In July of 1519, Martin Luther was debating Dr. Eck.

Martin Luther was the founder of the Reformation.

Dr. Eck was the most staunch defender of the catholic faith at the time.

During the debate, both men were coming down to their final appeals to the people.

Martin Luther’s final argument was essentially that, “Dr. Eck doesn’t know a thing about Scripture and isn’t willing to listen to a thing about Scripture.”

Dr. Eck’s refutation of Luther’s accusation was so devastating that it rendered Luther speechless and ultimately caused him to lose the debate.

What he said is a matter of historical record and here it is.

“If you turn from the church to the Scriptures alone, then you must keep the Sabbath with the Jews, which has been kept since the beginning of the world.” -Dr. Eck’s Enchiridion pp. 78–79.

You can almost see Dr. Eck twisting the knife as he says those words.

Dr. Eck had a good point.

Martin Luther was accusing Dr. Eck of not knowing anything about Scripture.

He was accusing the catholic church of going in the wrong direction by not following him in the Reformation.

But as Dr. Eck pointed out, Luther himself was not keeping the Sabbath.

And if he wanted to go by SOLA SCRIPTURA, then he needed to start keeping the Sabbath.

Needless to say, Martin Luther lost that debate.

© Richoka