“Faith does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before it is asked, it has done them. It is always active.”
Martin Luther is a pivotal person in history, best known for starting the Reformation with his 95 Theses. Almost every Protestant denomination can trace its roots back to Martin Luther. However, this book is written on the presupposition that most people aren’t well acquainted with Luther’s actual writings on religious topics.
I am planning on reading Eric Metaxas’ biography on Martin Luther when it is released this fall. I saw Martin Luther in His Own Words when I logged into Baker Book Bloggers and requested a copy in exchange for a fair review. I thought it might be helpful to read some of Luther’s writings before reading his biography.
The book is divided into five sections covering Luther’s writings on sola fide (faith), gratia (grace), scriptura (Scriptures), Christus (Christ) and Deo Gloria (God’s glory). The author introduces some chapters, telling if the writings are from a lecture, book or commentary. While I found the selections of Luther’s writing interesting and insightful, there were two things about the book I didn’t like. First, the author gave very little introduction in the book as to who Luther was and what he did. It may be that this book is intended as a reference and not toward a general audience. It would have helped to have a short biography of Luther at the beginning of the book. The other was that instead of just referring to the differences between Luther and the Catholic Church of his time, the author refers to the current Catholic Church’s beliefs a few times and some are in error with what the Church believes.
I will keep this book on my shelf as a reference, at least until after I read Metaxas’ book in the fall. I would recommend this book to anyone who is studying or reading about Martin Luther or who has never read firsthand some of Luther’s writings. The book is for high school readers and older due to the higher theological writing.