"But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? God forbid!" Gal. 2:17

Here are some deep thoughts, and a hard teaching from Martin Luther, on justification of a sinner, or of any human for that matter. Take your time and read his words, and see if the Holy Spirit doesn't open your spirit, and mind, so that this most awesome of all truths in the universe will find a deeper and more joyous place in your heart:

"One of these two must be false. Either we are not justified by Christ, or we are not justified by the law.
But the truth is that we are justified by Christ; therefore, we are not justified by the law. ....

The false apostles teach that besides Christ and all the righteousness of Christ, the observation of the law is necessary to justification. Thus by their intolerable perverseness, they make the law Christ, for they attribute to the law that which properly belongs to Christ. If you do the works of the law, say they, you shall be justified; but if you do them not, you shall not be justified, although you believe in Christ ever so much.

Christ, according to His true definition, is the justifier and a Redeemer from sins. If I attribute this to the law, then is the law my justifier, delivering me from my sins, and so now the law is Christ, and Christ utterly loses His name, His office and glory, and is nothing else but a minister of the law, reproving, terrifying, presenting and sending the sinner to another that may justify him, which is the proper office of the law. .....

Paul therefore grounds his argument upon an impossibility and a sufficient division. If we being justified in Christ are yet found to be sinners, and cannot be justified but by another means than Christ, that is, by the law, then Christ cannot justify us, but He only accuses and condemns us; and so consequently it follows that Christ died in vain, and these with other like phrases are false: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29); also: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). Yea, the whole Scripture is false, which bears witness that Christ is the justifier and Savior of the world. For if we are found sinners after we are justified by Christ, it follows that they who fulfill the law without Christ are justfied. But if the adversaries must defend this doctrine, why do they not reject faith in Christ altogether; why do they not say in plain words, that works justify and not faith? Yea, why do they generally deny, not only Paul, but also the whole Gospel, which attributes righteousness to faith alone and not to works? For if faith and works together justify, then is the disputation of Paul altogether false, which plainly pronounces that a man is not justified by the deeds of the law, but by faith alone in Jesus Christ?"


The Church, -that is the true Church of Christ Jesus-, stands fast and strong on the truth of Christ crucified as the only salvation for sinners. There is no other means of forgiveness other than Christ, Himself; His life, death and resurrection.

There are many in the Church today, who think God simply loves people, and if they are basically good, then they will have a place in heaven, even if they deny Christ. Someone like Gandhi is considered by some Christians, such as Brian McLaren, as a Christian, or a follower of Christ; I think is how he puts it. Gandhi was living a life of good works, peace and so forth, and so this testifies that he followed Christ, even though he rejected Jesus Christ's death as the only forgiveness for sin.

It seems to me we live in an age of everybody basically goes to heaven, not by Christ's life and death, but simply by their own death. When someone dies, that's their justification, dying.

Very sad indeed. People need to have their sins forgiven, and so they need to turn to Jesus, and go to the Cross, so to speak, and ask God to accept them, and forgive them their sin.
But many in the Church are saying, "No, you needn't worry, God loves you. And if you live your best life here, a life of good deeds, you will be justified." And if this is true, then Jesus' death was worthless, or in vain is how Paul puts it (Galatians 2:21).

I pray that the Gospel of Christ would become an altar of burning coals in the heart of the Church once again. For this would please our Lord and Father. And with the Gospel burning in our bellies, we would be on fire to take this awesome news to a world dying in their sins, who need Christ's forgiveness desperately, for the glory of our Lord and Savior. Amen.