Lutheran Vocabulary

Because Luther was well versed in the Scriptures, he recognized that God's work in the world happens through God's speaking. God spoke cre-ation into existence. True prophets are known because the words God gave them to speak came to pass. Jesus used his words and voice to heal, to stop the wind and to raise the dead. Paul said that faith comes through hearing. Hearing what? Words. It should come as no surprise, then, that for Luther and those who followed in his wake, words mattered. In fact, Lutherans are known for being a bit persnickety about vocabulary and definitions.

There are a lot of words Christians use that might not mean the same thing for everyone who’s using them. When writing a preface to the Bible, Luther said that unless people have a good sense of the working vocabulary, no reading of the book has any value. Words like law, gospel, and faith get thrown around a lot, but if the meaning, or definition, of those words is differ-ent from one person to the next you could be having a completely different discussion with someone all the while using the same words!

This month, we’re going to look at some of the most common words in our Christian conversation; and we’re going to see how Luther defined them and on what he based those definitions. So, keep watching for the weekly videos as we explore how Luther understood, and how Scripture understands: law, gospel, sin, justified by faith, and good works. And don’t be surprised if you hear something new!

To learn more, watch the weekly bulletin and view the Reformation 500 video series at www.lutherhouseofstudy.org.