Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Romans 1:17 For in the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith."
SAVED THROUGH FAITH!
Martin Luther was looking for peace when he became a monk. Instead he was brought face to face -- in a snarl that could not be untangled -- with a terrible contradiction. His church, on the one hand, offered him mercy in Christ, but on the other demanded he make amends for his sins.
The Scripture readings, prayers, hymns, and liturgy echoed the words of forgiveness, "Look to the crucified and risen Christ. He has throttled death and overcome the world." But then Luther was told, "Confess, do penance, mortify the flesh, do good works. And be sure you do as many good works as possible, for you never know where you stand. Be a monk, read masses, kneel before statues, pictures and relics, give alms."
"All depends on God." "All depends on you." This internal contradiction put a terrible strain on Luther. After all, if God, who knows me thoroughly, wishes to exercise judgment and justice, what comfort of His mercy remains?
No wonder then, that for Luther it was like "the doors of paradise had swung open" to him when God through His Word made him certain that the "righteousness of God" in passages like Romans 1:17 expressed the fact of God's free and saving grace. For this Scripture is not talking about the righteousness which God demands of us in the Law, but the righteousness that He freely gives to those who believe the Gospel.
The sinner is justified (declared righteous) by God through faith in the work and death of Jesus, not by our work or keeping of the Law. Put another way, the sinner is justified by receiving (faith) rather than achieving (works). Later Luther would say that we are saved by the alien righteousness of Christ, not by a righteousness of our own doing.
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, apart from the deeds of the law" (Romans 3:28).
