Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. His biggest complaint was the selling of indulgences to free people from Purgatory. A popular Catholic saying was, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from Purgatory springs.”
Luther’s 95 Thesis was quickly translated from Latin into German. In two weeks time, the thesis spread throughout Germany. And within two months, it had spread throughout Europe. Most everybody in the church world heard about Luther’s 95 Thesis.
So, what do you think many people were thinking and saying? Probably something like this: “You know, this guy Luther has some good points, don’t you think? But, you know, he’s wrong about my church and my priest. Father O’Who is a godly man who cares for us sheep.”
And yet, the people in every church, with good priests or bad ones, were in deep bondage to a church system. The people had no voice. No significance. No chance to speak what was in their hearts during a church service. No fellowship during the fellowship service. At best, they were bumps on a log waiting for the head frog to croak out a sermon of sorts. And to top it off, the bumps on the log had to pay for the church, for the clergy, and for everything.
Thank God for Martin Luther. Thank God for Calvin. Thank God for Zwingli. Thank God for the revelation that “we are saved by grace through faith” and not through our works or church affiliation. But there’s more!
There’s the royal priesthood of believers, a chosen generation, a holy nation, His own special people (1Peter 2:9). And there is the “perfect man” status (Ephesians 4:13).
And the royal priesthood and the perfect man will never be achieved in the traditional church system with a built-in separation between the clergy and the lay people.
We need new wineskins!
Larry Who 