Day 22 – Saint Martin Luther (1483–1546)

Saint Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany, to a family of modest means. Trained as a lawyer, he entered a monastery after a terrifying brush with death, vowing to serve God. Yet as a monk, he was tormented by the question of whether he could ever be righteous enough before a holy God. His breakthrough came as he studied Paul’s letter to the Romans: “The righteous shall live by faith.” Luther realized that salvation is not earned by works but received as a gift through faith in Christ.

This conviction set fire to a movement. In 1517, Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, challenging the sale of indulgences and sparking a debate that spread across Europe. Called before emperors and councils, he refused to recant unless convinced by Scripture and reason. His stand at Worms — “Here I stand, I can do no other” — became a defining moment in the history of the church.

Luther translated the Bible into German so that ordinary people could hear God’s Word in their own tongue. His hymns, like A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, gave voice to a new confidence in Christ. Though he was a man of strong opinions and sometimes harsh words, his insistence on the authority of Scripture and the grace of God reshaped Christianity and set the course of the Reformation.

For us today, Saint Martin Luther reminds us that the heart of the gospel is grace — God’s gift to the undeserving. His life challenges us to cling to God’s Word as our highest authority and to place our trust not in our own works, but in Christ alone.