Bound and Free - by William M Marsh (Paperback)

About the Book

In Bound and Free: How Faith Alone Frames the Christian Life, William M. Marsh takes a fresh look at Martin Luther's 1520 treatise, The Freedom of a Christian.

Book Synopsis

In Bound and Free: How Faith Alone Frames the Christian Life, William M. Marsh takes a fresh look at Martin Luther's 1520 treatise, The Freedom of a Christian. In this work, Marsh points to the duality of being both bound and free in Christ. Exploring the concept of "simul," Marsh offers the reality of the Christian being "simultaneously" a sinner and just.

Bound and Free is not only a theology for the Christian Life or another book on how to effectively live by faith. It goes much deeper than that. It explores the tension of the Christian life. Being both sinner and saved, being broken and yet restored, and being sinful but just in the eyes of the Lord.

Review Quotes

"What exactly does it mean to live by faith alone? This is a book centered on the Gospel that asks and answers that question with both depth and know-how. Built upon a biblical foundation in dialogue with Martin Luther's The Freedom of a Christian, reading this book brings joy and insight to all who follow Jesus Christ--one will no doubt learn and grow as a result."
--Jason G. Duesing, provost and professor of historical theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary "Carefully researched and well written, we have here a fresh interpretation of Martin Lutherʼs classic treatise, The Freedom of the Christian. Marsh reminds us of the central concern at the heart of Reformation spirituality: Justification by faith alone is not only the article by which the church either stands or falls, but also the principle by which all believers either live or die. Highly recommended!"--Timothy George, distinguished professor of divinity, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

"Living out the Christian life can be challenging and elusive in practice. Bound and Free addresses this difficulty and provides an answer to the question of what it means to live out the Christian faith. Drawing deeply from the Reformation's concept of Sola Fide and Martin Luther's thought in The Freedom of a Christian, Billy Marsh presents a historically and biblically informed theology of the Christian life that proves practical for those of faith today."
--W. Madison Grace II, provost and vice president for academic administration, professor of theology, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

"The Reformation wasn't about the Christian life but about obscure doctrinal differences. That's how many people see it, Protestants and Catholics alike. This book shows in vivid detail why Luther's Freedom of the Christian is a rarely consulted but revolutionary doctrine of sanctification. Please read this. It will change paradigms."
--Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic and Apologetic Theology, Westminster Seminary California

"Marsh converses at a high level of scholarship with contemporary thinkers in ways that make clear to readers what the Bible says about daily life for one who trusts in Christ. Using Luther's exposition of Christ's liberation of believers from our enemies, including Satan, death, sin, God's wrath, and his law's condemnation, Marsh examines how Christ's liberation frees and empowers believers to practice God's life of bonding them to their neighbors. The author leads readers into the depth of the biblical affirmation of restoration of life as God's child through Christ's justifying work that creates a faith that practices God's way of life each day. This book provides insightful guidance for plunging into Scripture and for perceptive applications of Luther's dramatic presentation of the Holy Spirit's restoration of righteousness through the gift of faith."
--Robert Kolb, professor of systematic theology emeritus, Concordia Seminary

"As the culture becomes rapidly post-Christian, there is a pressing need for Christians to recover a vision of the spiritual life. Drawing on Martin Luther's classic work The Freedom of a Christian, Marsh casts a compelling vision for how faith shapes the spiritual life. He offers readers fresh access to the reformer's paradoxical insight: that Christians are simultaneously free and bound, perfectly liberated yet wholly devoted to serving their neighbors. Committed to Scripture and faithful to the great reformer's writings, this book invites readers to rediscover the transformative power of the gospel for Christian living--wisdom we desperately need today."
--Stephen O. Presley, senior fellow for religion and public life, Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy; associate professor of church history, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

"In North America, freedom and duty are associated, respectively, with individual autonomy and submission to oppressive norms or institutions. Inspired by Martin Luther's Freedom of the Christian, Marsh offers a fresh biblically-informed Christological account of what it means to be simultaneously a free lord and a dutiful servant today. With the skill of a gifted teacher and scholar, he argues convincingly for a vision of the Christian life in which our union with Christ by faith alone binds us to God's life-giving Word and frees us to love our neighbors. A wonderful book!"
--Leopoldo A. Sánchez M., professor of systematic theology, Werner R. H. Krause Professor of Hispanic Ministries, Concordia Seminary

"At its core, the Reformation is more about faith than doctrine. Luther's quarrel with Rome arose out of a quarrel with God and his desperate search for a good conscience. Dr. Marsh's book documents his intimate knowledge of Luther's seminal work, "The Freedom of a Christian" (1520). Though exhaustively researched and copiously footnoted, this book is no mere academic exercise. Lutherans and other evangelicals alike will find it an effective tool for calling Christians everywhere to a more confident faith that lives by love."
--Harold L. Senkbeil, emeritus director, Doxology: the Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel

"William Marsh is one of the best kept secrets in evangelical theology, so I am grateful that his rare blend of scholarly mind and pastoral heart are on display for readers in Bound and Free. Marsh masterfully navigates a complicated doctrine like sola fide with clarity and care, showing us that this important Reformational principle shapes the whole Christian life, not merely our entrance into it. I cannot recommend this book more highly!"

--Brandon D. Smith, chair of the Hobbs School of Theology and Ministry, associate professor of theology and early Christianity, Oklahoma Baptist University

About the Author

William Marsh (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is professor of theology at Cedarville University.