Justification by Faith in Christ Alone: The Power of God for Salvation
Reformation Sunday • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
The following selection is taken from the Preface to the Complete Edition of Luther's Latin Writings. It was written by Luther in Wittenberg, 1545. This english edition is availble in Luther's Works Volume 34, Career of the Reformer IV (St. Louis, Concordia Publishing House, 1960), p. 336-337. In the first few lines of this selection, Luther writes, "during that year;" the immediate context indicates he is refering to the year of Tetzel's death (July, 1519). This puts the date for Luther's conversion, in his own view, two years after the posting of the Ninety-Five Theses. Prior to being published at Thirdmill.org, this document appears to be one of many of Shane Rosenthal's gifts to the Internet community. We appreciate his hard work.
“Meanwhile, I had already during that year returned to interpret the Psalter anew. I had confidence in the fact that I was more skilful, after I had lectured in the university on St. Paul's epistles to the Romans, to the Galatias, and the one to the Hebrews. I had indeed been captivated with an extraordinary ardor for understanding Paul in the Epistle to the Romans. But up till then it was not the cold blood ab out the heart, but a single word in Chapter 1, "In it the righteousness of God is revealed," that had stood in my way. For I hated that word "righteousness of God," which, according to the use and custom of all the teachers, I had been taught to understand philosophically regarding the formal or active righteousness, as they call it, with which God is righteous and punishes the unrighteous sinner.
Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God, and said, "As if, indeed, it is not enough, that miserable sinners, eternally lost through original sin, are crushed by every kind of calamity by the law of the decalogue, without having God add pain to pain by the gospel and also by the gospel threatening us with his righteousness and wrath!" Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience. Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul at that place, most ardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted.
At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, "In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, 'He who through faith is righteous shall live.'" There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, "He who through faith is righteous shall live." Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally other face of the entire Scripture showed itself to me. Thereupon I ran through the Scripture from memory. I also fount in other terms an analogy, as, the work of God, that is what God does in us, the power of God, with which he makes us wise, the strenght of God, the salvation of God, the glory of God.
And I extolled my sweetest word with a love as great as the hatred with which I had before hated the word "righteousness of God." Thus that place in Paul was for me truly the gate to paradise.”
The Gospel is the POWER of God for salvation
Power=δύναμις=dynamite
We as humans love power and displays of power
M9 Pistol-M500 Shotgun-M16 Rifle
Kings wanted their coronation to be filled with pomp and displays of royal power
My children around the camp fire wants to put on more and more wood to give the fire more power
There is something within the human race that enjoys a display of power
And it goes back to God—creation—and our proper response
We are made to behold the power of God and respond rightly
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone,
And the proper response to such creative power by any who witnessed it was
7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Like the home crowd at a football game, joyful cheering or worship
Righteousness is a state of being that is proper to God and his show of power in creation
Perfect obedience and joyful praises in light of his creative power
God shows his power in creation
And when his creatures refuse to have this proper response of obedience and joyful praises
God shows his power in wrath to such unrighteousness
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
God gives them up in (24,26,28) as a display of his power to show what happens when creatures disobey
God’s power revealed in wrath in this life
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
God’s power revealed in his final wrath
30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
God’s wrath ultimately is for another group of people to behold and marvel
22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
God reveals his power
in creation
in wrath
in salvation
And in order for you to enjoy God in the first two revealed, you must enjoy him in the last
If you do not enjoy God’s power revealed in salvation, then you are languishing in his second (wrath)
This is exactly the position Martin Luther was in, a couple years after he posted his 95 Theses on the castle doors in Wittenburg to detail his disagreement with indulgences
As a professor, he was tasked to teach Romans…and he was stuck at this passage in Romans 1:17 The Righteousness of God
"...I had indeed been captivated with an extraordinary ardor for understanding Paul in the Epistle to the Romans. But up till then it was not the cold blood about the heart, but a single word in Chapter 1, "In it the righteousness of God is revealed," that had stood in my way. For I hated that word "righteousness of God," which, according to the use and custom of all the teachers, I had been taught to understand philosophically regarding the formal or active righteousness, as they call it, with which God is righteous and punishes the unrighteous sinner.
Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God, and said, "As if, indeed, it is not enough, that miserable sinners, eternally lost through original sin, are crushed by every kind of calamity by the law of the decalogue, without having God add pain to pain by the gospel and also by the gospel threatening us with his righteousness and wrath!" Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience. Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul at that place, most ardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted.
At this time, the Pope usurped Christ and turned the church into his demonic kingdom of Roman Catholicism
And here the power of Satan was revealed in keeping people within the power of God’s wrath while promising a counterfeit way of getting to the power of his salvation
And this counterfeit way is that to be righteous once more, God has made a way for you to earn his favor by working to earn his grace
And so salvation goes from showing off the power of God, to showing off the power of man to do things…not for worship but to earn favor
Indeed, where Roman Catholicism reigns the power of man for salvation reigns which always comes up short
And such a false doctrine finds a welcome home in natural man because we are fallen in Adam
Adam was told to work in order to gain eternal righteousness
He failed
And now all those after him have a natural desire to earn their own righteousness instead of relying upon the power of God to provide it in salvation
That’s why this is not just a Roman Catholicism thing, a Martin Luther thing, a history thing
Ever since the failure of man in the garden, we constantly want to try to make it about our power for salvation instead of God’s power
And so all the things we do in life, is not in response of worship and awe of God’s power but rather as a way to earn his favor
For all of you who are grounding your obedience as a duty to God
Your works to God suck more out of you than anything
You are trapped in a system meant to bring you down to God’s wrath
Or, as a truly saved person you are tasting some corrupted fruit
