Luther On Preaching-Part 6

Today, we end our look into Luther's view on preaching with a simple conclusion. If you have not been able to view some of these blogs, then here are all the links: Part 1-Introduction; Part 2-Word Driven; Part 3-Clearly Articulated; Part 4-Soul Searching; and Part 5-Christ Exalting. 

Part 6-Conclusion

The ministry of the Word is not a place for somebody to seek individual glory and accolades. In regards to this, Luther said, “For Christ did not establish and institute the ministry of proclamation to provide us with money, property, honor, or friendship.”[1] No, Luther knew and understood the severity of preaching. He viewed the preaching ministry as a gift from God given to the church in order that God would be glorified through Word driven, clearly articulated, soul searching, and Christ exalting preaching. This is what Luther did, and this is what Luther sought to establish during the time of the Reformation.

A Word Before We Depart

Luther's view on preaching was riveting for me. His view will probably be riveting to anybody that desires to get into the pulpit one day to preach the gospel. But the fundamental reason Luther was such a polarizing preacher, teacher, and author was because he absolutely loved the Bible. Luther said, "As a young man I made myself familiar with the Bible; by reading it again and again I came to know my way about it. Only then did I consult writers of books about the Bible. But finally I had to put them out of my sight and wrestle with the Bible itself. It's better to see with one's own eyes than with the eyes of another's." You can see his deep passion and love for the sacred Scripture.

Luther's love for the Bible did not die out after he was a young man though. It continued on until his death. Luther said, "For some years now, I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant." He wanted to know what God said in the Bible. He looked at each word, sought to understand what it meant, and did not leave from it until he understood what it was saying. This type of love for the Bible is foundational to preaching. It is foundational to leading a family, teaching a Sunday school class, and evangelizing the lost.

So we need to be people that love the Bible as Luther loved the Bible. I think the only way to get to the point that Luther was at in his love for the Word is through prayer and constant intake of Scripture. We need to be like Luther and read the Word over and over. We need to stare at the text until the Holy Spirit reveals to us what He means in each verse. Until then, we will not be as convinced as Luther was regarding the Word. Luther's love for the Word is what drove him to stand against the powerful papacy. It allowed him to labor diligently to translate the Bible into the German language so that the common people could read it. It allowed him to stand firm in the midst of suffering, violence, persecution, and trials. Until we are as convinced as Luther was regarding the Word we will not be able to stand as boldly as we ought to regarding homosexuality, divorce, the transgender movement, abortion, and liberalism creeping into evangelical circles. We must love and be convinced that God has spoken through his Word. Once that conviction settles in our heart, we will not only be willing to lose our house for the sake of the truth of Scripture, but we will be willing to lose our very lives. So let us labor to say with Luther, "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason, my conscience is captive to the Word of God."

---

[1] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: The Sermon on the Mount and the Magnificat, 9.

Luther On Preaching-Part 5

This is part 5 of Luther on preaching. That means there are 4 other parts about Luther's preaching that you may have missed. If so, here are the links: Part 1-Introduction; Part 2-Word Driven; Part 3-Clearly Articulated; and Part 4-Soul Searching.

Anyhow, today we are going to be looking at how Luther believed that preaching should be Christ exalting. He wanted to preach the Word in a clear way so that men would be made aware of their sin. He would not leave men in this hopeless plight though. That would be terrible. Rather, he wanted to do all this, and then lift up Christ so high that they might find forgiveness of sins and peace with God. 

A Brief Word

This part of preaching is hands down the most important. Preaching is to be a proclamation of Christ and His cross. It is to be a heralding of the glorious news of the resurrected Messiah. This is the Gospel. This is what is to be preached from the pulpit on Sunday mornings. "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (1 Corin. 1:17). Also, "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corin. 1:18). Paul says that when he was with the Corinthians, he decided to know nothing among them except Christ and Him crucified (1 Corin. 2:2). This is the Gospel of Christ. Abraham testified about the person of Christ. Moses testified about the person of Christ. Isaiah testified about the person of Christ. John the Baptist testified about the person of Christ. Christ testified about Himself because he was the person of Christ! Paul testified about the person of Christ. And Paul warns anyone that enters into the pulpit on Sunday morning, whether they be a man or an angel, that if they preach any other gospel than the Gospel of Christ, let them be accursed (Gal. 1:8-9). 

So, with all that being said, the preaching of the gospel is an absolute necessity. It is not only a necessity because salvation is only found in and through the person of Christ. It is also a necessity because the people who are already in Christ need to have their souls satisfied with the steady proclamation of the gospel. They need to be reminded of the excellency and sufficiency of Christ. They need to always have Christ before their eyes so that they can better persevere in this walk of faith. I say that the saints always need to have Christ before their eyes because Paul tells the Galatians, "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?  It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified" (Gal. 3:1). The people of Galatia did not see Christ publicly crucified. They were not there when he was pierced to that tree. So how did they see Christ crucified? It was through the heralding of the Gospel. This is what happens during good, sound, and faithful preaching. Christ is placed before the eyes of the congregation as crucified. When this begins to happen, souls will be stripped out of the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God. When this begins to happen, saints will no longer begrudgingly serve Christ, but with an overwhelming zeal they seek to serve Christ in the whole of life.

Part 5-Christ Exalting

The central focus of Luther’s sermon was going to be on the person of Christ. In writing a letter to a friend, Luther said, “We preach no other light than Jesus Christ, the true and only light.”[1]  He made Christ the central focus of his sermon because he believed that each sermon was a battle for the souls of his hearers.[2] Luther knew and understood that there is no other name in heaven by which a man is to be saved other than the name of Christ, the Son of God (Acts 4:12). Therefore, he saturated his preaching with Christ, His Kingdom, and His reign.

In order to understand exactly what preaching Christ meant for Luther, it is needful to look into some of his sermons. As Luther was on his way to Worms, he stopped in Erfurt to preach a sermon on John 20:19-20. Luther was known to have a dialogue with himself in the midst of preaching, and that is precisely what is taking place in this sermon at Erfurt. Luther began by saying, “Mark these words: none of our works have any power whatsoever. For God has chosen a man, the Lord Jesus, to crush death, destroy sin, and shatter hell, since there was no one before he came who did not inevitably belong to the devil.”[3] After he made this statement, he then argued his reasoning behind such a statement by talking about original sin. Thus, original sin is why man’s works have no power, and also why everyone besides Christ belongs to the devil. After proving this, he said, “But Christ has shattered death for our sake, in order that we might be saved by his works, which are alien to us, and not by our work.”[4] Luther proceeds to talk about justification being by faith rather than works. It is here that he does his dialoguing, "Now, someone may say: Look, my friend, you are saying a lot about faith, and claiming that our salvation depends solely upon it; now, I ask you, how does one come to faith? I will tell you. Our Lord Christ said, ‘Peace be with you. Behold my hands, etc.’ [John 20:26-27]. In other words, he is saying: Look, man, I am the only one who has taken away your sins and redeemed you, etc.; now be at peace. Just as you inherited sin from Adam-not that you committed it, for I did not eat the apple, any more than you did, and yet this is how we came to be in sin-so we have not suffered [as Christ did], and therefore we were made free from death and sin by God’s work, not by our works. Therefore God says: Behold, man, I am your redemption."[5] Luther exposes the sinfulness of man and then shows that justification comes from God through faith in Christ Jesus. In this previous sermon, it is obvious that Luther is preaching Christ to the unregenerate. He is preaching Christ to those trusting in their own works. It was not only the unregenerate that Luther knew how to preach Christ to though. He knew how to preach Christ to the regenerate as well.

In a sermon Luther preached on John 14:19, one can see how Luther would preach Christ in such a way that the regenerate would stand in awe. Indeed, he would preach Christ in such a way that the elect would be willing to lay down their lives for the sake of Christ. In John 14:19, Christ is comforting His disciples. They will need this comforting word from their blessed Savior because much affliction awaits them. From this text, Luther understood that Christians that are to remain strong in this world must have an ever-increasing affection for Christ. At the beginning of this sermon, Luther said, “Therefore the aim of this whole sermon is to make the disciples certain of the Father’s love for them and to move them, in turn, to love the Lord Christ.”[6] He then goes on to say, “For he who lacks this love for Christ cannot endure the malice of the devil and the world.”[7] Luther’s emphasis was to strengthen his hearers with the faithful proclamation of the truth in order that their love for Christ will grow abundantly as they ponder on the incredible love of their heavenly Father.

Later on in this sermon, Luther is speaking about how the Devil is going to come and threaten the Christian with death. Luther said that the Christian is to respond to Satan saying, “Do you remember how you devoured Christ? But you had to release Him did you not? Indeed, He, in turn, has devoured you. Therefore you will also be unable to devour me, because I abide in Him and live and suffer for His sake.”[8] Luther is comforting his people with Christ exalting truth. Luther said, “Such comfort and defiance Christians have in Christ, of whom we believe that He rose from the dead and is sitting at the right hand of the Father.”[9] From this, one can see that Luther understood that preaching should consist of proclaiming Christ so that the unregenerate can repent and believe, and also so that the regenerate can be strengthened in their faith.

This is how he desired all preachers to preach. He was passionate about truly holding Christ out to individuals so that faith could be formed in them by the sovereign power of God. One can sense his passion pertaining to this subject when he said, "Rather ought Christ to be preached to the end that faith in him may be established that he may not only be Christ, but be Christ for you and me, and that what is said of him and is denoted in his name may be effectual in us. Such faith is produced and preserved in us by preaching why Christ came, what he brought and bestowed, what benefit it is to us to accept him. This is done when that Christian liberty which he bestows is rightly taught and we are told in what way we Christians are all kings and priests and therefore lords of all and may firmly believe that whatever we have done is pleasing and acceptable in the sight of God, as I have already said."[10] He wanted Christ to be preached in such a way that Christ would not only be an intellectual thought within the minds of his hearers, but rather that Christ would be a personal Savior whom one loves and delights in. He wanted Christ preached in such a way that people would be affected by it. With all this being said, it is clear that Luther believed all good preaching was going to consist of exalting the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew that Paul was commissioned to declare the unsearchable riches of Christ, and that any good preacher is going to do the same. 

---

[1] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Letters I, ed. Gottfried G. krodel and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 48. American Edition (Philadephia: Fortress Press, 1963) 62

[2] Fred W. Meuser, Luther the Preacher, 25.

[3] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Sermons I, ed. John W. Doberstein and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 51. American Edition (Philadephia:Fortress Press, 1959) 61-62.

[4] Ibid, 62.

[5] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Sermons I, 62-63.

[6] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John Chapters 14-16, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and Daniel E. Poellot, vol. 24. American Edition (Saint Louis, Concordia Press, 1961) 132.

[7] Ibid. 132.

[8] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John Chapters 14-16, 137.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Career of the Reformer, 357.

Luther On Preaching-Part 4

This is the fourth blog post in a series of six posts that are looking at Luther's view on preaching. So far we have seen an introduction to what Luther's preaching consisted of. We then looked at how Luther believed that preaching needed to be Word driven. So It needed to saturated with Scripture. After that, we saw that Luther believed that preaching needed to be clearly articulated. It was not enough for the preaching to simply be Word driven. It needed to be clearly and simply taught. Today, we are going to look at how Luther believed that preaching needed to be soul searching. He wanted to open the Bible and preach from it in such a way that the hearers were going to be led to an awareness of how sinful they truly are.

A Brief Word

The Holy Spirit comes to wound then to heal. That may sound odd, but it is biblically accurate. When the Holy Spirit begins working on an individual, that individual begins to have an increasing awareness about the things of God. This increasing awareness of the things of God usually consist of thinking about sin and judgment day. This wounds the person. The Holy Spirit is letting the individual know how just it would be for God to condemn them to the lake of fire for all of eternity. It is after this wounding that the Holy Spirit heals. The individual is increasingly aware of sin and the coming judgment of God. Therefore, they begin to seek refuge in something other than themselves. Ultimately, the Holy Spirit leads them to the cross of Christ. It is there that the Holy Spirit shows them the means by which they can be saved. It is at the cross of Christ that the individual sees the Lord Jesus crushed, pierced, and punished so that they might have peace with God. That is why I said the Holy Spirit comes to wound then to heal.

Preachers need to learn from the Holy Spirit. When I say that, I am not saying that the preacher needs to wound and then to heal. That is not our job. That is the Holy Spirit's job. However, the Holy Spirit does this with the preaching of the whole counsel of God. Therefore, the preacher needs to preach the whole counsel of God. That means when the Bible addresses the wickedness and vileness of the human heart, then he needs to address it as well.  That means when the Bible talks about the offensiveness of sin to a glorious and Holy God, then he needs to address it as well. This is what Luther did. He showed the people from the Bible how sinful they were. Therefore, he saw many people wounded and then healed by the Holy Spirit of the living God. We would be wise to do the same.

Part 4-Soul Searching

Since Luther was a student of the Word, he had a biblical understanding of man apart from sovereign grace. If the Scripture was as clear as it was pertaining to the sinfulness of man, he understood that all good preaching must, of necessity, expose man as Scripture reveals man. Pertaining to this, Luther said, “True evangelical preaching is to magnify the sins as much as possible in order that man may develop fear of God and proper repentance.”[1] So magnifying the people’s sins is ultimately what is going to bring about a true sense of reverence for God. This fear of God, in turn, would lead to a genuine repentance. Luther was adamant about this. The reason for this is because he believed that if man is ignorant of his sin then he will be ignorant of God. Luther said, “But ignorance of sin necessarily brings with it ignorance of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit and all things.”[2] This is a profound theological statement. Luther is saying that if a man is ignorant of sin, he is going to be ignorant of the Righteous Judge of all the earth who’s anger burns intensely against sin everyday. He will be ignorant of the wrath of God that was placed on the Lord Jesus Christ as the rod of God’s judgment came upon Christ for the sins of His people. He is going to be ignorant of the Holy Spirit who takes a man from dead in trespasses and sins to alive in Christ Jesus by the crushing of the stony, obstinate heart in order to place a heart of flesh within him that loves and delights in Christ. With this being Luther’s belief, in his preaching he sought to search the soul so that he, by the power of the Spirit, could expose indwelling sin.

Luther also understood that man would never be humble if he was never made aware of the depth of his wickedness. He said, “They cannot be humble who do not recognize that they are damnable whose sin smells to high heaven.”[3] This painstaking soul searching is healthy. It is the equivalent to a physician taking a scalpel into his hand and removing the cancerous tumor from a life-giving organ. In his Heidelberg Disputation, Luther said, “It is apparent that not despair, but rather hope, is preached when we are told that we are sinners.”[4] Luther understood better than most people that being in the slough of despondency at the overwhelming reality of one’s sin means that one is closer to grace than they would have ever expected to be. Their soul is in torment. They are perplexed at the fact that the wrath of God is over them. They become increasingly aware that all their “good” works only serve to damn them. In this moment, hope is right around the corner. This is why Luther said, “Such preaching concerning sin is preparation for grace,” and also, “Yearning for grace wells up when recognition of sin has arisen.”[5] Preaching about sin exposes the sin of the people. This, in turn, brings about a yearning for grace. People finally begin to see that they are doomed to the bottomless pit reserved for the vilest of people and so begin to plead for the grace of God in Christ. They finally see Him who was pierced to the cross as the most beautiful Savior and therefore long to place their faith in Him for the forgiveness of sins.

Since Luther believed all this so strongly, he wanted preachers in his day to begin doing this. He said, "There is a need for the Holy Spirit to come and send preachers into the World, to uncover and to punish, not the outwardly gross sins like adultery and murder, which the world can know and punish by itself, but the things it regards as the most precious and highest asset, the claim to piety, holiness, and the service of God."[6] Luther saw the great need for the Holy Spirit to send preachers into the world that were going to proclaim the Word in such a way that it would punish the consciences of those who were in sins. Not just punish those who were in apparent, gross sins, but also those who had secret, concealed sins that only the heart of a man is made aware of as he encounters the glory of God through the proclamation of the Word.

Luther, however did not only want to awaken the soul to an awareness of sin. This was a means to an end for Luther. He ultimately wanted people to be saved. Therefore, he was going to search the soul and in hopes to reveal the indwelling sin, but he was also going to exalt Christ so that sinners and saints alike could rejoice at such a beautiful Savior. This is what we will turn our attention to tomorrow (Lord willing).

---

[1] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Career of the Reformer, ed. Herald J. Grimm and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 31. American Edition (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1957) 241.

[2] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Lectures on Genesis Chapters 38-44, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and Walter A. Hansen, vol. 7. American Edition (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1965) 278.

[3] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Career of the Reformer, 51.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: The Sermon on the Mount and The Magnificat, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, vol. 21. American Edition (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956) 56.

Luther On Preaching-Part 3

Over the past couple of days I have posted two blogs on Luther's view on preaching. The bulk of these blog posts are taken from a research paper that I wrote for a Martin Luther class that I took in seminary. I have not revised this research paper in order for it to be a blog or anything like that. I am simply posting each section of the paper on this blog each day.

With that being said, today we are on part three of this six part series. Monday, we had the introduction. Tuesday we saw how Luther believed that preaching needed to be Word driven. Today, we are going to see how Luther believed that preaching needed to be clearly articulated.

A Brief Word

Preachers would be wise to take heed to what Luther has to say about preaching in a clear, simple way so that all might understand. This is a common thought among great preachers. George Whitefield, John Stott, and Richard Sibbes say things that are very similar to what Luther has said regarding this subject.

The average church goer would be wise to take note of Luther's teaching on this as well. We would all be better stewards of the Gospel if we studied it so diligently that we were able to teach it to a four year old simply and clearly. Also, we would be better evangelist if we took what Luther says seriously. I say that because in evangelism, you cannot use all kinds of churchy language. You are talking to people that have often times never been to a church, nor have they ever picked up a Bible. With this being the case, you have to teach them. You cannot teach them in a lofty manner (which usually happens when you do not have that great of a grasp on the subject). You must teach them in a simple manner (which becomes easier and easier as you study a little more diligently). Anyways, there is much to be said regarding this subject. I hope to write a blog on the importance of teaching and preaching simply in the coming weeks, but this will suffice to show the importance for now.

Part 3-Clearly Articulated

Luther’s aim in preaching was to get people to understand the Bible. He was not interested in proving himself to be the wisest man in Wittenberg. Rather, he was concerned for the salvation of his hearers. Therefore, he sought to preach in a way that common men and women could understand. Luther understood Christ to have done the same thing. He said, “Christ could have taught in a profound way but he wished to deliver his message with utmost simplicity in order that common people might understand.[1] Seeing that Christ did this, he wanted to imitate his Savior.

Luther also believed that the best preachers are the ones that can teach this way. Luther said, “Accordingly he’s the best preacher who can teach in a plain, childlike, popular, and simple way.”[2] This was incredibly important to Luther. So important that he deplored people who did not preach with simplicity and clarity. Regarding preachers that did not do this, Luther said, “Cursed be every preacher who aims at lofty topics in the church, looking for his own glory and selfishly desiring to please one individual or another.”[3] 

Here Luther is condemning preachers that are seeking to be profound. They want to make a name for themselves. They have no interest in laying out the Gospel promise so that a child can take hold of it. They want to impress the learned so that they can be highly esteemed. Luther knew that this was not the reason a preacher ascends the pulpit though. He says, “Philip (a very intelligent companion to Luther) doesn’t need to be instructed, and I don’t teach or lecture for his sake, but we preach publicly for the sake of plain people.”[4] Luther could not prepare a sermon having only Philip Melanchthon in mind. That would be disgraceful. The preacher must have the uneducated and blue-collar laborers in mind. That is why, when Luther was talking to a student named Bernard, he said, “Therefore, my dear Bernard, take pains to be simple and direct; don’t consider those who claim to be learned but be a preacher to unschooled youth and sucklings.”[5]

Luther believed preaching should be done with clarity and simplicity. He wanted kids, farmers, and servants to be able to lay hold of the main point of the text so that they could hear God speak to them and thus lay hold of the blessed Lord Jesus. He took pains to be diligent in his study so that he could be clear in his proclamation. He also believed that any good preacher was going to labor to do the same. But what was it that Luther was seeking to be clear about? Luther believed that good preaching was soul searching. Therefore, he sought to be clear about the sinfulness of sin within the lives of his hearers. This is what we will turn our attention to tomorrow (Lord willing).

---

[1] Ibid. 383.

[2] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Table Talk, 384.

[3] Ibid. 235.

[4] Ibid. 383.

[5] Ibid. 235-236.

Luther On Preaching-Part 2

Yesterday, I shared that I was going to be doing a 6 part series going over Luther's view on preaching.  After I introduced what I was going to be doing, I posted Part 1 of the series which simply consisted of the introduction. Today, we get to the good stuff though. I say that because today we get to look at how Luther believed that preaching was to be Word driven. 

A Quick Word

We need to take heed to Luther's admiration for the Word of God. A lot of these men in church history equated how much one loved the Word of God to how much one actually loved God. Now some may say that is idolatry of the Bible. Okay, so I do believe that some people can make the Bible an idol (KJV ONLY PEOPLE!!). But that is not what the reformers were saying when they equated ones love for the Bible as ones actual love for God. 

You see, they knew and understood that God has chosen to make himself known through the Bible. As we look into the pages of sacred Scripture, we see a testimony to who God is. In our day, some people are prone to say, "Well, I believe God to be a God of mercy and not a God of justice." Or some may say, "To me, God is like ....." That is not how it works though. 

When it comes to who God is, the only correct way to think is, "In the Bible, the Holy Spirit testifies that God is merciful and just." Everything we believe about God must be grounded in the Bible or it is false. The reason for this is because the Bible is the way in which God has made himself known.

Also, we believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. The Scriptures are what testify to the the person of Jesus Christ. It is in the Bible that we see Christ. It is in the Bible that Christ is revealed to us. That is the only place he is revealed. 

So when the reformers equated how much one loved the Word of God to how much one actually loved God, they simply meant that if you love God then you will love the Word because the Word is a testimony of the one whom you love. I think they are absolutely right.

With that being said, let us now turn to part 2 to see what Luther has to say about Word driven preaching.

Part 2-Word Driven

For Luther, preaching was first and foremost Word driven. A preacher’s authority does not lie within himself, but rather in the words in which he speaks. Therefore, if he is to have any authority in the pulpit, he must be speaking from the authoritative Word of God. This is why Luther is considered to be an expositor of the Word. He sought to preach expositionally, and he sought to get preachers to preach expositionally. With this being the case, he “elevated biblical exposition to its grandest height since the early church.”[1] The amazing extent that Luther was dedicated to the text in his preaching is seen all throughout his writings and sermons. It is in all of his writings and sermons that will lead some to say that it was not only Luther’s conscience that was captive to the Word of God, but it was his preaching too.[2]

When Luther was preparing a sermon, he wanted to find the main point of the text.[3] The main point of the text is what he wanted to focus on and stay on. He wanted it to be the central theme of his sermon. This is, in a sense, why he did not like elaborate introductions. He felt as though that would distract the congregation. Therefore, in the beginning of his sermons he would just simply state the text’s main point.[4] After stating the main point of the text, he would then labor to stick to the text the entirety of the sermon. Regarding this, Luther said, “In my preaching I take pains to treat a verse of the Scriptures, to stick to it, and so to instruct people that they can say, ‘That’s what the sermon was about.’”[5] Thus, he wanted the God inspired text to be so engrained in the minds of his hearers that they could undoubtedly recall the text that the sermon was on. Luther did not simply want this to be a merely academic process though. In other words, he did no want his congregation to feel as though they were listening to a commentary being read. Rather, he believed that the exposition of the Scripture should be clearly articulated in a simple manner so that all could understand.

---

[1] Steven J. Lawson, The Heroic Boldness of Martin Luther, 28.

[2] Fred W. Mueser, Luther the Preacher (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1983) 41.

[3] Ibid. 47.

[4] Fred W. Mueser, Luther the Preacher, 48

[5] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Table Talk, ed. Theodore G. Tappert and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 54. American Edition (Philadephia: Fortress Press) 160.