Martin Luther was born in Germany to a poor mining family, Luther though excelled at school and studied law at university, he was set to be one of the top legal minds in Europe. However due to a vow to Saint Barbara, patron saint of miners, he became a monk and applied his legal mind to theology, he saw the Lord as righteous Judge of the whole creation and thus was zealous to live a holy life. In 1510 he went to Rome, as he was disillusioned with the way the church was in Germany, there he became even more concerned and left declaring that the city was built over Hell itself! He returned to Germany where he became a Bible teacher it was here in preparing for a lesson one day that he read Psalm 31:1 and later Romans 1:17 and realised by faith man can not only be deemed 'not guilty' but actually be seen as righteous before a perfect God.
