Is This Christ Good Enough For You? – By Martin Luther

Is This Christ Good Enough for You? – by Martin Luther

Jan 14, 2015 2158

who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father – Galatians 1:4, NIV.

If you are a sinner (as we certainly all are), don’t picture Christ as a judge on his bench over a rainbow. Otherwise you will be terribly distraught and lose all hope in His mercy. Rather, hang on to His true definition, that Christ the Son of God and of the virgin is not someone that threatens, oppresses, and condemns us over our sin. Neither does He require for us to render an account over our past life. Rather He gave Himself for our sins, and with only one sacrifice has taken away the “sins of the whole world” (Colossians 2:14). He has hung them on the cross, and all by Himself has made them extinct.

Learn this definition diligently. In particular, make use of this pronoun “ours”. Have full confidence that these syllables devour all your sins. You may know with all confidence that Christ has taken away the sins, not just of certain people, but also yours, and those of the whole world. Then let those sins be not just sins, but also your sins. You can believe that Christ was given not just for the sins of others, but also for yours. Take hold of this and don’t let it go. Don’t let yourself wander away from this sweetest definition of Christ, in which the very angels in heaven rejoice. According to the proper and true definition of Christ, He is no Moses, no oppressor, no butcher. Rather he is merciful toward you, He is the giver of grace, righteousness, and life. He gave Himself, not for our merits, holiness, right doing, and Spirit led life. He gave Himself for our sins.

– From comments on Galatians 1:4, Martin Luther’s Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (1535). Translation from the Latin by Haroldo S. Camacho. With thanks to Dr Camacho for his translation.

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