Troublemakers
Comments on Galatians with an ear to Luther’s commentary
Scripture Text: Galatians 1:6-9 and 2 Timothy 2:14-19
Series: Comments on Galatians
No one is safe from the apostle or from Luther; and no one should be safe from you or me. We must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). If that does not work and our challenge is not received as loving, we must speak anyway, even as boldly (Ephesians 6:20) as did Martin and Paul.
If one teaches wrong doctrine, he should be gently corrected. If he continues, being a “troublemaker,” as Luther termed such people, in his erroneous teaching, correction should also persist. If false teaching is done without regard to the truth, his error should be brought to common light so that all may know true doctrine and not be led astray.
No one should be excluded from correction — lay person, pastor, evangelist, bishop, superintendent, cardinal, or pope. God’s word instructs all and must be handled faithfully (2 Timothy 2:15). It falls to those who correctly handle the word of truth to correct those who do not, even if others end up viewing them as troublemakers. Paul and Martin took that assignment most seriously when people began to be led astray from God by following man instead.
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Author
Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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