The Word of the Lord from Romans 3: \u201cNow we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Dear Friends in Christ,<\/p>\n
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I. Lutherans and the Law
\nPerhaps more than any other, this passage clearly describes how we Lutherans approach the Law of God. God\u2019s Law is good and holy and righteous, and He demands that we follow it if we are to be holy like Him. <\/p>\n
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The problem, of course, is that we are anything but good and holy and righteous. Indeed, we\u2019re sinful and unable to keep His commands. We must be absolutely clear on this: we can\u2019t keep God\u2019s Law as required.<\/p>\n
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Listen to that verse again and mark it well: \u201cTherefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.\u201d The purpose of the Law is to show you how sinful you are: that\u2019s what Romans 3 declares. If you get the Law wrong, you\u2019re going to get the Gospel wrong, too.<\/p>\n
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The purpose of the Law is to show you how sinful you are, and that you will not be justified before God by your works. That\u2019s the purpose of the Law not because you\u2019re Lutheran, but because that\u2019s what the Bible says. On this Reformation Sunday, we remember the part that this played in the start of the Lutheran Church. <\/p>\n
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By the time Martin Luther was ordained, the Roman Catholic Church had strayed from this teaching. In fact, Romanist doctrine officially taught that you were to save yourself by doing good works\u2014enough good works to make up for your sins. Martin Luther took this seriously\u2014and it tortured him. No matter how much he tried to keep God\u2019s commands, he saw that he was still sinful. There was no way that he could make up for his sins, and knowing God\u2019s Law only made him more aware of his unrighteousness. <\/p>\n
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But this Law led Luther to the Gospel, which we hear in the text, too: \u201cBut now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.\u201d Luther couldn\u2019t save himself by doing good works\u2014but salvation was his, because Jesus had saved him by His work and sacrifice.<\/p>\n
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While much has changed since Luther, this basic difference remains between the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches. We give thanks for the many Christians to be found in Roman Catholicism, but we must still disagree with that church\u2019s official teaching that one\u2019s works contribute to salvation. Our text from Romans 3 clearly undoes that teaching: \u201cTherefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.\u201d<\/p>\n
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So we confess that we\u2019re not saved by our hard work at obeying the Law. We also\u2014and this is terribly important\u2014confess that the Law doesn\u2019t strengthen our faith once we have been saved, either. Many evangelical Christians today appear to hold the view that, once we are saved, then Christianity is about how we now live our lives. It\u2019s all about the works that we do. So they will say, \u201cthe Gospel is good for conversion, but we grow in faith by keeping God\u2019s commandments.\u201d Thus, in many Christian churches today, you will hear sermons about ways that you can keep God\u2019s Law in order to be a good Christian. <\/p>\n
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However, the Bible makes no such promise: the Law doesn\u2019t strengthen your faith. It shows you how sinful you are. Doing good works doesn\u2019t strengthen your faith: the Gospel does. We therefore express this concern to our Evangelical brothers and sisters: to focus Christian living on keeping God\u2019s Law is a bit like saying, \u201cToday, let\u2019s get to work without worrying about food or oxygen.\u201d Food and oxygen give you life so that you can do the work. Likewise, forgiveness\u2014given in the Gospel\u2014gives you life, and that forgiveness makes your works pleasing to God. We give thanks for the many Christians who are found in Protestant churches, but we still disagree that the Law strengthens faith. The Law shows you your need for forgiveness, which is why we come back to the Gospel here every week.<\/p>\n
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This understanding of Law and Gospel is one of the things that makes Lutherans distinct in doctrine and practice: although we should do all we can to follow God\u2019s Law, we acknowledge that it has nothing to do with our salvation, nor does it build our faith. The Law shows us our need for a Savior: and it is the Savior alone who saves us with the forgiveness He has won on the cross. That\u2019s why we return always to the Gospel. That\u2019s why we continually, God willing, proclaim the Good News that Jesus has died in our place, to take away our sin. That\u2019s why we gladly and continually receive the Lord\u2019s grace in His Word and Sacraments: it is that Grace alone that saves us, strengthens our faith and makes our works good before God.<\/p>\n
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II. The Ongoing Struggle Within
\nThe Law shows your sin, and the Gospel gives forgiveness.
\nIt\u2019s important, and very worth the time in a sermon, to articulate how we differ from other Christian churches. However, don\u2019t be deceived\u2014this struggle is far more personal and intimate than our relationship to other church bodies. Inside of each of you lives Old Adam, your old sinful flesh. Old Adam hates confessing sin and admitting weakness; even more, Old Adam hates giving Jesus credit for anything, much less your life and salvation.<\/p>\n
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Therefore, be on guard, because you\u2019ll find that you\u2019re seeking to justify yourself by your own works even before you know it\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n
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For instance, Old Adam likes to pollute prayer with temptations of works righteousness. With a great threat looming, you might find yourself thinking, \u201cI must be extra careful about my behavior, because I really want God to answer this prayer.\u201d The flip-side of the coin is the uncomfortable doubt, \u201cGod probably won\u2019t answer this prayer because I haven\u2019t been the best Christian lately.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Or, a common prayer is one that barters:
\n\u201cLord if you do this, then I will do that.\u201d Perhaps another way that this crops up in your thinking is, \u201cI\u2019m sure God is hearing my prayers because I\u2019ve been acting better lately.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Each of these statements is easy to think\u2014it comes naturally enough. But each of these teaches that God hears your prayers because of your works. So, if you\u2019re behaving, then God is more likely to answer. If you\u2019ve made some big mistake\u2014which often is the impetus to pray, then you shouldn\u2019t count on God\u2019s help.<\/p>\n
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Now, although we constantly affirm that you should be following God\u2019s commands, we must ask this: does God really answer your prayers based upon how good you\u2019ve been acting? No! He answers your prayers for Jesus\u2019 sake, because Jesus has cleansed you with His blood and made you His beloved child. This is extraordinary good news when it comes to prayer: you need not wonder if God will answer in the way that is best for you. Rather, you can be sure He will answer because it depends upon Jesus, not upon you.<\/p>\n
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Another common example has to do with situations, how life is going. When things are going badly, it is all too easy to think, \u201cI wonder what I have done so that God has afflicted me? I must have angered Him somehow.\u201d On the other hand, it can also be easy to assume, \u201cSince life is going well, I must be doing the right things in God\u2019s eyes for Him to reward me like this.\u201d Thoughts like this arrive and dwell unbidden, and they say that God\u2019s favor for us changes daily, based upon our behavior. In other words, they imply that God\u2019s love for us depends on our works. <\/p>\n
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But this is not so! God\u2019s love for you depends on Jesus, not you. Sometimes in that love, He permits trials for our good. Sometimes in that love, He permits easy times. But whether life is dark or encouraging at the moment, you can say with confidence, \u201cI know for certain that God loves me, because I am forgiven. He favors me for Jesus\u2019 sake, and He doesn\u2019t hold my sins\u2014my evil works\u2014against me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Old Adam likes to corrupt repentance as well. An obvious example might be when you find yourself thinking, \u201cBefore I ask the Lord to forgive me for that one, I\u2019d better prove that I can do better.\u201d This says, \u201cI will prove to God that I deserve forgiveness by acting better.\u201d Today\u2019s text puts that to rest: simply, you and I don\u2019t deserve forgiveness at all, and acting better isn\u2019t going to earn it. <\/p>\n
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God forgives you for Jesus\u2019 sake, not because of what you\u2019ve done or intend to do. However, Old Adam gets sneakier here. Try this tempting thought on for size: \u201cBefore I can be forgiven, I have to feel more sorry for the sin.\u201d Contrition is part of repentance, right? However, God doesn\u2019t forgive you because you do a good job at being sorrowful. He forgives you because Jesus died on the cross. There will be times, dear friend, when you commit some sin and say, \u201cI don\u2019t feel particularly regretful for it.\u201d Don\u2019t wait to feel sorry before you confess. Rather, say, \u201cBut by faith, I know that it is sin before God, and so I confess it and ask for forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Here, perhaps, is one more that deals with repentance. Some have said, \u201cBefore God can forgive you, you have to forgive yourself.\u201d Logically, that sounds good. Theologically, it\u2019s Old Adam at work again: do you really have to do the work of forgiving yourself before God can forgive you? No. God forgives you for Jesus\u2019 sake \u2014 and that may well be the grace needed so that you can eventually forgive yourself.<\/p>\n
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We could go on and on from here, but hopefully these examples do the trick: Old Adam is constantly lurking, getting you to believe that your good works are necessary to get God to love you, or to get God to love you more. Again, we earnestly teach that you and I are to do good works, because Jesus has set us free to do them. Furthermore, we can acknowledge that good works may often have temporal benefits: if you do good works, your parents might treat you better. You may have more friends. Your kids might love you more. Your dog might love you more.<\/p>\n
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But God won\u2019t love you more. Why? He won\u2019t love you more because He can\u2019t love you more. He can\u2019t love you more because He already loves you more. He already loves you more because He already gave His Son to die on the cross for you: how could He love you more than that? He already justifies you for Jesus\u2019 sake, forgiving you all of your sins\u2014how could He declare you more \u201cnot guilty\u201d or forgive you more than for all of your sins? He already declares that He works all things for your good\u2014how can He work more than all things for your good? He already promises eternal life in heaven\u2014how could He give you longer than eternal life?<\/p>\n
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Do you see? God already loves you more\u2014not because of your works, but because of Jesus, because He lived for you, died for you, rose for you. Because He ascended into
\nheaven, is seated at God\u2019s right hand, and still comes to give you forgiveness freely in His Word and Sacrament. Old Adam will always work to make you think that your works play a part in God\u2019s love for you, and those thoughts will be in your mind before you know it. Let those thoughts be further proof that you\u2019re not saved by your righteous thinking abilities and let them point you to your need for the Savior all the more.<\/p>\n
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It is a great comfort that God\u2019s love for us depends on Jesus. If it depended on our works, then we could never be sure that we\u2019d done enough. But because God\u2019s love for us depends on Jesus\u2014and because Jesus has certainly done enough, His love for us is sure. Therefore, we gladly confess this Law, that \u201cby the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the Law is the knowledge of sin.\u201d And we all the more gladly rejoice in this Gospel: you are justified freely by God\u2019s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n
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In other words, for Jesus\u2019 sake alone, you are forgiven for all of your sins. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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