1.D 01. Does the Book Speak of Christ?

Does the Book Speak of Christ? v. Of all the Reformers Luther had the best defined and in many ways the most logical position. Luther’s one test was Does a book speak of Christ? It is that test which enables Luther to treat Scripture with an amazing freedom. In the concluding paragraph of his Preface to the New Testament he writes: "In sum: the Gospel and the First Epistle of John, St. Paul’s Epistles, especially those to the Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, and St. Peter’s First Epistle are die books which show Christ to you. They teach everything you need to know for your salvation, even if you were never to see or hear any other book, or hear any other teaching. In comparison with these the Epistle of James is an Epistle full of straw, because it contains nothing evangelical." Here is the touchstone, and then there comes the startling passage: "That which does not teach Christ is not apostolic, though Peter or Paul should have said it; on the contrary, that which does preach Christ is apostolic, even if it should come from Judas, Annas, Herod, or Pilate."

It is for this reason that Luther felt able to make an actual division in his New Testament as it was printed. There were four books to which Luther gave an inferior place. James derives justification from works; it contradicts Paul; it has nothing to say about the life, death, resurrection or Spirit of Jesus. Hebrews in three places (Hebrews 6:1-20, Hebrews 10:1-39, Hebrews 12:1-29) refuses repentance to sinners after baptism, contrary to all the Gospels and all Paul’s Epistles. Jude is useless because it has nothing fundamental to the Christian faith, and is only an extract from 2 Peter. In the Apocalypse there are unintelligible and unbiblical images and visions, and the author had the audacity to add promises and threats about obeying and disobeying his words, when no one knows what his words mean. So, then, on the title page of his New Testament Luther printed these four books in a group by themselves with a space between them, and the other twentythree. Further, he numbered the other twenty-three but left these unnumbered. He quite definitely relegated them to a lesser position. He can admire them; he can admire the austerity of James and eulogize the doctrine of Christ as High Priest in Hebrews, but these books do not manifest Christ, and, therefore, they were not for Luther. There was no point in quoting proof texts to Luther. "If," he said, "in die debates in which exegesis brings no decisive victories, our adversaries press the letter against Christ, we shall insist on Christ against the letter."

He is equally severe on the Old Testament. Of Ecclesiastes he said: "This book ought to be more complete; it wants many things; it has neither boots nor spurs, and rides in simple sandals as I used to do when I was still in the convent. Solomon is not its author." The books of Kings and Chronicles are only the calendars of the Jews, containing the list of their kings and their kind of government. "As for the second book of Maccabees and that of Esther," he writes, "I dislike them so much that I wish they did not exist; for they are too Jewish and have many bad pagan elements."

One tiling is to be remembered. Luther granted to others the freedom which he demanded himself. He did not wish to impose his own views on anyone. In the Preface to James he writes: "I cannot place it among the right canonical works, but I do not wish thereby to prevent anyone from so placing it and extolling it as seems good to him." In the Preface to Revelation he writes: "In this book I leave it to every man to make out his own meaning; I wish no one to be bound to my views or opinion... Let every man hold what his spirit gives him." Of Hebrews he says that it docs not lay the foundation of the faith, but nevertheless the writer does build gold, silver, precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:12), even if there is wood, straw, and hay intermingled. "We should receive such fine doctrine with all honour." Luther gave to others the rights he claimed himself.