Luther's Works - Volume 3:

by Martin Luther

Luther's The American Edition , published by Concordia and Fortress Press between 1955 and 1986, comprises fifty-five volumes. These are a selection representing only about a third of Luther's works in the Latin and German of the standard Weimar Edition, not including the German Bible. The Lectures on Genesis are remarkably extensive in their sweep and give conclusive proof of extraordinary diligence. Luther expounds Scripture in the light of Scripture. Furthermore, he couches his treatment of the Biblical text in a language of simplicity without compromising his forthright way of speaking that evidences profound learning. In the third volume of the American Edition of Luther's Works (Genesis 15-20) the great man of God deals with numerous happenings in the colorful and exciting career of Abraham, the father of the faithful. As he does so, he pays special attention to Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, Lot, and others. He is always at pains to point to the guiding hand of God. Human beings often sin-either willfully or out of the weakness of the flesh-but God is always present to shape the course of events and to reveal abiding love as well as unflinching justice. The great master holds his readers spellbound as he discourses on the Biblical narrative and applies Scriptural truths to what happened in the past, to what is taking place in his own time, and to what is bound to occur in the future.

408 pages, Hardcover

Published May 10, 1968

About the author

Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German monk, theologian, university professor and church reformer whose ideas inspired the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.

Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authority and that all baptized Christians under Jesus are a spiritual priesthood. According to Luther, salvation was a free gift of God, received only by true repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah, a faith given by God and unmediated by the church.

Luther's confrontation with Charles V at the Diet of Worms over freedom of conscience in 1521 and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor resulted in his being declared an outlaw of the state as he had been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Because of the perceived unity of the medieval Church with the secular rulers of western Europe, the widespread acceptance of Luther's doctrines and popular vindication of his thinking on individual liberties were both phenomenal and unprecedented.

His translation of the Bible into the vernacular, making it more accessible to ordinary people, had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism.

Much scholarly debate has concentrated on Luther's writings about the Jews. His statements that Jews' homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed were revived and used in propaganda by the Nazis in 1933–45. As a result of this and his revolutionary theological views, his legacy remains controversial.