Grace on Tap

Even though Martin Luther complained about suffering from laziness and sloth, Luther’s time in the Wartburg was one of the most productive 10 months of his life, resulting in 12 books, several sermons and devotionals. The most impressive of his accomplishments during this time wasn’t started until December 1521, when Luther kicked off a translation of the New Testament. Records indicate that he ar...

Martin Luther was cut to the core when he read the words of the young emperor Charles who wrote, “A single friar who goes counter to all Christianity for a thousand years must be wrong.” Luther couldn’t help but wonder, could the emperor be right? Now that he was safely ensconced in the Wartburg castle, Luther was free from the day-to-day challenges that consumed his attention as the accidently sp...

Martin Luther had decided to accept the invitation to the Diet in the city of Worms, Germany, even though he knew there was a very good chance he was going to his death. The pope, who was one of the most powerful people in the world, was clearly aligned against him. And, to make matters worse, the emperor was starting to agree with the papal position. Even though Luther’s appearance at the Diet wa...

When Martin Luther first posted the 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg, he was driven by a deep concern for his congregation. This continued to be the primary driver of everything he did for his entire career as a reformer. Luther’s concern for his congregation was expressed in many ways. He wrote sermons for his own congregation; he wrote guidelines for sermons for other pastors; he wrote...

Martin Luther, the professor of Biblical studies at the University of Wittenberg, had finally received the invitation with the promise of safe conduct from the emperor. Now Luther had decide if he would attend the Diet of Worms. The invitation that Luther received said nothing about the structure of the meeting. Would it be the open debate he had wanted since the beginning? Would the Bible or cano...

Charles V of Spain was on a very steep learning curve. Even though he was only 20 years old, he had just been voted as the new Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Including his governance of Spain, he now had the responsibilities for a vast domain that included modern day Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Northern Italy and South America. Charles had prepared for t...

In the summer of 1520, Pope Leo X released Exsurge Domine , a papal bull outlining the errors and heresies of the impudent German monk, Martin Luther. Luther responded by burning the bull. The pope had had enough. It was time for action, so he instructed his theologians to write a new papal bull that would excommunicate Luther By choosing force over dialogue, the pope overestimated his strength in...

Karl von Miltitz wasn’t somebody who would easily give up. As the pope’s ambassador in the Lutheran controversy, he felt had the authority to make a difference in the ongoing theological issues stirring up Germany. Miltitz was a little more humble about his capabilities in 1520, compared to when he first became enmeshed in the Lutheran dispute a year before. Back in the beginning, he thought he co...

Episode 18 – Babylonian Captivity 2 In December of 1519, Martin Luther first trained his sights on redefining the sacraments in a series of sermons and treatise he wrote to help the common people better understand how faith works in the church. Duke George best reflected the feeling of the supporters of the papal position when he called Luther’s writings scandalous and heretical. But Luther wasn’t...

After being thrust into the spotlight with the publication of the 95 Theses in 1517, Martin Luther worked to engage in a conversation with the leadership of the Roman Catholic church, but without much success. By the summer of 1520, both Luther and the pope realized there was little chance of reaching an agreement. The pope responded with the publication of the papal bull, Exsurge Domine , a hasti...

The opening section of Martin Luther’s Open Letter to the Christian Nobility was an effective broadside against the Roman Catholic power structure. It outlined a biblical argument that elevated both the nobility and the common man to stand equal to both priest and pope in the eyes of God. But Luther wasn’t done. The Open Letter also outlined Luther’s calls to reform the church from how people shou...

In 1520 Martin Luther addressed the Christian nobility in Germany to give them encouragement in their role as supporters of the gospel. Martin Luther attacked three walls the pope had erected around Scripture. These walls were designed to intimidate the secular people from speaking up. If these walls could be torn down, then the Word of God would be more clearly shared in Germany. The first wall i...

This episode focuses on  Exsurge Domine , the official papal response to Martin Luther. With the printing presses of Europe hard at work in the fall of 1517, the 95 Theses spread throughout Europe in a couple of weeks. Attention was drawn to the leadership of the church in Rome. In 1518 Cardinal Cajetan visited Luther in Augsburg, and Cajetan attempted to get Luther to recant. In the summer of 151...

In the fall of 1519, Martin Luther was concerned. His concern was for the souls of those that the Lord had placed near to him. His protector, Frederick the Wise, became very ill. The people were curious and seeking promise, but still finding in the rituals of the church a focus on works instead of faith. Luther offered to them consolation. He wrote a devotional for those approaching death called t...

Turning Point John Eck and Martin Luther met for a debate in Leipzig in 1519. This debate was a major turning point for the Reformation. This debate pushed Luther beyond the question of reforming indulgences towards the question of authority in the church. John Eck was a scholastic theologian teaching at Inglostadt. Martin Luther was a professor from Wittenberg. These two men meet for the rumble i...

On January 12, 1519, Maximillian, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, died at Wels in Upper Austria. The election that took place on June 28 in Frankfurt was a hotly contested election. The two main contenders were Charles, grandson of Maximillian, and Francis I, the King of France. After a series of bribes and promises, the election swings towards Charles. Charles V signed a document that was criti...

Karl von Miltitz was sent from Rome to Germany in the fall of 1518. He was a papal nuncio, which is the title for an ecclesiastical diplomat. His job was to improve the conflict with Luther . He expected to be a part of the negotiating team with Cardinal Cajetan. The timing of their arrivals in Germany meant they worked separate from each other. Maybe he expected this was going to be a good cop /...

Grace on Tap – Reordering of Society During this episode, we follow Martin Luther’s pastoral focus in the 1519 – 1521 period. We are interested in how he translated his theology of the cross into sermons for regular folk, specifically looking at how he applied these ideas into two areas that he considered were of critical importance, marriage and prayer. We look at his sermon on...

This episode is our attempt to lay the ground work for why Martin Luther could stand up to both the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the pope and not be immediately be struck down. It is 1519, and Luther has written the 95 Theses, participated in the Heidelberg Disputation, and talked to Cardinal Cajetan in Augsburg. Background After things went so poorly in Augsburg, Luther snuck out of town...

In this episode of Grace on Tap, Mike and Evan discuss the “fatherly hearing” between Cardinal Cajetan and Martin Luther at Augsburg in 1518. Luther wrote about this informal hearing when he returned to Wittenberg. In June 1518, Pope Leo X has empowered a court to begin proceedings against Martin Luther. This court based on their examination of Luther’s 95 Theses called Luther to...

Martin Luther and Cardinal Cajetan will have an important meeting in Augsburg in 1518. In this episode we talk about the lead up to this meeting. First we discuss the perspective of the pope. Then we look at Luther’s expectations for this meeting. Finally we discuss Frederick the Wise’s approach to this meeting. In the summer of 1518, Cardinal Cajetan was traveling to Augsburg to atten...

Episode 5 of Grace on Tap looks at the Heidelberg Disputation. Before you get to far into this episode we think it would be good to have a quick discussion about this episode. As we move forward with the project, we realize that we can’t tell the story of the people of the Reformation without also telling the story of the IDEAS of the Reformation. This means that, every so often, we’re...

This episode of Grace on Tap is the build-up to our discussion on the Heidelberg Disputation, where Martin Luther first defined his Theology of the Cross. The Theology of the Cross captures Luther’s ideas on sin, God’s grace and human suffering. Sadly, Luther’s ideas on the meaning of suffering remain an overlooked component of Christian theology, even in Lutheran circles. If you...

This episode looks at a sermon from the spring of 1518 that Martin Luther wrote and shared with the German people to explain the controversy on indulgences and why the grace of God is our confidence. Published copy of Luther’s “Sermon on Indulgence and Grace” from 1518. From the Taylor Institution Library, Oxford The featured beer for this episode is Founders All Day IPA. This is...

95 Theses In this episode Mike Yagley and Evan Gaertner discuss the context for the 95 Theses that Martin Luther shared with the church on October 31, 1517. Resources that were helpful to us in the production of this episode include: Wengert and Leppin in Lutheran Quarterly   present an article about whether the 95 Theses were actually posted on the Castle Church doors or not. Kurt Aland’s b...