The Righteousness of God
Romans 3:19-28
Reformation Day
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for Reformation Sunday is the epistle reading Romans 3. The Reformation started in the year 1517 when Martin Luther nailed the ninety-five Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany. In the ninety-five Theses Luther questioned many of the teachings of the Pope. I don’t think Luther realized it at the time, but his writings and the mass printing of those writings would ignite the Reformation. It started a very important spiritual battle. On one side was a lone monk armed with the Bible. He had at his side a few associates who were mostly faint of heart and the local ruler named Frederick the Wise. On the other side was the Holy Roman Empire. In charge of the empire was Emperor Charles V. The ruling class and military aided him. Another important part of the Holy Roman Empire was the Pope. He declared himself to have all spiritual and temporal authority on earth. He was aided by all the cardinals, bishops, and priests. He also had his own army. It was a battle between a monk living in a small town in Germany and the most powerful people in the empire. On one side was the truth of God’s Word that brought people life and salvation. On the other side was false doctrine that led people astray. On one side was the truth of Jesus Christ. On the other side were the lies and deceptions of Satan.
With the aid of the Lord Luther stood his ground against the Pope and the Emperor because he knew the truth of God’s Word. Luther held to the teachings of Jesus Christ. For Luther the reformation started in 1517, but it continued throughout his life. Luther preached the Word of God, and he proclaimed the Gospel. The Pope and the Emperor tried to stop him. By the year 1520 the Pope had excommunicated Luther. By 1521 Luther was under the death sentence by the Emperor. It did not stop Luther from preaching, teaching and writing about Christ. Luther knew the truth that was reveled in God’s Word, and he wanted to share that truth with others. During the time of the reformation three important principles were taught. They are scripture alone, grace alone, and faith alone.
We observe Reformation Day because the principles of the reformation are still important for us today. Many people in the world are looking for God. They sense that God is there, but they don’t know who He is. Unfortunately Satan is lurking around trying to deceive people into believing false things about God. Some people falsely view the Lord as an angry God who withholds mercy. Others falsely view the Lord as a God who tolerates all sin and evil in the world. In Luther’s day many people believed that God was a tyrant who needed to be feared. In our own day many people believe that God is a kindly old man sitting up in heaven who is very permissive of sin.
But as Lutherans we follow the reformation principle of Scripture alone and look to the Bible to show us who God really is. For it is in the Bible where God reveals Himself to us. In our epistle reading from Romans Paul said this, “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God”. The Bible reveals to us that God is not just an old man sitting up in heaven tolerating the evil of the world, but that all people are accountable to Him. The Lord gave us the Ten Commandments to show us our sins. God sees the condition of the human heart and He wants us to see it as well. When we compare our thoughts and actions with God’s law we do see the condition of our sinful human heart. We see our sin more clearly when we compare our thoughts and actions to the Law of God. That is what Paul is talking about when He said this in our text, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” The Scripture is telling us that righteousness does not come from the law because it is impossible to be right with God with a sinful heart. Because of sin we are separated from the one true God because He is holy. Paul goes on to explain that the righteousness of God comes from Christ Jesus. So God is not this being who fails to pay attention to people. But He is a God who is very active in the world. After showing us the sinful condition of our own hearts through the law He gives us the Gospel. Paul said these words in our text, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Jesus redeemed us through His shed blood on the cross. We are freed from sin because of Christ. Death has been defeated for us because of Christ. What has been revealed to us is that Christ is alive because He rose from the dead. It means that He continues to be with us right now. We observe the Reformation this morning to remind us that God reveals Himself to us through His Word and so we continue to follow the reformation principle of Scripture alone.
We also follow the second reformation principle which is grace alone. In Luther’s day many of the people did not understand God because they viewed Him as an angry tyrant. They bought indulgences from the church so that they could receive God’s forgiveness and be freed from purgatory. They believed that they had to buy their salvation. They often prayed to dead saints hoping that the saints would intercede for them and speak to the angry God on their behalf. They thought that the way to heaven was through their own works. Luther wanted to free them from their errors because false doctrine either leads to despair or self-righteousness. He wanted them to know the truth about the Gospel. He spoke against indulgences and purgatory and He preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He wanted them to know about the love of Christ. It is the reason that he risked his life.
There are people today that view the Lord as an angry tyrant. There are those who are racked with guilt because of the sin that they have done in thought, word, and deed. They don’t believe that God will forgive them. It makes it impossible to call upon the name of the Lord if you don’t think He is gracious. But the good news for us is that God does forgive us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. One of the great reformation principles is grace alone. It has been revealed to us that we receive forgiveness and fellowship with God through Christ Jesus. We receive the gifts of life and salvation because God is gracious to us. It is the Gospel that transforms our hearts. God is not an angry tyrant, but He is a loving God who reaches out to us to bring us to His heavenly realm. We continue to hold to the reformation principle of grace alone because it is God’s grace that lifts the burden of sin and gives us a new life with Him.
That takes us to the next reformation principle which is faith alone. The Lord Jesus Christ gives to us life and salvation and we receive these gifts by faith in Christ. Remember what Paul said in our epistle reading. “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the Prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” To be justified is to be declared righteous by God. When God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of Christ upon us. He sees that we have received life and salvation through faith in Jesus and so He declares us righteous in His site.
Of course we must understand that we are saved by faith in Christ alone, but faith is never alone. The Holy Spirit does indeed move us to do good works, love God and love our neighbor but these works are done because the Lord has already saved us. We don’t do good works to get to heaven. We do good works because we are already going to heaven through Christ Jesus. Our works are thanksgiving to God for saving us by grace alone through faith alone revealed to us in Scripture alone. Amen.