Saturday, October 17, 2009
1 Peter 5:5-7 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
GLORY IN THE GRACE OF GOD
The glory of grace is to be highly praised, and it cannot be praised highly enough. Therefore Paul exclaims: "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15). Therefore give no heed to the cold and idle hissing of the sophists about good works that are without sin, about faith infused, about faith acquired, about a will that is free; dreams these are and jokes in comparison with this serious matter of grace . . .
Make no mistake about it, the greatness of the protection [which we have in Christ] sufficiently indicates how great sin is.
The proper preparation for the grace and goodness of Christ in the awareness that I need them. And a fine correlation brings these two together: the rich and the poor, Christ and the sinner. But to convince people that they are poor and need grace is a great art. The task is achieved with difficulty. Then, too, the devil will not put up with it. On the contrary, he is forever attracting people to good works in order to make sure that they do not get to the point of thinking that they need the grace and mercy of Christ.
--Martin Luther
By grace! On this I'll rest when dying;
In Jesus' promise I rejoice;
For though I know my heart's condition,
I also know my Savior's voice.
My heart is glad, all grief has flown
Since I am saved by grace alone.
(Lutheran Service Book, 566:6)
