When Martin Luther initially read these words from Romans 1:16-17, he was grieved. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." (NASB) Luther didn't have some of the modern translations/paraphrase available to him to clarify Paul's meaning. He saw the words "for in it the righteousness of God is revealed" and thought, "the Gospel isn't good news, it's bad news."
Many Christians and yet-to-be-Christians struggle with some of the same thoughts Luther had about righteousness and salvation. Somehow or another we have fallen into a works mentality about salvation. Many think that God will save them or reward them heaven based upon their good works or personal righteousness. Luther was doing everything in his power to rid himself of sinful thoughts and practices. He thought Paul was saying that the Gospel was revealing an even more perfect way to live in order to gain God's approval and achieve spiritual justification and sanctification. Luther was looking for spiritual perfection, but was unable to attain it.
The problem is that nobody is perfect or can make themselves perfect. In fact, I've never met anyone who thought they were perfect. We know that we can't achieve perfection because we've already blown it. But if you read carefully the theme of the book of Romans (vs. 16-17) you will come to the same understanding that Luther discovered. We don't achieve righteousness on our own. The power God to salvation is about faith in Jesus Christ. We attain righteousness not on our own, but through our faith in what God is able to do for us, to us, in us through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and the gift of God's Holy Spirit.
It is said that when Luther discovered this truth, that he wrote on his wall in the monastery, "solo gratia," which means, "faith alone." Faith is the heart of our relationship with God. From the very beginning all God asked us to do was to trust Him. Most of us would rather trust ourselves, as did Adam and Eve, to be our own gods. "Here, take the fruit. You won't die. When your eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God." That's the sentiment all of us come to in our life.
That's why the Gospel is Good News. It reveals that I'm a mess, imperfect. It shows me how unrighteous I really am compared to the righteousness of God. It shows me the love, mercy, grace and forgiveness of God through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus, God's Son. It shows me that when I accept Christ as my Lord and Savior, placing my trust/faith in God, that God drapes the righteousness of Christ upon me, clothing me with Christ's righteousness.
Okay God, I admit it, I'm a moron some times. I don't know what causes me to think that I could ever be righteous enough by my own effort to stand in your presence. I know that I've already blown it and that I need you. Thanks for your grace. Thanks for clothing me with Christ's righteousness. The Gospel really is Good News. I'm tired of trying to please you and others and even myself. I want to live my life by faith, allowing your righteousness to grow in me and flow from me.
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