Out of love for the truth and from desire to elucidate it, the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and ordinary lecturer therein at Wittenberg, intends to defend the following statements and to dispute on them in that place. Therefore he asks that those who cannot be present and dispute with him orally shall do so in their absence by letter. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
1. When
our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the
entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
2. This
word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is,
confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.
3. Yet
it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless
unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh.
4. The
penalty of sin remains as long as the hatred of self (that is, true inner
repentance), namely till our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
5. The
pope neither desires nor is able to remit any penalties except those imposed by
his own authority or that of the canons.
6. The
pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring and showing that it has been
remitted by God; or, to be sure, by remitting guilt in cases reserved to his
judgment. If his right to grant remission in these cases were disregarded, the
guilt would certainly remain unforgiven.
7. God
remits guilt to no one unless at the same time he humbles him in all things and
makes him submissive to the vicar, the priest.
8. The
penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to the canons
themselves, nothing should be imposed on the dying.
9. Therefore
the Holy Spirit through the pope is kind to us insofar as the pope in his
decrees always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.
10.
Those priests act ignorantly and wickedly who, in
the case of the dying, reserve canonical penalties for purgatory.
11.
Those tares of changing the canonical penalty to
the penalty of purgatory were evidently sown while the bishops slept (Mt
13:25).
12.
In former times canonical penalties were imposed,
not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.
13.
The dying are freed by death from all penalties,
are already dead as far as the canon laws are concerned, and have a right to be
released from them.
14.
Imperfect piety or love on the part of the dying
person necessarily brings with it great fear; and the smaller the love, the
greater the fear.
15.
This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, to say
nothing of other things, to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is
very near to the horror of despair.
16.
Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ the same
as despair, fear, and assurance of salvation.
17.
It seems as though for the souls in purgatory fear
should necessarily decrease and love increase.
18.
Furthermore, it does not seem proved, either by
reason or by Scripture, that souls in purgatory are outside the state of merit,
that is, unable to grow in love.
19.
Nor does it seem proved that souls in purgatory, at
least not all of them, are certain and assured of their own salvation, even if
we ourselves may be entirely certain of it.
20.
Therefore the pope, when he uses the words
``plenary remission of all penalties,'' does not actually mean ``all
penalties,'' but only those imposed by himself.
21.
Thus those indulgence preachers are in error who
say that a man is absolved from every penalty and saved by papal indulgences.
22.
As a matter of fact, the pope remits to souls in
purgatory no penalty which, according to canon law, they should have paid in
this life.
23.
If remission of all penalties whatsoever could be
granted to anyone at all, certainly it would be granted only to the most
perfect, that is, to very few.
24.
For this reason most people are necessarily
deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of release from
penalty.
25.
That power which the pope has in general over
purgatory corresponds to the power which any bishop or curate has in a
particular way in his own diocese and parish.
26.
The pope does very well when he grants remission to
souls in purgatory, not by the power of the keys, which he does not have, but
by way of intercession for them.
27.
They preach only human doctrines who say that as
soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.
28.
It is certain that when money clinks in the money
chest, greed and avarice can be increased; but when the church intercedes, the
result is in the hands of God alone.
29.
Who knows whether all souls in purgatory wish to be
redeemed, since we have exceptions in St. Severinus and St. Paschal, as related
in a legend.
30.
No one is sure of the integrity of his own
contrition, much less of having received plenary remission.
31.
The man who actually buys indulgences is as rare as
he who is really penitent; indeed, he is exceedingly rare.
32.
Those who believe that they can be certain of their
salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned,
together with their teachers.
33.
Men must especially be on guard against those who
say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is
reconciled to him.
34.
For the graces of indulgences are concerned only
with the penalties of sacramental satisfaction established by man.
35.
They who teach that contrition is not necessary on
the part of those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy
confessional privileges preach unchristian doctrine.
36.
Any truly repentant Christian has a right to full
remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters.
37.
Any true Christian, whether living or dead, participates
in all the blessings of Christ and the church; and this is granted him by God,
even without indulgence letters.
38.
Nevertheless, papal remission and blessing are by
no means to be disregarded, for they are, as I have said (Thesis 6), the
proclamation of the divine remission.
39.
It is very difficult, even for the most learned
theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the bounty of
indulgences and the need of true contrition.
40.
A Christian who is truly contrite seeks and loves
to pay penalties for his sins; the bounty of indulgences, however, relaxes
penalties and causes men to hate them -- at least it furnishes occasion for
hating them.
41.
Papal indulgences must be preached with caution,
lest people erroneously think that they are preferable to other good works of
love.
42.
Christians are to be taught that the pope does not
intend that the buying of indulgences should in any way be compared with works
of mercy.
43.
Christians are to be taught that he who gives to
the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys indulgences.
44.
Because love grows by works of love, man thereby
becomes better. Man does not, however, become better by means of indulgences
but is merely freed from penalties.
45.
Christians are to be taught that he who sees a
needy man and passes him by, yet gives his money for indulgences, does not buy
papal indulgences but God's wrath.
46.
Christians are to be taught that, unless they have
more than they need, they must reserve enough for their family needs and by no
means squander it on indulgences.
47.
Christians are to be taught that they buying of
indulgences is a matter of free choice, not commanded.
48.
Christians are to be taught that the pope, in
granting indulgences, needs and thus desires their devout prayer more than their
money.
49.
Christians are to be taught that papal indulgences
are useful only if they do not put their trust in them, but very harmful if
they lose their fear of God because of them.
50.
Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew
the exactions of the indulgence preachers, he would rather that the basilica of
St. Peter were burned to ashes than built up with the skin, flesh, and bones of
his sheep.
51.
Christians are to be taught that the pope would and
should wish to give of his own money, even though he had to sell the basilica
of St. Peter, to many of those from whom certain hawkers of indulgences cajole
money.
52.
It is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence
letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer
his soul as security.
53.
They are the enemies of Christ and the pope who
forbid altogether the preaching of the Word of God in some churches in order
that indulgences may be preached in others.
54.
Injury is done to the Word of God when, in the same
sermon, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the
Word.
55.
It is certainly the pope's sentiment that if
indulgences, which are a very insignificant thing, are celebrated with one
bell, one procession, and one ceremony, then the gospel, which is the very greatest
thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a
hundred ceremonies.
56.
The true treasures of the church, out of which the
pope distributes indulgences, are not sufficiently discussed or known among the
people of Christ.
57.
That indulgences are not temporal treasures is
certainly clear, for many indulgence sellers do not distribute them freely but
only gather them.
58.
Nor are they the merits of Christ and the saints,
for, even without the pope, the latter always work grace for the inner man, and
the cross, death, and hell for the outer man.
59.
St. Lawrence said that the poor of the church were
the treasures of the church, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in
his own time.
60.
Without want of consideration we say that the keys
of the church, given by the merits of Christ, are that treasure.
61.
For it is clear that the pope's power is of itself
sufficient for the remission of penalties and cases reserved by himself.
62.
The true treasure of the church is the most holy
gospel of the glory and grace of God.
63.
But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it
makes the first to be last (Mt. 20:16).
64.
On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is
naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.
65.
Therefore the treasures of the gospel are nets with
which one formerly fished for men of wealth.
66.
The treasures of indulgences are nets with which
one now fishes for the wealth of men.
67.
The indulgences which the demagogues acclaim as the
greatest graces are actually understood to be such only insofar as they promote
gain.
68.
They are nevertheless in truth the most
insignificant graces when compared with the grace of God and the piety of the
cross.
69.
Bishops and curates are bound to admit the
commissaries of papal indulgences with all reverence.
70.
But they are much more bound to strain their eyes
and ears lest these men preach their own dreams instead of what the pope has
commissioned.
71.
Let him who speaks against the truth concerning
papal indulgences be anathema and accursed.
72.
But let him who guards against the lust and license
of the indulgence preachers be blessed.
73.
Just as the pope justly thunders against those who
by any means whatever contrive harm to the sale of indulgences.
74.
Much more does he intend to thunder against those
who use indulgences as a pretext to contrive harm to holy love and truth.
75.
To consider papal indulgences so great that they
could absolve a man even if he had done the impossible and had violated the
mother of God is madness.
76.
We say on the contrary that papal indulgences
cannot remove the very least of venial sins as far as guilt is concerned.
77.
To say that even St. Peter if he were now pope,
could not grant greater graces is blasphemy against St. Peter and the pope.
78.
We say on the contrary that even the present pope,
or any pope whatsoever, has greater graces at his disposal, that is, the
gospel, spiritual powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written. (1 Co
12[:28])
79.
To say that the cross emblazoned with the papal
coat of arms, and set up by the indulgence preachers is equal in worth to the
cross of Christ is blasphemy.
80.
The bishops, curates, and theologians who permit
such talk to be spread among the people will have to answer for this.
81.
This unbridled preaching of indulgences makes it
difficult even for learned men to rescue the reverence which is due the pope
from slander or from the shrewd questions of the laity.
82.
Such as: ``Why does not the pope empty purgatory
for the sake of holy love and the dire need of the souls that are there if he
redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which
to build a church?'' The former reason would be most just; the latter is most
trivial.
83.
Again, ``Why are funeral and anniversary masses for
the dead continued and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the
endowments founded for them, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?''
84.
Again, ``What is this new piety of God and the pope
that for a consideration of money they permit a man who is impious and their
enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God and do not
rather, beca use of the need of that pious and beloved soul, free it for pure
love's sake?''
85.
Again, ``Why are the penitential canons, long since
abrogated and dead in actual fact and through disuse, now satisfied by the
granting of indulgences as though they were still alive and in force?''
86.
Again, ``Why does not the pope, whose wealth is
today greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build this one basilica
of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?''
87.
Again, ``What does the pope remit or grant to those
who by perfect contrition already have a right to full remission and
blessings?''
88.
Again, ``What greater blessing could come to the
church than if the pope were to bestow these remissions and blessings on every
believer a hundred times a day, as he now does but once?''
89.
``Since the pope seeks the salvation of souls
rather than money by his indulgences, why does he suspend the indulgences and
pardons previously granted when they have equal efficacy?''
90.
To repress these very sharp arguments of the laity
by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the
church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies and to make Christians
unhappy.
91.
If, therefore, indulgences were preached according
to the spirit and intention of the pope, all these doubts would be readily
resolved. Indeed, they would not exist.
92.
Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the
people of Christ, ``Peace, peace,'' and there is no peace! (Jer 6:14)
93.
Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people
of Christ, ``Cross, cross,'' and there is no cross!
94.
Christians should be exhorted to be diligent in
following Christ, their Head, through penalties, death and hell.
95.
And thus be confident of entering into heaven
through many tribulations rather than through the false security of peace (Acts
14:22).