Face to Face: A Novel of the Reformation follows the lives of Martin Luther, Desiderius Erasmus, and Philipp Melanchthon as their world descends into chaos and violence in the year 1525. Having confronted Luther in print at the urging of popes and politicians, Erasmus now finds himself charged with heresy by a powerful Catholic theologian, racked with health problems, and contemplating his eternal fate. Luther ought to be responding to Erasmus, but he stands accused of inspiring a radical peasant movement that threatens to plunge the empire into civil war. He also receives an unexpected proposal of marriage that causes him to rethink his own identity and the purposes of God's creation. Meanwhile, Melanchthon struggles to adjust to life with a new son whose life and future seem to hang in the balance. He feels himself increasingly disconnected from his colleagues and fears what Luther's response to Erasmus could mean.
Face to Face explores the sovereignty of God in history and human lives. Each of the characters tries in his own way to discern how he should live before the face of a God to whom he looks for salvation. The effects of law and gospel are seen in the experiences of these men, who find themselves crushed or comforted by the divine Word. The story ends with the release of Luther's classic work, The Bondage of the Will.
