Martin Luther and Assurance of Salvation

In his Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, Martin Luther, "that champion of free grace,"[1] writes the following comments on Galatians 4:6-7: "Let us not fail to thank God for delivering us from the doctrine of doubt. The Gospel commands us to look away from our own good works to the promises of God in Christ, the Mediator. The pope commands us to look away from the promises of God in Christ to our own merit. No wonder they are the eternal prey of doubt and despair. We depend upon God for salvation. No wonder that our doctrine is certified, because it does not rest in our own strength, our own conscience, our own feelings, our own person, our own works. It is built on a better foundation. It is built on the promises and truth of God."[2]

The English historian and theologian David F. Wright affirms concerning Martin Luther that "Christ's righteousness credited to the believer gave him assurance before God".[3]

References:

[1] William Mason, Free Grace Truths: or Gospel Comfort to Doubting Minds (London: 1769), p. 51.

[2] Project Wittenberg, Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (1535) by Martin Luther. Translated by Theodore Graebner (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1949) Chapter 4, pp. 150-172, commentary on Galatians 4:6-7.

[3] D. F. Wright, "Protestant Reformation" in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, edited by Walter A. Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984), p. 920.