Laetare 2026

March 21, 2026 by Christopher Esget in Sermons

Luther once called the emperor “that poor mortal maggot sack … who is not certain of his life for a single moment” [LW 59 p95]. His point was the exalted rulers can suddenly die, and they cannot truly defend us. At that time, the Ottoman Empire was the great military threat. But Luther saw this in theological terms. The forces of Islam were attacking, and this, he believed, was divine judgment, because the Holy Roman Empire, and the Pope, placed their trust in money and arms, not the Word of God. To place your trust in horses or men—that is, to place your trust in armies—is to trust in maggot sacks. …

On the Fallibility of the Roman church

January 21, 2026 by Christopher Esget in Theology

When that denomination led by the Bishop of Rome took away the blood of Christ from the laity, it demonstrated its ability to err. Here Luther argues that the only fully trustworthy and infallible man is Christ Jesus. To Him alone are we commanded to listen:

The fallibility of the church has been borne out by the fact that it accepted, and approved of, the pope’s proposal to restrict Holy Communion for the laity to one kind. The church did not resist this move or contend against it. But Christ nonetheless preserved the church by reason of her daily petition for “the forgiveness of sins” in the Christian Creed, as we still pray in the Lords Prayer: “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Therefore regard the church as holy. Nevertheless, I do not trust myself to her; for the spectacle of the church in the papacy prevents me from doing so. If they teach Christ properly, I, too, shall believe and trust her; for in Christ I know no sin, no error, no lie. He alone is the Truth and the embodiment of the Father’s will. For of Him the Father says: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him” (Matt. 17:5). If I were to give ear to anyone else, error would certainly come in.

LW 22, pp258f

Cantate 2025

May 19, 2025 by Christopher Esget in Sermons

The epistle of James has always been controversial. One of the earliest lists of canonical (or, accepted) books of the NT comes from the end of the second century, in Rome. James is not mentioned. Put differently, the Roman church did not accept James in the first centuries of Christianity. James gained widespread acceptance when Jerome included it in his Latin translation of the Bible, called the Vulgate, early in the fifth century.

It’s not uncommon today to find papal apologists slandering Luther by saying he removed James and other books from the Bible. This is not true. Luther, whose doctorate was in Biblical studies and patristics, was well aware of the controversial history of James. And he was aware of how the Roman priests pitted James against Paul. You really cannot understand Luther unless you’ve had a learned professor who says outrageous things to force you to reevaluate everything you believe. …