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Sermon on Threefold Righteousness

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.

The origins, in sermon form, of an essential Lutheran doctrine.

This is a sermon given by Luther in Wittenberg (probably 1518), and outlines a three-fold division of sin, along with a corresponding division of righteousness. The first division of sin is criminal "deadly sin" which runs contrary to civil law and societal order – that is "apparent righteousness", which can often be prideful, hypocritical and self-serving. The second division is "essential (or original) sin", which is contrary to, and remedied by, the righteousness of Christ. The third division is "actual (personal) sin", which is contrary to actual righteousness, and which stems from faith and divine righteousness. The first division has been considered a relic of an older pre-Reformation conception of righteousness, and was eliminated one year when later Luther gave the sermon "On Two-fold Righteousness", a doctrine which became essential to Lutheranism and was incorporated into the Formula of Concord.

Sermons

Sin and Righteousness