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Chapter 6—Luther’s Separation from Rome
Foremost among those who were called to lead the church from
the darkness of popery into the light of a purer faith, stood Martin
Luther. Zealous, ardent, and devoted, knowing no fear but the fear
of God, and acknowledging no foundation for religious faith but the
Holy Scriptures, Luther was the man for his time; through him, God
accomplished a great work for the reformation of the church and the
enlightenment of the world.
Like the first heralds of the gospel, Luther sprung from the
ranks of poverty. His early years were spent in the humble home
of a German peasant. By daily toil as a miner, his father earned
the means for his education. He intended him for a lawyer; but
God designed to make him a builder in the great temple that was
rising so slowly through the centuries. Hardship, privation, and
severe discipline were the school in which Infinite Wisdom prepared
Luther for the important mission of his life.
Luther’s father was a man of strong and active mind, and great
force of character, honest, resolute, and straightforward. He was true
to his convictions of duty, let the consequences be what they might.
His sterling good sense led him to regard the monastic system with
distrust. He was highly displeased when Luther, without his consent,
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entered a monastery; and it was two years before the father was
reconciled to his son, and even then his opinions remained the same.
Luther’s parents bestowed great care upon the education and
training of their children. They endeavored to instruct them in the
knowledge of God and the practice of Christian virtues. The father’s
prayer often ascended in the hearing of his son, that the child might
remember the name of the Lord, and one day aid in the advancement
of his truth. Every advantage for moral or intellectual culture which
their life of toil permitted them to enjoy, was eagerly improved by
these parents. Their efforts were earnest and persevering to prepare
their children for a life of piety and usefulness. With their firmness
and strength of character they sometimes exercised too great severity;
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