2. Initial Changes of View
Even at this time his radical change of views had become evident. Turning from philosophy, he sought the kernel of the trust of
salvation in the Bible, especially in the Epistle to the Romans and
in the Psalms, which he interpreted entirely from the New Testament. He next lectured on Galatians, Hebrews, Titus, and Judges, his lectures being partly published
and partly preserved in manuscript. Of the Fathers, Augustine
3. The Doctrine of Grace
Although still devoted to the Roman Catholic Church, Luther had now reached essentially the conclusions which were to lead him to combat
her claims. Resting salvation entirely on the grace of God, he
held that all the good works of the natural man are sin, and that divine grace comes solely through the eternal election and
predestination of God. Luther also held with Paul that man is purified by
faith inwrought by the divine spirit and word of grace, and that the spirit of God then works inward righteousness in them that
believe. Nevertheless, those who are thus regenerate still sin
constantly and are without honor or merit, persisting only through pardoning grace and through faith before God. Like the mystics,
Luther's concept of the plan of salvation is based on the relation
of the individual to God and Christ in faith. Faith is identical with entire devotion, renunciation of all self-righteousness, and
surrender of all self-will. Both faith and hope are directed only
to Christ, who alone fulfilled the law and bore our sins; while man is justified solely by the imputation of God. While inward righteousness is included in justification, it follows the forgiveness
of sins which forms a part of faith. From faith Luther also derives love, and the strength, impulse, and delight to do good. Christ, who dwells in man through faith, himself does all and conquers all; but the deeds of the just are not for his own righteousness, but for the service of God and man. All this grace is bestowed by the Word, in which dwells Christ, the bread of life; and this bread of life is given outwardly in preaching and the Eucharist, and inwardly by "God's own teaching." That the current ecclesiastical views were opposed to those which formed the center of his belief and life was still unknown to Luther. In contradistinction to the prevailing custom, he held that the bishops should regard preaching as their prime
duty, and that sermons should be free from false legends and the opinions of men, nor should the subjects longer be restricted to
character and works, but should be devoted especially to faith and
justice. Nevertheless, Luther entertained no doubt of the authority of the visible Church, and obedience to her was to him identical
with obedience to Christ. The sources for his views at this
period are his lectures on the Psalms, Latin sermons beginning with 1515, a preface to Tauler's Deutsche Theologie (1516),
a German exegesis of the seven penitential Psalms, theses in
Bernhardis of Feldkirchen and Günther's Disputation
