"In Devil's Dungeon Chained I Lay"
“In devil’s dungeon chained I lay
The pangs of death swept o’er me.
My sin devoured me night and day
In which my mother bore me.
My anguish ever grew more rife,
I took no pleasure in my life
And sin had made me crazy.
Then was the Father troubled sore
To see me ever languish.
The Everlasting Pity swore
To save me from my anguish.
He turned to me his father heart
And chose himself a bitter part,
His Dearest did it cost him.
Thus spoke the Son, “Hold thou to me,
From now on thou wilt make it.
I gave my very life for thee
And for thee I will stake it.
For I am thine and thou art mine,
And where I am our lives entwine,
The Old Fiend cannot shake it.”
- Martin Luther
Luther's faith was real. And as I said last week, what I perceive to be his personality reminds me so much of what I see of the Apostle Paul. Since Martin's faith was real, it was also practical. He could not compartmentalize his faith any more than a leopard could change his spots. Because Luther now knows from Scripture that salvation comes by faith alone in Christ alone, he can no longer abide popes, priests, masses, or idolatrous prayers to mortal men. And since he cannot abide them, he cannot be silent, either.
The straw God used to "break the camel's back" so-to-speak, was a man by the name of Johann Tetzel. Tetzel was an accomplished traveling salesman. The problem with Tetzel was not that he sold, the problem was what he sold. You see, Pope Leo X was struggling to make progress on St. Peter's basilica in Rome and needed more money for the cause. So, Tetzel traveled with papal authority to sell "indulgences" to weary parishioners. The proceeds would go toward the completion of this work.
Indulgences were said to aid in freeing a parishioners' loved one from purgatory. Tetzel even had a fancy, used-car-salesman type jingle to go along with his presentation. He said, "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings...the soul from purgatory springs." Can you believe it? The "church" preying on and profiting off of the ignorance and good-will of people...many of whom could not afford to give what they gave anyway!
Well, if it makes you angry, it should. It angered Luther, too, as we will see more of next time.
But before I leave you, I'd like to say one thing. What God did publicly by using Luther from this point forward is the stuff of legends. It was revolutionary. You could even say it was...reformational ;) And Luther is, in a sense, to be admired. But I pray that our study of this monumental moment in church history draws us to the Lord of the Church himself, Jesus Christ, who said "I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18) and not to any man who He used to accomplish His will.
It is in Christ alone that our hope is found. He is our light, our strength, our song! He is the Cornerstone.
Pastor Jeremy
