Church history recounts many times in which the truth of the gospel was lost and then restored, and when the church had fallen into false doctrine and then been reformed. In some way or another such reformations have always involved the restoration of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
On All Hallows Eve (October 31, 1517) an Augustinian friar posted ninety-five statements for discussion on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Dr. Martin Luther hoped that posting his theses would bring about an academic debate regarding repentance, the sale of indulgences, and other matters of concern within the Roman Catholic Church. However, Rome eventually excommunicated Luther, judging him to be a heretic with the result that the Roman Church rejected reformation and has persisted in the rejection of the key doctrine of the Christian faith, justification by grace through faith in Christ.
Luther’s reforms, centered on the teaching that a believer is justified (found innocent before God) by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, sparked religious reforms not only in the German states but also in many European countries. This set off a chain of events which resulted in the gospel being restored in the church, which has brought the gospel throughout the world largely outside the Roman Church.
In 1667, Elector John George II of Saxony standardized the custom of observing Luther’s October 31 posting of the Ninety-five Theses.