A controversial, mighty sinner after all

“Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world...Pray boldly—you too are a mighty sinner” (A Letter From Luther to Melanchthon Letter no. 99, 1 August 1521)

Sin boldly!!?? Here are the best explanations:

'Luther was prone to strong hyperbole. It's his style, and this statement is a perfect example. Luther doesn't write analytical theology. He writes profound verbose sentiment driving one to think deeply. The first thing to recognize is that the sentence is a statement of comparison. Luther's point is not to go out and commit multiple amounts of gleeful sin everyday, but rather to believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly despite the sin in our lives. Christians have a real savior. No amount of sin is too much to be atoned for by a perfect savior whose righteousness is imputed to the sinner who reaches out in faith.' -- by James Swan, 2005

'The idea was that God's grace is so powerful, it finally defeats sin altogether. We do not become paralyzed by the fact that we are still vulnerable to sin, but instead rejoice in God's power to overcome sin. Luther's quote was a result of the joy and spiritual liberation that came to him via the grace of God. Having struggled with a profound sense of sinful unworthiness for years, Luther finally understood that we are saved by grace alone and nothing we can produce on our own. Luther's opponents said that his doctrine of salvation by grace alone apart from our own righteous deeds was a "license to sin.' -- Lectionary Readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, 2002