NEW EXPLORATIONS IN THEOLOGY

MARTIN LUTHER AND THE RULE OF FAITH

READING GOD’S WORD FOR GOD’S PEOPLE

TODD R. HAINS

Foreword by Robert Kolb

An imprint of InterVarsity Press

Downers Grove, Illinois

InterVarsity Press

P.O. Box 1400 | Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426

ivpress.com | email@ivpress.com

©2022 by Todd Roger Hains

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press® is the publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®. For more information, visit intervarsity.org.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are the author’s translation of Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible.

The publisher cannot verify the accuracy or functionality of website URLs used in this book beyond the date of publication.

Cover design and image composite: David Fassett

ISBN 978-1-5140-0297-1 (digital)

ISBN 978-1-5140-0296-4 (print)

JESUS.

TUUS EGO SUM.

SALUUM ME FAC.

PSALMUS 119:94

Prayer to Receive God’s Word

In the name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

My heart composes a fine song. I want to sing of a King.

My tongue is the stylus of a skilled scribe. Ps 45:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear? Ps 27:1

For you light my lamp.

The Lord my God makes my darkness light. Ps 18:28

Your word is a lamp for my feet

and a light on my path. Ps 119:105

For in you is the source of life,

and in your light we see light. Ps 36:9

When your word is revealed,

it brings joy and makes the simple wise. Ps 119:130

This is my comfort in my misery,

for your word gives me life. Ps 119:50

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Almighty God, long ago, at many times and in many ways, you spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days you have spoken to us by your Son, whom you appointed the heir of all things and through whom you created the world. Grant us grace in all humility and meekness to receive your Word with hearty faith, to hear him and keep him, and so to be made one with your dear Son; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Contents

Foreword by Robert Kolb

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

1 Scripture Against Scripture

An Introduction

2 The Ancient Catechism

Defining the Rule of Faith

3 The Childish Doctrine

Explaining the Catechism

4 The Resurrection of the Dead

Reading the Law According to the Rule of Faith

5 The Spoils of Death’s Death

Reading the Historical Books According to the Rule of Faith

6 The Upside-Down King

Reading the Wisdom Books According to the Rule of Faith

7 The Great Light in Darkness

Reading the Prophets According to the Rule of Faith

8 The Light of the Word

Reading the New Testament According to the Rule of Faith

9 Scripture According to Scripture

Five Theses on the Rule of Faith

10 This Is Most Certainly True

A Conclusion

Table of Sources

Bibliographies...

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About Martin Luther and the Rule of Faith: Reading God’s Word for God’s People

Martin Luther is a giant among the church’s theologians. He is especially known for advocating views such as justification by faith and the priesthood of all believers, which challenged the late-medieval Roman Catholic Church.

Yet the reading of God’s Word was what Luther considered his primary task as a theologian—and as a Christian. Though he is often portrayed as reading the Bible with a bare approach of sola Scriptura, without any reference to or concern for previous generations’ interpretation, the truth is much more complicated.

In this volume in IVP Academic’s New Explorations in Theology (NET) series, Reformation scholar Todd R. Hains considers how Luther read the Bible according to the rule of faith, which guided his interpretation of the text by the church’s established practice of hermeneutics as reflected in the Apostles’ Creed and the church’s catechism.

This study will helpfully complicate your view of Luther and bring clarity to your own reading of God’s Word.

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Table of Contents