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Introduction
Two utterly fascinating Luther sites are the study at Wartburg Castle and the study in the Black Cloister in Wittenberg. The setting at the Wartburg could not be more impressive. Perched high atop a mountain, the medieval Wartburg Castle overlooks the town of Eisenach. The castle was built to impress—and it does. The particular room Luther used as his study at the Wartburg is considerably more modest. A simple chair complements an unobtrusive desk. An elephant vertebra functions as a footrest. Luther spent several months here as a “guest” after his staged kidnapping. Tourists would immediately pass this room by—were it not for the one who occupied it and for what that occupant accomplished in a few short months’ time.
The effect is similar with the Augustinian Black Cloister at Wittenberg. The city of Wittenberg does not fail to impress, and the cloister, another medieval structure, commands attention. The study, however, is modest. Simply furnished and appointed, this room, too, would be passed by, were it not for what Luther accomplished in this place. Here, rather than a few months as at the Wartburg, Luther spent decades.
One could not overestimate the significance of these two studies and of the significance of the legacy of Martin Luther. If you could identify “command central” of the Reformation, you could do little better than name these two rooms, especially Luther’s study in Wittenberg. What happened in these two studies changed the course of history.
Five hundred years after Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, his legacy continues. However, he did far more than write and post the Ninety-Five Theses. He lent roughly thirty years of his life to the cause of the Reformation. He wrote tract after tract, reams of letters, treatises, volumes of sermons—a virtual torrent of literature. He trained thousands of students over the length of his career as a professor and preached several thousand sermons over his career as a pastor. Men trained at Wittenberg took the Reformation with them to faraway places. His hymns continue to reverberate around the world, in languages that the German monk never knew. The German Bible also needs to be considered. Luther worked on the New Testament while at the Wartburg. Later, at Wittenberg, there came the German translation of the Old Testament. Today, Luther’s translation still leads German speaking people to the words of eternal life.
The legacy of Martin Luther is vast and varied. This book offers an attempt to summarize that legacy. The chapters in the book form what is intended to be a “one-stop shop” for those who are interested in Martin Luther. It is written for those who may have little knowledge of him and also for those who know him fairly well.
The chapters have been grouped under three categories:
Part One: Luther’s Life
Part Two: Luther’s Thought
Part Three: Luther’s Legacy
Four chapters unpack Luther’s life. The first, by Stephen J. Nichols, looks at the events leading up to the crucial moment of October 31, 1517, as well as the immediate events after the posting of the Ninety-Five Theses. Chapter two covers the initial, formative decade of the Reformation. Steven J. Lawson looks at the 1520s, a very full decade for Luther.
The Luther films of 1953 and 2003 end with the Diet of Augsburg and the Augsburg Confession. But Luther continued to live and work after that event. His wearied body grew old and he suffered much in his later life. Yet, he remained faithful. David B. Calhoun helps us not to miss these later years of Luther’s life. Finally, Joel R. Beeke rounds out this section by looking at Luther the family man. Here we see Luther living his theology in plain view.
Part Two: Luther’s Thought uses the five Reformation solas to summarize
Luther’s work and writings. Michael S. Horton starts with the foundational Reformation plank of sola Scriptura and explores Luther’s doctrine of Scripture. Luther returned to the doctrine of Scripture throughout his life and writings. This chapter pulls all of this thought together in a succinct fashion. In chapter six, Guy Prentiss Waters looks at the central doctrine of justification by faith alone. Sola fide summarizes the heart of Luther’s reforming efforts. Sadly, this doctrine is under attack today. This chapter offers not only a helpful historical look, but also looks to the present. Sinclair B. Ferguson continues to expound Luther’s thoughts on salvation in chapter seven. He helps us see that we battle daily in our Christian lives, but we battle in the resources of our union with Christ. We live this life by grace. W. Robert Godfrey next focuses our attention on a topic very close to Luther, the doctrine of the church. In chapter eight, we see how the Reformation plank of solus Christus leads us to consider the church. Part two concludes with Gene Edward Veith’s discussion of Luther’s contributions to vocation. Vocation, according to Luther, is tantamount to loving and serving our neighbor. This is doctrine applied to life. In fact, Luther shows us a lived theology.
Part Three: Luther’s Legacy looks at the variety of his work and
contributions, as well as offering a sketch of his legacy through the centuries. Aaron Clay Denlinger looks at Luther as a biblical scholar and his work in biblical studies in chapter ten. This chapter also gives significant attention to Luther’s translation of the Bible into German. Luther did not act alone. Scott M. Manetsch helps us see Luther among the other Reformers in chapter eleven. This chapter explores the friendships and the tensions Luther shared with his contemporaries and colleagues. Sean Michael Lucas leads us through the maze of the legacy of Luther in the Lutheran church. Chapter twelve starts with Luther’s relationship to Philip Melanchthon and engages the various controversies after Luther’s death.
Luther was almost as much of a musician as he was a theologian. He not only loved music, but left behind a legacy of hymns and started the project of Protestant hymnody. Terry Yount treats us to this aspect of Luther’s legacy in chapter thirteen. Chapter fourteen turns to Luther in the pulpit. Derek W.H. Thomas shows how the sermon was central to the Reformation and how central Luther was in the development of preaching in the Reformation. In Luther’s preaching, we see theological conviction and evangelistic zeal. That kind of preaching led to reformation and transformation in the sixteenth century. It can do the same for the twenty-first century.
This walk through Luther’s life, thought, and legacy ends with reflections by R.C. Sproul. Here we see a pastor-theologian reflecting on the influence of a pastor-theologian. We are reminded, or perhaps we learn for the first time, how deeply pastoral Luther’s concerns were. The posting of the Ninety-Five Theses was not a purely academic exercise. The theses were motivated by deeply felt pastoral concern, as were the rest of Luther’s writings and efforts.
Luther was used of God five centuries ago. Of course, he would be the first to remind us that he did nothing. He stepped aside and let the Word do it all. And so we find the takeaway of these chapters and of this book. In Luther, we find the example of one who stood upon the convictions of God’s Word. We see the example of one who ran everything, every single prevailing notion of his day, through the grid of God’s Word. The result was a revolution, a Reformation. The result was a legacy that continues five centuries later. The moral of this story is clear. If the church today also stands confidently upon the convictions of God’s Word, if the church today also runs everything through the grid of God’s Word, then God may bless our work with faithfulness and bless our legacy with fruitfulness, too. I suspect Luther would have such aspirations for this tribute to him and for those who read this book.
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isa. 55:10–11)