the authority 00:29:56.69\00:29:59.96 of the Church of Rome, 00:30:00.00\00:30:01.66 Luther replied in words that would live forever. 00:30:01.70\00:30:05.40 "I cannot submit my faith either to the pope or to the councils, 00:30:05.43\00:30:09.44 because it is clear as the day that they 00:30:09.47\00:30:11.47 have frequently erred and contradicted each other. 00:30:11.51\00:30:14.84 Unless therefore I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture, 00:30:14.88\00:30:18.95 or by the clearest reasoning, 00:30:18.98\00:30:21.55 unless I am persuaded by means of the passages I have quoted, 00:30:21.58\00:30:25.09 and unless they thus render my conscience 00:30:25.12\00:30:27.79 bound by the Word of God, 00:30:27.82\00:30:29.82 I cannot and I will not retract, 00:30:29.86\00:30:33.23 for it is unsafe for a Christian to speak against his conscience. 00:30:33.26\00:30:37.20 Here I stand; I can do no other; may God help me. 00:30:37.23\00:30:43.00 Amen." 00:30:43.04\00:30:44.37 The council refused to deliver Luther up to the church, 00:30:44.41\00:30:47.44 but as on his way back here to Wittenberg, 00:30:47.48\00:30:50.48 Luther was captured. 00:30:50.51\00:30:52.08 He was captured by the man who protected him, 00:30:52.11\00:30:53.98 Frederick, 00:30:54.02\00:30:55.38 because Frederick knew it was not safe 00:30:55.42\00:30:57.39 to leave Luther in circulation. 00:30:57.42\00:30:59.22 So he took him to the Wartburg Castle to keep him safe. 00:30:59.25\00:31:03.39 and while he was there, 00:31:03.43\00:31:04.96 Luther translated the New Testament into German. 00:31:04.99\00:31:08.43 Meanwhile, back here in Wittenberg, 00:31:08.46\00:31:10.67 reform within the church continued. 00:31:10.70\00:31:13.23 Priests began to marry, the worship service was altered, 00:31:13.27\00:31:16.91 things that had been strictly forboden by the church. 00:31:16.94\00:31:21.28 Luther didn't do it all on his own. 00:31:21.31\00:31:24.08 His right-hand man was Philipp Melanchthon, 00:31:24.11\00:31:26.55 a religion professor who taught with Luther, 00:31:26.58\00:31:29.65 apart from Luther and John Calvin, 00:31:29.68\00:31:31.85 it's likely no figure stands higher in the development 00:31:31.89\00:31:34.89 and history of the Protestant Reformation. 00:31:34.92\00:31:37.49 Melanchthon is kind of the forgotten one, 00:31:37.53\00:31:39.73 but he was absolutely essential to the work of Reform. 00:31:39.76\00:31:42.46 The establishment of the Lutherian church 00:31:42.50\00:31:44.83 and the crafting of the public witness 00:31:44.87\00:31:46.90 would largely be accomplished through his work. 00:31:46.94\00:31:50.81 Luther married Katharina von Bora, 00:31:50.84\00:31:53.21 a former nun, 00:31:53.24\00:31:54.54 a woman that he had helped escaped from a convent. 00:31:54.58\00:31:58.11 With the Bible being the ultimate guide in his life, 00:31:58.15\00:32:00.32 he came to view enforced or mandated celibacy 00:32:00.35\00:32:03.55 as being completely unbiblical. 00:32:03.59\00:32:05.69 And he realized that his church taught that Peter, 00:32:05.72\00:32:08.99 said to be the first pope, had himself been married. 00:32:09.02\00:32:13.50 Now unfortunately, not all of Martin Luther's legacy 00:32:13.53\00:32:17.40 has been positive for Christianity. 00:32:17.43\00:32:19.80 There are many of Luther's admirers today 00:32:19.83\00:32:22.07 who are embarrassed by the very antisemitic views 00:32:22.10\00:32:26.88 that he often espoused. 00:32:26.91\00:32:29.31 How in the world do you reconcile this idea of Luther 00:32:29.34\00:32:31.88 on the one hand proclaiming the righteousness of Christ 00:32:31.91\00:32:35.32 then on the other hand being a hatemonger? 00:32:35.35\00:32:38.12 It has been said by commentators and critics 00:32:38.15\00:32:41.06 that Luther fueled the fires of antisemitism 00:32:41.09\00:32:44.19 which Adolf Hitler picked up on centuries later. 00:32:44.23\00:32:48.36 Well you probably don't reconcile it, 00:32:48.40\00:32:49.93 but there are a couple of things that, 00:32:49.96\00:32:51.30 I think a person, really ought to keep in mind, 00:32:51.33\00:32:53.67 Luther came to Christianity out of the abject darkness. 00:32:53.70\00:32:57.87 He came to the Bible from no Biblical frame of reference, 00:32:57.91\00:33:01.88 so to expect complete spiritual maturity from Martin Luther 00:33:01.91\00:33:05.01 is maybe a little bit too much. 00:33:05.05\00:33:06.45 Luther was wrong in his antisemitic views. 00:33:06.48\00:33:10.85 Nevertheless, there have been a lot of people 00:33:10.89\00:33:12.59 down through the years who had been wrong particularly 00:33:12.62\00:33:14.79 about matters of faith. 00:33:14.82\00:33:15.72 David, wrong about a lot, 00:33:15.76\00:33:17.53 Solomon, his lifestyle, 00:33:17.56\00:33:19.39 his practices were in many cases wrong, 00:33:19.43\00:33:21.96 James and John wanted to call fire down from heaven 00:33:22.00\00:33:25.50 and incinerate people simply because 00:33:25.53\00:33:27.97 they weren't on the same team. 00:33:28.00\00:33:29.10 That was wrong, 00:33:29.14\00:33:30.44 there were church men in the United States who 00:33:30.47\00:33:32.54 defended slavery and used the Bible 00:33:32.57\00:33:35.84 to justify their aberrant positions. 00:33:35.88\00:33:39.08 Wrong. 00:33:39.11\00:33:40.92 So on the one hand, Luther was a revolutionary, 00:33:40.95\00:33:43.39 Luther was a radical, 00:33:43.42\00:33:44.65 Luther was a reformer, 00:33:44.69\00:33:45.69 he saw so much in the church and in the world 00:33:45.72\00:33:48.52 that he called to people's attention and pointed out 00:33:48.56\00:33:51.66 as being outside of God's will. 00:33:51.69\00:33:53.36 On this one though for the most part, he missed it. 00:33:53.40\00:33:56.60 You wonder why that can happen. 00:33:56.63\00:33:58.67 A bit of a mystery really. 00:33:58.70\00:34:01.80 Luther's final sermon would be delivered here in his hometown 00:34:01.84\00:34:05.91 of Eisleben on February 15, 1546, 00:34:05.94\00:34:10.41 three days before his death. 00:34:10.45\00:34:12.65 He didn't set out to form a new church, to be a troublemaker, 00:34:12.68\00:34:17.15 he simply wanted the church to look to the Bible 00:34:17.19\00:34:20.39 and embrace the teachings of Jesus 00:34:20.42\00:34:23.36 and allow people to read the Bible for themselves 00:34:23.39\00:34:26.53 and be guided by the Holy Spirit. 00:34:26.56\00:34:28.90 In fact, Luther coined the phrase 00:34:28.93\00:34:31.87 "sola scriptura," the Bible alone. 00:34:31.90\00:34:35.40 Luther wasn't guided by tradition 00:34:35.44\00:34:38.27 and would be faithful to God's word. 00:34:38.31\00:34:40.98 And this form the basis of the most profoundly impactful 00:34:41.01\00:34:44.25 religious movement in almost 2,000 years. 00:34:44.28\00:34:49.22 The supremacy of the Bible and the teaching of 00:34:49.25\00:34:51.49 justification by grace alone through faith alone, 00:34:51.52\00:34:55.59 in Christ alone were Luther's passions and they lit a fire for 00:34:55.62\00:35:00.26 the gospel that illuminated the world 00:35:00.30\00:35:02.30 and has led millions and millions of people 00:35:02.33\00:35:05.30 to faith in Jesus Christ. 00:35:05.33\00:35:07.67 Now do you think Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 00:35:07.70\00:35:09.64 would say the work he started has really been completed? 00:35:09.67\00:35:13.44 Or do you think that he might think 00:35:13.48\00:35:15.11 there's a little more work that needs to be done? 00:35:15.14\00:35:18.21 The same is likely true of Martin Luther. 00:35:18.25\00:35:21.45 There's still work that needs to be done. 00:35:21.48\00:35:23.99 There are still people the world over 00:35:24.02\00:35:26.72 who must hear the great truths of the Bible 00:35:26.76\00:35:28.86 and be led to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:35:28.89\00:35:33.29 So how is it with you, friend? 00:35:33.33\00:35:34.36 How's that working out in your life? 00:35:34.36\00:35:37.37 How is it with you? 00:35:37.40\00:35:38.90 ¤[Music]¤ 00:35:38.93\00:35:44.41 The prophesies of the Book of Revelation 00:35:45.47\00:35:47.11 announce startingly that Babylon is fallen. 00:35:47.14\00:35:51.61 What does that mean? 00:35:51.65\00:35:52.55 How do we understand the Fall of Babylon. 00:35:52.58\00:35:55.65 I'd like to send you today's free offer. 00:35:55.68\00:35:57.49 It's entitled "The Fall of Babylon." 00:35:57.52\00:36:00.82 Call us on 800-253-3000. 00:36:00.86\00:36:04.09 Or visit us online at itiswritten.com, 00:36:04.13\00:36:07.83 or you can write to the address on your screen. 00:36:07.86\00:36:10.57 I'd like you to receive our free offer 00:36:10.60\00:36:12.40 "The Fall of Babylon." 00:36:12.43\00:36:15.47 Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 00:36:15.50\00:36:17.17 exists due to the gracious support of the people like you. 00:36:17.21\00:36:21.14 It's your support that makes it possible for It Is Written 00:36:21.18\00:36:23.41 to share Jesus and the great truths of the Bible 00:36:23.45\00:36:26.15 with the world. 00:36:26.18\00:36:27.88 You can send your tax-deductible gift 00:36:27.92\00:36:29.72 to the address on your screen or you can support 00:36:29.75\00:36:32.25 It Is Written through our website 00:36:32.29\00:36:33.96 itiswritten.com. 00:36:33.99\00:36:36.56 Thanks for your generous support. 00:36:36.59\00:36:38.03 Our number is 800-253-3000 00:36:38.06\00:36:41.40 and our web address is itiswritten.com. 00:36:41.43\00:36:45.13 >>John: Welcome back to 500. 00:36:46.37\00:36:47.54 I'm John Bradshaw from It Is Written. 00:36:47.57\00:36:49.40 My special guest is Dr. Leslie Pollard. 00:36:49.44\00:36:52.74 He's the president of Oakwood University 00:36:52.77\00:36:54.81 in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:36:54.84\00:36:56.01 Dr. Pollard, thanks so much for joining me. 00:36:56.04\00:36:57.75 >>Dr. Leslie Pollard: Thank you. It is my pleasure to be here. 00:36:57.78\00:36:59.55 >>John: I really appreciate this. 00:36:59.58\00:37:00.95 And we got a great subject to talk about, 00:37:00.98\00:37:03.18 Martin Luther, 00:37:03.22\00:37:04.12 whose fingerprints are all over history. 00:37:04.15\00:37:06.29 >>Dr. Pollard: Yes. 00:37:06.32\00:37:07.22 >>John: You can't really discuss theology 00:37:07.26\00:37:08.66 without talking about Martin Luther. 00:37:08.69\00:37:10.19 You're certainly going talk about the Reformation. 00:37:10.23\00:37:12.56 So who was this man? 00:37:12.59\00:37:13.86 Where did he spring from? 00:37:13.90\00:37:15.33 And what kind of a person was he? 00:37:15.36\00:37:16.77 >>Dr. Pollard: Well, Martin Luther was far more ordinary 00:37:16.80\00:37:19.53 than we have gone back and reconstructed him to be. 00:37:19.57\00:37:22.37 He was born in 1483 to working class parents, 00:37:22.40\00:37:27.54 although the dad did have some ownerships, 00:37:27.58\00:37:29.84 some leasing and some mines and things like that, but, uh, 00:37:29.88\00:37:33.31 his mother Margarethe was a working class lady 00:37:33.35\00:37:37.45 and their family was very well-structured. 00:37:37.49\00:37:40.56 He had other brothers and sisters. 00:37:40.59\00:37:42.26 One brother that we think he was pretty close to 00:37:42.29\00:37:45.09 because he mentioned him, 00:37:45.13\00:37:46.13 he didn't mention the others as much. 00:37:46.16\00:37:48.70 Um, but he was an ordinary person who was called 00:37:48.73\00:37:52.23 to do something extraordinary, 00:37:52.27\00:37:54.20 out of his love and passion for God. 00:37:54.24\00:37:57.14 So, just a wonderful personality, 00:37:57.17\00:37:59.44 a confusing personality in history. 00:37:59.47\00:38:02.94 Um, we think about him as, um, as a zealot, 00:38:02.98\00:38:07.42 as a reformer, 00:38:07.45\00:38:09.08 as a protestor, 00:38:09.12\00:38:10.82 but he was also a musician, 00:38:10.85\00:38:12.35 he loved music, he loved poetry. 00:38:12.39\00:38:14.26 >>John: He, he composed "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." 00:38:14.29\00:38:17.26 >>Dr. Pollard: That's an eternal song, 00:38:17.29\00:38:18.99 "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." 00:38:19.03\00:38:21.90 So, so there was something, and as one scholar said, 00:38:21.93\00:38:26.23 he, we never think of him as a lover, 00:38:26.27\00:38:27.94 we, as somebody who fell radically, 00:38:27.97\00:38:31.51 desperately, deeply in love with God. 00:38:31.54\00:38:34.58 We, we don't tend to think of him that way, 00:38:34.61\00:38:37.25 but, but he did do that. 00:38:37.28\00:38:38.48 >>John: 1517, 500 years ago, 00:38:38.51\00:38:42.35 Luther's not the first reformer to have come along. 00:38:42.38\00:38:44.82 >>Dr. Pollard: No. 00:38:44.85\00:38:45.65 >>John: So, what do you think it was? 00:38:45.69\00:38:47.62 Maybe we're trying to get inside the mind of God here, 00:38:47.66\00:38:49.22 but perhaps we're trying to get in the mind of history as well, 00:38:49.26\00:38:52.26 why then, why Luther? 00:38:52.29\00:38:55.06 Perhaps it had something to do with Luther being, 00:38:55.10\00:38:57.43 uh, uniquely suited to a good fight. 00:38:57.47\00:39:02.54 What was it about that time that made that date, 00:39:02.57\00:39:06.34 October 31, 1517 the right time to launch a revolution. 00:39:06.37\00:39:12.98 >>Dr. Pollard: When I think about that time, John, 00:39:13.01\00:39:14.38 I think about the text in Galatians 00:39:14.42\00:39:16.25 "when the fullness of time had come," 00:39:16.28\00:39:18.62 and when Christ appeared in history, 00:39:18.65\00:39:20.56 there was a confluence of events that made it the perfect time 00:39:20.59\00:39:25.33 for God to launch the personal plan of salvation 00:39:25.36\00:39:28.53 embodied in Jesus Christ. 00:39:28.56\00:39:30.60 Similarly, with Martin Luther, right at that time, 00:39:30.63\00:39:33.64 we were at a crossroads in history. 00:39:33.67\00:39:35.94 The, um, the papal church then, 00:39:35.97\00:39:38.04 the historic papal church had achieved its ascendancy 00:39:38.07\00:39:41.61 in the Holy Roman empire, 00:39:41.64\00:39:43.28 the feudal system had reduced, 00:39:43.31\00:39:46.68 had created a, a, 00:39:46.72\00:39:47.92 class stratification that was almost unbreakable. 00:39:47.95\00:39:51.79 There were the wealthy have's, 00:39:51.82\00:39:53.19 the landowners, 00:39:53.22\00:39:54.32 and the unwealthy have-not's, 00:39:54.36\00:39:56.19 the, the poor and the outcast. 00:39:56.22\00:39:58.56 There, there was a sense of psychological and theological 00:39:58.59\00:40:02.06 dominance in the landscape of that era. 00:40:02.10\00:40:05.67 And something needed to happen in order to, 00:40:05.70\00:40:09.07 I believe, to correct the image of God as an exacting 00:40:09.10\00:40:14.24 transactional entity who wanted blood for blood and, 00:40:14.28\00:40:20.55 and good work for good work, and in the scales of salvation, 00:40:20.58\00:40:25.02 if you committed, if you have a demerit, 00:40:25.05\00:40:28.26 then you're in a bad position, but a merit brings you back. 00:40:28.29\00:40:32.53 And Luther as a, as a figure was passionate 00:40:32.56\00:40:36.77 in his love for God, 00:40:36.80\00:40:38.63 but the checklist morality of the time did not satisfy him, 00:40:38.67\00:40:45.31 he, he, something was missing. 00:40:45.34\00:40:47.94 Something was missing. 00:40:47.98\00:40:49.18 And, and it's, it's in that window that God speaks to this, 00:40:49.21\00:40:53.28 this monk who, with all of his soul wants to please 00:40:53.31\00:40:58.75 this transactional God and keeps failing. 00:40:58.79\00:41:01.56 >>John: Take us back to the time. 00:41:01.59\00:41:05.26 Today, if you wanna believe in God, 00:41:05.29\00:41:06.59 you'll knock yourself out. 00:41:06.63\00:41:07.40 If you don't, you know, don't, 00:41:07.40\00:41:09.30 If you wanna have pink hair or blue hair or no hair, 00:41:09.33\00:41:12.30 it doesn't really matter, tattoo or not. Anyway, 00:41:12.33\00:41:15.14 people are free to do what they wanna do. 00:41:15.17\00:41:17.77 Uh, maybe that's good and maybe some isn't, 00:41:17.81\00:41:21.81 but it is what it is. 00:41:21.84\00:41:23.91 So let's go back to Luther's time, 00:41:23.95\00:41:26.72 what was that day like? 00:41:26.75\00:41:28.55 What was it like to live in Luther's society? 00:41:28.58\00:41:31.32 >>Dr. Pollard: Okay. 00:41:31.35\00:41:32.35 October 31st, 1517 when he nails his 95 Theses 00:41:32.39\00:41:36.76 to the church's door in Wittenberg. 00:41:36.79\00:41:38.96 Okay, so, it's an oppressive time, 00:41:38.99\00:41:41.33 psychologically and theologically, 00:41:41.36\00:41:43.63 because the dominance of the papal church is everything. 00:41:43.67\00:41:48.00 What we often don't process is that it's economic dominance 00:41:48.04\00:41:51.31 as well because the church is very wealthy 00:41:51.34\00:41:53.84 and it has access to privilege and opportunity. 00:41:53.88\00:41:56.61 It is a time when there is severe class stratification 00:41:56.64\00:42:01.75 where peasants have almost no hope. 00:42:01.78\00:42:04.02 It is a time of wide spread illiteracy, 00:42:04.05\00:42:07.26 only very few, 00:42:07.29\00:42:08.46 the public education as we know it did not exist, 00:42:08.49\00:42:11.09 only, only very few people get to go to school 00:42:11.13\00:42:14.10 and to learn to read and to become literate human beings. 00:42:14.13\00:42:17.00 So, right at that time, God chooses, 00:42:17.03\00:42:21.50 I believe, because I think we have to see 00:42:21.54\00:42:23.34 the overarching hand of God in some of this history, 00:42:23.37\00:42:26.14 God chooses in that time to speak to this people 00:42:26.17\00:42:30.95 and to set them free through the, 00:42:30.98\00:42:33.08 through the ministry of Martin Luther, 00:42:33.11\00:42:36.02 a ministry that he grew into, never planned, 00:42:36.05\00:42:40.19 simply wanted to reform, 00:42:40.22\00:42:41.59 never planned to launch a whole new movement called 00:42:41.62\00:42:45.16 Protestantism. 00:42:45.19\00:42:46.06 That wasn't his plan. 00:42:46.09\00:42:47.30 His plan was to reform his church. 00:42:47.30\00:42:50.77 >>John: So, Luther came out of the dark. 00:42:50.80\00:42:53.57 >>Dr. Pollard: Yeah. 00:42:53.60\00:42:54.74 >>John: He wasn't ra-, he didn't go to Sunday school. 00:42:54.77\00:42:57.67 >>Dr. Pollard: No. 00:42:57.71\00:42:58.91 >>John: He, he wasn't going to Bible study with his friends. 00:42:58.94\00:43:00.38 >>Dr. Pollard: He was one monk among many. 00:43:00.41\00:43:02.01 >>John: Yeah. 00:43:02.04\00:43:02.71 >>Dr. Pollard: One among many. 00:43:02.74\00:43:03.71 >>John: And they weren't guided by the, the, the, 00:43:03.75\00:43:04.95 they didn't have the Word of God burning in their bellies, 00:43:04.98\00:43:07.98 it wasn't anything like that. 00:43:08.02\00:43:10.05 In a certain sense, that'll help us understand some of the, 00:43:10.09\00:43:12.42 maybe his theological, uh, inconsistencies. 00:43:12.45\00:43:16.32 But this was a man who was a champion for the Bible. 00:43:16.36\00:43:20.10 >>Dr. Pollard: He was. He was. 00:43:20.13\00:43:21.13 >>John: How did he get to that place? 00:43:21.16\00:43:22.60 Keeping in mind, he wasn't born into a world, 00:43:22.63\00:43:25.07 there wasn't a Bible on, on the table in the living room 00:43:25.10\00:43:27.80 where he was raised, 00:43:27.84\00:43:28.84 but this man became a champion for the Bible. 00:43:28.87\00:43:31.44 How did he get from abject darkness to that concept 00:43:31.47\00:43:35.28 of being a champion for the, the light of lights? 00:43:35.31\00:43:37.55 >>Dr. Pollard: Yeah, yeah he, 00:43:37.58\00:43:38.41 he, certainly embraced the vulgate, 00:43:38.45\00:43:40.12 because that's what he used, the Latin vulgate and, 00:43:40.15\00:43:41.82 of course, he was very fluent in Latin. 00:43:41.85\00:43:44.22 But I think as Luther walked his journey 00:43:44.25\00:43:47.12 and began to interact directly with the Word of God 00:43:47.16\00:43:49.96 and to reflect upon it's teachings, 00:43:49.99\00:43:51.56 particularly the Book of Romans and, 00:43:51.59\00:43:53.63 and the notion that the just shall live by faith, 00:43:53.66\00:43:56.80 I think, again, this is where how we think about Luther 00:43:56.83\00:43:59.20 becomes important, Luther fell in love with God 00:43:59.23\00:44:03.77 and that love he wanted everybody to experience, 00:44:03.81\00:44:07.88 every peasant, 00:44:07.91\00:44:09.01 every surf, he wanted every citizen to experience it. 00:44:09.04\00:44:14.05 And he came to believe that if the church 00:44:14.08\00:44:16.79 stands between the Scripture, 00:44:16.82\00:44:19.85 the unfettered communication of Scripture, 00:44:19.89\00:44:22.99 and the believer, if the church came to stand between that, 00:44:23.02\00:44:26.13 they would never get to that place of love and freedom 00:44:26.16\00:44:29.73 that he had come to, and thus he was, 00:44:29.76\00:44:33.10 after his excommunication, 00:44:33.13\00:44:34.64 he said what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna tra- 00:44:34.67\00:44:36.81 in that 10 month period, 00:44:36.84\00:44:37.81 he translated the Bible into the German language 00:44:37.84\00:44:41.28 so that commoners who could read could read it. 00:44:41.31\00:44:45.31 What a gift! 00:44:45.35\00:44:47.05 I think that's one of his biggest contributions. 00:44:47.08\00:44:49.22 That translation of the Bible into the common parlance, 00:44:49.25\00:44:54.02 which by the way, 00:44:54.06\00:44:55.42 is the parlance in which it was written originally anyway. 00:44:55.46\00:44:58.09 It was always intended for the common people. 00:44:58.13\00:45:00.96 It was never to be the possession 00:45:01.00\00:45:04.47 of the religious hierarchy. 00:45:04.50\00:45:05.70 The Bible was never intended, that's why, 00:45:05.73\00:45:07.94 I'm in New Testament, 00:45:07.97\00:45:09.54 that's why coyney Greek which is common Greek issue. 00:45:09.57\00:45:12.54 It's not classical Greek that the average Greek 00:45:12.57\00:45:15.24 citizen could not read. 00:45:15.28\00:45:17.05 It's coyney Greek because it was always intended 00:45:17.08\00:45:20.52 to be in the hands of the simple believer. 00:45:20.55\00:45:22.22 >>John: He was interesting amalgamations really, wasn't he? 00:45:22.25\00:45:24.25 Because this was a man with a giant intellect. 00:45:24.29\00:45:26.39 >>Dr. Pollard: He was. 00:45:26.42\00:45:27.22 >>John: Which says boys and girls 00:45:27.26\00:45:28.36 something about the importance of doing your homework 00:45:28.39\00:45:30.39 and going to school because- 00:45:30.43\00:45:31.43 >>Dr. Pollard: Amen. 00:45:31.46\00:45:32.36 >>John: -who drove the Reformation forward 00:45:32.39\00:45:33.63 were academic giants. 00:45:33.66\00:45:35.40 >>Dr. Pollard: Amen. 00:45:35.43\00:45:36.60 >>John: However, this was a man who didn't have his head 00:45:36.63\00:45:38.50 in the clouds. 00:45:38.53\00:45:39.60 He had, he, he was a giant academically, 00:45:39.63\00:45:43.10 but he was committed to making the Bible 00:45:43.14\00:45:45.47 as accessible to everyday people as he possibly could. 00:45:45.51\00:45:50.55 >>Dr. Pollard: Yes. 00:45:50.58\00:45:51.51 >>John: Which, which speaks, I think, to, uh, 00:45:51.55\00:45:54.02 he had this level headedness about him. 00:45:54.05\00:45:55.95 >>Dr. Pollard: He did. 00:45:55.98\00:45:57.02 >>John: Maybe, as you said right at the beginning, 00:45:57.05\00:45:57.95 you said that he was a common guy 00:45:57.99\00:45:59.32 and never really forgot where he came from. 00:45:59.35\00:46:01.06 >>Dr. Pollard: It was important that his mother and his father 00:46:01.09\00:46:02.99 would understand the gospel too. 00:46:03.02\00:46:04.69 That was important. 00:46:04.73\00:46:05.76 And again, the best use, I, I work in academia, 00:46:05.79\00:46:08.43 the best use of intellect, I say to my friends in theology, 00:46:08.46\00:46:12.33 I have proven nothing if I can confuse a 19 year old 00:46:12.37\00:46:16.47 with my theological discourse. 00:46:16.50\00:46:18.34 I, I've proven nothing. 00:46:18.37\00:46:19.54 But where I have proven something though is if 00:46:19.57\00:46:22.24 I can take the lingua franca of the theology 00:46:22.28\00:46:25.45 and translate it into the coinage of the common listener. 00:46:25.48\00:46:29.18 If I can do that, 00:46:29.22\00:46:30.99 then my theology will be most effective. 00:46:31.02\00:46:33.25 It will have legs that will run. 00:46:33.29\00:46:34.76 It will have hands that will work. 00:46:34.79\00:46:36.16 And it will have a heart that feels. 00:46:36.19\00:46:38.13 And that's really what Luther was able to do. 00:46:38.16\00:46:40.56 He was able through his movement 00:46:40.60\00:46:43.10 to set people free with his assurance, 00:46:43.13\00:46:46.37 with the assurance of salvation. 00:46:46.40\00:46:48.57 And, and again, we cannot under estimate that in the time, 00:46:48.60\00:46:53.34 this is a radical notion, 00:46:53.38\00:46:55.64 this is a radical notion that, 00:46:55.68\00:46:58.58 that the treasure house of the saints, 00:46:58.61\00:47:00.75 that all their treasured good works, 00:47:00.78\00:47:02.82 which are accessed through indulgences, 00:47:02.85\00:47:05.65 mean nothing because "the just shall live by faith." 00:47:05.69\00:47:10.43 It freed up a whole world. 00:47:10.46\00:47:12.29 >>John: Now we're gonna come back to that, 00:47:12.33\00:47:13.63 we'll do that in just a moment. 00:47:13.66\00:47:14.40 >>Dr. Pollard: Okay. 00:47:14.46\00:47:15.10 >>John: Justification by faith, 00:47:15.13\00:47:15.76 purgatory, 00:47:15.80\00:47:16.60 indulgences, 00:47:16.63\00:47:17.77 these are the things that that lit a fire under Luther 00:47:17.80\00:47:21.07 because it did, 00:47:21.10\00:47:22.54 Luther set the world on fire. 00:47:22.57\00:47:23.81 Back with more in just a moment. 00:47:23.84\00:47:25.17 ¤[Music]¤ 00:47:25.21\00:47:30.95 >>John: I'm John Bradshaw from It Is Written 00:47:32.28\00:47:34.45 inviting you to join me for 500, 00:47:34.48\00:47:38.12 nine programs produced by It Is Written 00:47:38.15\00:47:40.42 taking you deep into the Reformation. 00:47:40.46\00:47:43.56 This is the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation 00:47:43.59\00:47:47.73 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses 00:47:47.76\00:47:50.20 to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. 00:47:50.23\00:47:53.07 We'll take you to Wittenberg and to Belgium, 00:47:53.10\00:47:55.30 to England, 00:47:55.34\00:47:56.10 to Ireland, 00:47:56.14\00:47:57.67 to Rome, 00:47:57.71\00:47:58.51 to the Vatican City, 00:47:58.54\00:47:59.74 and introduce you to the people who created the Reformation, 00:47:59.77\00:48:02.84 who pushed the Reformation forward. 00:48:02.88\00:48:04.91 We'll take you to the sites all throughout Europe 00:48:04.95\00:48:06.85 where the reformers lived and in some cases died. 00:48:06.88\00:48:09.72 We'll bring you back to the United States 00:48:09.75\00:48:11.35 and take you to a little farm in upstate New York 00:48:11.39\00:48:14.39 and show you how God spread the Reformation here. 00:48:14.42\00:48:17.33 Don't miss 500. 00:48:17.36\00:48:19.39 You can own the 500 series on DVD. 00:48:19.43\00:48:22.33 Call us on 888-664-5573 00:48:22.36\00:48:27.10 or visit us online at itiswritten.shop. 00:48:27.14\00:48:32.04 >>John: Welcome back to 500. 00:48:33.54\00:48:34.74 I'm John Bradshaw. 00:48:34.78\00:48:36.18 Here I Stand, the life and ministry of Martin Luther. 00:48:36.21\00:48:39.15 I have the privilege of speaking to my guest Dr. Leslie Pollard 00:48:39.18\00:48:42.78 who is the president of Oakwood University. 00:48:42.82\00:48:45.89 Dr. Pollard, back to Martin Luther, 00:48:45.92\00:48:47.69 there were some certain theological things 00:48:47.72\00:48:51.39 that he fought against. 00:48:51.43\00:48:53.03 Let's check them off. 00:48:53.06\00:48:54.10 Purgatory. 00:48:54.13\00:48:56.23 >>Dr. Pollard: Yes. 00:48:56.26\00:48:57.33 >>John: If you read the 95 Theses, 00:48:57.37\00:49:00.04 many of them, 15 or so of them, 00:49:00.07\00:49:01.57 deal specifically with purgatory, 00:49:01.60\00:49:03.24 mention purgatory, it was really significant to Martin Luther. 00:49:03.27\00:49:07.24 Why was that so significant to Luther in Luther's time? 00:49:07.28\00:49:10.85 >>Dr. Pollard: Well, I, I think, I think, 00:49:10.88\00:49:12.18 John, that, that purgatory represented a kind of 00:49:12.21\00:49:16.08 unique theological aberration, may I say, 00:49:16.12\00:49:19.02 even heresy that the soul could be purged 00:49:19.05\00:49:23.12 through the fires. 00:49:23.16\00:49:24.56 I mean, for an indefinite period that the soul 00:49:24.59\00:49:27.56 could be purged through the fires of Hades. 00:49:27.60\00:49:30.67 And I, I like to liken it to taking a child 00:49:30.70\00:49:34.47 and putting bamboo shoots under their fingernails for hundreds 00:49:34.50\00:49:38.67 and thousands and even millions of years. 00:49:38.71\00:49:41.81 So, so there was this theological heresy 00:49:41.84\00:49:43.98 that just did not seem to square with Scripture. 00:49:44.01\00:49:47.12 But I think another effect, and some writers had pointed out, 00:49:47.15\00:49:51.02 it also represented the severest psychological bondage 00:49:51.05\00:49:55.82 that the, the ancient believer would have been held under. 00:49:55.86\00:49:58.99 >>John: Explain that to me. 00:49:59.03\00:50:00.16 >>Dr. Pollard: Well, by that I mean, 00:50:00.20\00:50:01.60 psychologically if my relatives are in this space 00:50:01.63\00:50:06.77 where they are being tortured because that's effectively 00:50:06.80\00:50:09.74 what they are doing, 00:50:09.77\00:50:10.74 there're held in this nether world of torture 00:50:10.77\00:50:13.54 and that it's up to me to be able to free them 00:50:13.58\00:50:16.24 through, through the corollary to purgatory is indulgences. 00:50:16.28\00:50:20.75 So, if it's up to me, 00:50:20.78\00:50:22.32 then even if I don't have the money, 00:50:22.35\00:50:25.29 I will work to get the money and thus I enrich 00:50:25.32\00:50:28.79 what is the institutional church of the time. 00:50:28.82\00:50:31.46 So one of the things I like to do is to look at the economic, 00:50:31.49\00:50:36.03 I'm an MBA, 00:50:36.06\00:50:37.30 so I also look at the economic ties to some of these doctrines. 00:50:37.33\00:50:41.30 And there is, 00:50:41.34\00:50:42.54 there is a profound economic benefit to the ancient church 00:50:42.57\00:50:47.08 at this time. 00:50:47.11\00:50:48.68 Under this doctrine of purgatory and indulgence, 00:50:48.71\00:50:51.45 there's a benefit that also comes along with the control. 00:50:51.48\00:50:54.78 >>John: Well, Tetzel came into Wittenburg- 00:50:54.82\00:50:58.72 >>Dr. Pollard: Yeah. 00:50:58.75\00:50:59.79 >>John: Carrying that box, or coffer or some kind. 00:50:59.82\00:51:03.43 >>Dr. Pollard: Yes. 00:51:03.46\00:51:04.29 >>John: And ultimately, indulgences paid 00:51:04.33\00:51:06.53 for the building of St. Peter's basilica. 00:51:06.56\00:51:08.56 >>Dr. Pollard: Absolutely so look at the economic benefit. 00:51:08.60\00:51:11.20 Yeah, there is. 00:51:11.23\00:51:12.00 >>John: You can imagine, can't you, 00:51:12.03\00:51:14.00 having a dollar in your pocket and knowing that this is gonna 00:51:14.04\00:51:16.97 get mom reduction in her time in purgatory- 00:51:17.01\00:51:19.87 >>Dr. Pollard: Yes. That's right. 00:51:19.91\00:51:20.91 >>John: What does that make you- 00:51:20.94\00:51:22.28 >>Dr. Pollard: Oh, my goodness. 00:51:22.31\00:51:23.24 That makes me, that, that makes me feel free. 00:51:23.28\00:51:25.61 It makes me feel worthwhile. 00:51:25.65\00:51:27.12 It makes me feel benefited. 00:51:27.15\00:51:28.72 Psychologically I have been a helper. 00:51:28.75\00:51:30.89 I have done something praiseworthy. 00:51:30.92\00:51:33.46 Let's say I was not even respectful to mom 00:51:33.49\00:51:35.86 or dad or whatever. 00:51:35.89\00:51:37.96 Or let's say I left home and I was a, a prodigal and, 00:51:37.99\00:51:41.23 and they died with me in the far country. 00:51:41.26\00:51:43.57 Now I can say I'm sorry. 00:51:43.60\00:51:45.83 >>John: You can make it up to them? 00:51:45.87\00:51:47.17 >>Dr. Pollard: I can make it up to them. 00:51:47.20\00:51:48.50 I mean, Tetzel, Tetzel was, 00:51:48.54\00:51:50.17 Johann Tetzel was notorious promoter of indulgences. 00:51:50.21\00:51:55.51 And one of the little sayings around him was, 00:51:55.54\00:51:59.51 um, that he had perfected was as soon as the coin, 00:51:59.55\00:52:04.99 um, as soon as the coin on the bottom of the coffer rings, 00:52:05.02\00:52:09.56 the soul from purgatory springs. 00:52:09.59\00:52:12.23 >>John: Yeah, that's a great sales pitch. 00:52:12.26\00:52:14.36 >>Dr. Pollard: Tremendous power. 00:52:14.36\00:52:15.66 >>John: Yeah. 00:52:15.70\00:52:16.77 And so Luther saw this fellow coming into his own, 00:52:16.80\00:52:18.43 into his own perish, fleecing essentially- 00:52:18.47\00:52:21.87 >>Dr. Pollard: He did. 00:52:21.90\00:52:22.80 >>John: And that, that really made a boom 00:52:22.84\00:52:24.67 with the righteous indignation, didn't it? 00:52:24.71\00:52:26.34 >>Dr. Pollard: It did. It did. 00:52:26.37\00:52:27.31 And he, and he thought this can't be true. 00:52:27.34\00:52:28.91 This can't be true. 00:52:28.94\00:52:30.08 So in the 95 Theses, he challenges it and says, 00:52:30.11\00:52:33.62 "Okay. If it is true, 00:52:33.65\00:52:34.75 let's look at Scripture history tradition and find out 00:52:34.78\00:52:37.99 when and where this became true?" 00:52:38.02\00:52:39.39 Because it wasn't always a practice. 00:52:39.42\00:52:42.19 It became a very convenient practice in Luther's day. 00:52:42.22\00:52:44.93 And there was at least one village in which, 00:52:44.96\00:52:47.66 one area which it had been banned. 00:52:47.73\00:52:49.40 But, but the people then would go beyond the borders 00:52:49.43\00:52:52.43 of that province in order to buy indulgences. 00:52:52.47\00:52:56.14 >>John: Luther equals justification by faith. 00:52:56.17\00:53:00.21 >>Dr. Pollard: All the way. 00:53:00.24\00:53:01.01 >>John: So, what was he up against 00:53:01.04\00:53:03.31 and how did he get to that place? 00:53:03.35\00:53:05.01 I mean, it's a radical teaching, just what, 00:53:05.05\00:53:07.15 just the things that we're talking about, 00:53:07.18\00:53:09.08 speak of salvation by works. 00:53:09.12\00:53:10.85 >>Dr. Pollard: It does. It does. 00:53:10.89\00:53:12.19 >>John: But Luther turned this thing around completely, 00:53:12.22\00:53:15.12 did a 180 degrees. 00:53:15.16\00:53:17.26 So, so, let's talk about what justification by faith 00:53:17.29\00:53:21.73 meant in the mind and theology of Martin Luther. 00:53:21.76\00:53:25.20 >>Dr. Pollard: Okay. 00:53:25.23\00:53:26.20 So for Luther, justification was a free gift. 00:53:26.23\00:53:28.54 He, his favorite books Romans, 00:53:28.57\00:53:30.74 Galatians, 00:53:30.77\00:53:31.51 Ephesians, 00:53:31.54\00:53:32.31 especially Ephesians 2:8 00:53:32.34\00:53:33.38 By grace are you saved. 00:53:33.41\00:53:35.34 He, he quotes this, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel" 00:53:35.38\00:53:38.05 Romans 1:16: for it is the power of God into salvation. 00:53:38.08\00:53:42.88 In Galatians, you know, you're saved by grace, by faith. 00:53:42.92\00:53:45.69 That whole debate. 00:53:45.72\00:53:46.96 So for him, justification was the free gift of God 00:53:46.99\00:53:51.69 that bestowed salvation, had been purchased through 00:53:51.73\00:53:54.93 Jesus Christ act on calvary, 00:53:54.96\00:53:57.13 his sacrificial, 00:53:57.17\00:53:58.33 death, his resurrected life. 00:53:58.37\00:54:00.74 And when Luther saw that, 00:54:00.77\00:54:02.24 he then saw what he saw as the aberrations of, 00:54:02.27\00:54:05.41 of someone adding to this gift, other requirements, 00:54:05.44\00:54:12.35 and he reacted to it, but, but it wasn't because he didn't try 00:54:12.38\00:54:17.79 to fulfill those requirements. 00:54:17.82\00:54:19.69 So, I think it's important to recognize that a part of 00:54:19.72\00:54:22.49 Luther's theology is not controlled by his experience, 00:54:22.52\00:54:26.49 but it is definitely influenced by his own experience 00:54:26.53\00:54:30.63 with pursuing righteousness and never being able to obtain it. 00:54:30.67\00:54:34.54 >>John: He spurred to beginning of the Protestant Reformation, 00:54:34.57\00:54:37.74 so you can answer this in a thousand different ways. 00:54:37.77\00:54:40.58 >>Dr. Pollard: Yeah. 00:54:40.61\00:54:41.54 >>John: What does he bequeath to us today? 00:54:41.58\00:54:43.14 Where do we start to weigh that up? 00:54:43.18\00:54:46.08 >>Dr. Pollard: I think if you look at the stances 00:54:46.11\00:54:48.42 he took around the only's, you know, 00:54:48.45\00:54:51.69 sola is the Latin word for only. 00:54:51.72\00:54:54.22 So, sola scriptura is one of his great legacies. 00:54:54.26\00:54:57.36 The Bible and the Bible only. 00:54:57.39\00:54:59.26 Now it doesn't mean that Luther didn't respect tradition, 00:54:59.29\00:55:03.16 but he only respected traditional interpretation 00:55:03.20\00:55:05.87 of scripture as it conformed to Scripture. 00:55:05.90\00:55:08.40 So, so, so, so he's, so he's radical in that sense, 00:55:08.44\00:55:12.44 but he's not so radical that he will not allow that there 00:55:12.47\00:55:15.84 have been other positive and correct interpretation, 00:55:15.88\00:55:18.75 so sola scriptura. 00:55:18.78\00:55:20.38 Out of that sola scriptura, 00:55:20.42\00:55:22.95 sola gracia, that, that grace alone. 00:55:22.98\00:55:26.62 By grace alone are we saved. 00:55:26.65\00:55:28.59 And so this becomes one of the legacies 00:55:28.62\00:55:30.73 that is still operational in Protestantism today. 00:55:30.76\00:55:33.23 And then sola fide, the, the, the life of faith, 00:55:33.26\00:55:37.43 that faith is the access to that grace that saves us. 00:55:37.47\00:55:42.50 And then sola christus, the Christ alone. 00:55:42.54\00:55:46.47 So he loved Christ and Christ is enough. 00:55:46.51\00:55:49.78 He is enough. 00:55:49.81\00:55:51.31 I can't say that enough. 00:55:51.35\00:55:52.91 He is enough. 00:55:52.95\00:55:54.22 He doesn't need anything extra, He is enough. 00:55:54.25\00:55:57.65 And then, of course, 00:55:57.69\00:55:58.89 um, soli deo Gloria, 00:55:58.92\00:56:01.79 to the glory of God, 00:56:01.82\00:56:02.92 only to the glory of God that life is to be translated 00:56:02.96\00:56:06.06 out so that we live in the glory of God. 00:56:06.09\00:56:08.93 Those five things to me are lasting contributions. 00:56:08.96\00:56:12.77 Now you could underscore those, his protest ethic. 00:56:12.80\00:56:16.10 >>John: Sure. 00:56:16.14\00:56:16.97 >>Dr. Pollard: His sense of justice, 00:56:17.01\00:56:18.21 although there were times in his life, 00:56:18.24\00:56:19.51 where he did fail that test, 00:56:19.54\00:56:21.84 but, but all of the other things that make a protest a protest, 00:56:21.88\00:56:28.28 um, when the princes stood with him. 00:56:28.32\00:56:31.09 Um, all of that is grounded in those five only's. 00:56:31.12\00:56:36.62 If these five foundation stones are in place, 00:56:36.66\00:56:40.56 then out of that will come an allegiance to God 00:56:40.60\00:56:43.83 and not an allegiance to man. 00:56:43.87\00:56:45.47 I mean, that's the protest to the princes. 00:56:45.50\00:56:47.14 The princes say, we are to obey God rather than man, 00:56:47.17\00:56:51.47 the church and all the other things. 00:56:51.51\00:56:53.71 God only. 00:56:53.74\00:56:54.91 So, I, I think his legacy lives with us 500 years later. 00:56:54.94\00:56:59.68 It lives with us today. 00:56:59.71\00:57:01.28 Whenever, when I see young people today 00:57:01.32\00:57:04.09 in modern movements concerned about the ecology, 00:57:04.12\00:57:09.22 I think sometimes of Luther. 00:57:09.26\00:57:11.13 That when I see them concerned about injustice and, 00:57:11.16\00:57:15.16 and an equitable world I, I, I think sometimes 00:57:15.20\00:57:18.20 about the principles that Luther left us, 00:57:18.23\00:57:21.04 that every human being should have that dignity, 00:57:21.07\00:57:25.11 even though, 00:57:25.14\00:57:26.64 he may have failed at sometimes 00:57:26.68\00:57:27.64 in some of his antisemitic statements, 00:57:27.68\00:57:30.28 but the overarching principle is always true 00:57:30.31\00:57:32.78 and it's bigger than the purveyor of the principle. 00:57:32.81\00:57:35.42 The principle is always bigger than the purveyor 00:57:35.45\00:57:37.62 of the principle. 00:57:37.65\00:57:38.65 So none of us will live out our faith perfectly 00:57:38.69\00:57:40.92 or in complete maturity, 00:57:40.96\00:57:43.83 but we will live it to the best of our ability, 00:57:43.86\00:57:45.73 and when you do that God will say of us 00:57:45.76\00:57:48.00 as He can say of Martin Luther. 00:57:48.03\00:57:49.26 Well done, thou good and faithful servant. 00:57:49.30\00:57:51.40 >>John: Dr. Pollard, it's been fantastic. 00:57:51.43\00:57:53.17 Thanks for taking the time. 00:57:53.20\00:57:54.67 Appreciate it greatly. 00:57:54.70\00:57:55.80 >>Dr. Pollard: Thank you, my pleasure. 00:57:55.84\00:57:57.14 >>John: And thank you for taking the time for joining us. 00:57:57.17\00:57:59.54 Be sure to join us next time for our next program in 500, 00:57:59.57\00:58:04.01 you'll be as blessed then as I pray and hope 00:58:04.05\00:58:06.08 you've been today. 00:58:06.11\00:58:06.95 Let's pray together now, can we do that? 00:58:06.98\00:58:10.35 Our Father in Heaven, 00:58:10.39\00:58:11.35 we've been on a journey as we've traced this, 00:58:11.39\00:58:14.52 this outstanding life, 00:58:14.56\00:58:16.32 an ordinary person blessed by the great sovereign 00:58:16.36\00:58:20.36 of the universe to do extraordinary things. 00:58:20.40\00:58:23.16 And today we are the beneficiaries 00:58:23.20\00:58:25.03 of much of what Luther did. 00:58:25.07\00:58:27.24 He's left us so much that's positive. 00:58:27.27\00:58:29.90 We don't have to imitate the man 00:58:29.94\00:58:31.41 but his ethic his approach to you. 00:58:31.44\00:58:33.94 We thank you that you've given us the opportunity 00:58:33.98\00:58:37.31 to say Here I Stand. 00:58:37.35\00:58:40.35 Lord let the fire of faith burn in our hearts. 00:58:40.38\00:58:43.18 I pray that we'll have a life like Luther did, 00:58:43.22\00:58:45.25 what you did through him was miraculous. 00:58:45.29\00:58:46.92 It will take a miracle, but you can do it in us. 00:58:46.96\00:58:49.79 And I pray that you will some way there's a man, 00:58:49.82\00:58:52.29 a woman or young person looking at his or her life 00:58:52.33\00:58:55.23 and wondering what next, 00:58:55.26\00:58:57.17 I pray that you encourage that one, 00:58:57.20\00:58:59.40 that there is salvation by faith, 00:58:59.43\00:59:02.54 that there is salvation through the grace 00:59:02.57\00:59:05.44 of this great God of heaven. 00:59:05.47\00:59:07.41 Lord, we thank you. 00:59:07.44\00:59:08.41 We know that the Reformation must be finished. 00:59:08.44\00:59:09.91 It must be finished soon. 00:59:09.94\00:59:10.98 We are looking forward to going home. 00:59:11.01\00:59:12.55 Let it be so, we pray. 00:59:12.58\00:59:13.78 We thank you, 00:59:13.82\00:59:15.35 in Jesus name. 00:59:15.38\00:59:16.35 Amen. 00:59:16.38\00:59:17.19 >>Dr. Pollard: Amen. 00:59:17.22\00:59:18.02 >>John: Dr. Pollard, thanks again. 00:59:18.05\00:59:19.12 >>Dr. Pollard: Thank you. 00:59:19.15\00:59:19.79 >>John: And thank you again. 00:59:19.82\00:59:20.82 Looking forward to seeing you again next time. 00:59:20.86\00:59:22.16 Until then remember, 00:59:22.19\00:59:24.49 "It Is Written, 00:59:24.53\00:59:25.63 man shall not live by bread alone, 00:59:25.66\00:59:27.50 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 00:59:27.50\00:59:31.30 ¤[Music]¤ 00:59:31.33\00:59:46.35