Martin Luther: Rediscovering the Gospel of Grace

 

Summary

Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk of relative obscurity, is remembered not just for his towering intellect and industrious nature but for his profound impact on Christianity. Despite the language barrier and geographical distance between him and John Calvin, Luther's rediscovery of the gospel resonates through the ages. His breakthrough experience, akin to the Apostle Paul's, revealed that the righteousness God demands is not something we can achieve on our own but is a gift provided through faith in Jesus Christ alone. This passive righteousness, as Luther termed it, is entirely outside of ourselves, a concept encapsulated in the phrase "extra nos."

Luther's message is encapsulated in the five solas: sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), sola scriptura (Scripture alone), and soli Deo gloria (to the glory of God alone). These principles underscore the gospel's essence, emphasizing that salvation is a gift of grace, not a result of human effort or merit. Luther's insights, such as "simul justus et peccator" (at the same time justified and a sinner), remind us of the ongoing struggle with sin even as we are justified by faith.

Luther's method of promulgating the gospel was through prolific publishing and preaching. He authored over six hundred works, including the influential "The Bondage of the Will," which argued against the notion of free will in salvation, asserting that our wills are in bondage to sin. His translation of the Bible into German was revolutionary, making Scripture accessible to the common people and challenging the church's monopoly on biblical interpretation.

Luther's legacy is not just in his writings but in his assurance of faith. On his deathbed, he affirmed his confidence in the forgiveness of sins and peace with God, a testament to the assurance the gospel provides. His life and work continue to point us to the gospel, Scripture, and the assurance of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone.

Key Takeaways:

- Rediscovery of the Gospel: Martin Luther's insight into the righteousness of God as a gift through faith alone revolutionized the understanding of salvation. This passive righteousness, entirely outside of ourselves, emphasizes that salvation is not earned but received through faith in Christ. [02:30]

- The Five Solas: The foundational principles of sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus, sola scriptura, and soli Deo gloria encapsulate the essence of the gospel. These solas remind us that salvation is a work of God alone, received by faith, grounded in Scripture, and for God's glory. [06:12]

- The Power of Publishing: Luther's extensive writings, including "The Bondage of the Will," challenged prevailing theological views and emphasized the necessity of recognizing our bondage to sin. His works continue to inspire and instruct believers in understanding the gospel's depth. [09:07]

- Scripture for the People: Luther's translation of the Bible into German democratized access to Scripture, allowing individuals to read and interpret God's Word for themselves. This act underscored the importance of Scripture as the ultimate authority in matters of faith. [10:40]

- Assurance of Faith: Luther's deathbed confession of assurance in the forgiveness of sins highlights the gospel's promise of peace with God. This assurance, apart from works, remains a cornerstone of Protestant faith, offering believers confidence in their salvation. [16:53]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:52] - Luther and Calvin: A Historical Context
- [01:23] - Luther's Breakthrough Experience
- [02:30] - The Concept of Passive Righteousness
- [03:14] - The Message and Method of Luther
- [03:55] - The Five Solas Explained
- [04:40] - Sola Gratia: Grace Alone
- [05:30] - Solus Christus: Christ Alone
- [06:12] - Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone
- [06:39] - Theological Insights: Extra Nos and Theologia Crucis
- [08:00] - Luther's Method: Publishing and Preaching
- [09:07] - The Bondage of the Will
- [10:11] - The German Bible's Impact
- [11:21] - Freedom of a Christian Man
- [13:00] - Luther's Love for Galatians
- [14:58] - Luther's Final Days and Assurance of Faith
- [16:53] - Luther's Enduring Legacy

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Romans 1:16-17 - "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'"
2. Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast."
3. Galatians 2:16 - "Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified."

Observation Questions:
1. What does Martin Luther's concept of "passive righteousness" mean, and how does it relate to the idea of salvation being a gift? [02:30]
2. How did Luther's translation of the Bible into German impact the accessibility of Scripture for ordinary people? [10:40]
3. What are the five solas, and how do they encapsulate the essence of the gospel according to Luther? [06:12]
4. How did Luther's writings, such as "The Bondage of the Will," challenge the prevailing theological views of his time? [09:07]

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of "simul justus et peccator" (at the same time justified and a sinner) influence a believer's understanding of their ongoing struggle with sin? [07:14]
2. In what ways does the principle of "sola scriptura" (Scripture alone) challenge the authority of other sources in matters of faith? [06:12]
3. How does Luther's assurance of faith on his deathbed reflect the promise of peace with God offered by the gospel? [15:33]
4. What implications does Luther's idea of "extra nos" (outside of us) have for understanding the source of righteousness and grace? [06:39]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on the concept of "passive righteousness." How does understanding that righteousness is a gift from God change the way you view your relationship with Him? [02:30]
2. Consider the impact of having access to Scripture in your own language. How has this accessibility influenced your personal faith journey? [10:40]
3. The five solas emphasize salvation as a work of God alone. How does this perspective affect your approach to spiritual disciplines and good works? [06:12]
4. Luther's writings challenged the notion of free will in salvation. How does recognizing the bondage of the will to sin affect your reliance on God's grace? [09:07]
5. How can the assurance of faith, as demonstrated by Luther, provide comfort and confidence in your own spiritual life, especially during times of doubt or struggle? [15:33]
6. In what ways can you apply the principle of "sola scriptura" in your daily decision-making and understanding of truth? [06:12]
7. How can the idea of "extra nos" encourage you to rely more on God's grace rather than your own efforts in your spiritual walk? [06:39]

Devotional

Day 1: The Gift of Passive Righteousness
The concept of passive righteousness, as rediscovered by Martin Luther, emphasizes that the righteousness required by God is not something we can achieve through our own efforts. Instead, it is a gift given to us through faith in Jesus Christ. This understanding revolutionizes the way we perceive salvation, shifting the focus from human effort to divine grace. Luther's insight aligns with the Apostle Paul's teachings, highlighting that the righteousness of God is entirely outside of ourselves, a concept encapsulated in the phrase "extra nos." This realization brings freedom and assurance, as it underscores that salvation is not earned but received through faith in Christ. [02:30]

Romans 3:21-22 (ESV): "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 there is no distinction."

Reflection: In what areas of your life are you still trying to earn God's favor? How can you rest in the assurance that righteousness is a gift through faith in Christ alone?


Day 2: The Essence of the Five Solas
The five solas—sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus, sola scriptura, and soli Deo gloria—encapsulate the essence of the gospel. These principles remind us that salvation is a work of God alone, received by faith, grounded in Scripture, and for God's glory. Sola fide emphasizes faith alone as the means of receiving salvation, while sola gratia highlights grace as the unmerited favor of God. Solus Christus points to Christ as the sole mediator, sola scriptura underscores the authority of Scripture, and soli Deo gloria directs all glory to God. Together, these solas form a foundation for understanding the gospel's transformative power. [06:12]

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV): "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."

Reflection: Which of the five solas resonates most with you today, and why? How can you incorporate this principle into your daily walk with God?


Day 3: The Transformative Power of Publishing
Martin Luther's extensive writings, including "The Bondage of the Will," challenged prevailing theological views and emphasized the necessity of recognizing our bondage to sin. His prolific publishing and preaching were instrumental in spreading the gospel and reforming the church. By making his works accessible, Luther inspired believers to delve deeper into understanding the gospel's depth and implications. His writings continue to instruct and inspire, encouraging believers to engage with theological truths and apply them to their lives. [09:07]

2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV): "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

Reflection: How can you engage more deeply with theological writings or Scripture this week? What steps can you take to ensure you are rightly handling the word of truth?


Day 4: Scripture for All People
Luther's translation of the Bible into German democratized access to Scripture, allowing individuals to read and interpret God's Word for themselves. This act was revolutionary, challenging the church's monopoly on biblical interpretation and underscoring the importance of Scripture as the ultimate authority in matters of faith. By making the Bible accessible to the common people, Luther empowered individuals to engage with God's Word directly, fostering a personal and transformative relationship with Scripture. [10:40]

Colossians 3:16 (ESV): "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Reflection: How can you make Scripture a more integral part of your daily life? What practical steps can you take to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly?


Day 5: Assurance of Faith and Peace with God
Martin Luther's deathbed confession of assurance in the forgiveness of sins highlights the gospel's promise of peace with God. This assurance, apart from works, remains a cornerstone of Protestant faith, offering believers confidence in their salvation. Luther's life and work continue to point us to the gospel, Scripture, and the assurance of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. His unwavering confidence in God's promises serves as a powerful reminder of the peace and security found in the gospel. [16:53]

Hebrews 10:22 (ESV): "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

Reflection: In what ways do you struggle with assurance of your salvation? How can you remind yourself of the peace and security found in the gospel today?

Quotes

So why remember Martin Luther, this extraordinary man, an Augustinian monk of relative obscurity? This man, brilliant, a lawyer, a scholar with a massive ego, coarse, hugely industrious. But why remember him five hundred years later? Or Calvin, who was a generation ahead of Luther? Luther would've been a father figure to John Calvin. One of the curious things of the Reformation is that Luther did not speak French, and Calvin did not speak German. [00:00:17]

He rediscovered it and rediscovered it in such a dramatic and personal way, almost reflecting the very way the Apostle Paul had discovered the gospel in that so-called breakthrough experience, the so-called tower experience, the cloister experience, discovering that the righteousness of God that God demands of us and that he had tried so very hard to discover in himself, that righteousness of God which was a thoroughly intimidating doctrine, was a righteousness that God provides through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. [00:01:46]

A passive righteousness, as he first called it, a righteousness that is all together outside of ourselves, extra nos. And there, just in that insight alone, he had rediscovered the gospel and brought it back to us again. Why remember Luther? And let me try and answer this question along two lines of thought. First, the message and secondly, the method, the message and the method. The message, first of all. [00:02:40]

Sola fide, by faith alone, apart from the works of the law, apart from any obedience or contribution on our part, apart from the sacramental treadmill of medieval religion, through faith as an instrument, empty hands grasping hold of the grace of God offered to us in the gospel. And of God, therefore, and none of us. Sola gratia, by grace alone. For, as Luther discovered, the more he tried to acquire the righteousness of God, to perform the righteousness of God, the more sinful he became in his own estimation. [00:03:59]

God is a God of grace and mercy offered to us in Christ and in Jesus Christ alone, apart from the contributions of the Virgin Mary, apart from the contributions of saints past and present, apart from the contribution of the prayers of those who have gone into purgatory or wherever. Solus Christus, in Christ and in Christ alone. And all of it on the bedrock of Scripture as Luther, as we heard earlier, forced by Eck to pronounce that declaration, "Here I stand, I can do no other. So help me God!" [00:05:15]

Because our conscience is not safe unless it is rooted and founded upon that which God says. And where does God say it? In Scripture, in the Bible alone and nowhere else. And to the glory of God alone, soli Deo gloria. We remember Luther for the five solas. We remember Luther for little Latin phrases that open up a world of theology, extra nos, outside of us. And how that simple phrase helps us on a day-to-day basis. [00:06:22]

Simul justus et peccator, at the same time justified and a sinner, that at the same time we are justified, but we sin still. And the method. How did Luther promulgate the gospel? And he did it in two ways, two principal ways. One, publishing. Luther published over six hundred titles. Some of them were just pamphlets, and some of them were lectures that he gave, but there are extant some six hundred pieces from Martin Luther. [00:07:39]

Erasmus said after reading only a few pages of The Bondage of the Will that he hated this book because Luther saw that at the heart of the gospel was the absolute necessity to take no glory for ourselves. And if our wills are free, if there is one residual free molecule in our will, then we get the glory. He understood that our salvation is not entirely of the Lord. It is also partly cooperative with grace on our part, and we therefore take some of the glory. [00:09:10]

Think of the German Bible. Why remember Luther? Perhaps the German Bible, the importance of a Bible in our hands. We forget we have Bibles everywhere. I have dozens of Bibles, Bibles in the office, Bibles in the car, truck, Bibles on my phone, on my iPad. But in the sixteenth century it was still a relatively new idea, the thought of a Bible translated into your native language and that you could read it apart from priests and the church interpreting that Scripture for you, that you could read it for yourselves. [00:10:15]

The Freedom of a Christian Man, a book that Luther wrote in the 1520s, in which he said every believer, every Christian is free from all law and subject to none. And every Christian is bound to all of God's law and obliged to keep it. And it's the beginning of a discussion that Paul has in Galatians and in Romans and that Luther had in the Reformation and that we have today between law and gospel, how the gospel justifies us and sets us free from obedience to law and yet brings us into union with Christ that obligates us to keep that law. [00:11:21]

He loved this epistle because at the very heart of Galatians is the gospel, the gospel of free and sovereign grace that had saved him and that Luther believed we need to preach to ourselves every single day. The method: publishing, writing books, tracts, and preaching. He preached over four thousand sermons that we know about, although he was never technically a pastor. Two thousand three hundred of those sermons still survive. [00:13:15]

The day before he died, he wrote his confession of faith, his assurance of faith, made a statement that he was fully assured of forgiveness of sins and of peace with God, and that he would go to heaven when he died. It was important that he do that. In the medieval world, you needed the absolution of a priest and Roman Catholicism had criticized Protestantism for the doctrine of assurance. So, it was important for him to do that before he died, to tell the world that this gospel had given him assurance. [00:15:33]

Chatbot

  • I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from Oct 31, 2017. Do you have any questions about it?

Transcript
What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?
Were there any personal stories shared?