The 95 Theses by Dr. Martin Luther

Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences Commonly Known as The 95 Theses by Dr. Martin Luther

Out of love and concern for the truth, and with the object of eliciting it, the following heads will be the subject of a public discussion at Wittenberg under the presidency of the reverend father, Martin Luther, Augustinian, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and duly appointed Lecturer on these subjects in that place. He requests that whoever cannot be present personally to debate the matter orally will do so in absence in writing.

1. When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said “Repent”, He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
2. The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.
3. Yet its meaning is not restricted to repentance in one’s heart; for such repentance is null unless it produces outward signs in various mortifications of the flesh.
4. As long as hatred of self abides (i.e. true inward repentance) the penalty of sin abides, viz., until we enter the kingdom of heaven.
5. The pope has neither the will nor the power to remit any penalties beyond those imposed either at his own discretion or by canon law.
6. The pope himself cannot remit guilt, but only declare and confirm that it has been remitted by God; or, at most, he can remit it in cases reserved to his discretion. Except for these cases, the guilt remains untouched.
7. God never remits guilt to anyone without, at the same time, making him humbly submissive to the priest, His representative.
8. The penitential canons apply only to men who are still alive, and, according to the canons themselves, none applies to the dead.
9. Accordingly, the Holy Spirit, acting in the person of the pope, manifests grace to us, by the fact that the papal regulations always cease to apply at death, or in any hard case.
10. It is a wrongful act, due to ignorance, when priests retain the canonical penalties on the dead in purgatory.
11. When canonical penalties were changed and made to apply to purgatory, surely it would seem that tares were sown while the bishops were asleep.
12. In former days, the canonical penalties were imposed, not after, but before absolution was pronounced; and were intended to be tests of true contrition.
13. Death puts an end to all the claims of the Church; even the dying are already dead to the canon laws, and are no longer bound by them.
14. Defective piety or love in a dying person is necessarily accompanied by great fear, which is greatest where the piety or love is least.
15. This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, whatever else might be said, to constitute the pain of purgatory, since it approaches very closely to the horror of despair.
16. There seems to be the same difference between hell, purgatory, and heaven as between despair, uncertainty, and assurance.
17. Of a truth, the pains of souls in purgatory ought to be abated, and charity ought to be proportionately increased.
18. Moreover, it does not seem proved, on any grounds of reason or Scripture, that these souls are outside the state of merit, or unable to grow in grace.
19. Nor does it seem proved to be always the case that they are certain and assured of salvation, even if we are very certain ourselves.
20. Therefore the pope, in speaking of the plenary remission of all penalties, does not mean “all” in the strict sense, but only those imposed by himself.
21. Hence those who preach indulgences are in error when they say that a man is absolved and saved from every penalty by the pope’s indulgences.
22. Indeed, he cannot remit to souls in purgatory any penalty which canon law declares should be suffered in the present life.
23. If plenary remission could be granted to anyone at all, it would be only in the cases of the most perfect, i.e. to very few.
24. It must therefore be the case that the major part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of relief from penalty.
25. The same power as the pope exercises in general over purgatory is exercised in particular by every single bishop in his bishopric and priest in his parish.
26. The pope does excellently when he grants remission to the souls in purgatory on account of intercessions made on their behalf, and not by the power of the keys (which he cannot exercise for them).
27. There is no divine authority for preaching that the soul flies out of the purgatory immediately the money clinks in the bottom of the chest.
28. It is certainly possible that when the money clinks in the bottom of the chest avarice and greed increase; but when the church offers intercession, all depends in the will of God.
29. Who knows whether all souls in purgatory wish to be redeemed in view of what is said of St. Severinus and St. Pascal? (Note: Paschal I, pope 817-24. The legend is that he and Severinus were willing to endure the pains of purgatory for the benefit of the faithful).
30. No one is sure of the reality of his own contrition, much less of receiving plenary forgiveness.
31. One who bona fide buys indulgence is a rare as a bona fide penitent man, i.e. very rare indeed.
32. All those who believe themselves certain of their own salvation by means of letters of indulgence, will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.
33. We should be most carefully on our guard against those who say that the papal indulgences are an inestimable divine gift, and that a man is reconciled to God by them.
34. For the grace conveyed by these indulgences relates simply to the penalties of the sacramental “satisfactions” decreed merely by man.
35. It is not in accordance with Christian doctrines to preach and teach that those who buy off souls, or purchase confessional licenses, have no need to repent of their own sins.
36. Any Christian whatsoever, who is truly repentant, enjoys plenary remission from penalty and guilt, and this is given him without letters of indulgence.
37. Any true Christian whatsoever, living or dead, participates in all the benefits of Christ and the Church; and this participation is granted to him by God without letters of indulgence.
38. Yet the pope’s remission and dispensation are in no way to be despised, for, as already said, they proclaim the divine remission.
39. It is very difficult, even for the most learned theologians, to extol to the people the great bounty contained in the indulgences, while, at the same time, praising contrition as a virtue.
40. A truly contrite sinner seeks out, and loves to pay, the penalties of his sins; whereas the very multitude of indulgences dulls men’s consciences, and tends to make them hate the penalties.
41. Papal indulgences should only be preached with caution, lest people gain a wrong understanding, and think that they are preferable to other good works: those of love.
42. Christians should be taught that the pope does not at all intend that the purchase of indulgences should be understood as at all comparable with the works of mercy.
43. Christians should be taught that one who gives to the poor, or lends to the needy, does a better action than if he purchases indulgences.
44. Because, by works of love, love grows and a man becomes a better man; whereas, by indulgences, he does not become a better man, but only escapes certain penalties.
45. Christians should be taught that he who sees a needy person, but passes him by although he gives money for indulgences, gains no benefit from the pope’s pardon, but only incurs the wrath of God.
46. Christians should be taught that, unless they have more than they need, they are bound to retain what is only necessary for the upkeep of their home, and should in no way squander it on indulgences.
47. Christians should be taught that they purchase indulgences voluntarily, and are not under obligation to do so.
48. Christians should be taught that, in granting indulgences, the pope has more need, and more desire, for devout prayer on his own behalf than for ready money.
49. Christians should be taught that the pope’s indulgences are useful only if one does not rely on them, but most harmful if one loses the fear of God through them.
50. Christians should be taught that, if the pope knew the exactions of the indulgence-preachers, he would rather the church of St. Peter were reduced to ashes than be built with the skin, flesh, and bones of the sheep.
51. Christians should be taught that the pope would be willing, as he ought if necessity should arise, to sell the church of St. Peter, and give, too, his own money to many of those from whom the pardon-merchants conjure money.
52. It is vain to rely on salvation by letters of indulgence, even if the commissary, or indeed the pope himself, were to pledge his own soul for their validity.
53. Those are enemies of Christ and the pope who forbid the word of God to be preached at all in some churches, in order that indulgences may be preached in others.
54. The word of God suffers injury if, in the same sermon, an equal or longer time is devoted to indulgences than to that word.
55. The pope cannot help taking the view that if indulgences (very small matters) are celebrated by one bell, one pageant, or one ceremony, the gospel (a very great matter) should be preached to the accompaniment of a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.
56. The treasures of the church, out of which the pope dispenses indulgences, are not sufficiently spoken of or known among the people of Christ.
57. That these treasures are not temporal are clear from the fact that many of the merchants do not grant them freely, but only collect them.
58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the saints, because, even apart from the pope, these merits are always working grace in the inner man, and working the cross, death, and hell in the outer man.
59. St. Laurence said that the poor were the treasures of the church, but he used the term in accordance with the custom of his own time.
60. We do not speak rashly in saying that the treasures of the church are the keys of the church, and are bestowed by the merits of Christ.
61. For it is clear that the power of the pope suffices, by itself, for the remission of penalties and reserved cases.
62. The true treasure of the church is the Holy gospel of the glory and the grace of God.
63. It is right to regard this treasure as most odious, for it makes the first to be the last.
64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is most acceptable, for it makes the last to be the first.
65. Therefore the treasures of the gospel are nets which, in former times, they used to fish for men of wealth.
66. The treasures of the indulgences are the nets which to-day they use to fish for the wealth of men.
67. The indulgences, which the merchants extol as the greatest of favours, are seen to be, in fact, a favourite means for money-getting.
68. Nevertheless, they are not to be compared with the grace of God and the compassion shown in the Cross.
69. Bishops and curates, in duty bound, must receive the commissaries of the papal indulgences with all reverence.
70. But they are under a much greater obligation to watch closely and attend carefully lest these men preach their own fancies instead of what the pope commissioned.
71. Let him be anathema and accursed who denies the apostolic character of the indulgences.
72. On the other hand, let him be blessed who is on his guard against the wantonness and license of the pardon-merchant’s words.
73. In the same way, the pope rightly excommunicates those who make any plans to the detriment of the trade in indulgences.
74. It is much more in keeping with his views to excommunicate those who use the pretext of indulgences to plot anything to the detriment of holy love and truth.
75. It is foolish to think that papal indulgences have so much power that they can absolve a man even if he has done the impossible and violated the mother of God.
76. We assert the contrary, and say that the pope’s pardons are not able to remove the least venial of sins as far as their guilt is concerned.
77. When it is said that not even St. Peter, if he were now pope, could grant a greater grace, it is blasphemy against St. Peter and the pope.
78. We assert the contrary, and say that he, and any pope whatever, possesses greater graces, viz., the gospel, spiritual powers, gifts of healing, etc., as is declared in I Corinthians 12 [:28].
79. It is blasphemy to say that the insignia of the cross with the papal arms are of equal value to the cross on which Christ died.
80. The bishops, curates, and theologians, who permit assertions of that kind to be made to the people without let or hindrance, will have to answer for it.
81. This unbridled preaching of indulgences makes it difficult for learned men to guard the respect due to the pope against false accusations, or at least from the keen criticisms of the laity.
82. They ask, e.g.: Why does not the pope liberate everyone from purgatory for the sake of love (a most holy thing) and because of the supreme necessity of their souls? This would be morally the best of all reasons. Meanwhile he redeems innumerable souls for money, a most perishable thing, with which to build St. Peter’s church, a very minor purpose.
83. Again: Why should funeral and anniversary masses for the dead continue to be said? And why does not the pope repay, or permit to be repaid, the benefactions instituted for these purposes, since it is wrong to pray for those souls who are now redeemed?
84. Again: Surely this is a new sort of compassion, on the part of God and the pope, when an impious man, an enemy of God, is allowed to pay money to redeem a devout soul, a friend of God; while yet that devout and beloved soul is not allowed to be redeemed without payment, for love’s sake, and just because of its need of redemption.
85. Again: Why are the penitential canon laws, which in fact, if not in practice, have long been obsolete and dead in themselves,—why are they, to-day, still used in imposing fines in money, through the granting of indulgences, as if all the penitential canons were fully operative?
86. Again: since the pope’s income to-day is larger than that of the wealthiest of wealthy men, why does he not build this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of indigent believers?
87. Again: What does the pope remit or dispense to people who, by their perfect repentance, have a right to plenary remission or dispensation?
88. Again: Surely a greater good could be done to the church if the pope were to bestow these remissions and dispensations, not once, as now, but a hundred times a day, for the benefit of any believer whatever.
89. What the pope seeks by indulgences is not money, but rather the salvation of souls; why then does he suspend the letters and indulgences formerly conceded, and still as efficacious as ever?
90. These questions are serious matters of conscience to the laity. To suppress them by force alone, and not to refute them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christian people unhappy.
91. If therefore, indulgences were preached in accordance with the spirit and mind of the pope, all these difficulties would be easily overcome, and indeed, cease to exist.
92. Away, then, with those prophets who say to Christ’s people, “Peace, peace,” where in there is no peace.
93. Hail, hail to all those prophets who say to Christ’s people, “The cross, the cross,” where there is no cross.
94. Christians should be exhorted to be zealous to follow Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hells.
95. And let them thus be more confident of entering heaven through many tribulations rather than through a false assurance of peace.

Annual Conference of the Bulgarian Churches in North America

Bulgarian Churches in the United States meet this weekend for their annual conference in Dallas, Texas. They are hosted by the local Assemblies of God as the Bulgarian churches represent Full Gospel, Foursquare, the Church of God and independent works. Currently, there are regular Bulgarian church meetings in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. Through the years, small groups have sporadically started meetings in Buffalo, St. Louis, Seattle and three places in Florida: Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa and Jacksonville. Through the years, we have assisted with the church projects in Atlanta, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. There have also been attempts to restore the meetings in Washington State, where the difficulty is that most Bulgarians live in the outer suburbs.

See all Bulgarian Churches in the United States, Canada and Europe on our catalog website http://bulgarianchurches.com/

2013

12.12.12. Revival at the End of the World

12.12.12 Miracle, Healing & Victory Prayer

Azusa Lecture, Spirit of Azusa Award to be Presented

On Tuesday, October 30, 2012, the annual Azusa Lecture Series will take place and will include a lecture by John Christopher Thomas and presentation of the Spirit of Azusa Award to Dr. French Arrington. The event will take place at 7:00 P.M. at the North Cleveland Church of God Bryant Fellowship Hall and is free and open to the public.

On April 14, 1906, a group of African Americans under the leadership of William J. Seymour established a mission at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California. They had been holding services at a nearby home on Bonnie Brae Street, but when people began to speak in tongues and experience divine healings the crowds became too great for the residential neighborhood. Spiritual expectation, newspaper articles, and the San Francisco earthquake four days later increased attention to what God was doing in the small mission. Soon people began arriving from around the world to seek their personal “Pentecost.” Many were compelled to take the message to the nations, birthing the greatest missions movement in the history of Christianity. Individuals, congregations and denominations were swept into the new Pentecostal Movement. When mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians also began to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the twentieth century came to be called “The Century of the Holy Spirit.”

Speaker John Christopher Thomas is the Abbott Professor of Biblical Studies at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary and serves as associate pastor of the Woodward Avenue Church of God in Athens, Tennessee. A founding editor of the Journal of Pentecostal Theology, Thomas edits the journal’s supplemental series of books and is general editor of the Pentecostal Commentary Series. An internationally recognized Bible scholar, Thomas directs the Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies at Bangor University in Wales as well as the Centre for Pentecostal Theology in Cleveland, Tennessee. Among his seven books is the newly released commentary on the Book of Revelation, The Apocalypse.

Spirit of Azusa Award recipient French L. Arrington is Professor Emeritus of New Testament Greek and Exegesis at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, having served for 21 years on that faculty as well as 17 years at Lee College. While at Lee, he was chairman of the Bible and Theology Department and honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award. A former pastor, Arrington has written extensively for ministerial and lay enrichment in the local church. His latest book is The Greatest Letter Ever Written: A Study of Romans.

40 Days of Prayer to Change the Heart of a Nation Begins

Church of God General Overseer Mark Williams has urged Church of God congregations to consider joining the interdenominational prayer effort, “40 Days of Prayer to Change the Heart of a Nation!” The forty-day prayer emphasis takes place from September 28 to November 6, 2012. Tens of thousands of other congregations will participate in the joint prayer venture.

Williams noted, “While there is an obvious urgency for prayer here in the United States, this theme can be applied to any nation! And yet, our situation is particularly acute, and it affects the globe – financial crisis, the lack of repentance, unchecked sin and greed, national disunity, a disregard for all things sacred. We need a ‘great awakening.” Materials to assist with the ’40 Days of Prayer’ beginning on September 28, can be downloaded at www.40daysofprayer.net, and www.40daystosaveamerica.com.

Doug Small, coordinator of Prayer Ministries for the Church of God, noted that this effort is being led by the National Prayer Committee and the National Day of Prayer leadership team. A prayer guide is available on-line. In addition, both Dave Butts and Greg Frizzell have produced excellent resources. The first is available at www.prayershop.org and the second, through David Gosnell’s office, who leads Church of God Men’s Discipleship Ministries.

Here are some ways congregations can be involved in the 40 Days of Prayer effort:
1. Observe the Great Day of Prayer, early in the 40 day period – October, 7.
2. Plan additional corporate prayer meetings.
3. During this period, forgo the typical topics of prayer and focus on the nation.
4. Pick a day or week in which you will do a prayer-chain, 24-7 prayer, one day, as a minimum, to pray 24 hours. Or, for one 7 day period, engage in a concentrated season of prayer.
5. Set a room aside at the Church where people can come and pray. Better yet, open the sanctuary. Turn on the music. Dim the lights. Make it reflective and prayerful. Keep it accessible. Establish prayer stations. Lay out prayer helps with a focus on the nation.
6. Create a chart, divide the day into 24 one-hour or 48 thirty minute segments. Keep someone in the sanctuary praying for a day – or a week.
7. Do a fasting chain. Have people sign up to fast one meal, and another the next – until you fill up a week. People are then asked to pray at that time and around that period.
8. Join with other churches your community. Set up a schedule so that one church prays this week – and it is open, and another the next week. Unity and prayer must be partners. Seven churches can cover the period of prayer, one per week. And 40 churches, can each take a day.

The first ‘Great Day of Prayer,’ on October 7, will be a part of this solemn call to pray for the nation, beginning with our own need for repentance and re-dedication to God. Church of God Prayer Ministries has produced support materials for this Sunday. They can be downloaded at www.praycog.org.

Being Pentecostal Conference

Pastor-Agents of the Secret Communist Police in Bulgaria Revealed

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless.
Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Pastors who served as agents of the secret police during the Communist Regime in Bulgaria are being revealed this week through special legal provision of the Bulgarian Constitution, which allows secret government dossiers and archives to be made public. The law excuses ministers who are retired, immigrated or deceased as it pays special attention to people who continue to serve on denominational boards, heads of religious organizations or church pastors.

The released records have revealed a significant count of Bulgarian evangelical pastors, who have served directly under the Communist government as secret agents and are currently serving in lead positions in their respective churches and denominations. At least 17 agents have infiltrated the Pentecostal churches in Bulgaria (including the Assemblies of God, Church of God and other charismatic denominations). The count is overwhelming in comparison with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church representing some 90% of Bulgaria’s general population with only 11 regional bishops with secret police dossiers.

The newly released documents reveal that these pastor-agents served the Regime through willfully betraying and reporting fellow ministers and their respective ministries, regularly submitting the names of new believers joining their congregations and the activities of their churches as a whole. Special interest in their reports seems to have been given to “foreign religious emissaries” – missionaries from sister-denominations in other countries who visited Bulgarian evangelicals with the purpose of bringing moral and financial support, smuggling Bibles or just encouraging the churches during their time of trials and tribulations under the Regime.

Even more disturbing is the lack of definite and unified response on behalf of the current denominational leaders and the repulsiveness of the general public on the issue as a whole. While the Bulgarian Evangelical Alliance appealed for prayerful but fair dealing with the said misconducts, the Bulgarian Assemblies of God has chosen to deal with the issue internally behind closed doors and the Church of God in Bulgaria has postponed discussion to its general meeting in March or perhaps May. Several outspoken leaders from the Congregational and Apostolic churches have been unsuccessful in bringing about a public debate involving all Bulgarian Protestants, while journalistic investigations in the Christian media have been openly attacked in attempt to be kept silent.

It is understood that many of the said pastor-agents were coerced to serve as such through pressure in their jobs, friends, families and in some cases even their children. Yet, the Bulgarian churches are now struggling to cope with the fact that leading ministers within their denominational structures have continually and purposefully reported on the life of the church, thus betraying fellow believers and ministers.

50 Bibles in 50 Days

September 15th in Bulgaria marked the first day of the school year. The Sofia Echo reported that Sixty-three thousand young Bulgarians entered school for the first time on this day. School opening ceremonies include the playing of the national anthem, raising of the flag, speeches and of course giving the teacher a bouquet of flowers.

Naturally, the month of August marks a time of preparation, when students are finishing up their summer and will begin buying their supplies for classes. In past years our ministry has assisted several underprivileged children in nearby villages of the Yambol region with providing these much needed supplies, however this year we decided to do something a bit different. Instead of giving notebooks or pencils, 50 days prior to the 15th, we gave out Bibles to these children getting ready to attend school. With the help of our team and regional youth ministers and ministry leaders we were able to reach 50 young students. This may not sound like much when you look at numbers but we have found throughout the years that ministry with a personal touch is much more effective than ministering to the unknown masses.

With the temptations that these children will be faced including alcohol, drugs, sex and the unimaginable, we believe that the Bible is the most needed instruction manual that can serve as a life resource for when these difficult times come. The follow are a few statistics on the influence of peer pressure that we pray will be confronted with the Power of the Word:

* About 50% of teenagers feel pressured with regard to sex in relationships (The Kaiser Foundation).

* Bulgaria has the highest Teen Birth Rate internationally with the United States coming in a close second (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion).

* 9% (14 years), 18% (15 – 17 Years), 22% (18 – 19 Years) of teens experience a pregnancy every year. (Communities Responding to the Challenge of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention)

* Right around 30% of teenagers are offered drugs in middle school and high school (Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base).

* The use of marijuana has risen by a staggering 275% from the years ’92 – ’97.

* Nearly 10% of teens have tried some form of cocaine in their lives. (Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base)

As we are finishing up our 30 days of prayer campaign in the month of September we request special prayer for these students that they will not leave there new Bibles on a shelf for display, but that they will read them and hide the Truth in their hearts.

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