The Ministry Anointing of the Apostle
Apostolic Reformers
the people who had been exposed to Luther's writings. On December 10, 1520, Luther responded by burning the most sacred writings of the church including the Pope's order in Wittenburg. Martin Luther was excommunicated from the church on January 3, 1521. Martin Luther's simple act of nailing his 95 theses on a church door began what is known as the Protestant Reformation. The spirit of reformation was upon him as he began to attack the teaching of the church that was not based on Scripture. He began translating the Scriptures from Latin to German for the common people to read and understand. People in many cities began to destroy statues, and priests began to marry. Those who followed the reforms were called Lutherans. The church was now concerned with stopping the spread of Lutheranism. The Pope called upon the German princes to seize Luther, but there were many who supported him, and some feared the social unrest that would occur if they obeyed the edict of the Pope. Luther began teaching and training pastors and preachers, many of whom knew nothing of the Word of God. Apostles also train ministry gifts to sustain and carry on what reformation has begun. Whenever there is reform, there must also be a retraining of ministers to maintain the new form of the church brought about by the reform. Luther began publishing books of his sermons for preachers to read and study. Luther was not the only apostolic reformer of his day, but he is often referred to as "the father of the reformation". The apostolic anointing that was upon Martin Luther was strong enough to shake the entire religious system of his day. The form of the church during his day was not
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