Martin Luther and the Seven Sacraments: A Contemporary Protestant Reappraisal

Martin Luther famously reduced the sacraments from seven to two (baptism and the Lord's Supper). As a result, Christians from the Protestant tradition have often ignored important traditional and even biblical disciplines in their faith because of their misunderstanding of Luther’s intentions. Luther did see benefits in the other five sacraments (penance, confirmation, marriage, ordination, and extreme unction). Maybe it's time to more positively reassess his mediating position, thus overcoming objections expressed by later Reformers.

Martin Luther and the Seven Sacraments reviews the thoughts of Martin Luther and many of the other Protestant Reformers in the sixteenth century to see how they actually attempted to shape their Christian followers regarding the sacraments and practices of the Christian faith. Brian C. Brewer attempts to underscore both the importance of the two Protestant sacraments and a strong understanding of other Christian practices that help to strengthen a Christian’s faith in Christ.