Romans 3:19–28
A Better History
The Reformation was about far more than just the recovery of the Gospel. I know, we love to talk about how heroic Luther was for saving our precious treasure, for saving the church from a harsh legalism that had slithered its way in. But as I have even been tempted to do like many pastors, we often oversimplify the history of the Reformation to this one point, a rediscovery of the Gospel. But history is much more complicated than the bite–sized piece we’re so often fed. You see, Luther and the reformers weren’t fighting for just one point of clarification. The very event we mark today, the nailing of the 95 Thesis to the church door in Wittenberg was about far more than preaching the gospel better. It included a whole body of doctrine and teachings that had been blurred and muddied by bad practice and teaching which took place for centuries. When Luther was called to explain himself before the emperor, the reformers came prepared with a full explanation of the whole of Christian doctrine. This is how we got what we now call our Book of Concord. The reformers wrote not on just one point of division, but sought to give a full explanation of the faith. And it happened that as they began to detail this orderly account, there were far more disagreements between Luther and the Pope than what was originally believed. Thus, the Reformation wasn’t just about rediscovering the Gospel. It was about bringing every teaching of the church back into its proper position.
On this celebration of the Reformation, we read again the very words that started it all for Luther, the righteousness of God. Likewise, may we remember and hold fast the whole doctrine of God. For as we learned from Luther, it takes but one doctrine to be corrupted before the whole tower comes crumbling down. May we learn today:
WHEN WE FULLY COMPREHEND THE LAW, THE GOSPEL SHINES BRIGHTER!
I.
You’ve probably heard enough Reformation sermons over the years to have a decent grasp of the main issues surrounding the Reformation. The loss of the Gospel often being our focus, we love to discuss how Luther came to this realization from reading Scripture that God was gracious and merciful. But the issue of the gospel being blurred in church history wasn’t because we forgot the gospel. It actually wasn’t because the church had changed the gospel teaching much at all. It was rather a combining, a mixing, a misunderstanding of both the Law and Gospel. Consider what Paul writes, “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. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin,” Romans 3:19–20. The first thing the law should do for us is tell us to be silent! Stop talking! There’s no amount of work or effort we’re capable of putting in to satisfy the law. So be silent! Stop trying to dig yourself out of a hole that you dug for yourself. No human being will be justified, will be made righteous before God on account of their own works or merit. Rather, we’re sinners who have no words that could ever defend our sinful life.
This is what the church got wrong before the Reformation. We need the Law to remind us how sinful we are. For the issue that Luther faced was that instead of the Church speaking the truth of the law, they sought to minimize it, lessen it, cheapen the grace of God by telling people that they could lessen the law’s grasp by balancing out evil with good. Buy indulgences, speak the Hail Mary, go on a pilgrimage to Rome, confess every last sin you’ve ever committed, and most of all suffering in purgatory. It was these things that the Church would offer to people so that they could feel better about themselves. They could cover over some of their sins so that God wouldn’t be as angry with them. The church tried to make the law more attainable by human power and merit so that the Gospel would be easier to believe!
II.
Thus, may we learn this about the Reformation today. It wasn’t so much a rediscovery of the Gospel (though it was recovered), it was placing the Law and Gospel back into their proper place. We can no more use the law for our justification as we can use a fork to eat soup. The law must come and condemn us. It must strike us down and tell us to be silent! The law must show us the reality of our situation. Just as Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” John 8:31–32. The truth is that we’re lost and condemned people. We haven’t lived up to the demands of the Law that God has given us. We’re wholly sinful and evil in the sight of God and there’s nothing that we can do about it. But then, consider this. Consider the righteousness of God. It’s not the righteousness that we must attain. It’s not a righteousness according to the Law. Rather, as Paul tells us, “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,” Romans 3:22–24. When we fully understand the law; when we fully understand that we’re sinners condemned by God; when we fully understand that there’s nothing, absolutely nothing that we can do to please God… then we understand that can’t look at ourselves, but rather must look to God alone!
This is the righteousness of God, not that he demands us to match his righteousness, but that God would give us Jesus who would fulfill the Law’s demands for us! This was the “Aha!” moment that Luther had when reading Romans. He came to understand that God’s righteousness isn’t a righteousness of the Law, one that we could never hope to achieve. It was a righteousness of the Gospel! God was righteous for justifying us, not by our own works or merits, but by the merit of Jesus Christ! “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,” Romans 3:21–22. Jesus Christ is our righteousness. For he has gone to the cross on our behalf. He has taken upon himself the full weight of our sins. He has paid the price of our punishment so that now, God may declare you and me righteous in his sight! God’s righteousness is giving you Christ to be your salvation, Christ who fulfilled the entire law for us that we may become free to the Law’s demands!
So, dear saints, may we keep the Law and the Gospel in their proper place that the law may no longer assail us, but by the comfort of the Gospel, we may live redeemed and righteous lives before God both now and forever! In Jesus’ name! Amen!