Only a few things in history climb to the top of the list of events that changed the course of the church. One occurred in the 16th century with a catholic monk who was convinced his religion was not enough to make himself right with God. Entering a monastery as a young man because of a near-death experience with nature, Luther wanted to know more about God by trying everything in his power to get to Him. If that meant sitting in a confession booth for hours on end, meticulously and exhaustively mentioning every possible sin to a priest, or climbing up a high tower on his bloody knees to earn favor with God, Martin Luther was willing to do it. But everything he tried to do never seemed to be enough. There was an emptiness that existed inside his heart and no matter how hard he tried or how pious his practice was, nothing seemed to suffice. It was like trying to scale a high mountain and every step was more tiring than the next and each time you glance up at the top you realize you’re no closer than when you first started. This was a heavy burden Luther was carrying around during his time practicing Catholicism.
It wasn’t until Luther read the verse in Rom 1:17,”the just shall live by faith”, that he began to realize that his works do not earn the proper righteousness required to please God. The lights finally blasted on as God revealed to him that the righteousness he needed was not his own but rather alien righteousness that comes from faith in Jesus Christ. It was like heaven’s gates had opened wide for him and he was able to now approach God not based on his merits but only on what Jesus had accomplished on his behalf. Luther knew that this truth had to be vehemently guarded because it was the way a sinner is justified before a holy God, so he carved out five points that countered the unbiblical teachings of the Catholic church. They are known as the five “solas” (sola means alone). It was with these biblical statements the protestant reformation began to take off and the gospel began to flourish.
