Chapter 10 : Progress of Reform in Germany

Luther’s mysterious disappearance excited consternation

throughout all Germany. Inquiries concerning him were heard everywhere.

The wildest rumors were circulated, and many believed

that he had been murdered. There was great lamentation, not only by

his avowed friends, but by thousands who had not openly taken their

stand with the Reformation. Many bound themselves by a solemn

oath to avenge his death.

The Romish leaders saw with terror to what a pitch had risen

the feeling against them. Though at first exultant at the supposed

death of Luther, they soon desired to hide from the wrath of the

people. His enemies had not been so troubled by his most daring

acts while among them as they were at his removal. Those who

in their rage had sought to destroy the bold reformer, were filled

with fear now that he had become a helpless captive. “The only way

of extricating ourselves,” said one, “is to light our torches, and go

searching through the earth for Luther, till we can restore him to the

nation that will have him.” The edict of the emperor seemed to fall

powerless. The papal legates were filled with indignation as they

saw that it commanded far less attention than did the fate of Luther.

The tidings that he was safe, though a prisoner, calmed the fears

of the people, while it still further aroused their enthusiasm in his

favor. His writings were read with greater eagerness than ever before.

Increasing numbers joined the cause of the heroic man who had, at

such fearful odds, defended the Word of God. The Reformation was

[186] constantly gaining in strength. The seed which Luther had sown

sprung up everywhere. His absence accomplished a work which

his presence would have failed to do. Other laborers felt a new

responsibility, now that their great leader was removed. With new

faith and earnestness they pressed forward to do all in their power,

that the work so nobly begun might not be hindered.

But Satan was not idle. He now attempted what he has attempted

in every other reformatory movement,—to deceive and destroy the

people by palming off upon them a counterfeit in place of the true

work. As there were false Christs in the first century of the Christian

church, so there arose false prophets in the sixteenth century.

A few men, deeply affected by the excitement in the religious

world, imagined themselves to have received special revelations from

Heaven, and claimed to have been divinely commissioned to carry

forward to its completion the Reformation which, they declared,

had been but feebly begun by Luther. In truth, they were undoing

the very work which he had accomplished. They rejected the great

principle which was the very foundation of the Reformation,—that

the Word of God is the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice; and

for that unerring guide they substituted the changeable, uncertain

standard of their own feelings and impressions. By this act of setting

aside the great detector of error and falsehood, the way was opened

for Satan to control minds as best pleased himself.

One of these prophets claimed to have been instructed by the

angel Gabriel. A student who united with him forsook his studies,

declaring that he had been endowed by God himself with wisdom to

expound his Word. Others who were naturally inclined to fanaticism

united with them. The proceedings of these enthusiasts created no

little excitement. The preaching of Luther had aroused the people

everywhere to feel the necessity of reform, and now some really

honest persons were misled by the pretensions of the new prophets.

The leaders of the movement proceeded toWittenberg, and urged [187]

their claims upon Melancthon and his co-laborers. Said they: “We

are sent by God to teach the people. We have received special

revelations from God himself, and therefore know what is coming

to pass. We are apostles and prophets, and appeal to Doctor Luther

as to the truth of what we say.”

The reformers were astonished and perplexed. This was such an

element as they had never before encountered, and they knew not

what course to pursue. Said Melancthon: “There are indeed spirits

of no ordinary kind in these men; but what spirits?” “On the one

hand, let us beware of quenching the Spirit of God, and on the other,

of being seduced by the spirit of Satan.”

The fruit of the new teaching soon became apparent. The people

were led to neglect the Bible or to wholly cast it aside. The schools

were thrown into confusion. Students, spurning all restraint, aban158

doned their studies, and withdrew from the university. The men who

thought themselves competent to revive and control the work of the

Reformation, succeeded only in bringing it to the verge of ruin. The

Romanists now regained their confidence, and exclaimed exultingly,

“One more effort, and all will be ours.”

Luther at the Wartburg, hearing of what had occurred, said with

deep concern, “I always expected that Satan would send us this

plague.” He perceived the true character of those pretended prophets,

and saw the danger that threatened the cause of truth. The opposition

of the pope and the emperor had not caused him so great perplexity

and distress as he now experienced. From the professed friends of

the Reformation had risen its worst enemies. The very truths which

had brought him so great joy and consolation were being employed

to stir up strife and create confusion in the church.

In the work of reform, Luther had been urged forward by the

[188] Spirit of God, and had been carried beyond himself. He had not

purposed to take such positions as he did, or to make so radical

changes. He had been but the instrument in the hand of infinite

power. Yet he often trembled for the result of his work. He had

once said, “If I knew that my doctrine had injured one human being,

however poor and unknown,—which it could not, for it is the very

gospel,—I would rather face death ten times over than not retract it.”

And now Wittenberg itself, the very center of the Reformation,

was fast falling under the power of fanaticism and lawlessness. This

terrible condition had not resulted from the teachings of Luther; but

throughout Germany his enemies were charging it upon him. In

bitterness of soul he sometimes asked, “Can such be the end of this

great work of the Reformation?” Again, as he wrestled with God in

prayer, peace flowed into his heart. “The work is not mine, but thine

own,” he said; “thou wilt not suffer it to be corrupted by superstition

or fanaticism.” But the thought of remaining longer from the conflict

in such a crisis, became insupportable. He determined to return to

Wittenberg.

Without delay he set out on his perilous journey. He was under

the ban of the empire. Enemies were at liberty to take his life; friends

were forbidden to aid or shelter him. The imperial government was

adopting the most stringent measures against his adherents. But he

saw that the work of the gospel was imperiled, and in the name of

the Lord he went out fearlessly to battle for the truth.

In a letter to the elector, after stating his purpose to leave the

Wartburg, Luther said: “Be it known to your highness that I am

repairing to Wittenberg under a protection more powerful than that

of an elector. I have no thought of soliciting the aid of your highness;

and am so far from desiring your protection that it is rather my

purpose to protect your highness. If I knew that your highness could

or would take up my defense, I would not come to Wittenberg. No

secular sword can advance this cause; God must do all, without [189]

the aid or co-operation of man. He who has most faith is the most

availing defense.”

In a second letter, written on the way to Wittenberg, Luther

added: “Behold me ready to bear your highness’ disapprobation,

and the anger of the whole world. Are not the Wittenbergers my

own sheep? Has not God committed them to my care? and ought I

not, if need be, to lay down my life for them? Besides, I dread lest

we should see, throughout Germany, a revolt by which God shall

punish our nation.”

With great caution and humility, yet with decision and firmness,

he entered upon his work. “By the Word,” said he, “we must refute

and expel what has gained a place and influence by violence. I

would not resort to force against the superstitious and unbelieving.”

“Let there be no compulsion. I have been laboring for liberty of

conscience. Liberty is of the very essence of faith.”

It was soon noised through Wittenberg that Luther had returned,

and that he was to preach. The people flocked from all directions,

and the church was filled to overflowing. Ascending the pulpit he

with great wisdom and gentleness instructed, exhorted, and reproved.

Touching the course of some who had resorted to violent measures

in abolishing the mass, he said:—

“The mass is a bad thing. God is opposed to it. It ought to be

abolished, and I would that everywhere the supper of the gospel

were established in its stead. But let none be torn from it by force.

We must leave results to God. It is not we that must work, but his

Word. ‘And why so?’ you will ask. Because the hearts of men

are not in my hand as clay in the hand of the potter. We have a

right to speak, but none whatever to compel. Let us preach; the rest

belongs to God. If I resort to force, what shall I gain? Grimace, fair

appearances, cramped uniformity, and hypocrisy. But there will be

no hearty sincerity, no faith, no love. Where these are wanting, all is

[190] wanting, and I would not give a straw for such a victory. God does

more by the simple power of his Word than you and I and the whole

world could effect by all our efforts put together. God arrests the

heart, and that once taken, all is won.”

“I am ready to preach, argue, write; but I will not constrain any

one, for faith is but a voluntary act. Call to mind what I have already

done. I stood up against pope, indulgences, and papists; but without

violence or tumult. I brought forward God’s Word; I preached and

wrote, and then I stopped. And while I laid me down and slept, ...

the Word I had preached brought down the power of the pope to the

ground, so that never prince or emperor had dealt it such a blow.

For my part I did next to nothing; the power of the Word did the

whole business. Had I appealed to force, Germany might have been

deluged with blood. But what would have been the consequence?

Ruin and destruction of soul and body. Accordingly I kept quiet,

and let the Word run through the length and breadth of the land.”

Day after day, for a whole week, Luther continued to preach

to eager crowds. The Word of God broke the spell of fanatical

excitement. The power of the gospel brought back the misguided

people into the way of truth.

Luther had no desire to encounter the fanatics whose course had

been productive of so great evil. He knew them to be men of unsound

judgment and undisciplined passions, who, while claiming to be

especially illuminated from Heaven, would not endure the slightest

contradiction, or even the kindest reproof or counsel. Arrogating

to themselves supreme authority, they required every one, without

a question, to acknowledge their claims. But as they demanded an

interview with him, he consented to meet them; and so successfully

did he expose their pretensions, that the impostors at once departed

from Wittenberg.

The fanaticism was checked for a time; but several years later

[191] it broke out with greater violence and more terrible results. Said

Luther, concerning the leaders in this movement: “To them the Holy

Scriptures were but a dead letter, and they all began to cry, ‘The

Spirit! the Spirit!’ But most assuredly I will not follow where their

spirit leads them. May God in his mercy preserve me from a church

in which there are none but such saints. I wish to be in fellowship

with the humble, the feeble, the sick, who know and feel their sins,

and who sigh and cry continually to God from the bottom of their

hearts to obtain his consolation and support.”

Thomas Munzer, the most active of the fanatics, was a man of

considerable ability, which, rightly directed, would have enabled

him to do good; but he had not learned the first principles of true

religion. He imagined himself ordained of God to reform the world,

forgetting, like many other enthusiasts, that the reform should begin

with himself. He was ambitious to obtain position and influence,

and was unwilling to be second, even to Luther. He declared that

the reformers, in substituting the authority of Scripture for that of

the pope, were only establishing a different form of popery. He

himself, he claimed, had been divinely commissioned to introduce

the true reform. “He who hath the Spirit,” said Munzer, “hath true

faith, although he should never once in all his life see the Holy

Scriptures.”

The fanatical teachers gave themselves up to be governed by

impressions, regarding every thought and impulse as the voice of

God; consequently they went to great extremes. Some even burned

their Bibles, exclaiming, “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth

life.” Munzer’s teaching appealed to men’s desire for the marvelous,

while it gratified their pride by virtually placing human ideas and

opinions above the Word of God. His doctrines were received by

thousands. He soon denounced all order in public worship, and

declared that to obey princes was to attempt to serve both God and

Belial.

The minds of the people, already beginning to throw off the yoke [192]

of the papacy, were also becoming impatient under the restraints of

civil authority. Munzer’s revolutionary teachings, claiming divine

sanction, led them to break away from all control, and give the rein

to their prejudices and passions. The most terrible scenes of sedition

and strife followed, and the fields of Germany were drenched with

blood.

The agony of soul which Luther had so long before experienced

at Erfurt, now pressed upon him with redoubled power as he saw

the results of fanaticism charged upon the Reformation. The papist

princes declared—and many were ready to credit the statement—that

the rebellion was the legitimate fruit of Luther’s doctrines. Although

this charge was without the slightest foundation, it could not but

cause the reformer great distress. That the cause of truth should be

thus disgraced by being ranked with the basest fanaticism, seemed

more than he could endure. On the other hand, the leaders in the

revolt hated Luther because he had not only opposed their doctrines

and denied their claims to divine inspiration, but had pronounced

them rebels against the civil authority. In retaliation they denounced

him as a base pretender. He seemed to have brought upon himself

the enmity of both princes and people.

The Romanists exulted, expecting to witness the speedy downfall

of the Reformation; and they blamed Luther, even for the errors

which he had been most earnestly endeavoring to correct. The

fanatical party, by falsely claiming to have been treated with great

injustice, succeeded in gaining the sympathies of a large class of

the people, and, is often the case with those who take the wrong

side, they came to be regarded as martyrs. Thus the ones who were

exerting every energy in opposition to the Reformation were pitied

and lauded as the victims of cruelty and oppression. This was the

work of Satan, prompted by the same spirit of rebellion which was

first manifested in Heaven.

Satan is constantly seeking to deceive men, and lead them to

[193] call sin righteousness, and righteousness sin. How successful has

been his work! How often censure and reproach are cast upon God’s

faithful servants because they will stand fearlessly in defense of the

truth! Men who are but agents of Satan are praised and flattered, and

even looked upon as martyrs, while those who should be respected

and sustained for their fidelity to God, are left to stand alone, under

suspicion and distrust.

Counterfeit holiness, spurious sanctification, is still doing its

work of deception. Under various forms it exhibits the same spirit

as in the days of Luther, diverting minds from the Scriptures, and

leading men to follow their own feelings and impressions rather than

to yield obedience to the law of God. This is one of Satan’s most

successful devices to cast reproach upon purity and truth.

Fearlessly did Luther defend the gospel from the attacks which

came from every quarter. The Word of God proved itself a weapon

mighty in every conflict. With that Word he warred against the

usurped authority of the pope, and the rationalistic philosophy of the

schoolmen, while he stood firm as a rock against the fanaticism that

sought to ally itself with the Reformation.

Each of these opposing elements was in its own way setting aside

the Holy Scriptures, and exalting human wisdom as the source of religious

truth and knowledge. Rationalism idolizes reason, and makes

this the criterion for religion. Romanism, claiming for her sovereign

pontiff an inspiration descended in unbroken line from the apostles,

and unchangeable through all time, gives ample opportunity for every

species of extravagance and corruption to be concealed under

the sanctity of the apostolic commission. The inspiration claimed

by Munzer and his associates proceeded from no higher source than

the vagaries of the imagination, and its influence was subversive of

all authority, human or divine. True Christianity receives the Word

of God as the great treasure-house of inspired truth, and the test of

all inspiration.

Upon his return from the Wartburg, Luther completed his trans- [194]

lation of the New Testament, and the gospel was soon after given

to the people of Germany in their own language. This translation

was received with great joy by all who loved the truth; but it was

scornfully rejected by those who chose human traditions and the

commandments of men.

The priests were alarmed at the thought that the common people

would now be able to discuss with them the precepts of God’s Word,

and that their own ignorance would thus be exposed. The weapons

of their carnal reasoning were powerless against the sword of the

Spirit. Rome summoned all her authority to prevent the circulation

of the Scriptures; but decrees, anathemas, and tortures were alike in

vain. The more she condemned and prohibited the Bible, the greater

was the anxiety of the people to know what it really taught. All

who could read were eager to study the Word of God for themselves.

They carried it about with them, and read and re-read, and could

not be satisfied until they had committed large portions to memory.

Seeing the favor with which the New Testament was received, Luther

immediately began the translation of the Old, and published it in

parts as fast as completed.

Luther’s writings were welcomed alike in city and in hamlet.

“Whatever Luther and his friends composed, others disseminated far

and wide. Monks who had been led to see the unlawfulness of the

monastic obligations, desirous of exchanging a life of indolence for

one of activity, but too ignorant to be able themselves to proclaim

the Word of God, traversed the provinces, selling the writings of the

reformer and his friends. Germany was erelong overrun with these

enterprising colporteurs.”

These writings were studied with deep interest by rich and poor,

the learned and the ignorant. At night the teachers of the village

schools read them aloud to little groups gathered at the fireside.

With every effort, some souls would be convicted of the truth, and,

receiving the word with gladness, would in their turn tell the good

news to others.

[195] The words of inspiration were verified: “The entrance of thy

words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” [Psalm

119:130.] The study of the Scriptures was working a mighty change

in the minds and hearts of the people. The papal rule had placed

upon its subjects an iron yoke which held them in ignorance and

degradation. A superstitious observance of forms had been scrupulously

maintained; but in all their service the heart and intellect had

had little part. The preaching of Luther, setting forth the plain truths

of God’s Word, and then the Word itself, placed in the hands of the

common people, had aroused their dormant powers, not only purifying

and ennobling the spiritual nature, but imparting new strength

and vigor to the intellect.

Persons of all ranks were to be seen with the Bible in their hands,

defending the doctrines of the Reformation. The papists who had

left the study of the Scriptures to the priests and monks, now called

upon them to come forward and refute the new teachings. But,

ignorant alike of the Scriptures and of the power of God, priests and

friars were totally defeated by those whom they had denounced as

unlearned and heretical. “Unhappily,” said a Catholic writer. “Luther

had persuaded his followers that their faith ought only to be founded

on the oracles of Holy Writ.” Crowds would gather to hear the truth

advocated by men of little education, and even discussed by them

with learned and eloquent theologians. The shameful ignorance of

these great men was made apparent as their arguments were met by

the simple teachings of God’s Word. Laborers, soldiers, women,

and even children, were better acquainted with the Bible teachings

than were the priests and learned doctors.

The contrast between the disciples of the gospel and the upholders

of popish superstition was no less manifest in the ranks of

scholars than among the common people. “Opposed to the old defenders

of the hierarchy, who had neglected the acquirement of the

languages and the cultivation of literature, were generous-minded

youths, most of them devoted to study and the investigation of the [196]

Scriptures, and acquainted with the literary treasures of antiquity.

Gifted with quickness of apprehension, elevation of soul, and intrepidity

of heart, these youths soon attained such proficiency that

none could compete with them.” “So that on public occasions, on

which these youthful defenders of the Reformation encountered the

Romish doctors, their assaults were carried on with an ease and

confidence that embarrassed the dullness of their adversaries, and

exposed them before all to deserved contempt.”

As the Romish clergy saw their congregations diminishing, they

invoked the aid of the magistrates, and by every means in their power

endeavored to bring back their hearers. But the people had found

in the new teachings that which supplied the wants of their souls,

and they turned away from those who had so long fed them with the

worthless husks of superstitious rites and human traditions.

When persecution was kindled against the teachers of the truth,

they gave heed to the words of Christ, “When they persecute you in

this city, flee ye into another.” [Matthew 10:23.] The light penetrated

everywhere. The fugitives would find somewhere a hospitable door

opened to them, and there abiding, they would preach Christ, sometimes

in the church, or, if denied that privilege, in private houses

or in the open air. Wherever they could obtain a hearing was a

consecrated temple. The truth, proclaimed with such energy and

assurance, spread with irresistible power.

In vain both ecclesiastical and civil authorities were invoked to

crush the heresy. In vain they resorted to imprisonment, torture,

fire, and sword. Thousands of believers sealed their faith with their

blood, and yet the work went on. Persecution served only to extend

the truth; and the fanaticism which Satan endeavored to unite with

it, resulted in making more clear the contrast between the work of

Satan and the work of God.