On the journey they saw that the minds of the people were oppressed by gloomy forebodings . At some towns no honours were proffered them . As they stopped for the night , a friendly priest expressed his fears by holding up before Luther the portrait of an Italian reformer who had suffered martyrdom . The next day they learned that Luther ' s writings had been condemned at Worms . Imperial messengers were proclaiming the emperor ' s decree and calling upon the people to bring the proscribed works to the magistrates . The herald , fearing for Luther ' s safety at the council , and thinking that already his resolution might be shaken , asked if he still wished to go forward . He answered : " Although interdicted in every city , I shall go on ." -- Ibid ., b . 7 , ch . 7 .
At Erfurt , Luther was received with honour . Surrounded by admiring crowds , he passed through the streets that he had often traversed with his beggar ' s wallet . He visited his convent cell , and thought upon the struggles through which the light now flooding Germany had been shed upon his soul . He was urged to preach . This he had been forbidden to do , but the herald granted him permission , and the friar who had once been made the drudge of the convent , now entered the pulpit . To a crowded assembly he spoke from the words of Christ , " Peace be unto you ." " Philosophers , doctors , and writers ," he said , " have endeavoured to teach men the way to obtain everlasting life , and they have not succeeded . I will now tell it to you : . . . God has raised one Man from the dead , the Lord Jesus Christ , that He might destroy death , extirpate sin , and shut the gates of hell . This is the work of salvation . . . . Christ has vanquished ! this is the joyful news ; and we are saved by His work , and not by our own . . . . Our Lord Jesus Christ said , ' Peace be unto you ; behold My hands ;' that is to say , Behold , O man ! it is I , I alone , who have taken away thy sin , and ransomed thee ; and now thou hast peace , saith the Lord ."
He continued , showing that true faith will be manifested by a holy life . " Since God has saved us , let us so order our works that they may be acceptable to Him . Art thou rich ? let thy goods administer to the necessities of the poor . Art thou poor ? let thy services be acceptable to the rich . If thy labour is useful to thyself alone , the service that thou pretendest to render unto God is a lie ." -- Ibid ., b . 7 , ch . 7 . The people listened as if spellbound . The bread of life was broken to those starving souls . Christ was lifted up before them as above popes , legates , emperors , and kings . Luther made no reference to his own perilous position . He did not seek to make himself the object of thought or sympathy . In the contemplation of Christ he had lost sight of self . He hid behind the Man of Calvary , seeking only to present Jesus as the sinner ' s Redeemer .
As the Reformer proceeded on his journey , he was everywhere regarded with great interest . An eager multitude thronged about him , and friendly voices warned him of the purpose of the Romanists . " They will burn you ," said some , " and reduce your body to ashes , as they did with John Huss ." Luther answered , " Though they should kindle a fire all the way from Worms to Wittenberg , the flames of which reached to heaven , I would walk through it in the name of the Lord ; I would
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