Martin Luther (1483-1546) led the Protestant Reformation and was one of the most significant figures in history. So, what were his views on the Bible?
Luther referred to Scripture as "God's Book or Word" and said "we attribute to the Holy Spirit all of Holy Scripture." Speaking on Biblical authority he stated, "In all articles, the foundation of our faith must be God's Word alone, and without God's Word there can be no article of faith."
Martin Luther believed the Bible "never erred" and "it cannot err." He said, "You must follow straight after Scripture, accept it and not even speak one syllable against it, because it is God's mouth." Luther also stated, "The Bible is alive, it speaks to me. It has feet, it runs after me. It has hands, it lays hold of me."
Contending with the Roman Catholic Church Luther said, "A simple laymen armed with Scripture is to be believed above a pope or a council without it." He also said, "My dear pope, you must not lord it over Scripture, nor must I or anybody else, according to our own ideas. The devil takes that attitude! We should rather allow Scripture to rule and master us, and we ourselves should not be the masters, according to our own mad heads, setting ourselves above Scripture."
We close with Luther's famous statement, "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason-I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other-my conscious is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen."
