I love it when Rev. Dr. Benjamin Mayes, Managing Editor for our new extension of Luther’s Works, slips me the latest Luther translation he is working on. He did this the other day. Here is a little snippet from the draft of the translation. Our dear good Doctor Luther has a real knack for laying it down clearly, plainly and bluntly like few others before or since.

“Repenting” means that a person knows and confesses in his heart that, as the Scripture says, he was conceived and born in sin [Ps. 51:7] and is therefore by nature a child of wrath [Eph. 2:3], condemned to everlasting death and damnation, and that it is precisely at this point that all works are of no avail. They only make things go from bad to worse since people think they can accomplish by them what belongs to Christ alone, the sole Mediator between God and men, who sacrificed Himself for us all that we might have forgiveness of sins through Him. If you believe the former, then you have the latter. If not, you will never ever be free [of sin], even if you yourself to the point of death. For it is called the forgiveness of sins, not the payment for sins; a gift, not merit. But what God bestows on you out of pure grace for the sake of Christ, that is something that you, you poor maggot sack, can’t pay Him for, buy, or earn. That is what Luke means when he says that John preached a Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Source:

Zwo Predigten DML auf der Kindertaufe des jungen Herrn Bernhard (Predigt am Donnerstag nach Ostern) (1540); WA 49:111-124; cf. 814-815, 849

[TWO SERMONS ON THE OCCASION OF THE BAPTISM OF BERNHARD OF ANHALT, DESSAU, 1 AND 2 APRIL]
[A Sermon on the Thursday after Easter, 1 April, 1540] Unpublished translation by John Bruss.

OK, here’s the deal. Let me be blunt. I hear from Lutheran pastors and others all the time, “We want more Luther! Give us more Luther!” And so….Concordia Publishing House set in motion about five years ago a project to begin translating much more of Luther’s writings, with a focus on the wealth of materials that were not included in the 54 volumes of the American Edition. More sermons. More interesting doctrinal discussions. More Luther. Good stuff indeed. So, we have another twenty volumes set up and underway for your Luther reading pleasure. Now, here is where we have to have a frank conversation. You asked for them. We are doing them. You need to buy them. Seriously. Nobody can sit around whining about the lack of good Lutheran books and wanting more Luther translations and then not support this project. It is, simply put, phenomenally good. But don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourself. Go to: http://www.cph.org/luthersworks . You can read the endorsements we have received, and they keep coming in. You can read the prospectus. I’ve been reading the translations and the forthcoming volume. It is fantastic. The translation is clear, lucid and very faithful to Luther’s theology. You can read the table of contents from the first volume in the new series: previously unavailable translations of Luther’s sermons on John’s Gospels. The books, if you subscribe to them, are around $34.99 each. That is a fantastic price folks. I’ve been subscribing to a modern language translation of all of Augustine for over 12 years and I pay around $50 per book! Ouch. So, please do yourself, and us, a favor and support faithful Lutheran publishing by subscribing to the new twenty volume extension of Luther’s Works. Am I trying to lay a guilt trip on you? Well, maybe just a little. But, seriously, consider it:

To subscribe go to: http://www.cph.org/luthersworks

We are working on a digital edition as well and will release it at a better price for persons who are buying the physical hard-copy books. Those who choose to buy only digital will pay the same price for the digital edition as the print edition. More details on that later. Sign up for the books and we’ll give you information about your buying options for the digital edition when we are able. The first volume will be out this coming September.

Title Page of First Volume to be Published in the New Twenty Volume Extension of Luther's Works

Did you know that Concordia Publishing House is extending the translation of Martin Luther’s writings into English? A twenty volume extension of the American Edition is well underway. I have several things to report about in this post. First, thanks to Dr. Mayes, for pointing me to the fact that Google Books now has a number of volumes of the Weimar critical edition of Luther’s writings available, for free of course, online. How to find them? Go to Google Books and enter in your search “D. Martin Luthers Werke.”

Second, the first volume in the new translation series of Luther’s writings is finished and is now presently in production. We anticipate it will be available for purchase by the beginning of September.

We have a dedicated web page set up to begin taking subscriptions to the series. And if you look around on that page you will find the new series’ prospectus explaining what it will provide, and why. I heartily encourage you to go to the page, look around, and place your subscription. We are providing a 30% discount off the full price to subscribers and are working on providing a concurrent digital edition that we will substantially discount as well, when it is purchased with the print edition.

What are scholars and church leaders saying about the new series of Luther’s Works?

Luther’s analysis of human life and his proclamation of God’s merciful deliverance of humankind from sin and evil through Christ ring true across the cultural boundaries of time and space. This supplement to the historic edition of the reformer’s writings, completed a quarter century ago, is bringing significant additions to the texts from his pen that are currently available in English. It will also provide English-language readers access to documents that aid in understanding Luther’s own life and the development of the Wittenberg Reformation. The volumes are being edited according to the highest academic standards and their introductions and notes offer readers helpful guides to the context and content of the reformer’s writings. Casual readers and those seeking to expand and deepen their knowledge of the Reformation will profit greatly from these carefully translated and edited volumes. Robert Kolb Missions Professor of Systematic Theology, and Director of the Institute for Mission Studies, Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis

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There is no better way to understand Luther than to read his works. This edition will give insight into Luther’s development and the exposition of his biblical theology. English-speaking readers will become acquainted with crucially-important texts like the Heidelberg disputation or his lectures on the psalms, presented in a very accurate manner. I welcome this important undertaking on the way to the Reformation jubilees in 2017! Volker Leppin Chair for Church History at Jena (Germany) Member of the Academy of Sciences of Saxony at Leipzig Member of the Continuation Committee of the International Congress for Luther Research and of the Advisory Council for the Preparation of the Reformation Jubilee in Germany

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Even those who can read Luther in the original languages often find it difficult to express his ideas clearly and accurately in English. There are obstacles to the comprehension of the texts— technical vocabulary and historical circumstance, for example—that mere competence in Latin and German cannot deal with. So from the beginning, the Luther’s Works: American Edition has been an invaluable tool for specialists as well as non-specialists, and the publication of this beautifully planned new series will make it even more so. James Estes Professor Emeritus of History, Victoria College, University of Toronto

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Concordia Publishing House is providing a tremendous service to historians, theologians, pastors, and students by producing these new translations of Luther’s works. The editors have chosen key texts for illustrating Luther’s life and thought, from his earliest works to the biographies written soon after his death. The volumes devoted to Luther’s sermons, lectures, and disputations are especially welcome, because they will give English readers a more complete picture of Luther the preacher and professor. Amy Nelson Burnett Professor of History, University of Nebraska—Lincoln

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I am delighted to see that more letters, sermons, and prefaces of Luther will be available in the American Edition. Our appreciation of Luther’s life and work will be enriched by this new series and the scholarship that undergirds it. Scott H. Hendrix Professor Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary

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