For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17
November 1, 2022
There was a theological shot fired from the gun of Romans 1:17 on October 31, 1517, that was heard around the world. Martin Luther, the famous reformer, posted his ninety-five theses on the door of the Castle church in Wittenberg, Germany. In them he condemned the abuses of the indulgence system and challenged all comers to debate on the matter. The rest is history. We remember this day because it marked a major turn not only in church history but in human history. Martin Luther had been an unconverted priest in the Roman Catholic Church. He taught theology and studied the Bible intensely. In this pursuit he was stunned by the truth of Romans 1:17 which convinced him that only faith in Christ could make one just before God. Hear his own words on this discovery: “Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that ‘the just shall live by his faith.’ Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the ‘justice of God’ had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressively sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven. . . .”
We shall meet Martin Luther and that innumerable host in paradise to be with Christ and rejoice that it was in Christ alone by faith alone that gave us entrance in God’s eternal kingdom. H
“We do not become righteous by doing a righteous deed but, having been made righteous, we do righteous deeds.” Martin Luther