“The Just Shall Live by Faith”
Romans 1:17
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
What, do you think, are some of the greatest discoveries of all time?
Gravity is one. Among the many things for which Isaac Newton is so well known, probably his greatest discovery is the law of universal gravitation. Gravity, he said, is the reason things fall down and why planets orbit the sun.
Electricity is one of the greatest discoveries of all time. In 1821, Michael Faraday discovered that when a wire carries an electric current next to a single magnetic pole, the wire begins to turn. In time, his discovery led to the development of the electric motor and to generators that produce our electricity today.
Before French chemist Louis Pasteur began to experiment with bacteria back in the 1860s, people didn’t know what caused disease. Not only did he discover that disease came from microorganisms, he also came to realize that bacteria could be killed by heat and disinfectant. His discovery has saved the lives of millions.
Or think of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, E = mc2. It’s a theory that explains the relationships between time, distance and speed. If you’ve ever used a GPS, checked time on your cell phone or flown in a plane, you can thank Albert Einstein. It’s the cornerstone of physics today.
And that’s nothing to say of Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, James Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery of DNA, Mendeleev and his Periodic Table, Roentgen and his X-rays, Niels Bohr and his Quantum Theory and, J. Robert Oppenheimer and the atomic age.
These are, arguably, some of the greatest and most important discoveries of all time.
But there’s one more that, if truth be known, is truly the greatest discovery of all time—and that’s the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that His death on Calvary’s cross saves sinners like you and me.
So how did it all begin? Let me tell you the story in Martin Luther’s own words: “It was 1519, and I had begun to interpret the Psalms once again, and I had a burning desire to understand Paul’s letter to the Romans and what he meant by ‘the righteousness of God.’ I hated that word, ‘righteousness of God,’ and I said, ‘Isn’t it enough that we miserable sinners are lost for all eternity, yet God heaps on us sorrow upon sorrow with His commandments and wrath? So I constantly badgered St. Paul and anxiously wanted to know what he meant.
“Until finally, I began to realize that God’s righteousness is revealed, not through the Law, but through the Gospel. Grace. And when I understood the words, ‘The just shall live by faith,’ all at once I felt as if I had been born again and entered into paradise itself through open gates. Immediately, I saw all of Scripture in a completely different light. The gospel is the power of God by which He makes us powerful. It’s the wisdom of God by which He makes us wise. It’s the strength of God, the salvation of God and the glory of God. This, for me, was the very gate of paradise.”
And that’s why, on that 31st day in October, 1517, this 33-year-old professor of theology made his way through the streets of Wittenberg, Germany, to the door of the Castle Church. And there he drew out a scroll bearing ninety-five theses, ninety-five statements of debate.
This is what he wrote: “Out of love and zeal for the truth, the following theses will be debated at Wittenberg, the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology presiding.”
Romans 1:17, “The just shall live by faith,” was a text that changed a man and a text that changed the world.
Truly it was the greatest discovery of all time.
On this Reformation Sunday, I’d like to ask you a very important question: “Why are you here?”
Now I don’t mean to ask the existential question, “Why are you here on the face of this earth?” but, “Why are you here at Faith Lutheran Church?”
I suppose you could give any number of reasons. For many of you here, you grew up in the Lutheran church. Your parents were Lutheran and so were their parents before that. You were born and raised in the Lutheran church, and you never left.
Others of you married into the Lutheran Church. You grew up in another tradition, maybe Baptist, Episcopal or Presbyterian, and married someone who was Lutheran. And rather than worship at two different churches, you joined your spouse at the Lutheran church.
Or maybe you’re here because your friends are here. They’re the people you’ve come to know and have loved so long. You’ve chosen to be part of this community. You feel as though you belong.
Anyone can tell you, you have a choice. There are churches of all kinds, within easy driving distance, in and around our community.
So why are you here at Faith Lutheran Church?
I hope you’re here because you believe, as Luther taught, that the Bible is the Word of God, the heart, the strength, and the foundation of our life, our preaching and our teaching. You believe the Bible is inspired and inerrant. It doesn’t make mistakes. It is the Word of God. That’s why you’re here.
Or maybe you’re here because you believe you’re saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And so you should, because Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” And he wrote to the Romans: “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.”
Maybe you’re here because you believe, as Luther wrote, that God has made you and all creatures; that He’s given you your body and soul, your eyes, ears, and all your members, your reason and all your senses, and still preserves them.
And you believe in the One who has redeemed you, Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is your Lord; who has redeemed you, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won you from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.
And you believe that you cannot by your own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ, your Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called you by the Gospel, enlightened you with His gifts, sanctified and kept you in the true faith.
Or maybe you’re here because you know life is hard and uncertain and that you need a Savior who will not only stand by you, but who will comfort you and strengthen you even in your darkest times.
And not only are you Lutheran, but you continue to be Lutheran because you know Christ once wrapped you in His arms in Baptism, because He feeds You with His life-giving, soul-saving Body and Blood and because He said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you. I will never let you go.”
That’s what it means to be Lutheran. That’s what it means to be a member of Faith Lutheran Church.
Imagine for a moment that you’re out for a morning jog with a friend. But this isn’t just any friend. This friend happens to be Mike Powell, the world record holder in the long jump—twenty-nine feet, four and ¼ inches. That’s a long jump!
But while you two are jogging along, you hear a low rumble and you feel a tremor. It’s an earthquake like you’ve never felt before.
And suddenly, you stop and the earth splits open in front of you and behind. And you’re stuck on a sliver of earth, separated from land by a gap of thirty feet. The ground is crumbling, and it’s only a matter of moments before you and Mike fall and are crushed to death.
But there’s hope—it’s small, but it’s worth a shot. To survive, you have to jump across the chasm.
Now Mike says his record is just over twenty-nine feet. But this is thirty feet—eight inches longer than his record-setting jump. But, brave soul that he is, he decides to try it anyway.
He steps as far back as he can to gather up speed. He crouches down, then runs as fast as he can. And right at the edge, he kicks off and launches into the air. It’s a perfect jump! Sailing over space, he makes an amazing twenty-nine feet, six-inch jump—a new world record!
But it’s not far enough. He falls into the gap and deep into the earth. Poor soul!
Now it’s your turn. You crouch down, then spring forward. You huff and puff and jump—straight down in the crevasse. And now you’re dead too. What a shame!
Did it matter that your friend set a new world record? Did it matter that you almost made it to the other side? Both of you ended up deep in the earth.
Getting to heaven is just like that. You can’t do it on your own. Nothing you could ever do can make you righteous in the sight of God. That’s what Paul wrote in his letter to Rome: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
But that’s why Jesus came. He not only lived a perfect life, He died a perfect death. And He’s the One, the only One, who can safely take us to the other side.
Today, we thank God that He once led Martin Luther to rediscover His truth and grace, that righteousness comes not from us, but from faith in Jesus Christ. He righted the wrongs we could not right. He cleansed the stains we could not cleanse. He paid the price we could never pay. And it was all because of His grace.
Dear Father, we thank You for Your Word of hope and the promise that You saved us by grace, through faith. Grant that we may remain steadfast in this faith until You come to call us home. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen