Faith Alone : A Daily Devotional

by Martin Luther; James C. Galvin, General Editor

• ISBN13: 9780310265368
• ISBN10: 0310265363
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-10-01
• Publisher: Zondervan

Summary

Powerful excerpts from the writings of one of the giantsof the faithIt has been almost 500 years since Martin Luther wrote hisfamous ninety-five theses and nailed them to the door ofthe Castle Church in Germany. His challenge to thedoctrine of the Roman Catholic Church ignited theProtestant Reformation and shaped the evangelicaltradition of the modern church. As he anguished in hisquest for truth, Luther came to understand that salvationis a radically free gift that must be accepted by "faithalone."Freshly translated from the original German into today'slanguage, Faith Alone contains a treasury of dailydevotionals taken from some of Luther's best writings andsermons that reveal both the fervency of his beliefs andhis profound theological insights.

Excerpts

Faith Alone
Copyright © 1998, 2005 by James C. Galvin
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Luther, Martin, 1483–1546
[Selections. English. 2005]
Faith alone : a daily devotional / Martin Luther; James C. Galvin,
general editor.—Updated ed. in today’s language.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: By faith alone. © 1998.
Includes index.
ISBN-10: 0-310-26536-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-26536-8
1. Devotional calendars. I. Galvin, James C. II. Title
BR331. E6 2005
242'.2—dc22
2005004702
This edition printed on acid-free paper.
An edition of this work was previously published by World under the title
By Faith Alone © 1998 using God’s Word translation. This updated edition
is based on the New International Version.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy
Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by
International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights
reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations
in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Interior design by Michelle Espinoza
Printed in the United States of America
05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 /?DCI/ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Introduction
Martin Luther is one of the most important figures in church history
because God used him to launch one of the greatest revolutions
of all—the Reformation. His writings are nearly five hundred
years old yet still meaningful for us to read today.
Born in Germany in 1483, Luther studied law at the University
of Erfurt. During a violent thunderstorm, he made a dramatic
vow to become a monk and soon after entered the Augustinian
order. After rigorous academic study and intense, personal struggle
to find God’s approval, he rediscovered the gospel. He realized that
we are saved by faith alone. After he was ordained, he was sent to
the University of Wittenburg to teach theology. While there in
1517, he nailed the Ninety-five Theses on the church door to invite
a theological debate. The topics he listed caused such a furor that
the debate never took place. As Luther continued to write, preach,
and teach, he quickly became the leading figure and focal point of
the Reformation.
Luther was a professor, theologian, former monk, scholar,
author, Bible translator, and defender of the faith. But he was also
a pastor, husband, father, and good friend to many. Luther was
prolific. Besides writing commentaries, theological papers, and
letters to friends, his students and followers took careful notes of
his university lectures, sermons, and later in life, even his dinner
conversations. He died in 1546 at the age of sixty-three.
These selections, originally written by Martin Luther between
1513 and 1546, have all been freshly translated into English for
this devotional. The goal was to make this edition both accurate
and easy to understand. I selected the readings primarily from
Luther’s sermons, commentaries, and other devotional writings.
These selections cover topics both theological and practical. Some
of the theological themes you’ll find include the centrality of Christ,
justification by faith alone, the authority of Scripture, and the
importance of putting faith in God above human reason. Practical
themes include the struggle against sin and temptation, prayer,
humility, the handling of wealth and possessions, the value of everyday
work, the importance of marriage and family, and love for
neighbor. You may read one selection a day according to the date
or explore themes using the subject index located in the back of
the book.
The verse at the beginning of each reading is usually the one
that Luther was writing about or preaching on. At times I’ve
attached a different verse that better fits the theme of the devotional
thought. If you want to read more on the topic or view the
selection in context, you can locate it in English or German using
the index to other editions located in the back of the book.
Several talented professionals were involved in helping to
make this devotional a reality. I wish to thank the three translators
who worked diligently to capture the meaning, tone, and
imagery of Luther: Ric Gudgeon, Gerhard Meske, and Trudy
Krucke Zimmerman. I also wish to thank the English stylists who
improved each reading and made Luther speak English: Jonathan
Farrar and Kristine A. Luber. In addition, Jonathan Farrar worked
closely with me on the final editing and provided encouragement
along the way.
Martin Luther loved God and wanted people to believe in
Christ and grow in faith. He forcefully preached and defended
the doctrine that we are justified through faith alone—plus nothing.
Faith Alone, then, is a fitting title for a devotional based on
Luther’s writings. May this book point you to the Scriptures and
help you understand the importance of faith, appreciate the mystery
of faith, and encourage you to grow in faith.
James C. Galvin, EdD
Faith Comes First
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
You have often heard me say that the Christian life has two dimensions:
the first is faith, and the second is good works. A believer
should live a devout life and always do what is right. But the first
dimension of the Christian life—faith—is more essential. The second
dimension—good works—is never as valuable as faith. People
of the world, however, adore good works. They regard them to be
far higher than faith.
Good works have always been valued more highly than faith.
Of course, it’s true that we should do good works and respect the
importance of them. But we should be careful that we don’t elevate
good works to such an extent that faith and Christ become
secondary. If we esteem them too highly, good works can become
the greatest idolatry. This has occurred both inside and outside of
Christianity. Some people value good works so much that they
overlook faith in Christ. They preach about and praise their own
works instead of God’s works.
Faith should be first. After faith is preached, then we should
teach good works. It is faith—without good works and prior to
good works—that takes us to heaven. We come to God through
faith alone.
We Live by Faith
For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed,
a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written:
“The righteous will live by faith.”
Romans 1:17
When I was a monk, I didn’t accomplish anything through fasting
and prayer. This is because neither I nor any of the other monks
acknowledged our sin and lack of reverence for God. We didn’t
understand original sin, and we didn’

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Excerpted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther, James C. Galvin
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