“We are all Beggars”

Reformation Chat Luther's Death St. Paul Wisner NE, West Point Circuit

Rev. Ryan N Seymour St. John Beemer & Zion Bancroft Sunday, February 19, 2017

we are all beggars

Last Word 2 The Galatians Lectures 2 On The Babylonian Captivity 2 On The Freedom of a Christian 2 The Bondage of the Will 2 The Negotiations 2 Luther's Death 2

February 16 2

February 17 2

8:00pm 2

10:00pm 2

February 18 2

1:00am 2

3:00am 2 Final Thoughts 2 Works Cited 2

2 we are all beggars

3 we are all beggars Last Word

The last words of the Dr. Martin Luther were not proclaimed from the elevated pulpit in the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Neither were the last words of this scholarly man written in a treatise defending the Church from heresies or heretics. It was a simple word of faith clinging to the central teaching of not just Luther or the Reformation They are that, but it was a single word of faith clinging to the central teaching of the entire of Scripture. Justification. “Reverand father, are you ready to die trusting in your Lord Jesus Christ and to Confess the doctrine which you have taught in His name?” 1 Simply and clearly Luther said “Ja” or “Yes.” Clinging not to his “new” doctrines but in complete faith in Jesus. Not in his own understanding and wisdom, but simply that he was a sinner justified on account of Christ before God.

As Luther’s life and “career” unfolds, we shall see that this doctrine of Justification by faith in Christ alone is the main driving force of his efforts. All things begin and end with this teaching of Scripture as St. Paul tells us in For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.2 As Luther was given access to the Scriptures, he found the comfort of the Gospel that, in his despair, he was so desperately missing. In the freeing Gospel Word here and all through Scripture, Luther began to understand that there is nothing we can do to stand before a holy God. But on account of Jesus, and Jesus alone, we are given access to heaven as a free gift. This is why indulgences were so appalling to Luther. They took away the trust of the complete efficaciousness of Christ, and left one only doubt which leads to despair. They made it appear that Christ’s work on the Cross, although good, was incomplete.

1 Brecht, Martin. 1999. Martin Luther: the preservation of the church, 1532-1546. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p 376. 2 Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV. 4 we are all beggars Meaning that something more, beyond Christ Jesus sacrificial death, must be done. To which

Luther will write 3 that it is very clear in Scripture that sinners are “justified by faith alone and not any works; for if it could be justified by anything else, it would not need the Word, and consequently it would not need faith.”4

Our time together is covering the majority of Luther’s life as Reformer. After nailing the

95 Thesis on the Church door in Wittenberg, little did this little known monk realize he had not only unleashed the fury of the Pope, but God was using him to uncover and dust off the

Gospel. Following the 95 Thesis, Luther became nearly the lone workhorse of the

Reformation. Lecturing as professor and preaching and writing on both God’s Holy Law and

Holy Gospel. Luther spent a great deal of time as the defender of the Gospel as well. This time in his life, between 1517-1545, Luther was his most productive. The majority of his well known works come from the beginning of this time period. It is beyond our time here to go through all his works and discuss them in any exhaustive way. We will, however, take a look at some of his most important and lasting works. Keeping in mind, that as Luther took on these different endeavors, no matter which hat he wore be it preacher, teacher, or defender of the True Christian faith, he did so with the same goal. To show that sinners are justified by

Christ alone, not by works, not by money, not by popes, not anything else. So that Luther could say “There is only one article and one rule of theology, and this is true faith or trust in

Christ. Whoever doesn’t hold this article and this rule is no theologian. All other articles flow into and out of this one: without it the others are meaningless. The devil has tried from the very beginning to deride this article and to put his own wisdom in its place. However, this

3 All citations, unless otherwise noted, are from the works of Martin Luther are from Luther’s Works. American Edition. 55 vols. Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehman. Philadelphia: Muehlenberg and Fortress, and St. Louis: Concordia, 1955-86. 4 Martin Luther,”The Freedom of a Christian, 1520,” AE 31:346. 5 we are all beggars article has a good savor for all who are afflicted, downcast, troubled, and tempted, and these are the ones who understand the gospel’ 5

The Galatians Lectures

In what Luther often referred to as his Epistle, we find Luther at his best. However,

Luther is a quoted as saying that all his works should be destroyed except, The Bondage of the Will, and the Large and Small Catechisms.6 The opinion of many is that this work on

Galatians should be considered right along with them. He began lecturing on Galatians as early as 1516-17 and this is one of the places where we can see Luther’s understanding and proclaiming of the Gospel grow.7 As he continued to open the Scriptures, God’s Word never ceased to have its way with him. By the time Luther wrote an introduction to the final printed copy of his lectures on Galatians during his life time, he was able to speak these words.

“Therefore I am ashamed to have my poor and feeble comments on this great apostle and chosen instrument of God (Acts 9:15) published. But I am forced to be ashamed of this very shame and to become shameless and bold by infinite and horrible desecration and admonition that have always raged in the church of God and do not stop raging today against that single solid rock which we call the doctrine of justification, namely, that we are redeemed from sin, death, and the devil and endowed with eternal life, not through our selves and certainly not through our works, which are even less than we are

5 Luther, “Table Talk, recorded by John Schlaginhaufen, 1531,1532,” AE54:157. 6 Luther, “Letters,July, 9, 1537,” AE50:172-73. 7 Luther, “Lectures on Galatians, 1519,’ AE27:ix. 6 we are all beggars ourselves, but through the help of Another, the only Son of God, Jesus Christ”8

There is so much that could, should, and has been said about this lectures. But it is beyond the scope of this paper. Let it suffice to leave just a taste of Luther’s insights “First of all, we must speak of the argument, that is, of the issue with which Paul deals in this epistle.

The argument is this: Paul wants to establish the doctrine of faith, grace, the forgiveness of sins or Christian righteousness...” 9 The issue at stake, which Luther fought throughout his

“career” and even died clinging to, is the heart of the Gospel. What Luther will call in the

Smalcald Articles the first and Chief doctrine. Justification, or being called right or righteous before God not on account of anything in us, good works or merit, but entirely and completely by the gift won by Christ Jesus on the Cross and empty tomb, is what the True Church of

Christ stands or falls on. As Luther says at the beginning of this Commentary “In this epistle, therefore, Paul is concerned to instruct, comfort, and sustain us diligently in a perfect knowledge of this most excellent and Christian righteousness. For if the doctrine of justification is lost, the whole Christian doctrine is lost.” 10

Here we see the whole of Luther’s theological identity. Christ alone saves. Nothing helps, adds, or contributes to salvation. It is Christ and Christ alone that saves. This is the crux of Luther. This is what everything flowed from and towards. Salvation by Grace apart from works. Luther did not make this teaching up himself, nor did he boast in his own works and achievements for his salvation, as we read from the introduction to Galatians above, so

8Luther, “Lectures on Galatians, 1519,’ AE27:145. 9 Luther, “Lectures on Galatians, 1535,’ AE26: 4. 10 Luther, “Lectures on Galatians, 1535,’ AE26:9. 7 we are all beggars that he can say with St. Paul 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.11

On The Babylonian Captivity

As Luther became more and more aware of the false, works righteous, religion that was coming from the Pope in Rome he began to show it in this work. Next we will take a look at a requested work from a friend and the secretary of Fredrick the Wise, George Spalatin.

“Babylonian Captivity.” He requested that Luther take up a discussion on the Sacraments and in Luther fashion, based on Scripture, nothing would be the same.

In this work, Luther attacked the Roman understanding of the Sacraments or really what was behind that understanding. Taking a gift from God and making it into a new law.

Taking the medieval number of Sacraments from seven12 down to two. Removing what has no promise in Scripture, and leaving that which does. Holy Baptism and The Lord’s Supper.

Only these are mandated by Christ, have physical elements, and give the promise of the

Forgiveness of sins. As Luther says “Nevertheless, it has seemed proper to restrict the name of sacrament to those promises which have signs attached to them. The remainder, not being bound to signs, are but broken promises. Hence there are, strictly speaking, but two

11 1 Corinthians 1:28-31 - ESV 12 The Medieval Roman Catholic Sacramental system consisted of; Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination, Confession, Lord’s Supper, Extreme Unction. 8 we are all beggars sacraments in the church of God - baptism and the bread. For only in these two do we find both the divinely instituted sign and the promise of forgiveness of sins.”13 Again, showing that

Luther’s concern, as always, is the Gospel. Luther seems to have also taught that Confession and Absolution could be called a sacrament, except as he states it “lacks the divinely instituted visible sign, and is, as I have said, nothing but a way and a return to baptism.”14

This was a direct attack on the Roman Church and the piety of the Medieval people, but Luther was primarily focused on the comfort of sinners. “It is a gift of no small moment to know what has been given us...and with what understanding the gifts are to be used.”15 From this little book, Luther showed the vast difference between the theology he had inherited and the Gospel that was given to him in Scripture. For that was always his be his primary concern.

On The Freedom of a Christian

In what become the last attempt at reconciliation with Pope Leo X, Luther penned a letter and attached it to a work entitled “The Freedom of a Christian.” The letter was soon forgotten, but the little book was not. In this work Luther, yet again and as always, presented the Gospel. Free and clear salvation on account of Jesus alone. Works do not save, nor do they in any way help the soul; “the soul can do without anything except the Word of God and that where the Word of God is missing there is no help at all for the soul. If it has the Word of

13 Luther, Martin. 1986. Three treatises. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. p258. 14 Luther, Three Treatises, 258. 15 Kittelson, Luther, 154. 9 we are all beggars God it is rich and lacks nothing” 16 It is in this work that Luther famously writes “A Christian is perfectly free lord of all, subject to none” and “A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all”17

Luther shows that a Christian has two natures. The Old and the New. The sinner and the Saint. The fleshly and the Spiritual. “Man has a twofold nature, a spiritual and a bodily one....because of this diversity of nature the Scriptures assert contradictory things concerning the same man, since these two men in the same man contradict each other, ‘for the desires of the flesh are agains the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh,’ according to

Gal 5[:17]” 18

In speaking about the “inner or spiritual man,” Luther consistently attributes all things to

Christ. There is no middle ground, no meddling of the man “Therefore it is clear that, as the soul needs only the Word of God for its life and righteousness, so it is justified by faith alone and not any works; for if it could be justified by anything else, it would not need the Word, and consequently it would not need faith” 19

The Bondage of the Will

That sinners can not come to God, but He alone comes to save us is what is behind this next great work of Luther. This was a battle laid down before Luther by a man named

Erasmus. A great well known and respected scholar of his day. He claimed that man has a free will and can chose salvation or deny it. Luther did not respond quickly, but finally 15

16 Luther, “The Freedom of a Christian, 1520,” AE:345. 17 Luther, “The Freedom of a Christian, 1520,” AE:344. 18 Luther, “The Freedom of a Christian, 1520,” AE:344. 19 Luther, “The Freedom of a Christian, 1520,” AE:346 10 we are all beggars months latter, he did. His response has become one of his strongest and most defining works.

“The Bondage of the Will” is Luther unpacking what it means to be fully saved on account of

Christ and Christ alone. He tells Erasmus “I praise and commend you highly, for this also, that unlike all the rest you alone have attacked the real issue, the essence of the matter in dispute, and have not wearied me with irrelevancies about the papacy, purgatory, indulgences, and such like trifles (for trifles that are rather than basic issues), with which almost everyone hitherto has gone hunting for me without success.”20

The problem for Luther, is that Justification is the sole work of God in Christ. To attribute even the smallest of work to anyone or anything else, would take away the full assurance of the Gospel. For if it is true that one is “justified by faith alone and not any works;” than it follows that “if it could be justified by anything else, it would not need the Word, and consequently it would not need faith” 21Once again, Luther shows that he is not concerned with anything except the full assurance of the Gospel. Anything that struck at that issue was wrong and Luther set out to correct it.

Luther’s argument can be summed up in this long quote from this great work:

The words of the law are spoken, therefore, not to

affirm the power of the will, but to enlighten blind

reason and make it see that its own light is no

light and that the virtue of the will is no virtue.

“Through the law,” says Paul, “comes knowledge

20 Luther, “The Bondage of the Will”, AE33:294. 21 Luther, “The Freedom of a Christian, 1520,” AE31:346 11 we are all beggars of sin [Rom.3:20]; he does not say the “abolition”

of “avoidance” of sin. The whole meaning and

purpose of the law is simply to furnish knowledge,

and that of nothing but sin; it is not to reveal or

confer any power, but it instructs and shows that

there is no power there and how great a

weakness there is....That is the passage from

which I drew my reply that by the words of the law

man is warned and instructed as to what he ought

to do, not what he is able to, their purpose is that

he may know his sin, not that he may believe

himself to have any power. Accordingly, my dear

Erasmus, as often as you quote the words of the

law against me, I shall quote Paul’s statement

against you, that through the law comes

knowledge of sin, not virtue in the will.22

Using some of these major works of Luther, and not forgetting the many that have not been covered here, we will move our attention to the close of Luther's earthly life. Here let us see that Luther’s understanding of Justification set him free and allowed him a peaceful and blessèd death. In a far contrast from the Luther that entered the monastery so many years before.

22 Luther, “Bondage of the Will,” AE33:127. 12 we are all beggars

The Negotiations

Dr. Martin Luther, at the old age of 62 lay dying on his death bed. His heart and body giving out. Dr. Luther did not die at his home in Wittenberg comforted by his loving wife, nor did the Lord take him in the midst of performing a great religious act of preaching, or even acting in any pastoral or professor role. Luther is lying on his death bed, in town of Mansfield, the place of his birth and baptism some 62 years before. What has brought the great preacher and reformer of the church to his home town? Property disputes. Not his own, but that of the counts of Mansfield. Luther was there not in any official pastoral capacity, although he did preach 4 times on this journey, and the Magistrates or Electors had not summoned Luther.

But Luther was invited to be the mediator, or arbitrator, between these quarreling brothers.

The Counts had been fighting over the rights of the small lands that they owned. This land, Mansfield, received it’s name because of its small size. So small that a man could ride around it in a single day.23The arguments and fights were over the taxing rights and the burden it caused. Luther, no doubt, became involved partly because of his ties there as a child and partly because these tax burdens began to effect his very brother-in-law.24

Luther had already begun to show signs of his age and was slowing down in his productivity. Not that he was not being productive, but his outpour was no longer at a fevered pace. In November of 1545, Luther finished his lectures on Genesis by saying “Here is the beloved book of Genesis. May God give grace that others after me do better. I can do no more, for I am too weak. Pray to God for me that he will grant me a good and blessed last

23 Kittelson, Luther, 292. 24 Brecht, Luther, 369. 13 we are all beggars moment.” 25 Now all that was left for Luther was one final sermon preached in Wittenberg,five more preaching engagements on this earth, and then he would be blessed with a blessèd death.

It was agreed that Luther would come to mediate the negotiations in December of

1545. He preached, for what would be the last time, from the Castle Church on January 17th.

The text he preached on was Romans 12:3. He used these words of St. Paul to call the hearers to simple faith like a child. Still teaching and preaching the same Gospel.26 Now following this final Wittenberg sermon, Luther begins the journey to mediate this secular dealing. He writes to his wife only a few days into his journey that he was unable to proceed because the river Salle had flooded. Despite being an “Old man, decrepit, sluggish, tired, cold, and now also one eyed” 27 Luther was still full of his humor and wit. He wrote to

Katharina concerning the flooding saying that “A huge female anabaptist met us with waves of water and great floating pieces of ice; she threatened to baptize us again, and has covered the [whole] countryside. But we are also unable to return because of the Middle [River] at

Battlefield, and are forced to stay captive here at Halle between the waters-not that we are thirsty to drink of them. Instead we take good beer from Torgau and good wine from the

Rhine, which we refresh and comfort ourselves in the meantime...”28 This delay was an opportunity for Luther to preach in Halle on the 26th of January, the day following the Festival of the Conversion of St Paul. He used this opportunity to preach on the proper honoring of the saints. That is to “listen in faith to Paul and the Word of God.” Being Luther, he also used this

25 Luther, “Lectures on Genesis 45-50, ” AE8:333. 26 Brecht, Luther, 370-71. 27 Luther, “Letters, January 25, 1546,” AE50:284. 28 Luther, “Letters, January 25, 1546,” AE50:287. 14 we are all beggars opportunity to blast the false practice of Rome’s use of the saints and to criticize the veneration of relics that Albrecht of Meinz had previously endorsed.29

When the river was passable, a large contingent of Horseman came and escorted

Luther to Mansfield. Luther suffered a fainting dizzy spell and in a letter to Katharina he used the opportunity to attack the Jews and blame them for his illness. “Yes, on the way, shortly before Eisleben, I became dizzy. That was my fault. Had you been here, however, you would have said that it was the fault of Jews or their god....But thank God now I am well, except for the fact that beautiful women tempt me so much that I neither care nor worry about becoming unchaste.”30 Luther was able to preach for the last few times upon arriving. He focused on faith in Christ and how that is unique to the Christian religion even comparing it to that of Jews and Turks. On the final Sunday of Luther's life, he took part in the ordination two ministers.31

He concluded his final sermon with these words, “to put away from our eyes all great personages, indeed, shut our eyes altogether, and cling only to Christ’s Word and come to him, as he so lovingly invites us to do, and say: Thou alone art my beloved Lord and Master, I am thy disciple. This and much more might be said concerning this Gospel, but I am too weak and we shall let it go at that.”32

The negotiations were long, tedious, and full of secular matters that Luther had little patience for. In one of the most ironic twists in the great Reformers life, the one that left Law

School for the Monetary, he had grown to despise Lawyers saying they “accomplished little more than to advise Christians (who ought to know better) on how to be selfish in protecting

29 Bracht, Luther, 371. 30 Luther, “Letters,February 1, 1546,” AE50:290-91. 31 Bracht, Luther, 371. 32 Luther, “Sermons,Last Sermon, February 115, 1546,” AE51:392. 15 we are all beggars their own rights and privileges.”33 The negations did come to an end, the day before Luther's death, and it was a success. The counts even agreed to start and share the cost of a school for both boys and girls.34 During the negotiations he was able to attend most of the meetings, nearly every 2-3 days. Now he was able to only attend an hour or so at a time. On the final day of negotiations, February 16th, Luther was not able to attend.35 Following the close of the successful negotiations, Luther then took to the pulpit one final time. He closed his final sermon with these words “Thou alone art my beloved Lord and Master, I am thy disciple. This and much more might be said concerning this Gospel, but I am too weak and we shall let it go at that.”36 concluding Luther’s pastoral work and now his body begins to give out. Luther's Death

In 1537, a false report about Luther’s death began to circulate Italy. No doubt it was cheered by those Luther considered his enemies. When a messenger from the area brought this news to Wittenberg to request a letter of response from the vibrant Luther. The Great

Reformer, received this rumor and request with good humor, responding; “This is an extraordinary request. Never before in my life have I written anything from my grave!” He then sent these words with the emissary “I, Dr. Martin Luther, testify, herewith in my own hand that

I am of one mind with the devil, the pope, and all my enemies, for they wish to rejoice over my death. I begrudge them their joy from the bottom of my heart and would willingly have died in

Smalcald, but God was not yet ready to sanction such joy. He will do this, however, sooner

33 Kittelson, Luther, 295-96. 34 Kittelson, Luther, 296. 35 Brecht, Luther, 372-73. 36 Luther, “Sermons,Last Sermon, February 115, 1546,” AE51:392. 16 we are all beggars than they think, and it will be their misfortune, for they will say, ‘Would that Luther were still alive!’ This is a transcript in German, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew from my grave.”37

That time did come, 9 years after that very statement and some 20 years following the nailing of the ninety-five Thesis. Luther nearly comes down from the pulpit straight into his death bed. What follows is a close retelling of the last hours of Dr. Luther’s life as told by his friends and colleagues that were with him.

February 16

Concluding the successful meetings by preaching on Matthew 11:25-30 abruptly ending the sermon with the words “This and much more might be said concerning this Gospel, but I am too weak and we shall let it go at that.”38 He then spent the last 2 days of his life in the room given to him by the counts in the town of his birth and baptism.39

At some unknown time this day, Luther wrote his last known words and placed them into his pocket. It was not found until after his death. “We are all beggars, this is true” were on this slip of paper inside his pocket. Not surprising that Luther last words again professed that greatest of comforts that God through Jesus Christ has done all the work. That we sinner can do nothing to earn or deserve His eternal gifts so He must freely give them to us as one would give money to a beggar on the corner.40

February 17

On Luther’s last full day on earth he did not leave his room except for dinner that evening. During which death must have been on his mind because the discussion turned to

37 Luther, “Table Talk recorded by Anthony Lauterbach and Jerome Weller, 1536-1537” AE54:238-39. 38 Kittelson, Luther, 296-97. 39 Kittelson, Luther, 297. 40 Kittelson, Luther, 297. 17 we are all beggars death with friends and colleagues. Death must have been on their minds as well because a question was raised wondering if those in heaven would recognize each other. To which

Luther thought that those saved for all eternity would know each other there, spiritually, more that Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before their fall into sin.41

8:00pm

Following dinner and discussion, and Luther’s usual nightcap of red wine, he returned to his room for his regular nightly 8pm prayers. Luther’s custom was to stand by an open window and pray out loud. Those that accompanied him would hear his prayers and this night was no different. Around this time Luther experienced great pain in his chest. Following this he was laid on a day bed just outside of the bedchamber. Where he was able to fall asleep for an hour or two.42

10:00pm

At 10pm Luther awoke with severe pain in his chest and requested to be laid in the bed chamber. At this time Luther commended his spirit to God by reciting Psalm 31:5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. Luther then urged those gathered to comfort him to pray, “for our Lord God and His gospel, that all might be well with him, for the Council of Trent and the accursed pope are very angry with him.”43 Luther then appears to have slept until soon after midnight on the 18th. Any of those gathered around him now gathered holding a vigil as the Reformer moved closer and closer the his reward won for him in Christ.

41 Brecht, Luther, 375. 42 Brecht, Luther, 375. 43 Brecht, Luther, 376. 18 we are all beggars

February 18

Now the final day, or more correctly hours of Luther’s earthly life. He clung ever so tightly to Christ and His promises. He repeated John 3:16 and Psalm 31:5 many time in this last hour of him being awake and responsive.

1:00am

Another great attack of pain woke Luther as he cried out “Oh, dear Lord God. My pain is so great! Oh, dear Dr. Jonas, I am certain that I am certain that I will remain here in

Eislaben where I was born and baptized”44 Luther may have known that he would not return to Wittenberg or to see his wife again, but here only hours from heaven, did he finally arrive at this certainty. The host and the hosts wife, a few doctors along with friend and fellow pastor

Justus Jonas and the city pastor Michael Coelius came to Luther’s side and remained until his final breath. During this time Luther spoke some of his last words praying thanksgiving to God the Father that He revealed His son to him “whom I believed, whom I have loved, whom I have preached, confessed, and praised, whom the pope and all the godless revile and blaspheme.”45

3:00am

As the clock neared 3am on the 18th of February 1546, Dr. Martin Luther was at the edge of the promised land. Pastors Jonas and Coelius cried out to him “Reverand father, are

44 Kittelson, Luther, 297. 45 Brecht, Luther, 376 19 we are all beggars you ready to die trusting in your Lord Jesus Christ and to Confess the doctrine which you have taught in His name?”46 Simply and clearly, Luther said “Ja” or “Yes.”

Dr. Luther never fell from the grace of God because he clung to Christ and not his own works or accomplishments. Following Luther’s death, there was a funeral where he died at St.

Andrews in Eislaben, a funeral in Halle at St. Mary’s Church, and then 2 days later after arriving back at Wittenberg there was another funeral. Each of the preachers, Jonas, Coelius, and Bugenhagen all preached about, not Luther’s earned place in heaven, but on his rewarded place in heaven all on account of Christ’s victory. Here is a portion from the beginning of the first sermon preached after Luther’s death.

Dr. Justus Jonas funeral sermon47

“Dr. Martin Luther also possessed many other eminent gifts. He was an extremely powerful orator. Particularly, he was a most able interpreter of the entire Bible. Even the officials of the court have, in part, learned from him to speak and write pure German. For he has restored the German language, so that the people again read and write the German language correctly, as many in the higher ranks of society are compelled to acknowledge and testify. How eloquent a man, and eminent a writer. Dr. Martin Luther was, we often learn from little things, as from his letters. However, his numerous books and other writings sufficiently prove it. The master is known by his work. Of his extraordinary natural talents I will say nothing, only I will refer all God-fearing and devout Christians to his books, postils, and commentaries for proof They will learn from them what an eminent orator, preacher, and bishop they have had in him. Would to God Germany had many such men and bishops, for she needs them much. Dr. Martin Luther also possessed, in large measure, the grace of God, the illumination of the Holy Ghost,

46 Brecht, Luther, 376. 47 from a scan of the book Two Funeral Sermons on the Death of Martin Luther found at https://archive.org/stream/cu31924029250467#page/n3/mode/2up sermon by Justus Jonas 20 we are all beggars and the true knowledge of God and Christ. These gracious gifts were not permitted to decline in him, but he increased them daily, by the diligent use of the holy divine Scriptures, their careful study, and the devout reading of them for forty years. He was well acquainted with the entire Bible, which he read through so many times that the whole was clear to his mind. This habit the good, dear man, pursued steadily from his 24th until his 63d year, and until he died.”

Final Thoughts

There has not been an attempt here to begin to mention all the works of Luther let alone even all his most influential works. The goal was to show that the Gospel permeated and predicated

Luther’s life and work giving him comfort unto the end. There has not been a direct mention of Law and Gospel, perhaps the greatest contribution Luther gave to the understanding of Scripture. Nor has there been a mention of the Bible as translated into German, the common language of his day.

As for the Law and Gospel, although not directly mentioned it does permeate from all Luther wrote and preached. It is as important as his understanding and teaching of Justification and what is the driving force behind his debate with Erasmus in “The Bondage of the Will.” It really could be seen as the same teaching as Justification. For the Law shows that all fall short of the glory of God while the gospel follows proclaiming that at the same time all those who believe, though sinners, are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.48

It may have be surprising that someone who seemed to have so much to say for so many years, died with a simple “yes” in his mouth. But Luther’s “yes,” was the confession of a sinner

Justified not by a lifetime of work and not by a great Christian that found confidence in anything he had done or taught. This “yes,” though a simple one syllable word, was the great confession that

Luther knew and trusted in what Jesus had done for him.

48 Romans 3:23-24. ESV 21 we are all beggars As Luther sat around the table in his home many years before his death discussing the “re- discovery” of the Gospel, he said:“I soon came to the conclusion that if we, as righteous men, ought to live form faith and if the righteousness of God should contribute to the salvation of all who believe, then salvation won’t be our merit but God’s mercy. My spirit was thereby cheered. For it’s by the righteousness of God that we’re justified and saved through Christ. These words [which had before terrified me] now became more pleasing to me. The Holy Spirit unveiled the Scriptures to me in the tower.”49

How perfectly fitting that after Luther’s death, was found to have written a small note and placed it into his pocket. On that letter he summed up his theology and that which he “discovered” in that “tower experience.” Here we let Luther have the final word:

No one can understand Vergil in his Bucolics and

Georgics unless he has first been a shepherd or a

farmer for five years.

No one can understand Cicero in his letters unless he

has engaged in public affairs of some consequence

for twenty years.

Let nobody suppose that he has tasted the Holy

Scriptures sufficiently unless he has ruled over the

churches with the prophets for a hundred years.

Therefore there is something wonderful, first, about

49 Luther, “Table Talk, recorded by Conrad Cordatus, 1532-1533” AE54:193-94 22 we are all beggars John the Baptist; second, about Christ; third, about

the apostles.

Lay not your hand on this divine Aeneid; bow before

it, adore its every trace.

“We are beggars: this is true.”50

50 Luther, “Table Talk, recorded by Jerome Besfold, 1544,” AE54:476. 23 we are all beggars Works Cited

Brecht, Martin. Martin Luther: the preservation of the church, 1532-1546. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999.

Kittelson, James M. Luther the reformer: the story of the man and his career. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1986.

Luther, Martin. 1986. Three treatises. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

Luther, Martin. Lectures on Genesis, Chapters 45-50. Trans. Jaroslav Pelikan. Vol. 8. St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 1966. Print.

---. “Lectures on Galatians, 1535.” in vol. 26 of Luther’s Works, American Edition. 55 vols. Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehman. Philadelphia: Muehlenberg and Fortress, and St. Louis: Concordia, 1955-86.

---. “Lectures on Galatians, 1535 and 1519.” in vol. 27 of Luther’s Works, American Edition. 55 vols. Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehman. Philadelphia: Muehlenberg and Fortress, and St. Louis: Concordia, 1955-86.

---. “The Freedom of a Christian, 1520.” in vol. 31 of Luther’s Works, American Edition. 55 vols. Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehman. Philadelphia: Muehlenberg and Fortress, and St. Louis: Concordia, 1955-86.

---. “The Bondage of the Will, 1525.” Pages 5-295 in vol. 33 of Luther’s Works, American Edition. 55 vols. Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehman. Philadelphia: Muehlenberg and Fortress, and St. Louis: Concordia, 1955-86.

---. “Letters. vol III, 1531-1546.” in vol. 50 of Luther’s Works, American Edition. 55 vols. Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehman. Philadelphia: Muehlenberg and Fortress, and St. Louis: Concordia, 1955-86.

---. “The Last Sermon, Preached in Eislaben, Matt. 11:25-30, February 15, 1546.” in vol. 51 of Luther’s Works, American Edition. 55 vols. Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehman. Philadelphia: Muehlenberg and Fortress, and St. Louis: Concordia, 1955-86.

---. “Table Talk, 1531-1544.” in vol. 54 of Luther’s Works, American Edition. 55 vols. Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehman. Philadelphia: Muehlenberg and Fortress, and St. Louis: Concordia, 1955-86.

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