Luther's Works, vol. 57: Sermons IV

by Martin Luther

Publisher:

Concordia Publishing House

, 2016

Overview

Get Luther’s Works (55 vols.).

This volume contains a selection of Luther’s preaching between May 1531 and June 1539. In the first few years after the decisive Diet of Augsburg (1530) and the presentation of the Augsburg Confession, Luther grappled with how best to teach the doctrine of justification. Sermons dealing with Christian righteousness and the proper distinction of Law and Gospel show how Luther was gradually formulating this theme in a way that could be understood by Christians for generations to come. Luther’s preaching during these years also addressed Baptism, ordination to the preaching office, marriage, Christ’s return, the end of the world, the confession of the Trinity in the creeds, and the person of Christ.

These topics reflect, in part, the circumstances of the Evangelical church in the decade after the Augsburg Confession—and its rejection by the papal church—as Luther and his colleagues sought to defend the Gospel and to define its consequences worked out in the life of the church and of individual Christians. The selection of sermons also reflects the interests of Luther’s contemporaries and his students of the next generation: included here are most of the sermons from these years that found their way into the press during Luther’s lifetime or posthumously before the end of the century.

Luther’s sermons in this volume make clear that Christian doctrine is not just for the classroom and textbook, but also and especially for the hearing, admonition, and consolation of all Christians.

Key Features

• Provides Luther’s sermons for the latest period of Luther's life and ministry'
• Gives insight into Luther’s understanding of the biblical text for Christian life
• Shows how Luther applied the biblical text in specific historical contexts

Contents

Top Highlights

“Completely apart from ourselves, we should only enter this article and learn what the Man has done for us” (Page 111)

“He also descended into hell so that He might also rescue us from there” (Page 127)

“Indeed, the Holy Spirit comes against the Law and wants to help you out of the Law. Your soul is not to be under death, sin, devil, or Law, but He wants to set you over all laws, and He says that you have forgiveness of sins, ascension, sitting [at the right hand of the Father], ^|and eternal life—all of which He says is yours not because you keep laws or eat olive oil, but because He rose and ascended.” (Pages 8–9)

“Matthew.¹⁵ Luther’s alternating health and illness, and Bugenhagen’s presence and absence” (Page xv)

“Rather, He went out of death and hell again, restored life, and unlocked heaven.” (Page 132)

Praise for the Print Edition

Among the greatest and most prolific theologians of Christian history, Martin Luther still speaks to us today. This 28-volume new series splendidly complements its 55-volume predecessor and offers a treasure-trove of writings never before available in English, writings crucial to understanding Luther’s life, thought, and profound influence throughout the centuries. Offering readable yet reliable translations, well introduced and appropriately annotated, this new series should delight scholars as well as engage laity and clergy.

—Mark U. Edwards, Jr., academic dean, Harvard Divinity School

Luther’s analysis of human life and his proclamation of God’s merciful deliverance of humankind from sin and evil through Christ ring true across the cultural boundaries of time and space. This supplement to the historic edition of the reformer’s writings, completed a quarter century ago, is bringing significant additions to the texts from his pen than are currently available in English. It will also provide English-language reader’s access to documents that aid in understanding Luther’s own life and the development of the Wittenberg Reformation. The volumes are being edited according to the highest academic standards and their introductions and notes offer readers helpful guides to the context and content of the reformer’s writings. Casual readers and those seeking to expand and deepen their knowledge of the Reformation will profit greatly from these carefully translated and edited volumes.

—Robert Kolb, professor emeritus of systematic theology, Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis

Product Details

• Title: Luther’s Works, Volume 57
• Author: Martin Luther
• Series: Luther’s Works
• Volume: 57
• Publisher: Concordia Publishing House
• Print Publication Date: 2016
• Logos Release Date: 2017
• Pages: 375
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible › Criticism, interpretation, etc.--History; Lutheran Church; Theology › Early works to 1800
• Resource ID: LLS:LW57
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-01-07T23:39:42Z

About Martin Luther

Martin Luther (1483–1546), one of the most significant figures in Western history, was a key figure in the Protestant Reformation. Over the course of his life, Luther was a monk, a priest, a professor of biblical literature, a Reformer, a husband, and a father.

Luther is most noted for his Ninety-Five Theses (1517), in which he argued that indulgences were not acts of penance which could replace true repentance. His refusal to retract all his writings, demanded by Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521, resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor.

Luther has been both praised and vilified for what he preached and wrote. Luther’s translation of the Christian Bible into the vernacular greatly influenced the church. His works continue to impact all Christians and animate the movement that bears his name. Luther’s Works (55 vols.) contains many of Luther’s writings, including commentaries, sermons, and lectures.

Sample Pages from Luther's Works, vol. 57: Sermons IV