Review of Understanding Luther's Galatians by Dr. Eric Rachut

The print version of Understanding Luther's Galatians can be purchased here.

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ERIC RACHUT M.D.

5.0 out of 5 stars Luther's Commentary of the Heart and Soul of Christianity

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2021

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Martin Luther's favorite book, it is said, was Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, because it laid out so clearly the essential doctrine of Christianity, Justification by Faith - Alone! His commentary was transcribed from lectures - in 1531 and in Latin - to his students, quickly translated into the vernacular (German) and, by Theodore Graebner, into mid-twentieth century American English, with KJV scripture. The original Latin text, a compressed language, was translated to a full-length vernacular edition; this is the shorter version (260 pages). 

I was amazed again and again that there is no redundancy here, in a lengthy review of six short chapters of the Greek epistle. Luther examines the letter as if he were holding a jewel up to the light and using every viewpoint. He tells us that the false teachers, who opposed Paul's doctrine with the Galatians, were undoubtedly well-spoken, well-educated men, something approaching an angel of light, but false teachers they were and for that, accursed. Particularly in his expatiation on this topic in the third chapter, Luther achieves deep spirituality and a pastoral comforting of tortured consciences, and opens this up for the reader - you share his, and Paul's, vehemence. The remainder of the epistle sees Paul's re-establishment of Christian cordiality with the Galatians, still using every means possible to encourage their loyalty to this essential doctrine. 

Interspersed among the commentary by Luther are short observations by Dr Jackson on the modern heresies and misjudgments which are new challenges - particularly "objective justification" and Church Growth. No mincing of words in either author of the commentaries! You may have read the Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confession. This should be next on your reading list.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent re-issue of Graebner's shorter translation of Luther's Commentary on Galatians

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2021

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This book is a re-issue of Dr. Theodore Graebner’s shorter translation of Martin Luther's “Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians.”

In his forward, Dr. Graebner expressed his reason for his translation of Martin Luther's work:

“The importance of this commentary on Galatians for the history of Protestantism is very great. It presents, like no other of Luther's writings, the central thought of Christianity, the justification of the sinner for the sake of Christ's merits alone.”

Dr. Gregory L. Jackson added an introduction along with comments, which he embedded within the text. He enclosed his comments within boxes, in order to separate them from Luther's words.

In his introduction, Dr. Jackson wrote that:

“By stealth, Lutherans have steadily eroded the Biblical doctrine of the Reformation (justification by faith alone), which established them as Evangelicals and Protestants, by now allowing others to use those names and surrendering to the worst inclinations of Calvinists, Pietists, and Roman Catholics. The uniting cause, to soothe every worldly conscience, is to declare that God in his grace has already declared the entire world absolved of all sins. … God declared the world righteous through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus…”.

Dr. Jackson quoted from the work of the 18th century theologian Georg Christian Knapp to show the false doctrine that flowed from universal absolution without regard to faith.

“This is conveniently expressed by the terms Objective and Subjective Justification. Objective Justification is the act of God by which he proffers pardon to all through Christ. Subjective Justification is the act of man by which he accepts the pardon freely offered in the Gospel.”

In a comment on page 56, Dr. Jackson succinctly elucidated the error of those who adhere to the doctrines of Objective and Subjective Justification:

“The false teachers reverse what Paul and Luther taught. The Objective Justification fanatics lay hold of universal forgiveness and make faith in Jesus irrelevant. Faith in Christ has nothing to do with their divine declaration of forgiveness. Secondly, their subjective justification is not faith in Christ, but rather trust in the truth of universal forgiveness.”

As a Lutheran layman, I know that the idea that God forgave the sins of every member of the human race upon the death or resurrection of Christ and this made them righteous is not what Paul taught. Rather, he taught that God declares a person righteous after God imputes the person's sins to Christ, and he imputes the merits of Christ’s sinless life and perfect obedience to the person. Faith is the means by which a person receives righteousness. Is righteousness simply the forgiving of sins, as the Objective justification proponents claim? No. Righteousness requires God to impute the sins of the sinner to Christ, and the merits of Christ's sinless life and perfect obedience to the sinner. Only after this double imputation is a sinner righteous in God's sight.

The idea that “we need to accept the pardon offered by God” is not found in Paul's teaching. It brings to mind the famous Arminian preacher Billy Graham and his call to “Make a decision for Christ.”

I would recommend this book to someone who wishes to read a condensed version of Luther's Commentary on Galatians. It is an excellent introduction for someone who is unfamiliar with the Apostle Paul's doctrine on justification by faith alone. Dr. Jackson's comments highlight key doctrinal points in the text. His comments also illustrate the degree to which the doctrines of present-day confessional Lutheran churches have diverged from the plain teachings of the Apostle Paul and Martin Luther.

Dr Jackson discusses the problems of present day Christian denominations on his internet blog. Google ichabodthegloryhasdeparted for the URL. He conducts a weekly traditional Lutheran worship service via the internet, the blog has a link to the broadcast site which also has archived broadcasts.

Upcoming Books - The Bible Book Is the Next Major Publication

"No other Gospel" has become "any old gospel will do."

The Bible Book Will Be My Next Big Project

I will post the Galatians adult study when Lent is over, so others have something for teaching Luther's Galatians. That will probably be a Lulu project, color, with a print version and a free PDF. 

The Bible Book has been changing names slowly. The current iteration (corporate for "version") is The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God. I am following the basic rule of the main title followed by a subtitle defining the title. As the NPH editor told me, "The subtitle sells the book." 

Liberalism: Its Cause and Cure : 

The Poisoning of American Christianity and the Antidote

When Liberalism came out at NPH, WELS made a concerted effort to get rid of me.
The late DP Robert Mueller admitted at our council meeting that I did my work and taught correctly. But he and Kuske and Floyd Luther Stolzenburg never stopped - two of them have passed on to their reward already. Wally O., too.

The Bible Book: 

The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God

I may make the subtitle a wee bit shorter, but that is the main, positive message of the book. I am aiming at complete coverage, so I expect to reach 200 pages or more, all in color. OK, that is not complete, but it will be thorough coverage with a lot of sources used. I am having fun tracking down useful and relatively inexpensive books for people to use.

I AM Sermons

The next book will deal with the I AM sermons in the Gospel of John. That can serve as a kind of commentary on the Fourth Gospel but mostly as an emphasis on Jesus' sermons in John.

They censor the interesting news.

Future books will be Biblical topics rather than history of doctrine. The same is true of most posts on the blog. The "conservative" Lutheran synods are shameless clones of ELCA now, and impervious to correction. The clergy and laity of the LCMS-WELS-WELS-CLC are too docile and lazy to do anything more than go down with the ship.

The Concordia was wrecked on the shoals by a captain who vamoosed immediately.

The LCMS ran out of men. Strict discipline followed - the story was erased!

"Oh God, if there is a god. Please make me a Roman priest with all the bells and whistles."

Walther, The American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies Has Been Sent to WELS-ELS-LCMS Seminaries

Some services take a photo of the delivery and send it to me, so keep your porches clean! WELS, LCMS Concordias, the Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie, and Lutheran School of Chicago in Chicago got copies. Christian News received or will receive two copies of Walther, The American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies. Galatians was locked up or thrown away at CN formerly Lutheran News.
I am glad to send free review copies to anyone who actually reviews a book. One WELS pastor asked for a free review copy of Thy Strong Word, kept it, denounced me, and wrote no review. That is what WELS friends are like - imagine the enemies in that sect!

Walther, The American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies

"Justified before we were born!" - Edward Preuss. The Objective Justification Enthusiasts eat that up. Walther thought that little book by Preuss was way cool, and the Synodical Conference still adores it, even thought that passage - cited by Dr. Robert Preus - is so close to Calvinism that you can taste the sulfur.
Walther, The American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies

Two Reviews - Understanding Luther's Galatians and Walther, The American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies

Understanding Luther's Galatians can be found here on Amazon.

Top review from the United States

Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent re-issue of Graebner's shorter translation of Luther's Commentary on Galatians

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

This book is a re-issue of Dr. Theodore Graebner’s shorter translation of Martin Luther's “Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians.”

In his forward, Dr. Graebner expressed his reason for his translation of Martin Luther's work:

“The importance of this commentary on Galatians for the history of Protestantism is very great. It presents, like no other of Luther's writings, the central thought of Christianity, the justification of the sinner for the sake of Christ's merits alone.”

Dr. Gregory L. Jackson added an introduction along with comments, which he embedded within the text. He enclosed his comments within boxes, in order to separate them from Luther's words.

In his introduction, Dr. Jackson wrote that:

“By stealth, Lutherans have steadily eroded the Biblical doctrine of the Reformation (justification by faith alone), which established them as Evangelicals and Protestants, by now allowing others to use those names and surrendering to the worst inclinations of Calvinists, Pietists, and Roman Catholics. The uniting cause, to soothe every worldly conscience, is to declare that God in his grace has already declared the entire world absolved of all sins. … God declared the world righteous through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus…”.

Dr. Jackson quoted from the work of the 18th century theologian Georg Christian Knapp to show the false doctrine that flowed from universal absolution without regard to faith.

“This is conveniently expressed by the terms Objective and Subjective Justification. Objective Justification is the act of God by which he proffers pardon to all through Christ. Subjective Justification is the act of man by which he accepts the pardon freely offered in the Gospel.”

In a comment on page 56, Dr. Jackson succinctly elucidated the error of those who adhere to the doctrines of Objective and Subjective Justification:

“The false teachers reverse what Paul and Luther taught. The Objective Justification fanatics lay hold of universal forgiveness and make faith in Jesus irrelevant. Faith in Christ has nothing to do with their divine declaration of forgiveness. Secondly, their subjective justification is not faith in Christ, but rather trust in the truth of universal forgiveness.”

As a Lutheran layman, I know that the idea that God forgave the sins of every member of the human race upon the death or resurrection of Christ and this made them righteous is not what Paul taught. Rather, he taught that God declares a person righteous after God imputes the person's sins to Christ, and he imputes the merits of Christ’s sinless life and perfect obedience to the person. Faith is the means by which a person receives righteousness. Is righteousness simply the forgiving of sins, as the Objective justification proponents claim? No. Righteousness requires God to impute the sins of the sinner to Christ, and the merits of Christ's sinless life and perfect obedience to the sinner. Only after this double imputation is a sinner righteous in God's sight.

The idea that “we need to accept the pardon offered by God” is not found in Paul's teaching. It brings to mind the famous Arminian preacher Billy Graham and his call to “Make a decision for Christ.”

I would recommend this book to someone who wishes a read a condensed version of Luther's Commentary on Galatians. It is an excellent introduction for someone who is unfamiliar with the Apostle Paul's doctrine on justification by faith alone. Dr. Jackson's comments highlight key doctrinal points in the text. His comments also illustrate the degree to which the doctrines of present-day confessional Lutheran churches have diverged from the plain teachings of the Apostle Paul and Martin Luther.

Dr Jackson discusses the problems of present day Christian denominations on his internet blog. Google ichabodthegloryhasdeparted for the URL. He conducts a weekly traditional Lutheran worship service via the internet, the blog has a link to the broadcast site which also has archived broadcasts.

Bethany Lutheran Worship 

 Walther, the American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies

Mic

5.0 out of 5 stars A shot across the bow

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2021

This is an epiphany for lovers of alternative church history. The author connects the dots and reveals many inconvenient details that he deduced from his careful reading of contemporaneous sources. The ball is now in the court of his detractors. Will they respond?

I am not holding my breath.

Walther, the American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies

Book News - Galatians, Walther, Bible

Luther's Galatians Commentary is published at Kindle and percolating in the print editions (color and BW) at Amazon. Janie Sullivan is working out the details for the print versions.

After a project is completed next week, I will hasten to complete Walther, the American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies.

I thought of reprinting Walther's Pastoral Theology as a joke book, but it stands on its own as an example of irony and burlesque.

I have started to refresh my research on the Biblical text and translations. That will involve the Bethany Scholars (as much as they wish) who contribute so much to my perspective. The book will be very basic about the trashing of the traditional text used by Luther and the KJV. It is really a swindle much bigger than anything in history. The issue of translation is actually a growth on the same neoplasm. They belong together, helped by the clergy's ignorance and apathy.

 Walther confessed what? - universal forgiveness and salvation, except someone has to make a decision for OJ.

Luther's Galatians

Alec Satin developed the public domain (shorter version). We debated the longer version, which I also love. However, it is better to have people read the shorter version than having them think about one day reading the longer one.

I read the longer version verbatim (in Olde English) to Mrs. Ichabod some years ago.

However, I have to say, the eructations of the Objective Justification savants have been my Harvard and Yale College, teaching me to know their dogma better than they know themselves.

I will send a finished copy to the cub editor of Christian News, so he can assign a review to someone suitably addled from reading the omnia opera of the Objective Justification salesmen.

But what if CN is silent?

Book of Concord, Formula of Concord, Article III, The Righteousness of Faith

"6] This article concerning justification by faith (as the Apology says) is the chief article in the entire Christian doctrine, without which no poor conscience can have any firm consolation, or can truly know the riches of the grace of Christ, as Dr. Luther also has written: If this only article remains pure on the battlefield, the Christian Church also remains pure, and in goodly harmony and without any sects; but if it does not remain pure, it is not possible that any error or fanatical spirit can be resisted. (Tom. 5, Jena, p. 159.)

7] And concerning this article especially Paul says that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Therefore, in this article he urges with so much zeal and earnestness the particulas exclusivas, that is, the words whereby the works of men are excluded (namely, without Law, without works, by grace [freely], Rom. 3:28; 4:5; Eph. 2:8-9), in order to indicate how highly necessary it is that in this article, aside from [the presentation of] the pure doctrine, the antithesis, that is, all contrary dogmas, be stated separately, exposed, and rejected by this means."

end of quotation

Understanding Luther's Galatians - The Book Behind Pilgrim's Progress

 Luther's Galatians - endorsed by John Bunyan, ignored by the Objective Justification leaders today.

When I finish a book, that becomes the task, all day long. And that is energizing, like racing for the racer, surf for the surfer.

Working with Luther's Galatians is great privilege, because he considered it one of his two best works, which included the Small Catechism. No wonder the Objective Justification salesmen ignore it, except when abusing and distorting it to promote their dark message.

Pilgrim's Progress is an ideal companion to Galatians, because Bunyan called it "my most read book after the Bible." Bunyan's first sentence was 12 years, and he happened to obtain a copy. His eldest child brought books and food to  his prison. Bunyan put Luther's Galatians into his allegory, page by page.

That is an distinct advantage for an author, to introduce a book. Reading a book is edifying. Reviewing a book creates a deeper understanding, if done carefully. Going over a great book, line by line, paragraph by paragraph - that is humbling.

Another energizing aspect of writing is working with those who love to read, to illustrate, and to publish. We have a wonderful crew where each person contributes to the whole, and the final version depends on each person - all non-profit. I could not get much done without them.

Complete Introduction - Understanding Luther's Galatians

Introduction by Gregory L. Jackson

By stealth, Lutherans have steadily eroded the Biblical doctrine of the Reformation, which established them as Evangelicals and Protestants, but now allowing others to use those names and surrendering to the worst inclinations of Calvinists, Pietists, and Roman Catholics. The uniting cause, to soothe every worldly conscience, is to declare that God in His grace has already declared the entire world absolved of all sin. After meeting together and devouring the perks of Thrivent publicity, the LCMS-WELS-ELS stated –

 

"Last but certainly not least, there was special joy to understand that we all hold to objective justification—that God declared the world righteous through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and that we all recognize it to be the urgent mission of the church to take this gospel to the entire world."

That particular shout of celebration may be difficult to find verbatim now, apart from a certain blog seldom named but often read. However, the gloating superiority and arrogance can be found in 60 or more essays in the WELS Essay Files.

 

Apostate Lutherans like to call themselves Confessional Lutherans, as if they have a special relationship with the Book of Concord and the doctrinal confessions within that masterpiece, a one-volume guide to the Bible. However, the most basic characteristic of a doctrinal confession is to state the affirmative belief as well as the rejected belief. The Objective Justification advocates behave as if only one truth exists – theirs – that Paul and Luther taught God absolved the entire world of its sins for all time. The key phrase is usually “God declared the world righteous,” dishonestly designated Justification, deceitfully portrayed as Biblical truth.

Dead silence often accompanies guilt, and the Objective Justification Lutherans are morbidly quiet about Luther’s Galatians Commentary. However, the Book of Concord editors, which these chameleons pretend to honor, wrote this in the Formula of Concord article on The Righteousness of Faith –

67] Concerning what is needful furthermore for the proper explanation of this profound and chief article of justification before God, upon which depends the salvation of our souls, we direct, and for the sake of brevity herewith refer, every one to Dr. Luther's beautiful and glorious exposition of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians. (emphasis added)

Who is more neglected and scorned than Luther, mocked with silly trinkets for the 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation, supplanted by rationalists and Calvinists like CFW Walther and JP Meyer? What book of Luther’s forgotten works is more unmentioned than Galatians?

 

What is more fitting for Crypto-Papist McCain to produce than a dog shirt and collar for the Reformation's 500th Anniversary?

The Lutheran Librarian (Alec Satin) and I discussed whether to use the shorter or longer version of Luther’s Galatians. We decided it was better to have people read the shorter version first rather than not own and not read the longer one. Anyone who loves Luther’s shorter version will seek out the later and longer exposition, truly a goldmine of insights about the Gospel, one he valued himself as a work worth keeping (with the Small Catechism) if the rest of his works were burned. 

Alec Satin will also produce an ebook and print version of Luther’s Galatians by itself, which will be more appealing to the never-Ichabods. 

Understanding Luther's Galatians - Start Up

In the unlikely event of a typo, send corrections - in a kind, understanding, compassionate, and sensitive tone - to greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com. I keep suggestions in a folder for the initial edits of the book.

Some view the morning post as a health and wellness check, growing alarmed if I have not posted by 5 AM. I may post early and go back to the book most mornings. I will try to post my comments on Galatians as I move fowad. Everyone is moving fowad now, so I want to move fowad and be as transparent and diverse as possible.

WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC (sic) should welcome what I write, because it proves there is another side to Lutherdom today - a Biblical one.

Upcoming books in approximate order are:

• The American Calvin: CFW Walther
• The Bible - Text and Translations