At noon on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg. This simple act started a movement which altered economic structures, undermined empires, and drastically changed the religious life of Europe.

When Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms on April 18, 1521, some of the foremost theologians of that time charged this simple monk, a miner's son, with heresy. Piled high on a table were all his published works, which he was ordered to retract. Luther replied, "Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason, my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen." As he went outside he raised his arms and shouted, "I've come through." And so he had, with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Kierkegaard called him "the knight of faith," and so he proved to be. He was the instrument of God in recalling the Church to the deeper meaning of the Gospel. He was one of those men whom God matches to the hour. His beliefs were hammered out on the anvil of experience.

Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483 at Eisleben in Saxony, to Hans and Margaret Luther. His father sacrificed so his son could go in 1501 to the university at Erfurt, where, four years later, he took his masters of art. As an intense seeker after God, Luther wanted a vital faith and longed to be at peace with God. One day as he walked back to Erfurt, after visiting his parents, a bolt of lightning flashed out of the sky and crashed to earth beside him, killing his friend Alexius who walked with him. Fear paralyzed Luther and he fell to earth, vowing to be a monk.

On July 17, 1505, he entered the Augustinian monastery, made his profession in 1506, and a year later was ordained. The following year he was transferred to the university at Wittenburg as a lecturer. At the age of twenty-eight he became a doctor of divinity and professor of biblical theology.

Luther began to preach very unwillingly and only in obedience to the head of his monastery. He preached first in the dining hall of the cloister at Erfurt and then in the small church of the cloister at Wittenburg. Some of his earliest sermons are scholastic compositions in Latin, but soon he was preaching in German as often as four times a day on such subjects as the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments.

His sermons were published and soon attracted attention by the freshness and frankness of his speech. Their wide circulation extended Luther's influence beyond the borders of Germany. They moved he hearts and stirred the consciences of the people. It soon became clear that this one man -- by the converting power of his words -- was ushering in a fresh era in the history of the Church.

There has been nothing like it since the Day of Pentecost, says John Derr. "On the way to Worms to meet the Diet, he could not escape from the crowds. At Erfurt the church was so crowded that they feared it would fall. At Zwickau, the marketplace was thronged by 2,500 eager listeners and Luther had to preach from a window. He continued to preach to the end of his life though so broken in health that he often fainted from exhaustion. To the end he retained his wonderful power. The last time he entered the pulpit was February 14, 1546, a few days before he died."1