To word it slightly differently, the issue to Luther was a translation issue far more than a doctrinal issue in his translation of Romans 3:28. He was simply striving to bring the precision of the greek into the German. In Luther's translation of this verse he added the word "alone." Luther added the German word "allein" (alone) to Romans 3:28 despite the fact that it is not in the Greek texts. To Martin Luther, James was an epistle of straw that had "nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it." 2:24). Unfortunately his actions did lead to Martin Luther’s excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church and even a price being place on his head. Romans 3:28 Delivered 04/03/2011. Romans 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. It is true. The years leading up to October 31, 1517 were essential to understanding Martin Luther’s motivation and the purpose of the Reformation. I said that I agreed with that, it is faith ALONE that saves us. Last week we looked at the subject, "Justified by Faith Alone." Martin Luther struggled greatly with James' "not by faith alone" (Jam. The section properly begins at 3:21 and runs through 3:26. The German “allein” is translated “alone” in English. Yes. The Greek reads: λογιζόμεθα γὰρ δικαιοῦσθαι πίστει ἄνθρωπον χωρὶς ἔργων νόμου. Paul is setting up an exclusive statement. He then lectured on St. Paul’s epistles to the Romans and Galatians from 1515 to 1517. Why did Luther add the word 'alone' to Romans 3:28? In fact, he once offered his doctor's cap to anyone who could reconcile it with Romans 3:28 and scoffed at his friend, Philip Melanchthon, for attempting it. Romans 3:28 NASB. "Romans 3:28 states, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law" (NKJV). In 1513, as a brand-new professor at the University of Wittenberg, Luther lectured on the Psalms. ... Paul's position and Luther's is that a soul in anguish on account of transgression must sweep clean out all anxieties as to what it can do to please the Father, beyond the filial act of looking to Him through Him who came to reveal Him. So halten wir nun dafür, daß der Mensch gerecht werde ohne des Gesetzes Werke, allein durch den Glauben. Martin Luther did not want to leave or be excommunicated from the church he just wanted to open the debate on interpretation of Holy Scripture as compared to the interpretation by the church in 1517. and edited by G. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980) 92.. 3 As is common, the lectionary gives us a poorly defined text. So halten wir nun dafür, daß der Mensch gerecht werde ohne des Gesetzes Werke, allein durch den Glauben. Martin Luther, in his German translation of the Bible, specifically added the word "allein" (English 'alone') to Romans 3:28-a word that is not in the original Greek. 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