MSUM
Library
MSUM
Library
honors the 2006 promotion of
Steve Hoffbeck
History
Luther, Martin. The Bondage of the Will. Sovereign Grace Publishers, 2001.
Dr. Hoffbeck chose this book because:
“I have been influenced by the life and writings of Martin Luther, a man who was willing to take a stand for his faith in the time of the Reformation. In his classic book of theology The Bondage of Will, Luther upheld the doctrine of justification by faith — that salvation is granted as a gift through the grace of God. He believed that free will applied to humankind in most aspects of life, but that it did not apply to salvation for each person was unable to save him or herself. He clearly explained that whatever a person places first in his life, and what he ultimately relies on, becomes his god. Each person will be a slave to whatever he puts in the place of God and cannot release himself from that bondage. Reading this book helped me understand grace and also my place in the cosmos.”