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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
~ Romans 1:16-17
509 years ago on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. This was a list of grievances against the Catholic Church that launched the Protestant Reformation. The church was teaching that one could buy their own way or loved one’s way into heaven by giving money to the church, they were standing on man made doctrine, they believed that Scripture was of lower importance than man’s thoughts, and they had a works based theology that was dependent on a person’s effort and not the work of Christ on the cross. Luther spoke out against all of these things, as well as many more issues in the church.
Luther came to this conclusion by simply reading and studying God’s Word. When he saw that the teachings of Scripture did not line up with the practice of the church, he became heartbroken. It led him to despair for his own salvation, he didn’t think anyone could be saved because nobody is righteous on their own. It was when he read Romans 1:16-17 that he had a major breakthrough. It wasn’t what someone did that made them righteous, but belief in the message of the gospel. Salvation comes through the cross, and through the cross, one is made righteous. Those who have been made righteous through Christ then went and lived out their life in faith - the righteous shall live by faith. No longer was he enslaved in his mind to his own works. His faith was in Christ and Christ alone, and not by works.
I am grateful that the Lord used Luther and many more of the Reformers to reorient the people back to the Word of God. It is God’s Word, not man’s opinion, that has final authority. It is by grace alone through faith alone that one is saved. In that salvation we have the freedom to go out and live for Christ in faith and be connected to his bride, the Church. We are blessed to live in this age of the Church. Let us continue to hold fast to God’s Word and live our lives in faith for the only one who could save us, our Good King Jesus.
Grace and Peace
Dr. Justin Carmona