Martin Luther's Inaugural Address Summary

Martin Luther, the man who changed the Christian religion, and was best known for uncovering the truths and revealing the false teachings of the Pope who led the Catholic Church. As a college professor of theology, and a priest himself, Luther was highly knowledgeable about what the Bible taught. Luther used this knowledge to wake Christians up to what the Bible taught, versus what the people were being tricked into believing for the purpose of the Pope’s own personal gain. As one of the ways for Luther to reveal the truth, and share his concerns with the church, he wrote the Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation. This Address aimed to tear down the walls around the church that gave it so much power and authority. This Address

Not surprisingly, the Scriptures do not support this idea of looking toward the Pope as the “sole power to call and confirm councils” but instead call the community to help each other. (528) In fact, it is even pointed out that if there is a member participating in evil or wicked things that are harming the church, then the community must be brought together to expose this behavior which would explain one of the reasons Luther wrote this in the first place. In this case, it is made clear that “the Pope is a cause of offense to Christendom” and needs to be handled with. (528) To continue, the Pope is called, through faith, to humble himself before God. However, the Pope acts as if he is “most holy” while wearing crowns and walking in pride, acting more secular than holy. (530) Therefore, the Pope is not of Christ, because he worships the things of this world, like money, while leading church goers astray. He does “nothing for the good of Christendom” but only deprives the church of God, practically destroying its purpose. (532) For this reason, the church community needs to come together as one to expose the wickedness of the Pope and defend the word of