Sermon Central
-
Luther On Salvation By Good ...
Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009 (message contributor)
LUTHER ON SALVATION BY GOOD WORKS
If anyone could ever have achieved salvation by his own effort, it was Martin Luther. In 1505, when he was twenty-one years old, Luther abandoned a promising career in law and entered the monastery of the Augustinian hermits at Erfurt. As he later said, this was not to study academic theology but to save his soul.
In those days the monastic orders prescribed ways by which the seeking soul could find God, and Luther, with the determination and strength that characterized his entire life, gave himself rigorously to these tasks. He fasted and prayed. He devoted himself to menial work. Above all, he practiced penance, confessing his sins, even the most trivial, for hours on end until his superiors wearied of his exercise and ordered him to stop until he had committed some sin worth confessing. Luther’s piety gained him a reputation for being the most exemplary of monks.
Later he wrote to the Duke of Saxony, "I was indeed a pious monk and followed the rules of my order more strictly than I can express. If ever a monk could obtain heaven by his monkery, I should certainly have been entitled to it. Of this all the friars who have known me can testify. If I had continued much longer, I should have killed myself because of my watchings, prayers, reading and other labors."
Yet Luther found no peace through these exercises.
The religious wisdom of the day instructed him to satisfy God’s demand for righteousness by doing good works. "But what works?" thought Luther. "What works can come from a heart like mine? How can I stand before the holiness of my Judge with works polluted in their very source?"
It was not until Johann Staupitz, the Vicar-General of the Congregation and Luther’s wise spiritual father, set him to studying the Bible that Luther realized what the difficulty was. He was trying to earn salvation by works of human righteousness, when the righteousness he needed was not human righteousness at all. It was divine righteousness, and this could become his only if God gave it to him, which he did in the gospel.
Luther had been seeking righteousness by means of human works, when what he needed was to accept God’s righteousness by simple faith and therefore stop trying to work for it.
From a sermon by Freddy Fritz, "Why Would Anyone Reject Salvation?" 2/15/2009)
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
Moses Spend His First Forty Years Thinking He ... PRO
Contributed by Sheldon Boyd on Nov 30, 2004
“Moses spend his first forty years thinking he was somebody. He spend his second forty years learning he was a nobody. He spent his third forty years ...read more
-
Max Lucado, In His Book, "Six Hours One Friday," ... PRO
Contributed by Brad Bailey on Aug 3, 2004
Max Lucado, in his book, “Six Hours One Friday,” tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying ...read more
-
I Mentioned Brian Mclaren's Book "A Generous ... PRO
Contributed by Mike Wilkins on Feb 21, 2005
I mentioned Brian McLaren’s book “A Generous Orthodoxy” last week. The chapter after “Would Jesus Be a Christian” is titled, “Jesus, Savior of What?” In this chapter he argues that while Jesus did come to save us as individuals, we in the west have placed such a strong emphasis on personal ...read more
-
Author And Lecturer Leo Buscaglia Once Told About ... PRO
Contributed by Mitchell Skelton on Jan 1, 2005
Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once told about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child; the winner was a four-year-old boy. His next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little ...read more
-
30% Of An Average Person's Anxiety Is Focused On ... PRO
Contributed by Robbie Shivar on Jun 4, 2004
30% of an average person’s anxiety is focused on things about the past that can’t be changed. If we were honest with ourselves, we all would say that there is something in our past that we regret doing and ...read more
Related Sermons
-
Hope In A Covenant Of Faith Series
Contributed by Dean Courtier on Feb 18, 2018
A Covenant of Faith and a man named Abraham. Romans 4:3, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
-
The Grace Of God
Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Aug 14, 2017
God's grace as the avenue of salvation is sometimes seen as being in conflict with obedience of the believer as a requirement, without which salvation cannot be obtained. Which is it, or is it a combination? Can this dichotomy be satisfactorily resolved?
-
Three Characteristics Of Jonah Series
Contributed by Tom Shepard on Jan 22, 2015
This sermon looks a three characteristics of Jonah: 1. Jonah is STUBBORN 2. Jonah is REBELLIOUS 3. Jonah is a BELIEVER
-
The Power Of Grace Series
Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 18, 2017
Sermon explores saving grace and the influence grace has on the life of a true believer.
-
Of All The Options For A Sign, Why Did God Choose Circumcision?
Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 23, 2013
God could have had Abraham put a tattoo on his arm or any one of a thousand other signs, but instead He chose the sign of circumcision? Why in the world? And, beyond that, what relevance does that have for Christians today?
