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For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17

 

Pastor Abel’s sermon on this passage is called “Unashamed.”

 

In A.D. 1517, Martin Luther published the Ninety-Five Theses, calling out the Roman Catholic Church on various subjects, claiming that their practices were not in line with the teaching of the Bible. This began the movement now known as The Protestant Reformation.

 

But before this, Martin Luther was a part of the Roman Catholic Church. Did you know that these verses, specifically Romans 1:17, were central to the dramatic change in his soul that started the chain of dominos which culminated in his igniting the Reformation? Listen to this four-minute clip describing the story:

 

 

As R.C. Sproul says in the above video, “And this was the moment of awakening for Luther. He said, ‘You mean, here Paul is not talking about the righteousness by which God Himself is righteous, but a righteousness that God gives freely by His grace to people who don’t have righteousness of their own?’”

 

In that moment, a lifetime of self-hatred, of brutal, self-inflicted punishment because of the guilt he felt over his own sin, started to be wiped away by the revelation of the righteousness of God, given as a gift to unworthy sinners like Luther, and like you and me.

 

Go Deeper / Questions

  • This concept is known as the doctrine of Justification by faith, and it is a foundational truth of the gospel. While it is simple enough to fit into one sentence (as it does in the verse above), it is also deep enough to fill multiple volumes. If you are interested in learning more about this doctrine in an easily digestible manner, R.C. Sproul wrote a book about it called Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification.
  • Have you admitted that you are not good enough to earn God’s love and favor?
  • Have you received God’s free gift of righteous?