Saturday, October 20, 2007
Romans 1:17 . . . in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH ( _____ )
Most theologians in the Roman Church from 1100 to 1500 AD taught that the Biblical term "the righteousness of God" referred to God's active, personal righteousness by which he punishes the unrighteous sinner. This is what Luther had learned as a monk and student of theology. That's why whenever he came across the phrase "the righteousness of God" in Scripture, it terrified him. He knew that he was an unrighteous sinner who fell far short of the righteous demands of God's holy Law.
With this view, Romans 1:17 filled Luther with anger and even hatred toward God. "Is it not enough," Luther bitterly complained, "that God crushes us miserable sinners with His law, must He threaten us with punishment through the Gospel, too?"
Finally the Spirit of God led Luther to pay attention to the words at the end of 1:17, "He who through faith is righteous shall live" (literal translation). Then Martin realized that the verse was not talking about the righteousness that God demands, but the righteousness that He freely gives to those who trust in Christ. The sinner is justified (declared righteous) by God through faith in the work and death of Jesus, not by our keeping of the Law.
When he had discovered that God gives His righteousness as a gift in Christ, Luther felt that he "was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates . . . that place in Paul was for me truly the gate to paradise." Now his conscience was at rest. Now he was certain of his salvation.
Luther once commented that he was glad John 3:16 did not say "God so loved Martin Luther." For he said, "In that case my heart would surely have thought that the verse meant some other Martin Luther somewhere else." But since it said, "God so loved the world" -- this world of sinners -- that included him for sure. And in that case the "whosoever" of "whosoever believes in Him shall not perish" became a blank wherein he by faith wrote his name. Go back to the title of today's devotion. You know what to do.
