Luther now devoted himself entirely to the study of the whole Bible, and by the power of the Holy Spirit he soon learned to distinguish between the Law and the Gospel. And it was only now that he clearly and fully understood the passage: "The just shall live by his faith." With great power he now confuted the error that man could merit forgiveness of sins by his own good works, and be justified before God by his own piety and civil righteousness. On the contrary, he clearly and pointedly showed that our sins are forgiven without any merit of our own, for Christ's sake only, and that we accept this gift by faith alone. He proved that Scriptures alone can teach us to believe right, to live a Christian life, and to die a blessed death. Thus the light of the Gospel grew brighter and brighter in Wittenberg, and, after the long night and darkness, the eyes of many were opened. The beautiful close of a letter which Luther wrote in 1516 to an Augustinian monk is a proof of the clear knowledge, which he already had at that time, of eternal and saving truth. It reads: "My dear brother, learn to know Christ, the Crucified; learn to sing to Him; and, despairing of thyself, say, 'Thou, Lord Jesus Christ, art my righteousness, but I am Thy sin. Thou hast taken upon Thyself what is mine, and hast given me what is Thine.' Meditate devoutly upon this love of His, and thou wilt draw from it the sweetest comfort. For if we could gain peace of conscience by our own works and sufferings, why did He die? Therefore thou wilt find peace in no other way but by confidently despairing of thyself and thy works, and trusting in Him." CHAPTER X. Luther the Reformer. [Illustration: John Tetzel Selling Indulgences.] 1. PAPAL INDULGENCES. At that time the papal chair was occupied by Leo X. What this Pope believed we may gather from his words addressed to one of his bishops. He exclaimed, "What an immense sum have we made out of this fable about Christ!" Luther relates this of him: "He would amuse himself by having two clowns dispute before his table on the immortality of the soul. The one took the positive, the other the negative side of this question. The Pope said to him who defended the proposition, 'Although you have adduced good reasons and arguments, yet I agree with him who is of the opinion that we die like the beasts; for your doctrine makes us melancholy and sad, but his gives us peace of mind!'" In order to raise the necessary funds for his pleasures and dissipations he published a general indulgence, pretending that he needed money to complete the building of St. Peter's at Rome. He commissioned Archbishop Albert of Mayence to sell these indulgences in Germany. This dignitary was also excessively fond of the pomp and pleasures of life. He was to receive one-half the receipts of these indulgences. Albert, again, engaged monks who were to travel about Germany and sell the papal pardons.