Direct Links to Luther's Galatians Commentary - Project Wittenberg

Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (1535)

by Martin Luther

Translated by Theodore Graebner
(Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1949)
Table of Contents


To: Martin Luther - Project Wittenberg
Contents

Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians
__________

  Preface (pp. iii-v)

Chapter 1:
  Galatians 1:1-3 (pp. 9-18)
  Galatians 1:4-6 (pp. 18-29)
  Galatians 1:7-24 (pp. 29-43)


Chapter 2:
  Galatians 2:1-3 (pp. 44-48)
  Galatians 2:4-13 (pp. 48-60)
  Galatians 2:14-16 (pp. 60-68)
  Galatians 2:17-21 (pp. 68-85)

Chapter 3:
  Galatians 3:1-9 (pp. 86-106)
  Galatians 3:10-19 (pp. 106-135)
  Galatians 3:20-29 (pp. 135-149)

Chapter 4:
  Galatians 4:1-9 (pp. 150-172)
  Galatians 4:10-31 (pp. 172-193)

Chapter 5:
  Galatians 5:1-13 (pp. 194-216)
  Galatians 5:14-26 (pp. 216-236)

Chapter 6:
  Galatians 6:1-18 (pp. 237-251)


This text was prepared by Laura J. Hoelter for Project Wittenberg by Robert E. Smith and is in the public domain. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to:

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Walther Library
Concordia Theological Seminary.
E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu
Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA
Phone: (260) 452-3149 - Fax: (260) 452-2126

Luther - on Galatians 5:16-24

From Study-Light.

Verse 16
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

"I have not forgotten what I told you about faith in the first part of my letter. Because I exhort you to mutual love you are not to think that I have gone back on my teaching of justification by faith alone. I am still of the same opinion. To remove every possibility for misunderstanding I have added this explanatory note: 'Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.'"

With this verse Paul explains how he wants this sentence to be understood: By love serve one another. When I bid you to love one another, this is what I mean and require, 'Walk in the Spirit.' I know very well you will not fulfill the Law, because you are sinners as long as you live. Nevertheless, you should endeavor to walk in the spirit, i.e., fight against the flesh and follow the leads of the Holy Ghost."

It is quite apparent that Paul had not forgotten the doctrine of justification, for in bidding the Galatians to walk in the Spirit he at the same time denies that good works can justify. "When I speak of the fulfilling of the Law I do not mean to say that you are justified by the Law. All I mean to say is that you should take the Spirit for your guide and resist the flesh. That is the most you shall ever be able to do. Obey the Spirit and fight against the flesh."

And ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
The lust of the flesh is not altogether extinct in us. It rises up again and again and wrestles with the Spirit. No flesh, not even that of the true believer, is so completely under the influence of the Spirit that it will not bite or devour, or at least neglect, the commandment of love. At the slightest provocation it flares up, demands to be revenged, and hates a neighbor like an enemy, or at least does not love him as much as he ought to be loved.

Therefore the Apostle establishes this rule of love for the believers. Serve one another in love. Bear the infirmities of your brother. Forgive one another. Without such bearing and forbearing, giving and forgiving, there can be no unity because to give and to take offense are unavoidably human.

Whenever you are angry with your brother for any cause, repress your violent emotions through the Spirit. Bear with his weakness and love him. He does not cease to be your neighbor or brother because he offended you. On the contrary, he now more than ever before requires your loving attention.

The scholastics take the lust of the flesh to mean carnal lust. True, believers too are tempted with carnal lust. Even the married are not immune to carnal lusts. Men set little value upon that which they have and covet what they have not, as the poet says:

"The things most forbidden we always desire,
And things most denied we seek to acquire."

I do not deny that the lust of the flesh includes carnal lust. But it takes in more. It takes in all the corrupt desires with which the believers are more or less infected, as pride, hatred, covetousness, impatience. Later on Paul enumerates among the works of the flesh even idolatry and heresy. The apostle's meaning is clear. "I want you to love one another. But you do not do it. In fact you cannot do it, because of your flesh. Hence we cannot be justified by deeds of love. Do not for a moment think that I am reversing myself on my stand concerning faith. Faith and hope must continue. By faith we are justified, by hope we endure to the end. In addition we serve each other in love because true faith is not idle. Our love, however, is faulty. In bidding you to walk in the Spirit I indicate to you that our love is not sufficient to justify us. Neither do I demand that you should get rid of the flesh, but that you should control and subdue it."

---

Verse 17
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.
When Paul declares that "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh," he means to say that we are not to think, speak or do the things to which the flesh incites us. "I know," he says, "that the flesh courts sin. The thing for you to do is to resist the flesh by the Spirit. But if you abandon the leadership of the Spirit for that of the flesh, you are going to fulfill the lust of the flesh and die in your sins."

And these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
These two leaders, the flesh and the Spirit, are bitter opponents. Of this opposition the Apostle writes in the seventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans: "I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into the captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

The scholastics are at a loss to understand this confession of Paul and feel obliged to save his honor. That the chosen vessel of Christ should have had the law of sin in his members seems to them incredible and absurd. They circumvent the plain-spoken statement of the Apostle by saying that he was speaking for the wicked. But the wicked never complain of inner conflicts, or of the captivity of sin. Sin has its unrestricted way with them. This is Paul's very own complaint and the identical complaint of all believers.

Paul never denied that he felt the lust of the flesh. It is likely that at times he felt even the stirrings of carnal lust, but there is no doubt that he quickly suppressed them. And if at any time he felt angry or impatient, he resisted these feelings by the Spirit. We are not going to stand by idly and see such a comforting statement as this explained away. The scholastics, monks, and others of their ilk fought only against carnal lust and were proud of a victory which they never obtained. In the meanwhile they harbored within their breasts pride, hatred, disdain, self-trust, contempt of the Word of God, disloyalty, blasphemy, and other lusts of the flesh. Against these sins they never fought because they never took them for sins.

Christ alone can supply us with perfect righteousness. Therefore we must always believe and always hope in Christ. "Whosoever believeth shall not be ashamed." (Romans 9:33.)
Do not despair if you feel the flesh battling against the Spirit or if you cannot make it behave. For you to follow the guidance of the Spirit in all things without interference on the part of the flesh is impossible. You are doing all you can if you resist the flesh and do not fulfill its demands.

When I was a monk I thought I was lost forever whenever I felt an evil emotion, carnal lust, wrath, hatred, or envy. I tried to quiet my conscience in many ways, but it did not work, because lust would always come back and give me no rest. I told myself: "You have permitted this and that sin, envy, impatience, and the like. Your joining this holy order has been in vain, and all your good works are good for nothing." If at that time I had understood this passage, "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh," I could have spared myself many a day of self- torment. I would have said to myself: "Martin, you will never be without sin, for you have flesh. Despair not, but resist the flesh."

I remember how Doctor Staupitz used to say to me: "I have promised God a thousand times that I would become a better man, but I never kept my promise. From now on I am not going to make any more vows. Experience has taught me that I cannot keep them. Unless God is merciful to me for Christ's sake and grants unto me a blessed departure, I shall not be able to stand before Him." His was a God-pleasing despair. No true believer trusts in his own righteousness, but says with David, "Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." (Psalm 143:2) Again, "If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?" (Psalm 130:3.)

No man is to despair of salvation just because he is aware of the lust of the flesh. Let him be aware of it so long as he does not yield to it. The passion of lust, wrath, and other vices may shake him, but they are not to get him down. Sin may assail him, but he is not to welcome it. Yes, the better Christian a man is, the more he will experience the heat of the conflict. This explains the many expressions of regret in the Psalms and in the entire Bible.
Everybody is to determine his peculiar weakness and guard against it. Watch and wrestle in spirit against your weakness. Even if you cannot completely overcome it, at least you ought to fight against it.

According to this description a saint is not one who is made of wood and never feels any lusts or desires of the flesh. A true saint confesses his righteousness and prays that his sins may be forgiven. The whole Church prays for the forgiveness of sins and confesses that it believes in the forgiveness of sins. If our antagonists would read the Scriptures they would soon discover that they cannot judge rightly of anything, either of sin or of holiness.

---

Verse 18
But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Here someone may object: "How come we are not under the law? You yourself say, Paul, that we have the flesh which wars against the Spirit, and brings us into subjection."

But Paul says not to let it trouble us. As long as we are led by the Spirit, and are willing to obey the Spirit who resists the flesh, we are not under the Law. True believers are not under the Law. The Law cannot condemn them although they feel sin and confess it.
Great then is the power of the Spirit. Led by the Spirit, the Law cannot condemn the believer though he commits real sin. For Christ in whom we believe is our righteousness. He is without sin, and the Law cannot accuse Him. As long as we cling to Him we are led by the Spirit and are free from the Law. Even as he teaches good works, the Apostle does not lose sight of the doctrine of justification, but shows at every turn that it is impossible for us to be justified by works.

The words, "If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law," are replete with comfort. It happens at times that anger, hatred, impatience, carnal desire, fear, sorrow, or some other lust of the flesh so overwhelms a man that he cannot shake them off, though he try ever so hard. What should he do? Should he despair? God forbid. Let him say to himself: "My flesh seems to be on a warpath against the Spirit again. Go to it, flesh, and rage all you want to. But you are not going to have your way. I follow the leading of the Spirit."

When the flesh begins to cut up the only remedy is to take the sword of the Spirit, the word of salvation, and fight against the flesh. If you set the Word out of sight, you are helpless against the flesh. I know this to be a fact. I have been assailed by many violent passions, but as soon as I took hold of some Scripture passage, my temptations left me. Without the Word I could not have helped myself against the flesh.

---

Verse 18
But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Here someone may object: "How come we are not under the law? You yourself say, Paul, that we have the flesh which wars against the Spirit, and brings us into subjection."

But Paul says not to let it trouble us. As long as we are led by the Spirit, and are willing to obey the Spirit who resists the flesh, we are not under the Law. True believers are not under the Law. The Law cannot condemn them although they feel sin and confess it.
Great then is the power of the Spirit. Led by the Spirit, the Law cannot condemn the believer though he commits real sin. For Christ in whom we believe is our righteousness. He is without sin, and the Law cannot accuse Him. As long as we cling to Him we are led by the Spirit and are free from the Law. Even as he teaches good works, the Apostle does not lose sight of the doctrine of justification, but shows at every turn that it is impossible for us to be justified by works.

The words, "If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law," are replete with comfort. It happens at times that anger, hatred, impatience, carnal desire, fear, sorrow, or some other lust of the flesh so overwhelms a man that he cannot shake them off, though he try ever so hard. What should he do? Should he despair? God forbid. Let him say to himself: "My flesh seems to be on a warpath against the Spirit again. Go to it, flesh, and rage all you want to. But you are not going to have your way. I follow the leading of the Spirit."

When the flesh begins to cut up the only remedy is to take the sword of the Spirit, the word of salvation, and fight against the flesh. If you set the Word out of sight, you are helpless against the flesh. I know this to be a fact. I have been assailed by many violent passions, but as soon as I took hold of some Scripture passage, my temptations left me. Without the Word I could not have helped myself against the flesh.

---

Verse 19-20
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornification, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft ...
Paul does not enumerate all the works of the flesh, but only certain ones. First, he mentions various kinds of carnal lusts, as adultery, fornication, wantonness, etc. But carnal lust is not the only work of the flesh, and so he counts among the works of the flesh also idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, and the like. These terms are so familiar that they do not require lengthy explanations.

IDOLATRY
The best religion, the most fervent devotion without Christ is plain idolatry. It has been considered a holy act when the monks in their cells meditate upon God and His works, and in a religious frenzy kneel down to pray and to weep for joy. Yet Paul calls it simply idolatry. Every religion which worships God in ignorance or neglect of His Word and will is idolatry.

They may think about God, Christ, and heavenly things, but they do it after their own fashion and not after the Word of God. They have an idea that their clothing, their mode of living, and their conduct are holy and pleasing to Christ. They not only expect to pacify Christ by the strictness of their life, but also expect to be rewarded by Him for their good deeds. Hence their best "spiritual" thoughts are wicked thoughts. Any worship of God, any religion without Christ is idolatry. In Christ alone is God well pleased.
I have said before that the works of the flesh are manifest. But idolatry puts on such a good front and acts so spiritual that the sham of it is recognized only by true believers.

WITCHCRAFT
This sin was very common before the light of the Gospel appeared. When I was a child there were many witches and sorcerers around who "bewitched" cattle, and people, particularly children, and did much harm. But now that the Gospel is here you do not hear so much about it because the Gospel drives the devil away. Now he bewitches people in a worse way with spiritual sorcery.
Witchcraft is a brand of idolatry. As witches used to bewitch cattle and men, so idolaters, i.e., all the self-righteous, go around to bewitch God and to make Him out as one who justifies men not by grace through faith in Christ but by the works of men's own choosing. They bewitch and deceive themselves. If they continue in their wicked thoughts of God they will die in their idolatry.

SECTS
Under sects Paul here understands heresies. Heresies have always been found in the church. What unity of faith can exist among all the different monks and the different orders? None whatever. There is no unity of spirit, no agreement of minds, but great dissension in the papacy. There is no conformity in doctrine, faith, and life. On the other hand, among evangelical Christians the Word, faith, religion, sacraments, service, Christ, God, heart, and mind are common to all. This unity is not disturbed by outward differences of station or of occupation.

DRUNKENESS, GLUTTONY
Paul does not say that eating and drinking are works of the flesh, but intemperance in eating and drinking, which is a common vice nowadays, is a work of the flesh. Those who are given to excess are to know that they are not spiritual but carnal. Sentence is pronounced upon them that they shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Paul desires that Christians avoid drunkenness and gluttony, that they live temperate and sober lives, in order that the body may not grow soft and sensual.

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Verse 21
Of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in the past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
This is a hard saying, but very necessary for those false Christians and hypocrites who speak much about the Gospel, about faith, and the Spirit, yet live after the flesh. But this hard sentence is directed chiefly at the heretics who are large with their own self-importance, that they may be frightened into taking up the fight of the Spirit against the flesh.

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Verse 21-22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
The Apostle does not speak of the works of the Spirit as he spoke of the works of the flesh, but he attaches to these Christian virtues a better name. He calls them the fruits of the Spirit.

LOVE
It would have been enough to mention only the single fruit of love, for love embraces all the fruits of the Spirit. In I Corinthians 13, Paul attributes to love all the fruits of the Spirit: "Charity suffereth long, and is kind," etc. Here he lets love stand by itself among other fruits of the Spirit to remind the Christians to love one another, "in honor preferring one another," to esteem others more than themselves because they have Christ and the Holy Ghost within them.

JOY
Joy means sweet thoughts of Christ, melodious hymns and psalms, praises and thanksgiving, with which Christians instruct, inspire, and refresh themselves. God does not like doubt and dejection. He hates dreary doctrine, gloomy and melancholy thought. God likes cheerful hearts. He did not send His Son to fill us with sadness, but to gladden our hearts. For this reason the prophets, apostles, and Christ Himself urge, yes, command us to rejoice and be glad. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee." (Zechariah 9:9.) In the Psalms we are repeatedly told to be "joyful in the Lord." Paul says: "Rejoice in the Lord always." Christ says: "Rejoice, for your names are written in heaven."

PEACE
Peace towards God and men. Christians are to be peaceful and quiet. Not argumentative, not hateful, but thoughtful and patient. There can be no peace without longsuffering, and therefore Paul lists this virtue next.

LONGSUFFERING
Longsuffering is that quality which enables a person to bear adversity, injury, reproach, and makes them patient to wait for the improvement of those who have done him wrong. When the devil finds that he cannot overcome certain persons by force he tries to overcome them in the long run. He knows that we are weak and cannot stand anything long. Therefore he repeats his temptation time and again until he succeeds. To withstand his continued assaults we must be longsuffering and patiently wait for the devil to get tired of his game.

GENTLENESS
Gentleness in conduct and life. True followers of the Gospel must not be sharp and bitter, but gentle, mild, courteous, and soft-spoken, which should encourage others to seek their company. Gentleness can overlook other people's faults and cover them up. Gentleness is always glad to give in to others. Gentleness can get along with forward and difficult persons, according to the old pagan saying: "You must know the manners of your friends, but you must not hate them." Such a gentle person was our Savior Jesus Christ, as the Gospel portrays Him. Of Peter it is recorded that he wept whenever he remembered the sweet gentleness of Christ in His daily contact with people. Gentleness is an excellent virtue and very useful in every walk of life.

GOODNESS
A person is good when he is willing to help others in their need.

FAITH
In listing faith among the fruits of the Spirit, Paul obviously does not mean faith in Christ, but faith in men. Such faith is not suspicious of people but believes the best. Naturally the possessor of such faith will be deceived, but he lets it pass. He is ready to believe all men, but he will not trust all men. Where this virtue is lacking men are suspicious, forward, and wayward and will believe nothing nor yield to anybody. No matter how well a person says or does anything, they will find fault with it, and if you do not humor them you can never please them. It is quite impossible to get along with them. Such faith in people therefore, is quite necessary. What kind of life would this be if one person could not believe another person?

MEEKNESS
A person is meek when he is not quick to get angry. Many things occur in daily life to provoke a person's anger, but the Christian gets over his anger by meekness.

TEMPERANCE
Christians are to lead sober and chaste lives. They should not be adulterers, fornicators, or sensualists. They should not be quarrelers or drunkards. In the first and second chapters of the Epistle to Titus, the Apostle admonishes bishops, young women, and married folks to be chaste and pure.

---

Verse 23
Against such there is no law.
There is a law, of course, but it does not apply to those who bear these fruits of the Spirit. The Law is not given for the righteous man. A true Christian conducts himself in such a way that he does not need any law to warn or to restrain him. He obeys the Law without compulsion. The Law does not concern him. As far as he is concerned there would not have to be any Law.

---

Verse 24
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
True believers are no hypocrites. They crucify the flesh with its evil desires and lusts. Inasmuch as they have not altogether put off the sinful flesh they are inclined to sin. They do not fear or love God as they should. They are likely to be provoked to anger, to envy, to impatience, to carnal lust, and other emotions. But they will not do the things to which the flesh incites them. They crucify the flesh with its evil desires and lusts by fasting and exercise and, above all, by a walk in the Spirit.

To resist the flesh in this manner is to nail it to the Cross. Although the flesh is still alive it cannot very well act upon its desires because it is bound and nailed to the Cross.

Sent by a Reader - Luther on Justification

Sent by a Reader, who wrote - "UOJ promoters have not read Luther, or they consider him a fool."

Luther: "There is no god to be found who will forgive sins and justify sinners in this way. God has not promised that he will save and justify people on account of the religions and ceremonies devised by them; he abhors nothing more than such rites and ceremonies, as the whole Scripture witnesses. He overthrows whole kingdoms and empires because of them. Therefore, those who trust to their own strength and righteousness serve a god they have imagined for themselves, and not the true God. The true God says: “No righteousness, wisdom, or religion pleases me, but only that by which the Father is glorified through the Son. It is those who lay hold of the Son and me and my promise in him, by faith, to whom I am a God, a Father; it is they whom I accept, justify, and save. Everyone else remains under wrath, because they worship what is no god.” Whoever forsakes this doctrine must fall into ignorance of God, not understanding what true Christian righteousness, wisdom, and service of God are. That is idolatry, and everything that such a person does is condemned."

Chapter Four - Galatians Lectures - Martin Luther

Intrepid Lutherans - The UOJ Diamond - What Luther and Melanchthon Wrote

http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2015/09/called-to-test-all-things.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IntrepidLutherans+%28Intrepid+Lutherans%29

Mr. Douglas Lindee said...

Again, thank you Rev. Fjellander, for your continuing dialogue. It's late in my part of the world, so I will make this brief.

I understand what you mean by "simul justus et peccator," and realize that you are not using it as directly analogous, but as a demonstration that two opposite things can be true; however, I'm not sure that this example is entirely convincing. "Simul justus et peccator" refers to quickened, regenerated believers -- i.e., those with faith -- who haveboth the old man and the new man contending within them (Eph. 4:22-24; Rom. 7:13-25). I have no problem believing two opposite things can be true, if the Scriptures directly teach them -- as in this case (and in this case, it's no great crisis of logic to accept it, since it is rather reasonably explained in the Scriptures), or, say, in the case of the Doctrine of Predestination where the Scriptures clearly and directly teach both that it is the will of God that all men be saved AND it is the will of God that sinners suffer eternal damnation. The simple fact is, the Scriptures nowhere teach that mankind is Justified before God apart from Faith. This assertion is an invention, derived from fragments of Scripture that are stripped of their context, pasted together, and then set against what the Scriptures DO teach in direct positive terms. In Universal Justification, the universality of man's lost condition and certain condemnation is propped up against the universality of man's righteous standing before God, as if both are Scripture teaching, when in reality only the former is directly taught in Scripture while the latter is a rationalistic invention. They are not, equivalently, the direct teaching of Scripture.

As for 2 Cor. 5:19... before we go down that road, I would like to point you to four posts on this specific reference that we published in 2013, in case you haven't read them yet. I happen to agree with Chemnitz, Melanchthon, Luther and the Tübingen theologians on their interpretation of this verse. Do you?

Philip Melanchthon on 2 Corinthians 5:19
Luther's translation of 2 Corinthians 5:19
Reconciling the world—but not without means
The Lutheran understanding of 2 Corinthians 5:19

Luther Quotation - Pastor Balfour Photoshop

"They say it would be better if we would make some slight concession rather than cause such commotion and controversy in the Church regarding an article which is not even one of the fundamental doctrines. My reply is, cursed be any love or harmony which demands for its preservation that we place the Word of God in jeopardy!"

Martin Luther
Comentary on Galations
http://www.bibleteacher.org/luthercom_1.htm

Classic Ichabod - Justification by Faith, Galatians Lectures. American Edition

Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan,

But it is because, as I often warn you, there is a clear and present danger that the devil may take away from us the pure doctrine of faith and may substitute for it the doctrines of works and of human traditions.
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 3

For if the doctrine of justification is lost, the whole of Christian doctrine is lost. And those in the world who do not teach it are either Jews or Turks or papists or sectarians.
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 9

These new monks [Anabaptists] invent a new cross and new works, and they imagine that by performing these they will please God. In short, whoever does not know the doctrine of justification takes away Christ the Propitiator. Galatians 1:3
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 28

For until our death Satan will never stop attacking all the doctrines of the Creed in us. He is the implacable enemy of faith, for he knows that it is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). Therefore it is our obligation to hold constantly to our faith and to establish it, in order that we may be able to stand up to Satan. Galatians 1:3
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 31

["The Church of Rome is superior to the Gospels because it approves the Gospels" - or today - "The synod has approved it.]

The Church approves Christian faith and doctrine. Therefore the church is superior to them. To refute this wicked and blasphemous  doctrine of theirs, you have here a clear text and a thunderbolt. Here Paul subordinates himself, an angel from heaven, teachers on earth, and any other masters at all to Sacred Scripture. Galatians 1:9
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 57f.

Besides, the question of justification is an elusive thing--not in itself, for in itself it is firm and sure, but so far as we are concerned. I myself have had considerable experience of this, for I know how I sometimes struggle in the hours of darkness. I know how often I suddenly lose sight of the rays of the Gospel and of grace, which have been obscured for me by thick, dark clouds. In other words, I know how slippery the footing is even for those who are mature and seem to be firmly established in matters of faith. Galatians 1:11-12.
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 63f.

Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, Page 93 is the false argument - you weren't here from the beginning (not born in Wisconsin or didn't go to a Concordia Cemetery).

But those men look at Peter's high prestige; they admire his social position and forget the majesty of this doctrine. Paul does the opposite. He does not attack Peter sharply; he treats him with due respect. But because he sees that the prestige of Peter is endangering the majesty of the doctrine of justification, he ignores the prestige, in order to keep this doctrine pure and undefiled. Galatians 2:11
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 108.

The fall or error of one man can so easily bring on enormous ruin if it is not corrected. Therefore the doctrine of justification is nothing to be trifled with, and it is not without reason that we inculcate it and insist on it with such diligence. Galatians 2:13
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 111f.

Here let reason be far away, that enemy o faith, which, in the temptations of sin and death, relies not on the righteousness of faith or Christian righteousness, of which it is completely ignorant, but on its own righteousness, at most on the righteousness of the Law. As soon as reason and the Law are joined, faith immediately loses its virginity. Galatians 2:13
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 113.

Therefore the Christ who is grasped  by faith and who lives in the heart is the true Christian righteousness, on account of which God counts us righteous and grants us eternal life. Galatians 2:16.
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 130

We must not attribute the power of justification to a "form" that makes a man pleasing to God; we must attribute it to faith, which takes hold of Christ the Savior Himself and possesses Him in the heart. This faith justifies without love and before love. Galatians 2:16
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 137

The only thing necessary is that we accept the treasure  that is Christ, grasped by faith in our hearts, even though we feel that we are completely filled with sins. Thus these words, "by faith in Christ," are very emphatic, not empty and vain, as the sophists think when they leap over them so boldly. Galatians 2:16
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 139

Then they ridicule us for inculcating and emphasizing faith with such diligence: "Ha, ha! Faith, faith! Just wait until you get to heaven by faith! No you must strive for something more sublime. You must fulfill the Law of God...." Galatians 2:17
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 143

Holy Scripture, especially the New Testament, always inculcates faith in Christ and magnificently proclaims Him. It says that "whoever believes in Him is saved, does not perish, is not judged, is not put to shame, and has eternal life" (John 3:16). Galatians 2:17
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 146

Meanwhile my old man (Ephesians 4:22) remains outside and is subject to the Law. But so far as justification is concerned, Christ and I must be so closely attached that He lives in me and I in Him. What a marvelous way of speaking! Because He lives in me, whatever grace, righteousness, life, peace, and salvation there is in me is all Christ's; nevertheless, it is mine as well, by the cementing and attachment that are through faith, by which we become as one body in the Spirit. Galatians 2:20
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 167f.

Thus Ephesians 5:30 says: "We are members of the body of Christ, of His flesh and of His bones," in such a way that this faith couples Christ and me more intimately than a husband is coupled to his wife. Therefore faith is no idle quality; but it is a thing of such magnitude that it obscures and completely removes those foolish dreams of the sophists' doctrine--the fiction of a formed faith and of love, of merits, our worthiness, our quality, etc. Galatians 2:20.
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 168f.

Thus "You received the Spirit either from the Law or from the hearing of faith. If it was by the Law, then it was not by the hearing of faith; if it was by the hearing of faith, then it was not by the Law.  There can be no middle ground. For whatever is not the Holy Spirit or hearing with faith is clearly the Law." We are dealing with the issue of justification. But there are only two ways to justification: either the Word of the Gospel or the Law. Galatians 3:2
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 203

But the doctrine of justification is this, that we are pronounced righteous and are saved solely by faith in Christ, and without works. If this is the true meaning of justification--as it certainly is, or it will be necessary to get rid of all Scripture--then it immediately follows  that we are pronounced righteous neither through monasticism nor through vows nor through Masses not through any other works. Galatians 3:5
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 223

This discussion of the example of Abraham involves at the same time Holy Scripture itself, which says that we are reckoned righteous by faith. Therefore this is a very powerful argument on two counts, both because of the example of Abraham and because of the authority of Scripture. Galatians 3:7
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 240

Therefore faith always justifies and makes alive; and yet it does not remain alone, that is, idle. Not that it does not remain alone on its own level and in its own function, for it always justifies alone.  But it is incarnate and becomes man; that is, it neither is nor remains idle or without love. Galatians 3:12
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 272

Who can adequately proclaim the usefulness and the effect of even one work that a Christian does in faith and on the basis of faith? Galatians 3:22
Lectures on Galatians, 1535. Volume 26. American Edition. Ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, p. 334

But I Thought a Billionaire Adulterer Was Holier Than the COP Put Together

God suffered Judas to fall away, and Saul, the first King He rejected, and you will find throughout the Scriptures that God oftentimes rejected those who in outward show were good and holy men.

If in these examples God seemth to be cruel, it was necessary that such fearful examples should be given, and also written. For this vice is naturally grafted in us, to highly esteem the persons and outward state of men, and more regard the same than the Word of God. Contrariwise God will have us fix our eyes, and to rest wholly upon the Word itself, He will not have us to reverence the apostleship in the persons of Peter or Paul, but Christ speaking in them, and the Word that they bring, and preach unto us.

Martin Luther, Kregel, Galatians 2:6, p. 50.

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