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"Hence the Glorying of All the Saints in Their God" Martin Luther's On the Bondage of the Will: A Reflection by Tami Jelinek Synopsis: Martin Luther’s famous work, On the Bondage of the Will, was written in 1525 in response to Desiderius Eramsus’ Diatribe on the Free Will. Luther’s main Scriptural arguments and his point by point refutation of Diatribe, which he calls A Display of the Forces on Luther’s Side, are contained in part VI, divided into seven sections. This paper focuses primarily on just one of those seven sections, Luther’s argument in support of his assertion: Free Choice May Do the Works of the Law But Not Fulfill the Law. Part one is a detailed analysis of Luther’s argument, and especially his use of Scripture to support it. Part two suggests a few strengths and weaknesses of Luther’s argument considering their broader theological ramifications. Finally, part three is a short theological reflection on Luther’s argument, and specifically how a right understanding of both the law and the Gospel impacts a Christian’s experience of his or her faith. Tami Jelinek 
Tami Jelinek is a part-time senior care giving coordinator and full-time seminarian, currently working toward her Master of Divinity degree. Tami and her husband of twenty-six years, Keith, reside in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They have three grown children. Tami’s personal passion is theology: the knowledge and experience of the Truth and Mercy found only in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and displayed in the lives and communion of His people. Exploring portraits of Christ and His kingdom in the Old Testament is the primary focus of her studies. Tami and Keith enjoy traveling, and love to fill their home with friends and family who share their fondness for good food, good wine, and great conversation.
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"For my own part, I frankly confess that even it if were possible, I should not wish to have free choice given to me, or to have anything left in my own hands by which I might strive toward salvation...since even if I lived and worked to eternity, my conscience would never be assured and certain how much it ought to do to satisfy God. For whatever work might be accomplished, there would always remain an anxious doubt whether it pleased God or whether he required something more, as the experience of all self-justifiers proves...But now, since God has taken my salvation out of my hands into his, making it depend on his choice and not mine, and has promised to save me, not by my own work or exertion but by his grace and mercy, I am assured and certain both that he is faithful and will not lie to me...Moreover, we are also certain and sure that we please God, not by the merit of our own working, but by the favor of his mercy promised to us, and that if we do less than we should or do it badly, he does not hold this against us, but in a fatherly way pardons and corrects us. Hence the glorying of all the saints in their God."
--Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will |