A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians

"As unyielding as the Holy Spirit is in the matter of maintaining and defending the doctrine of faith, so mild and merciful is he toward men for their sins, as long as sinners repent." A beautiful treatise on justification—on grace, faith, and the goodness of Christ. Luther's writing is clear and powerful, and he draws many parallels between the church's struggles in the first century and the difficulties Luther faced in his own time. (He also suggests that modern Germans may be descended from the people of Galatia, so that's an interesting historical perspective.) He describes Paul's conversion, his interactions with the other apostles, and his disagreements with Peter. Luther explains Scripture by linking it to other Scriptures; show more here, he puts the epistle to the Galatians in context of Paul's other writings, of the Gospels, and of the Old Testament. An enlightening read that prompts much soul-searching and introspection, but which always brings the focus right where it belongs, on the saving work of Jesus.

A note on the edition:
I couldn't find on Goodreads the particular edition I read. I listened to a digital audiobook version, and while it listed a publisher and a narrator, there was no listing of either translator or ISBN. This version made a reference to dollar amounts and mentioned prisoners being executed via the electric chair, so I have some questions about the method of the translator. I would hate to think that the anonymous translator was telling me what he thinks I'll understand, not what Luther actually said. show less

This is an abridged translation of Luther's Commentary of Galatians. All I can say is that the original must be a pretty hefty tome, because Dr. Luther does seem to carry on. But that's not so bad, because he's also interesting to read. (I suppose that's one reason his words have lasted all these centuries.) As a history buff, it was interesting to see how Dr. Luther drew parallels between the Judaizers troubling the 1st Century church in Galatia and his own opponents in the Roman Catholic Church. Of course, how those passages apply to me in the 21st Century is something I'll have to ponder on my own. But there's still many useful insights that apply to every age and make the book worth reading.
--J.

This commentary is exceptional for understanding the difference between Law and Gospel and the purposes of the law after the resurrection of Jesus. I would suggest reading the book of Galatians many times in conjunction with reading a section from this each day. Grace is given freely to me, there is no work of mine that can take care of the mountainous problem of my sin, let alone the world's sin- something I need to be reminded of often.

this is simply one of most ground-breaking and gospel-centred commentaries made, historically so significant, still very relevant. this Middleton translation edition is the best, unabridged. Need this one to get the full flavour of Luther and his commentary. great stuff

A classic commentary by one of the world's great expositors.,Commentary on Galatians

Life changing.

This book was foundational to my understanding of Reformed theology.