Lecture 19: Luther and Protestant Theology

Luther and Protestant Theology .......................................................

Lecture 19

[Martin Luther] doesn’t mean to begin a Reformation; at least, he

doesn’t mean to cause a split in the church. He does mean to improve

the church like any other good Christian, but he starts a new Christian

movement that he hadn’t intended.

T

he transition from medieval theology to Protestantism is marked most

importantly by a single famous ¿ gure, Martin Luther (1483–1546).

Luther was a monk upholding the authority of the pope. He did not

set out to create a split in the church. He criticized the sale of indulgences

because they detracted from true inward penance of the heart. In 1517, he put

his 95 Theses on a church door. These criticisms were meant as an invitation

for disputation. Luther’s theology

matured in the next several years,

at the same time as his growing

conÀ ict with the pope.

The most distinctive theme in

Luther’s theology is the contrast

between two forms of the word of

God: Law and Gospel. The Law is

God telling us what we are to do,

whereas the Gospel is God telling

us what Christ does for us. The

Law of God comes in two forms or

uses. The ¿ rst use of the Law, called

the “civil” use, is concerned with

outward deeds, prohibiting murder,

theft, etc.

The second use of the Law is called the “evangelical” use, because it leads

to the Gospel (in Greek, evangelion), by accusing and terrifying sinners,

and showing them their helplessness and inability to save themselves. The

Gospel is ¿ rst of all a story about Christ. “Gospel” or evangelion means

Portrait of Martin Luther, who

criticized indulgence in his 95 Theses.

© Photos.com/Thinkstock.