Martin Luther’s Understanding of Vocation

For Martin Luther, vocation is at the centre of the Christian life. It is through vocation that one practices Christianity. He argues that God works through vocation.

Christian Vocation 1
Martin Luther’s Understanding of Vocation
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Christian Vocation 2
Martin Luther’s Understanding of Vocation
For Martin Luther, vocation is at the centre of the Christian life. It is through vocation that
one practices Christianity (Rex 2017). He argues that God works through vocation. He does
this through calling people to different careers and responsibilities. When calling people into
different careers, God intends that every Christian will practice their faith at the different
vocations. Vocation does not only refer to the work that one does. It also refers to other
responsibilities that a person may have. These roles include being a dad, a mum, a church
member or even a citizen. It is God who places us in these vocations so that we may practice
faith and holiness with the aim of glorifying Him. It follows that vocation was very important
to Martin Luther. It is during his vocation that he led the reformation movement for he felt
that it was the right thing to do according to the bible.
Luther added that God does not require our good deeds but our neighbours do. Therefore, we
cannot stand before God and brag of our good deeds. Instead, it is by faith that we are
justified. Christians go before God for salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. God justifies Christians through faith and then sends them to various vocations so that
they can love and serve their neighbours (Tranvik, 2016). God does not place us into various
vocations for our own selfish gains but for glorification of his holy name through selfless
service. Luther argues that although we may say we are serving God, it is actually God who
serves us. Therefore, our main roles are to serve our neighbours in our various vocations.
While attempting to explain how Christian vocations should be, he borrows from some
biblical scripture in the book of Mathew chapter 22 (Roper 2018). The scripture states that we
should love God and love our neighbours. If we do this, we will have the ability to extend
good deeds to our neighbours.

Christian Vocation 3
It is not possible to love God and hate out neighbours (Luther and Wengert 2016.). According
to Luther, every vocation has neighbours. The term neighbour refers to any person around us
whether they are enemies, friends, people next door or strangers on the road. The central role
of being in a vocation is to ensure that we love these neighbours just as we love ourselves. He
gives an example with pastors in the church. Concerning this, he argues that pastors in the
church must love the members of their congregation. In addition, members of the choir
should help those who are talented in singing to praise God. Another area of vocation that he
explores is the family. The family is a representation of Christ and the church. The husband
should love the wife and the wife should submit to her husband. In addition, children should
respect their parents. Parents must also provide for their children. In a nutshell, Luther views
vocation as an avenue to love our neighbours.

Christian Vocation 4
References
Luther, M. & Wengert, T.J., 2016. Freedom of a Christian, 1520 - the annotated Luther
study edition, Fortress Press.
Rex, R., 2017. The making of Martin Luther, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Roper, L., 2018. Martin Luther: renegade and prophet, New York: Random House.
Tranvik, M.D., 2016. Martin Luther and the called life, Minneapolis: Fortress Press.