Redermint

Five Comforting Truths from Martin Luther: We Are Saints and Sinners at the Same Time Martin Luther taught that Christians are "simul justus et peccator" - Latin for “at the same time righteous and a sinner.” This is one of the most comforting teachings of our Lutheran faith because it explains how we can struggle with sin every day and yet stand before God as His forgiven, beloved, and righteous children. Here are five of the most important truths from Luther’s teaching here. (1.) You are a sinner, but God declares you righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. The first comforting truth is that your standing before God does not depend on how good you have been, but on what Jesus Christ has done for you. We remain sinners in this earthly life. We fail to love God and our neighbors as we should. We have sinful thoughts, speak sinful words, and do sinful things. Yet, through faith in Jesus, God forgives our sins and counts Christ’s perfect righteousness as our own. Luther emphasized that we are justified by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. Paul says, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:28) So, this means when God looks at you in Christ, He does not condemn you for your sins. For Jesus’ sake, He forgives you and regards you as righteous. Your salvation rests on Christ’s perfect obedience and His sacrifice on the cross, not on your imperfect record. (2.) Your sins are real, but Christ’s forgiveness is greater than your sins. Martin Luther did not teach that Christians should pretend they are no longer sinful. Instead, he encouraged Christians to confess their sins honestly while trusting completely in God’s mercy. We may become discouraged when the same sins keep troubling us. We may wonder why we still struggle with anger, pride, jealousy, selfishness, or doubt. But the presence of sin in our lives does not mean Jesus has abandoned us. John writes, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) This means you do not need to hide your sins from God or earn your way back into His favor. God already knows all about your sins. That is why Jesus went to the cross to redeem you from them. When your conscience accuses you, look away from your own goodness and look to your Savior. (3.) You are a saint because of Christ, not because you are sinless. When we speak of the saints, we are not referring only to exceptionally holy people who lived long ago. In the New Testament, all Christians are called saints because they have been set apart for God through Jesus Christ. You were washed by the blood of the Lamb and are covered with the robe of Christ’s perfect righteousness. You did not become a saint by achieving spiritual perfection. You are a saint because God has made you His very own through Christ. Paul addresses the Christians in Corinth as those who are “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.” (1 Corinthians 1:2) Yet that same congregation had some serious sins and deep problems that Paul needed to correct. Here is a good illustration of our Christian life. A believer can be a saint in God’s sight, while still struggling with sin in their daily life. This means you do not have to wait until you become a better Christian to belong to Jesus. You belong to Him now. Your identity rests in His grace, His promises, and His saving work. You are simultaneously a sinner who needs God’s mercy and a saint whom God has forgiven and claimed as His own. (4.) Your struggle against sin does not mean you have lost your faith. Luther recognized the painful reality that Christians experience an ongoing struggle between their sinful nature and the new life created by the Holy Spirit. We may sincerely want to do what pleases God and yet find ourselves doing what we know is wrong. We may love God’s Word while struggling with doubts. We may trust Christ and still experience fear and weakness. Paul freely describes this struggle in Romans 7. He acknowledges the conflict between his desire to do good and the sin that remains in him. Yet Paul concludes by thanking God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Listen: Our Christian life is not a life in which sin has already disappeared. It is a life in which sin is forgiven, resisted, and ultimately destined to be removed on the last day. Your struggle against sin is not proof that Christ has failed you. Rather than measuring God’s love by your daily performance, just return to His Word and promises. The Holy Spirit continues to work in you, strengthening your faith and helping you grow in holiness. (5.) One day, God will completely deliver you from sin, death, and suffering. This teaching that we are saints and sinners at the same time is not the end of the story. Right now, we live in the tension between the righteousness Christ has given us and the sin that remains in our earthly lives. But when Christ returns, He will raise the dead, make all things new, and deliver His people completely from sin. This truth directs our hope away from the illusion that we can achieve perfection through our own efforts. It points us toward God’s promise to finish the work He has begun in us. Paul writes, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day when Christ returns.” (Philippians 1:6) This means you will not struggle with sin forever. You will not carry guilt, sorrow, and sickness into God’s eternal kingdom. The Jesus who forgives you today is the same Jesus who will raise you from the dead. He will totally heal you and make you completely new in body and soul. These five truths can be summarized in one simple message: + As a sinner, I honestly confess that I need God’s mercy every day. + As a saint, I rejoice that God has forgiven me and declared me righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. + In my daily struggle, I rely on God’s Word and the Holy Spirit rather than my own strength. + When my conscience accuses me, I take comfort in Christ’s cross, His forgiveness, and His promises. + For my future, I trust that Jesus will finally deliver me from every trace of sin and bring me into His everlasting kingdom. Martin Luther’s teaching does not minimize sin. It magnifies the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Our confidence is not, “I am a good person who rarely sins.” Our confidence is, “I am a sinner whom Jesus has redeemed, a saint whom God has forgiven, and a child of God who has eternal life through faith in Christ.” That is the comfort of being a saint and a sinner at the same time. Amen!