The Most Important Book of the Bible (according to Luther)

This year has been a very special year for the Protestant Church around the world, given that this October 31 we will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. On October 31, 1517, the German monk Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, within the Holy Roman Empire, denouncing publicly the corruption of the church of his days. This event gave rise to what is known as the Protestant Reformation from which the strongest branches of evangelicalism have emerged, including Pietism and the Methodist movement, where Pentecostalism is rooted.

Most biographers of Martin Luther have pointed out that Romans was the book that opened Luther’s eyes to the truth of the Gospel that states that man is saved by faith alone. In his preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans, written in 1545, Luther wrote:

“This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian’s while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes.”

Today, 500 years after, while we prepare ourselves to celebrate the roots of our Protestant faith, I invite you to meditate in the words of this Augustinian German monk and immerse yourself in the study of the book of Romans. In this book, you will find the simplicity and depth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that has transformed and continues to transform our lives.

If you would like to know more about Martin Luther’s life, I invite you to watch this documentary: “A Man Named Martin Luther”