Martin Luther Master of Deceit
Luther’s Lie of Deceit — Concerning the Ten Commandments
By Dr. Max D. Younce, Pastor
The Ten Commandments
Luther did not believe all of God’s Ten Commandments as recorded in Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Both Exodus and Deuteronomy list the Ten in the same order. Luther did not believe the Second Commandment, so he omitted it in his Large and Small Catechism. Therefore, to show ten commandments in his catechisms after eliminating the Second, he than takes the Tenth Commandment and divides it in two, showing it as number Nine and number Ten.
Wherever the Ten Commandments are on public display in our country, they are always in the same order as given in the Word of God.
In order to prepare you for this deceit, he states on Page 44 of The Small Catechism the following:
NOTE: “The Lord gave the Ten commandments, but he did not say which is the First, the Second, the Third, etc. Not all churches use the same order in numbering the Commandments.”
This statement is to cover Luther’s deceit, should you notice in his catechism that the Second Commandment of the Bible is omitted by Luther. He then takes the Third Commandment and lists it as the Second Commandment. Very sneaky by a man who claimed to believe God.
Now, let’s go to Exodus 20:1-3 and notice in Verse 3 which commandment God gives first. “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” (Vs. 1,2). In Verse 3, he gives the First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
In refutation of Luther’s statement on Page 44 (Small Catechism), Why would God have to say this is the First Commandment when it is the First Commandment God gave. In order to hide from you the fact he did not believe the Second Commandment, Luther further states that, “not all churches use the same order in numbering the commandments.”
Luther fails to name any specific church or churches that change the order of the Ten Commandments. You are just supposed to believe Luther because Luther said it, with no documentation. Why would any Bible-believing church change the order of the commandments, from the order in which God gave them? Maybe God should have consulted with Luther to see if He was doing it right. All of this is Luther’s smoke-screen to cover up your perception of his unbelief in God’s Second Commandment, which he omitted in his catechisms.
Let’s look again at Luther’s statement on Page 44 (Small Catechism) where he states that “God did not say which is the First, the Second, the Third Commandment and etc.” Yet, Luther on Page 5 (Small Catechism) lists the First Commandment as the First Commandment that God gave. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3). Knowing this, the next commandment in Verses 4-6 would be the Second Commandment. Then follows the Third Commandment in Verse 7 which states: “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.”
But, notice when you go to Page 5 (Small Catechism), Luther takes the Third Commandment and tells you it is the Second Commandment. This is Luther’s first lie in the deception of getting you to believe him instead of believing God’s Word concerning the Ten Commandments.
A. The Second Lie. In Exodus 20:5, God said the Fourth Commandment is, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” Luther says this is the Third Commandment. (Small Catechism, Page 5).
B. The Third Lie. In Exodus 20:12, God said the Fifth Commandment is “honour thy father and thy mother.” Luther says this is the Fourth Commandment. (Small Catechism, Page 6).
C. The Fourth Lie. In Exodus 20:13, God said the Sixth Commandment is, “Thou shalt not kill.” Luther says this is the Fifth Commandment. (Small Catechism, Page 6).
D. The Fifth Lie. In Exodus 20:14, God said the Seventh Commandment is, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Luther said this is the Sixth Commandment. (Small Catechism, Page 6).
E. The Sixth Lie. In Exodus 20:15, God said the Eighth Commandment is, “Thou shalt not steal.” Luther said, “This is the Seventh Commandment.” (Small Catechism, Page 6).
F. The Seventh Lie. In Exodus 20:16, God said the Ninth Commandment is “Thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbor.” Luther said, this is the Eighth Commandment (Small Catechism, Page 7).
G. The Eighth Lie. In Exodus 20:17, God said the Tenth Commandment is, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.” Luther divides this verse and says this is Commandments Nine and Ten. (Small Catechism, page 7).
The Second Commandment, which Luther omitted and did not believe, is found in
Exodus 20:4-6. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
Luther believed and followed the Roman Catholic organization in bowing to images made of Mary and various other “saints.” This is why Luther did not believe the Second Commandment and excluded it from his Catechism.
You talk about hypocrites and deceitful men concerning the Bible, Martin Luther is the Master of Deceit!
Now let us examine what Luther says on Page 8 of his Small Catechism. “What does God say of all these commandments? By making the statement “all these commandments,” you are being led to believe that the Ten Commandments in Luther’s Catechism, pp. 5-7, are the same as given by God in Exodus 20. If Luther had been an honest man, he would have come straightforward in his Catechism and told his followers, I do not believe in God’s Second Commandment; therefore, I have excluded it from my Ten Commandments. At least we could respect him for being honest with himself and his followers.
Luther continues on Page 8, Paragraph 2, of the Small Catechism, to warn his followers that, “God threatens to punish all that transgress these commandments.” This statement by Luther condemns himself, as he is the one who disbelieves the Second Commandment and excludes it from his Catechism.
This man has little value for the intelligence of his followers as will be seen by his next step of deception. If you have a small catechism, I hope you will turn to Page 8, Paragraph 1, and notice what Luther quotes from the Bible, which is the Second Commandment found in Exodus 20:4-6. Remember, this is the Commandment he excluded and didn’t believe. The following is the Second Commandment in its entirety from the Bible. What is underlined is only what Luther quoted in his Catechism. What is not underlined is what he did not believe.
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (V. 4).
“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; (V.5). And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. (V.6).
Luther does not believe all of Verse 4 and only less than half of Verse 5. In other words, Luther says he believes God’s judgment will be upon those who do not believe in the Second Commandment, which includes himself. Notice Verse 5, how that Luther does not believe the first half of the verse; but, says he believes the last half, which he quotes on Page 8. (Small Catechism).
James 1:8 describes Luther precisely, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” The Word of God in Proverbs 30:5 tells us that, “Every word of god is pure...” Luther, by excluding the Second Commandment, does not believe these words. Luther only picks and chooses which parts of the Bible he wants to believe. I have talked to many, many Lutherans and I have yet to find one who is aware of Luther’s disbelief and exclusion of the Second Commandment from his Catechism. Sad to say, they don’t even care. Luther has been dead for about 460 years, and his false teachings are as much alive today as they were when he was living. This is only one of the many false teachings and deceptions of Luther. We will continue to explore them one by one.
One must remember that in 1508 Luther was appointed to a university in Wittenberg, Germany, as a public teacher of Philosophy. Notice Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
Yes, Luther is unquestionably “the Master of Deceit.” Notice on Page 41, Paragraph 11 (Small Catechism) Luther’s words. “Every word of the Bible is God’s word, and therefore the Bible is without error.” Luther lied in this statement in deleting the Second Commandment from his catechism which contains 91 words. Judge for yourself. Does Luther love God and believe that every word of the Bible is God’s Word, or is he a liar and a false teacher?
Before I conclude, I would like it known that I am trusting Jesus Christ as the One who was crucified, buried, and rose again, paying for my sins on the cross. Acts 4:12 states, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
For this reason, I know I have everlasting life with the Lord in heaven as promised in John 3:36.
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
Luther believes (Large Catechism, Page 85, Par. 41) that water baptism promises and brings,
(1). Victory over death and the devil
(2). Forgiveness of sins
(3). God’s grace
(4). The entire Christ
(5). The Holy Spirit with His gifts
We will cover this, and more, in our coming examination of Luther, the Master of Deceit.”
I feel, as Joshua in Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” NOT Martin Luther.
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