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This volume contains a selection of Luther’s preaching between May 1531 and June 1539. In the first few years after the decisive Diet of Augsburg (1530) and the presentation of the Augsburg Confession, Luther grappled with how best to teach the doctrine of justification. Sermons dealing with Christian righteousness and the proper distinction of Law and Gospel show how Luther was gradually formulating this theme in a way that could be understood by Christians for generations to come. Luther’s preaching during these years also addressed Baptism, ordination to the preaching office, marriage, Christ’s return, the end of the world, the confession of the Trinity in the creeds, and the person of Christ.
These topics reflect, in part, the circumstances of the Evangelical church in the decade after the Augsburg Confession—and its rejection by the papal church—as Luther and his colleagues sought to defend the Gospel and to define its consequences worked out in the life of the church and of individual Christians. The selection of sermons also reflects the interests of Luther’s contemporaries and his students of the next generation: included here are most of the sermons from these years that found their way into the press during Luther’s lifetime or posthumously before the end of the century.
Luther’s sermons in this volume make clear that Christian doctrine is not just for the classroom and textbook, but also and especially for the hearing, admonition, and consolation of all Christians.
