A Treatise on Good Works

by Martin Luther

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Genres: Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Religion, Classics, Christianity, Christian Living

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1521

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

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I come from a works-heavy religion, and all my life I have heard “faith without works is dead.” I have defended this idea, because I believe that the only way to show that you believe something is to behave as though you believe it. I have read stuff by many faith-over-works authors (like CS Lewis) that agree with me. You are not working your way to heaven, but just putting your faith into action. And for me, I feel horrible guilt and pressure to perform all my required works. Truthfully, it has made me a little bit afraid of God and a little bit disconnected from what I am actually doing. Sometimes I am just checking the boxes to stay off the naughty list. Then a few people at church, who were once Lutheran, bashed Martin Luther for removing good works from salvation, so I thought it was only fair to read exactly what he had to say about it. And here is the thing, he believes exactly what I believe. We make such a big deal about differences in religion without ever going to the source and looking for similarities. Basically Luther just flipped the script and suggested that works without faith are dead. If I am just guiltily trying to get in all my works in an attempt to win heaven, then I have missed the point. I have to first have faith and then behave like someone who has faith; then I am putting my trust in God and not in my own works. I highlighted a TON of passages and so much of it was a direct answer to a prayer I have had lately to feel the love and not the fear of God. I could write essays for days. I loved this, and anyone who thinks Luther took works out of the equation clearly hasn’t read what he has to say. He went through the ten commandments and why we need to keep them. He did not give anyone a free pass. He just reminded us to have faith in God and not in our own strength. It got a little bogged down in the commandment chapters and is perhaps a bit outdated socially, but overall this was wonderful and I will read it repeatedly.

[Brother Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, Luther is at his most refreshing and encouraging when he's writing about good works and salvation by faith. Strong read.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better than I expected. Read with my book club and it's great for discussion. Written hundreds of years ago, and there is nothing new under the sun.

[W. Littlejohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty solid stuff here. The opening material about the relationship between faith and works is the most interesting section, of course, but also the most problematic. At times Luther says, basically, "the man who has faith will automatically generate good works, so there's no need to prescribe good works to him." But, of course, if that is true, then what's the point of the latter half of the book, where he goes into great pastoral detail about how Christians should obey the Ten Commandments? Luther seems to remain a bit unclear on how he wants to articulate this relationship, which of course is a big problem, given that it's so important to his theological enterprise.
Also, there's a strong sense of total depravity here, in which the man who does not faith cannot do any good works. Ok, so there's a theological value to affirming that, but how do we make sense of the moral virtues exemplified by unbelievers? We want to have some way of saying to an unbeliever, "Everything you do is compromised, yes, but there's a virtue in your working in the soup kitchen that is not present in your fornication," or something to that effect.

Luther's unpacking of the Ten Commandments has some real high points, as when he treats lack of generosity as equal to stealing, but it also has some low points, as when (discussing the 4th/5th commandment) he gives a lot more weight to the authority of kings and princes than to the authority of the Church.

[Adriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read. Albeit some verses are sometimes given as arguments in support to something quite unrelated. But this strange exegesis is scarce and actually quite amusing. (e.g. the use of Psalm 137 in the chapter on the 6th commandment).

Overall this book must be read for its teaching for purity and the overarching importance of faith properly considered. Faith is everything. We will never realize how wretched we are if we do not see that our works (all of them, that is, our thoughts and actions, not restricted to the works of the law) fall shot of God's glory and that he will graciously declare them good on the basis of his mercy and grace. Point of the book : we must receive this grace by faith, and do all by faith. It must rule our lives.

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 5 out of 5]

Väldigt spännande, framförallt de första 100 sidorna där Luther hanterar detta med monoteism och dåd. Mycket läsvärt. Vad som är den teologiska poäng som gör att boken hamnar på topplistan är att avsikten bakom ett dåd avgör om dådet är en bön, eller värdelöst. Luthers poäng är inte att man inte kan dukta sig till kärlek, utan att det som senare kallades Pascals vad är värdelöst. Antingen finns en övertygelse, och då följer dåd som en konsekvens av den övertygelsen, eller också finns det inte, och då är det yttre skenet faktiskt inte religiöst värdefullt i sig.

Här har vi källan till modern individualism, för här finns frågan om det individuella kallet skiftad från samhällsnyttighet till uppdrag.

[Chris Whisonant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great little book on the Christian's need for good works. Some great thoughts from Luther!

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 — I softly recommend.
A brief read on how one does good works as a Christian.

I read the Scott H. Hendrix translation, which is very readable. I cannot speak to the accuracy of the translation, but it flows well.

As for the contents, I do not want readers to be confused by my rating here: I would definitely use this book in my ministry. Luther gets to the heart of how one can follow the moral law—by faith alone. No one can perfectly obey the law externally, and those who try to do so end up with works that are not truly good.

The problem I have with this work is how lopsided it feels. The first five commandments take up two-thirds of the book, while the remaining commandments are covered much more briefly.

Definitely a primer on the moral law and how to follow it from a Protestant perspective.

[Neil White · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good translation of Luther's 1520 treatise in a good visual presentation. Luther uses the ten commandments as the basis for this treatise to talk about the place of good works in relation to faith. It reads like a series of sermons or some of his other teachings. There are some good theological insights but it is a 1520 document and reflects the thoughts and language of that time.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The truest and most elegant portion of Luther's Treatise on Good Works is the early section during which he argues for Faith as the "First and highest of all good works."

Luther does not argue for Faith as the only important element of a life of faith, as some interpret. Rather, he illustrates that faith must be the foundation and source of every other work. The best paragraph, in my opinion, is this one:

"This we may see in a common human example. When a man and a woman love and are pleased with each other, and thoroughly believe in their love, who teaches them how they are to behave, what they are to do, leave undone, say, not say, think? Confidence alone teaches them all this, and more. They make no difference in works: they do the great, the long, the much, as gladly as the small, the short, the little, and vice versa; and that too with joyful, peaceful, confident hearts, and each is a free companion of the other. But where there is a doubt, search is made for what is best; then a distinction of works is imagined whereby a man may win favor; and yet he goes about it with a heavy heart, and great disrelish; he is, as it were, taken captive, more than half in despair, and often makes a fool of himself."

[Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Luther shows how faith is the greatest work and the basis of all other truly good works. He says that nothing is a good work except what God commands, and nothing is a sin except what God forbids. He goes through the ten commandments and the Lord's Prayer, and he discusses what these things require and what they forbid.

Strong style, quotable quotes, warm heart, great wisdom.

[Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written. Through this study of the 10 commandments, Luther shows that faith in Christ is the first and highest, the most precious of all good works.

[Bcoghill Coghill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the clarity of Luther's writing. It is dated and there are better explanations out there but they build on this structure

[Chad Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting walk through the 10 commandments. Worth looking at for Luther's perspective on the Christian ethic.

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Luther, once again, lays out this basic tenant of Christianity in only the bombastic way that he can, which is exactly what the Protestant Reformation needed at the time.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luther had a picture and he was consistent with it.

[Henry Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Luther very importantly makes the clear point here, constantly referencing Scripture, that good works are only good works if they flow from faith. That is, only when our good works are born from confidence in our Savior that He will save us and that He requires no good works for our salvation, are they truly good and done out of reciprocal love; rather than when they are done without having flowed from faith, and are instead works done out of self-interest, self-importance, and self-confidence. For to perform a “good work” without faith as the stream’s source is to believe that in fact Christ has not wiped away all our sins by His death, and that we must supplement His work with our own. That is hubris and an insult to the power and grace of God. Thus we are to trust ourselves to our Lord and attribute our goodness entirely to Him, and so act in true love, mercy, gentleness, and righteousness.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paraphrasing another reviewer, "James teaches that faith without works is dead. But Luther teaches in this book that works without faith are not God-pleasing." So what are the works the faithful will do that God sees as good? We serve God by serving our neighbor according to the Ten Commandments, and within the vocation God has placed us; parent, child, employer, employee, etc.

[James Ruley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his “Treatise on Good Works,” Luther explores how the keeping of the Ten Commandments compels a Christian to do good works. His thesis is simple: without true faith no one can please God. Although early in Luther’s writings, his applications of each commandment, are, in large part, still relevant to Christians today.

[James F Baine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wise Insight on the 10 commandments

Luther did an excellent job of explaining the purpose of the commandments. The application and purpose goes beyond what we think of as words on a tablet. Luther explains that these commandments affect much broader applications and consequences with obedience or disobedience.

[Jarl · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent treatise on good works by the venerable Martin Luther. The relation between faith and works are explained and emphasized in a way that sometimes get lost by the heirs of Luther because we are wary of the accusation of legalism. The treatise also provides sound advice and biblical instruction in the ten commandments. Well worth reading.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful

Good stuff. Martin Luther seems to get a bad rap at times in some of the circles I am in. I find his pastoral acumen of helping people walk in the tension of gospel and law helpful.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faith is the artisan (werkmeister) of all good works. From 1520, much of Luther's teachings in the later Catechisms can be seen here.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book to read and reread over and over again!

[Aaron Schuschu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good point about fasting and mercy and poor people though the beginnings of the more cringey aspects of Christianity- and Bloch would also point out the statist tendencies of Luther.

[The_J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired evaluation of the Word of God

[Don Paske · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather difficult to get through…

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an encouraging and challenging little treatise from Luther! A helpful way to frame a proper doctrine of good works