Luther's Works, Vol. 25: Lectures on Romans

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. When Luther was prevailed upon to write a preface to the projected complete edition of his Latin writings in 1545, about a year before his death, he took the opportunity to review the high points of his career—to show that he really never had the time and talent to produce literature worth preserving, that in publishing these works he was now merely yielding to his friends' argument that his works would be published in any case, if not with his cooperation, then possibly by men who had no real understanding of them. That was one thing. But in that preface Luther also implored the reader of his Latin writings "for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself to read those things judiciously, yes, with great commiseration". With Luther's lectures on the Epistle to the Romans he had a splendid opportunity to share with his students the great find of his life, "that place in Paul which was for me truly the gate of Paradise."

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Biblical Studies, Reference, Christian, New Testament, Religion

574 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 12, 1963

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

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence from the Preface: This Epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament and the very purest Gospel, and is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is dealt with the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes. Therefore, I, too will do my best, so far as God has given me power, to open the way into it through this preface, so that it may be better understood by everyone.

This is an abridged commentary for the 'popular' audience looking for the 'fundamentals' of Luther's evangelical teachings. If you count Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans as a chapter, this one has seventeen chapters. There is one chapter per chapter of Romans. This commentary includes the text of Romans.

I am glad I read it. I want to start off by saying that much at least. Perhaps my expectations were on the high side--expecting every single sentence to be a brilliant gem, expecting every sentence to be as wonderful as the Preface itself. With reasonable expectations, I think this one would rate well with most readers.

I'm not sure if the abridged edition is the perfectly perfect fit for me. Not having the unabridged to compare it to, I can't honestly say for sure. There were times that I found this commentary to be rushed. Whole books could be written--have been written--on short sections of Romans. Romans contains so many grand, glorious, foundational doctrines that to spend just a short time per verse seems a slight injustice. (For example, I could easily imagine an author dedicating 224 pages to unpacking the wonders of Romans 8.)

It reads like a commentary and not a devotional. I think the Luther devotional that I read a year or two ago spoiled me.

But because it was abridged, it did move quickly. One or two chapters per day felt like a good speed. And there is a lot to be said for movement and progress. This one wasn't intimidating, and again that is a plus.

Quotes:

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times. (xvii)

Judgment day is called a day of wrath and a day of mercy; a day of tribulation and a day of peace; a day of damnation and a day of glory. On that day the wicked will be punished and put to shame, while the righteous will be rewarded and crowned with glory. (55)

In this life we never reach such perfection that we fully possess God, but we must continually seek after Him; indeed we must seek Him evermore, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 105:4. Those who do not make progress in seeking after God, are bound to retrogress;... We must never stand still in seeking after God. (71)

To believe God means to trust Him always and everywhere. (82)

Christ's resurrection is not merely the pledge of our righteousness, but also its cause. (87)

It has been said that human nature knows and wills what is good in general, but that it errs and does not will what is good in special cases. It is better, however, to say that human nature knows and wills what is good in special cases, but that in general it does not know and will what is good. The reason for this is that it knows only what it regards as good, honorable, useful and not what is good in the sight of God and the neighbor. Therefore it knows and wills the good only as it is connected with man's own interests. (118)

Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good (Romans 12:9). This command seems easy to perform but it is most difficult because of the emotions of hate, love, fear, and hope. There is no one who can truly save that he abhors what is evil and cleaves to what is good. (174)

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my third reading of this Christian classic. It was even better than I remember it. Luther's sharp rose and clear analysis lose little in the translation from German.

Worthwhile reading by any seeking to understand this important Biblical book.

(Historical note: John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, reported that his heart was listening to Luther's preface to Romans when his heart was "strangely warmed' in 1738, an event since referred to as his Aldersgate Experience. Methodists curious why may wish to read this short document.)

[Connor Longaphie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting piece of history. In some ways, we could say this book is itself the Reformation. For that reason itself it is fascinating to read, however, due to its early place in Reformation history, there are parts of Luther's thought that are super undeveloped within it.

[Michael Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Barnhouse said, Luther's little commentary on Romans is more of a devotional reading. There are good quotes here and there, but this one is not as helpful as his Galatians commentary.

[Patricia L Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

great study! highly recommend it!

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today, verse-for-verse commentaries on the books of the Bible are a dime a dozen. But in the early 16th century, they were a new thing in Biblical scholarship. Among the many revolutionary things in Biblical scholarship and church history Martin Luther did, his verse-by-verse commentary on Romans was one of the first. This volume, translated from the original German and abridged for a general audience, brings one of Martin Luther's first major works to the public. It was written two years before Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg cathedral and some of the ideas that he would come to advocate, particularly that salvation is by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone, are worked out for the first time within these pages. There are some fascinating passages, particularly how willing Luther was to call out the princes of Europe in general for not being faithful agent's of God's justice on Earth, and from a historian's perspective, it is interesting to see Luther's thoughts beginning to form. But this can be a difficult read. To make up for holes in the manuscript or long tangents Luther would go off on, the editor uses parentheses and italicized letters to denote when it is the editor writing and not Luther. And the editor does this A LOT. Though it seems to hew pretty close to Luther's thoughts, the number of edits does make you wonder. Not to mention that it can be a little distracting. There are also some parts that are not as interesting as other parts in the book, making this an, a times, boring read. Still, for those interested in something different to supplement their daily Bible readings, this would be an interesting choice.

[Coyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent commentary on Romans, though not as good as Luther's Galatians commentary. The big down-side of this for me was that it's an abridgement, where the translator/editor went through and took out all the comments which were too "Catholic." (In the preface, this is justified by the fact that a "scholarly" edition of the complete Romans commentary was available to those who wanted it, this was just to be a devotional for those who follow what Luther's faith developed into.)
Having said that, it is still a decent commentary. Even at this early stage (1515-1516), Luther is already pretty solid on justification and predestination.
If nothing else, this volume has Luther's "Preface to Romans" (1552), which is easily one of his greatest writings, if not the greatest.

[Mwrogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book of Romans can be a tough book to study. I like to use commentaries while studying. This book, along with a commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann, was helpful.

It’s amazing to me how people never change. The Book of Romans could be an epistle to the Americans. Why do we continue to search for answers in the craziest of places? Why do we try to justify ourselves? Why do we try and fill that emptiness inside of us with drugs, work, money, people, etc.?

The answer is right there in front of us. It’s the gospel. It’s free. It is for everyone. God has taken care of everything. “It is finished!”

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luther was amazing! He was one of the first to break from the medieval methodology of teaching and preaching, and laid the modern method of exegetical preaching, teaching verse by verse through Romans. No wonder he started the Reformation-- he brilliantly discloses God's plans through Scripture, ignoring man's ideas and tradition. Wonderful insight on the book of Romans.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went through this book as a bible study and thought it was great. I loved it and GOD definitely showed me a lot about Romans through it.

[Alex Yauk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this alongside the book of Romans in my new Systematic Theology Study Bible (ESV). It was really good to slow down with the text, especially after reading the whole Bible in 6 months.

Having grown up in the Lutheran church, I’m embarrassed how little Luther I have actually read, so it feels good to go through a book like this which connects of emphasizes so many “Lutheran” (theologian) themes. I look forward to engaging many more!

[Tyler Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a piece of history, helping us understand Lutheran thought, I give this a 4. As a commentary on Romans, I give it a 2 (only because there are a dozen or more I'd send someone to in order to understand Romans first). On the whole, a helpful work that offers sound insight into Paul's magnum opus. Mueller's additional comments and explanation are usually unnecessary and distracting.

[Wyatt Craven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know whether to give this a three or four stars but since it preaches the gospel I gave it the benefit of the doubt. This book felt very long and way to academic for my taste. Made getting through Roman’s way harder but I did get a lot more information than I would have without it. That said, won’t be doing another commentary that is over 200 pages and written in the 1600s.

[Rodrigo Sanchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an abridged version of Luther’s lecture notes. The editorial work is not the best. Their parenthetical “helps” throughout the volume are meant to help the reader understand Luther’s meaning, but they are at times clunky. Luther’s intro or preface to Romans is a masterpiece.

[Jonathen Loxley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating how Luther not only pioneered the whole vernacular translation thing, but also the verse-by-verse commentary thing too. His expounding on Romans is - well, at 223 pages, I recommend you read it yourself.

Phenomenal piece of devotional literature. Ein feste burg ist unser Gott!

[C Brennan Poole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glad I picked up this up as it is deeply prophetic

[John Eck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Verse by verse study straight from scripture. Impossible to disagree with his study here unless you disagree with Gods Word. Will always be in my library for reference.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this commentary. It is down to earth and easy to understand, full of wisdom. It is handled by chapter, then by sections. Recommend!

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic that helped shaped protestantism. It is of course a product of Luther's time but still has value for today.

[Matthew C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nature of this work is abrupt at times, but it offers an inside glimpse of Luther's early teachings on the epistle to the Romans. Classic stuff

[Seth Pierce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book got better as it went along. Martin seems a bit muddled in the middle when trying to make the point that our only hope is Christ, while at the same time dealing with predestination. At times he seems to suggest that we should worry over our salvation and just hope for the best--instead of having confidence that we are part of the elect. He also intimates in several places that God is so Sovereign that even if we did our best, and sought God--but He chose to damn us--we should still respect that choice. He argues that any questioning of predestination is "of the flesh"--which is troubling since many people don't ask to get away from the subject--but rather to reconcile apparent contradictory pictures of it with God's character.

Perhaps, as a friend suggested, his passion got in the way of his communication.

Nonetheless, Luther ardently preaches the Gospel and encourages us to seek Jesus. What kept this from being 4 stars was that in many places he didn't offer anything others hadn't said--particularly Augustine (whom he quotes profusely). He is much close to Calvin than I anticipated as well. Despite these things, Luther encourages us to be loving and placing potters above ourselves. Good read, but perhaps I hyped it up in my own mind to be something more.

[John Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luther's Commentary on Romans stands as an important historical document for all Christians of the West because it was his study of Romans that more or less led to all of his other ideas. Anyone interested in Luther's thought process, then, should read this commentary for historical purposes. For Methodists, like me, this commentary takes on a bit of a special role, because it is Luther's Preface to his Commentary that inspired John Wesley's "heart strangely warmed" moment.

Once you read the Preface, though, you might find yourself lost in boredom. Luther unfortunately spends a lot of time stating the obvious. And when he's not stating the obvious, you can hardly know what he's saying sometimes. If you can make it through, there are some really strong declarations of faith, some inspiring declarations, and some rather insightful declarations as well. I can't say the whole Commentary is worth reading for those moments, but why not give it a go?

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most books are rated related to their usefulness and contributions to my research.
Overall, a good book for the researcher and enthusiast.
Read for personal research
- found this book's contents helpful and inspiring - number rating relates to the book's contribution to my needs.

[Russell Hayes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This early work of Luther's serves as a good introduction to his writings. That being said, there are certainly more in-depth commentaries on Romans out there.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful examination of the book of Romans. I recommend it to all.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to Luther's early work, but not nearly as good as his commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians which he called "my Katie von Bora."

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both a fascinating look at the Roman Catholic monk/professor coming to grips with Pauline thought and a penetrating commentary on the book of Romans. Truly a life-changing book.

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry Martin. Maybe if I’d taken your class I would
have understood this more. (Or if my Bible study “leader” had been something more than horrible.) Keep up the good work though. :)

[John Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book read during my "Luther reading" days.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive commentary that broke the world wide open and ushered in the modern age. It is definitely a must read both historically and apologetically. Luther regains the footing and proper biblical understanding of faith and law in a believer's life. His insights are still fresh today...