Luther on the Christian Life: Cross and Freedom (Theologians on the Christian Life)

by Carl R. Trueman

Publisher:

Crossway

, 2015

Overview

Martin Luther’s historical significance can hardly be overstated. Known as the father of the Protestant Reformation, Luther has had an enormous impact on Western Christianity and culture. In Luther on the Christian Life, historian Carl Trueman introduces readers to the lively reformer, taking them on a tour of his historical context, theological system, and approach to the Christian life. Whether exploring Luther’s theology of protest, ever-present sense of humor, or misunderstood view of sanctification, this book will help modern readers go deeper in their spiritual walk by learning from one of the great teachers of the faith.

Contents

Top Highlights

“In the medieval understanding, justification was a process of growing righteous via the impartation of Christ’s righteousness connected to the infusion of grace via the sacramental ministry of the church.” (Page 67)

“In fact, Luther and his world are deeply alien to the sensibilities of modern evangelicalism. Luther’s piety was rooted in the gathering of the church, in the Word preached more than the Word read, and in the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.” (Page 23)

“It was never transubstantiation that he found so obnoxious in the medieval sacrament; it was the implication of sacrifice, of offering something to God, that was so disturbing to him.” (Page 33)

“Too often theologians are treated as if they were simply abstract collections of ideas. Luther was a man of real flesh and blood; he was a son, a priest, a pastor, a preacher, a politician, a controversialist, a professor, a husband, a father, a drinking companion, a humorist, a depressive, a man who was to stand more than once at the grave of one of his beloved children. He baptized babies, performed marriages, heard confessions, presided at funerals. All of these things shaped his theology. Indeed, he wrote theology from the position of being immersed in the mucky reality of everyday life.” (Page 26)

“Arguably, this is the moment when the Reformation truly began in earnest, for it was then that the implications of Luther’s otherwise piecemeal attacks on indulgences and theological method became clear. If Luther was right, if humility was the key to salvation, then the whole medieval system needed to be rejected, and the papacy was wrong. Leipzig made this clear, along with the fact that there was no middle ground.” (Page 42)

Product Details

• Title: Luther on the Christian Life: Cross and Freedom
• Author: Carl R. Trueman
• Series: Theologians on the Christian Life
• Publisher: Crossway
• Print Publication Date: 2015
• Logos Release Date: 2016
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Luther, Martin, 1483-1546; Christian life; Theology of the cross
• ISBNs: 9781433525025, 9781433525049, 9781433525063, 9781433525100, 143352502X, 1433525046, 1433525062, 1433525100
• Resource ID: LLS:LTHRCHRSTNCFRDM
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:22:25Z

About Carl R. Trueman

Carl R. Trueman is pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Ambler, Pennsylvania. He has received degrees from St. Catharine’s College in Cambridge and the University of Aberdeen. Trueman is also professor of historical theology and church history and Paul Wooley Chair of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary. He has authored several books and was editor of Themelios from 1998–2007.