artly to gratify his vainglorious
aspirations to become famous. He had at one time held the Catholic dogma
that the Church is the visible society of men who profess allegiance to
the Bishop of Rome and accept his overlordship in matters of their
religion. But through neglect of his religious duties and the failure to
bridle his imperious temper he had by degrees begun to revolt from the
teaching of the Catholic Church, until he publicly renounced the Church
that had existed in all the ages before him, and set up his own Church.
By forsaking the communion of the Roman church organization he severed
his soul from Christ and became an apostate. For, according to Catholic
belief, Christ founded the Church to be a visible organization with a
visible head, the Pope, and plainly and palpably "governing" men.

Everybody who has read the records of Luther's work knows that no
thought was more foreign to his mind than that of founding a new church.
He believed himself in hearty accord with the Catholic Church and the
Pope when he published his Theses. He did not wantonly leave the Church,
but was driven from it by most ruthless measures. It was while he was
defending the principles which he had first uttered against Tetzel that
his eyes were opened to the appalling defection which had occurred in
the Catholic Church from every true conception of what the Church really
is. His appeals to the Word of God were answered by appeals to the
Church, the councils of the Church, the Pope. In his unsophisticated
mind Luther held that Church, councils, and Pope are all subject to
Christ, the Head of the Church. They cannot teach and decree anything
but what Christ has taught and ordained. It is only by abiding in the
words of Christ that men become and remain the true disciples of Christ,
hence, His Church (John 8, 31). Now, he was told that Christ had erected
the visible organization of the Catholic Church with the Pope at its
head into the Church, and had handed over all authority to this society,
with the understanding that there can be no appeal from this body to
Christ Himself. Salvation is only by submitting to the rule of this
society, adopting its ways, following its precepts. From this teaching
Luther recoiled with horror, and rightly so.

At one time God had erected a theocracy on earth, a Church which was a
visible society, and for which He had made special laws and ordinances.
The Church of the Old Covenant is the only visible Ch