Gems of Martin Luther

It is the truth alone which can bring peace to the sinner by the knowledge of Jesus Christ and his redemption, and this truth is found in God’s Word. Martin Luther was one servant used by God to restore to the church the truth of the gospel which had become obscured by the doctrines of men.

His personal struggle as a sinner seeking peace with God, the righteous Judge, led him to comprehend, according to God’s Word, what sin is and what grace and salvation truly are. He found that, although God is indeed a righteous Judge, he is also a God of mercy and forgiveness. Luther, in seeking peace with God, minimized neither his own sin nor God’s judgment but was brought to know God as a merciful Father who desires the salvation of sinners and calls them unto himself by the gospel just as they are. Luther was led to cease from his own works righteousness and to trust in the righteousness of Christ which is credited to the accounts of sinners by faith. The righteousness of God spoken of in Scripture, which once stood against him as an opposing force, no longer caused him terror, for he now knew the grace of God by which God declares the sinner justified and righteous for the sake of Christ. The righteousness of God was now his as a free gift, and he could rejoice in liberty from sin, guilt, and fear of death.

The gems found herein are the product of outward strife and conflict, for Luther preached the truth of the gospel even though it put his life in peril; indeed, he could not remain silent. We are blessed to have preserved for us a record of the testimony of faith born through such trials, for it reveals Christ as a sure rock and foundation in whom we may believe fully and freely unto the salvation of our souls.