The Five Solas (Week 3) - Martin Luther & Medieval Rome II

We discussed last week that Luther had joined the Augustinian order as a monk because he was taught that God was pleased by those who lived religious lives and did religious acts regularly. So for a whole year, as a Monk Initiate, Luther lived in a 3 meter by 3 meter room, didn’t have private conversations, prayed 7 times a day, fasted often, and daily confessed his sins to a superior in the monastery.

A part of Martin's study and religious devotion over that first year was to consider this question: "How does one find a gracious God?"

This became a real struggle for him. He was taught that he was to please God with his actions and then God would then be gracious to him. But Martin knew, as he confessed often, hours at a time remember, just how sinful he was. How many actions, thoughts, heart intentions, etc. were not pleasing to God.

How could God ever be gracious to him?

So Martin after the first year is over and he is accepted as a monk, he is quickly set on the path to now become a priest. So Luther began to study and prepare for that. He was reading the writings of theologians a lot now, studying the art of being a priest in the Roman church.

One of the things he looked at, and struggled with, was the concept of the Mass and this struggle comes out in his ordination service in a profound and public way.

To understand the significance, let's step back again and understand that:

Rome is a Sacramental System.

Sacraments:

The Roman Catholic system is based on Sacraments (or ordinances). These are acts that, they claim, earn favor with God, acts that are necessary for the Christian to do. They are, as the Reformers point out in critiquing Roman teaching here, works that are added to faith in order to please God. This sacramentalism is what the Reformers rejected when they declared that salvation was by Sola Fide - Faith Alone.

Again, turning to the Catholic church for their own definition, they write: "The life of the Catholic Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice [The Mass] and the sacraments. There are seven sacraments in the church: baptism, confirmation, eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, matrimony, and holy orders."

There are Seven Sacraments in Roman Theology. As Protestants, we believe in Two.

The Sacraments of Roman Catholicism are:

Baptism (Infant)

Confirmation

Eucharist (Mass)

Penance

Anointing of the Sick

Marriage

Holy Orders (Priesthood/Monastic Life)

The Catholic church clearly states: "They are necessary for salvation."

The first is Baptism. Baptism is done primarily for infants, though adults are of course required to be baptized as well if they convert later in life. The Catholic church states that baptism incorporates you into the church, is the foundational gateway into all the other sacraments, and that it actually purifies you of original sin.

This is why Roman Catholic babies are baptized as soon as possible. They need their sin, the sinfulness they are born with, to be removed. Catholic children in the time of Luther are baptized as soon as physically possible because they often died in infancy. Without baptism, the Roman Church taught that they would be damned. With baptism, a baby’s original sin is forgiven and they can go to purgatory or heaven if they die young.

The second is Confirmation. Confirmation is the result of training in the beliefs of the Catholic church. Confirmation classes would be regularly held and the children in particular are taught what the church says is true. At the end of the classes, rather than just a simple graduation occuring, being confirmed into the church is said to give the Spirit to the person being confirmed.

They literally claim they are "enriching the baptized with the Holy Spirit, binding them more perfectly to the church."

This a significant ceremony for a Catholic.

The third is the Mass. The Catholic Church says "The Eucharist is the most august sacrament, in which Christ himself is contained, offered and received"

This is a crucial point for us to understand. What the Roman Church teaches here is the important to understand and I will come back to it in detail, with the verses and the arguments from each side. We will also see how this particular belief greatly impacted Martin Luther and the other Reformers.

The forth is Penance. This is another of the crucial points with Rome. Listen to how Rome describes Penance: "Through penance, the faithful receive pardon through God's mercy for the sins they have committed. At the same time, they are reconciled with the Church community. The confession, or disclosure, of sins frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others."

Penance is the result of the translation (mistranslation actually) of the Gospels into Latin. Where you and I would read "Repent" in our English Bibles today, Jerome had translated it "Do Penance." So an entire system of confession and works related to confession evolved in Roman Catholicism. To be forgiven of a sin, you had to confess it to a priest, do the work assigned to you (give money, say certain prayers, do a pilgrimage, etc) which is the act of Penance, and then the priest could absolve you of your sin.

We will study this belief in more detail soon as well.

The fifth is Anointing of the Sick. Rome defines the anointing of the sick as a special rite. A special dispensation of grace is given when a sick person is anointed and blessed by the priest. This is one of the three sacraments given to a person near death, what the church calls the "Last Rites." Penance, Anointing, and then a final Mass are seen as the best of the final acts that one can end life with. It puts you in God's favor more than simply dying with faith in Christ would.

The sixth is Marriage. Rome says "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership for the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring."

This is actually a good statement, but then Rome goes further in saying just that.

Rome placed marriage as a sacrament in order to encourage the growth of Catholic families. In terms of holy living, in Roman Catholic theology, marriage is not nearly as good as living a life of perpetual virginity or celibacy (as those in the priesthood are supposed to). But for those outside the religious life this was a special sacrament they could earn extra grace from, mainly through an emphasis on procreation as you might be familiar with what Rome has historically taught in that area.

The seventh is Holy Orders. This is the idea of religious life I mentioned before. Living the life of a monk, priest, bishop, or nun was taught to be the best way to earn extra favor and grace from God. Entering a Holy Order was itself a special rite and those who lived in this lifestyle pleased God more than common people, according to Rome.

Protestantism Differs:

With all of those things in mind, you and I affirm only Two of those to be sacraments: Baptism and Communion. And we differ from Rome greatly on our understanding of both.

Baptism in the New Testament sense is not the thing that Rome understands or practices. I just talked about that this morning as we celebrated EIGHT baptisms and the theological understanding I presented is not at all what Rome would teach.

Likewise, the Mass is not the same as Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, that we celebrate in our church. We will talk more about this in a minute.

Martin Luther - Path to Priesthood

So we left off with Martin Luther having completed his first year at the Monastery in Erfurt, Germany. He has become a monk of the Augustinian Order and is now on the track toward Priesthood.

So let's turn our focus back to Luther for a few moments and then tackle the next of the key themes.

So Luther is studying to take his ordination vows, to become a priest in the Roman Catholic church. For Luther, this is a big deal. Priests are holy men, men who are invested with divine power from God to enact the Sacraments.

A priest is able to Baptize an infant or new convert. As we noted briefly, Rome teaches that the first step or the means by which Justification happens is by Baptism. This means salvation comes through Baptism initially, so this is a crucial part of the Catholic faith. A person must be baptized and so the work of the priest, the person authorized to do baptism, is incredibly important.

The priest can also lead someone in the Confirmation of their faith. This is significant as well, it's a solidifying or joining of the person into the body of the church more fully and gives them special grace. This is a big moment for families that have children reach the age of being able to be confirmed, since as I mention, the mortality rate was incredibly high at this point in time still.

Then of course the priest is able to Anoint the Sick and perform Marriages.

But the biggest things that the priest is able to do, the most significant things, are take Confessions and assign Penance, and most central to the faith, perform the Mass.

Luther is studying all of these things as he prepares to become a priest. He is reading church history, he is being trained on the techniques and the phrases that one has to say and do in church ceremonies. He is diligent in his work, remember, Luther has a sharp legal mind and he is devoted to pleasing God through the Roman Catholic faith. He really believes in all of this.

But as Luther studies, he starts to see how serious of a matter these things really are. It is with the Mass in particular, the central act of a priest, that Luther begins to feel a tremendous weight. He isn't doubting the teachings right now, he is fully embracing them. But he embraces them so much that he begins to doubt that he is worthy of being a priest. He is so aware of his sinfulness that he begins to question himself constantly. His teachers, the other monks, support Luther and try to encourage him thought. So he completes his course of study and finishes preparing for his ordination as a priest.

During this time, Martin has reconciled with his father, Hans, quite a bit. You will recall that Hans Luther had these grand dreams and plans for his son Martin to enter in Law School and become a Lawyer, with all the financial status and respect of that profession in those days. So when Martin made his vow to enter the Augustinian Monastery… Hans was furious and incredibly disappointed.

But Luther was a great monk. He was dedicated and completely committed to the life he chose. And Hans began to take pride in Martin. Instead of Dr. Martin the Lawyer, he bragged about his son Martin the Monk who would soon be an ordained priest, he would be Father Martin.

Hans actually was so proud of his son that as the day of ordination approached, Hans invited several of his closest friends and business partners to come to the service and a large party he would host afterward there in Erfurt. He wanted to brag on his oldest son, who didn't fulfill the dream per se, but was still doing something great and respected with his life in their eyes now.

So in 1507, with his father and his friends there, Martin Luther performs his first Mass. Of a part of it at least.

The litergy is read by Martin and all is quite well, until the time to celebrate the Eucharist. It is at this most crucial moment and right as Luther is reading the words to transform the substances of the elements before him… he freezes. He recounts later that he was filled with terror and dread, becoming instantly and fully aware of his unworthiness and sinfulness. How can he, a sinful man, do such a sacred act in the very presence of God? So he can't finish the phrase. Another monk steps in and concludes the ceremony, but Luther is unable to do it and Hans is completely embarrassed by his son.

So what happened here? Did Luther forget the phrase or get nervous like a student taking a test he wasn't prepared for? No. What happened was Martin Luther believed very deeply in the teaching of the Roman Church and knew exactly what he was supposed to do. Since he thought it was all true and literal and because of that he knew about himself and how he was unworthy… he would not dare finish the words.

So what did (and does) Rome teach happens in this moment?

Rome holds to a view that is called: Transubstantiation

Transubstantiation is the teaching that at the most holy moment in the Mass, when the priest recites those words that Luther failed to, at that moment the literal presence of Jesus Christ comes there. At that moment, what happens according to Rome, is the bread and the wine become the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ. Rome describes it as a miracle, the transforming of these elements. But, one might note quite easily, the elements still look like bread and wine. They smell like bread and wine. They even taste like bread and wine. So how are they the body and blood?

Well, Rome appeals to a philosophical concept and argues that the substance, the immaterial and unperceivable aspects of the elements are transformed. So it looks, smells, tastes like bread and wine, but the substance of it is actually the literal body and blood of Christ.

Rome describes what happens in the Mass as a "bloodless sacrifice of Christ for the remission of sins."

This means that literally, Christ is being sacrificed again, His body is broken when the priest breaks the bread, at every single Mass. Further, they claim that this action by a priest in the Mass is done for the remission, the forgiveness, of sins.

This is a massive difference from what you and I believe about the Communion celebration and what Rome teaches about this.

We do not believe that we have the literal body or blood of Jesus because I utter a specific phrase or have supernatural powers to transform the bread or juice into the actual body & blood of Jesus. And most importantly, we do not believe that when we take Communion that we are sacrificing Jesus Christ again so we can be forgiven.

We believe the Bible is very clear on this matter.

Hebrews 9:23–28 ESV

Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hebrews 10:10-14

Hebrews 10:10–14 ESV

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

1 Peter 3:18 ESV

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

Romans 6:9–10 ESV

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

These passages are very clear that Christ is the true High Priest, His sacrifice is better than bulls, goats, lambs, etc. from the Old Testament sacrificial system because His sacrifice was perfect. He offered Himself once, for all His people and all of their sin, and His work is completed and accomplished in this regard.

Let me be very clear: What Rome teaches about the Mass is blasphemy against the finished work of Christ.

This Transubstantiation that Rome teaches practically denies the once and for all nature of Christ's sacrifice. On paper, they affirm that Jesus only was crucified once as a bloody sacrifice for sinners but they say that although the Mass includes this additional, repeated literal sacrifice of Jesus’ body is different because it is "bloodless."

This is just a semantic argument though, playing with language to try and justify things that they can’t really sustain, and I do not believe holds up at all when carefully considered. They deny the finished work of Christ and instead teach that another sacrifice, in fact many more sacrifices, need to be made for you to be forgiven. Jesus’s body needs to be broken over and over again in the Mass according to Roman Theology.

Luther’s Eucharistic Failure & Ordination:

And Martin Luther believed this. He believed it so strongly that he could not say those words because he honestly believed that the literal, real, physical presence of Jesus Christ would immediately be in that room. And he knew he was sinful and unworthy of invoking such power. So he fell silent.

Hans was furious. At the reception he laid into Martin, berating him and questioning if this calling to the life of a monk and priest was from God or from the devil himself. It was a tragic moment for Martin Luther. He was embarrassed and deeply ashamed of all his father said about him.

But Martin was actually a priest now. Despite his failure in transforming the Eucharist, it was not apostasy or rejection that caused his silence. Martin truly believed in all of it and so he was ordained as a priest. He was now Father Martin Luther, a Monk of the Augustinian Order.

Martin Luther is ordained in 1507 as a priest.

It was pretty clear that young Martin wouldn't make a very good pastor priest though. His actions seemed to reveal a man who wouldn't be quite as skilled as desired in leading the mass regularly for the common people since he couldn’t actually utter the words necessary.

It was at this time though the head of the German Augustinians, Johann von Staupitz, took a keen interest in young Martin as an intellectual. Remember that Martin had his Master of Arts degree already, but Staupitz assigned him to another educational track, starting with another Master's degree, this one in divinity (theology) and showed it showed Martin to be a keen student of the Scriptures and not just Law.

In 1510, Martin is selected to go with another monk from Erfurt to Rome. This trip was to pay some dues and represent the Erfurt monastery with the leadership in Rome. It was also to discuss a controversy with the leadership in Rome around the strictness of the observance for all the rules to be followed. Some in the Augustinian Order wanted to be obedient, but have a little less strictness. Others, including Luther, wanted to have the strictest possible adherence. They were called the Observants and Luther was one of them.

In 1510 Luther is sent on a journey to Rome.

This was going to be a significant journey for young, idealistic, believing Father Martin Luther. Rome was the pinnacle for relics and a pilgrimage there was said to give incredible spiritual benefits. Just visiting places and looking at these relics (items that were said to be of historical significance) would give you extra grace and merit which would lessen time in purgatory.

Martin said at this point that he was "sad his mother and father were still alive" because he wanted to dedicate those benefits to them to lessen their time in purgatory, but since they were alive he instead had to dedicate it to his paternal grandfather.

So Luther is headed to Rome, in 1510, on this journey to the spiritual center of Roman Catholicism.

As he arrives in Rome, Luther expects to find the center of Christianity there. He is expecting to see strict observance to the rites of the church, sanctified living in the citizens, and a spiritually focused clergy. The very best of the church.

What Luther finds instead is, and Roman scholars would admit this today as well, the church of Rome was at its lowest moral point in history.

Luther observes Roman Clergy conducting 4 or 5 mass services in the time it would have taken a German priest to do 1 service. They literally recited the liturgy as fast as possible in order to get more people in and out, not out of great spiritual desire and limited space, but because they just wanted to collect the alms and money from the people and get as much as possible.

He saw priests and bishops entering into brothels and buying the services of prostitutes and concubines. Luther even saw priests engaged in homosexual activities. He saw the extravagant spending and lifestyles of the Roman clergy on full display, nothing like the rigorous devotion that he lived out in Germany.

In Rome, Martin is scandalized by the lack of morality & genuine spirituality there.

This was profoundly impactful for Martin. He began to question things a little bit here at this point.

In fact, as he went to one of the incredible holy sites there in Rome called the Scala Sancta (Holy Steps) he continued in his devotion to do the rituals, but had doubts. These marble steps that are placed at the Lateran Basilica were said to have been brought to Rome from Jerusalem around 326 A.D. These steps were said to be those at the court of Pontius Pilate, the steps that Christ walked up during his trial before him.

Luther did what all good pilgrims did, but as typical of him, did it with extra fervor. It was said to grant blessing and special grace to the pilgrim who climbed all of these stairs, on their knees, while saying a prayer, particularly the Lord's Prayer.

So Luther, in his great devotion, climbed the stairs on his knees and recited the Lord's Prayer… on each step. The priests who were there yelled at Martin "pronto, pronto" or "go faster, go faster" but he refused to rush. At the places where there were marked out significant things, such as "here a drop of blood from Christ touched" he would linger and offer an extra prayer.

But when Luther reached the top, contemplating everything he just did and had seen in Rome so far… he sighed and said to himself "Who knows if any of it is true."

What was supposed to bring him peace and assurance, grace and pleasure from God… it felt hollow now. Luther began to wonder if these things really did anything or not. That nagging question he was given his first year as monk was still in his mind… "How does one find a gracious God?"

So Luther is disenchanted in Rome. He concludes his business and returns to the monastery in Erfurt. He has questions and wants to find out the answers. So he begins talking more and more with his mentor, Staupitz, about these things.

We will continue our story there next week.

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Let's pray