Statements
from the President's Office of the LCMS
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MARTIN LUTHER
A Statement from The Office of the President
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
1333 South Kirkwood Road
St. Louis, Missouri 63122
United States of America
On November 10, 1483, Hans and Margarete Luther were blessed by God with the gift of a son. The next day the baby boy was baptized and given the name of the saint of the day, Martin. We thank God for the precious gifts He has has given to us through the work of his faithful servant, Dr. Martin Luther.
There have been more books written about Martin Luther than any other figure in history, except our Lord Jesus Christ. Luther's life and work tranformed Western civilization and consequently impacted the entire world. The changes initiated at the time of the Reformation laid the foundation for revolutionary changes in economics, politics, culture, philosophy and in just about every area of life imaginable.
However, it is not for these things that we remember and praise God for Martin Luther. Rather it is for the clear and penetrating voice of the living Gospel which resounded from Luther's pulpit, classroom and home. The vibrant and joyous Good News poured forth from the pen of Luther, obliterating centuries of dark ignorance concerning the grace of God through Christ the Savior.
Do Lutherans worship Luther? Of course not! Sometimes others perceive our admiration for Luther as worship. The best and perhaps the only way we can explain to others why it is we admire this man and his work so much is to let them read Luther themselves. Share with someone a copy of Luther's Galatians commentary, or his Small and Large Catechism, or his preface to the book of Romans, and they will come away with a new found respect for this man of God.
Our own Dr. C. F. W. Walther was rescued from pietism by being introduced to the works of Dr. Luther during an illness. Years later, writing to a pastor in another Lutheran synod, he explained why Luther is so important to our Synod. "If you have such a great longing to learn Lutheran doctrine, to cling to it, and faithfully to teach it, I would urge you to read Luther's writings. It cannot be otherwise that in Luther the Lutheran doctrine is the purest, the brightest, the most complete and original (according to the Scriptures). It is plain stupid to continue to argue about Lutheran doctrine, and to follow one's presumptions, and not to turn to Luther himself...you will soon become divinely certain and happy in your faith and in your standpoint within and toward the church" (Selected Letters of Dr. C. F. W. Walther, CPH: 1981, p. 112).
That was good advice then and still is today. I encourage you to pull down a volume of Luther's writings from your bookshelf for reading and study. As you do, pause a moment to thank God for His faithful servant, Dr. Martin Luther.
From: The President's Newsletter, November 1995, p. 2