The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1895, Page 38

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38 The Lutheran Pioneer.

Martin Luther. | princes and dignitaries of the Church, that}
: lhe declared his faith. and refused to depart|
Martin Luther, the great Reformer, was|from it. ‘‘HereIstand,’’ he cried; ‘‘I can not |
born at Eisleben, in Germany, November 10,| do otherwise; God help me. Amen.’’ From
1483. His parents were Hans and Margaret | Worms Luther went to the Wartburg, a castle,
Luther, hard working and humble peasants. | where he was hidden from his enemies, who}
They were very willing to make sacrifices for| would have slain him. Here he translated the}
him in order that he might receive an education | New Testament into German, and wrote va-
and rise to a better position in life than they | rious works.
themselves occupied. They believed fully in) He returned again to Wittenberg, where he}
education, and did not think that their son| continued his labors. Meanwhile the Refor-
could have too much of it. They sent him to/ mation went on, and those who believed the;
the best schools they could afford, aiding him| teachings of the Gospel increased. Finally, |
as far as they could, until he
reached the college or university
itself.

Luther did all he could to aid
himself, also. He was obliged to
beg for food at times while a stu-
dent. He found friends, however,
and assistance, and showed himself
worthy of them, and so retained
them. It was during these student
days that he came upon a copy of
the Scriptures, and that serious
and earnest thoughts about his
spiritual life came upon him.

From a want of suflicient knowl-
edge of the Gospel, Luther was
impelled to enter a monastery as
the only way to save his soul. He
gave up allhis prospects of worldly
advance, and, much to the sorrow
and disappointment of his father,
became a monk. If any man ever
tried to find peace of soul and
union with God by fastings and
scourgings, and penances, Luther
did. But he found none, and, in-
deed, might have died in anguish
of soul, had not a pious old monk
directed him to the love of God,
and the comforting thoughts ex-
pressed in the Apostle’s Creed.

Subsequently Luther became a
teacher.in the University of Wit-

_tenberg; a preacher and doctor of
the Scriptures, and was led on from
step to step to grasp and apply the
great and blessed truth that faith

= in Christ, and not our good works, saves us.|June 25, 1530, in another grand diet of the|

Just then a shameful trade was carried on in| German Empire, held at Augsburg, Luther’s |

' ‘tindulgences,’’ or pardons sold for sins that) teachings were presented by the princes and |

were to be committed, as well as those that) cities that confessed them. ‘This is called the

had been done. Luther was aroused by this;} Augsburg Confession, and is the statement

preached against it, and at last published a|of what Lutherans believe that God’s Word
Statement in short sentences, called theses, | teaches.

October 81, 1517, which he nailed up at the} Seeing in what ignorance of the Gospel men

‘church door, so that whoever did not accept} were, Luther wrote a book of instruction to

them) might challenge him to a debate upon) be used in teaching them, and especially their
them; as the custom then was. children; this is called Luther’s Catechism,
~ This was the beginning of the Reformation. }and is still used by the Lutherans for this

Tt led to great excitement and discussion far) purpose. Luther's translation of the Bible is

‘8nd wide. Luther was summoned to answer /still in use among all who read and speak the

orhis writings, and appeared at last at a great| German language.

‘Gathering, or “diet,” at Worms (1521). It

Dr. MARTIN LUTHER.

Luther died February 18, 1546, full of |
in the presence of emperor and/honors, beloved of all who knew him,. hated |

by none save his enemies who were such be-
cause of the doctrines he taught. Solemnly
and sadly he was borne to his graye, and
buried at Wittenberg, where his dust awaits
the resurrection of the just. —C. AZ.

—__—— + o=a eo we

Uncle Bob’s Letter.

My pear Nernews ann NIeces : —

Some time ago, I told you of the needs of
Mount Zion. I pointed out to you at the time
how urgently necessary it was for Mount Zion

to get a new church at once. Mat-
ters have not improved since, cer-
tainly not. On the contrary, it
has come to such a pass now,. that
some of our visiting people left
the building several Sundays ago,
because a storm was approaching.
Now, my dear children, that isa
fact. This old church of Mount
‘Zion is simply a death-trap, and
it’s the good Lord alone that’s
prevented a calamity so far. What
a fearful responsibility those will
have upon their consciences who
can help, but do not do so!

Children, up and about, right
away! Get together, all of you,
in your recess time. Take the
matter boldly in hand as I sug-
gested in the June Pioneer, and
show the old folks what little folks
can and will do.

There, now, Jennie and Johnnie!
Cents make dimes; dimes ‘make
dollars, and the Lord loveth a
cheerful giver surely.

Right here, permit me to thank
my dear nephews and nieces and
their beloved schoolmaster who
answered my previous appeal.
God bless them and theirs!

Your affectionate uncle,
Bos.

= ~~ o-oo OO

Simple Faith.

There was once a woman who was well ,

known among her circle for her simple faith
and her great calmness in the midst of many
trials. Another woman, living at a distance,
hearing of her said, ‘‘I must go and see that
woman, and learn the secret of her strong,
happy life.’? She went, and accosting the
woman said, ‘‘Are you the woman with the
great faith?’? ‘‘No,’’ replied she, ‘‘I am not
the woman with the great faith, but I am the
woman with the little faith in the great God.”

—_—_—s + oo

Tue truest end of life is to know the life
that never ends.