Emphasizing salvation based on faith in the merits of Jesus Christalone, Martin Luther dealt the symbolic blow that began theReformation when he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the doorof the Wittenberg church. That document contained an attackon papal abuses and the sale of indulgences by Catholic Churchoffcials.
In this unique volume, the reader will find Luther s mostsignificant sermons for Advent and Christmas Day, followingthe church year s lectionary readings associated with the majorfeasts and fasts. Luther wrote thousands of pages of expositionduring his life, but this book makes available in a single volumea core collection of his writing for this liturgical season, featuringScripture readings that include the most familiar events from the life of Jesus.
Other volumes in this series include Luther s sermons for theSunday after Christmas Day, New Year s Day, and Epiphany, andhis sermons for Lent and Easter through Trinity Sunday (includingChrist s Ascension and Pentecost). These writings represent theheart of Luther s thoughts on the Christian faith and his ideas forpractical faith in that life.
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Martin Luther changed the course of Western civilization by initiating the Protestant Reformation. As a priest and theology professor, he confronted indulgence salesmen with his 95 Theses in 1517. Luther strongly disputed their claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin could be purchased with money. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms meeting in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor.
Luther taught that salvation is a free gift of God and received only by grace through faith in Jesus as redeemer from sin, not from good works. His theology challenged the authority of the pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood.
His translation of the Bible into the language of the people (instead of Latin) made it more accessible, causing a tremendous impact on the church and on German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation into English of the King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of singing in churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant priests to marry.
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