How Martin Luther Reconceptualizes Authority in Two of His Tracts

In 1520, Martin Luther published two tracts central to the Protestant Reformation: To the Christian Nobility in August, and The Freedom of a Christian in November. The former text appealed to the German political authorities to take the initiative in the face of the Church which he saw as corrupt, while the latter has him argue his case to the Pope. This paper argues that these two texts are endorsements of individual rights, the authority of Scripture, and lawful resistance. Luther breaks the distinction between the temporal and spiritual realms by affirming the equality of every believer. He also affirms the Scripture as the only source of power and faith, without any mediators between it and the believer. If any authority unjustly asserts itself upon the believer by force, it loses its mandate, and the believer has the right to revolt against it and replace it.

Luther asserts the equality of all believers. The Roman Catholic Church conceived of their clergy as the spiritual estate and princes, lords, artisans, and farmers as the temporal estate. But in Christian Nobility Luther retorts that “all Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except that of office.” He justifies this with Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 [:12-13], who says that believers “are all one body, yet every member has its own work by which it serves the others” (98). A priest is only different because he must administer the Word of God and the Sacraments. A bishop does not receive his power from the pope or Church, but rather from the community which he is serving. Meanwhile the temporal authorities administer justice (99). The temporal estate also has power over the clergy, which is why guilty priests are stripped of their priestly office before they are handed over to secular law (100). Luther believes that every man is his own priest, and he reasons that “in cases of necessity, anyone can baptize and give absolution”. Luther points out how a murdered priest places a whole country under interdict, unlike a murdered peasant, and says that this is only due to lay laws. This has democratic implications: the distinctions between priest and peasant are obliterated (99). These same ideas are present in Freedom of a Christian. There, Luther says that “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none”, and at the same time “is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all” (107). The Christian man has a spiritual nature, and nothing external provides him freedom or righteousness (108). Thus, Luther argues that every Christian is in fact part of the spiritual estate.

The individual’s rights are granted by Scripture, which alone justifies the believer. Luther counters the pope’s claim to having the sole authority to interpret Scripture by challenging him to point to a single letter proving this. If the pope was telling the truth, Scripture would not be needed, and he would “be satisfied with the unlearned gentlemen at Rome who possess the Holy Spirit”. He once again quotes Scripture, starting with St Paul in 1 Corinthians 14[:30], “If something better is revealed to anyone, though he is already sitting and listening to another in God’s Word, then the one who is speaking shall hold his peace and give place” (100). Luther expands on this on Freedom of a Christian. He says that there are no hard and fast rules to interpreting Scripture, and that the clergy has no authority there (106). He argues that the only thing necessary to have a Christian life is the Word of God. This is the idea of sola scriptura. A believer’s own faith by understanding the Bible justifies them, not good works, or the sacraments of the Church. The Church is not needed as a link between the believer and God (109). The Scripture is divided into commandments and promises. Although the commandments should be strived towards, sin prevents the believer from truly keeping them, so the believer must seek God’s promise in his Word. Faith trusts God, making the believer’s soul consent to God and his will. It “unites the soul with Christ as a bride is united with her bridegroom” (110). Christ gets sin, death, and damnation while the soul gets grace, life, and salvation. Thus, Luther wants to return to a Christ-centered idea of Christian religion, like that of Thomas a Kempis, which helps and benefits every believer (111). He wants to get past the Church and its rules straight to scripture and God.

Any authority that unjustly takes the believers rights and sets itself upon the believer has lost the right to rule and can be resisted. Luther considers the Church as such an authority. He calls it “more corrupt than any Babylon or Sodom ever was […], characterized by a completely depraved, hopeless, and notorious godlessness” (105). To Luther the Church is “but a mass of people without Christ”. He takes away the pope’s authority, reasoning that a vicar is only present when his superior is not. Since the pope is considered the vicar of Christ, he wonders “what is such a vicar but an Antichrist and an idol?” (107). In Christian Nobility Luther points to Scripture to justify his demand for the calling of a Council. There, he would accuse the Pope before the Church. To him, the Church is a city on fire and the community must put out the fire. If the Pope refuses to allow the Council, then it is right to resist him, and he should be excommunicated. Luther cites ones of Paul’s Scripture texts, where he tells the Corinthians, “God has given us authority not to ruin Christendom but to build it up” [2 Cor. 10:8] (101). Luther is proposing resistance theory, which he also does in his propositions to the princes. He demands that the Christian nobility stop paying money to Rome, prevent their subjects from doing so, and set themselves against the Pope in Rome (102-3). All temporal matters should be left to the temporal authority, and “the pope should have no authority over the emperor, except the right to anoint and crown him” (103). The pope should also have no right to the kingdom of Naples and Sicily and should no longer have his feet kissed (103). Here church and state are separated. The overall theme of the propositions is to break away from Rome and have Germans take their churches into their own hands to renew them. Luther argues for resistance against the Church.

Luther’s two tracts argue for individual rights which are granted by Scripture, and the right to resist any authority that violates those rights. Luther has broken the barrier between the spiritual and temporal estates by proving that every believer is spiritual. He also points out that Scripture is sufficient for salvation without the Church. Finally, he has shown that every believer has the right to resist and disobey any authority violating those rights. Based on his value of Scripture, Luther later translated the Bible into German during his stay at Wartburg. His ideas also inspire the Peasant’s Revolt of 1525-6, although he strongly repudiated it. Luther’s resistance theory was further developed by radical Protestants, who argued for revolt and the death of a king that breaks the natural laws of Scripture. This theory became prominent in Protestantism by the 1550s and 60s.