Martin Luther was a complicated man. He was born to a somewhat upwardly-mobile peasant family, near the end of the fifteenth century in Germany. On his way to becoming a lawyer, he pledged himself to a the monastic life during a fearful lightning storm, and threw himself into this life with gusto, rising quickly in his order. But he remained unsettled, unable to be at peace in the presence of what he was all to sure was a wrathfully just God. His unrest was brought to a head with the selling of indulgences throughout Eurpoe, motivated more by the need to raise money to pay debts and build cathedrals than by anything having to do with sins and forgiveness. This abuse prompted Luther's 95 theses, and began what would become a major thrust for reform on Luther's part, as he sought to bring the church back to a renewed focus on justification by faith. Luther's theological breakthrough was centered around his understanding of the righteousness of God. This had traditionally been understood as God's holiness and perfection, as something that was a attribute of God, but Luther came to see that God's righteousness was also something that God imparted to sinners, through his grace. Sinners could never become holy and righteous on their own, and could never attain God's perfection, but God, through Jesus Christ, imparted his righteousness by grace through faith. It was this realization that prompted Luther's life-long passion for God's gospel message, which he found clearly taught in the scriptures.
There can be no doubt that Luther stands as a major and in fact pivotal figure in the history of theology, as a pioneer of the evangelical movement. It should not be thought, though, that his actions were purely without precedent, for such major reformers as Wycliffe in England and Huss in Bohemia had begun similar movements, and made similar discoveries years before. Yet, it is Luther who survived the eventual wrath of the church establishment, thanks to the local politics of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire at the time, and who gained wide popular support for this "new" evangelical christianity. Luther can also be credited, at least to some degree, with acheiving his original goal of reforming the Roman Catholic Church, for the counter-reformation followed not long after the advent of the Protestant church, both "combating" Luther's reforms, and making others which were long overdue.
The gospel has known few allies as faithful and true as Luther. Christianity in our day, and especially protestant and evangelical Christianity, takes for granted some of the basic understandings that Luther and others fought for. The cornerstone doctrines of justification by faith through grace, the imputed righteousness of God, and the priority of Scripture stem at least in part from Luther's reforms.
There are a number of good resources available on Luther, and his writings are widely available in English. It certainly warrants further study from all who love God and his gospel message of new life and new creation. Of Luther's own writing, a few selections can be recommended. First, Luther's 1535 Commentary on Galatians showcases his gospel focus in a very clear manner, and is worth reading. His earlier writing On the Freedom of a Christain also gives a snapshot of his reform-minded pursuit of truth, and of his development of the theology of the two kingdoms. For a more developed theologicla treatise, On the Bondage of the Will is one of his more developed and reasoned works, as he combats the humanist Erasmus. There are also a number of helpful secondary sources available. Here are a few which merit further study, for those who wish to renew their study of this important prophet of the gospel:
Mannermaa, Tuomo. Christ Present in Faith: Luther's View of Justification. Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 2005.
Mannermaa gives a lively yet carefully thought-out rereading of Luther's Commentary on Galatians in a careful look at how Luther actually understood justification. This book brings back together justificaiton and sanctification, and also broadens the focus from a purely "imputational" one that is often given to Luther. Read a review . . .
Kittelson, James M. Luther The Reformer. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1986.
This is a great and extremely readable biography of Luther's life and work. Kittelson pays great attention to the story of Luther's life, and the events that surrounded and prompted his theology, while at the same time giving careful and insightful consideration to the theological breakthroughs that were central to his life and legacy. I highly recommend this book, because it sheds new light on why Luther is remembered as a reformer of the church, and why we should all realize our debt to him, regardless of denomination.
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