The Heavenly Indulgence
In the last quarter of 1519, Dr. Martin Luther published three sermons on the sacraments of penance, baptism, and Lord’s Supper. He wrote…
Author: Dr. Matthew Phillips
My name is C. Matthew Phillips and I am Professor of History at Concordia University, Nebraska. I completed my Ph.D. in medieval European history at Saint Louis University in 2006. My research has focused on medieval monasticism, preaching, devotion to the True Cross, and the Crusades. Additionally, I have interests in medieval and early modern European education and the writings and life of Martin Luther.
At Concordia I teach World Civilization I, World Civilization II, Europe Since 1914, Early and Medieval Christianity, Renaissance and Reformation, The Medieval Crusades, The History of Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, and The Modern Middle East.
Martin Luther’s First Published Lectures on Galatians
Dr. Martin Luther lectured on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians from late October 1516 to March 1517. In addition to his earlier…
Why the God-man?
In the late eleventh century, a famous theologian wrote a book called: Cur deus homo (usually translated as Why God Became a Man). …
O Sacred Head Now Wounded: Luther’s Devotion to the Passion of Christ
Many Lutherans sing the beloved hymn, O Sacred Head Now Wounded, (LSB 450) during Lent and especially on Good Friday. Paul Gerhardt wrote…
Philip Melanchthon’s Early Teaching on Justification
Philip Melanchthon published his first major theological work, Loci Communes (Theological Commonplaces) in 1521. At the age of 21, in 1518 Melanchthon had come…
Martin Luther’s Confession of the Gospel of Justification
In 1519, Luther published an edited copy of his lectures on Galatians. This text represented his clearest exposition of the doctrine of justification. …
Martin Luther’s Discovery of Justification by Faith Alone
An examination of Luther’s lectures on Romans in 1515-1516 reveals significant changes in his understanding of justification. In these lectures, he began to…
Martin Luther’s Discovery: The Late Medieval Background
In 1545, Martin Luther wrote the preface for the publication of his complete works in Latin. Therein he included a biographical statement that…
God Becomes a Human Being
“Daily in this world we live with murder, lying, betrayal, stealing, robbing, and all manner of shameful evil, depravity, and vexation, so that…
An Infallible Truth
In my previous post (Luther at Augsburg) I described Martin Luther’s meeting with Cardinal Cajetan at Augsburg in October 1518. There Luther had…
Martin Luther at Augsburg in 1518
The publication of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses in late 1517 initiated theological debates over the nature of grace and faith, true repentance, and authority in…
Martin Luther on Studying Theological Texts
“If anybody wishes to become a theologian, he has a great advantage, first of all, in having the Bible. This is now so…
Augustine, Luther, and the Lord’s Supper
In 1527 Dr. Martin Luther wrote his first major treatise on the Lord’s Supper: That These Words of Christ, “This Is My Body,”…
Vainglory: Luther on Galatians 5:25-26
In the film, The Devil’s Advocate, Al Pacino’s character (the devil) states: “Vanity is definitely my favorite sin.” This sin coupled with wealth…
Striving for Heavenly Things: An Example of Luther’s Preaching on Sanctification
In a previous post, I described how Dr. Luther recognized St. Paul’s pattern of teaching good works and virtues after the preaching of…
The World Wants To Be Fooled
By the early 1530s Dr. Martin Luther had taught concerning the nature of the ministry and the call of pastors in various writings. …
Martin Luther’s Advice to Pastors-Elect
In 1512 Martin Luther became a doctor of theology. He wrote a large number of theological works on various topics and participated in…
A Sermon on the Two Kinds of Righteousness
Our observation of the 500th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther’s publication of the Ninety-Five Theses took place a few months ago. However, this…
A Child Is Born Unto You
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find…
Out of Love and Zeal for the Truth
“Out of love and zeal for truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following theses will be publicly discussed at…
Do the Work But Forsake the Anxiety
“I have seen many youths, excellently brought up and very well educated, who nevertheless became completely corrupt once they lost their teachers and…
Dr. Luther’s Warning to the German People
“…it is not fitting for me, as a preacher, vested with the spiritual office, to wage war or to counsel war on incite…
Christians Teach Morals and All the Virtues
In his lectures on Galatians, published in 1535, Dr. Luther discussed the Law as the means by which God reveals sin and brings…
Righteousness Comes From Faith
While Martin Luther had formulated the theology of justification from 1515 to 1519, his theological opponents within the papal court called for an…
A Tiny Error Overthrows the Whole Teaching
“A little yeast leavens the whole lump.” Galatians 5:9 In Dr. Luther’s commentary on this verse, we may observe his typical approach in…