When we think of the Reformation, we think of Martin Luther.
We imagine him furiously writing his Ninety-Five Theses at his desk. Slamming down his quill and gathering the pages, he marches through town until he reaches the door of a Catholic Church.
Passersby hold their breath. Time stands still. The only noise heard throughout Wittenberg is the sound of hammer on nails, nails on a wooden door. Crowds gather and whispers turn into hurried shouts as they read what Luther has written. The Reformation has begun.
But what if I told you that the change within Luther started more quietly, through the reading of the book of Romans? Preparing to teach at a local university, Luther studied this book, discovering answers to questions that had shaken his faith and identity for many years. He later declared the book of Romans the most important letter in the New Testament: “It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul.”
Luther’s Problem and False Solutions
Earlier in his life, Luther became an Augustinian friar. Deeply committed to obeying God, he was determined to receive God’s approval through his own contrition and good works. Still his sin haunted him, and he would obsessively confess his sin. His failures consumed him so much that leaders became concerned about a breakdown. They encouraged Luther to pursue scholarly work, hoping to calm his suffering conscience.
What do we do with our sin in the presence of a righteous God? This is the question Luther couldn’t quiet. He knew that God was righteous, that God’s “very character [was] the standard of what is right.” Luther knew that he was unrighteous, unable to daily match God’s standard and character. What was he to do? His commitment to obey God’s law didn’t resolve this uncertainty. Seclusion as an Augustinian friar couldn’t answer his question. What could?
This question provides context for Luther’s infamous issue with Johann Tetzel. Known to sell indulgences—papers that declared the buyer’s sins erased—Tetzel invited Luther’s ire. He was good at selling them, too, preying on the laity’s fear of purgatory and punishment. He would cry aloud so all could hear, “As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs.”
Remember, Luther’s question he’d wrestled so long to answer was, “What do we do with our sin in the presence of a righteous God?” Tetzel’s answer made him rich yet left customers with false spiritual security. Luther was enraged by Tetzel’s opportunistic cheapening of grace.
Luther wasn’t the only one searching for the solution for his sin. There were other proposed solutions. Along with indulgences, the Catholic church encouraged penance, self-punishment that made up for the wrongs committed and invited God’s forgiveness. Still others encouraged doing the best one could, that one’s good works would cover sin.
But would these remove the guilt and shame Luther experienced? Would human effort solve the problem of inherited sin in every man and woman’s heart?
Christ’s Solution
As Luther studied Romans, he found himself struggling with Paul’s language. What he’d been taught about forgiveness and what he understood about God’s character didn’t match up. When he read Romans 1, he felt he could never be sure that he had done enough to stand before a righteous God as accepted and loved. His salvation felt uncertain, unsecured.
The scales fell from Luther’s eyes when he understood Romans 1:17 in its context: “The righteous shall live by faith.” He began reading Scripture in light of this verse, understanding that this “God in whom we trust sees us as we are in Christ and makes us like him.” This is the heart of the doctrine of justification by faith: by faith in Christ alone, we’re made righteous in God’s sight.
Luther Today
What does this doctrine mean for us, more than 500 years after the Reformation? We have an answer to Luther’s question, “What do we do with our sin in the presence of a righteous God?”
Remember, Luther lived tormented by his sin. He trusted in his own life and actions to stand in the presence of a righteous God, but his sin made this impossible. For the first time, Luther discovered relief in Scripture. He secured his declaration “I believe I am a sinner” to his declaration that “I trust in my dear Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.”
We know that our actions don’t make us righteous, but we don’t always live this way, do we? Some of us may live under the burden of our sins, allowing them to shake our faith. We mess up (again) and hide from God, afraid of what he thinks of us, afraid he’s rejected us. If we can’t live up to God’s rules perfectly, what does that mean for us? My actions secure my righteousness before a righteous God.
Some of us might downplay our sin, believing it’s not as serious as Scripture says. Surely God knows our heart and motivation, we say, and he won’t judge us. My heart and motivations secure my righteousness before a righteous God.
Romans 1:17, the doctrine of justification, and Luther unite their voices to remind us that the righteous live by faith alone. “Faith is a living, unshakeable confidence in God's grace,” not what we have to offer. We need to secure the truth “I believe I’m a sinner” to “I trust in my dear Lord Jesus Christ” every single day.
What do we do with our sin in the presence of a righteous God? By faith, we cling to Christ’s cross and his righteousness. This is the heart of Luther’s contribution to the Reformation.
May God remind us of this truth today and every day.
Footnotes
Martin Luther, Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans, transl. Bro. Andrew Thornton, https://www.ccel.org/l/luther/romans/pref_romans.html
G.R. Evans, The Roots of the Reformation (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2012), ch. 16.
“The Righteousness of God,” https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/the-righteousness-of-god.
Carl Trueman, Luther on the Christian Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), ch. 1.
Carl Trueman, Luther on the Christian Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), ch. 1.
G.R. Evans, The Roots of the Reformation (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2012), ch. 16.
G.R. Evans, The Roots of the Reformation (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2012), ch. 16.
Martin Luther, Luther’s Small Catechism (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1986), 4.1; 4.5–6.
Martin Luther, Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans, transl. Bro. Andrew Thornton, https://www.ccel.org/l/luther/romans/pref_romans.html
