Abstract

Martin Luther was pretty much in opposition to traditions of the church. Th is is because he took the Scripture as sole foundation and basis for (his) Christian faith – “sola scriptura”. “His understanding of Christ as well as his understanding of Paul’s doctrine of justifi cation” was of central importance for Luther. Reading the Bible and listening to biblical texts had releasing and liberating effects on him. Yet, people have to be aware of the danger that these scriptural texts can be interpreted exclusively in a way that one forgets about the meaning of Israel’s history and faith for Christianity. Th at was one of Martin Luther’s great misunderstandings. He was in opposition to the Jewish exegesis because he thought that this could have clouded the believer’s perspective on the Jesus’ message of salvation as well as on the message of Christ as revealed in the First Testament. Experiencing liberation through the proclamation of the Gospel fi rst of all implies the focus on God’s saving work. Th is again should neither be understood exclusively nor inclusively but in a communicative and dialogic form. It is not important which religious denomination people belong to, but rather that they can trust God like Abraham did.