INTRODUCTION
Five hundred years ago, on Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the castle church door in Wittenberg, sparking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Pastor Erwin Lutzer said of the Reformation, “Many of us believe that it is, by all accounts, the most important recovery of the gospel since the days of the New Testament. … We have to rediscover these same truths if we want our own churches to be all they can be for the glory of God.”


The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. They argued for a religious and political redistribution of power into the hands of Bible- and pamphlet-reading pastors and princes. The disruption triggered wars, persecutions and the so-called Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Church’s delayed but forceful response to the Protestants.

THE REFORMATION: GERMANY AND LUTHERANISM
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was an Augustinian monk and university lecturer in Wittenberg when he composed his “95 Theses,” which protested the pope’s sale of reprieves from penance, or indulgences. Although he had hoped to spur renewal from within the church, in 1521 he was summoned before the Diet of Worms and excommunicated. Sheltered by Friedrich, elector of Saxony, Luther translated the Bible into German and continued his output of vernacular pamphlets.



When German peasants, inspired in part by Luther’s empowering “priesthood of all believers,” revolted in 1524, Luther sided with Germany’s princes. By the Reformation’s end, Lutheranism had become the state "religion" throughout much of Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltics.

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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/e/e1/20081108173600!Muttich%2C_Kamil_Vladislav_-_Mistr_Jan_Hus_na_hranici_v_Kostnici_1415.jpg[/img]

1. Selling indulgences to finance the building of St. Peter's is wrong.
"The revenues of all Christendom are being sucked into this insatiable basilica. The Germans laugh at calling this the common treasure of Christendom. Before long, all the churches, palaces, walls and bridges of Rome will be built out of our money. First of all, we should rear living temples, not local churches, and only last of all St. Peter's, which is not necessary for us. We Germans cannot attend St. Peter's. Better that it should never be built than that our parochial churches should be despoiled. ...

Why doesn't the pope build the basilica of St. Peter's out of his own money? He is richer than Croesus. He would do better to sell St. Peter's and give the money to the poor folk who are being fleeced by the hawkers of indulgences."

2. The pope has no power over Purgatory.
"Papal indulgences do not remove guilt. Beware of those who say that indulgences effect reconciliation with God. ... He who is contrite has plenary remission of guilt and penalty without indulgences. The pope can only remove those penalties which he himself has imposed on earth, for Christ did not say, 'Whatsoever I have bound in heaven you may loose on earth.'

3. Buying indulgences gives people a false sense of security and endangers their salvation.
"Indulgences are positively harmful to the recipient because they impede salvation by diverting charity and inducing a false sense of security. Christians should be taught that he who gives to the poor is better than he who receives a pardon. He who spends money on indulgences instead of relieving want receives not the indulgence of the pope but the indignation of God.

Every Christian who feels sincere repentance and woe on account of his sins, has perfect remission of pain and guilt even without letters of indulgence.

CONCLUSION
It seems as though our culture is affecting us more than we are affecting our culture. We need Christians today who will take a stand for what is right, who will turn this world upside down as the early church did. We need more believers today to be both salt and light in our culture.
Sure, we could some more preachers, teachers, evangelists and missionaries. But we also need Christian journalists. We need Christian broadcasters, artists, doctors and lawyers. We need believers letting their light shine in professional sports, in politics, in entertainment and in the business world. We need truly godly police officers and godly people in the military. We need to go out there and be true believers and turn our world upside down.

You may say, “Greg, I’m not a preacher.” That’s OK. People need to see a flesh-and-blood Christian, a real man or woman of God living the Christian life in the same neighborhood where they live, in the same place where they work, and at the same school where they attend. They need to see the real thing.
God can use you. Maybe you’re not a preacher, but you can proclaim the gospel message through your life and through your words. You can turn your world upside down.

Reference
•http://www.history.com/topics/reformation

•http://www.wnd.com/2017/10/good-theology-without-apology/#wvzXcvVOw0Z8RW2v.99

•https://www.uncommon-travel-germany.com/95-theses.html

Reference
http://www.history.com/topics/reformation

http://www.wnd.com/2017/10/good-theology-without-apology/#wvzXcvVOw0Z8RW2v.99

https://www.uncommon-travel-germany.com/95-theses.html

Pix1: Execution of Jan Hus, one of the precursors to the Reformation

pix2: Martin Luther

Yes it is worth it, though he died for it but his reformation brought change to Christendom
And I believe we need another Luther cos the churches are going same part again
churches are now selling blood of Jesus, Vest for protection, stickers and all sorts of things
At times I feel Daddy freeze is our Nigerian Luther

chynie:
Yes it is worth it, though he died for it but his reformation brought change to Christendom
And I believe we need another Luther cos the churches are going same part again
churches are now selling blood of Jesus, Vest for protection, stickers and all sorts of things
At times I feel Daddy freeze is our Nigerian Luther

Freeze our Luther? I know you're kidding.
Yes, my brother, some of the things the catholic church were doing are now being replicated by the Protestants,, which is very unfortunate. But then the difference is still being made clear by the churches who are not treading that path.

Yes it was. 100%. Lutzer or Luther was the same Angel God used to scatter The Tower of Babel for good purpose, 'cos God is Good.

Daviddson:
Freeze our Luther? I know you're kidding.
Yes, my brother, some of the things the catholic church were doing are now being replicated by the Protestants,, which is very unfortunate. But then the difference is still being made clear by the churches who are not treading that path.

no am not kidding about freeze, is just that in these era ''the judge not my people'' crew many
but is freeze right atmix ''yes''
most Pentecostal are worst than catholic then, even catholic was a learner compared to our current trend of religious exploitations