Martin Luther's Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (1535): Lecture Notes Transcribed by Students and Presented in Today's English

By Martin Luther and Michael Horton

Martin Luther's most comprehensive work on justification by faith, his commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians is translated and edited from the Latin into a lively style, paralleling his spoken lectures. Combined with the passion and faith expressed in these lectures, the biblical foundation for the crucial doctrine of justificat

• Language: English
• Publisher: 1517 Publishing
• Release date: Jul 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781945978272

Martin Luther

Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German theologian and one of the most influential figures in the Protestant Reformation. Some of Luther’s best-known works are the Ninety-Five Theses, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” and his translation of the Bible into German. 

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Commentary on Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (1535): Lecture Notes Transcribed by Students & Presented in Today’s English

© 2018 Haroldo S. Camacho

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below.

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1517 Publishing

PO Box 54032

Irvine, CA 92619-4032

978-1-945978-24-1 | | Commentary on Galatians (SC)

978-1-945978-25-8 | 1-945978-25-2 | Commentary on Galatians (HC)

978-1-945978-27-2 | 1-945978-27-9 | Commentary on Galatians (EB)

Cover design by Brenton Clarke Little.

Publisher’s Cataloging-In-Publication Data

(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)

Names: Luther, Martin, 1483–1546. | Camacho, Haroldo S., translator.

Title: Martin Luther’s Commentary on Saint Paul’s epistle to the Galatians (1535) : lecture notes transcribed by students & presented in today’s English / translated by Haroldo S. Camacho.

Other Titles: In epistolam S. Pauli ad Galatas commentarius (1535). English. | Commentary on Saint Paul’s epistle to the Galatians (1535)

Description: Irvine, CA : 1517 / Fifteen-Seventeen Publishing, [2018] | In Modern English (2017). | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: ISBN 9781945978241 (softcover) | ISBN 9781945978258 (hardcover) | ISBN 1945978252 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781945978272 (ebook) | ISBN 1945978279 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Galatians—Commentaries.

Classification: LCC BS2685 .L88 2018 (print) | LCC BS2685 (ebook) | DDC 227/.407—dc23

From the translator

To Solarians and Non Solarians

It’s impossible to list all in my family who, through the years, have formed a circle of support throughout the undertaking of this translation. I am also including my family in the Gospel. In particular, I thank my wife, Mercedes. Her patient persistence eventually led to my starting this endeavor. And there are several others: My dear friend in the Gospel Carlos Pérez, who was always willing to offer timely suggestions. My mother who at ninety-seven years old still provides encouragement. She instilled in me an insatiable curiosity for translation both as an art and a science. My father unknowingly sowed in me a love for the Gospel through his vibrant preaching of the cross. Then there are my children and grandchildren, whose growth in grace provided the initial vision for the translation of this commentary into modern English. Orlando Samuel; Kristina and Tyler, and Jaylee Jill; Alan and Esther, Noah and Violet; Leslie and Laura, Sophia, Alana and Ethan; this translation is specially dedicated to you. A special appreciation to 1517 The Legacy Project, who from the outset believed in this project and provided gentle but indispensable guidance in bringing it to fruition. Among them is my new friend and brother in the Gospel, Steve Byrnes. I must also thank the Schwärmerei of the law, among whom I walked for many years. Their relentless hammering on the law drove me to Christ, to Paul, to Luther, and to this commentary on Galatians. Soli Deo gloria.

VIRTUS MEA PER INFIRMITATEM PERFICITUR

This subtitle from the 1538 Latin edition quotes 2 Corinthians 12:9: My power is made perfect in weakness. The 1535 edition (the first Latin edition) had this subtitle: Ecce, His pofitus est in ruinam & in resurrectionem multorum in Israel, & in fignum cui contradicitur. The quote is from Luke 2:34: Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against. The 1538 edition does not give a reason for the change in the title page Latin quote. Please see the appendix About the Latin Text.

Content by Lecture, Date, and Galatians Texts

July 3–December 12, 1531

Foreword

Translator’s Introduction

Martin Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Galatians (1535)

Let’s Hear It for Self-Righteousness and Its Fifty Select Virtues Resulting from Works! As Penned by the Apostle Paul to the Galatians

LECTURE 1: Friday, July 3

Martin Luther’s Introduction: The Argument of the Epistle

Saint Paul’s Argument in the Epistle to the Galatians

LECTURE 2: Saturday, July 4

Galatians 1:1–Galatians 1:2

LECTURE 3: Thursday, July 9

Galatians 1:3

LECTURE 4: Friday, July 10

Galatians 1:4–Galatians 1:7

LECTURE 5: Friday, July 17

Galatians 1:8–Galatians 1:17

LECTURE 6: Saturday, July 18

Galatians 1:18–Galatians 2:4, 5

LECTURE 7: Friday, July 24

Galatians 2:4, 5–Galatians 2:9

LECTURE 8: Friday, July 31

Galatians 2:10–Galatians 2:14

LECTURE 9: Saturday, August 1

Galatians 2:14–Galatians 2:16

LECTURE 10: Friday, August 7

Galatians 2:16

LECTURE 11: Saturday, August 8

Galatians 2:17–Galatians 2:18

LECTURE 12: Friday, August 14

Galatians 2:19–Galatians 2:20

LECTURE 13: Saturday, August 15

Galatians 2:20–Galatians 2:21

LECTURE 14: Friday, August 21

Galatians 2:21–Galatians 3:1

LECTURE 15: Saturday, August 22

Galatians 3:2

LECTURE 16: Friday, August 28

Galatians 3:3–Galatians 3:6

LECTURE 17: Saturday, August 29

Galatians 3:6–Galatians 3:9

LECTURE 18: Saturday, September 5

Galatians 3:9–Galatians 3:10

LECTURE 19: Friday, September 11

Galatians 3:10–Galatians 3:12

LECTURE 20: Saturday, September 12

Galatians 3:12–Galatians 3:13

LECTURE 21: Friday, September 18

Galatians 3:13–Galatians 3:17

LECTURE 22: Saturday, September 19

Galatians 3:18–Galatians 3:19

LECTURE 23: Friday, September 25

Galatians 3:19–Galatians 3:21

LECTURE 24: Saturday, September 26

Galatians 3:21–Galatians 3:24

LECTURE 25: Friday, October 9

Galatians 3:24–Galatians 3:29

LECTURE 26: Saturday, October 10

Galatians 4:1–Galatians 4:4

LECTURE 27: Friday, October 16

Galatians 4:5–Galatians 4:6

LECTURE 28: Saturday, October 17

Galatians 4:6–Galatians 4:9

LECTURE 29: Friday, October 23

Galatians 4:9–Galatians 4:12

LECTURE 30: Friday, October 30

Galatians 4:12–Galatians 4:18

LECTURE 31: Saturday, October 31

Galatians 4:19–Galatians 4:27

LECTURE 32: Friday, November 13

Galatians 4:27–Galatians 4:31

LECTURE 33: Saturday, November 14

Galatians 5:1–Galatians 5:4

LECTURE 34: Friday, November 20

Galatians 5:5–Galatians 5:9

LECTURE 35: Saturday, November 21

Galatians 5:9–Galatians 5:13

LECTURE 36: Friday, November 27

Galatians 5:14–Galatians 5:15

LECTURE 37: Saturday, November 28

Galatians 5:16–Galatians 5:18

LECTURE 38: Friday, December 4

Galatians 5:19–Galatians 5:24

LECTURE 39: Saturday, December 5

Galatians 5:25–Galatians 6:3

LECTURE 40: Friday, December 11

Galatians 6:4–Galatians 6:10

LECTURE 41: Saturday, December 12

Galatians 6:11–Galatians 6:18

Bible Versions Used in the Translation

About the Latin Text

Translator’s Notes

Translator’s Bibliography

Index

Foreword

Everyone thinks Romans when the Reformation—and Luther in particular—comes to mind. But actually, it was Galatians that really consolidated things for the German Reformer. Luther worked hard to understand Romans. His earliest lectures were not that far from what a usual Augustinian would have said in his day. Later, he came to see more light from Romans: especially what Paul meant by "the righteousness from God. But it was Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia that really gave Luther new categories for understanding the Word of God. By 1531, when these lectures were given to seminarians in Wittenberg, Luther was Luther": The indefatigable leader of the magisterial Reformation who stood guard at the golden door of the gospel.

As the Reformer says in the introduction, Satan does not have to labor to keep fornicators, thieves, assassins, perjurers, heathens, blasphemers and unbelievers in his service. No, rather he leaves them alone in peace and quiet; he keeps them in his court, lavishes them with all kinds of pleasures and delights, and gives them whatever they wish. Instead, he focuses all of his energies on toppling the church from within: to persecute Christ, who without any work of our own, is our righteousness. This was always the devil’s aim: to bruise Christ’s heel even as his own head was crushed by the triumphant Messiah (Gen 3:15–16). As Luther points out, the Anabaptists and Rome formed a common flank against this gospel of an imputed righteousness: the justification of the ungodly.

But, sadly, it is no different today. Nobody ever drifts toward the gospel. On the contrary, self-trust is the religion of the fallen heart. It is exhibited in every religion, every self-help program, and in the daily lives of all who work feverishly to climb ladders to make it to the top. Instead, God has come to the bottom, to a manger and to a cross. That is where we find God—not in the majesty of human works, but in the humility of the Suffering Servant. But we do not like this God. If we will have a god at all, he will be no more than a source of inner empowerment, or a facilitator of our personal growth.

Survey after survey indicates that even those who profess to be evangelicals—the name by which Luther’s followers were called—have little knowledge of this doctrine. Worse, these studies show that evangelicals are as likely as non-Christians to say that human beings are basically good and that, with a little encouragement and instruction, they can gain sufficient righteousness to appear before God on the last day. Jesus has become for many a mascot for whatever political, social, moral or financial cause that people have in mind. He is there to help us achieve our best life now or to become a better you. This meager—indeed, poisoned—diet leaves disillusionment and despair in its wake, as the majority raised in evangelical backgrounds are unchurched by their sophomore year in college.

It is definitely time for a new Reformation—the proclamation that our salvation comes to us from outside of ourselves, by the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Christ our Savior. Pastors, parents, grandparents—everybody—needs to be roused from dogmatic or moralistic slumbers, for their sake and for the sake of the younger generations.

It is also time for a new translation of these epoch-changing lectures. Luther wrote for the masses, not for academic specialists. Few preachers in church history have combined integrity of doctrine—faithful to the biblical text—with an ability to explain it to a child. However, translations are often stilted and the Reformer’s popular prose is sometimes lost. Just as Luther was confident that his students rendered his lectures faithfully, he would, I’m sure, be just as delighted at the appearance of this translation. Luther often expressed pride in speaking plain German and in this volume you have Luther in plain English.

So please, read this new translation. Tell a friend. Pass it along, dog-ears and underlined sentences and all, to anyone who is doubting whether Christ is enough.

Michael Horton

J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California, co-host of the White Horse Inn, and author of Core Christianity.

Translator’s Introduction

¹

At times, I seemed to be caught in a time warp. Often, as I repeated out loud the Latin text, its meaning came alive and I had to take my hands off the keyboard. The echo of the words and the power of their meaning transported me back in time and place. Suddenly, I was one of the seminarians seated at the Wittenberg seminary’s lecture hall, enthralled, listening to Doctor Luther raising hell over the article of justification! Better yet, bringing sinners into the kingdom of God through this principal article of the Christian faith. But then, my eyes would refocus back on the screen. There was the Latin text staring at me. However, the moment would be relived many times over as Luther painted word pictures of Paul in word-to-word conflict with the false apostles to the Galatians. Then, Luther would relate that same conflict to his own struggle with the papacy and the fanatical spirits of his day who dared taint the article of justification with the false righteousness of works!

In fact, this Commentary at times reads like a historical novel. Although you already know the outcome, you hope against hope that, somewhere near the end, Luther would tell of the final knock-down of the false doctrine of works among the Galatians and the victory of the righteousness of Christ alone through faith alone. One also hopes against hope that Luther’s own word-and-pen conflict against the false righteousness of works would be declared the winner at ringside. But the end, as in a good novel, is left open. Frustrating, yes; but the challenge is given to the Christian confessional and evangelical churches today: "justificatio est articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae (justification is the article on which the church stands or falls). Yet, it is not just to pick up the fight where Luther left off. True, that is one of his stated goals: to incite all my brothers in Christ to counter the trickery and evil crookedness of Satan. However, his second goal is both pastoral and confessional: I formulated my commentaries . . . only for those to whom the apostle wrote this epistle—the perturbed, afflicted, and tempted (the only ones who can understand these things), the Galatians who are despondent in their faith."

This commentary records a stand-alone historical event. From July 3 through December 12, 1531, Luther addressed 41 lectures on Galatians to his seminarians at the Wittenberg seminary. Three of his students, led by Georg Rörer, took careful notes in a Latin shorthand of their own invention.² Later, Luther edited and approved the entire text for publication.

Having worked for the California courts as a certified Spanish/English interpreter, I have transcribed and translated hundreds of hours of audio/video recordings from Spanish into English for numerous criminal and civil law hearings. The audio originals were full of pauses, stammering, incomplete sentences, repetitions, changes in tone and mood, among other nuances of speech. As I read the Latin text of Luther’s lectures on Galatians, the transcript nature of the text was immediately apparent to me. Throughout my many years of experience working with judicial transcripts, I developed a unique appreciation for how they should be translated. The task is not to produce a well-written literary work of the interview from the recorded statements. The goal is to make the interview and narrative come alive to the reader. It is a formidable task, for one must put into the written word what was once said in spoken speech, with all of its various nuances of tone, speed, facial gestures, meaning of pauses, and other variables. The translator may neither change the register of the speaker’s words, nor attempt to soften the harshness of the words, nor attempt to use synonyms that will add a nuance or meaning not intended by the speaker. The written word of the transcript must attempt to provide as accurate a record of the entirety of the event. If there are feeling-shaded or emotionally coded words, the translator must use words that will convey those feelings as well. The entire transcript must speak on behalf of the interlocutor’s entire spoken record. That is what I have attempted to do with Luther’s Commentary on Galatians. I began with the assumption that Rörer provided, as accurately as possible, a written transcript of Luther’s lectures.³ Then, I translated using Luther’s own norm for translating: The original language is translated into the target language as if one were speaking or writing originally in the target language. Thus, I have attempted to have Luther speak Today’s English throughout this translation.

However, my overriding motive in providing this twenty-first-century English version of Luther’s Commentary on Galatians is to bring the readers into that lecture hall in Wittenberg. Hopefully, once there, you, too, will be held spellbound by hearing Luther’s masterful and persuasive exposition on the article of justification, the principal teaching of the Christian faith. You will hear Luther, the Reformer: uncouth, brash, unyielding, persuasive, and uncompromising. I think my translation of the commentary reads best if read out loud. In fact, if there is a sentence or a paragraph that seems too complex, reread it out loud and its meaning will come alive.

Ergo, I invite you to take a seat beside me in that great lecture hall at Wittenberg. Doctor Luther, that great man of God, is stepping up to the podium. Let’s listen as he calls today’s church to attention and bring us back to the article of justification.

Haroldo S. Camacho, PhD (Claremont School of Theology, 1991)

Certified Court Interpreter, Judicial Council of California

Cathedral City, CA

November 16, 2017

Soli Deo gloria

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1 Please see appendix Translator’s Notes, for helpful tips as you read this translation. For instance, why are certain sections in italics?

2 Rörer’s notes are available for perusal in the Weimar Edition WA 40. Do not expect to see characters representing phonetic speech, as in modern shorthand. Rather, they are key Latin words (some are in German) which seem to represent entire sentences, words, or specific arguments.

3 Inasmuch as I do make a case for the Latin text to be considered a transcript of Luther’s lectures, I do beg the reader’s leniency in not judging the translation as an actual modern transcript of a series of lectures. It is of course a request beyond the obvious, for which I beg for further clemency, since my assumption is only based on circumstantial evidence (which nonetheless carries probative value in a court of law). I completely understand that there is no direct evidence for my assumption and no way to test my hypothesis except for the circumstantial evidence presented throughout the translation.

Martin Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Galatians (1535)

¹

I can hardly believe I was so wordy² when I gave these public lectures on Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, except for this little exhibit.³ However, I feel that all these thoughts⁴ are mine. The brothers⁵ so diligently sealed them into this written work that I must confess all of them are mine, if not more, as they appear in this publication attributed to me, for my heart is governed by only this one fundamental truth—namely, faith in Christ.⁶ He is from whom, by whom, and toward whom all my theological studies revolve, continually, day and night. And even so, I realize that I cannot even come anywhere near the height, width, and depth of such great and priceless wisdom; you will only see some rickety and tattered signposts strewn along the way.

I am ashamed that my comments, so barren and cold, are placed next to the apostle’s, a chosen vessel of God. But shame on my shame, I must be forceful and bold. There is an infinite and horribly profane abomination that has always raged against God’s church. To this day, it continues to rage without letup against the solid rock. That rock is the unique place of our justification.⁷ With all confidence, we can say that we are justified not by our own works (which are less than we are) but through relief provided outside of us.⁸ That relief is none other than God’s only Son. He has redeemed us from sin, death, and the devil and has given to us the gift of eternal life.

Satan certainly rammed against this rock in paradise when he persuaded our first parents that they could be like God through their own wisdom and power. They turned their backs on faith in God, who had given them life and the promise to prolong it. Soon after, this liar and assassin (but always true to himself) incited Cain to turn against his brother and take his life. There was no other reason but that his pious brother, by faith, offered a more excellent sacrifice. But Cain offered his own works, without faith, and did not please God. Thereafter followed the most intolerable persecution of this same faith, from Satan through the children of Cain, until God was moved to purify the earth by means of the flood and defend Noah, a preacher of righteousness. Notwithstanding Satan extended his seed in Ham, Noah’s third son, and in others far too many to mention. After these things, the whole world went insane against this faith. It created an infinite number of idols and strange religions. As a result (as Paul said), each one went his own way, trusting in his own works. Some hoped to pacify and please a certain god, others a goddess, others many gods, and yet others many goddesses—that is, without the relief brought by Christ⁹—and through their own works, they hoped to redeem themselves from all their ills and sins, as the deeds and writings of all nations abundantly testify.

However, these works are nothing when compared to the works God performed for His people, Israel, or the synagogue. They had been blessed over all the rest, not only with the sure promise given to the fathers and by the law given by God Himself through His angels, but also through the constant witness of the words, miracles, and examples of the prophets. Yet even among them, Satan (the essence of self-righteousness in all its fury) prevailed to the point where they killed all the prophets and even Christ Himself, the Son of God, their promised Messiah. There was no other reason for their death except their doctrine—that men and women are accepted and received into God’s favor by grace alone and not by their own righteousness. However, this is the entire sum of the devil’s doctrine—and the world’s—from the beginning: We will not give the appearance of doing something wrong, but in all that we do, God must consent to it, and all His prophets as well, for if they refuse, they will perish. Abel will die, and Cain will live. This is our law. And so it is.

Nevertheless, things have not gone much better in the church of the Gentiles. Rather, things have gone from bad to worse. By comparison, the fury of the synagogue has only seemed like child’s play, for they (as Paul put it) did not know their anointed and thus crucified the Lord of glory. True, the church of the Gentiles has accepted Christ and confessed that He is the Son of God and that He has been made our righteousness. That is how the church publicly sings, reads, and teaches. Yet those who make this confession are the same ones who get rid of it. Although they allege they are the church, they persecute and rage against those who preach in word and deed nothing else but Christ. The persecutors are obliged to confess Him, but they are only pretending, for today, by taking over the name of Christ, they have consolidated their power. If they could retain their power without His name, they would openly declare just what they think of Him in their hearts. They esteem Him less than the Jews, who at least take Him as a thola—in effect, a thief paying what he deserves, hanging from a cross. But these other men take Him as a fable and think that He is a god invented by the Gentiles, which is obvious in Rome, in the papal curia, and almost throughout all Italy.

Thus since Christ becomes a mockery among His Christians (because Christians they will be called) and because Cain continually kills Abel and Satan’s abomination now reigns supreme, it is necessary that we diligently pay attention to this pivotal doctrine¹⁰ and turn it around against Satan, no matter whether we are rude or eloquent, educated or uncouth, for if everyone else should keep quiet, this massive boulder should be proclaimed by the rocks and stones themselves.

That is why I am more than willing to hereby fulfill my duty and allow the publication of this commentary, so full of words, to incite all my brothers in Christ to counter the trickery and evil crookedness of Satan. In these last days, he has greatly raged against this plain knowledge of Christ—so much so that even today, those who seemed to be possessed by furious demons without respite seem to be possessed by worse devils and rage with greater fury than the ones before! All this is an immensely powerful argument that the enemy of truth and life knows that the Day of Judgment is near, which is the day of his destruction, but for us, it is the day of our redemption and the end of his tyranny over us. His anger is not without reason because his members and powers are under assault, as when a thief or an adulterer, when morning comes and his wickedness is exposed, is caught red-handed.

For who would have imagined (without considering the abominations of the Pope) so many monsters bursting into the world at once as we see today just with the Anabaptists? Certainly, through them Satan is huffing and puffing, as it were, bringing in the latest outbreak of his kingdom through horrible disturbances. He deploys them everywhere with such fury as if through them he would destroy the entire world not only with uprisings but also with countless sects he pretends to swallow in one gulp all of Christ together with His church. He does not lord it over those who have other beliefs and live in evil—namely, fornicators, thieves, assassins, perjurers, heathens, blasphemers, and unbelievers. No, rather he leaves them alone in peace and quiet; he keeps them in his court, lavishes them with all kinds of pleasures and delights, and gives them whatever they wish. This is what he did soon after the inception of the church; he not only left alone all the idolatries and false world religions, granting them peace without disturbance, but also sustained them powerfully. Everywhere he harassed the church and the faith of Christ. Even to this day, he is committed just to this one task (which has always been his alone), to persecute Christ, who without any work of our own, is our righteousness.¹¹ But this was written about him: You will bruise His heel (Genesis 3:15).

However, I don’t publish my thoughts on this epistle against these people but for our own people, who will either thank me for my labor or forgive my weakness and foolishness. Certainly, I have no illusions about getting a favorable review from the unbelievers, but rather these thoughts will rattle them and their god. I formulated my commentaries (with great effort) only for those to whom the apostle wrote this epistle—the perturbed, afflicted, and tempted (the only ones who can understand these things), the Galatians who are despondent in their faith. Those who cannot identify with them might as well listen to the Papists, the monks, the Anabaptists, and all other teachers of great wisdom and religion, who with all their hearts scorn what we do and say without taking on the task to understand it.

Because even today the Papists and the Anabaptists conspire against God’s church in this world on this point (even though they disguise their words), claiming and affirming that God’s work depends on the virtue of the individual. Such is the teaching of the Anabaptists—baptism is worthless unless the person is able to believe. This is their starting principle (or so they call it) and from there it follows that all God’s works are worthless unless a person is good. If baptism, which is a work of God, is no longer a work of God when a person is evil, then it follows that marriage,¹² the courts,¹³ the ministry,¹⁴ which are works of God, are no longer works of God because people are evil. The wicked have the sun, the moon, the earth, water, air, and everything that is subject to man, but since they are not godly, then it follows that the sun is not the sun nor the moon, the earth, water, and air what they are. The Anabaptists themselves had bodies and souls before being rebaptized, but since they were not godly, their bodies and souls were not really real! By the same token, their parents were not truly married—for so they claim—because they had not been rebaptized. Therefore, the Anabaptists themselves, all of them, are illegitimate and their parents were adulterers and fornicators. Nonetheless, they inherit properties from their parents, even though they themselves admit they were illegitimate and without rights of inheritance. Who can’t catch on that the Anabaptists are not possessed by demons but rather demons themselves possessed by worse demons?

In the same way, the Papists until today insist on works that assume the virtue of the human being, contrary to grace, and thus (at least in word) vigorously come to the rescue of their brothers, the Anabaptists. These foxes are all tied together at the tail, even though their heads point in opposite directions. To all appearances, they pretend to be great enemies, but on the inside, they all think, teach, and defend the same things against Christ, who is our only righteousness. Therefore, everyone who is able, let him hang on to this one principle; and the rest who’ve already shipwrecked, let the wind and the waves wash them away, until they come back to ship or can swim to shore. But we will have more to say about the Anabaptists later, if the Lord Jesus Christ allows it. Amen.

The previous appeared in the first edition (1535). In the second (1538) and subsequent editions, the following paragraphs were added after swim to shore.

The sum and the end of this dispute is that it’s not worth it to wait for calm or for the dispute to end as long as Christ and Belial are not in agreement. One generation goes, and another generation comes. If one heresy dies, not much later another one springs up, for the devil neither slumbers nor sleeps. I, myself (although I am nothing), already have twenty years in the ministry of Christ. I attest to have been pestered by over twenty sects, some of which have already perished. Others (like parts of a dismembered insect) are still twitching.

However, Satan, the god of all sectarians, daily stirs up new sects, and the last one is the one that I would have least suspected or expected. I speak of those who teach that the Ten Commandments should be banned from the church and that people should not fear the law but should be kindly exhorted by the preaching of the grace of Christ, to fulfill what was said by the prophet Hosea, Let no man bring a charge, neither let any man accuse, and by the prophet Micah, Don’t prophesy! (Micah 2:6), as if we were ignoramuses or had never been instructed that the afflicted and brokenhearted spirit must be comforted by Christ. But the hard-hearted pharaohs, to whom the grace of Christ is preached in vain, must feel the fear of the law. And they see themselves pressured to invent new revelations of the wrath of God against the wicked and ungodly, as if the law were something other than a revelation of the wrath of God. Such is the blindness and presumption of these folk who dictate their own αὐτοκατακριτῶν (sentence of condemnation).

Therefore, the ministers of the word of God are compelled to be fully convinced (if they are to be counted among the faithful and wise in the day of Christ) that it was not just a whim when Paul spoke the word nor that he prophesied as if it were a matter of small consequence when he said, For there also must be factions among you, that those who are approved may be revealed among you. Yes, and I say so, let the minister of Christ know that as long as he teaches Christ with purity, there will never be a lack of perverse spirits, yes and even of our own and among our own, who will commit themselves to harass the church of Christ. And let him be comforted with the thought that there is no peace between Christ and Belial, and between the Seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Yes, let him rejoice in the anguish caused by these sects and the constant succession of seditious spirits, for our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we may be found firm and fighting on behalf of the Seed of the woman against the seed of the serpent. Let it bite our heel all it wants. On our part, we will not cease to crush its head through Christ, the first one to crush it, may He be blessed forever and ever. Amen.

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1 In 1516, while Luther was still an Augustinian monk, he gave his first lecture on Galatians. The 1531 lectures manifest a much deeper understanding of Paul’s teaching on justification.

2 verbosum fuisse me.

3 Libellus exhibet.

4 cogitationes.

5 Luther is referring to his students Georg Rörer, Veit Dietrich, and Caspar Cruciger. Led by Rörer, they took ver vatim notes of Luther’s lectures in a Latin shorthand of their own invention.

6 Nam in corde meo iste unus regnat articulus, scilicet, fides Christi.

7 justificationis locum.

8 alienum auxilium.

9 alieno auxilio Christi.

10 articulum. The article or pivotal doctrine of justification by faith in Christ. Articulus in Latin means pivotal point or fulcrum.

11 Christum qui est justitia nostra sine operibus nostris.

12 Coniugium.

13 Magistratus.

14 Servitus.

Let’s Hear It for Self-Righteousness and Its Fifty Select Virtues Resulting from Works! As Penned by the Apostle Paul to the Galatians

¹

Chapter 1

1. It calls people away from grace.

2. It embraces another gospel.

3. It perturbs the minds of the faithful.

4. It flips the Gospel of Christ upside down.

5. It is damned.

6. It seeks human approval.

7. It pleases men.

8. It does not serve Christ.

9. It is from men and does not proceed from revelation.

10. The most outstanding righteousness of the law is nothing.

11. It devastates God’s church.

Chapter 2

12. It is impossible for its works to justify.

13. It makes sinners out of those who are righteous in Christ.

14. It makes Christ a minister of sin.

15. It rebuilds sin previously destroyed.

16. It produces transgressors.

17. It rejects God’s grace.

18. Christ died in vain is its conclusion.

Chapter 3

19. It produces idiots like the Galatians.

20. It casts a spell.

21. It does not obey the truth.

22. It crucifies Christ.

23. It insists that the Spirit is received by works.

24. It drives away the Spirit and ends up in the flesh.

25. It is under a curse.

26. It replaces God’s covenant with its own.

27. It makes sin abound.

28. It locks you up under sin.

29. It serves rudimentary principles.

Chapter 4

30. It nullifies the preaching of the Gospel.

31. It undoes all good things done before.

32. It is born from the slave woman and lives in slavery.

33. Its followers are sent away with the slave woman and lose their inheritance.

34. It makes Christ of no avail.

35. It makes debtors to the entire Law.

Chapter 5

36. Nothing of Christ is left in its followers.

37. It knocks people away from grace.

38. It gets in the way of producing good fruit.

39. Its persuasiveness does not come from God.

40. It is leaven of corruption.

41. Everything it teaches is under judgment.

42. It leads people to bite and devour one another.

43. It is listed among the works of the flesh.

Chapter 6

44. It makes you think you are something when you are nothing.

45. It boasts in others rather than in God.

46. From the flesh, it seeks to please the flesh.

47. It hates being persecuted for the cross.

48. It does not even keep the law.

49. It glories in the teachings of the flesh.

50. It profits nothing, and neither are its works worth anything at all.

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1 Quinquaginta praeconia et virtutes justitiae propriae ex operibus quaesitae, auctore Apostolo Paulo ad Galatas. The facetious nature of the title is of course obvious. Luther paints the following picture in the listener’s mind. The town crier (the praeconium) rides into the plaza. He blows a horn calling people to attention. A crowd surrounds him. He unscrolls a parchment and proclaims this praeconia, which may be loosely but accurately translated into today’s English as Let’s hear it for self-righteousness, and so on. Luther was a master of sarcasm, and you will see numerous examples throughout this Commentary. If you are not careful you may be fooled by them. He seems to have spoken them with a straight face, but very tongue in cheek. These praeconia first appeared in the 1538 edition, with the annotation at the end: Mense Augusto, Anni M.D.XXXVIII. Given their stated satirical title and nature, it is a question of interest, what was the original intended purpose of these questions, and why did they appear in the 1538 edition rather than in the 1535? Were these questions originally prepared as a kind of syllabus for the Galatians lectures, but not printed until 1538? The question of course remains unanswered, but I have included the 50 questions here for their historical value and of course relevance to the Galatians text and subject matter.

LECTURE 1: Friday, July 3

Martin Luther’s Introduction

I have once again taken up the task, in the name of the Lord, to expound on this Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians, not because I want to teach new things, or such as I have never heard before, since by the grace of Christ, Paul had already made them fully known. But (as I warned you often) we must fear as the greatest and nearest danger that the devil will shake us off from the purity of this doctrine and faith and bring once again on the church the doctrine of works and human traditions. That is why it is of the utmost importance that this doctrine be proclaimed always in public as well as put into practice, in its reading as well as by its hearers. And although it may never be fully known, never learned with exact precision, even so, let us be ever mindful that our adversary the devil, who is continually stalking, wanting to devour us, hasn’t died yet. It is also true that our flesh and our old man still live. Further, we are confounded and oppressed by all types of temptations from all sides; therefore, this doctrine can never be taught, urged, or repeated often enough. If this doctrine should be lost, then also the doctrine of truth, life, and salvation will have been lost and disappeared. If this doctrine should flourish, then everything good will also flourish: religion, true service to God, glory to God, and the correct understanding of all that is necessary for a Christian in all aspects of his life. Therefore, let us stay busy and not get lazy; we will begin at the conclusion, according to the proverb of the son of Sirach: When a man thinks he is done, he has barely just begun¹ (Sirach 18:7).

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1 Translator’s own rendition of the Sirach text.

Saint Paul’s Argument in the Epistle to the Galatians

By Dr. Martin Luther

First, we are compelled to state the main argument of this epistle. What did Paul intend to do with this epistle?

His purpose is the following.

Saint Paul proposes to establish the doctrine of faith, grace, the forgiveness of sin, or Christian righteousness so that we may perfectly understand the difference between Christian righteousness and all other types of righteousness. There is a political or civil righteousness. Emperors, the princes of this world, philosophers, and attorneys must deal with this one. There is also a righteousness of social behavior, according to human traditions. Parents as well as tutors may teach this type of righteousness without fear, since they do not attribute to these types of actions any satisfaction for sin to please God or to merit grace. They teach that these types of behaviors are only necessary to correct bad habits and certain observances regarding social life. Parallel to these there is another righteousness, called the righteousness of the law, or the Ten Commandments, taught by Moses. According to the doctrine of faith, we also teach this one.

However, there is another above all others—namely, the righteousness of faith, or Christian righteousness. We must diligently tell this one apart from the others. This last one opposes the others a great deal. The first types of righteousness flow from the laws of the emperors, the traditions of the Pope, and the commandments of God. They also consist in our good works and can be done by us through our sheer natural effort (as the Papists say) or even as a gift from God. All these types of righteousness are gifts of God, as well as other good things that we enjoy.

But this more excellent righteousness that I say is of faith is this: God through Christ, apart from any work of our own, puts it freely to our account.¹ It is not political or behavioral.² It is not the righteousness of the law of God.³ It does not concern our works but exists on a different level. It is a simple passive righteousness, since all the previous ones are active. To obtain this one, we don’t do any work at all, nor do we offer anything to God. Rather, we only receive and allow Another to work in our behalf, none other than God Himself. Therefore, it has seemed right to me to call this passive righteousness, the righteousness of faith, or Christian righteousness.

This righteousness is a hidden mystery, the world is not aware of it. What’s more, Christians themselves don’t understand it fully, and they can hardly take hold of it in their temptations. Therefore, it is necessary to teach it and practice it continually, without any letup. And whoever can’t understand it or is unable to hold on to this righteousness will be hounded by the constant fears of his conscience and will certainly be defeated. There is no other comfort as firm and sure for the conscience as is offered by this passive righteousness.

But human nature is so pathetic and miserable⁴ that when our conscience panics with fear or death is near, we can’t see anything but our works, our merit, and the law. The law uncovers our sins, and in an instant, our memory recalls our old life of sin. It is then when the sinner moans in great anguish of spirit and thinks to himself, How I regret it! I have lived such a crazy life! If God would only have mercy on me and give me the chance to live a little longer, then I would change my life! Human reason can’t stop from fixating on the active righteousness⁵ or in the development of its own righteousness!⁶ Neither can it lift its gaze to look upon the passive righteousness, or Christian righteousness, but seeks refuge in its own active righteousness, so deeply ingrained is this evil within us.

On the other hand, Satan takes advantage of the weakness of our nature and certainly increases and exacerbates this worrisome brooding within us. It should not come as a shock to us that the poor conscience is then stressed out, horrified, and befuddled, for it is impossible for the human mind by itself to conceive any comfort or to look only upon grace when it feels the horror of sin; neither can it constantly reject all the arguments in favor of its own works. This is way beyond human strength and ability, as well as over and above what God’s law can give. It is true that with regards to all in this world the law is of utmost excellence, but it cannot quiet down a mortified conscience. Rather, it increases its crushing sorrow, dragging it to desperation. That sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure (Romans 7).

There is no medication for the mortified and perturbed conscience when it is under condemnation of eternal death. It must take hold of the promise of grace offered in Christ Jesus⁷—that is, unless it takes hold of this passive righteousness, or Christian righteousness. If it’s able to grasp it, then the conscience will find rest. It will trustingly say, "I don’t seek this active righteousness or the righteousness of works, even though I know I must also have it and fulfill it. But even if I had it and fulfilled it without a doubt, even so, I could not trust it; neither could I bring it as a defense against God’s judgment. Therefore, I will strip myself of all active righteousness, mine as well as that of God’s law, and embrace only the passive righteousness, the righteousness of grace, based on God’s mercy and His forgiveness of sins. In summary, I find rest only on this righteousness that is the righteousness of Christ and the Holy Spirit; we don’t produce it, but we submit to bear it; it is not found within us, but we receive it as a gift from God the Father through Jesus Christ."⁸

A parched land cannot through its efforts bring on itself the joyful satisfaction of a long torrential rain. Neither can it produce rain through its own splendor and strength. Instead, it receives the rain as a gift from God. In the same way, God gives us this heavenly righteousness without our merits or our works. So just as much as the earth is unable to bring on itself rain showers to make its fruit grow, we are unable through our works and strength to bring on ourselves this heavenly and eternal righteousness. We would never obtain it except that God freely imputes⁹ it to us; we acquire it only as a gift from God. Words fail us to describe its worth! Therefore, the totality of a Christian’s wisdom is to be unacquainted with the law, ignore all the works of active righteousness, especially when the conscience struggles against God’s judgments. However, the highest wisdom and knowledge of those who do not belong to God’s people is to fathom the depths of the law and urge its works and active righteousness.

However, it’s something quite odd and unheard of in the world to teach Christians to want nothing to do with the law and to live like that before God as if the law didn’t exist. But you cannot be saved unless you want nothing to do with the law and are confidently persuaded in your heart that God’s law and wrath no longer exist but only His grace and mercy through the gift of Christ. That is because through the law comes only the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20). Still, on the other hand, the world should be pressured to produce works and to keep the law, as if there were no promise or grace. This is because of the stubborn, proud, and hard-hearted. Their eyes should see nothing but the law so that they will be scared to death and humbled. Because the law is given to frighten them to death and knock them down and to harass the old man. Therefore, the word of grace and the word of wrath should be rightly handled according to the apostle Paul (2 Timothy 2).

Here is where someone wise and faithful is needed to accurately handle the word of God, someone who is capable of restraining and keeping the law within its limits. Those who teach that people are justified before God by the keeping of the law trespass the limits of the law; they confuse the two types of righteousness, the active and the passive. They mistakenly end up trying to come up with logical explanations because they do not teach them correctly. But on the other hand, those who lay out the law and works to the old man and the promise and forgiveness of sins as well as God’s mercy to the new man represent the word correctly. The flesh or the old man should be tied to the law and works, and the spirit or the new man should be joined to the promise of God and His mercy. Therefore, when I see someone who has been bruised and battered by the law, more than enough bullied by sin and thirsts for assurance, then it is time to change his focus from the law and active righteousness and let him see a full display of the Gospel, the Christian, and passive righteousness. This one excludes Moses and his law and offers him the promise made in Christ, who came for sinners and the distressed. Man is able to get back up on his feet with this, and the good hope is born within him, since he is no longer under law but under grace (Romans 6:14). But how is it that he is no longer under law? According to the new man, it is because the law no longer has anything to do with him. That is because the law reaches its boundary when it meets up with Christ; as Paul would say later, the law takes us to Christ (Galatians 3:24).¹⁰ Once He came, He put an end to Moses and his law, circumcision, sacrifices, Sabbaths, yes, and even all the prophets.

This is where our theology is rooted: we teach how to spot the difference between these two types of righteousness, the active and the passive. The result is that socially acceptable behavior and faith, works and grace, politics and theology should not be mixed up or confused one with the other. Both are necessary, but both should be restrained within their own proper boundaries. Christian righteousness is binding on the new man, but the righteousness of the law is binding on the old man who has been born of flesh and blood. On this old man, as you would with an old mule, you should put such a heavy load that it will wear him out, and he should not enjoy the freedom of the spirit given by grace. First he needs to put on the new man, through faith in Christ, although he will always come up short in this life. Only then will he be able to enjoy the kingdom and the priceless gift of grace.

I say all this so that no one will end up thinking that we reject or ban good works, as the followers of the Pope allege. They slander us with lies, but they understand neither what they are saying nor what we teach. The only thing they know is the righteousness of the law. Yet they consider themselves capable of judging a teaching that goes beyond the law, outside of what the carnal person can judge. Therefore, it’s totally predictable that they will feel offended because they cannot fix their gaze above the law. For them, everything that is above the law is greatly offensive.

We’d rather imagine, putting it simply, two worlds, one belonging to the heavens and the other belonging to the earth. In each, we place one of these two types of righteousness, far apart from each other. The righteousness of the law belongs to the earth, and it has to do with earthly matters, and on its behalf, we do good works. The earth cannot produce any fruit unless it is watered from above, and it yields fruit due to what comes from above (for the earth cannot decree over the sky, nor renew it, nor govern over it; on the contrary, it is the sky that judges, renews, and brings fruit to the earth so that it will fulfill God’s decree). It is the same with the righteousness of the law: even after having done many things, we’ve accomplished nothing. But when we think we have fulfilled the law, we haven’t fulfilled it at all, unless first, without any merit or work of our own, we are justified by this Christian righteousness,¹¹ which has nothing to do with the righteousness of the law, that earthly and active righteousness. However, we do not have in us this heavenly and passive righteousness, as it is often called. Rather, we receive it from above. We don’t work toward it; instead, it already has worked on our behalf, and we cling to it by faith. That is why we are able to soar way above all law and works. Therefore, just as we carry the image of the earthly Adam (as Paul said), let us carry the image of the heavenly, which is the new man in a new world (1 Corinthians 15:49).¹² Here, there is no law, no sin, no remorse, no guilty conscience, no death, but rather perfect joy, righteousness, grace, peace, salvation, and glory.

What then? So don’t we have to do anything? Don’t we have to work at all to obtain this righteousness? My answer is simple: Absolutely not, for this is perfect righteousness: To do nothing, to hear nothing, to know nothing about the law, or works. We are to know only this: that Christ has gone to the Father, so we cannot see Him and that He is seated in heavenly places at the right hand of His Father, not as a judge, but rather as God on our behalf. He has been made for us wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption. In brief, He is our High Priest interceding for us and, by grace, reigns over us and in us. In this heavenly righteousness, there is no place for sin, since there is no law, and where there is no law, there cannot be any transgression.

Here, then, there is no place at all for sin, nor a horror-struck conscience, nor fear, nor despair. That is why John said (1 John 5:18), Any one born of God does not sin. But if there is any fear at all, or a conscience full of remorse, it is a sign that this righteousness has departed, that grace has gone into hiding, and that Christ has been obscured and has gone from our sight. But where Christ truly shines, inevitably there will be full and perfect joy in the Lord. The conscience will be at peace. With total conviction, it will think like this: Even though according to the law I am a sinner, and I am under the condemnation of the law, I don’t punish myself and I don’t die because Christ lives, who is my righteousness as well as my eternal life. In that righteousness and life, I don’t have sin, I have no fear, and my conscience has neither remorse nor anxiety about death. With regards to this life and its righteousness and as a son of Adam, I am sure that I am a sinner. With this earthly righteousness, the law would accuse me; death would reign over me and at last would swallow me. But I have another righteousness and life over and above this life, which is Christ the Son of God, who knows neither sin nor death but only righteousness and eternal life, and because of Him, this my body, having been dead and in the dust of the earth, will rise again, freed from the slavery of the law and sin, and will be sanctified together with the spirit.

So these two live side by side while we are here. The flesh is accused, it struggles against temptations, oppressed by despair and grief, hurt by this active righteousness of the law, but the spirit reigns, it rejoices, and it is saved through this passive and Christian righteousness. The spirit knows that it has a Lord in the heavens, at the right hand of His Father, who has abolished the law, sin, death and has crushed all evil under His feet—He has taken them captive and He Himself has triumphed over them (Colossians 2:15).

Therefore, in this epistle, Paul takes on the task of diligently teaching, comforting, and perfecting us in the knowledge of this most excellent Christian righteousness, for if we should lose the article of justification,¹³ then all true Christian doctrine will be lost. And everyone in the world who does not hold on to this doctrine is either a Jew, a Muslim, a follower of the Pope, or a heretic. Because between the righteousness of the law and Christian righteousness, there is no halfway point. Whoever strays from this Christian righteousness inevitably falls into the righteousness of the law. In short, once he loses Christ, he must by default fall into the confidence of his own works.

We can see this today in the fanatical spirits and authors of sects.¹⁴ They hardly teach anything about grace. And when they do, they don’t teach anything reliable about the righteousness of grace.¹⁵ True, they have taken the words out of our mouth and our writings, and that is all they talk about and write. But when it comes to the topic itself, they cannot state it or preach it clearly, since they can’t understand it or assimilate it, because they only hang on to the righteousness of the law. Therefore, they are and keep on practicing as attorneys for the law, lacking every faculty that could make them soar above that active righteousness. Therefore, they stay the same as they were under the Pope only that now they invent for themselves new names and new works. But even so, they don’t change the subject; it is always the same, just as the Muslims do different works than the followers of the Pope, and the latter different from the Jews, etc. But even though some will perform the most splendid works, so grandiose and difficult that no one else could do them, the substance is still the same. The only difference is in the quality. To put it another way, the works only differ in appearances and names but not in the deeds, since after all, they are only works, and those who perform them are not, nor ever will be, Christians. Rather, they do them for the salary, no matter if they are called Jews, Muslims, or followers of the Pope, etc.

That is why we vigorously repeat this teaching of faith or Christian righteousness, so we may constantly take refuge in it and that we may clearly see that it exists far apart from the active righteousness of the law. Otherwise, we could never uphold the true doctrine, since the church came into existence from this doctrine alone.¹⁶ If not, we immediately turn it into dung.¹⁷ We become nothing but experts of church law, keepers of ceremonies, lawyers for the law, and Papists. In consequence, Christ becomes so obscured that no one in the church is properly taught and established. Therefore, if we are going to be teachers and leaders, it is binding on us to be extremely careful in these matters and be able to draw a clear line between the righteousness of the law and the righteousness of Christ. And this distinction is easy to come out of the mouth but very difficult to use and know it personally. When death approaches, or in other moments when the conscience suffers beyond pain, these two types of righteousness approach each other more than you would expect or want. Therefore, I urge upon you, especially those who will instruct and guide in matters of the conscience, as well as everyone else. You need to exercise all the time reading and studying, meditating on the word, and in prayer so that when temptation comes you will be able to teach and comfort your own consciences as well as those of others. Take people from the law over to grace and from the active righteousness and its works to the passive righteousness and have them receive it. In conclusion, lead them from Moses to Christ.

When we suffer affliction and when our conscience is deeply troubled, the devil sets out, law in hand, to frighten us and put to our account our guilt and sin, our horrible past, the wrath and the judgment of God, hell, and eternal death. This way, he intends to throw us into desperation, make us his slaves, and snatch us away from Christ. Moreover, he aims at