Why did Martin Luther say The Epistle of St. James is truly an Epistle of straw?

Answer 1

Martin Luther was tormented by his sins and concluded that he never could be good enough to deserve God's favor. Then he discovered God's grace in the book of Romans and realized that justification was a gift from God--nobody is good enough to deserve God's favor. After that, Luther saw "justification by faith" everywhere and determined that good works were not necessary for the Christian. The problem with that is that James absolutely insists that faith alone is not sufficient for salvation (after all, the demons believe!) but that faith must result in changed behavior. The result was that Martin Luther began to question whether James belonged in the New Testament at all! His conclusion was that the origin of the book was very hazy and without substance--like something made of straw. His comment "a right strawy epistle" was intended to convey that sense of vague uncertainty. Of course, that doesn't measure up to Luther's usual standard of intellectual honesty, but he was a human being, after all!

Martin Luther's background was that of a zealous monk under the Roman Catholic system that existed in his day. He sought through various means to gain his peace with God but found none through the works based system that then existed. He exceeded the rules of his strict order, the reformed congregation of the Augustinians. At times he would fast for three days in a row without eating at all. Other times he would cast off the blankets he was allowed and nearly froze himself to death.

'I was a good monk, and I kept the rule of my order so strictly that I may say that if ever a monk got to heaven by his monkery it was I. All my brothers in the monastery who knew me will bear me out. If I had kept on any longer, I should have killed myself with vigils, prayers, reading and other work.'

Despite his zeal he had no peace until he discovered the truth of salvation by grace. Although it may have taken some time for the truth to fully dawn on him the realization of the meaning of such teachings as Galatians 3 v 11 was central to the radical change that occurred in his life and thinking.

'But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.'

Out of this background, he then was opposed to anything he interpreted as teaching works for salvation as it contradicted the gospel of salvation by grace. Since the whole Epistle of James is dealing with the life and works of Christians it does not proclaim the Gospel of grace, rather it assumes it. James certainly knew that salvation was not by works, for in 2 v 10 he says 'For whoever will keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.' The obvious implication being that no-one is able to keep the whole law absolutely perfectly.

Where James in 2 v 21 asks -

'Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?'

- he is not saying that works will produce salvation, nor that salvation is a formula of works plus faith, but merely that good works will always accompany true faith.

To put it simply, Luther mis-interpreted the teaching of James. He saw a contradiction where there was none. It is merely a matter of where the emphasis is placed. Salvation must be by God's grace seeing it cannot be earned, it must also be accepted by faith. Only God can really know a persons inner heart, but the reality or otherwise of someone's profession will be demonstrated by their actions.

Another viewpoint: Answer I thought that Martin Luther said this about James because he meant for it to be set on fire as straw does before a good burning. He thought that the Book of James had so little merit as compared to the rest of the New Testament that it should be lightly considered in terms of what was demanded of by scripture and especially Paul in the rest of the New Testament. His instincts prove to be correct. Such a remark then would make a lot of sense. True, it is part of the Canon but, is it a part of Paul's Gospel of Christ? The Gospel of Grace as Paul puts it in Acts 20:24? It would certainly seem not to be for James does not near mention the Gospel but warns of the end. James is dealing with survival to those that have had to run for their lives in Matthew 24 and 25. Look at the very opening of James - to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad! Why are they scattered? Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Mat 24:16 Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Mat 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Mat 24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. Mat 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! Mat 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Because these are the day of Tribulation and now the Jews are being written to as to what they are to do. Today, we have no such question - except those who still have their understanding as darkened as Luther did about the Scriptures - as to how we are saved but by faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and not by our works. But in the Doctrinal Days of James this is not so - the Day of Grace is over and the Dark Night of the Tribulation is upon those who have rejected the Gospel of Grace and so they must take heed to have the testimony of Jesus, not to take the Mark of the Beast and . . . love not their lives to the death. That's all it was - a misunderstanding of the Doctrine that not all of Scripture is not doctrinally applicable to all times. Luther had good instincts and did not include James' works in the plan of salvation, but today, that's not true. Churches (many of them) are not led by people with good instincts, instead they are led by teachers and preachers that can't make sense out of The Bible so the wrangle it like a frustrated child with a jigsaw puzzle when the pieces don't fit. They start pounding the pieces with their fist until they make them fit where they want them to.