“The Apology is more than a mere polemical treatise. It is a thorough discussion, in all its relations, of the cardinal doctrine of Justification by Faith alone, without Works; for whatever be the article treated, the discussion always reverts to this theme. At first reading, it may indeed seem diffuse, but farther study will show that it contains little, if anything, unnecessary, as it is its aim to meet the questions proposed at every turn, and to examine them from varied standpoints.

“It abounds in forcible illustrations, in exhaustive treatment of scriptural texts, in proofs from patristic literature and the history of the Church, overwhelming with confusion the arguments which the adversaries had drawn from the same sources. Its spirit is so mild and conciliatory, its style so clear and lucid, its language so animated and eloquent, its entire mode of reasoning so manifestly the sincere expression of a mind that has been long occupied and deeply agitated by the contemplation of divine things, that it cannot fail to deeply interest all devout students of Scripture. — Henry Eyster Jacobs, from “The Lutheran Confessions: A Brief Introduction”

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Book Contents

• Translation Notes
• The Apology Of The Augsburg Confession
• Melanchthon’s Preface
  • I. Of the First Article. Of God
• Chapter I. Of Original Sin
  • Article II. Of The Second Article
  • Article III. Of the Third Article (Concerning Christ)
• Chapter II. Of Justification
  • Article IV. Of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Twentieth Articles
• Chapter III. Of Love And The Fulfilling Of The Law
• Chapter IV. Of the Church
  • V. Of the Seventh Article
  • VI. Of the Eighth Article
  • VI. Of The Eighth Article
  • VII. Of the Ninth Article (Baptism)
  • VIII. Of the Tenth Article (The Holy Supper)
  • IX. Of the Eleventh Article (Confession)
• Chapter V. Of Repentance
  • X. Of the Twelfth Article
• Chapter VI. Of Confession and Satisfaction
• Chapter VII. Of The Number And Use Of The Sacraments
  • XI. Of the Thirteenth Article
  • XII. Of the Fourteenth Article (Ecclesiastical Orders)
• Chapter VIII. Of Human Traditions in the Church
  • XIII. Of the Fifteenth Article
  • XIV. Of the Sixteenth Article (Civil or Political Order)
  • XV. Of the Seventeenth Article (The Return of Christ to Judgment)
  • XVI. Of the Eighteenth Article (Free Will.)
  • XVII. Of the Nineteenth Article (The Cause of Sin)
  • XVIII. Of the Twentieth Article (Good Works)
• Chapter IX. Of the Invocation of Saints
  • XIX. Of the Twenty-First Article
• Chapter X. Of Both Kinds in the Lord’s Supper
• Chapter XI. Of The Marriage Of Priests
  • Article XXIII
• Chapter XII. Of the Mass
  • Article XXIV
• Chapter XIII. Of Monastic Vows
  • Article XXVII
• Chapter XIV. Of Ecclesiastical Power
  • Article XXVIII

Publication Information

• Lutheran Library edition first published: 2020
• Copyright: CC BY 4.0