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I know this might be a surprise, but none of us think Luther was infallible. he loved the Catholic church and only wanted to reform it to its biblical roots.. He was a priest at his heart.. God used Him to set a fire, but a match is not a bondfire.. it is only the igniter

When all else fails, the "Luther was really a Catholic" excuse always comes out.

Show me where Christ taught the special gifts to the apostles could be passed down..

[18] And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. [19] Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.
-- Matthew 28:18-20
And the things which thou hast heard of me by many witnesses, the same commend to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:2)

Now, I don't expect you to agree with me, but you asked for Scriptural proof and there it is.

Wag, if my family died believing in the Catholic church [sic] and its law and work based gospel [sic], yes they are in hell [sic].

Thank you for your honesty. Perhaps you misunderstand what the Church teaches, the Church understands that it both faith AND works, NOT one or the other (read Matthew 25:31-46 sometime). However, it seems to me that it would take incredible hubris for someone to operate under the assumption that EVERYONE prior to the 16th century is in Hell, because that is essentially what this would mean. Now, I understand that some Protestants have fantastic conspiracy theories that there were Christians everywhere practicing some form of sola scriptura-type Christianity apart from the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, but nobody has EVER been able to offer any evidence that this is true. Now it IS true that there were groups like the Arians and Nestorians that practiced heresy, but I wouldn't think that Protestants would want to claim to be the heirs of groups that deny the Eternal Divinity of Jesus Christ.

Now it IS true that there were groups like the Arians and Nestorians that practiced heresy, but I wouldn't think that Protestants would want to claim to be the heirs of groups that deny the Eternal Divinity of Jesus Christ.

What they believed and what you say they believed may be two different things...But regardless, completely understanding the nature of the Trinity has nothing to do with becoming a Christian...

If these folks trusted Jesus for their salvation based on Grace without works, they are the Christians that existed before 1600...And compared to the number of Catholics, there weren't very many of them...

Non Catholic bible only Christianity did not start with Luther or the Reformation...It has existed since the time of the Cross...

The Reformation was the Catholic church split where some Catholics chose to get back to the scriptures...