In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

When we celebrate the festival of the Reformation, we remember that Doctor Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the Castle Church door. It helps us to understand why he did that and what happened after that. There is a long version of Reformation history and a short version. I can only summarize a short version today, but it would be good to know the long version, because it is a fortifying lesson.

The church had fallen away from the truth. Bibles were rare. People accepted false teaching because they didn't know better. They did not know what the Bible said. When Tetzel came to town, selling indulgences as if they would help people get to heaven, Luther objected with his 95 Theses. He had read enough of the Bible to know it was wrong. But it didn't happen over night.

In those days, the church was teaching people that they needed to do good works to get to heaven. That's what Luther believed in his youth, as he was learning to become a lawyer. One day, Luther was traveling by foot when a storm came up. He was nearly struck by lightning. In terror, he cried out, "Help me, St. Anne, and I will become a monk." He thought God was angry with him. Luther wanted to win God's favor. He thought that becoming a monk would help. Lurking deep in Luther's mind was the false idea that he had to earn God's favor by doing good works. So, he set out to do that full time in a monastery. He tried his very best to work his way into God's favor, but his conscience gave him no rest. He just never felt at peace with God. He denied himself, beat himself, and did whatever seemed to be a way to earn God's favor. Luther later said that if any monk would have worked his way into heaven, he would have, because he tried so hard. But, no matter how much he did, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how often he confessed to sins that most people wouldn't even notice, Luther could not calm his conscience. He always felt that Jesus was scowling at him as an angry judge. Nothing he did could bring him peace.

Try to understand what it was like for people in those days. We have Bibles all over the place - Bibles at church, at home and at work. When Luther was twenty years old, he had never even seen a real Bible before, and he was far more educated than most people. People just didn't have access to Bibles. But when Luther entered the library at the university of Erfurt, he found a Bible chained to a desk. He began to read it, fascinated by what he read. Eventually Luther became a professor and read the Bible constantly. As he pored over those pages, and studied the words, he began to realize that we are:

1.We are not saved by observing the law;

2. We are saved by trusting in Jesus Christ.

Luther's main concern was finding favor with God and going to heaven. Luther was not interested in becoming rich or famous. He just wanted God to love him. He wanted to go to heaven. But he had been taught from little on up that the way to heaven was by works. He would have to earn his way into heaven by not doing sinful works and by doing good works. But after trying to do this, he became frustrated. He knew that he could not be perfect. Yet God demands perfection in the law. Luther feared that he would not go to heaven. But, when Luther read the Bible, he learned that we are not saved by observing the law! Picture Martin Luther reading this Bible verse over again and again, astonished at what it said.

To be "justified" means to be declared "not guilty" in God's courtroom. We are not justified by obeying the law. We can't keep the law, so the law just keeps on convicting us of sin. The law says, "you are a sinner. You deserve punishment from God." We can never become right with God by trying to do good works. Luther learned that by experience. That's what this Bible verse says. By reading passages like this one, Luther learned how we become righteous before God. He learned that it is a free gift from God's grace and not by works. When he learned this, it was like a light began to shine in the darkness. Luther continued to read the Bible and continued to learn that the way to heaven was NOT by doing good works. He learned that we are saved by trusting in Jesus Christ.

Our Bible passage for today from Galatians 2:16 is so clear, there really cannot be any doubt about what it says. It says, "a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified." Study those words. Think about those words. Notice how they leave no room for doubt. Notice how they repeat the same truth over and over. We are not saved by observing the law. We are saved by trusting in Jesus Christ. We are justified by faith alone, without adding our own works. This is surely a passage to mark in your Bible! It goes hand in hand with Romans 3:28, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."

If you try to get to heaven by being good, by doing good works, you will never make it. All our righteous acts are like filthy rags. Our best attempts are laced through and through with sin. No one will be justified by observing the law. We are not saved by a combination of faith plus works either. Many churches have this wrong today. Our works play no role at all in our justification! We do not help save ourselves by adding our own good deeds. We are saved by faith alone, by trusting in Jesus Christ alone!

Jesus must be the object of our faith. Not just any old faith will save. If you believe in yourself, that faith will not save you. If a person believes in Allah, that faith will not save him. If someone trusts in the virgin Mary, that faith will not save her. We are saved by trusting in Jesus alone, for there is no other name given to men whereby we must be saved. Jesus is the only Savior. He is the only one who lived a perfect life for us. He alone died on the cross and took our sins away. He rose from death and God has declared this good news to all the world, "You are forgiven through Christ." Whoever believes that, whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life. We are saved by trusting in Jesus Christ.

Once Luther read passages like this one, he was convinced that he was saved by faith alone, and that this is the way to heaven, and there is no other way. It took time to think it all through, but the Holy Spirit kept working in his heart as he read God's Word. He became a powerful confessor in God's hand, a bold preacher, a gifted teacher, and a great blessing to many people. Luther preached much and wrote much to stress that we are saved by trusting in Jesus Christ alone.

Luther had learned early in life what it was like to live in fear, never being sure that he was going to heaven, always thinking that God was scowling at him, waiting to pounce. Now, he knew what it was like to live confident of God's love and forgiveness. Now, he was certain that he was going to heaven by faith in Jesus Christ alone. May we be certain too. We are not saved by observing the law. Our salvation does not depend on us! We are saved by trusting in Jesus Christ. We are justified by faith alone!

It says, "A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified."

Our Savior has done all the work of saving us. We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone. May we praise him and thank him forever! And may our gracious Savior finally bring us all to our heavenly home. Amen.