The Cathedral at Worms where Martin Luther Stood Firm

Today we visited Worms on our way to Heidelberg. Some very important things happened here. King Charles V was living here during the of 1521 when Martin Luther was summoned to the palace on 17 and 18 April. In that trial, he confessed to his writings and refused to recant, saying, “It is wrong to act against conscience when it is enshrined in God’s law.”

He was declared an outlaw by the emperor in the Edict of Worms, but was saved from being burned at the stake as a heretic by Frederick III of Saxony, a powerful prince within the Holy Roman Empire.

Luther taught: “Sola gratia, sola fide and sola scriptura” — by faith alone, by grace alone and by scripture alone. The key to reformation theology is found in God’s love for people. By grace alone means that God gives his love freely.

Martin Luther protested against many of the pope’s instructions. Above all, he wanted to abolish the indulgences that enabled Christians to buy their freedom from sin. The theologian from Wittenberg formulated his thoughts in 1517 in 95 theses, which spread like wildfire. Five years later, the church and the emperor demanded that he publicly distance himself from his writings, which were condemned as heretical.

Martin Luther ended his speech by saying, “Here I stand, I can do no other.”