Reformation Week
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
It is discouraging to fail—a final test, a last-second shot, a broken promise. Martin Luther was fearful and discouraged regarding His sins. He had entered the “sacred” life of the monastery. He was ordained a priest. He followed the traditional practice of offering up the blood of Jesus in what the Roman church called “the sacrifice of the Mass” (an error of its own). Yet this brought him no peace. He feared Jesus and the punishment for his sins. From what he had been taught, he saw Jesus as an angry judge. He desperately tried to appease Him, but to no avail. Finally, his monastery superior sent him to teach at the University of Wittenberg to get his mind on other things.
While teaching at the University, Luther was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree. He taught classes on the Old and New Testaments. He used a tower study room for his preparations. He still struggled with the fearful concept of the “righteousness” of God (Psalm 71). In his study, the Lord opened his mind. He finally understood that the “righteousness” of God is not the righteousness by which God condemns sinners, but the righteousness which God grants to sinners for the sake of Jesus who suffered and died for all sins. The Apostle Paul wrote, “In the Gospel [of Christ] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith!’” (Romans 1:16-17) Through faith, righteousness comes to the sinner! Luther said this tower discovery was as if the doors of heaven were thrown open! In Jesus, he saw God’s grace, not God’s anger. Rest and peace filled Martin Luther!
Are you troubled, sometimes, maybe often? The same comfort, peace, and rest are yours in Christ. Through Jesus, the discouragement and fear caused by your miserable sins are gone! He says, “I will give you rest!” Cling to Him!
Father, through the blood of Jesus Your Son, cleanse me from all my sins! Amen!