At a time in church history when men such as Wycliffe, Huss, and Jerome had already laid a foundation for reform, Martin Luther came upon the scene. Luther was a man of strong will. His eary childhood training was one that prepared him for the trials ahead.
As a young man he had an earnest desire to be free from sin and to find peace with God. He entered a Roman Catholic monastary, and devoted himself to a monastic life. Here he was required to perform the lowest drudgery, and to beg from house to house. He was at an age when respect and appreciation are most eagerly craved, and these menial tasks were deeply mortifying to his natural feelings; but he patiently endured this humiliation, believing that it was necessary because of his sins.
Every moment that could be spared from his daily duties he employed in study, robbing himself of sleep, and grudging even the time spent at his scanty meals. Above everything else he delighted in the study of God's Word. He had found a Bible chained to the convent wall, and here he was often found. As his convictions of sin deepened, he sought by his own works to obtain pardon and peace. He led a most rigorous life, endeavoring, by fasting, vigils, and scourgings, to subdue the evils of his nature, from which the monastic life had brought no release. He shrank from no sacrifice by which he might attain to that purity of heart which would enable him to stand approved before God. "I was indeed a pious monk," he afterward said, "and followed the rules of my order more strictly than I can express. If ever monk could attain Heaven by his monkish works, I should certainly have been entitled to it. If I had continued much longer, I should have carried my mortifications even to death." As the result of this painful discipline, he lost strength, and suffered from fainting spasms, from the effects of which he never fully recovered. But with all his efforts, his burdened soul found no relief. He was at last driven to the verge of despair.
In this short description of Luther's life as a young man, what can we learn about the teachings of the Roman Church and its failings to provide relief to our brother, Martin Luther?
