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Open Letter on Translating

Dr. Martin Luther

Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a leader of the Protestant Reformation and namesake of the Lutheran Tradition. He was born in Eisleben and was well-educated before entering the University of Erfurt. It was there that, rather than pursue an advanced law degree, Luther became an Augustinian monk. Between 1505 and 1512 he studied and lectured in theology, punctuated by achievement of his Doctorate at Wittenberg. By 1517 Luther was realizing in full the doctrine of justification by faith, as declared by the apostle Paul and Augustine. His publication of 95 theses against indulgences sparked protest throughout Germany, forcing Luther to defend his theology in disputations at Heidelberg and Leipzig. His treatises of 1520 brought him into greater conflict with the papacy, and he was excommunicated. After the Diet of Worms in 1521, he continued to define and uphold his theology, seeking to reform the Church, emphasizing the authority of Scripture and the Pauline doctrine of justification.

Luther’s defense of his translation of Romans 3 – the statement of justification by faith alone.

This letter was written in 1530 to Wenceslas Link, a supporter of Luther and the Reformation movement, principally to address a question on the translation of Romans 3:28 in Luther’s German version of the New Testament. Link was a theologian – initially an Augustinian monk and prior – and a protestant preacher at Nuremburg after 1525. The controversy surrounding the translation of Romans 3:28, centers on the word sola, “alone, only” – "We hold that the human will be justified without the works of the law but only by faith." Some theologians and scholars of the Established Church had impugned Luther’s translation, and here the Reformer provides a detailed defense.

    This letter demonstrates two central aspects of Luther’s life and thought:

• The emphasis on Scripture as the source of authoritative truth and doctrine
• The fundamental doctrine of justification by faith alone

Church History

Reformation