309. Tuesday after Eighth Sunday after Trinity.
Let the pure doctrine of thy holy word
shine like the sun among us. Amen.
Romans 4, 1-8. What shall we say then that Abraham, our father as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
❦
That man is justified by faith, without the works of the law, is the most important article of our creed; and it is absolutely necessary that we hold it fast in our fight against sin, death, and devil. Let the grand words of scripture which we have just heard strengthen our faith and gladden our heart. — “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” In his comments on the Epistle to the Romans Besser writes:
Abraham grasped the promise of mercy in Christ with sincere faith, and the judgment of God concerning him was: “Because of his faith he is counted righteous in my sight.” God gives grace only; and when I accept grace only, I am justified. That in which Abraham excelled was this, that he neither looked back for works by which he might have merited the promised great reward, nor looked forward for works by which he might supplement the grace offered him, but simply “believed on him that justifieth the ungodly.” Then he was so entirely stripped of all his own, so entirely without reliance in his own strength, that God could deal with him according to his riches of his grace, and count his faith unto him for righteousness. Note this carefully. — Although the faith of Abraham, by which he placed himself in the right relation toward God, is a spiritual act, wrought by the Holy Ghost and pleasing to God, still it is not a perfect act, as Abraham is still in the flesh. To be sure, he gave God all honor, rejoiced in him, and trusted in him; but he did not do these things in a degree worthy of the majesty of God. Strictly speaking, then, his faith was not his righteousness, but was counted unto him for perfect righteousness, for the reason that God was pleased with it for Christ’s sake. “Christian righteousness,” says Luther, “depends, firstly, on faith, which accords to God the honor belonging to him; and secondly, on this, that God counts such a faith unto us for righteousness. For as faith is weak and imperfect, — even the strongest faith, such as that of Abraham, having all sorts of infirmities, — the second part is necessary, namely that God counts our faith unto us for righteousness, and does not impute to us our other sins, but pardons them, and takes them away, as though not one of them had been committed; and this not for our sake, for any worthiness, merit, or work on our part, but for the sake of Christ, in whom we believe. A Christian is therefore both a righteous man and a sinner; he loves and worships God, and at the same time he may be angry and vexed with him. — But, say you, how is it possible that I can be righteous, and yet be a sinner? Well, your sense and knowledge of your sin are good signs; therefore you shall not despair, but rather thank God. Go to Christ; he is the true physician; this is his name. He can and will heal the bruised hearts, and give poor sinners salvation. Do not, on your life, follow the prejudices of your own reason, which would have you to believe that the Lord is at war with needy sinners. Mortify and sacrifice your reason which gives you such a suggestion; but believe in him, and cry to him, and you shall become holy and righteous. Then you praise God, and confess that he is very God, the just and merciful. Whatever sins you may still have, they are, then, not imputed to you, but are forgiven for Christ’s sake. His perfect righteousness is yours, and your sins are his.”
O God, imprint this blessed article of faith indelibly on our soul; and let us be of those blessed people whose transgressions are forgiven, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Amen.*
Blest is the man to whom the Lord
Imputes not his iniquities,
He pleads no merit of reward,
And not on works, but grace relies.
From guile his heart and lips are free,
His humble joy, his holy fear,
With deep repentance well agree,
And join to prove his faith sincere.
How glorious is that righteousness
That hides and cancels all his sins!
While a bright evidence of grace
Through his whole life appears and shines.
[TLH 392 (listen here); alt., ELH 416 (listen here)]
* Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.