Scripture makes frequent mention of faith in Christ. Whoever believes in him is saved, shall not perish, shall have everlasting life, is not judged, etc.
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If we are justified by the law, tell me, asks Paul through Luther, what has Christ achieved by his death, his preaching, his victory over sin and death?
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The answer is not dependence upon our working harder to make up for the sin. The answer is remembering the promise of God’s grace in baptism.
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The proper office of Christ is to raise the sinner, and extricate him from his sins. The proper response of the Christian is to live in this grace.
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We are not justified by Christ; or we are not justified by the law. Scripture says we are justified by Christ, so we see that the law is no justifier.
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It is not so much what you believe or who you believe but whom you believe, for there is only one who is the way to God the Father.
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“Flesh,” including reason, instinct, and deeds, says Paul, is not justified to God by works of the law but by faith in the one who covers our flesh.
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Let us not say that the law is bad, but only that it is not able to justify us to God. We have need of a far better mediator than Moses or the law.
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Christ is not an officer or any other representative of the law. He is the merciful and gracious Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
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The true and only way of becoming a Christian is to be justified by faith in Jesus Christ, and not by the works of the law or religion or anything but him.
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Christians are not people who do not sin; they are ones who have been forgiven their sins — not by what they do but through whom they believe.
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When sin has been forgiven, and the conscience has been eased of its dreadful load of guilt, a Christian can endure all things in Christ.
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Faith, Christ, and the imputation of righteousness, are to be linked together, faith taking hold of Christ, and God accounting this faith for righteousness.
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In order to be granted admittance into heaven, Christ Jesus must "know" you, must be in relationship with you through faith and hope in him.
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Grace is freely given by God to we doltish darlin’s who have come to realize that need his righteousness — and none of our own, as if we had any.
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Christianity is not a matter of credits and debits, of record keeping that puts Christians at a disadvantage. Christ Jesus has become their advantage.
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When we are in that bad condition of spiritual desperation, we have actually arrived at the good place of being able to receive mercy from God.
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If we could actually see the evil rooted in the nature of humankind, we would never entertain such silly dreams about our merit or worthiness.
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We are not justified with God, nor do we make ourselves righteous, by our devotion to him or our works for our neighbor, but by believing in his love for us.
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Even if you could perfectly keep the First Commandment, you would not be right with God because one simply is not justified by the works of the Law.
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One is paroled from the prison of the law by their faith in Christ. Break that condition by relying on your good behavior and you are imprisoned again.
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Joining a church does not make one righteous before God any more than doing good deeds. Righteousness is a gift from God, for Christ's sake.
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The controversy with Peter at Antioch involved the preservation of pure doctrine, and so, Paul did not mind if anybody, even Peter, took offense.
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We must be careful to never give a reason for anyone to think that faith in Christ alone is insufficient for salvation, that works must be added to his cross.
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Distinguish rightly between law and gospel, knowing when to hear each, allowing the law to drive you to the gospel and the peace of Christ.
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Peter confused the separation of law and gospel, that difference between the gospel which justifies in heaven, and the law which justifies on earth.
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The moment the law and sin, along with the devil's accusations, and the threat of condemnation cross into heaven, i.e., your conscience, kick them out.
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God's will for your sinful life on earth is that the righteousness of his grace would always outshine the accusations of the law, keeping you in the way.
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We should respond to correction as Peter seemed to do, admitting wrong in the clear teaching of the Word, repenting and being determined to do better.
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Let us search the Scriptures with humility, praying that we never lose the light of the gospel by trusting ourselves for justification instead of God.
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The law is good to remind us of areas for moral improvement in life but have no place in our salvation which is accomplished through Christ alone.
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It is marvelous how God preserves the church by a single person, sometimes one person doing more than the whole assembly.
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It should not seem odd to us that some insist on the church sliding back into law-keeping, while they also seem to find it so difficult to be gracious.
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We can sometimes seem like we worship our ways, so we must remind ourselves that Christ is on the throne and not the ways we worship him.
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To do certain things, or not do them, is immaterial; what is of utmost importance is Christ, and him crucified and risen for your salvation.
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When it becomes about the rules instead of about Jesus, then the church, at best, goes into the world making rule followers, not Christ followers.
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No one has fallen so far that he cannot rise, just as no one stands so well that he might not fall. If Peter fell, I may fall. If he rose again, I too may rise.
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You are far from perfect but you are holy because Christ Jesus has assigned his perfect holiness to imperfect you through your faith in his promises.
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We are not called to defend Peter’s cause, or the cause of our parents, or that of the government, or that of the world, but unyieldingly, the cause of God.
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We must be as determined as the Apostle Paul to stand up with the simple but powerful gospel message of nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
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Where the Church is, there will also be the poor, for the world and the devil persecute the church and end up impoverishing many faithful Christians.
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Differences in whom we preach the gospel to ought not to hinder our fellowship and Christian friendship, since we preach the same gospel.
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When you hear that people receive the Christ through the simple preaching of faith, do you glorify God for his grace in the ministries of others?
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Those who are called to ministry will often enough have to patiently endure adversity in order to fulfill their ministries of preaching the Word preach .
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Paul and Peter received their powerful authority from God, who gave of the same Spirit to Luther, and today gives to you in whatever vocation is yours.
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Peter is not the chief Apostle, as all of the apostles were equals, having the same charge and the identical gospel of Christ Jesus to proclaim to the world.
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When family and friends refuse to hear the message of the gospel, like Paul, we must turn to others, even the whole world, with the good news of Jesus.
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We may suffer the loss of our good name, of life itself, but we must not lose the gospel and our faith in Jesus Christ, nor stand for those who would rob us of faith.
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Be careful to not attach so much importance to any person — be she mother, doctor, president, pastor — that she is remembered and God forgotten.
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We are to esteem the Word of God, not people, whether presidents or preachers, authors or musicians, persons or personalities. The Word!
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If one takes the sum of the apostles, including Paul, then too, Martin Luther, Billy Graham, and the Pope, the gospel is still more excellent and true.
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What does the Scripture say? Always appeal to the Word of God and be careful you are not using the Word to defend a personal viewpoint.
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When Jesus is not lifted up and glorified by a religious work, but instead, the so-called righteous deed is honored, then the deed is beyond suspect.
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Christians strive to live by God's rules but do not depend upon them for salvation, but on the grace of the one who rules over the rules.
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If we do not believe that faith in Christ is the only thing that can justify us, the death and resurrection of Jesus are without meaning, and a Savior is relegated to myth.
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We refuse to have our consciences bound by any work or law that says by doing this or that we are righteous, or leaving this or that undone we are damned.
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True faith lays hold of Christ and trusts in him alone, something that the spiritually blind cannot see, that the unbelieving considers foolishness.
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Faith looks to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, not to the works one has done, whether they are religious in nature or civil, nor to works left undone.
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Let us get to work, but not depend upon our works or hold them conditionally over the lives of others. Faith — in Christ alone — saves.
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Be careful that you do not hold over the head of someone else your own brand of Christianity, your dogma, instead of offering the free grace of God.
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The fathers were not justified by circumcision. To them, it was a sign and seal of righteousness, and viewed as a confession of their faith.
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It is easy to get distracted when people start talking about religious rules — unless your faith is about Christ Jesus instead of traditions and rules.
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Be careful with religious works, that you do something from the right motive, from the faith motive, so that good works flow from faith.
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That we are Christian is based on faith in what Christ Jesus accomplished, not in what we do, and certainly not in how we feel on a given day.
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“Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
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Unlike those who opposed Paul, asserting that the law ought to be kept and that the Gentiles be circumcised to be saved, we must insist on God's grace.
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Paul preaching justification with God by faith in Christ Jesus through the power at work in the Holy Spirit in the Word, without the deeds of the law.
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Lutherans, like the Apostle Paul, confess and hold that one is justified by faith alone, apart from works of the law, even of those deeds are religious.
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We are no longer to be children ... but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, even Christ ...
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God accepts all peoples, all nationalities, all cultures, all races, women and men, old and young, so long as they fear him and do what is right.
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In Jesus is life, and this life is the light of all people. The light, Christ Jesus, shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not, nor ever will, overcome it.
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Woe to those whose religious demands and pious pretense shut off the kingdom of heaven from people, for they too will not enter the kingdom.
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The Spirit of Jesus opens our minds to understand the Scriptures so that we may receive the grace of God promised throughout the Old and New Testaments.
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The law terrorizes the conscience, revealing the wrath and judgment of God. The gospel announces that Christ is come to forgive the sins of the world.
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Luther asked about God, "What prompted Him to call me?" The answer was, "His grace alone.” And so, we see that God makes somebodies out of nobodies.
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God not only has a plan for your life, he has inserted himself into the center of your life, sanctifying and preparing you for who you are to be for him.
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You had better be careful; scratching that itch will damage your spiritual ears, leading to the inability to hear or endure the truth of the gospel.
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What is truth? Whose authority should be trusted? Whose words believed. The only reliable source for truth is judging by the standard of The Book.
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Religion never equals righteousness. The wise and faithful friend of God understands that she must trust in the Lord’s righteousness and never her own.
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What deserves your immediate attention today? God's will? What is God calling you to do today? Something of benefit to your neighbor, your vocation?
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How much are you required to give to the one who has already given you everything, who wholly loves you? Then again, how much do you want to give?
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Religion, what man thinks he is doing for a god, can trip your up, making you a hater of God and neighbor. Walk away. Walk away to God.
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No one is to be trusted at face-value — neither pastor, professor, pope, or bishop. Examine the Scriptures daily to see if what they say is true.
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One can never ascribe too much glory, goodness, and mercy unto God. But it sure is easy to give man too much glory. This ruins man and insults God.
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If you think you stand justified before God because your works are good enough, that you are pious, take heed for you are slipping and about to fall.
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God loved you before you had the slightest care for him. He does not need your works in order to love you; he requires your continued faith.
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Are you hearing things? I hope so, and that what you're hearing is the very Word of God because you're listening there, in the volume of the Book.
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Truth offends. It is meant to do so, as it exposes sin. Since the inclination of the heart is to sin, then of course, truth will offend human nature.
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Don't trust your subjective feelings. The true and objective way to know God's will and ways is by hearing and reading the Sacred Scriptures.
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