Guest post by Carissa Jones
Several years ago I received an invitation to a Bible study at the home of some new acquaintances. I accepted with great timidity, completely unaware of how that group would change my life. This couple’s hospitality and long-term investment in our lives taught me a great deal about true discipleship. I learned that discipleship is so much more than a weekly class or list of boxes to be checked. It is deeply relational, intentionally living out Hebrews 10:24-25. At its core, discipleship is one life impacting another for the glory of God.
Martin Luther understood this concept well. For Luther, as it should be for all believers, the goal of every relationship was increased Christlikeness. Luther also recognized the critical link between hospitality and discipleship, and lived out his theology daily. He and Katie opened their home to relatives, renowned visitors, and his students.
As all of their varied guests gathered around the family dinner table, Luther’s students soaked up and wrote down nearly everything their revered leader had to say.[1] These notes from his students were compiled into what is now known as Luther’s “Table Talks.” The existence of the “table talks” reveals Luther’s heart of discipleship. They vividly display his desire to invest in his students’ physical and spiritual well-being. They also highlight the value of hospitality in such endeavors. The talks only exist because Luther lived out his theology of discipleship at home and in his community.
Luther’s Theology of Discipleship
At a time when most devout believers felt pressured to choose between a life devoted to ministry or to family, Luther understood that he could do both so long as his focus remained on the Lord.
As a Husband
Luther (a former monk) married Katharina von Bora (a former nun) largely to spite Satan in what Luther believed to be the last days.[2] Yet, he and Katharina grew to deeply love and respect one another. Their marriage quickly became an example for others of how to leverage one’s home and family for Kingdom purposes. In The Freedom of a Christian (1520) Luther points to the union of marriage as a portrait of the believer’s relationship with Christ.[3] He notes that the groom sacrificially “gives his body and his very self to [the bride].”[4] As Christ sanctifies His bride, so too the groom contributes to the sanctification of his bride by giving her security, protection, and an example of Christlikeness and righteous living.[5]
As a Father
Within nine years of their wedding, the Luthers welcomed six children to their family.[6] In his Treatise on Good Works Luther explains the connection between parental discipline and parental discipleship, and the need for both. He claims parents too often forget to honor Christ in their own lives, and “therefore cannot see what their children lack and how they as parents should teach and rear them. As a result, children are taught to value worldly honor, desires, and material goods in order to please other people and go far in life… The parents are acting just like King Manasseh, who let his own child be sacrificed to the idol Moloch.”[7] Luther goes on to clarify that “nobody must think that the training and teaching of his children is sufficient in itself. It must be done in confidence of God’s favor.”[8] The Ten Commandments, particularly the first and fourth, provided the base for Luther’s theology of discipleship in the home.[9]
As a Teacher
Luther carried over many of these same basic ideas of discipleship in his relationships with his students, and his theology shines through brilliantly in these interactions. His elevation of Scripture takes a front seat role in his teaching. His ambition to live out the first commandment allowed him to pour into his students and care for them without reserve. His theology of discipleship reveals itself as the natural outpouring and culmination of all of these, and he lived out this theology as a vibrant example for others to follow in his footsteps.
As a Minister
But Luther wore another hat, one that defined his life in many ways. Luther’s role as a minister remains an important factor in understanding his influence on Christianity. He took this position very seriously, constantly seeking to encourage his congregation toward greater godliness. It was this pastoral care that led him to push back against the false promises of indulgences which ignited the Reformation.
Luther made Scripture accessible to his congregation by translating the entire Bible to German.[10] Luther’s “theology of the cross” freed him from the ritualistic demands and false assurances of the established church. His soteriology led him to accept and teach the “universal priesthood of all believers,” thereby empowering the members of his congregation to minister to one another.[11] His two catechisms served as aids for his fellow ministers and for his parishioners as well.[12] In his role as minister, it becomes apparent once again how Luther’s theology in other areas shaped his theology of discipleship.
The Influence of Luther’s Theology on His “Table Talks”
Luther genuinely lived out his beliefs every day. This is evidenced in how he conducted himself in his varying roles. For Luther, part of “walking the walk” meant opening his home to a countless number of guests over the years. Without a family home and guests to share it with, the “table talks” never would have happened. Luther’s desire to “care for the souls” of his pupils made it possible.[13]
Though occasionally scolded by Katie for keeping “the Doctor” from his dinner, these students were allowed to ask questions, take notes, and sit in on conversations with this great man of faith and glean from his wisdom and the wisdom of his other honored guests as well.[14] These same inquisitive minds then passed on what they learned to future generations. One can hardly fathom the impact to be made if more modern pastors and professors adopted a practice like that of Luther’s with those under their care.
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Carissa Jones is pursuing a PhD in Historical Theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She serves as the Collegiate Ministries Assistant for Oklahoma Baptists, working with campus and church-based ministries across the state of Oklahoma. She has been blessed to serve all ages through local church ministry and international missions. She loves spending time with family and watching football, particularly the Oklahoma State Cowboys and New England Patriots.
[1] Preserved Smith, Luther’s Table Talk: A Critical Study, New York: Columbia University Press, 1907, 11-14.This work will be heavily utilized in the next section as it provides one of the most in-depth accounts of the history of the “table talks.”
[2] Oberman, Luther, 277.
[3] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, ed. Helmut T. Lehmann, trans. Theodore G. Tappert, American Edition, 55 vols., Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1955, "The Freedom of a Christian", 31:297-299. Future citations will utilize the following format: LW, “Title of Work,” Volume:Page.
[4] Ibid., 501.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Lazareth, The Christian Home, 27.
[7] LW, “Treatise on Good Works,” 44:83.
[8] Ibid., 87.
[9] Ibid., 25ff.
[10] Oberman, Luther, 304-305.
[11] Julius Köstlin and Charles E. Hay, The Theology of Luther : In Its Historical Development and Inner Harmony, Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1897, 361.
[12] Martin Luther, “The Large Catechism” in Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church, trans. F Bente and W.H.T. Dau, Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, as made available by NL Freebook Publisher, 1. “The “Large Catechism” can be found on pages 565-573 of the original work. This paper utilizes the page numbers given by the NL Freebook Publisher as their page lengths are not standard, and do not follow the page numbering of the original work.
[13] Ibid., 97.
[14] Smith, Luther’s Table Talk, 10.