The heart of the Scriptures, the heart of Luther’s preaching and teaching, and the heart of Lutheran theology, is the Gospel. This time we read Part III, Article 4 of the Smalcald Articles, which brings us back to this heart.
In his 1545 preface Luther noted how he once hated “the righteousness of God,” of which Paul spoke in Romans 1:17...
The hallmark of the Reformation is justification by faith alone. Luther emphasized this Reformation truth in his lectures on Genesis, particularly regarding the covenant of circumcision.
The precise motivation for Luther’s text is unclear, yet evidence exists that it spread quickly and gained notoriety in significant fashion. It was sung at the Diet of Augsburg (1555) and in all the churches of Saxony.
Today most modern societies would find it hard to imagine a time when the Holy Scriptures were not accessible to them in a language they could understand, but to the people at the time of the Reformation this was the accepted norm.
While we often think of repentance being poorly understood because of Papist emphasis on man’s efforts, the Reformers (and we still to this day) also recognized that many are burdened in conscience by the notion that Christians shouldn’t need to repent.
The Large and Small Catechisms of Dr. Luther were born of pastoral necessity. In 1528, Luther and his colleagues visited the congregations in Saxony to assess their spiritual health. Luther was horrified.
Luther says of the Genesis 12:1, “Therefore this passage is important as proof for the doctrine of grace over against the worth of merits and works, which reason extols so highly.
As Western Christians celebrate the church festival of St. Michael and All Angels (also known as Michaelmas) during this season, it is fitting to explore the topics of interest regarding angels that occupied the thoughts of the Reformers—namely, their existence and how they intervene on God’s behalf in the lives of Christians—and examine what the Church actually confesses concerning these creatures as taught from Holy Scripture.
This six-part study covers major events and themes of the Reformation, using the PBS documentary for points of illustration.
Luther, in the Smalcald Articles, isn't so much confronting an error directly (that comes in the next Article on Repentance), but is instead making a positive confession about what the Law is and what role it plays in the world.
The contributions of Nicolaus Decius to Lutheran hymnody, although few, actually predate the first published hymns of Martin Luther by one year.
In the Large Catechism on the First Commandment Luther says, “There has never been a nation so wicked that it did not establish and maintain some sort of worship. All people have set up their own god, to whom they looked for blessings, help, and comfort.
These 40 devotions — which each include a Scripture passage, a meditation, a prayer and a hymn — are focused on bringing God’s comfort and peace to those who are struggling after a disaster or other crisis.
Is the Bible true? Is it really reliable or is it full of errors? Doesn’t it contradict itself? Luther and other Lutheran Reformers answered these questions in no uncertain terms, defending the inerrancy of Scripture with gusto.