…Neither in Prayer, Merit, Nor Works… (Luther)

Yesterday I mentioned that I just got Luther's Letters from Logos for $28. I started reading a few today and immediately was convinced that this is an awesome set to own. I had to force myself to stop reading and get other work done! Anyway, below is a letter that Luther wrote to Johann von…

A Prayer of the Weak and Sinful (Luther)

Here's a prayer of Martin Luther that captured my attention today. Perhaps it will also be a blessing to you: "Lord, you know that the devil has fought me in many ways. He would have destroyed my body through tyrants, kings, and rulers, and would have destroyed my soul with his weapons and terrible temptations.…

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…