Christian Mission and Poverty

Chapter 6 A Protestant Response

And so we find that all our labor is nothing more than the finding and collecting of God’s gifts; it is quite unable to create or preserve anything.

~ Martin Luther

M artin L uther (1483–1546) Background

Martin Luther was a German Augustinian monk who spearheaded the Protestant Reformation. In 1518, as he was reading the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans and meditating on God’s righteousness being revealed through faith, he experienced what he described as a conversion. From then on, he became a committed proponent of the view that salvation is by grace alone through faith and not by works. He became a fierce

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