The Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude Preached and Explained — A Closer Reading

Sanctifying God in the Heart

One of the most insistent images in the excerpts is that of sanctifying God in the heart. Luther takes Peter's phrase and expands it into a pattern of response: when misfortune comes, the believer is to say, 'this is nothing but a precious blessing that I am unworthy of.' The movement here is inward—from external event to internal disposition. Luther contrasts this with those who 'scruple accounts' and complain that God sleeps, dishonoring Him by accounting Him neither just nor holy. The structure of the argument is typical: a scriptural command is followed by a negative example, then a positive one drawn from the Psalms or Daniel. The repeated phrase 'sanctify Him in my heart' becomes a refrain, tying the epistle's language to the Lord's Prayer and to the believer's daily experience of weal or woe.

God's Use of Wicked Instruments

A striking feature of Luther's exposition is his treatment of how God employs wicked people as instruments of His righteousness. He cites Ezekiel's description of King Nebuchadnezzar as God's servant, and argues that even persecutors serve a divine purpose: 'they may execute His righteousness.' The language is blunt—God makes them 'His executioners'—and the structure moves from the general principle to a specific Old Testament example. Luther then pivots to the believer's response: when you endure and sanctify God, saying 'Just Lord,' you do well, while God casts the wicked into hell. This two-part movement—first explaining God's sovereignty over evil, then prescribing the proper human reaction—recurs throughout the excerpts, giving the lectures a homiletic shape that balances doctrine with application.

The Example of Job and the Distinction of Judgments

Luther repeatedly returns to the figure of Job as a model of sanctification. When Job loses everything, he says, 'The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; as it was well pleasing to God, so has it been ordered, therefore praised be His name.' This quotation serves as a concrete anchor for the abstract principle of attributing righteousness to God. Luther then introduces a crucial distinction: 'it is an entirely different judgment between God and me, and between me and thee.' A person may harbor anger and hatred toward another without that other having wronged him; in God's sight the angry person is unjust, and God is right to punish him. But this does not mean the persecutor is justified. The structure here is logical and careful, moving from the general case to the specific distinction, and then back to the comfort of the believer who endures.

The Rhythm of Question and Answer

The excerpts reveal a consistent rhetorical structure: Luther poses a question drawn from the text—'how can we sanctify Him; must He not sanctify us?'—and then answers it by unfolding the meaning of the scriptural phrase. The answer often takes the form of a definition followed by examples. For instance, he defines sanctifying God as considering whatever He appoints as 'good, holy, and excellent,' then illustrates with the prophet Daniel's confession and the Te Deum. This question-and-answer pattern gives the lectures a dialogical quality, as if Luther is anticipating the reader's objections. The movement is not merely explanatory but exhortatory: each answer ends with a directive to the believer, such as 'whoever is a Christian, should attribute righteousness to God and unrighteousness to himself.' The structure thus mirrors the pastoral purpose of the original sermons.

Readers approaching Luther's lectures on Peter and Jude will find a work that is less a systematic commentary than a series of expository sermons, each built around a scriptural phrase and driven by a pastoral urgency. The translator's preface notes that the original pamphlets were issued during Luther's lifetime, and the text retains the immediacy of spoken address. Pay attention to how Luther moves between scriptural citation, concrete example, and direct application—this rhythm is the key to his method. The recurring images of sanctification, divine justice, and the believer's endurance under suffering are not merely doctrinal points but patterns for Christian living.

That Luther book—it stayed with me in the way some quiet afternoons do. The way he holds suffering and mercy together, without rushing either one, felt almost familiar. I thought of that again lately, reading the passages on hell’s restraint and heaven’s quiet light in Heaven and its Wonders and Hell — Key Ideas to Explore. Some truths simply wait for us to sit still long enough.