Photo by Davor Denkovski on Unsplash
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I grew up in a slightly different time. When I was a kid we did things like drink out of garden hoses and ride bikes without helmets. I’m not advocating a return to those days … I’m simply making an observation. Speaking of riding bikes without helmets, we did some crazy things on our bikes. There was a daredevil in those days named Evel Knievel who used a motorcycle to jump over cars (Evel Knievel Jump). My friends and I were big Evel fans, but we didn’t have motorcycles to ride or cars to jump. We did have bikes and boys. So, we’d set up our ramps, have a bunch of boys lay down between them, and see who could jump over the most boys. Needless to say, falling short on the jump was painful … for the last couple of boys and the bike rider. Fortunately, nobody was hurt in this lunacy.
There is real pain, of an everlasting nature, for falling short in some instances. Paul writes, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22-23). God tells us that we know what His law consists of. And, no matter how hard we try, we cannot save ourselves through adherence to the law. All of us sin and fall short of God’s expectations. The impact of falling short is painful and eternal … death (Romans 6:23). But, this doesn’t stop people from trying to fulfill God’s law by their own efforts.
This attempt at “self-justification” is one of the key false doctrines 16th century Reformers fought against. Many in the church believed one could, through their prayers, attendance at worship, and even payment of money do enough works to save themselves from eternal death. Good works were believed to earn God’s favor, granting eternal life in heaven. The problem … when had I done enough to ensure my own salvation? The uncertainty caused great pain for church members who were often taken advantage of by unscrupulous lords of the church. In short, nobody could ever be certain they had done enough … and so, they tried to do more.
The Reformers who studied God’s Word in the original languages of Greek and Hebrew began to see the scriptures used to validate this false teaching were improperly translated. When they translated the texts properly, it became apparent that it wasn’t works that saved a person, but rather faith in God and His promises found in His Word that saved. For example, key verses for Martin Luther were Romans 1:17 and Habakkuk 2:4.
Faith in God’s Word and promise, that Jesus’ work through His sacrificial death and resurrection from the dead three days later, is the only means to achieve salvation and eternal life. The law has a good purpose … it shows we are sinful and fall short of God’s expectations. Then, the gospel tells us we are “justified by (God’s) grace as a gift (not by something we earn), through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:24). On our own, we fall short, crashing and burning. But Jesus carries all who believe in Him over the chasm of sin and death, safely to eternal life.
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Jim