various sins , and expecting absolution , not because they were penitent and wished to reform , but on the ground of the indulgence . Luther refused them absolution , and warned them that unless they should repent and reform their lives , they must perish in their sins . In great perplexity they repaired to Tetzel with the complaint that their confessor had refused his certificates ; and some boldly demanded that their money be returned to them . The friar was filled with rage . He uttered the most terrible curses , caused fires to be lighted in the public squares , and declared that he " had received an order from the pope to burn all heretics who presumed to oppose his most holy indulgences ." -D' Aubigne , b . 3 , ch . 4 .
Luther now entered boldly upon his work as a champion of the truth . His voice was heard from the pulpit in earnest , solemn warning . He set before the people the offensive character of sin , and taught them that it is impossible for man , by his own works , to lessen its guilt or evade its punishment . Nothing but repentance toward God and faith in Christ can save the sinner . The grace of Christ cannot be purchased ; it is a free gift . He counseled the people not to buy indulgences , but to look in faith to a crucified Redeemer . He related his own painful experience in vainly seeking by humiliation and penance to secure salvation , and assured his hearers that it was by looking away from himself and believing in Christ that he found peace and joy .
As Tetzel continued his traffic and his impious pretensions , Luther determined upon a more effectual protest against these crying abuses . An occasion soon offered . The castle church of Wittenberg possessed many relics , which on certain holy days were exhibited to the people , and full remission of sins was granted to all who then visited the church and made confession . Accordingly on these days the people in great numbers resorted thither . One of the most important of these occasions , the festival of All Saints , was approaching . On the preceding day , Luther , joining the crowds that were already making their way to the church , posted on its door a paper containing ninety-five propositions against the doctrine of indulgences . He declared his willingness to defend these theses next day at the university , against all who should see fit to attack them .
His propositions attracted universal attention . They were read and reread , and repeated in every direction . Great excitement was created in the university and in the whole city . By these theses it was shown that the power to grant the pardon of sin , and to remit its penalty , had never been committed to the pope or to any other man . The whole scheme was a farce , -- an artifice to extort money by playing upon the superstitions of the people , --a device of Satan to destroy the souls of all who should trust to its lying pretensions . It was also clearly shown
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