Gospel Worth Defending

Reformation Sunday
Romans 3:19-28
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
October 27, 2024
 
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9)
 
So boldly St. Paul spoke of the precious Gospel he had peached to the Galatians. If he or any other apostle would come, yes, even if an angel from heaven would proclaim a gospel contrary to the one Paul preached to them, let them be accursed. Paul preached so boldly, because as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, He knew that the Gospel that a sinner is justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone apart from works is the only Gospel which saves. And this is the Gospel consistently proclaimed throughout all Holy Scripture.
And this is why Martin Luther and his fellow reformers were so bold to stand up against the errors of the Roman Catholic Church and insist on this Gospel. “Who do you think you are?” They were told, “You are speaking against the Holy Catholic Church! How dare you say that the Church is wrong!” Yet, what did St. Paul say? If even an apostle or an angel from heaven should preach a contrary gospel, let him be accursed! This is why Martin Luther said to Emperor Charles V, “Unless I can be shown from Scripture or pure reason that I have erred, I cannot recant. Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me.” This is why Luther wrote at the top of the Augsburg Confession written by Philip Melanchthon, before it was presented to the emperor, “I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame,” (Psalm 119:46). If St. Paul, and therefore Christ Jesus of whom he is an apostle, commands us to defend this Gospel even against apostles and angels, how much more ought we defend this Gospel against bishops, popes, and emperors?
Luther and the reformers were confident that their Gospel was true, because they found it in Holy Scripture. Yet, their opponents argued that the Church had authority even over Scripture, that Scripture itself got its authority from the Church, and so they could not use Scripture to rebuke the Church. Yet, St. Paul writes in Ephesians 2, that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (that is, Holy Scripture), Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.” Therefore, the Church stands on Scripture, not Scripture on the Church. And so, Christians may use Scripture to rebuke even a bishop, cardinal, or pope, because Holy Scripture is God’s own Word. And therefore, it is Scripture which reveals to us the Gospel, which St. Paul commands us to defend even against false apostles and angels.
The Gospel of Holy Scripture tells how a sinner is declared righteous before God apart from works of the Law. St. Paul writes in Romans 3, “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, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.” To be justified means to be declared righteous. This is why Paul wrote immediately prior, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it.” Before the Gospel is proclaimed, the righteousness of God is only manifested by the law, that is, by the commandments. Yet, we heard from St. Paul, “through works of the law no human being will be justified in God’s sight., since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
To be righteous means to be innocent, just, without sin, and therefore, in a right relationship with God. Yet, no human being could ever obtain such righteousness before God, because everyone is a sinner. And the more we look at the law to see how to make ourselves righteous, the more the law exposes our unrighteousness. So, if anyone is to be righteous before God, and therefore be saved, it must be done apart from the commandments.
St. Paul tells us that this righteousness before God which is revealed apart from the law is by grace. But what does he mean by grace? The Roman Catholic Church, influenced by the scholastics of the previous centuries, taught that grace was a quality or help, which God infused into a believer, so that the believer could grow in sanctification and grace and obtain justification. In other words, God’s grace is a gift, which helps us obtain our justification by our own personal renewal. To be justified by grace in the Roman Church does not mean that God credits you with Christ’s righteousness through faith. It does not mean simply to be forgiven, but to also obtain inner renewal by this infused grace. But how do you know that you have obtained inner renewal? How do you know that you have improved enough to be righteous before God? You don’t. So, the Roman Catholic doctrine of grace leaves the sinner looking into himself to find assurance of his justification, and therefore, leaves the sinner always in doubt.
But Luther and the reformers defined grace from Holy Scripture. Grace is not a quality infused into man, but it is God’s attribute, God’s attitude, God’s activity. “And are justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus.” God’s grace justifies freely as a gift. God’s grace is a description of how God feels about us, how He behaves toward us. Grace is God’s undeserved love for us. We don’t see God’s grace merely when He gives us His Holy Spirit through the Word and Sacraments, where the Roman Church teaches we are helped along in our sanctification. No, we see God’s grace primarily in the perfect obedience of His Son Jesus Christ, whom He sent to make atonement for our sins by His blood. “And are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption in Christ Jesus.” That is God’s grace. That is God’s mercy, His steadfast love, His Chesed: Jesus, on the cross, suffering and dying for our sins. That is God’s grace. Grace is not something you find in yourself. Grace is something you find in God, which is revealed to you in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And that means that the Grace of God preached by Paul gives the sinner comfort and certainty of salvation. If grace is a quality the Holy Spirit infuses in you, so that you may with God’s help become righteous by your own works, you never have certainty that you have enough grace or that you are righteous before God. But if Grace is found in God and revealed in His Son, then you always have sufficient grace to be saved and may be certain that you are righteous before God for Christ’s sake.
God’s grace worked through the redemption that is in Christ’s Jesus. Redemption means that Christ purchased us, bought us back from sin, death, and hell. How did Christ purchase us back? First, He took on our human flesh and lived obediently under the Law in our stead. Second, as both God and man, He took on the sins of the whole world and suffered and died for them in our stead. This is what St. Paul says is “a propitiation by His blood.” Propitiation means that God’s wrath against sin is taken away. Christ has made atonement for us. Jesus’ holy precious blood won for us forgiveness of sins and peace with God.
This is why Paul says, “So that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” God is just, because He did not simply ignore sin. He didn’t say, “Well, sin is bad, but I love you more, so go on and sin and I’ll just ignore it.” No. God is righteous. And the unrighteous cannot abide with Him. So, Christ fulfilled the law as our substitute in human flesh with perfect obedience. And sin must be punished. It must be atoned for. So, Christ in human flesh suffered and died the punishment for our sins. It is as St. Peter writes, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous one in exchange for the unrighteous ones, that He might bring us to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)
This is what it means to be justified by grace. It means to be justified by God’s undeserved love for you through the ransom paid perfectly by Jesus Christ our Savior. And this is why we are justified through faith. Faith is believing and trusting in the promise of God’s grace for the sake of Christ’s atonement for our sins. Lutherans have always been criticized for saying that a sinner is justified by faith alone. Yet, we are justified by faith alone, because we are justified by grace alone. Grace is God’s undeserved love for us, which presents our righteousness and salvation to us freely as a gift. Faith is receiving that free gift, as St. Paul himself writes in Romans 4, “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring.” (vs. 16).
Faith is not simply historical knowledge. There are many with such faith, who really do not have saving faith at all, because they continue in their sin without repenting and do not truly trust in Christ for forgiveness and righteousness. But true saving faith is found only in those who mourns their sin and desire to be saved from it. True justifying faith clings to God’s promise of forgiveness and salvation for the sake of God’s grace found in Christ Jesus.
And that is why justifying faith also clings to the Sacraments of Christ. In Baptism, God shows us His grace by washing us and giving us rebirth in the Holy Spirit and joining us to Christ and His atonement for our sins (Titus 3:5-8; Romans 6:4). November has received a sure promise of God’s grace for Christ’s sake today when she was baptized. And so, in her Baptism she has something to put her faith in and she will not be put to shame. In the Lord’s Supper, Christ offers us His body and blood given and shed for us, with the promise of forgiveness and salvation. So, in the Lord’s Supper, we see God’s grace and have something firm to put our faith in.
The Lutheran Reformation was not an attack on the one Holy Christians Church. The Lutheran Reformation was a defense of the Church, because St. Paul tells us that if even an apostle or angel proclaims a different Gospel, we must defend the Church against it. And so, the true Church is made up of those who hear the voice of their Shepherd and trust in the promise of God’s grace to justify us for Christ’s sake.
Dear Lutherans, what we are celebrating this day is the defense of the only Gospel which saves. The Gospel preached by Paul gives us certainty of our salvation. It presents to us a Grace that is found in God alone, in His revelation of His Son Jesus Christ. That means that the grace you need to be justified before God is always the same and always enough, even if you have fallen into sin again and again and feel like your inner renewal has completely failed. Paul’s Gospel presents a righteousness that is received through faith alone, so you have certainty of your justification before God despite your sins, because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Luther and the reformers stood on this Gospel before popes and emperors, and were not put to shame. And so, we will stand on this Gospel before the very throne of God, and He will find us righteous in His sight for Christ’s sake.
“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” Amen.