"TO THE DELIGHT OF HIS CHILDREN, GOD FREELY DECLARES THE SINNER NOT GUILTY.."

59. Q. But what does it help you now that you believe all this?
A. In Christ I am righteous before God and heir to life everlasting.[1]
[1] Hab. 2:4; John 3:36; Rom. 1:17; 5:1, 2.

60. Q. How are you righteous before God?
A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.[1] Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God's commandments, have never kept any of them,[2] and am still inclined to all evil,[3] yet God, without any merit of my own,[4] out of mere grace,[5] imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ.[6] He grants these to me as if I had never had nor committed any sin, and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me,[7] if only I accept this gift with a believing heart.[8]
[1] Rom. 3:21-28; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8, 9; Phil. 3:8-11. [2] Rom. 3:9, 10. [3] Rom. 7:23. [4] Deut. 9:6; Ezek. 36:22; Tit. 3:4, 5. [5] Rom. 3:24; Eph. 2:8. [6] Rom. 4:3-5; II Cor. 5:17-19; I John 2:1, 2. [7] Rom. 4:24, 25; II Cor. 5:21. [8] John 3:18; Acts 16:30, 31; Rom. 3:22.

61. Q. Why do you say that you are righteous only by faith?
A. Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith, for only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God.[1] I can receive this righteousness and make it mine my own by faith only.[2]
[1] I Cor. 1:30, 31; 2:2. [2] Rom. 10:10; I John 5:10-12.

Scripture Reading:
Romans 3:9-31

Singing:  (Psalms and Hymns are from the "Book of Praise" Anglo Genevan Psalter)
Psalm 112:1
Psalm 43:3
Hymn 24:1,2,5
Psalm 138:1,2,3,4
Hymn 46:1,2

Beloved Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ!

The newspaper does not often report on matters religious. But some of you may have seen the brief item in the West Australian of October 22 about the meeting planned for today. The West informed us that "after 32 years of talks, the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation will sign a common statement on the issue which drove them apart in 1517 – the doctrine of justification." With that, the paper adds, "one of the main causes of the Reformation which split the Christian Church has been resolved."

The event is to take place today. That’s striking. Today is Reformation Day, for October 31 was the day that Martin Luther back in 1517 nailed his 95 theses on the door of that church in Wittenburg – the event that is widely regarded as the beginning of the Great Reformation. Today "a common statement on the issue which drove [Lutherans and Catholics] apart in 1517" will be formally signed, "one of the causes of the Reformation … resolved." It sounds like reason for gratitude….

The event is to take place in Augsburg, an old city in Germany. That’s as striking as the date, for Augsburg is the place where the first Confession of the Reformation was publicly released in 1530. The Augsburg Confession, we need to know, was an attempt to make plain to the Roman Catholics what the Protestants believed. As such, that Confession spelled out the differences between the Protestants and the Catholics, spelled out that Protestants could not live with Catholics under one roof. In that city of Augsburg, Protestant and Catholic leaders today will sign, after 32 years of talk, "a common statement on the issue which drove them apart" 482 years ago. Surely, it’s reason for gratitude!

Is it really? We shall do well today to look carefully at that question. As it turns out, brothers and sisters, this event in Augsburg today is no cause for celebration. Instead, this joint signing today shows how little the doctrine of justification is really understood by so many who call themselves Christians. To demonstrate that, I ask your attention first for the Roman Catholic doctrine of justification as Luther experienced it, and then what the Lord says about the matter in His Word. And the Lord says that He freely, without contribution from man, declares sinners innocent before Him.

I summarise the sermon with this theme:

1. This doctrine twisted in Church History
2. This doctrine taught in Scripture
3. This doctrine treasured by the true Church

This Doctrine Twisted in Church History

The church into which Martin Luther was born more than 500 years ago officially laid before the people of Europe the need to do good works in order to escape hell. So, Martin Luther’s parents taught their little lad the need to do good works. And when little Martin received instruction from his priest, he was taught again about the need to do good works. It was hammered into little Luther’s mind: God was angry with him because of his sins, but God was willing to forgive, to spare him hell and grant His grace, if young Luther could meet the required conditions.

The Roman Church spelled out how Luther could meet those conditions. Luther could receive most of Rome’s seven sacraments, he could try to perform prescribed works of mercy, might even enlist the support of saints long dead. He could become a monk also; after all, in the monastery he’d be shielded from the temptations of the world, in the monastery each looked after the other to make sure you stayed holy in all your conduct, in the monastery you received an ideal place to do what Jesus said: sell all your possessions, forsake father and mother, wife and children, and devote yourself totally to Christ. So, when Luther as a young man was caught in that thunder storm and thought to be killed by a lightning strike, it was his fear of having to appear before God that drove him to his oath: "St Anne, help me! I will become a monk!" And so he did – because he wanted comfort for his soul, the assurance that he had met the conditions of salvation, the assurance that God was happy with him because he tried so hard….

But Luther was so disappointed. Even in the monastery he found no peace. The fear that God rejected him, that Christ condemned him, that hell was his eternal future pressed upon him. He knew from the Bible that God was holy and could tolerate no sin, no failure, and he knew also that his own thoughts and words and deeds fell so very far short of God’s holy standard. So he thought to compel his sinful body to holiness; he ate little, made sure he slept little, kept himself cold by wearing inadequate clothing – all in an attempt to win God’s favour. But even these efforts helped nothing; Luther gained no peace, no assurance that God was pleased with him. He travelled to Rome and made it his business to visit shrines and view sacred relics and so make himself acceptable to saints who could intercede for him in heaven. He climbed on his bare knees up the stone stairs of Pilate’s judgment hall and kissed each step as he went. But it gave him no peace, no sense that God was happy with him….

To make matters worse: the church taught him that he had to make confession of all his sins, and the confession had to be accompanied by a heart-felt sorrow for sin; then there would be forgiveness. That was fine, Luther thought, with regard to his open, known sins; he’d happily and humbly confess them. But what about those sins he didn’t realise? So Luther would confess to a priest for hours on end ever possible sin he could think, walk away, and then come rushing back with some little foible he had forgotten to mention…. It had to be mentioned, had to be confessed, otherwise there was no forgiveness…, and one unconfessed sin was enough to earn God’s damnation….

I can go on, brothers and sisters, setting before you the torments and struggles of this man who tried so very, very hard to impress God, to win God’s favour, to make himself acceptable to God. But enough has been said, I think, to make clear to you what the Roman Catholic church before the Reformation taught on the matter of justification, the matter of how a sinner becomes righteous before God. It was a doctrine –as last week’s paper correctly summarised- in which man had to cooperate with God to become righteous before God. And Luther experienced to his enormous disappointment that all his efforts helped him not a dot in gaining God’s favour; time and time again Luther was convinced that he had failed, failed so miserably to meet God’s holy standard. So he remained scared of God, scared of death, sure his eternal future was hell….

Then one day, by the grace of God, Luther understood what Paul meant in the book of Romans when he wrote that the just shall live by faith. He understood: justification is God’s gift freely given, by grace alone, without our effort or contribution. That gift is freely given, without regard to how often we pray or attend church or afflict the body. It’s freely given on the basis of Christ’s work on Calvary.

Once Luther understood the riches of this glorious truth, and perceived that his specific sins that bothered him so much were now gone, he made it his business to tell the world of the riches he found in God’s Word. Hence the 95 Theses which he nailed on the door of that church 482 years ago today. And in the Augsburg Confession released in Augsburg 13 years later (in 1530), this doctrine was worded like this:

"[The churches] teach that men can not be justified […] before God by their own powers, merits, or works; but are justified freely [of grace] for Christ’s sake through faith…."

This is the doctrine echoed in our Catechism, LD 23. "How are you righteous before God?", we ask in Q & A 60. And the reply is so fully Luther: "Only by true faith in Jesus Christ." The explanation is so fully Luther too: "Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God’s commands, have never kept any of them, and am still inclined to all evil" –and how bitterly Luther experienced the soul-eating terror of that sense of failure!- "yet God, without any merit of my own, out of mere grace, imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ." There it is: righteous through Christ! And yes, beloved, that, that is so Scriptural! This is the gospel – second point.

This Doctrine Taught in Scripture

The Lord God has revealed that He in heaven is holy, while the creature man on earth is sinful. This Luther rightly understood. The result of our fall into sin in Paradise is that we daily sin against God, and God’s response to sin is wrath. It’s what Paul writes to the Romans in chap 1: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" (vs 18). In chap 2, Paul confronts sinners with the certainty of the coming day of wrath when God –vs 16- will judge the secrets of all men. Hence the pressing question: how can we bridge the distance between ourselves and God? "How can we escape this punishment and be again received into favour?" (LD 5).

Paul is emphatic that no man can contribute so much as a sigh to winning God’s favour. Rom 3: Jews and Gentiles alike "are all under sin". To prove the point, he lists some 6 quotes from the Old Testament, all of which point up the total depravity of each and every person on the face of this earth. It leads to the conclusion of the apostle in vs 19: "all the world [is] guilty before God." And vs 20: "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight." No matter what I do, I can’t impress God, can’t win His favour. I can’t, because I haven’t got in me what it takes to impress this God of infinite holiness. Luther experienced that too, to his great dismay.

Yet Paul would not have us despair. For he carries on in vs 21 with the glorious little word ‘but’. "But," he says, "now the righteousness of God … is revealed…, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ." In what follows, Paul explains how this righteousness of God is revealed in Jesus Christ. Look at vs 24. Paul says that the sinner is

"justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood."

Here, brothers and sisters, are a number of thoughts that require our attention. Paul says of Jesus that God set him forth "as a propitiation by His blood." That term ‘propitiation’ describes the notion that we need to die on account of our sins, but we don’t because Christ died in our place. You will recall from the Old Testament that the people of Israel, when they became aware of a particular sin in their lives, had to bring a sacrifice to the tabernacle. Then the sinner had to lay his hand on the animal and confess his sin. That action symbolised that the sin of the sinner was transferred from the sinner to the animal. The animal in turn was killed…, and the sinner could go home. You see, the animal died in the place of the sinner (Lev 4).

This is the notion of propitiation. God determined that our sins should be transferred to His Son. So God "set [Jesus] forth to be a propitiation." On the cross of Calvary, God as it were transferred our sins onto Christ, and Christ suffered the infinite wrath of God that was to fall upon us. In the words of Rom 5: "Christ died for us" (vs 8).

But now what? Now that our sins have been transferred onto Christ and Christ has died "for" us on the cross, is God still angry with sinners? Need we, like Luther, still to fear His wrath? The answer is No. For the good news that our sins are transferred from us to Christ so that He might die instead of us is only half the wonderful truth. The other half is that on the cross Christ satisfied the justice of God, Christ paid for sin, Christ stilled God’s anger against my sins, Christ obtained for me the righteousness of God. And those gifts God now gives to me – imputation.

Result? God in heaven looks down upon me, that sinner on earth. What God sees? O yes, He knows very well that I’m a sinner, knows very well that "I have grievously sinned against all God’s commandments, have never kept any of them, and am still inclined to all evil." In fact, this God in heaven above knows my sins far better than I shall ever know them – no matter how carefully I look. But what’s He say in the face of my continuing depravity and sins? Damn me to hell? No, beloved, no; God the Judge issues a declaration, a judicial statement that I am Not Guilty of the sins that God knows I’ve committed! That’s to say: God promises not to punish us for our sins, promises never to hold those sins against us. As Paul says in Rom 5: "therefore, having been justified…, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (vs 1). And Rom 8: "there is therefore now condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (vs 1). And later in the same chapter: "It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns?" (vs 33f). You see, beloved, with that declaration God indicates that He looks upon us and treats us –to say it with the Catechism- "as if I had never had nor committed any sin."

This, my brothers and sisters, is the glorious doctrine of Justification. That term captures the notion of God making, declaring a sinner just, righteous, free of sin. The term does not mean that I commit no sins - for God knows differently! The term means instead that God the Judge has issued a verdict of Not Guilty, and He’s issued that verdict on the grounds that my sins have been transferred from myself to Jesus Christ (who washed those sins away on the cross) and Christ’s satisfaction, righteousness and holiness have been transferred back to me. This is what Paul means when he speaks in Rom 3 about the "righteousness of God", and this is what Paul means when he speaks in our chapter about ‘justification’. This "righteousness of God" comes from God and is given to me; it is righteousness from God for me.

What my contribution might be to God’s declaration of righteousness? Our contribution, says Paul in vs 27, is zero. To be declared righteous is a free gift, is totally and only God’s grace. I don’t earn it, I do nothing for it; it’s given, freely given on account of Christ’s atoning work on the cross 2000 years ago. And because it’s freely given, and the blessed result is peace with God today and forever, this doctrine is material calculated to excite the believer; how glorious is God that He freely declares me righteous, innocent, not guilty before Him – though He knows the sins I’ve committed!

We understand: how different is this doctrine from the way young Luther was brought up. He was cast onto himself, he was told that he himself had to earn the approval God was willing to give to those who satisfied the conditions God set. But Paul speaks in Rom 3 of no conditions; he speaks only of God’s free grace, a grace God gives to the unworthy for Jesus’ sake. Truly, the two doctrines are different, so different.

But I have a question for you, brothers and sisters. My question is this: what are you doing with this doctrine? As you listen to the sermon, how do you react? What do you intend to do with this doctrine tomorrow, what did you do with it yesterday?

The question is an important one. You see, it’s possible to have an ear open for Scriptural accuracy, be satisfied that what’s said is doctrinally sound, then leave church and carry on with the cares of this life. Then the material has gone through your mind…, and no more. It’s also possible to listen to this material with the concrete sins of yesterday, last week, last year in mind – and know those particular sins transferred from yourself onto Jesus Christ, and the gifts Christ obtained on the cross given to you the sinner-guilty-of-specific-sins, and the glorious result is that God on high issues a declaration concerning you that you are Not Guilty, that God will not condemn you for yesterday’s sin! See, congregation, if you personalise it that way, then this doctrine doesn’t just enter the mind but touches the heart! And where it touches the heart, this doctrine will prompt immense gratitude and praise for God; what a God this is who freely issues a statement of innocence concerning me the sinner! If I may say it with words borrowed from Luther:

"Read with great emphasis these words, ‘me,’ ‘for me,’ and accustom yourself to accept and to apply to yourself this ‘me’ with certain faith.

The words OUR, US, FOR US, ought to be written in golden letters – the man who does not believe them is not a Christian."

Clear words, indeed. For yes, beloved, a Christian is the man who sets this glorious doctrine beside the sins of which he’s guilty, and then cling to the good news that God the Judge sovereignly declares him Not Guilty of those particular sins (no matter how horrid); that is a Christian, and that persons has faith. For faith is nothing else than that I accept what God says – including, in the context of my specific sins, His declaration of innocence for Jesus’ sake. Equally: the person who does not set this glorious doctrine beside the particular sins of which he’s guilty, the person who sets this doctrine at a distance from himself and his sins, and look at this doctrine only to examine its Scriptural accuracy – is not displaying faith. And that person will not get caught up by the riches of this delightful doctrine either.

Here, then, is the challenge before us, congregation: what are you going to do with this sermon, with the material of LD 23? Does it enter your head alone, or touch your heart? Do you set it at a distance from yourself, or do you set it squarely beside your sins and then know God’s declaration of innocence to be true in relation to those sins you’ve committed? Only you, my brothers, my sisters, can answer those questions. And I plead with you to do so. For the Christian is not the person who claims forgiveness because he feels so sorry for his sins, or is so humble because of his sins, or has suffered so much. The Christian is simply the person who embraces God’s declaration of Not Guilty for Jesus’ sake.

This Doctrine Treasured by the true Church

And now: what’s happening today in Augsburg? Official followers of Martin Luther –the Lutheran World Federation- will sign a common statement on Justification with the official followers of those who excommunicated Martin Luther and cursed those who believed the teachings he gleaned from the Bible.

Will the Roman Catholic Church in this Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification make clear that what young Luther learned from his priest and from the abbot of his monastery was Scripturally wrong, heresy? Will the Roman Catholic Church in this Joint Declaration concede that the wealth Luther discovered in the Bible and the church confessed in LD 23 is the truth? Would, would that it were so! But there is no repentance in the Roman Catholic Church; the Vatican continues to insist that more is needed than God’s free grace for the sinner to become righteous before God; there remains the need for human contribution.

But that’s not the worst part of this Joint Declaration. The worst part is that those who call themselves by Luther’s name are content to sign a Statement which gives up the gains of the Great Reformation! The Lutheran World Federation –it represents numerous of the Lutheran churches around the world- is willing to accept that Justification is not strictly God’s gift, is willing to accept that there’s room for human contribution.

It raises a question. Why might it be that numerous of the churches belonging to the Lutheran World Federation are happy to embrace this Declaration – and so leave room for the doctrine of salvation through works? Surely, brothers and sisters, it is because these Lutherans of the world –they call themselves Christians- have never tasted the bitterness, the hopelessness, the uncertainty that results from the thought that we need to win God’s favour, God’s grace. Surely it’s because these Lutherans have never tasted the sweetness, the richness, the security that comes from God’s sovereign declaration that your sins are freely forgiven, without it costing you so much as a sigh. Let us be clear on it: those who will take the doctrine of Justification as we confess it in our Catechism and do no more than examine it for its Scriptural accuracy, will never get upset when someone suggests that room ought to be left for human contribution. But the person who knows himself a sinner utterly and totally unable to satisfy the justice of God, who embraces as truth the declaration of God that He considers the sinner is Not Guilty of his sins for Jesus’ sake – that person will never leave room again for himself contributing to his salvation. He’ll leave no room for it because he finds the doctrine of LD 23 simply too splendid, too exciting, too rich for the poverty of salvation through human effort.

There, congregation, is the fine point of it. So many in our day who call themselves Christians have never tasted the freedom that comes with the conviction that "God, without any merit of mine, out of mere grace, imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ," and so they leave room for the error of Rome. That’s why I repeat for you the challenge I laid before you earlier: what are you going to do with this sermon, with the material of LD 23? Does it enter your head alone, or touch your heart? Do you set it at a distance from yourself, or do you set it squarely beside your sins and then know God’s declaration of innocence to be true in relation to those sins you’ve committed? You need, my brothers and sisters, to answer those questions. Else you, like those Lutherans in Augsburg today, have no resistance against the continuing efforts of Rome to collect the world’s churches under her ungodly wings.

Any day now, the Judge of all the earth will return. What shall you extend to Him? A hand nervously grasping your contribution to your righteousness? Or an empty hand that calmly holds on to God’s gift of free grace?

The answer has eternal consequences. Amen.