Reading Romans with Luther

by R.J. Grunewald

Most of us experience theology in a head-in-the-clouds kind of way. We see the great theologians’ words soaring far above us. Each word is powerful and yet untouchable. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Good theology was never meant to be out of reach! Martin Luther’s work was revolutionary in part because of the invention of the printing press, giving his words more accessibility than ever before. Now five hundred years removed from Luther’s lifetime, his works are as influential as ever . . .  and left on a shelf by all but pastors and history buffs.

Luther’s commentary on Romans is an incredible but complicated commentary. Reading Romans with Luther offers a shortened version of this monumental commentary, featuring an attractive devotional format and imagery highlighting key portions of the text. Rather than a linear exploration of the original commentary, author RJ Grunewald takes readers on a thematic journey through the teachings in Romans. It’s Luther—but for everyday life!

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction

136 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 12, 2017

About the author

RJ Grunewald is a Pastor at Faith Lutheran Church. His writing has been featured in several online publications including ChristHoldFast, KeyLife, and Christianity Today. He writes so that theology will be accessible for the everyday person. RJ, his wife, and two children live near Detroit, Michigan.

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Gospel is," as Martin Luther said, "the very heart of the Bible. And the Book of Romans is the very heart of the Gospel."

I am glad that I chose Reading Romans with Luther to take the place of our Bible Study meetings no longer allowed due to the pandemic. This book is a great accompaniment to the Book of Romans. It is well organized and easy to read with artwork strategically placed to allow meditation.

Pastor RJ Grunewald offers highlights from Martin Luther's commentary on the Book of Romans and explains how these themes from centuries ago are still very relevant to our lives.
The author uses - Scripture - Paul's words quoting from the Old Testament to the Romans, Luther's words and ideas and then using his own words, explains what it means and how it relates to us in today's world.

Here are some of my favourite quotes from the book:-
"The proper distinction between Law and Gospel is quite possibly one of the most important emphasis in Luther's teaching. It's one that we see developed early on in his writing and one that continues to be repeated in our own day.
This distinction is a matter of life and death.
... The Law commands us to have love and Jesus Christ, but the Gospel offers and presents them both to us.
God's law and Gospel are both necessary. They function in different ways, yet work together...
The gospel promises that we are given everything we need in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Gospel promises that our sins are forgiven freely – not by our own obedience but by the perfect obedience of Jesus."

"Law and gospel function differently but work in tandem so that sinners will recognize their sin and cling to their Savior."

"We need churches that use the power of the Gospel to bring people life."

'The primary message of the Church is a message of grace, hope, and love. Paul writes in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."

"The intent of the apostle is that the total righteousness of man leading to salvation depends on the Word through faith and not on good works through knowledge."

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame." (Romans 10:9-11)

"The grace given to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus gives us the hope and peace of knowing our sins are forgiven."

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

I highlighted many phrases and sentences, and plan to periodically reread this book. 'Reading Romans with Luther' is a fabulous resource that will help you better understand the Book of Romans, and I highly recommend it to all believers, anyone wanting to know about Christianity, and those interested in theology.

*Thanks to Concordia Publishing House, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book, which allowed me the opportunity to read it and write an unbiased review. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

#ReadingRomansWithLuther
#NetGalley

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[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intricate layers here: Paul quoting the Old Testament from Romans, Luther quoting Augustine, Grunewald over everything else.

While it's a good mixture of writing, I keep wanting Grunewald to dive deeper, to go further, to unpack it all -- to actually pick apart and analyze Luther's words in greater detail. This is great stuff, and some of it is very thick, but the great stuff is Paul's and Luther's words, not Grunewald.

It went by very quickly in that there is very little analyzation on the whole. This book feels more like a re-hashing of parts of Luther's words in different words, rather than a true explanation and evaluation of Luther's ideas.

Keeping in mind the purpose of this book -- what it is meant to do for the layperson and a general congregation on the whole -- I think it is successful to a point. It's meant to be an introduction, an entrance, into Luther's commentary on Romans for those people who would never otherwise crack open Luther's huge commentary on Romans. And for that reason, it's good, because it exposes people to Luther's words who may never read him elsewhere.

[K B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ver-ry good! I think I underlined something on every page of this one. Recommended reading!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A relatively short but excellent study of Romans and with it the Gospel. Pastor Grunewald steps the reader through the cycle of belief starting with being exposed as a sinner, how scripture uses the Law and then the Gospel to save, the purpose of the Law and purpose of the Gospel. Then he really starts to dig in examining righteousness and how we can go astray with incorrect thinking of what righteousness is, the incessant internal battle between the saint & sinner our suffering as a result and Christ's boundless grace. Difficult passages within Romans are laid bare and placed in context using Luther's commentaries and Pastor Grunewald's amplification placing explanations in today's context. A great book for both the beginner and one that wants a short review of the very basics of Christian belief and living.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dropped a star because it's too short. Luther's commentary is over 200 pages long; this book is 130 pages or so, with multiple full-page illos, considerable commentary by Grunewald, and a fair number of Bible passages. I suppose it accomplishes what Grunewald meant to do, since I'm going in search of Luther's commentary now, but it just gives the reader a taste of Luther.

[Mary Moerbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will be a very handy book to give as a gift to an aspiring theologian, high school or upward, or to any armchair theologian who'd like to give reading Luther a try. Now, I would recommend anyone try to read Luther in his own words, but I have to admit that the thought behind this book—introducing, summarizing, and explaining shorter passages of larger works by Luther in friendlier-to-lay language—is a brilliant intermediary move.

I was slightly surprised Rev. Grunewald chose Luther on Romans first, but I have since learned he self-published a previous book on Luther's Great Galatians! He also has a book, The Art of Law and Gospel.

As a writer myself, I particularly appreciated the introduction to Reading Romans. Grunewald explains how sometimes you need someone to make the lofty one touchable, as Lois Lane did for Superman. In this book, the Grunewald takes excerpts of Luther, Scripture, and his own words to go through Luther's Commentary on Romans. I wasn't entirely thrilled with the layout, different fonts representing the two men. Still, taking a complicated book and, without oversimplifying, drawing readers into the richness of it . . . that's a thing of beauty and something I hope I also do someday!

Reading Romans itself, from Scripture, is great. Do it more often! :) And, maybe next time you can consider reading this book alongside it. Then you too can delve into Luther and even more of the treasures of the Lutheran proclamations from the Epistle to the Romans!

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Luther was one of the most God-fearing saints to have ever lived. His conversion account is humbling, his life's accomplishments, most notably beginning the Reformation was world changing, and his written works are necessary reading. Yet Luther's works are not always translated in the most easy to read Modern English, which can make understanding Luther's deep theological insights hard to Grapple with. This is why any work which seeks to enable a Christian to Grapple with Luther's works is a noteworthy and necessary book to add to your collection.

A newer book which seeks to do just that is, Reading Romans with Luther, by RJ Grunewald published by Concordia publishing. This book takes Luther's landmark commentary on the epistle to the Romans and abridges it in such a way that Grunewald is able to insert a helpful commentary on Luther's commentary as well as insertions on scripture when applicable. This is a phenomenal resource and begs multiple readings. I hope that the format for this book is used for other great Saints of the faith as well.

With the 500th anniversary of the Reformation occurring this year many people will be flocking to the works of the most well-known reformer, looking for the original sources of his works, but if you want not only to access the deep riches of wisdom Luther has to offer as well as being able to actually understand him then this book is one that becomes fundamental reading. Furthermore this book is organized topically rather than reading Romans chapter 1 through chapter 16. Which makes it an easier format for personal study on the book of of Romans rather than a scholarly study of it. In the end this book helps one not only understand Luther and his thoughts on the book of Romans but help you understand Paul's letter to the Romans in a modern age which ceases to proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Concordia Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

Reading Romans with Luther
© 2017 by RJ Grunewald
Publisher: Concordia
Page Count: 136 Pages
ISBN: 978-0758654847

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: When I was a kid, I dreamed I could fly like Superman.

I love, love, love, love, love the book of Romans. I am currently working my way through seven different commentaries of it. (Barnes, Calvin, Clarke, Henry, MacLaren, Spurgeon, Wesley) I wanted to love R.J. Grunewald's Reading Romans with Luther. I did. I have read several of Luther's books in the past--including his commentary on Galatians. I ended up slightly disappointed with Reading Romans with Luther. Grunewald's stated intent was to make Luther accessible and good theology within reach. He wants to explain Luther in such a way that all intimidation is removed.

If you're looking for a good, basic book on the themes of Romans you probably won't be disappointed. It is well laid out and quite good.

I was reading an ARC of Reading Romans with Luther provided through Netgalley. At least in the ARC, it was not clear which words were Grunewald's and which words were Luther. I had a hard time distinguishing between Luther quotes--I am assuming there are some--and Grunewald's summaries and "cliff notes" of Luther's commentary. Luther does require translation, I realize that. Unless you read German or possibly possibly Latin--I'm assuming those are the two languages you might find him writing in--you're going to need a translation. I wanted to be able to tell Luther from Grunewald. Now this might not be an issue in the actual actual book.

As a devotional it is mostly excellent. As a commentary, well, it disappoints because it's like you're expecting a meal and are handed a breath mint.

Essentially I am conflicted because it was a nice enough devotional organized around a handful of main themes found in the gospel of Romans. It depends on what you're looking for.

[Bill Pence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in reading this short book for several reasons. First, I enjoy reading books about the great Protest Reformer Martin Luther, and especially in this 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Second, Romans is my favorite book of the Bible, and it is also where I was in my reading through the Bible at the time this book was published. Third, I have enjoyed the author’s blog and looked forward to reading a book by him.

The author, a Lutheran pastor, states that the book is meant to introduce the reader to the work of Martin Luther, to explain his words in a way that removes some of the intimidation. He realizes that Luther’s works can be intimidating, and this book is meant to take some of that intimidation away and guide the reader into Luther’s works. The author wants you to look at this book as Luther for everyday life.
The book does not contain Luther’s entire commentary on Romans, but only pertinent paragraphs that go along with the themes outlined in the table of contents. Rather than providing a linear exploration of Luther’s commentary, the author has divided and rearranged it according to thematic teachings in Romans.
He has also included the Scripture passages that Luther references within the text and divided it with headings and chapters to allow the reader to find the topics and sections easily.
A special feature of this book is the artwork that accompanies the text to reflect the beauty of Luther’s theology and writing. The author intends that the reader will pause and reflect on the phrases that are called out with artwork.
The author has provided his own commentary to show how Luther’s writings apply to our lives today. Unfortunately, in the Kindle edition of the book the author’s words and Luther’s words were not clearly differentiated. In most instances I could not clearly tell whether it was the author’s or Luther’s words I was reading. I’m assuming that is not the case in the print edition of the book. However, I have to lower my review of the book by one star because of my experience reading the Kindle edition.
The author includes a helpful Appendix for preachers.
Highly recommended, but not in the Kindle edition.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really has three authors: Paul, writing Romans; Martin Luther, commenting on Romans; and RJ Grunewald, commenting on both.

Grunewald does not take a chapter-by-chapter approach to Romans, but concentrates on themes. The separate authors are delineated by type font, indentation, and side labels to keep the reader clear on who is writing what. Each chapter also has at least one quotation that is written in calligraphy with a color background. (That draws attention to important words, and it breaks up some of the longer passages.)

I appreciated Grunewald's commentary, although I wished he'd get a little more in-depth. I understand that this was an overview for those who might otherwise never pick up a whole book by Luther. But sometimes Luther's section, or even the section of Romans, could have used more explanation.

Romans is one of my favorite books for its clear explanation of justification and sanctification. This book really points out that there is NOTHING anyone can do to earn salvation; it's all God and none of us. Because God loves us so much, we can love one another.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a little bit of St. Paul, a little bit of Martin Luther, and a little bit of RJ Grunewald. I liked it. I am now reading Luther instead of reading about Luther.

I will re-read this again. Especially the St. Paul and Martin Luther. Maybe I will get Luther's Romans book(s).

A couple chapters were longer than the rest, but I managed it.

Oh there was some nice art with Martin Luther's words too.

Good intro to Martin Luther's writings.

[Eric Estes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a helpful primer to Luther's commentary on Romans and perhaps a good book for those who have read little of his writings. I read Luther's works, including his commentary on Romans, so I have concluded I am not the intended audience for this book.

[cindy townley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome little book,every Lutheran should read. Love how it is tied with Luther words and Bible and the author's . Ordered copies for rest of the family.

[Christi · Rating 5 out of 5]

R.J. Grunewald has done something amazing that I know will bless many with his new book.  He as taken the incredible work of Martin Luther and put it into our language today in Reading Romans with Luther.

Rather than writing his own commentary on Romans, Mr. Grunewald takes Luthers commentary and puts it into a language that we can understand today.

Many of the traditional commentaries out there go verse by verse but Mr. Gruenwald has taken more of a devotional approach which I found intriguing.  To first read Luther's words and then have the author put it into layman's terms was beautifully done.  

The book of Romans is a wonderful reminder of our freedom as believers in Jesus Christ.  Our culture is so self-absorbed but Reading Romans with Luther takes our focus off ourselves and rightly puts it on our King.  

It is a must read for all believers and for those who want to know what Christianity is truly all about.  It made me fall more in love with Romans and gave me even more of a hunger for God's Word.  I highly recommend!

[Samer Aldroubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I think the text was good, which is largely a given as I'd say the majority is either Scripture or written by Luther. RJ Grunewald does a good job of connecting pieces to a bit more modern context. One note - if I had it to do over I'd get a print edition. In the Kindle edition the text variation that notes what is Bible vs Luther vs Grunewald isn't very strong - and is a bit inconsistent. The pictures I've seen of the print edition look to be much better at that.

[Heidi Perling · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine book, but it made me wish I was reading Luther's commentary instead of only snippets.