preview

How Did Martin Luther Failed To Reform The Catholic Church?

Decent Essays

Although there had been many attempts to reform the Catholic Church, none had come

close to impacting them as much as Martin Luther did in 1517. As one of the most influential

men throughout history, he wrote The 95 Theses and sparked the beginning of Protestant

Reformation which was an intellectual, cultural, religious, and political upheaval in Europe. For

many years the Catholic Church became more and more corrupt, mainly due to the fact that

they tried to sell indulgences to a sinner to release him/her from punishment in Purgatory before

going to Heaven. From the writings of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and many other reformers,

Protestantism was formed giving people an alternative choice for their practice of Christianity. …show more content…

These Five Solas summarize the Reformers' basic

theological beliefs in contradiction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day.

Sola Gratia, or Grace Alone, is understood by the Reformers to be that salvation is God's

act of free grace, given by the Holy Spirit owing to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ alone,

and not depending on good works. In addition, they argued that a sinner is not accepted by God

on account of the change made in the believer by God's grace, but instead that the believer is

accepted without regard for the merit of his work, they felt that no one deserves salvation.

Although the Catholic Church had affirmed the doctrine of sola gratia in the year 529, unlike the

Protestants, the Roman Catholic view of the means of salvation was a combination of reliance

upon the grace of God, and confidence in the merits of one's own works performed out of good

will. The Catholic interpretation argued that, if someone is saved by God’s grace alone then he/

she has no need to live a holy life, given that salvation is already granted. Catholics also believe

that if a person embraces the stories of Jesus that their relationship with God will be stronger

Get Access