Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses: An Analysis

In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. At that time, the Catholic church had twisted the original meaning of scriptures to encourage the buying of indulgences, which were paid passes out of purgatory, the costly visiting of relics, most of which were fake, and the submission to the ultimate authority of the pope, who was one of the most powerful men in the world. To add to this injustice, the church purposely refrained from translating the Bible into a commonly spoken language. Instead, they kept it in Latin so that only monks and priests could understand the scriptures. Outraged over the exploitation of the people from the Catholic Church, Martin Luther wrote his Ninety-Five Theses …show more content…
The most important belief for all true Christians is how Jesus is the only way to heaven. During his time, the Catholic church had twisted this ideology claiming that only Roman Catholics could obtain salvation. Luther taught that there can be salvation outside of the church, but not outside of Christ, as seen in the scripture, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6 ESV). Martin Luther also taught that the selling of indulgences does not take away sin. The Catholic church sold indulgences so that people could obtain forgiveness of their sins and reduce their time in purgatory. Jesus died on the cross so that our sins would be cleansed. As Luther taught, you cannot buy forgiveness of sins; Christ’s blood washes our sins white as snow. Lastly, Martin Luther demonstrated how Christians should look to Christ whenever faced with challenges or doubt. When he was on trial and was asked to recant, Luther asked for one day to make his decision. During that time, he prayed and looked to Christ for the answers. Martin Luther did not lean on his own understanding, but rather he trusted in Christ