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Luther’s Works, Volume 45

Publisher:
, 1962
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Overview

In the eleven treatises comprising this volume, it is of extraordinary interest to note how the foremost exponent of evangelical ethics interprets the dictates of love in the concrete circumstances of his time. A Christian's behavior is determined more by the situation in which he finds himself than by any fixed and final ethical formulations or codes of moral conduct.

Top Highlights

“If this were not so, men would devour one another, seeing that the whole world is evil and that among thousands there is scarcely a single true Christian. No one could support wife and child, feed himself, and serve God. The world would be reduced to chaos. For this reason God has ordained two governments: the spiritual, by which the Holy Spirit produces Christians and righteous people under Christ; and the temporal, which restrains the un-Christian and wicked so that—no thanks to them—they are obliged to keep still and to maintain an outward peace.” (Volume 45, Page 91)

“No Christian shall wield or invoke the sword for himself and his cause. In behalf of another, however, he may and should wield it and invoke it to restrain wickedness and to defend godliness.” (Volume 45, Page 103)

“Fourth. All who are not Christians belong to the kingdom of the world and are under the law. There are few true believers, and still fewer who live a Christian life, who do not resist evil and indeed themselves do no evil. For this reason God has provided for them a different government beyond the Christian estate and kingdom of God. He has subjected them to the sword so that, even though they would like to, they are unable to practice their wickedness, and if they do practice it they cannot do so without fear or with success and impunity.” (Volume 45, Page 90)

“What if a prince is in the wrong? Are his people bound to follow him then too? Answer: No, for it is no one’s duty to do wrong; we must obey God (who desires the right) rather than men [Acts 5:29]. What if the subjects do not know whether their prince is in the right or not? Answer: So long as they do not know, and cannot with all possible diligence find out, they may obey him without peril to their souls.” (Volume 45, Pages 125–126)

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  1. Glenn Crouch

    Glenn Crouch

    2/23/2021

    This is a fine collection of Luther’s writings, that give great insight into his pastoral heart as he aims to stay true the Scriptures and deal with the messiness of life. We have Luther tackling such things as Marriage, Education, Economics, Social Justice, Family and more. If you have some knowledge of what life was like in the 1520s in Northern Europe, then you can also get the feel for how radical Luther was when it came to every day life. We see in his arguments about Education, that he was a strong advocate of a good education (Languages, the Bible, History, Music and even Mathematics) for ALL children - including young girls. He also argued that this should be provided by the community so that it would be available to all - and because it would benefit all. We see that his understanding of good Economics is far different from our approach to Finance and Marketing. Luther is no Capitalist but neither is he a Socialist (and of course neither term is appropriate for the 1520s) - but it is his reasoning behind how wealth should be made that makes me think that the system he proposes would be a pretty good one to live under... We also see his arguments for Marriage, his arguments for obeying your Parents - and what happens when these two collide - in the last treatise in this volume. Highly recommended volume! Now onto vol 46!
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