Grace: God's Gift for Clean Consciences and Godly Living

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“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:22b-25a).

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Five people stand on the roof of a burning building. Their only escape is the roof across a twenty-five-foot alley. One jumps ten feet. Another jumps four. Another reaches twelve. One gifted athlete leaps twenty-two feet. Some go farther than others, but none reaches safety. Every one of them falls short.

That, dear people, pictures our spiritual life. By nature, we are trapped in sin and cannot make the leap from sin to righteousness. Human standards may rank some people ahead of others, but God’s Law makes no such distinction: we have all sinned and fallen short of His glory. We cannot save ourselves by giving up, trying harder, or hoping for the best. We need a righteousness that comes from outside us—a righteousness God gives freely in Christ.

The year was 1515. A young German monk named Martin Luther was studying the first chapter of Romans in his private office on the second floor of a tower attached to the monastery. He came to verses 16-17:

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes: to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness from God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written: ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” 

Imagine the scene. Luther pauses and asks himself: “Now, what does Paul mean when he talks about the ‘righteousness from God?’ And how does man become righteous before God?

“Oh, I know. God shows His righteousness by punishing sinners every time they do wrong. And the only way a man can become righteous is to do all that God wants him to do.

“But, no, that can’t be right. Paul says that man is made righteous by faith, by believing in something God has done for him. Well, what has God done for man to make him righteous or holy?

“Let me see. Paul says that the Gospel is God’s power for salvation. The Gospel tells me what Jesus has done: He fulfilled the Law perfectly in my place and suffered the judgment my sins deserved. On the cross, God did not ignore sin; He condemned it in His Son. Therefore, I need not fear eternal condemnation. Christ has borne my punishment, and His righteousness is credited to me. I am righteous before God not because of anything in me, but because of Jesus for me.”

Luther had found the answer to the question that had tortured him for many years: “How can I be sure that God has forgiven my sin and that He loves me?”

As the years passed, the light Luther discovered in the tower grew from a flickering spark into a spreading flame. It exposed teachings and practices that obscured the Gospel, especially the sale of indulgences promoted by the Dominican friar John Tetzel to help finance the building of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Indulgences claimed to reduce punishment after death in purgatory. Tetzel sold them by frightening people with vivid descriptions of judgment and the suffering of their departed loved ones, then presenting the indulgence as a path to relief. Many people therefore treated forgiveness as something that could be purchased or earned rather than received freely from God.

When members of Luther’s congregation returned with indulgences, some believed they had purchased forgiveness. Luther recognized the pastoral danger: people were being taught to trust a payment or religious work instead of God’s promise in Christ. He therefore wrote ninety-five theses challenging the abuse of indulgences and posted them on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. Printers reproduced the theses, and copies spread rapidly from village to village. The public controversy that became the Reformation had begun.

What Luther rediscovered was not merely a sixteenth-century insight but the heart of the Gospel: sinners are justified by faith alone, entirely by God’s grace, because of Christ alone. We still need that word today. It alone frees consciences from the exhausting question, “Have I done enough?” and directs us to Christ’s finished work: “It is done for you.”

Pastor Scott Sailer tells this story. Bill and his wife, Susan, belonged to another denomination, but they thought highly of the Lutheran school, so they decided to send their two children there.

When the couple had marital problems, Bill went to his pastor. The pastor told Bill that if his faith were stronger, he’d not be having these problems. Bill already felt guilty for not spending enough time with his wife and children. And now he felt even guiltier because he didn’t have enough faith.

St. Paul shows why neither our works nor the strength of our faith can justify us: “For by works of the Law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). Faith does not save because it is a spiritual achievement. Faith receives Christ, and Christ alone is our righteousness.

The Law cannot save us. No matter how hard we try to follow it, we’ll only fail and fall short. The Law can only show us our sin. And, if we hear only the Law, we’ll only end up feeling guilty. So, what do we do? Where do we find righteousness? Where do we find peace and the power for living in righteousness?

Then St. Paul speaks two of the mightiest little words in the Bible: “But now.” Those words turn us away from what the Law demands and exposes to what God has accomplished and gives in Christ. We have fallen short—but now God reveals a righteousness apart from our works, a righteousness received by faith.

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:21-25a).

This is the Gospel! God, in His love and grace, sent His only Son for our complete forgiveness. Christ’s perfect life and sacrificial death paid for all of our sins. His righteousness has been exchanged for our sinfulness.

We return to Bill’s story. Left to wallow in his own guilt and despair by his own pastor, Bill decided to visit the pastor at the Lutheran church at his children’s school. Maybe this pastor would have some answers for him, some hope.

Bill recounted his struggles in marriage and family life, with his finances, and with his faith. “Pastor, I try, but I can’t seem to get rid of this load of guilt. And my family life is getting no better, even though I’m trying to do the right things. What’s God doing? Where is He in my life? Where is His love?”

The pastor led Bill to this passage in Romans and to the central teaching of God’s Word. This Good News, that became central in the teaching of Martin Luther and of the entire Reformation, brought reformation also to Bill’s faith and life. As we hear it, it brings reformation and renewal to our lives again and again.

The Lutheran pastor explained to Bill that we are commanded to be good, but we cannot because of the sin in us. We need help, God’s help. His help is this: we are justified by grace through faith. This means that Christ, who was without sin, set things right between us and God by His good and sufficient sacrifice on the cross. It’s not about our righteousness, but Christ’s righteousness for us.

Bill responded, “So my assurance does not rest on how well I perform or even on how strong my faith feels. It rests on what Jesus has done for me—on His body given and His blood shed for my forgiveness?”

“It’s not about you; it’s about Jesus for you,” the pastor said.

“I’ve never heard it explained like that before.” Bill said. “But, I believe it!”

The Reformation continues as you, like Bill, trust that you are righteous in God’s sight because of the saving work of Jesus Christ. On the cross was the great exchange. God counts Christ’s perfect life as though you’ve done it. What He suffered on the cross, God counts as though you’ve suffered it. And He even gives you the faith to accept this Good News. This is grace, undeserved love! There is no room for boasting. God gets all the credit and thanks.

Bill left the pastor’s office with a clear place to stand. Christ had borne his sin on the cross, and God’s promise—not Bill’s performance—answered his guilt. Because Christ died and rose for him, Bill knew that he was forgiven and loved by God. That certainty gave him peace, hope, and courage.

Bill knew that this renewed relationship with God did not remove the difficulties of his life. There was much work left to do. He left the pastor’s office knowing that he would need God’s strength, given through His powerful Word and Sacraments, to help him work things out in his family. This, too, gave him peace and hope and boldness. He was not left to his own devices. He had God’s help.

And that is true for you as well: you are not left to save yourself or sustain your faith by your own power. Christ has forgiven you, and He continues to care for you through His life-giving Word and Sacraments. Rely on His grace. Return to His promises. Receive again the gifts by which He sustains you and strengthens your faith.

The same Savior who declared you righteous is now at work in your life. Live each day in your Baptism: through daily contrition and repentance, drown the old Adam so that the new man may arise to live before God in righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. Come to the Lord’s Supper and receive Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins and the strengthening of your faith unto life everlasting. Hear God’s Word: The Law exposes your sin and reveals God’s will, while the Gospel forgives your sin and creates in you the desire and strength to live as His child. Through these means of grace, Christ delivers forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.

So go in the strength of the Lord. You have fallen short, but Christ did not. He fulfilled the Law for you, bore your sins on the cross, and rose again for your justification. In Him, your conscience is clean, your guilt is answered, and your future is secure. You are forgiven for all your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Based on a sermon by Scott Sailer in Concordia Pulpit Resources, Volume 13, Part 4, p. 23-25.