Luther’s “Three Treatises”: Still Relevant After 500 Years
Three years ago we commemorated the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther famously presented his 95 Theses, a group of arguments aimed against the practice of selling indulgences. However, in the years that followed, Luther’s polemics against the Catholic Church expanded beyond the issue of indulgences and on to more foundational matters of theology.
Throughout 1518 and into 1519, Luther’s popularity grew and he participated in multiple public disputations. In 1519, Luther debated Johann Eck, a formidable Catholic theologian from Ingolstadt who would become one of the most ardent opponents of the Reformation. Within this debate, Eck successfully forced Luther to reckon with the logical conclusions of his developing theology. While Luther had directly attacked indulgences, his arguments had opened the door to a full blown rejection of the papacy. Eck drew this out and even forced Luther to speak sympathetically about Jan Hus, a convicted heretic who had been burned by the Council of Constance about 100 years earlier.
After these tumultuous debates, Luther published a series of important tracts in 1520. Three of these tracts, often published together, have a special importance: To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and The Freedom of a Christian. These treatises, written just before Luther was officially excommunicated from the Catholic Church, demonstrate his growing theology, his disgust at the corruption of the church, and his burgeoning understanding of the relationship between ecclesiastical and secular power.
In To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther writes to noblemen (as opposed to clergymen) in order to enlist their help to reform the church and society. Drawing on the precedent of Constantine (a layman and emperor) calling the Council of Nicaea, Luther urges the German nobles to call a council for the purpose of reforming the church. He details the ways in which the funds of poor Germans are looted by the Catholic clergy and sent back to Rome. Luther calls on the nobles to punish such practices and lays out various proposals for reform.
In The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, Luther focuses upon the theology of the sacraments. He explains that within the Scriptures one can only find two sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper), yet he desires to retain a reformed version of the sacrament of penance. He gives Scriptural support for dismissing the so-called sacraments of confirmation, marriage, ordination, and extreme unction, yet he does not necessarily dismiss those practices altogether.
Finally, in The Freedom of a Christian, Luther strikes a much more conciliatory tone while seeking to demonstrate that Christians are free from man-made, papal laws. Yet, they are not free to disobey Christ. Drawing on his themes from the earlier treatises, Luther longs to see Christians obedient to Christ, even if that obedience is at odds with accepted Catholic practice.
While much more could be said about these treatises, there are three important emphases from Luther that can be especially helpful to us today.
The Importance of Personal Faith
Within these three treatises, Luther’s emphasis upon personal faith is profound. A common problem that he has with the Roman Catholic Church is the fact that their official practices foster works-based view of salvation. Within The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, Luther frequently explains the reality that the sacraments are useless without personal faith. He explains: “Let this irrefutable truth stand fast: Where there is a divine promise, there everyone must stand on his own feet; his own personal faith is demanded, he will give an account for himself and bear his own load.” (168)*
Both Baptism and the Supper are effective in a Christian’s life only when accompanied by faith. Rather than finding solace or absolution in the manner by which one performs an act of penance, or the nature of the priest who performs the mass, Luther desires his readers to approach the sacraments in faith.
Another problem that Luther sees inhibiting the growth of faith is the desire to perform great deeds for the Lord. In his day, this often took the form of long pilgrimages to holy sites, the purchase of indulgences, or the veneration of a religious relic. Luther realizes that this focus upon extraordinary works has caused many Christians to shun the life of simple faith. Rather than seeking to do extraordinary works, Luther says, “Let him stay at home in his own parish church and be content with the best; his baptism, the gospel, his faith, his Christ, and his God, who is the same God everywhere.” (79)
Luther’s emphasis on personal faith was a needed reminder in his own day and is a helpful word to us now. Are we not still often tempted to measure our standing before God by our work? Are we not often tempted to seek spiritual experience or validation outside of our local church? Let us remember the vast importance of faith. Let us be content in our local churches with the ordinary means of grace that God has provided.
2. The Priesthood of All Believers
Just as Luther is famous for “rediscovering” the doctrine of justification by faith alone, he is also know for promoting the priesthood of all believers. After the disastrous Peasant’s War in the mid-1520’s Luther began to qualify this doctrine. He saw first hand its potential to upend the social order and sought to mitigate these effects. However, in 1520 his primary opponent was the Roman Catholic Church, not “radicals” (as Luther would call them) seeking to overthrow society.
In To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther candidly expresses his understanding of this doctrine. In doing so, he calls on the nobles to stand up for the Christian faith and oppose the immoral practices of the papacy. He consistently reminds them of their baptism, arguing that they and the clergy, upon whom they ought to implement reform, are equal before God.
He makes similar points in The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. Since all Christians are equal before God, Luther warns those wishing to go into ministry to do so out of a desire/calling to preach the gospel, not in order to gain some special standing before God. He says, “I advise no one to enter any religious order or the priesthood…unless he is forearemed with this knowledge and understands that the works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they may be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field…but that all works are measured before God by faith alone.” (202-203)
This once again is a helpful reminder for us today. Luther does not frame his doctrine of the priesthood of all believers in order to lessen the responsibilities of those called to ministry. Rather, he seeks to show that all Christians are called to ministry and all have the responsibilities of priests. The nobleman, the laborer, and the pope will all stand before God. They are equal before God and will all be called to account for their faith and their obedience to the Scriptures.
3. The Freedom (and Difficulty) or True Obedience
At the beginning of On the Freedom of the Christian, Luther explains that he has set out to prove the following truths: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” (277)
These seemingly paradoxical truths are expounded throughout all three of Luther’s treatises. He uses Scripture to prove the reality that a Christian is free from the yoke of Roman Catholic ceremonies/rules that add to Scripture. However, in following the teachings of Christ, a Christian will find him or herself “subject to all.” Christians ought to be known by their self-sacrifice and their good deeds performed without compulsion!
It has been discussed above that Luther despises the notion of doing extra biblical works in an effort to gain merit before God. In this same vein, he helpfully shows the folly in seeking to be obedient on our own terms, saying: “Nobody wants to walk in the straight path of God’s commandments common to all of us. Everybody invents new ways and vows for himself as if he had already fulfilled all of God’s commandments.” (60)
It is for this reason that Luther wished to see church reform. He understands the difficulty of simple obedience! Why add unbiblical ideas and extra commands? Within the Scriptures alone there is plenty to keep us busy for a lifetime! Christians are free from man-made laws, but subject to all that God commands. In Christ there is both perfect freedom and humble submission.
These themes barely scratch the surface of what one could learn from these treatises. Therefore, I encourage Christians to read Luther for themselves! Within just these three (relatively short) treatises you will surely find things you find helpful, things you find perplexing, and things you find downright wrong! That is ok! Luther’s consistent emphasis on the importance of faith and on the grace of God are sure to give comfort and peace to all Christians, even those who may disagree with him.
On this Reformation Day, 500 years since the publication of these treatises, I encourage you to read them for yourself! You will be both convicted and encouraged!
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*All quotes come from “Three Treatises,” published by Fortress Press. Each translation is directly from the American Edition of Luther’s Works.
