Martin Luther, The First Man of the Reformation, 1517-2017: Part 2/2

Gavin says, "the 2nd sermon … recognizes that Luther's 95 Theses were the … starting point, & not the finishing point of the 1st Stage of the Reformation, that is, the Lutheran Reformation, & so this 2nd sermon will now have a special focus on Luther's and Lutheran progress after these 95 Theses as the Reformation progressed up to The Augsburg Confession of 1530; at which time one then has what is clearly the formal composition of a Protestant Christian Confession …. And this 2nd sermon shall also include details of some Luther sites I was privileged to see in Germany in 2002 & 2004. Reference is made to e.g. in 1518 the Heidelberg Disputation, & Luther at Augsburg before the Romish Cardinal & Papal Legate, Cajetan; & in 1519 the Leipzig Disputation with Eck. Gavin says of Luther's 1520 tract "'The Babylonian Captivity.' As reinforced in this tract's title, Luther says, 'I know of a certainty that the Papacy is the Kingdom of Babylon;' & to have a 'kingdom' the Pope must, as in the words of Daniel 11:36, be a 'king.' Now Luther here gives what is clearly a historicist understanding that identifies the Revelation 17:5 'Babylon the Great,' with the Roman Church and Roman Papacy." Reference is also made to Luther's 1520 tract "Against the Execrable Bull of Antichrist;" in 1521 Luther at the Diet of Worms where he made his now famous "Here I stand" defence speech; his marriage to Katherine von Bora in 1525; his 1525 "Bondage of the Will" and "Against the … Peasants" revolt; his hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is our God;" in 1529 Luther's Short Catechism & Diet of Spires; & 1530 Augsburg Confession. The sermon closes with an application of Rom. 1:17, "The just shall live by faith."