LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University

70 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW IX
rejected James from the canon. However, when he discusses the status of
James on the basis of its content, he is careful to add a qualifying disclaimer,
such as the following: “Therefore I cannot include him among the chief
books, though I would not thereby prevent anyone from including or
extolling him as he pleases.” 55 This is precisely the reverse of the image of
Luther that is presented to us by the Gospel-reductionist.
14. “SOLUS CHRISTUS” AND “WAS CHRISTUM TREIBT”
It is surely time to consider what Luther meant by the phrase treibt
Christum “inculcates Christ”. It clearly does not merely imply mentioning
Christ. It certainly, as indicated above, includes proclaiming Christ as the
only Saviour of mankind. It is quite evident, again and again, that by
“Christ”, Luther includes the whole Gospel of Christ. It is quite evident that
frequently the term “Christ” serves for Luther as a sort of cipher, denoting
the doctrine of justification: that the sinner is justified before God not by his
own works, but by God’s grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith. Any teacher
or any book that undermines this Gospel in any way, takes Christ’s glory
away from Him, and cannot be said to proclaim Christ, cannot be Scripture,
and is not canonical.
We have here Luther’s famous solus Christus “Christ alone” principle,
enunciated primarily in his “Lectures on Galatians”. 56 Luther spells out this
principle in passages like the following:
Christ is the sum and truth of Scripture. 57
The Scriptures from beginning to end do not reveal anyone besides the
Messiah, the Son of God, who should come and through His sacrifice
carry and take away the sins of the world. 58
Outside the book of the Holy Spirit, namely the Holy Scriptures, one
does not find Christ. 59
The solus Christus “Christ alone” principle is spelled out more fully in
the following passage, which reveals that the principle is clearly derived
from Scripture itself. In this passage, Luther, in commenting upon Galatians
3:14, is criticising opponents who adduce Scripture passages concerning
55 AE 35:397.
56 Robert D. Preus, “Luther: Word, Doctrine and Confession”, Lutheran Synod
Quarterly 32.4 (December 1992): 24.
57 Qtd Preus, “Luther: Word, Doctrine and Confession” 31.
58 Qtd Preus, “Luther: Word, Doctrine and Confession” 31.
59 Qtd Preus, “Luther: Word, Doctrine and Confession” 32.