OCTOBER 25, 2023
Romans 1:16-17
16For I am not ashamed of the
gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who
believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17For in the gospel the
righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to
last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
2 Corinthians 5:21
21God made him who had no sin to
be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Philippians 3:9
9and be found in him, not having
a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of
faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have
been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
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“When I was a monk, I didn’t accomplish anything
through fasting and prayer. This is because neither I nor any of the other
monks acknowledged our sin and lack of reverence for God. We didn’t understand
original sin, and we didn’t realize that unbelief is also sin. We believed and
taught that no matter what people do, they can never be certain of God’s
kindness and mercy. As a result, the more I ran after and looked for Christ,
the more he eluded me.
When I realized that it was only through God’s
grace that I would be enlightened and receive eternal life, I worked diligently
to understand what Paul said in Romans 1:17—a righteousness from God is
revealed in the gospel.
Finally, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I took a
closer look at what the prophet Habakkuk said: “The righteous will live by his
faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). From this I concluded that life must come from faith. In
other words, a person becomes righteous by faith. That opened the whole
Bible—even heaven itself—to me!”
- Martin Luther -
For Jesus followers, that sense of trust or dependence points to the liberating (Saving) faith in Jesus Christ. As Ephesians 2:8 points out, we are saved by grace (Alone) “through faith” (Alone) In contrast to the church’s teaching of his time, Martin Luther rediscovered that salvation is by grace and is received through faith. “Grace wrapped in faith is the gift of God.” (K. Selles)
Instead of seeing faith as something required to receive grace, Luther found that faith is a channel of God’s grace. In other words, even the faith we need in order to acknowledge Jesus as Lord comes graciously from God through the power of the Holy Spirit. If it were any other way, we could boast: “I found Jesus!”
Paul emphasizes in the text above that no boasting is allowed. God finds us. Even the faith to accept Jesus comes through grace alone. Indeed, grace alone and faith alone are like two sides of the same coin.
Paul is not ashamed of the gospel, for the gospel is for all people. He makes the point that the gospel came not only to the Jews, but also to the non-Jews. When God told Abraham one night to look up and number the stars, for that is the number of his offspring (Gen. 15:5), God revealed that He had a plan to provide salvation for all the nations of the earth. Paul can declare that in Christ Jesus, Abraham’s offspring, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:28) This truth gives hope to everyone created in the image of God, regardless of where they were born, who their parents are, how they have lived, or what they have done. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
LET US PRAY
In your grace and mercy, O God,
you have provided us not only with a Savior but also with the faith to trust in
him for our salvation and our lives. Thank you. Amen.
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