For about
two years after writing the 95 Theses, Luther wrestled with understanding how
we are justified and made righteous before God. I have included part of his
testimony below. This is an excerpt from monergism.com.
Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was
a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe
that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the
righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously,
certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God, and said, "As if,
indeed, it is not enough, that miserable sinners, eternally lost through
original sin, are crushed by every kind of calamity by the law of the
decalogue, without having God add pain to pain by the gospel and also by the
gospel threatening us with his righteousness and wrath!" Thus I raged with
a fierce and troubled conscience. Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul
at that place, most ardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted.
At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I
gave heed to the context of the words, namely, "In it the righteousness of
God is revealed, as it is written, 'He who through faith is righteous shall
live.'" There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that
by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the
meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the
passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is
written, "He who through faith is righteous shall live." Here I felt
that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open
gates. There a totally other face of the entire Scripture showed itself to me.
Thereupon I ran through the Scripture from memory. I also fount in other terms
an analogy, as, the work of God, that is what God does in us, the power of God,
with which he makes us wise, the strength of God, the salvation of God, the
glory of God.
The words of
Paul that struck Luther’s heart were:
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith as
it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:1
Like Luther,
before coming to know the Lord, Paul had an immaculate outward profile. Luther was a zealous monk and Paul was a zealous Jew. Paul testifies of this in Philippians 3:3-7.
For we are the
circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If
anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to
righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I
had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Before the Lord converted Paul on the road
to Damascus (Acts 9,) Paul took great pride in his law keeping. But God poured
out his grace upon Paul and he came to see that he, the great zealous Pharisee,
was a wretched sinner who had broken all of God’s law. Paul saw himself as the
worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15, Ephesians 3:8.) Throughout his epistles, we
see Paul, a humbled sinner, exalting the Lord Jesus and zealously proclaiming
the gospel.
After his conversion, Paul saw the
righteousness he had boasted in in his past through the eyes of God. He saw
dirty rags, rags he had worn until God had covered him in Christ’s
righteousness (Isaiah 64:6, 61:10). In 1 Timothy 1:12, he proclaims: “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.” And in Galatians 6:14 he writes: “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
After the
fall of Adam, God made a covenant of grace with his people. Throughout the
ages, God’s people have been cloaked in the righteousness of Christ. God’s redeemed
people wear nothing less. Scripture is filled with stories of unrighteous
people redeemed by a righteous God. Today, God’s children tell the story that
was proclaimed yesterday from the lips of saints now in glory. Tomorrow the story will be the same: “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the
Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."” Galatians
3:13. This good news was written by God before he formed the world; he chose a
people to redeem long before he breathed life into the first man (Ephesians
3:1-10.)
In Proverbs 30:1-6, Agur, inspired by the Holy Spirit, shares his testimony of
this story of grace.
The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out. Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Surely you know! Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
Matthew Henry provides an excellent summary
of this passage in his concise commentary.
Agur
speaks of himself as wanting a righteousness, and having done very foolishly.
And it becomes us all to have low thoughts of ourselves. He speaks of himself
as wanting revelation to guide him in the ways of truth and wisdom. The more
enlightened people are, the more they lament their ignorance; the more they
pray for clearer, still clearer discoveries of God, and his rich grace in
Christ Jesus.
Agur’s story has the same sweet refrain
as Luther’s and Paul’s. How familiar this testimony is in the hearts of God’s
people.
In closing
would like to share a poem I wrote as I reflected on God’s grace toward sinners.
There
was a man
Who
weighed his deeds
The
balance tipped in his favor
He
gleamed with pride
He was
like none other
All
around were men of evil
But not
he. He was good as can be
To his
surprise one night
He saw
his deeds of good
Balanced
atop his wrongs
The
scale tipped perilously
He lit
a fire and sat down to ponder
The
crackling flames mocked him
As he
sat it deep dismay
He
heard a gentle plea:
The
Lord abhors false weights
But
grace abounds
Justice
was paid
Trust
in Christ
In him is
righteousness
There is a generation that are
pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. Proverbs
30:12
A
false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight.
Proverbs 11:1
