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[ Early Years ] [ His Teachings ] [ 95 Theses ] [ Reforms ] [ Diet of Worms ] [ Later Years ] [ His Seal ]
In
the year following his excommunication, Luther set about to reform and
revitalize the Church. The following paragraphs describe Luther's reforms. Church
and State
Luther's
"Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation" urged the
state to undertake reforms that the Church had neglected. The papacy
should be a spiritual institution, allowing finances to be handled by national
churches.
The Sacraments
In his
tract, "The Babylonian Captivity," Luther reduced the number of
Sacraments from 7 to 2 - baptism and the Lord's Supper or Mass. Only these
Sacraments, he wrote, had visible signs of outward grace and were instituted by
Christ. The German Mass
Luther
wanted to bring the whole congregation into worship service. In 1526, he
produced a vernacular liturgy, the German Mass. He also insisted that
laity as well as clergy should partake of wine as well as bread in the Mass, a
communion with fellow believers. Supremacy
of Scripture
The word
of God, received in faith and revealed as the Holy Gospel, was the true path to
Salvation. The supreme authority for matters of faith and life is Holy
Scripture. Universal Priesthood of Believers
Luther
taught that the individual conscience is answerable only to the word of
God. Christ alone is the intermediary between people and the
Creator. Through baptism we are all members of the priesthood of
believers. Augsburg Confession
Philip
Melanchthon, Luther's close friend and colleague, wrote the Augsburg Confession
in 1530. Here are expressed doctrines still basic to the Lutheran
Church. Melanchthon claimed that Lutherans remained faithful to the true
teachings of the Christian Church.
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