Luther restored the sermon to prominence in the liturgy of the Church but he also stressed the need to relate Word and Sacrament, keeping them in fruitful tension. He did not regard them as opposites, for he said "The Lord's Supper is commanded in Scripture and is in itself a proclamation of the Word."
In his letters and Table Talk, Luther expressed his views on preaching. He regarded the sermon as the most important part of worship, but he insisted that it must be rooted and draw its ground from Scripture. The subject of preaching is the Glory of God in Jesus Christ, otherwise it is not only worthless, but harmful.
He was often so carried away with his subject that, to himself and many of his hearers, his sermons seemed much shorter than they were. His delivery was dynamic. He cast a spell over those who heard him. Masterful in his handling of the language, Luther was fresh in expressing old truths and clear in expressing new ones.
Those who heard him, though his plain speech often offended them, came eagerly again and again to hear him. They sensed the deep conviction of his soul. Luther said,
Now I and any who speak Christ's word may freely boast that his mouth is Christ's mouth. I am certain that my word is not mine but Christ's word, therefore my mouth must all be His whose word it speaks. As often as the Word of God is preached it makes men's consciences before God happy, broad and certain, because it is a word of grace and forgiveness, a good and beneficial word.
This monk who retired from the world to save his soul shaped the course of events more than most of the generals and statesmen of history. How did this happen? Karl Barth said of himself that he was like a man in the darkness climbing a winding staircase in the steeple of an ancient cathedral. In the blackness of the place, he reached out to steady himself and his hand laid hold of a rope. He was surprised and startled to hear the clanging of a bell.
That was precisely the experience of Martin Luther. The bell he rang ushered in the modern era. It called me and women to a vital faith. It is still tolling today. It calls us to be captive to the Word. Christianity stands or falls by the Word. Luther said, "He who does away with the Word and does not accept it as spoken by God does away with everything."
Luther's creed was forged in the crucible of experience: Sola Scriptura, Sola Gracia, Sola Fide. Only through Scripture, only from God's grace, only through faith in Christ does the Christian receive salvation.
1. The History of Preaching, p. 152-153.
2. The Christian Preacher, p. 129.