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November 4, 2007
Reformation c
Romans 3:21-24
Pastor Ben Berger

The Solas of Salvation

What one thing does God require for your salvation? Righteousness. Martin Luther spent most of his early adult life searching for righteousness He wanted nothing more than to find righteousness so that he could be sure of his salvation. Luther knew that God demanded holiness and perfection in his life; he also knew that God demanded punishment for his sins. So Martin became a monk. He worked hard to curb his sinful thoughts, words and actions; he even tried to beat himself into submission. He also punished himself for his sins. He prayed more often, did more works of penance and even took a pilgrimage to Rome. The harder Luther worked for righteousness the more it escaped him. He began hating God for demanding perfection and punishment a man could not provide. Then, finally, Luther found righteousness and with it salvation. His discovery became the Lutheran Reformation. The truths he discovered are often summarized in three “sola” phrases. Do you know and understand the three sola phrases? Today, we’ll review those key truths and add two more phrases for discussion. We’ll call them the Solas of Salvation. They are all found in the first three verses of our epistle reading.

Paul wrote, But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify (21). Luther’s first problem was that he began his search for righteousness in the wrong place; he looked to himself. The harder Luther tried to control his sin, the more he realized he couldn’t stop sinning. The harder he tried to pay for his sin, the more he realized he couldn’t do it. Our natural knowledge about God only reveals a law giver and punishing judge.

Paul says that righteousness comes from God. We will never find righteousness in ourselves, never live a perfect life and never pay for our sins. The righteousness that God demands can only come from God himself. He reveals it to us in the Law and the Prophets, the Holy Scriptures. There God tells us about Jesus. Tells us how Jesus lived the perfect life God requires. Tells us how Jesus paid the price for my sins and the sins of all. Luther’s first discovery was that righteousness and salvation come “sola Scriptura” – by Scripture alone.

How many of us spend our time searching for righteousness in the Scriptures? Luther’s number one task in life was to find righteousness – every day. Once he knew that he could find righteousness from God by Scripture alone, that’s where he went looking – every day. And that’s why he encourages us to not despise God’s preaching and his Word, but to gladly hear and learn it – every day.

How do we receive the righteousness God offers in the Scriptures? Paul answers, This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (22). Our human nature wants to work for righteousness. We naturally think that if we just do enough good things, then God will give us the benefit of the doubt. Or if we just do more good than evil, God will reward us with salvation. Or if were at least in the top 20% of all good people, God’s got to take someone to heaven, right?

Wrong! God doesn’t say do some good works; he says to do everything perfectly. God doesn’t say to do more good than evil; he says to do all good and no evil. God doesn’t say to be better than everyone else; he demands we be perfect like him. We do not and cannot do enough good works to earn our salvation. And even the good works we do are tainted with sin

Rather, righteousness from God comes “sola Fide” – through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Jesus did all of the work for us. He resisted every temptation and kept every command. He also suffered death and hell to pay for sin. Through faith God credits our account with Jesus work. Through faith in Jesus you receive credit for living a perfect life and you receive payment for all your sins. Righteousness comes from God by faith alone as revealed in Scripture alone.

But don’t we have to do something? Don’t we have to be good people and do some good things in our lives? Don’t we at least have to come to church and give offerings and serve our neighbor? No, No and No. Paul says in verse 24, all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Because we cannot work for righteousness, we cannot earn it. Paul reminds us in verse 23 that all have sinned. It’s already too late to earn righteousness. If we have already committed just one sin, we are guilty of breaking all of God’s law. We are not perfect or holy; nothing we do can change that. Nor are we worthy to receive righteousness from God. Paul also said in verse 23 that all fall short of the glory of God. It doesn’t matter if you’re good looking, have a charming personality, are popular, get good grades, make a lot of money, or even that you are a WELS Lutheran. Not a single one of us is worthy of God’s righteousness.

That’s why God gives us his righteousness “sola gratia” – freely, by his grace alone. Righteousness is a gift of God. It’s not a paycheck; it’s not a reward; it’s not a bribe. It’s a gift. Gifts are not earned or deserved; gifts are not given only to the worthy. Then they wouldn’t be gifts. God gives us righteousness freely, as a gift, by grace alone even though we haven’t earned it and don’t deserve it.

Sola Scriptura, by Scripture alone; Sola Fide, by faith alone; Sola Gratia; by grace alone. Those are the three sola phrases that Luther discovered. They clearly explain how God gives us the very righteousness he demands for our salvation. I’d like to add two other phrases for discussion.

Solo Christo, by Christ alone. Our righteousness and salvation is found only in Christ. Only Christ is true God and true man. Only Christ kept the law perfectly. Only Christ died to pay for the sins of the world. Only Christ, about whom the Law and the Prophets and all of the Holy Scriptures testify. Only Christ, from whom we receive righteousness through faith. Only Christ, who offered his holy, precious blood and innocent suffering and death to redeem us freely by his grace. Only Christ.

Righteousness comes from God by Christ alone. All too often, like Luther, we want some credit for our righteousness. We want God to acknowledge our church attendance or our offerings or our good life. We don’t want any of the blame. We want God to overlook our sins and to sweep our punishment under the rug. If we want the credit, we’ve got to take the blame. And our blame far outweighs our credit. So Jesus took the blame for us. He died for our sins. And Jesus gave us his credit. He provides us with his righteousness. Solo Christo, by Christ alone.

Therefore, soli Deo Gloria, to God alone be Glory. After Luther found righteousness from God sola Scriptura, sola Fide, sola Gratia and solo Christo, he did two things – every day. First, he went looking for God’s righteousness. He confessed his sins and trusted God’s promises of forgiveness. Second, he lived a life of thanks to God.

Soli Deo Gloria. Give thanks to God for Christ who lived and died to provide our righteousness. Give thanks to God for grace – for giving us his righteousness freely, as a gift of his grace even though we don’t deserve it. Give thanks to God for faith which makes the work of Christ personally yours and assures you of your personal salvation. Thank God for the Scriptures in which he reveals and gives the righteousness he demands.