Luther's Works: Volume 27, Lectures on Galatians Chapters 5-6 (1535) and Chapters 1-6

Luther's Works #27

by Martin Luther, Jaroslav Pelikan (Editor)

Luther's Works: 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. These lectures give eloquent evidence of Luther's determined espousal of the doctrine of justification by faith. But although in 1531 the Reformer's position with regard to this cardinal teaching of the Holy Writ was identical with what he had set forth in his earlier series of lectures, a sharp difference is discernible to a careful reader. The Luther of 1535 has at his command far greater simplicity and pungency of expression than one finds in the work he compiled in 1519. With the passing of the years the Reformer grew in knowledge and exegetical skill. It is not surprising, therefore, that the lectures he delivered at a later period in his life overshadow the former series in popularity as well as in significance. These, his Lectures on Galatians, reflect his development.

Genres: Theology, Reference

441 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1964

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.

Reviews

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite an interesting volume, since we not only finish off Luther's magisterial Lectures on Galatians from 1535, we are then presented with his earlier (and shorter) coverage from 1519. I applaud the editors in doing this. At first when I saw what was in this volume I thought that surely it would be better to go from the earlier to the later lectures - but I think they got it right. The 1535 Lectures contain a more well developed and deeper theology, whereas the 1519 lectures are more zealous and to the point.

Now I am sure if works I had done from 16 years ago were compared with works I produce today, then there would be much difference - and thus it is also educational to have these "two Galatians". Thus this would be a good Volume (together with the previous) for those who would like to dig deeper in comparing the early Luther with the later Luther.

Whilst I enjoyed the 1535 lectures more, I also quite enjoyed the 1519 ones as well. In fact I appreciated both more than I did Luther's lectures on Romans (not sure as a Lutheran Pastor I should say that). Still I would rate Luther's coverage on the Gospel of John to be my favourite so far, followed by his Genesis and then these Galatians. We are truly blessed to have such wealth of teaching from 500 years ago, easily available today!