Skip to main content

Luther on the Christian Life - A Review by David Luy

Posted at Reformation 21:

Carl R. Trueman. Luther on the Christian Life: Cross and Freedom.
Theologians of the Christian Life. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015. 224pp. $14.99/£11.99

It is not immediately obvious to many Christians that Martin Luther has much that is interesting or helpful to say about the Christian life. Indeed, the Luther of popular lore comes across as a man so positively intoxicated by the doctrine of justification, that he couldn't quite muster any enthusiasm for holiness and discipleship. Within contemporary theological discussion, Luther serves all too often (whether positively or negatively) as the rallying banner for a mode of Christianity within which the doctrines of grace deliberately exclude any and all practical consideration for how Christians should actually live. A book on the Christian life with this version of Luther as its protagonist would necessarily be brief and uninspiring.

Carl Trueman's recent book, Luther on the Christian Life: Cross and Freedom casts a very different picture. To be sure, Trueman's Luther remains a theologian intoxicated by the doctrines of grace and deeply suspicious of the subtle tendency for talk of holiness to lapse into self-righteousness. And yet, Luther remains for Trueman a source of uniquely concrete and lively spiritual counsel. "As a theologian who was also a pastor," the author writes, "[Luther] was continually wrestling with how his theological insights connected to the lives and experiences of the people under his care" (p.25). What is more, Luther writes as one who knows rather acutely what it is like down in the trenches of daily discipleship. Luther has something to offer us, because "he wrote theology from the position of being immersed in the mucky reality of everyday life" (p.26).

Read more here...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Imprisonment of John Bunyan

Compiled by Angela Wittman, editor Image from Wikipedia John Bunyan ( /ˈbʌnjən/ ; baptised 30 November 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher [1] best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress . In addition to The Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan wrote nearly sixty titles, many of them expanded sermons . Bunyan came from the village of Elstow , near Bedford . He had some schooling and at the age of sixteen joined the Parliamentary army during the first stage of the English Civil War . After three years in the army he returned to Elstow and took up the trade of tinker , which he had learned from his father. He became interested in religion after his marriage, attending first the parish church and then joining the Bedford Meeting, a nonconformist group in Bedford, and becoming a preacher. After the restoration of the monarch , when the freedom of nonconformists was curtailed, Bunyan was arrested and spent the ne

Covenant: What is Reformed Theology? with R.C. Sproul

Presented by Ligonier Ministries (YouTube) Description: Are we as Christians saved by works, or by faith alone? The key to understanding what part works and faith play in the drama of redemption is to understand the biblical structure and role of covenants. Without a proper understanding of covenants we fail to grasp the grandeur of Christ’s life and work. In this message, Dr. Sproul gives us the covenantal framework of redemption that finds full resolution in the work of Christ. Direct Link:  Covenant: What is Reformed Theology? with R.C. Sproul - YouTube

C.H. Spurgeon: 'What of My House'

Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house — Acts 16:31 This gospel for a man with a sword at his throat is the gospel for me. This would suit me if I were dying, and it is all that I need while I am living. I look away from self, and sin, and all idea of personal merit, and I trust the LORD Jesus as the Savior whom God has given. I believe in Him, I rest on Him, I accept Him to be my all in all. LORD, I am saved, and I shall be saved to all eternity, for I believe in Jesus. Blessed be Thy name for this. May I daily prove by my life that I am saved from selfishness, and worldliness, and every form of evil. But those last words about my "house": LORD, I would not run away with half a promise when Thou dost give a whole one. I beseech Thee, save all my family. Save the nearest and dearest. Convert the children and the grandchildren, if I have any. Be gracious to my servants and all who dwell under my roof or work for me. Thou makest this promise to