Biographical Sketch of Martin Luther

 Elder Thomas Waters

As Martin Luther lay dying in the early morning hours of  February 18, 1546, his enemies and friends gathered around his bed to hear his last words and see how he would die.  His enemies referred to him as the “devil’s spawn.”  His admirers referred to him as the “Charioteer of Israel.”   Who was correct? Who was Martin Luther?

In Roland Bainton’s book, Here I Stand, he states of Martin Luther:

His followers hailed him as the prophet of the Lord and the deliverer of Germany.  His opponents on the Catholic side called him the son of perdition and the demolisher of Christendom.^[1]

In Hassell’s History this glowing acclamation of Martin Luther is given by Hassell,

Martin Luther, the Elijah of the Protestant Reformation, the ablest man of the sixteenth century, the greatest of all Germans, and one of the grandest characters of all time, the founder of the German language and of modern public schools, the typical hero of the German race, the author of the best German hymns, and the translator of the best German Bible . . .^[2]  (P. 474)

Ralph Waldo Emerson said of Luther,

Martin Luther the Reformer is one of the most extraordinary persons in history and has left a deeper impression of his presence in the modern world than any other except Columbus.^[3]

Yet, Hassell goes on to say of Luther,

While Martin Luther had great spiritual light on the doctrine of grace, the crime of religious persecution, and other matters, he was in great spiritual darkness on many other subjects ^[4]

In the final draft of the Edict of Worms, these harsh words are used of Luther,

This devil in the habit of a monk has brought together ancient errors into one stinking puddle and has invented new ones.^[5]

Who was Martin Luther?  The Devil’s spawn?  An arch - heretic?  Or the Father of Reformation?  One of the most extraordinary people in the world?  Consider with me the following six points.

POINT ONE - Martin Luther was a man. 

My first observation is not historical, but sociological in nature.  I say Martin Luther was a man  because some people tend to make gods of successful people, yet others enjoy demoninzing people who are successful.  Often, famous people, people of past generations and cultures are scrutinized and held to faulty and impossible standards - standards that their detractors dare not hold themselves unto.  (E.g., Al Groover’s presentation of  Pink & fact he had not given report in his church because there was someone in his church who did not like Pink because he changed his mind - what kind of criteria is that?)

Among men there is a malady we might refer to as the Barabas Syndrome.  The Barabas Syndrome defines how and why people often tend to reject what is better, in some cases holier and purer for that or those who are tainted.  Why did the crowd cry for Barabas instead of Jesus?  Why do we tend to pull for the underdog?  Why do some folks dislike someone -  not because of something that has been said or done, but simply because of the position or status of the person?  One explanatory response is, we tend to be more at ease with those whom we consider our equals or less than we do with those we consider our moral or intellectual superiors.  The problem often is not with another person, but ourselves - some folks become agitated and aggressive around folks because they feel inferior.  I believe there have been men in our ministry who have been shunned and castigated because other ministers felt inferior and challenged by their presence.  It is easier and simpler to tear down someone,  rather than improving yourself.  It is imprudent to dismiss historically important preachers like Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, and Pink out of hand.

When talking about famous people, successful people,  there are always those ready to attack every flaw.  Example - While I was in college I remember how a professor said with delight,

Luther had a beer stein with 3 levels marked on it - one to the Father, one to the Son, and one to the Holy Ghost.  Luther took pride in the fact that he could drink the stein empty even when filled all the way to the top level.

After the Professor made this comment, he paused and looked at me encouraging a response.  I remember clearly saying,

I never thought Luther was an angel, I never thought he was anything but a man, warts and all who put his pants on the same way you or I do, one leg at a time.

The Bible makes no secret of the sins of some of the heroes of faith:  Noah became drunk; Abraham, because he was afraid, let another man take his wife to bed her; Lot committed incest; David committed adultery; Moses disobeyed God; Elijah had fits of depression; Peter denied Christ; and Thomas doubted Jesus’ resurrection.  The recording of these sins are not meant to encourage us to sin, but they do show us that these heroes of faith were only men.

Martin Luther was a man.  He was not perfect in moral or doctrine.  He was a sinful man.  Luther wrote of himself,

I have often resolved to live uprightly, and to lead a true godly life, and to set everything aside that would hinder this, but it was far from being put in execution; even as it was with Peter, when he swore he would lay down his life for Christ.  I will not lie or dissemble before my God, but will freely confess, I am not able to effect that good which I intend but await the happy hour when God shall be pleased to meet me with his grace.^[6]

Remember what we read in God’s word:

(1 Cor 1:26‑29 KJV)  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: {27} But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; {28} And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: {29} That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Martin Luther was a man; not mighty or noble, but the son of a miner.  Martin Luther was a weak vessel with many flaws, but a vessel used by God to impact world history and bring glory unto God.

POINT TWO - Martin Luther was a man of his culture - fifteenth century Germany.

Martin Luther was the son of Hans Luther and Margaret Ziegler.  He was born  in Isleben, a town of Saxony, on November 10, 1483.  When and where Luther was born, reared, and lived is important culturally and theologically.  Europe in the 16th century was a time of superstitions, ignorance, and fear.  Rather than trying to alleviate these problems, the Catholic Church used them as tools to raise money, enforce the necessity of Church sacraments, and retain power over the populace.

One prominent superstition of fifteenth century Germany concerned death.  As I mentioned earlier, when Luther died he was surrounded by both friends and foes.  Heiko Oberman in his book, Luther, man between God and the Devil, explains the importance of the presence of these folks.

 . . . in the late Middles Ages, ever since the first struggle for survival during the persecutions of ancient Rome, going to one’s death with fearless fortitude was the outward sign of a true child of God . . . Who now would lay claim to Luther and fetch him, God or the Devil?  While simple believers imagined the Devil literally seizing his prey, the enlightened academic world was convinced that a descent into Hell could be diagnosed medically - as apoplexy (ap’e plek’se) and sudden cardiac arrest.  Abruptly and without warning the Devil would snip the thread of a life that had fallen to him, leaving the Church unable to render its last assistance.^[7]

So, it was believed how one died- suddenly or slowly - indicated salvation or damnation. Although some of the enlightened men of the day may have held different ideas, these superstitions had to be addressed.  When Dr. Philip Melancthon, Luther’s close friend, fellow laborer, and predecessor learned of Luther’s death and anticipating what may be said about Luther’s death, at the advice of the University he addressed his class at Wittenberg as follows,

Most Noble Youths . . . I am anxious . . . at the request of my friends of the University, and that you may have a right understanding of the circumstances of Luther’s death, to communicate to you the following particulars, in order that you may not even entertain, much less circulate, reports which, as is so often the case, will probably now be current in society. On the 17th of February, our Master and Teacher, a little before supper, was attacked by his usual complaint to which I remember he had occasionally been subject. After supper a recurrence of the disorder took place, under the influence of which he requested permission to withdraw into an adjoining room, where he lay for nearly two hours, until his sufferings increased . . . At length when he found that the close of his life was approaching, before four o’clock on the following day, the 18th of February, he commended himself to God in the following prayer:- “My heavenly Father, eternal and merciful God, Thou has revealed unto me Thy dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, whom I have learned--whom I have proclaimed to be my Lord--whom I love and whom I honor, as my precious Savior and Redeemer,-- whom the ungodly persecute, dishonor, and blaspheme; take Thou my soul unto Thyself.’’ Three times he expressed these words.  “Into Thy hands I commit my spirit, Thou hast redeemed me, O God of Truth!” . . .  Amid these prayers occasionally repeated, he was called to the one eternal assembly and to everlasting bliss, in which he is now enjoying the presence of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, with that of all the Prophets and Apostles.^[8] 

Luther was given to seasons of deep depression.  Roland Bainton links these bouts of depression to Luther’s day.  Bainton writes,

Luther was at times severely depressed, and the reason lay not in any personal frictions but in the malaise of existence intensified by religion.  This man was no son of the Italian Renaissance, but a German born in remote Thuringia . . . The atmosphere of the family was that of peasantry: rugged, rough, at times coarse, credulous, and devout . . . Certain elements even of old German paganism were blended with Christian mythology in the beliefs of these untutored folk.  For them the woods and winds and water were peopled by elves, gnomes, fairies, mermen, mermaids, spirits and witches, who would seduce mankind to sin and melancholia.  Luther’s mother believed that they played such minor pranks as stealing eggs, milk, and butter; and Luther himself was never emancipated from such beliefs.”^[9]

As Bainton suggests, Luther was impacted by the beliefs of his mother and others of that age concerning evil spirits.  About demons and devils Luther wrote,

The greatest punishment God can inflict on the wicked, is when the Church, to chastise them, delivers them over to Satan, who, with God’s permission, kills them, or makes them undergo great calamities. Many devils are in woods, in waters, in wildernesses, and in dark pooly places, ready to hurt and prejudice people; some are also in the thick black clouds, which cause hail, lightnings, and thunderings, and poison the air, the pastures and grounds. When these things happen, then the philosophers and physicians say, it is natural, ascribing it to the planets, and showing I know not what reasons for such misfortunes and plagues as ensue.^[10]

One of the most important facts about Luther being a man of his age ( i.e., 16th century Germany),  is that Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic.  In fact, Luther was a monk of the Augustinian order for nineteen years.  Some folks hold both of these facts against Luther and dismiss what he had to say as unimportant.  Both facts, that is, his membership in the Catholic Church and his Monkshood, are of no surprise or detractions from who Martin Luther was.

Luther was the son of peasants in sixteenth century Germany.  Thus, by birth and by law Luther was a member of the Roman Catholic Church.  As I understand history, from the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine, people born in Europe, at least those areas of Europe under the domain of the Roman Empire, did not become Christian or Roman Catholic by choice, but by birth.  By decree of the Roman Emperor, men were declared Christian and baptized (sprinkled) in infancy into the Roman Catholic Church. Men were not baptized as act of faith and confession in Jesus Christ.  In Luther’s sixteenth century Germany, a person was by birth both a German and Roman Catholic.

Since Luther was born in Germany, and by birth a Roman Catholic, it is not unexpected that he turned to the Catholic Church for spiritual guidance and help.  Roland Bainton writes,

The man who was later to revolt against monasticism became a monk for exactly the same reason as thousands of others, namely, in order to save his soul  . . . To the monastery he [Luther] went like others, and even more than others, in order to make his peace with God.”^[11]

Hassell’s understood the fact that Luther was a man of his age.  Concerning Luther’s entrance into the monastery, Hassell wrote,

Vividly realizing the vanity of the world, he resolved to forsake it, and at that time knowing no better way of doing so, he entered the Augustan convent at Erfurt, July 17th, 1505.^[12] (Hassell, p. 475).

Luther lived in the time when men were taught that the way to purge one’s soul and become holy was by various acts of self flaggelation.  For example, Emperor Maximilian I, left instructions at his death that his body was to be scourged, his hair shorn, and his teeth broken out because he desired to appear before God as penitent.

Now, unless you think too unkindly of Luther for trying to save his soul by good works and entering a monastery, allow me to read you a few lines from the autobiography of Elder Wilson Thompson.  I believe you will see how Elder Thompson, like Luther, was a man of his time and upbringing.  Elder Thompson writes:

The abundance of religious conversation which I heard early impressed my young mind with the awful realities of a future state, the miseries of the wicked, and the kindred subjects; so I resolved to do good, get religion, and thus get clear of future miseries, and at last reach a happy heaven.  These were my views, and a firm resolve to attend to this matter by and by, and attend to it well, gave me some ease and a kind of resting place . . . [I] was building all my hope upon the good works which I intended to perform.^[13]

I do not see much difference between what Luther and Thompson thought and did except in  geography and time.  Martin Luther was a man of his age.  He was influenced by his parents, culture and the Catholic Church.  By virtue of being born in Germany in the sixteenth century, shortly after birth Luther was sprinkled and declared a member of the Roman Catholic Church.  In later years, as a member of that Church, he did what many other young men under religious conviction did - he got himself to the monastery where he sought for peace of soul by good works.  Peace of soul, however, was not to be found for Martin Luther - not in any monastery, not in any good works, not in all of  Catholicism.

POINT THREE - Luther was a man of deep and meaningful religious convictions.

Luther was raised by religious, hard-working parents.  Martin Luther’s father, Hans Luther, worked hard in the mines and intended for his son to become a lawyer.  Han’s plans, however, were very suddenly altered by Martin Luther’s conversion.  Luther’s conversion was somewhat a “Damascus road experience” as to its suddenness and indelible impression.  Luther’s entrance into the monastery was a result of his conversion; and, eventually it would be the cause behind Luther leaving the monastery and becoming the reluctant father of the Protestant Reformation.

  The following account of Luther’s conversion is from Foxes Book of Martyrs.

Luther was early initiated into letters, and at the age of thirteen was sent to school  . . .   where he remained four years, producing the early indications of his future eminence. In 1501 he was sent to the University of Erfurt, where he went through the usual courses of logic and philosophy. When twenty, he took a master’s degree, and then lectured on Aristotle’s physics, ethics, and other parts of philosophy. Afterward, at the instigation of his parents, he turned himself to the civil law, with a view of advancing himself to the bar, but was diverted from this pursuit by the following accident. Walking out into the fields one day, he was struck by lightning so as to fall to the ground, while a companion was killed by his side; and this affected him so sensibly, that, without communicating his purpose to any of his friends, he withdrew himself from the world, and retired into the order of the hermits of St. Augustine.^[14]

Luther’s father was enraged by Martin’s decision to leave law and enter a monastery.  According to Oberman, monks and university professors competed for the lowest rankings in public esteem and both were figures of public ridicule.^[15]  When Martin Luther officiated at his first mass, a sort of graduation, his father came with great amount of fanfare and presented a handsome contribution to the monastery.  It seemed like Hans was going to accept Martin’s decision to become a monk.

As Martin Luther presided at the mass, he read the words, “We offer unto thee, the living, the true, the eternal God.”  As Luther spoke these words he was stricken with terror - a terror that has been referred to as the “terror of the holy” and he was unable to continue.   Luther left the altar and came to the table where his father, brothers, and other guest were gathered.  As they sat together at a meal, Martin Luther asked his father why he opposed his becoming a monk.  Hans exploded into a tirade and accused Luther of deserting his parents.  Luther’s father said to him,

You learned scholar, have you never read in the Bible that you should honor your father and your mother?  And here you have left me and your dear mother to look after ourselves in our old age.”^[16]

Luther responded meekly by reminded his father he had been called by God.  Hans retorted, “God grant it was not an apparition of the Devil.”^[17]

Hans Luther was not soon reconciled with Martin’s decision to enter the monastery.  It took the terrible tragedy of the death of two other of Han’s sons before he accepted Luther’s action.  Hans viewed the deaths of these two sons as divine chastisement for his rebellion.

Martin Luther diligently sought peace with God while in the monastery through his works. He always kept coming, however, to the reality that God is holy and man is sinful.  Try as he may, Luther could not satisfy God on any point or at any level.

In 1510 he traveled to Rome, the holy city.  At first site of the city Luther cried, “Hail, holy Rome.”  Surely here at the very seat of Catholicism, Luther believed he would find the peace he sought, but almost at once he was disillusioned and dismayed.  Instead of finding peace and means of grace, Luther discovered frivolous and uncaring priests; he discovered vice and lust for filthy lucre, and he discovered a unbiblical and corrupt system for repentance.  Luther left Rome with many questions, no certain answers, and gnawing uncertainties.

After Luther returned from Rome he was transferred to Wittenberg, a village of about 2,500 people.  The name “Wittenberg” means “White Hillock.”  Luther wrote a short and revealing poem about Wittenberg.  Luther wrote,

                                                             Little land, little land,

                                                        You are but a heap of sand.

                                                        If I dig you, the soil is light,

                                                     If I reap you, the yield is slight.

Although small and insignificant, it was in Wittenberg that Luther would spend the rest of his life.  And, it was from this little town on top of a sandhill that the voice of the Reformation would resound throughout Europe and the world.

POINT FOUR - Luther was a “reluctant rebel.”

Martin Luther is most famous for is his “Ninety- Five Thesis” which he tacked to the door of the Castle Rock Church on October 31, 1517.  It was the nailing of this theses that set in motion the chain of events that would eventually catapult Luther into the reformation of the church and world history.  Martin Luther did not set out to be a reformer, but became one by accident - or as we would prefer to say - by providence.  Bainton writes,

Luther . . . was like a man, climbing in the darkness a winding staircase in the steeple of an ancient cathedral.  In the blackness he reached out to steady himself, and his hand laid hold of a rope.  He was startled to hear the clanging of a bell.^[18]

Luther did not mastermind the Reformation - he consider himself as qualified to lead a reformation.  Luther viewed himself as an instrument Luther said simply, “I was swept along.”^[19]

So how is it that this son of a peasant came to be the reluctant leader of the Reformation?  As we have noted, Luther was a man of religious conviction in pursuit of God.  Luther followed all the prescribed methods of the Catholic Church, but only found disappointments.  Already he had experienced two great religious events:

1)   Thunderstorm

2)   Mass - trauma of holy

Luther’s pursuit of God was about to bring him to his third religious crisis.  At Wittenberg, Luther began a series of lectures on the books of Psalms, (1513), Romans (1515), and Galatians (1516-17).  As Luther studied Psalms Twenty-two, he was awed at Christ’s desperation on the cross.  The words,  “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” penetrated Luther’s soul.  Luther concluded Christ was not weak, He was not impure, He was not guilty of sin, but why then should He be so overwhelmed?  The answer  - Christ took to himself the iniquity of His people.  Christ became sin, He entered into humanity to share in our sufferings - this was a new picture of Christ to Luther.  Luther was raised to view God as Judge and little was said of God the Savior.  Luther learned that not only is God “all terrible”, but He is “all merciful” too.

Next Luther began his studies on Romans.  Luther wrote:

I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, “the justice of God,” because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust.  My situation was that . . . I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience . . . Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that, “the just shall live by his faith.”  Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith.  Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise.^[20]

These internal struggles and eventual understandings about God’s grace and mercy brought Martin Luther in direct confrontation with Church tradition and practice.  During the Crusades  (11th-13th centuries), the practice of selling indulgences had begun within the Catholic Church.  The purpose of  the indulgence according to the church, was to pass on the collected good - surplus good - of the saints to others.   The idea of indulgences was based on MATTHEW 16 and the concept of Apostolic Succession.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. {19} And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:18-19)

By the time of Luther, the selling of indulgences was common practice.  In fact, Frederick the Wise, Luther’s prince, had set about to make Wittenberg the Rome of Germany.  Frederick traveled all over Europe gathering relics.  At the center of the collection was a thorn, supposedly from the crown of thorns Christ wore.  By 1509, the number of relics gathered by Frederick numbered 5,005.  Each relic was deemed to be worth so much grace guaranteed to reduce years in purgatory.  The entire collection was valued at 1,443 years.  By the year 1520, the inventory had grown to 19,103 relics worth a total of 1,902,202 years.

Beginning in 1516, Luther criticized these relics and the idea of indulgences.  Understand, that the use of these relics was to raise money.  The more relics one had, the more money could be raised and the more prestige one would have.  In fact, it was by the use of relics that the funding of churches, monasteries, cathedrals, and hospitals were financed.  Frederick was using some of the proceeds to build a bridge.  In addition, the indulgences sold in Wittenberg supported Castle Church and the University.  So, Luther by attacking this practice was biting the hand that fed him.  But a greater hand now lead Luther.

At this time Leo X was the Pope.  In Rome the building of St. Peter’s Basilica was underway.  Money was needed for the work and the Pope made special indulgences available to those who would contribute to the work.  In exchange for giving to the work, certain favors were granted to various state officials.  The man placed in charge of raising money through indulgences was Johann Tetzel.  As Tetzel traveled about Europe, he sold people the promise of grace.  He has a jingle that said: “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.”  Even Frederick the Wise was preparing to get out his indulgences again to help in the rasing of funds.  Although Tetzel, or any of the other peddlers of indulgences, never entered Wittenberg, Luther’s personal discovery of justification by faith had opened his mind and heart and he was in sensed by what he saw happening and let go a broadside.  Luther spoke again - but this time not just from the pulpit, but with a pen.  This time he nailed what he had to say to the church house door and the world has never been the same since.

Luther did not set out to be a reformer, but when he learned the truth about salvation by grace, he could no longer remain silent.  The words he spoke attacked tradition, culture, superstition, state, and organized religion.

POINT FIVE - Luther was a man of humble courage.

It is obvious from what I have just said is that Luther was a brave man.  In 16th century Europe, you did not criticize the Emperor and the Pope with impunity.   Luther placed principle and truth, however, before popularity, money, tradition, even his own life.  He was a man of what I refer to as humble-courage.

One of the great events in the life of Luther occurred at the Diet of Worms.  Unknown and without permission, Luther’s  ninety-five thesis was given to a printer and was soon all over Germany and Europe.  What he said caused a fire-storm.  Debates raged, papers were written, and lines were drawn.  The Roman Emperor, along with the high officials of the church summoned Luther to a meeting - a showdown - in the city of Worms.  Luther was granted a safe-passage conduct, but the trip to Worms held many dangers for Luther.  When the appointed time came, Luther appeared before a prestigious assembly and was called into question for his beliefs.   After Luther was questioned about his beliefs - he asked for a time to pray.  He was given until the next day.

I think this pause, this request for time of prayer is very revealing.  Luther was aware that he stood not just before men but God.  Here gathered were most of the most influential leaders of church and state in opposition to him.  He was told don’t rend the church.  He was questioned as to who he thought he was standing against all this collective wisdom?  Luther asked for time of prayer and was reluctantly granted it.

The next day he appeared before the assembly, and again he was questioned about his beliefs.  Luther responded,

Since then your Majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and without teeth.  Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God, I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.  Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise.  God help me. Amen.

POINT SIX - Luther was a man of caution and reason.

Obviously the words and actions of the Diet of Worms had many repercussions.

1)   Luther was declared an heretic.

2)   Fanned the flames of the gathering Reformation

3)   Presented opportunity for fringe groups to act in radical manners.

Many folks fault Luther for not going further with the reformation, for not destroying all vestiges of idolatry and Catholicism.  Two things to consider.

1)   Luther was what he was by the grace of God.  Luther did much, he might not have done it all like you might want him to, but he did much.

2)   Luther backed off when he saw moves toward anarchy.

After the Diet of Worms a planned kidnaping of Luther occurred - a type of protective custody.  Luther was not all that keen on the idea, but realized his life was in grave danger.  Luther stayed in hiding until he received word of riots in Wittenberg.  Hassell writes,

In December, 1521, a party arose in Wittenberg who wished to carry out the Reformation at once to its consistent results, to make the Bible absolutely the only standard of faith and practice . . . Some of the University students, and citizens . . . urged on by some sincere but misguided men . . . proceeded to such lengths as to enter the catholic houses of worship, interrupt the services, destroy the pictures, statues and altars, and profess to be infallibly inspired and endowed with the gift of prophecy, so that all human learning, and, as some of them said, even the Scriptures were useless.  Luther, hearing of these proceedings, and feeling the cause of the Reformation was greatly endangered by such violence . . . came to Wittenberg . . . at the risk of his life . . . By Luther’s powerful preaching, peace and order were soon restored”^[21]

It seems very probable, if not for the actions of some extremists, Luther would have gone much further with his reformation ideas.  Although he did not think the Catholic Church correct, he did not seek to destroy her by the sword.

CONCLUSION