Chapter 7—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 sprang 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 purposed 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, entered a
monastery; and it was two years before the father was reconciled to
his son, and even then his opinions remained the same.
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Luther’s parents bestowed great care upon the education and train-
ing of their children. They endeavored to instruct them in the knowl-
edge 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; but the Reformer himself,
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