A Deadly Brew: Mixing Law and Gospel (Luther)

(This is a re-post from May 2015) In November 1532, some princes of Germany who were sympathetic to the Reformation invited Martin Luther to preach for them in Worlitz.  His text was 1 Timothy 1:5-7.  In the sermon, among other things, Luther explained to the princes the dangerous error of mixing God’s judgment seat and…

Luther on Free Will

(This is a re-post from September, 2017) If you know a few things about Martin Luther, you probably know that he wrote Bondage of the Will in response to Erasmus' book about the freedom of the will (Discussion Concerning Free Will).  Luther argued from Scripture that man, since Adam's fall, is born in sin, dead…

When A Daughter Dies (Martin Luther)

In 1542 Martin Luther's thirteen-year-old daughter Madeleine (Magdalena) became very ill. In September of that year, while Luther was in Leipzig he was called home because Madeleine had taken a turn for the worse and was nearing death. It was a very difficult time for Martin and his wife Katherine; there wasn't much they could…

…His Undeserved Mercy Intervened (Augustine)

In his commentary on Romans 9:21-26 Martin Luther began explaining these verses with a great quote from Augustine. But before I share that quote, here are some of the verses Luther was commenting on: Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes…

I Believe! (Luther)

In 1520 Martin Luther wrote a brief explanation of the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, and the Lord's Prayer. This explanation came before his catechisms. While I was reading through it this morning, I came across this edifying section where Luther commented on the first part of the Creed, 'I believe in God the Father…