Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony, now in Germany. He was embarking on studies for a career in law when an extraordinary experience elicited from him a vow that changed the course, not only of his life, but also of Christianity, forever. Caught in a violent thunderstorm, Luther prayed to St. Anne for assistance, promising that if he were delivered from danger, he would become a monk. He was, and he did, astonishing and dismaying his friends and his family.

Luther entered the Augustinian cloister in Erfurt in 1505 and was ordained a priest in 1507. His superior, Johann von Staupitz, soon determined that the gifted young man should return to school to take his doctor's degree in theology and then to teach. After completing his studies, Luther became a professor of Scripture at the University of Wittenberg where he discovered significant differences between what he read in the Bible and the theology and practices of the church.

Luther wrote that a clearer understanding of Romans 1:17 led him to a resolution of the conflict tormenting his conscience: "Then finally, God had mercy on me, and I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that gift of God with which a righteous man lives, namely, faith, and that this sentence - the righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel - is passive, indicating that the merciful God justifies us by faith& . Now I felt as though I had been reborn altogether and had entered Paradise."

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted a challenge on the castle church door at Wittenberg University to debate 95 theological issues. Through these 95 Theses, Luther's hope was that the church would reform its practice to be more consistent with the Word of God as contained in the Bible.

In order to make peace among the various political and religious factions in Germany, the Emperor soon summoned an "Imperial Diet" to meet at Worms.

But when representatives of the free cities assembled there on January 27, 1521, Luther soon became the chief topic of conversation. Luther was invited to Worms to discuss his teachings and writings and on April 17, in his monastic garb, he appeared before the Emperor, six electors and a large court of nobles, princes and prelates. When he was asked to identify his writings and recant them, Luther agreed that the writings were his, but asked for time to consider the retraction. When he returned the next day the room was crowded and Luther made his famous statement:

Unless I am convinced by Scripture or by plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against my conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.

Because Luther had been guaranteed 'safe passage' he was not arrested after his dismissal from the Imperial Diet, but the Emperor declared him an outlaw. On the trip back to Wittenberg, Luther was kidnapped (he knew about this in advance) and disappeared for a time at the Wartburg fortress. At the Wartburg Luther lived incognito and called himself Junker Jörg (Knight George). It was here that he began his translation of the New Testament into German.

In March 1521, Luther returned from exile to Wittenberg and began preaching, teaching, writing on the liturgy and completed the translation of the New Testament. With his writings On the Order of Worship and Formula missae Luther completed his reforms of the liturgy.

On June 13, 1525 Luther married Katharina von Bora, a nun who had fled from a convent and had taken refuge in Wittenberg. The Luthers had six children.

In 1527, Luther published "A mighty fortress is our God" and in 1529 he completed both the Small and Large Catechisms. By 1530 he had completed the translation of the Old Testament into German. The completed German Bible appeared in print in 1534.

Although Luther was ill, he made a final trip to his birthplace in Eisleben. He did not have the energy to return to Wittenberg and died on February 18, 1546. On his deathbed, he prayed "Into your hands, I commend my spirit. You have saved me, Father, faithful God." Luther's body was returned to Wittenberg and on February 22 he was laid to rest there in the Castle Church.

Neither Martin Luther nor his fellow reformers intended to break with the catholic substance and evangelical heritage of the western Church. However, what started as an academic debate escalated to a religious war, fueled by fiery temperaments, political powers, and violent language on both sides. As a result, there was not a reformation of the church but a separation. "Lutheran" was a name applied to Luther and his followers as an insult, but was adopted as a badge of honor by them instead.

One might describe Luther's career as a lifelong pastoral malpractice suit against the Roman Catholic hierarchy of his day, whose doctrine of grace, in his opinion, deprived believers of true consolation and robbed Christ of His rightful place as Savior. And still, the years brought conflicts with other groups in which he felt called to champion the cause of the gospel as he understood it. Luther's theology was controversial, and his style was often inflammatory. Heirs to his legacy sometimes feel compelled to apologize for him. Indeed, a fair and critical evaluation of his work requires that one acknowledge inconsistencies, errors of judgment, and attitudes that are disturbing. But the same fair and critical eye cannot help but recognize the force of his confession and the keen insight of his spiritual guidance.

Luther challenges each generation to measure its understanding of the gospel against the message he found to be the heart of Scripture: "For the person is justified and saved, not by works or laws, but by the Word of God, that is, by the promise of his grace, and by faith, that the glory may remain God's, ("Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura") who saved us not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by virtue of his mercy by the word of his grace when we believed".

We are saved by the grace of God alone - not by anything we do.

Our salvation is through faith alone - we only need to believe that our sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who died for us.

The Bible is the norm of doctrine and life - the only true standard by which teachings and doctrines are to be judged.

Scriptures and worship need to be done in the language of the people.

In recent years, Lutherans have become increasingly uneasy about some of Luther's later writings concerning the Jews. Some of these writings were inappropriately used by the Nazi's to justify what we call the Holocaust. In 1993, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America repudiated those writings of Luther paving the way for improved relations between Christians and Jews.

While we still consider ourselves as a reforming movement within the church catholic, the Lutheran Church seeks to preserve as much of that catholic tradition as is consistent with the pure proclamation of the Gospel. Centered on the biblical Word and on the sacraments instituted by Christ himself, the Lutheran Church strives to be faithful to the Good News that our salvation before God is purely a gift from God in the person and the saving life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.