Sola Fide - Romans 3:20-28
Does anyone here write in their bibles? I suspect a good number of you write in your bibles. I never used to. For years it felt wrong to write in my bible, it felt like I was desecrating a sacred book. Maybe that is a leftover from my days as a young Catholic (though to be honest I don’t even remember owning a bible when I was Catholic), but even as a Lutheran it took me a long time to start writing in my Bible. When I graduated from High School my mom bought me the black leather Bible that I still use today. It was the first real big boy Bible I owned. All through college I used it but did not write in it. Even at the Seminary I might have dared to make the tiniest annotation in the margins but otherwise the book remained in pristine condition. But then God sent me to Baptist territory, and I discovered unlike a Catholic who tends to treat the bible like a precious piece of art protected behind a thick layer of glass, a Baptist tends to come at the Bible like it’s an arts and craft project. It is not uncommon for a Baptist’s Bible to be saturated with at least three different colors of highlighter, the margins often have arrows and images draw in them, and typically every third word of the text is either underlined or circled in a variety of colors. I still can’t bring myself to do all that, but I will admit my Bible is becoming increasingly less pristine. These days it is not at all uncommon for me to highlight, underline, circle, or even draw an arrow in my bible. There are just some truths and insights of scripture that I want to highlight, either because they are particularly impactful for me in that moment or because I want to remember something to share them with you. Those of you who write in your bibles understand what I’m talking about.
Martin Luther understood what I am talking about. Luther took writing in your bible to an entirely new level. Luther didn’t just bust out a highlighter or underline and circle a few interesting words here and there. Luther translated the entire bible from the Hebrew and Greek into German so that his people could enjoy the truths and insights for themselves. Which is why, when it came time for Luther to translate Romans 3:28, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” Luther added the word “alone”. Luther translated “that a man is justified by faith ALONE”. Luther added the word “alone” not to change the meaning of the verse but to emphasize the meaning of the verse in much the same way you might emphasize a truth or insight in your bible by highlighting circling or underlining it.
There were some who didn’t approve of Luther touching the text at all. As far as they were concerned, the Bible belonged in Latin, in the hands of the church, and the common people were better off leaving the Bible alone. But when Luther translated the bible into the language of the people, he translated the bible the way people talked. And Luther’s opponents didn’t like that. They even went so far as to accuse Luther of falsifying the Word of God, of adding to Scripture something Paul never wrote. Luther didn't back down. He wrote, “I know very well that in Romans 3 the word solum (alone) is not in the Greek or Latin text — the papists did not have to teach me that. It is fact that the letters s-o-l-a (Latin for alone) are not there. And these blockheads stare at them like cows at a new gate, while at the same time they do not recognize that it conveys the sense of the text.” And though Luther’s opponents continued to berate him, Luther refused to give in … "It (alone) will remain in the New Testament,” Luther wrote, “and though all the papal asses (donkeys) rant and rave at me, they shall not take it away from me."[1] Luther knew the word “alone” belonged there. He fought for that little word because he knew what it was like to live without it.
During his time as a monk Luther learned about God’s grace. In his bible Luther read, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him”[2]. He read, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”[3] He read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"[4]. He read, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.”[5] He read, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”[6] He read, “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”[7]
In his bible Luther read about forgiveness and salvation; he read about God’s grace. But try as he might Luther could not grab hold of this grace. And Luther tried harder than most. Luther described his efforts to grab at God’s grace in his exposition on John’s gospel. There Luther wrote, “Like those who occupy themselves with great and arduous tasks in an effort to attain God’s grace, the only thing he accomplishes is miserable self-deception. I myself was a monk for twenty years. I tortured myself with prayers, fasting, vigils, and freezing; the frost alone might have killed me. It caused me pain such as I will never inflict on myself again, even if I could.”[8]
Every time Luther tried to grab God’s grace it slipped through his fingers as fast as it slips through yours when you attempt to grab at God’s grace. When you grab at God’s grace thinking your status as a card-carrying Lutheran gives you an advantage, God’s grace slips through your fingers. When you grab at God’s grace thinking your hours of service as a volunteer or worshiper make you worthy, God’s grace slips through your fingers. When you grab at God’s grace thinking your sacrifices of time, and treasure should count for something, God’s grace slips through your fingers. There is no status we can obtain, no service we can perform, no sacrifice we can make that will allow us to grab hold of God’s grace.
It is frustrating to watch forgiveness and salvation, the gifts of God's grace, slip through your grasping fingers, but it is not surprising. At least it was not surprising for Luther, and it is not surprising for anyone who has read their bible. In our bibles we read, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.”[9] We read, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”[10] We read, “your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”[11] We read, “the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”[12] We read, “The soul who sins is the one who will die.”[13] By nature we are lost and condemned creatures; by nature, the only things within our grasp are death and damnation.
You know this to be true. In your heart of hearts, you know that try as you might, lost and condemned creatures such as yourselves cannot grab hold of God’s grace. Luther also knew this to be true. That is why he so vehemently defended the little word “alone”. Luther recognized that it was only by faith that we receive God’s grace. Throughout Scripture The Holy Spirit makes this clear and Luther recognized that Paul chose his words very carefully in his letter to the Romans. Take another look at verse 22. There Paul writes, “22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
First “righteousness”, that is the result of God’s grace is, “from God”. It is NOT “from us”. God is the source of God’s Grace. In Ephesians 2 Paul reinforces this truth by reminding us that it is because of God’s great love and it is because of God’s rich mercy that we have grace. Grace is not because of a status we have obtained, a service we have provided, or a sacrifice we have made. Grace is “from God”.
Look again at verse 22. Paul also tells us “righteousness”, the result of God’s grace, comes “through faith”. The result of God’s grace does NOT come “because” of faith. Paul does not present faith as a reason or a cause. Rather Paul presents faith is a means or a tool. Faith is not described as a hand that reaches out and grabs hold of something, like a thief might reach out and grab a trinket from a vault. No! Instead, faith is described as an open hand that receives a gift that is given. Again, in Ephesians 2 Paul reinforces this truth by telling us that God’s grace is a gift that is given, not a reward that is earned by work. Which is also why Paul writes in verse 27, “27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.” People boast about accomplishments; things they have done. They don’t boast about things that have been done for them. We don’t boast about our faith because our faith didn’t go out and grab God’s grace. Our faith has been given God’s grace as a gift.
Now look again at verse 28, the verse in which Luther included the word “alone” in his German translation. With the words, “apart from observing the law” the verse itself screams for the word alone. Especially in German. In German if something is “apart from” it is also “alone”. Then there is the context of the first three chapters of Romans that repeatedly make it clear that there is absolutely nothing that we can do to justify ourselves. There is no status we can obtain, no service we can perform, no sacrifice we can make that will cause us to be justified. For, as Paul writes in Verse 23, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. As someone who has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, I am exceedingly grateful that faith is not dependent on my observing the law.
Faith does not do. Fatih receives. If you want to see who the doer is, look at verse 24. There Paul tells us who the doer is. Paul writes that we are, “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Christ Jesus is the doer. As true God and true man Christ Jesus has the status that the holy law required. Even though He was tempted in every way just as we are, the prophets and apostles agree “he committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”[14] In other words Christ Jesus performed the perfect service that was needed. When you look at Him wearing a crown of thorns and nailed to a cross you cannot help but hear the prophet Isaiah scream “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”[15] And you are convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ Jesus offered the only sacrifice that could possible save a lost and condemned creature like you. Faith is not something you do. Faith is something that receives what Christ Jesus has done for you. Faith is not the reason. Jesus is the reason. Faith is simply the means by which you receive God’s grace. That is why faith is and always must be alone.
Luther faced a great deal of criticism for his German translation of Romans 3:28. But Luther refused to be bullied. He knew “faith alone” was the message not only of Romans 3:28 but of all of scripture. Salvation by faith alone was particularly impactful for Luther. When Luther understood faith not as something that grabs at God’s grace but as something that receives the gift of God’s grace he wrote, “All at once I felt that I had been born again and entered into paradise itself through open gates.”[16]
By the work of the Holy Spirit in the proclamation of the Word and the administration of the sacraments, you have faith and faith alone is all you need to receive the gifts of forgiveness and salvation; faith alone is all you need to receive God’s grace. Luther wanted this truth to be emphasized for his fellow Germans, so he included the word alone in his German translation. In my old leather bible, I have Romans 3:28 highlighted in yellow and the words “by faith” underlined in blue and in the margin on the left I have even written in the word “sola”. Salvation by faith alone is a truth of Scripture that is particularly impactful for me, and it is something I am eager to share with you. Whether or not you choose to highlight, underline, circle, or even draw an arrow in your bible is up to you. But I pray the words “Faith alone” are engraved on your hearts. Amen.
[1] https://www.bible-researcher.com/luther01.html
[2] Psalm 32:1-2
[3] Jeremiah 31:34
[4] John 3:16
[5] Mark 16:16
[6] John 10:28
[7] Psalm 23:6
[8] Luther, M. (1961) Luther’s works, vol. 24: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 14-16. Edited by J.J. Pelikan, H.C. Oswald, and H.T. Lehmann. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, pp. 23–24.
[9] Jeremiah 17:9
[10] Isaiah 64:6
[11] Isiah 59:2
[12] Romans 8:7-8
[13] Ezekiel 18:4
[14] 1 Peter 2:22
[15] Isaiah 53:5
[16]Martin Luther (1483-1546) Preface to the Latin Works (1545)