Martin Luther Trembling Monk Finds Faith

After being spared a lightning strike at the age of 21, Martin Luther, already possessing baccalaureate and master’s degrees in law, fulfilled his vow. During the storm, he prayed to St. Anne and promised to become a Catholic monk if he survived.

A man of his word, Luther entered the monastery shortly thereafter. He endured all sorts of deprivations and self-punishment as he sought forgiveness for sin: “If anyone could have earned heaven by the life of a monk, it was I.” But as Luther discovered, “good works” didn’t satisfy. He was constantly uneasy about his eternal security, worrying he would fall short.

Moving to Wittenberg University, where he obtained a doctorate in the Bible and became a professor, Luther in 1513 and 1514 began to lecture on the Psalms and studied the epistle to the Romans. During these studies, Luther found the answer his anxious soul had sought.

“At last meditating day and night, by the mercy of God, I … began to understand that the righteousness of God is that through which the righteous live by a gift of God, namely by faith. … Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open,” he wrote.

Such a revelation was not without consequence. Instead of accepting the works employed by many of his co-religionists to try and earn God’s favor, and spurning the fundraising tactic of selling “indulgences” for the departed, Luther tenaciously clung to righteousness by faith and preached it. In 1517, his “95 Theses” were tacked to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, sparking what is now known as the Protestant Reformation.

His break with the church of his youth was not without peril or cost. But he stood his ground and Luther’s followers developed a theology that swept the world. Today, Protestant faith has touched every corner of the globe and reached the lives of millions.

At the end of his life, Luther’s harsh utterances toward his theological opponents tarnished his reputation. Yet today, Luther is best remembered, not for his failings, but for his faith. He found that the key to a right relationship with God was in believing and receiving Christ, a legacy which lives on today.

Reflect: How long would you be willing to pray for something you desired from God? Jesus told us to “pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Remember the story of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1–8)?

Key Bible Texts

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17 KJV)