Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

On October 31, 1517, a German monk… named Martin Luther… posted a document for academic debate… on what was effectively the local bulletin board… the castle-church door… Luther probably wanted a discussion and debate with other professors and theologians over a matter of theological concern.

Luther was only 33 years old at the time, but he was a Roman Catholic priest, a Doctor of Theology, and a professor at the university in Wittenberg… He saw himself, in that moment, as a faithful servant of the Church of Rome.

But Luther had heard about a Dominican friar named Johann Tetzel, who was selling indulgences to people all over the Roman empire.

Indulgences… still part of Roman Catholic teaching and practice today[1]… are official letters from the Roman Church… which absolve a person of some or all of their sin… based a faith-infused act of some kind.

Tetzel’s indulgences, authorized by Pope Leo X, were effectively absolution for sins for a financial donation… Tetzel’s jingle was: “When a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs.”

In 1517, Luther knew more Bible than most of us in this room… and he knew that indulgences were entirely unbiblical… So, he wrote 95 statements of dispute against indulgences… the document we know today as “Luther’s 95 Theses.”[2]

Some of his students translated Luther’s document from Latin to German… and they also used the newly invented printing press to make lots of copies… Before Luther knew it, he was the target of Rome’s fury.

On April 17, 1521… not quite 4 years after he had nailed the 95 theses to the church door… and probably about 2 years after he had trusted in Christ alone as Savior[3]… Luther was standing in a room with the Roman Emperor – Charles V – and several high representatives of the Roman Catholic Church.

Copies of Luther’s books and tracts were piled on a desk in front of him… and the full authority of the church and of the state was bearing down on him… And the one question Rome asked was, “Will you recant (or retract and apologize)?”

Luther was forced to make a brief response… So, he said, “I am bound by the Scriptures… and my conscience is captive to the Word of God.

I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience.

I cannot do otherwise, here I stand, may God help me, Amen.”[4]

Everyone, including Luther, expected that he would be burned at the stake… but in God’s providence, Luther was spared a martyr’s death.

He lived another 3 decades… in which he translated the Bible from the original Greek and Hebrew to German… he wrote many more books and tracts… and he pastored and taught, both young and old, what it means to trust in Christ alone.

In one sense, Luther was a giant among the reformers… His voice echoed throughout the western world… and it continues to do so today… But, in another sense, Luther was just one reformer among many.

Zwingli and Bullinger were notable reformers in Switzerland… and, in England, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley both lived and died for their Protestantism.

These two were burned at the stake together in Oxford, England on October 15, 1555… As the wood was being stacked around their legs, Latimer (now famously) said, “Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man!

We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out.” …And so, they did… The flame consumed them, but the gospel-fire spread wildly.

John Calvin was a French reformer who spent most of his time writing and preaching in Geneva… Calvin was nearly the opposite of Luther… a studious introvert and not the bombastic life-of-the-party… He spent most of his life suffering from some chronic illness or another… But Calvin also had a precise mind and a profound ability to speak and write with clarity.

Every Christian is indebted to Calvin for his incredible work of systematic theology… a multi-volume set we know today as “Calvin’s Institutes.”

He first published the text in 1536 as a “Basic instruction in the Christian Religion” …It was 6 chapters and about 200 pages long by today’s formatting.

Calvin published the final version of that work in 1559… which has 80 chapters and about 1,600 pages… but Calvin still called it a “Basic instruction…”

Calvin’s preaching… which is available today in manuscript form… and his commentaries are both quality sources of deep intellectual study as well as practical/pastoral instruction… And the Christian who throws Calvin out because of some distorted view of some of his doctrine will inevitably suffer loss for it.

Each of these reformers, and many others like them, protested the common teaching and practice of the 16th century Roman Catholic Church… But what was it exactly that they were protesting?

…And should Protestants still protest today?

On the one hand, Protestants and Roman Catholics… both then and now… have a great deal in common… We believe the same things about God as trinity… about Jesus as both God and man… and about the value of human life, which is grounded in the fact that all humans were-and-are created in the image of God.

But, on the other hand, Evangelical Protestants (including Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Anglicans, and even non-denominationalists) have been and continue to be at odds with Rome on some very important issues.

During the time of the Protestant Reformation, we can see at least two major disagreements, which still remain today:

One, the doctrine of justification… “How are guilty sinners justified before God?”

And two, the place of ultimate authority… “Who has the authority to answer this question… or any other on faith and practice… definitively?”

Today (like a good Protestant), I believe that the Bible is our highest authority… But the authority of Scripture is not my main focus this morning, so I will just have to assume that point here… You can ask me about it anytime.[5]

Primarily, I’ll focus this morning… on the question of how sinners can be justified… And I’ll argue that justification is by faith alone in Jesus Christ.

I will make my case from the Bible… and then I’ll urge us to believe this gospel… as opposed to any other… by clarifying the biblical position in contrast to others… both old and new.

Let’s turn now to Romans 3… and let’s try to understand the biblical answer to our desperate question… “How are guilty sinners justified before a holy God?”

Scripture Reading

Romans 3:9–28 ESV

9 What then?

Are we Jews any better off?

No, not at all.

For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.

12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.”

“The venom of asps is under their lips.”

14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.”

18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 Then what becomes of our boasting?

It is excluded.

By what kind of law?

By a law of works?

No, but by the law of faith.

28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Main point

God justifies sinners through the work of Jesus Christ, and unjustified sinners should expect God’s justice; therefore, let us receive God’s righteousness by faith.

Message outline

1. God Justifies Sinners Through the Work of Jesus Christ

2. Unjustified Sinners Should Expect God’s Justice

3. God’s Righteousness is received by Faith Alone

Message

1. God Justifies Sinners Through the Work of Jesus Christ

We’ve just read a small portion of an entire letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome during the first century… Though the “Roman Catholic Church” would grow to mean something far different in time… the “church in Rome” then… was simply the united body of believers who lived in Rome.

Paul’s letter to these Christians was and is a masterful treatise on the gospel… We’re slowly studying our way through it on Wednesday nights at 6:15 in the fellowship hall… for those interested.

As a matter of fact, this letter was one of the books of the Bible which Martin Luther taught through at the seminary in Wittenberg… But he didn’t always enjoy the book of Romans as a marvelous display of God’s grace and love.

Luther initially had some trouble with chapter 1, verse 17, which says, “In it [that is, in the gospel] the righteousness [or justice] of God is revealed…”

Luther said of this verse, “I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle [or letter] to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, ‘the justice [or righteousness] of God,’ …because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing [sinners]… My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my [good work] would [satisfy] him.

Therefore I did not love a just and angry God, but rather hated and murmured against him…”[6]

Luther understood that sinners were guilty before God… and Luther knew that God’s righteousness demanded justice… And that’s where the gospel message begins for all of us… with bad news, and not good.

In Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians, he had begun his description of the gospel by talking about the unrighteous foolishness of all sinners… who naturally reject God’s truth… and choose lies and sin instead (Romans 1:18-32).

The Jews might have been tempted to think that they were better off than everyone else… since they had received God’s special revelation of His law… or, as Paul calls it in chapter 3, verse 2, “the oracles of God.”

Remember… God graciously revealed His law to only one people-group up until that point in human history… the descendants of Abraham.

But that revelation was not sufficient to solve the problem of sin for anyone – Jew or Gentile… And that’s where we pick it up in v9.

“What then?

Are we Jews any better off?

No, not at all.

For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin…”

Everyone is “under” sin… Both those who know God’s law and those who haven’t received any special revelation of it… But, what does it mean to be “under” sin?

Well, verses 10-18 describe it for us… Drawing from multiple OT passages, Paul lays out a diagnosis of natural, fallen, unregenerate, unbelieving humanity.

“10 as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’

13 ‘Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.’

‘The venom of asps is under their lips.’

14 ‘Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.’

15 ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.’

18 ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes’” (Romans 3:10–18).

This is terrible news… The Bible tells us clearly that no human being is naturally “righteous” (v10)… no one “seeks for God” (v11)… no one “does good” (v12)… and no one has any “fear of God” (v18).

Friends, this is a diagnosis of you and me… None of us naturally seeks for God… none of us naturally does what is right… and none of us naturally has any genuine fear or reverence for God.

Why in the world, then, should God be favorable toward us?! …He should not be!

But it gets worse… Even the benefit of God’s law is no help to sinners like us.

Look at v19… “19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:19–20).

What does the Bible say God’s law does to us when it shows up in our lives?

It “stops” our “mouths” …and it shows us our “accountability” or “liability” or “guilt” before God.

The law is no help to us… not because the law is bad… but because we are.

Do you feel the weight of what Luther was wrestling with… when he thought the gospel revealed only “the justice” or the “wrath” of God?

What does God’s “righteousness” or “justice” mean for sinners like us?