…[Paul] scolds the Galatians in great indignation for having let this divine and heavenly doctrine be stolen from their hearts so quickly and easily; it is as though he were saying: “You have teachers who want to lead you back into the . . . Continue reading →
Martin Luther
Luther: The Law And Gospel Are Found Throughout Scripture
But you might say, “Isn’t there also much Law in the Gospels and in the Epistles of Paul, and again many promises in the books of Moses and the prophets?” Answer: There is no book in the Bible in which both are . . . Continue reading →
Luther On The Two Words
The second word of God is neither Law nor command and demands nothing of us. But when the first word of the Law has worked misery and poverty in the heart, then He comes and offers us His blessed and life-giving Word. . . . Continue reading →
Luther: We Have Nothing Apart From Christ
The word “Gospel” is Greek and signifies “joyous news,” because it proclaims the wholesome doctrine of life by divine promise and offers grace and forgiveness of sin. Therefore, works do not belong to the Gospel, for it is not Law; rather, only . . . Continue reading →
Luther: Meditation On The Law Teaches What We Are Apart From Christ
Overconfidence follows when a man strives to fulfill the Law by works, by trying hard to do as the words of the Law command. He serves God, doesn’t swear, honors father and mother, doesn’t kill, doesn’t commit adultery, and the like. But . . . Continue reading →
Luther: The World And Its Glory Is Nothing Compared To Christ
If someone could believe with a certain and constant faith, and could understand the magnitude of it all, that he is the son and heir of God, he could regard all the power and wealth of all the kingdoms of the world . . . Continue reading →
Luther: Why Weak And Beggarly Elements?
But why does Paul say that the Galatians are “turning back to the weak and beggarly elements,” that is, to the Law, when they never had the Law, since they were Gentiles (even though, as we shall say later, he writes this . . . Continue reading →
Luther On Crying Abba
In form this crying and sighing is that amid your trial you do not call God a tyrant, an angry judge, or a tormentor, but a Father—even though the sighing may be so faint that it can hardly be felt. By contrast . . . Continue reading →
Luther Vs Papal Wickedness
With this wicked doctrine, by which he commands men to doubt the favor of God toward them, the pope has removed God and all His promises from the church, has undermined the blessings of Christ, and has abolished the entire Gospel. Then . . . Continue reading →
Luther On The Chief Point Of Scripture
Moreover, the chief point of all Scripture is that we should not doubt but hope, trust, and believe for a certainty that God is merciful, kind, and patient, that He does not lie and deceive but is faithful and true. He keeps . . . Continue reading →
Luther: Not Our Merit But Christ’s
But by what merit have we received this righteousness, sonship, and inheritance of eternal life? By none. For what could be merited by men confined under sin, subjected to the curse of the Law, and condemned to eternal death? Therefore we have . . . Continue reading →
Luther: A Christian Must Believe He is In A State Of Grace
I have indicated in a variety of ways that the Christian man must believe for a certainty that he is in a state of divine grace, and that he has the cry of the Holy Spirit in his heart, especially when he . . . Continue reading →
Luther: Christ Is Our Comfort In The Struggle With Sin
With these words, then, Paul wants to indicate the weakness there still is in the pious, as in Rom. 8:26: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness.” For because the awareness of the opposite is so strong in us, that is, because . . . Continue reading →
Video: Luther Under The Gospel
Video courtesy Lynden United Reformed Church (Lynden, WA) where Bob Godfrey and I spoke for their Reformation Conference: Luther Nailed It. Note: This was originally published on the Heidelblog in 2017. RESOURCES Subscribe To The Heidelblog! The Heidelblog Resource Page Heidelmedia Resources . . . Continue reading →
Luther: We Must Strive To Think Of Jesus As Paul Does (Not As Rome Does)
We adults, who are imbued with the noxious doctrine of the papists, which we absorbed into our very bones and marrow, acquired an opinion of Christ altogether different from the one that Paul sets forth here. No matter how much we declared . . . Continue reading →
Video: Luther Under The Law
Video courtesy the Lynden United Reformed Church (Lynden, WA) where Bob Godfrey and I spoke for their Reformation Conference: Luther Nailed It. Note: This was originally published on the Heidelblog in 2017. RESOURCES Subscribe To The Heidelblog! The Heidelblog Resource Page Heidelmedia . . . Continue reading →
Luther On The Value Of Learning The Greatness Of Our Sin And Misery
To the question, “If the Law does not justify, what is its purpose?” Paul, therefore, replies: “Although the Law does not justify, it is nevertheless extremely useful and necessary. In the first place, it acts as a civic restraint upon those who . . . Continue reading →
Luther On The Role Of The Law In Salvation
It follows, therefore, that the Law with its function does contribute to justification—not because it justifies, but because it impels one to the promise of grace and makes it sweet and desirable. Therefore we do not abolish the Law; but we show . . . Continue reading →
Luther: Our Righteousness Before God Is Imputed
The righteousness Paul is speaking about here is external and comes from Christ living in us. It’s not internal, and it doesn’t come from ourselves. So if we are concerned about Christian righteousness, we must completely set aside the self. If I . . . Continue reading →
Luther On The Pedagogical Use Of The Law
But the true use of the Law is this, that I know that by the Law I am being brought to an acknowledgement of sin and am being humbled, so that I may come to Christ and be justified by faith. But . . . Continue reading →