Martin Luther on Justification

On Sunday I preached on justification by grace alone. Justification was one of the two most important truths upon which the Reformation started and continued (the other being the doctrine of the authority of God's Word known as sola Scriptura). Here is what the best known reformer, Martin Luther said and wrote about this cherished doctrine. (HT: Steve Camp)

Excerpts by Martin Luther
on the chief article of faith of the gospel - Sola Fide
"This doctrine [justification by faith] is the head and the cornerstone. It alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves, and defends the church of God; and without it the church of God cannot exist for one hour…. For no one who does not hold this article – or, to use Paul's expression, this 'sound doctrine' (Titus 2:1) – is able to teach aright in the church or successfully to resist any adversary . . . this is the heel of the Seed that opposes the old serpent and crushes its head. That is why Satan, in turn, cannot but persecute it."

"Whoever departs from the article of justification does not know God and is an idolater . . . For when this article has been taken away, nothing remains but error, hypocrisy, godlessness, and idolatry, although it may seem to be the height of truth, worship of God, holiness, etc."

"If the article of justification is lost, all Christian doctrine is lost at the same time. And all the people in the world who do not hold to this justification are either Jews or Turks or papists or heretics; for there is no middle ground between these two righteousness: the active one of the Law and the passive one which comes from Christ. Therefore the man who strays from Christian righteousness must relapse into the active one, that is, since he has lost Christ, he must put his confidence in his own works."

"When the article of justification has fallen, everything has fallen. Therefore it is necessary constantly to inculcate and impress it, as Moses says of his Law (Deut. 6:7); for it cannot be inculcated and urged enough or too much. Indeed, even though we learn it well and hold to it, yet there is no one who apprehends it perfectly or believes it with a full affection and heart. So very trickish is our flesh, fighting as it does against the obedience of the spirit."

"The article of justification and of grace is the most delightful, and it alone makes a person a theologian and makes of a theologian a judge of the earth and of all affairs. Few there are, however, who have thought it through well and who teach it aright."

"Of this article [justification] nothing may be yielded or conceded, though heaven and earth and whatever will not abide, fall to ruin; for 'there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved,' says St. Peter (Acts 4:12); 'and with His stripes we are healed' (Is. 53:5). And on this article all that we teach and practice is based, against the pope, the devil, and the world. That is why we must be very certain of this doctrine and not doubt; otherwise all is lost, and the pope and the devil and all things gain the victory over us and are adjudged right."

"The article of justification must be learned diligently. It alone can support us in the face of these countless offenses and can console us in all temptations and persecutions. For we see that it cannot be otherwise: the world is bound to be offended at the doctrine of godliness and to cry out constantly that nothing good comes of it, since 'the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him.' "

"In short, if this article concerning Christ — the doctrine that we are justified and saved through Him alone and consider all apart from Him damned — is not professed, all resistance and restraint are at an end. Then there is, in fact, neither measure nor limit to any heresy and error."

"There is this about the article of grace that if one diligently and sincerely remains loyal to it, it keeps one from falling into heresy and from undertaking anything against Christ or His Christendom. For with it comes the Holy Spirit, who enlightens the heart by it and keeps it in the true, certain understanding, so that it is able precisely and plainly to distinguish and judge all the other articles of faith and forcefully to sustain and defend them."

"The papacy is shaken and shattered nowadays, not through these tumults of the sectaries but through the preaching of the article of justification, which has not only weakened the kingdom of Antichrist but has also till now sustained and defended us against its power."

Salvation by Grace Alone

Justification answers this question, “How and when do we gain a right legal standing before God? A right understanding of justification is absolutely crucial to the whole Christian faith. Once Martin Luther realized the truth of justification by faith alone, he became a Christian and overflowed with the new-found joy of the gospel. He proclaimed rightly, “The only contribution we make to our justification is our sin which God so graciously forgives."The primary issue in the Protestant Reformation was a dispute with the Roman Catholic Church over justification. If we are to safeguard the truth of the gospel for future generations, we must understand the truth of justification. Even today, a true view of justification is the dividing line between the biblical gospel of salvation by faith alone and all false gospels of salvation based on good works.

What is justification? Dr. Wayne Grudem states it is “an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight."

According to God's Word, salvation is not obtained by anything one does, either by religious ritual or by keeping some code of laws. Salvation is only obtained by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for the glory of God alone.

Salvation is by grace alone! What is grace? “Grace is a provision for men who are so fallen they cannot lift the axe of justice; who are so corrupt they cannot change their own natures; so adverse to God that they cannot turn to Him of their own strength; so blind they cannot see Him, so deaf they cannot hear Him, and so dead that He Himself must open their graves.” -G.S. Bishop

Charles Hodge said, “If salvation be in any form or to any degree dependent on the merit, the goodness, or the stability of man, it never can be sure, nay, it must be utterly unattainable. Unless we are saved by grace, we cannot be saved at all. To reject, therefore, salvation by grace is to reject the only method of salvation available to sinners.”

Are you confident that God has declared you "not guilty" forever in his sight? Did you do anything that resulted in God's justifying of you? Did you do anything to deserve justification? If you are not sure that God has justifed you fully and for all time, is there something you need to do before that will happen? What would persuade you that God has certainly justified you?

You cannot be saved by going through some religious rituals or sacraments. You cannot be right with God by keeping the law. You must obtain it by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Just like Abraham did. You must have a righteousness outside of yourself to gain a right standing before the one true God. This is “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:22). As Horatius Bonar wrote.

Not what these hands have done
can save this guilty soul;
Not what this toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do
Can give me peace with God.
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears
Can bear my awful load.
Thy work alone, O Christ,
Can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,
Can give me peace within.
Thy grace alone, O God
To me can pardon speak,
Thy power alone, O Son of God
Can this sore bondage break.
I bless the Christ of God;
I rest on love divine;
And with unfalt’ring lip and heart,
I call this Savior mine.