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Martin Luther pt. 2: Historical Friday

Last week we discussed the impact Martin Luther had on our theology of salvation. He ignited the Reformation that taught people once again that it was their faith in Jesus Christ, not church membership and ticking boxes, that saved them. This concept had been lost for centuries, buried in a maelstrom of corruption and other problems that beset the Catholic Church.

Still it isn't just his ideas that enabled many Christians to take ownership of their faith. Luther's ideas, by themselves, probably wouldn't have made as big of an impact as they did if not for another of his great accomplishments; translating the Bible into the common language.

The Bible for All

For a very long time in the history of Christianity only the Catholic priests were able to read Scripture. The Bible was only available in Latin. Now this didn't start as a bad thing. Back in the time of the New Testament Latin was the language most spoken in the western part of the Roman Empire. It was the common tongue. But several centuries later and it was a dead language.

The Catholic Church deemed the Latin translation as the only viable translation. It is easy to look disapprovingly at this, but think about our churches today. How hard was it for many churches to start using a version different from the King James? It was incredibly difficult, and this is the same language! Now there is nothing wrong with the King James Version if that is your preferred version, but the point is it can be very hard for churches to embrace change.

The problem became that the common people did not know what the Bible said, except for what the Catholic Church told them. You can see the obvious problems with this. The people didn't know what God's Word said.

Martin Luther decided to try to rectify this. While hiding from the Catholic Church after declaring that they were wrong, Luther decided to translate the Bible into the language of the people. This may not have been the first time this had ever been done, but it was one of the most important.

For the first time the people not only heard the new ideas of Luther, but they could go to the Bible and see for themselves what was true. For the first time in centuries people were reading God's Word for themselves and discovering who Jesus was.

Conclusion

I am incredibly thankful that the Bible has been translated into a language I can understand. I can read God's Word for myself and encounter Christ through its pages. Martin Luther's act of translating the Bible for his fellow countrymen inspired many to do the same in various languages. Thank you God for the way you have used people throughout history.

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