The Insanity of Luther

f God is holy and man is sinful, what is there for man? This is the problem Martin Luther wrestled with for years and which drove him to despair. It caused him to cry out at one time, “Love God? Sometimes I hate Him.” Then one day as Luther was preparing to teach Romans 1 to his theological students, he came to verse 17 and read, “For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith....” Luther said later, “I realized for the first time that my own justification depends, not on my own righteousness which will always fall short, but it rests solely and completely on the righteousness of Jesus Christ which I must hold on to by trusting faith.” This lesson is designed to help us understand how sinful people can stand in the presence of a holy God through the righteousness which God provides through Jesus Christ.