The Freedom of a Christian

In 1520 Martin Luther put to print three key works of the Reformation. They were The Address to the German Nobility, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and The Freedom of the Christian. The first two I have yet to read, but the last one I’ve now read three times. And it was only upon this third reading recently that I’ve begun to understand what Luther was after and how important this work was (and even still is). And I found myself praying in line with Elisha’s request to Elijah, “O Lord, give me a double portion of that man’s spirit!” (2 Kgs. 2:9). That is, of Luther’s.

In this tract, dedicated to Pope Leo X by Luther “as a token of peace and good hope,” Luther makes a bold claim. He says to Leo X: “It is a small book if you regard its size. Unless I am mistaken, however, it contains the whole of Christian life in a brief form, provided you grasp its meaning” (343). The whole of the Christian life? That is bold. The work is only about thirty-five pages in the American edition of Luther’s Works (vol. 31, Career of the Reformer: I).

Luther sets down two propositions in this little book, he says, “for the unlearned—for only them do I serve” (344). They are these: 

A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.
A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.

What follows in this tract is stirring stuff for faith. And so I highly commend it to your faith. And I urge you to read it more than once as well. I, for my part, shall doubtless read it again and again from time to time. There is so much foundational doctrinal matter upon which to build one’s life. And it’s only been with the addition of some years in the faith that I’ve begun to grasp something of the power of Luther’s points. No one will agree with Luther on all of his exegesis. But no one should read Luther for careful, meticulous exegesis. Read Calvin for that. Read good modern commentaries for that. But for bold spirited formulation of some of the big guns of our religious weaponry, Luther is tops, perhaps without peer regarding the doctrines of faith.

You may purchase vol. 31 of Luther's Works at amazon. Or you may read another translation for free online here, parts 1, 2, and 3, under the heading Concerning Christian Liberty.