Ninety-Five Theses

“God reduces no one’s guilt without, at the same time, humbling them in all things and making them submit to the priest as the vicar of God.”

For Luther, penance is tied to the guilt people feel over their sins. Reducing guilt and achieving absolution is up to the individual and to God. Not even the pope can reduce someone’s guilt; the pope cannot absolve anyone of their sins.

“The differences between hell, purgatory, and heaven are akin to the differences between despair, fear, and the assurance of salvation”

Luther compares emotional states to the afterlife. Despair of ever receiving God’s forgiveness is akin with hell while fear of damnation is linked to purgatory. Elsewhere, Luther also associates love with salvation and heaven. 

“Thus, indulgence preachers falsely claim that one is freed from all punishment and is saved by the indulgences of the pope.”

Luther states one of his key points and his main accusation against his opponents. In order to sell indulgences, certain preachers lead people to believe that indulgences can absolve a person of all sins.

“The pope does a good thing when he forgives those who are in purgatory, not by the power of the keys, which he does not have; but by praying for them.” 

Luther asserts that the pope cannot reduce the penance required by individuals to absolve their sins. Luther further denies that the pope can reduce the penance required by souls in purgatory, beyond praying for them.

“The chant, ‘When the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs,’ is simply a human doctrine.”

Luther quotes the notorious indulgence seller John Tetzel. This gets at the heart of Luther’s objection to indulgences; that they are being sold just for the sake of profit, not to help people achieve salvation.

“No one is sure of the integrity of one’s own contrition, much less can one be sure of having received plenary forgiveness.”

This builds on Luther’s association of guilt with penance and sin. Since no one can be sure that their guilt is sincere, they cannot be sure that they received redemption.

“Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.”

Luther writes people are misled into believing they have achieved complete absolution through indulgences and are tricked into damnation. Luther adds an attack on his opponents, claiming they are damned as well.

“Christians are to be taught that those who see a needy person and pass by, yet give their money for indulgences, do not buy papal indulgences but God’s wrath.” 

Luther argues Christians would be better off spending their money on charity than an indulgence. While indulgences can only instruct Christians on how to perform penance, only acts of love like charity can help a Christian atone for their sins and become better people. Luther sees improving one’s external behavior as part of atoning for one’s sins.

“Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the indulgence preachers, then he would prefer that St. Peter’s Basilica were burned to ashes than constructed with the flesh and bones of his sheep.” 

This refers to St. Peter’s Basilica, the new construction Pope Leo X was funding through the sale of indulgences. As part of his defense of the pope, Luther says in a hyperbolic style that the pope’s concern is the salvation of Christians and that he would be horrified to see indulgences abused.

“The enemies of Christ and the pope prohibit the preaching of the Word of God in some churches so that indulgences can be preached in others.”

Luther asserts that the priests who abuse indulgences are acting against the pope. Further, he depicts his opponents as acting against Christian doctrine itself.

“To consider papal indulgences so great that they could absolve a person, even if they had done the impossible and had violated the mother of God, is madness.”

While Luther’s writing in the “Ninety-Five Theses” is less confrontational than some of his later works, here Luther uses hyperbole to attack his opponents and highlight the absurdity of their position.

“This unbridled preaching of indulgences makes it difficult even for the learned to rescue the reverence which is due the pope from slander or from the shrewd questions of the laity…”

Later in life Luther would denounce the papacy, but here he prevents the pope from being associated with the crimes of the priests abusing indulgences.

“If, therefore, indulgences were preached in accordance with the spirit and intention of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved. Indeed, they would not exist.”

This clarifies Luther’s goal in writing the “Ninety-Five Theses.” He wants to convince the church to assert what he considers the truth about indulgences and punish his opponents.