THE KING’S BUSINESS
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firmed the extremist views of the papal prerogatives, Luther at once replied in lan guage of extreme fierceness, calling the car dinals and popes masters of perdition, and speaking of the “sink of the Roman Sodom.” Strong language, no doubt, but can we won der, following so closely as it did on the discovery that the document or decretal— the Donation of Constantine—relied on as the basis of the Pontiff’s temporary prince dom, was nothing but an impudent forgery. It was at this date that the view of the Pope as Antichrist really took hold of Lu ther. How forcibly in the Epistle to the Gala tians does St. Paul Characterize opposition to the truth he had received from God— whether by man, the church, an Apostle, Or even an -angel; calling down a curse upon any who preached another gospel. Paul withstood Peter, the very chief of the Apos tles (Gal. 2:11). The decided stand Paul made in defense of his own authority as equal to that of the other Apostles, must have fortified Luther in his similar stand in defense of similar unrealized vital truth. NERVED HIS ARM We cannot doubt that Paul’s entrench ment in this strong position reacted upon Luther and nerved his arm to the stern conflict against the teaching and practice of the Romish church. St. Paul unhesi tatingly cast aside whatever stood in the way, however venerable, however authori tative; nay, even though divinely appointed, if it hindered the enforcement of the needed vital truth. The God-appointed law, given through Moses, had to make room for what was higher—the covenant of faith with Abraham (Gal. 3:17); so with the rite of circumcision (Gal. 6:15); everything that supported the former privileged position of the Jew must cease (Gal. 3:28). Every thing opposed to faith in Christ, and to the fuller and more spiritual life, that He had brought to light, must be given up, not only as useless, but as positively injurious (Gal. 5:1-4). What could more strongly justify Luther’s root and branch opposition to the
Pope and the Romish church than this earthquake epistle? HIS GREAT TOWER The marked accession of power that Lu ther had now attained is well described by Preserved Smith, who says: “During the years 1519-1523 especially, it almost seemed as if Luther were lifted above himself and transcended the limits of his own personal ity;” and Professor Harnack says: “For a period—it was only for a few years—it seemed as if his spirit attracted to itself and moulded into a wonderful unity all that the time had of living vigor in it; as if to him, as to no one before, the power had been given to make his personality the spirit ual center of the nation, and to summon his century into the lists, armed with every weapon.” OPEN REVOLT It was in May of the year 1520, the time of his; greatest controversial activity, that he openly revolted from Rome. In October he published his treatise on the Babylonian cap tivity of the church, in which he attacked the Catholic doctrine of the sacraments and denied the sacrifice of the Mass. In the same month appeared his book on “The Freedom of a Christian Man,” wherein he developed to the fullest extent the individ ualism which was really his underlying ideal. The almost world-wide influence he now began to exercise is shown by the wide spread dispersion of his various books. They were exported to France, Spain, Italy, the low countries, and England, as well as to all parts of the Empire. In that year (1520) 1400 copies of his works were sold at the annual fair of Frankfort, the great book mart of Germany. The power exercised by the Epistle to the Galatians upon Luther is testified to by writers, some of whom were peculiarly well qualified to speak of their estimate of the value of his commentary on that Epistle. John Bunyan said he preferred Luther’s commentary on this Epistle to all the books he had ever seen except the Bible. Spur geon described it as “a great historic work,
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