Martin Luther is one of the most controversial figures in Christian history. He is not only a locus of tension externally between Catholics and Protestants but also internally among various Protestant traditions. His work has been subject to various interpretations and a common critique brought against Luther is that of antinomianism. However, we will contend that good works are a necessary posterior to Luther’s justification by faith without which “faith is not right”.¹ We will proceed by briefly articulating Luther’s theology of justification, followed by an examination of the role that good works occupy in the life of the Christian towards oneself and one’s neighbor.

Luther’s theological anthropology and his soteriology are intimately connected. Thus, his understanding of justification by faith finds a corollary in his description of humanity as being in diabolical opposition to God.² In Luther’s analysis the human condition makes it impossible to perform any work that could be considered good.³ Knowledge of God’s precepts and commandments does not avail for justifying works. The law is a “hard tyrant and cruel disciplinarian”⁴ that manifests the depth of humanity’s sin. Even if one could keep the law perfectly it would not justify. According to Luther the problem with works of any sort is not the nature of the work but that of the agent performing the work. An evil person cannot do good works. In order for works to be pleasing to God they must be done by faith in Christ. One’s moral ontology is determined by faith, which renders to God truthfulness and righteousness. No action done in unbelief can be considered good because unbelief ascribes falsehood to God.⁵

This being the case, Luther considers the only hope to be passive righteousness. By this Luther means a righteousness “which we do not perform but receive […] when God the Father grants it to us through Jesus Christ.”⁶ This righteousness comes by faith in Jesus Christ. Through it the believer’s conscience is able to rest peacefully, knowing that God imputes Christ’s righteousness to the believer and not condemnation. The one with faith is liberated from the law, and free from the law can no longer transgress the law.⁷ What Luther calls the “new man” is thereby joined with the promise of God for salvation.⁸

In this newfound liberty Luther recognizes the propensity for antinomianism. Certainly some have read him exactly that way. Yet to do so fails to account for Luther’s insistence that the freedom of the believer is not the eschewing of works, but the elimination of a certain understanding of works (i.e. that they justify).⁹ Using a metaphor of the earth, Luther says the earth cannot produce without the rain nor coerce the rain to fall. But once fallen, the earth cannot but bloom in fruitfulness.¹⁰ Similarly, the manifestation of good works is the inevitable mode of existence of the believer. In order to avoid any possibility of works being understood as justifying Luther purports a strong distinction between the spiritual and the carnal.¹¹ This distinction undergirds his theology of justification and that of good works. The inner man is free from the law but the Christian must practice discipline externally. Discipline is engaged primarily for purification and to avoid temptation.

This purpose for good works aims to bring the body into conformity with the faith of the inner man. Luther is acutely aware that the imputation of Christ’s righteousness does not mean that the believer no longer undergoes temptation. If anything the body will frequently revolt against the inner man. Works of discipline are therefore a means by which the faithful bring the body in closer proximity to the spirit. This will not occur in completion until the eschaton, but such discipline is performed joyfully as the outflow of one’s love for God. In light of the many benefits conferred on the believer through Christ, the faithful find themselves compelled to drive out lusts, desiring the body to mirror the cleansed soul. The believer “does the works out of spontaneous love in obedience to God and considers nothing except the approval of God, whom he would most scrupulously obey in all things.”¹² The one with faith always remains a sinner in this life, but those sins are obstructed by the mediation of Christ.¹³

In addition to works of discipline Luther discusses at considerable length the works a Christian performs on behalf of the neighbor. This is arguably the primary way in which Luther sees works operating in the life of a Christian. He claims that, “a Christian lives not in himself but in Christ and in his neighbor. Otherwise he is not a Christian. He lives in Christ through faith, in his neighbor through love.”¹⁴ This conviction saturates his sermons to Christians in Wittenberg who precipitously removed the Mass. In these sermons he appeals to the love and patience that the Christians in Wittenberg ought to have for their brothers and sisters who have not yet experienced the inner change necessary for such an action.¹⁵ The Christian should bring their body under subjection in order to serve others more freely. In recognition of what Christ has done on our behalf we do likewise in relation to our neighbor. Here Luther alludes to the Philippian hymn, expecting the Christian to “in every way deal with his neighbor as he sees that God through Christ has dealt and still deals with him.”¹⁶ This does not sound like antinomianism.

It is precisely Luther’s conviction that Christians are to be “Christs” to all people that becomes a significant aspect of his two-kingdom theology. He argues that the Christian should submit to the governing authorities for the benefit of his/her neighbor. While the inner man is free from the necessity of the authorities, the carnal man submits, even as far as participating in the governmental use of the sword.¹⁷ Correlatively, Luther does not advocate revolutionary overthrow of governing authorities. Luther understands such authorities to have a natural right to their rule.¹⁸ Thus Luther harshly criticizes the Swabian Peasants for their affront to the natural law as well as the Christian law. Luther sees their articles as wholly self-serving. The Christian does not avenge but instead seeks to serve, to do everything “directed to his neighbor’s profit, in order to help him – not only to the attainment of this grace, but also in body, property, and honor.”¹⁹ Not only does the Christian help the neighbor encounter the grace of justifying faith, but he counts even the temporal needs as worthy objects of service.

Luther’s theological understanding of works in relation to justification has certainly been subject to variegated interpretation. It has been our attempt to develop an account of Luther’s theology that views goods works as a necessary correlative of justification by faith. Although works are not logically prior for Luther, they are an intricate part of Christian life and service. While Luther was very careful to never attribute justification to good works, discipline for purposes of purification and subjugation to one’s neighbor are not optional for the Christian, they are definitional. Thus, the Christians’ way of being in the world is that of the one in whom they believe. To be justified by faith in Christ is must be followed by the service of Christ to one’s neighbor.