Luther's Essay on Secular Authority - Part 1

Luther: On secular authority, how far does the obedience owed to it extend?

Luther’s Aim: “To teach princes and secular authorities how they can remain Christians yet leave Christ as Lord, without reducing Christ’s commands to mere ‘counsels’ for their sake.” (4)

Luther’s Preface: Those who are acting as “Christian, obedient princes” in Germany are actually scoundrels who subvert the Christian faith. Luther believes he must oppose these men. (5-6)

Luther’s Points

1. Authority and the Sword have existed since the beginning of time. (6-7)
a. Romans 13:1-2 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.”
b. Many scriptural examples of authority. Moses, Cain and Abel, Christ

2. Though Christ says to “Love your enemies” (Matt. 5:22) and this seems contradictory to the previous statement, we must reconcile them rather than simply say that Christ was providing “perfect counsel”

3. Kingdom of God
a. Possesses the Holy Spirit
b. Would not need the sword or the law because it is just (1Tim1:9)

4. Kingdom of the World
a. Requires the Sword and Law to live rightly
b. Rom. 13:3 – “The sword is not a terror to good works, but to the wicked”
c. Without the sword the world would tear itself apart
d. An ultimately Christian state could not function because the non-Christians would destroy the Christians (example of sheep, lions, wolves in a sheep pen all mixed)
e. Christians should not rule themselves with the Sword

5. Christians follow the law because they are helping their neighbors by doing so even though it is of no benefit to themselves. Rom. 13:1

6. Christians in power are simply helping their neighbors in the same way they would be to obey laws
a. Is Luther a covenant theologian? Page 16…
b. It is not unchristian to bear a sword. Ex. Luke 3:15 with John the Baptist and the Centurion
c. It is not unchristian to bear an office. Ex. Acts 10:34ff
d. God has given the Christian the authority to rule, but he may or may not exercise it.

These are my observations regarding Part 1 of Luther’s essay on secular authority. I agree wholeheartedly with all of the points he has presented. Luther has provided adequate scriptural support for his thoughts and they are logically sound.