A Word from Bob: Today’s post begins a week-long blog mini-series on Reformation Week and the life and ministry of Martin Luther. People know October 31 by at least three names: Halloween, the Eve of All Saints Day, and Reformation Day. People call it “Reformation Day” because on October 31, 1517, a thirty-three year old man (Martin Luther) dressed as a monk strolled to the door of the Castle Church in the small town of Wittenberg, Germany not to cry out, “Trick or Treat,” but to nail to that door a parchment listing his deeply held theological convictions. This blog mini-series is taken from chapters 1 and 2 of my book, Counseling Under the Cross: How Martin Luther Applied the Gospel to Daily Life.
Martin Luther’s Pastoral and Personal Motivation
Compelled by intense pastoral concern, on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The same day, Luther dispatched a cover letter to Cardinal Albrecht outlining his soul care concern that motivated his Reformation ministry. Luther began his letter by expressing alarm for his flock—many of whom were journeying to John Tetzel in an attempt to purchase their freedom from guilt.
“I bewail the gross misunderstanding among the people which comes from these preachers and which they spread everywhere among common men. Evidently the poor souls believe that when they have bought indulgence letters they are then assured of their salvation.”[i]
The Reformer then directly addresses the Cardinal:
“O great God! The souls committed to your care, excellent Father, are thus directed to death. For all these souls you have the heaviest and a constantly increasing responsibility. Therefore, I can no longer be silent on this subject.”[ii]
Luther, the pastor and shepherd, inspired Luther the Reformer.
Luther’s Pastoral Concern
McNeil rightly observes:
“In matters concerning the cure of souls the German Reformation had its inception.”[iii]
Sproul concurs:
“To be sure, the Ninety-Five Theses posted on the church door at Wittenberg were penned in Latin as a request for theological discussion among the faculty members of the university. But what provoked Luther to request such a discussion? Simply put, it was pastoral concern.”[iv]
Tappert further explains:
“Martin Luther is usually thought of as a world-shaking figure who defied papacy and empire to introduce a reformation in the teaching, worship, organization, and life of the Church and to leave a lasting impression on Western civilization. It is sometimes forgotten that he was also—and above all else—a pastor and shepherd of souls. It is therefore well to remind ourselves that the Reformation began in Germany when Luther became concerned about his own parishioners who believed that if they had purchased letters of indulgence they were sure of their salvation.”[v]
Terrified Before God: Luther’s Spiritual Trials
Luther empathized deeply with his flock’s fears because long before he nailed his Theses, he wrestled personally with the demons of doubt about the grace and forgiveness of God:
“Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that anything that I thought or did or prayed satisfied God.”[vi]
The thought of standing face-to-face with a holy God created in Luther a lifelong dread and constant apprehension that he would never find peace with God.
In the Ninety-five Theses, Luther’s agonizing personal search for a gracious God merged with his pastoral care for his confused flock:
“It is crucial to realize that Luther became a reformer who was widely heard and understood by transforming the abstract question of a just God into an existential quest that concerned the whole human being, encompassing thought and action, soul and body, love and suffering.”[vii]
For Luther, theology is for life. It provides the answer to life’s ultimate question:
“How do we find peace with a holy God?”
We can best grasp Luther, the pastoral counselor, from an autobiographical viewpoint. His personal struggle for perfection and acceptance before God was an elemental spiritual one in which he searched for the assurance that God was gracious to him even though he was a sinner. Luther’s personal quest for God’s grace not only animated his personal religious experience, it also motivated his Reformation agenda and his pastoral work.
As a soul physician, “with all of Germany for his parish,”[viii] Luther guided his flock toward the ultimate Soul Physician on a journey to grasp the grace of God. As a fellow pilgrim, Luther journeyed with the Soul Physician on his personal search for peace with God.
Kittleson succinctly captures Luther’s focus:
“Luther’s sole compulsion was to discover how a Christian could live with a righteous God whom he could never possibly satisfy.”[ix]
Here is Luther’s primary soul care question.
“Where do we find the grace of God and peace with God?”
He asked and answered this question in his letter to Cardinal Albrecht. Even at this early stage of his reforming career, Luther insisted that the pure gospel of grace be preached because it was the sole hope for peace with God:
“The first and only duty of the bishops, however, is to see that the people learn the gospel and the love of Christ. For on no occasion has Christ ordered that indulgences should be preached, but he forcefully commanded the gospel to be preached.”[x]
Luther was not only a theologian, not only a writer, not only a preacher; Luther was a pastoral counselor who engaged in the personal ministry of the Word.
Luther not only reformed theology; he reformed the art of pastoral counseling—under the cross.
Luther is the father of cross-centered counseling that applies Christ’s gospel of grace richly, relevantly, and robustly to suffering, sin, sanctification, and the search for peace with God. As his sons and daughters in the faith, we have much to learn from his life and ministry.
The Rest of the Story
Join me for Part 2, where we’ll learn about Luther’s frantic search for peace with God.
Join the Conversation
How do you personally answer life’s ultimate question: “How do I find peace with a holy God?”
How do you help others to answer the question: “How do we find peace with a holy God?”
Notes
[i]Luther, LW, Vol. 48, p. 46.
[ii]Ibid.
[iii]McNeil, A History of the Cure of Souls, p. 163.
[iv]Sproul, The Legacy of Luther, p. 280.
[v]Tappert, Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, p. 13, emphasis added.
[vi]Luther, LW, Vol. 34, p. 336.
[vii]Oberman, Luther, p. 151.
[viii]Nebe, Luther as Spiritual Advisor, p. iii.
[ix]Kittleson, Luther the Reformer, p. 88.
[x]Luther, LW, Vol. 48, p. 47.
