Luther's Treatise On Christian Freedom and Its Legacy [Hardcover]

This book analyzes Luthers treatise On Christian Freedom and its revolutionary re-definition of what it means to be Christian as one freed by Christ from sin, the accusation of Gods law, and death in order to be bound or bonded to the neighbor. Robert Kolb puts the treatise in its historical context, tracing its key ideas as they developed out of his medieval background, and as they continued to mature throughout his life. A contextual analysis of the text accompanies an overview of how this treatise was used or ignored throughout subsequent centuries, including the more extensive impact it has had in the last half century.Robert Kolb is professor of systematic theology emeritus at Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis.

Refreshingly abandoning the twentieth-century quest for the moment of Luthers breakthrough, Robert Kolb explores the evangelical maturation of an actual human being, rooted in history, searching for the favor of a holy God. As a result of the gospel: A lord of all and servant of all? Luthers On Christian Freedom has been rarely understood from within the Reformers own categories and experience. Anyone who thinks that Luther has nothing practical to say about the Christian life must read this informative and pleasurable work. Michael S. Horton, Westminster Seminary California

Robert Kolb offers an illuminating exploration of Luthers 1520 treatise, On Christian Freedom. His account of Luthers life as A life lived freely provides an almost lyrical account of the Reformers life. His discussion of the development of Luthers understanding of freedom is insightful, not only presenting a careful reading of Luther in his context, but also shedding critical light on the individual focus of much modern rhetoric of freedom. The reception history of On Christian Freedom, after intense engagement during the sixteenth century, shows a long period of relative neglect, transformed in the twenty-first century by the rediscovery of On Chrisl³>