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Martin Luther
Martin Luther (1483–1546). Born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Saxony (now Germany), to Hans and Margarethe Luther, Martin Luther grew up in a strict Catholic household, his father intent on him becoming a lawyer. After earning a bachelor’s degree in 1501 and a master’s in 1505 at the University of Erfurt, a near-fatal thunderstorm experience led him to vow to St. Anne, entering an Augustinian monastery in 1505. Ordained a priest in 1507, he grappled with spiritual turmoil over sin until finding peace in justification by faith through studying Romans. Appointed professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg in 1512, he earned a doctorate and lectured with deepening conviction. On October 31, 1517, he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the Wittenberg Castle Church door, condemning indulgences and igniting the Protestant Reformation. His works, like On the Freedom of a Christian (1520), challenged papal authority, spreading rapidly and emphasizing salvation by grace through faith alone. Excommunicated by Pope Leo X in 1521 and outlawed at the Diet of Worms, Luther stood firm, protected by Frederick the Wise, and hid at Wartburg Castle, translating the New Testament into German in 1522 to make Scripture accessible. Back in Wittenberg, he preached thousands of sermons, wrote hymns like “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” and penned The Bondage of the Will (1525), defending divine sovereignty. In 1525, he married Katharina von Bora, a former nun, raising six children in a vibrant Christian home, modeling family life. His reforms ended clerical celibacy, simplified worship, and birthed Lutheranism, though his harsh words against Jews and peasants drew criticism. Despite chronic illness, he produced catechisms, a full Bible translation by 1534, and mediated disputes until his death on February 18, 1546, in Eisleben. Luther said, “Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God.”
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Martin Luther emphasizes the importance of focusing on Jesus Christ as the Mediator between God and man, cautioning against delving too deeply into the nature of God which can lead to losing sight of the essential role of Christ in salvation. True Christian theology centers on God's purpose and will in Christ, who came to earth, suffered, and died for our sins, providing a clear focal point for our faith. Luther warns against speculating on God's incomprehensible nature when dealing with sin and righteousness, urging believers to embrace Christ as the only means to access the Father and receive grace and peace.
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Men Should Not Speculate About the Nature of God
The Apostle adds to the salutation the words, “and from our Lord Jesus Christ.” Was it not enough to say, “from God the Father”? It is a principle of the Bible that we are not to inquire curiously into the nature of God. “There shall no man see me, and live,” Exodus 33:20. All who trust in their own merits to save them disregard this principle and lose sight of the Mediator, Jesus Christ. True Christian theology does not inquire into the nature of God, but into God’s purpose and will in Christ, whom God incorporated in our flesh to live and to die for our sins. There is nothing more dangerous than to speculate about the incomprehensible power, wisdom, and majesty of God when the conscience is in turmoil over sin. To do so is to lose God altogether because God becomes intolerable when we seek to measure and to comprehend His infinite majesty. We are to seek God as Paul tells us in I Corinthians 1:23, 24: “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” Begin with Christ. He came down to earth, lived among men, suffered, was crucified, and then He died, standing clearly before us, so that our hearts and eyes may fasten upon Him. Thus we shall be kept from climbing into heaven in a curious and futile search after the nature of God. If you ask how God may be found, who justifies sinners, know that there is no other God besides this man Christ Jesus. Embrace Him, and forget about the nature of God. But these fanatics who exclude our Mediator in their dealings with God, do not believe me. Did not Christ Himself say: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”? Without Christ 16there is no access to the Father, but futile rambling; no truth, but hypocrisy; no life, but eternal death. When you argue about the nature of God apart from the question of justification, you may be as profound as you like. But when you deal with conscience and with righteousness over against the law, sin, death, and the devil, you must close your mind to all inquiries into the nature of God, and concentrate upon Jesus Christ, who says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Doing this, you will recognize the power, and majesty condescending to your condition according to Paul’s statement to the Colossians, “In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” and, “In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Paul in wishing grace and peace not alone from God the Father, but also from Jesus Christ, wants to warn us against the curious incursions into the nature of God. We are to hear Christ, who has been appointed by the Father as our divine Teacher.
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Martin Luther (1483–1546). Born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Saxony (now Germany), to Hans and Margarethe Luther, Martin Luther grew up in a strict Catholic household, his father intent on him becoming a lawyer. After earning a bachelor’s degree in 1501 and a master’s in 1505 at the University of Erfurt, a near-fatal thunderstorm experience led him to vow to St. Anne, entering an Augustinian monastery in 1505. Ordained a priest in 1507, he grappled with spiritual turmoil over sin until finding peace in justification by faith through studying Romans. Appointed professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg in 1512, he earned a doctorate and lectured with deepening conviction. On October 31, 1517, he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the Wittenberg Castle Church door, condemning indulgences and igniting the Protestant Reformation. His works, like On the Freedom of a Christian (1520), challenged papal authority, spreading rapidly and emphasizing salvation by grace through faith alone. Excommunicated by Pope Leo X in 1521 and outlawed at the Diet of Worms, Luther stood firm, protected by Frederick the Wise, and hid at Wartburg Castle, translating the New Testament into German in 1522 to make Scripture accessible. Back in Wittenberg, he preached thousands of sermons, wrote hymns like “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” and penned The Bondage of the Will (1525), defending divine sovereignty. In 1525, he married Katharina von Bora, a former nun, raising six children in a vibrant Christian home, modeling family life. His reforms ended clerical celibacy, simplified worship, and birthed Lutheranism, though his harsh words against Jews and peasants drew criticism. Despite chronic illness, he produced catechisms, a full Bible translation by 1534, and mediated disputes until his death on February 18, 1546, in Eisleben. Luther said, “Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God.”