Martin Luther And His Ninety-Five Theses

6. The Reformation:
In the sixteenth century, the Reformation brought historical changes to Christianity and established the modern era. This period begun with Martin Luther in 1517.
6.1. Martin Luther and His Ninety-five Theses:
Martin Luther was born in 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. In 1510 Luther took a pilgrimage to Rome and performed various acts of devotion in sacred places. Luther expected Rome to be the height of the highest ideals of the Roman Catholic Church. Instead he found a corrupt, mistrustful system dominated by secular and ecclesiastical politics, pleasure, and materialism. He saw first-hand the worldliness of the Renaissance papacy. Luther returned to Germany disappointed.
Luther was conscious of his sinfulness and greatly

6.1.1. Justification by Faith
This is the fundamental theme of the entire Protestant movement. Luther stated that justification is by faith alone. Justification means to be counted as righteous by God. When a person believes in Jesus Christ, God attributes the righteousness of Christ to him.
The mottoes of the Reformation are grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone, and Christ alone (sola gratia, sola fide, sola Scriptura, sola Christus). Salvation is solely by the grace of God, not by human action. According to Luther, “Good works are the fruit of salvation but never a part of salvation” It is solely by faith in God, not by works of man but by trusting in God. Scripture alone is the authority for doctrine, the sole authority for our salvation. Christ is the only atonement for our sins; we can find salvation only in him.
According to Luther’s sermon, sinners are made right with God, justified not by what they can earn as divine credit for human works but as believers who trust God in Christ alone.
6.1.2. Theology of the

Authority of Scripture:
Luther expressed that, “The word of God shall establish articles of faith, and no one else. It is the Scripture of the Holy Spirit.” Luther stated that Scripture is our sole authority for doctrine. The Bible was the only authority concerning faith and salvation.
Luther stresses over and over again his dignity and position as a Master of Holy Scripture, which to him embodied the ultimate authority. Luther refers to himself as ecclesiast, preacher, or even evangelist. All three self-designations have made central Luther’s self-awareness of being an interpreter of Holy Scripture as well as a preacher of the promise of God’s reconciliation with and redemption of humanity through Jesus Christ .
For interpreting the scripture, he provided some principles. “The illumination of the Holy Spirit and not simply the letter of the law were important. The historical circumstances were essential. A distinction was made between the Old and New Testament that is the Law and the Gospel. Christ is the unifying element of the scripture. Literal interpretation was important, allegorical interpretation was monkey