Standing with Martin Luther

On this day in 1546, Martin Luther fell asleep in the Lord. Lutherans
therefore recognize him this day and thank God for him.

But let’s be honest: Luther wasn’t always a very nice man. While
he takes the time to carefully deconstruct his opponent’s arguments, he does so with a
rather liberal dose of insult. Nor can we forget the truly terrible
things he wrote concerning Jewish people late in life.

And Luther’s legacy is muddied by other things, too. For example, many Christians today—Catholic and Protestant alike (including Lutherans)—would express concern over Luther’s reservations
regarding the canonical status of the so-called antilegomena. And need we mention the bigamous marriage of Philip of Hesse?

Some feel that all of these things (and many others besides)
should be excused in Luther. Yes, defenders might say, Luther was given to inflammatory language,
but then so were his opponents. Yes, he wrote On
the Jews and their Lies, they continue, but he was a product of a larger anti-Semitic
medieval culture. Yes, Luther questioned the canonicity of Hebrews, James,
Jude, and Revelation, the argument goes on, but these books were also
questioned in the early Church; besides, Luther included them in his translation
of the Bible anyway. And on it goes.

It is easy to understand why people seek to justify Luther’s errors.
We consider Luther to be a hero of the faith. Consequently, we sometimes feel compelled to
gloss over that which is distasteful about him. But Lutherans cannot and should
not wish to ignore these failings in Luther. They must be recognized; and they must
be rejected.

In fact, as I’ve written elsewhere, it is Luther’s sinfulness itself which illustrates why his message remains so vital today: “The fact is, Luther
was a man. God accomplished incredibly important things through him . . . but he
was nevertheless human. He was flawed and sinful, like you and me. And really, when
you think about it, that is the good news of the Gospel. God justifies us despite our failings. He covers us with
the blood of Christ and forgives our sin. The recognition that we are simul iustus et peccator (“at the same
time righteous and a sinner”) is a cornerstone of the faith rediscovered by
Luther. On the one hand, we understand that we are sinners because of our evil
inclinations and actions; on the other hand, we know we are saints because God
has forgiven us.”

This truly is why we remember Luther: not because he was always
nice, not because he was always good, and certainly not because he was always
right. He wasn’t. Instead, we remember
Luther because he directed attention always away from himself to Christ. It is to Christ we look for salvation, not our own holiness. Indeed,
this is the context of Luther’s oft-quoted and much-maligned “sin boldly” comments.

“God does not
save those who are only imaginary sinners,” Luther writes. “Be a sinner, and
let your sins be strong [ie, sin boldly], but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice
in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world.” It is to Christ,
not ourselves, that we look for salvation, Luther is saying. He is calling us to be honest about our sin—to recognize its severity—so that we more fully understand our need for Christ. “We will commit sins while we are
here,” Luther continues, “for this life is not a place where justice resides. We,
however, says Peter (2 Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a
new earth where justice will reign. It suffices that through God’s glory we have
recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.”

Luther, then, did not excuse sin. Nor should we today ignore Luther’s sins. But with Luther, we recognize that the sacrifice of Christ is greater than our
sin. We confess with him that the Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world—our sin—through the free gift of grace. We therefore still stand where Luther himself took his stand—indeed, where
all the saints throughout the long history of the Church have always stood: at
the foot of the cross.

Luther was a sinner who sought salvation at the feet of
the Son of God, bleeding and dying for him at Calvary. We must do likewise.