Galatians

by Martin Luther, Alister E. McGrath (Series Editor), J.I. Packer (Introduction)

For hundreds of years Christendom has been blessed with Bible commentaries written by great men of God who were highly respected for their godly work and their insight into spiritual truth. The Crossway Classic Commentaries series, carefully adapted for maximum understanding and usefulness, presents the very best work on individual Bible books for today's believers.

Ever since it was written, the apostle Paul's letter to the believers in Galatia has nurtured trust and assurance in Christ. Its grand themes of the superiority of Scripture over human reason, the sufficiency of Christ's atonement through his death, and the freedom of justification through faith alone continue to energize and enlighten Christians today.

This classic commentary from the heart of a courageous apostle will encourage and equip all who desire to understand, live out, and communicate the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

Genres: Theology, Christian

303 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1535

About the author

Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German monk, theologian, university professor and church reformer whose ideas inspired the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.

Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authority and that all baptized Christians under Jesus are a spiritual priesthood. According to Luther, salvation was a free gift of God, received only by true repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah, a faith given by God and unmediated by the church.

Luther's confrontation with Charles V at the Diet of Worms over freedom of conscience in 1521 and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor resulted in his being declared an outlaw of the state as he had been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Because of the perceived unity of the medieval Church with the secular rulers of western Europe, the widespread acceptance of Luther's doctrines and popular vindication of his thinking on individual liberties were both phenomenal and unprecedented.

His translation of the Bible into the vernacular, making it more accessible to ordinary people, had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism.

Much scholarly debate has concentrated on Luther's writings about the Jews. His statements that Jews' homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed were revived and used in propaganda by the Nazis in 1933–45. As a result of this and his revolutionary theological views, his legacy remains controversial.

Reviews

[Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I am going to need to read through it again, as it was coupled in with schoolbooks, but I felt like there was a lot of repetition. Luther had some great points, but lost my interest at times with his long-windedness. Don't get me wrong though, it is definitely something I would recommend to people.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow read but gloriously good!

[Emily Stem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pivotal for every believer.

[CJ Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tremendous. Luther captures the heart of the gospel with clarity, energy, and joy. He winsomely exalts the grace of Jesus, and thunders against any attempts to use the law to justify, but then wisely distinguishes between attempting to use the law to be made right with God (bad), and using the law to guide you in doing good works to bless your neighbor (good). His discussion of what to expect when this gospel is preached was surprisingly moving and helpful.

Throughout the book he manifests a pastor's heart, encouraging Christians with the finished work of Jesus Christ. It is nearly impossible to read this book and not love Jesus more.

[Eddie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow.

This is the most dense piece of literature i've read cover to cover. It's so gospel saturated it makes my head want to explode; but it also brings me a confident peace in my soul for my heart and theology.

If that doesn't make sense to you, read this and it will.

[Becky Pliego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three things:

1) I cannot believe that as Reformed Christian I hadn't read this one book! God used Luther to spark the Reformation as He opened Luther's eyes to understand how salvation is by grace alone. So reading this book was wonderful!

2) Bunyan is the one who actually brought to my attention how important it was for believers to read this book. He wrote in his autobiography: "Eventually God, who knows us completely, provided me with a book of Martin Luther's - it was his commentary on Galatians. It was so old that it was ready to fall apart at the least touch. I was so glad that such an old book had fallen into my hands! When I started to read it I found that his experiences had been so similar to mine that it was as if the book had been written out of my own heart. I marveled at this - this man couldn't have known what things would be like today, living as he had so long ago! "

3) I found some places where my understanding of the Scriptures differ from Luther's, which makes sense, since I'm not a Lutheran.

[Douglas Domer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luther was a true wordsmith! He is able to explain and exhort with the best writers! I enjoyed this commentary and highly recommend it. He is very readable and clear in his writting.

[Cory M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've now read this twice, and it remains the single most helpful theological work I've ever read. Foundational.