The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1908, Page 58

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68 The Lutheran Pioneer.

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the ‘Gospel nd trusts in Jesus for salvation, the
Dlessed-Savior throws around him the banner of
His spotless righteousness, and every claim is met,
every accuser is silenced. The Law asks nothing
more, sin is atoned for, Satan slinks away. “There
is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus,” Rom. 8, 1. God Himself pronounces him
who believes in His Son “justified from all things.”
“Tt is God that.justifieth; who is he that con-
demneth?” From the very instant we trust in
Christ, God is for us, “who can be against us?”
Wrapped in our Savior’s spotless righteousness we
are safe; for God Himself is pledged for our safety.
Well-may the happy believer sing:

“Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness

My beauty are, my glorious dress;

Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,

With joy shall I lift up my head.”

eo

Jesus Christ.

Christ died for our sins according to the Scrip-
tures, and was buried and rose again the third day
according to the Scriptures, 1 Cor. 15, 3. 4.

Whence comes the power which lies hidden in
the Scriptures, the power which moves nations and
turns the hearts of men? Does it not proceed from
Him who is the sum and substance of the Scrip-
tures, even Jesus Christ? The apostle urgently
admonishes to hold fast to the Gospel of Him, the
‘only Savior of poor human souls, who sacrificed
Himself for our sins and rose again on the. third
day, whose death and resurrection has been proved
beyond all doubt. This-Gospel is for us also the

“firm support on which the tooth of time gnaws in

yain, which does not become rotten in the midst of
all decay. Through all the changes of time Jesus
passes on as the only Unchangeable One. Nations
-come and go, men flourish and decay; but He is
always the same. ‘The lust of the world passes
away, and its joys melt like the snow before the
sun. ‘The lips which often comforted us become
silent, and human eyes slumber which carefully
guarded our path. The older we grow the lonelier

-we are. There is only one that does not forsake us.

The Lord stands above the dust of all earthly
things and says: Lean on me, and believe; hope,
love, and do not fear! He is the Way through the

darkness of this earth, the Truth in this world of

error, fel Life in these fields of death.
From the German.

Justification Before God.

(A paper read before Immanuel Lutheran Conference, and
published by its request.)

IV.
Forgiveness of sins is proclaimed and proffered
in the Bible, and whoever accepts it is by his faith
justified in the sight of God.

idk
At the death and resurrection of Christ God
forgave or—as we may also say — justified the

whole world. Does it follow from this that all men
will enter heaven and no one will be lost? By no
means. Men must here in this world accept the
redemption that is in Christ, or they will be cast
into outer darkness. For this reason we make this
fourth statement.

We have already heard a number of passages
wherein Scripture teaches that God has in Christ
forgiven the world. Christ taught His disciples
that “repentance and remission of sins should be
preached in His name among all nations,” Luke
24, 4%. Accordingly, the apostles proclaimed that
there is forgiveness in Christ. “We preach Christ
crucified,” says St. Paul. From the writings of the

. apostles we sce that they did not merely tell the

story of Christ’s suffering and death, but that they
were intent upon having men understand what the
sacrifice of the Lamb of God meant to sinners.
Why does the Bible declare Christ to be “the
Lord, our Righteousness”? Certainly, that men
might know it and accept the forgiveness which is
announced. We read in Acts 13, 38. 39: “Be it
known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that
through this Man is preached unto you the for-
giveness of sins. And by Him all that believe are
justified from all things, from which ye could not
be justified by the Law of Moses.” Does not this
passage plainly teach you that remission of sins is
proclaimed in Christ, that we are notified of the
forgiveness Christ has won for us? We are not
told how we should make satisfaction for our sins
and thus obtain God’s favor, but that Christ has
done so, and therefore forgiveness is announced.
Does not this passage also plainly teach you that
forgiveness is proclaimed for the purpose of having
men believe it? Jor this reason the apostle, in the
verses that follow this passage, warns his hearers
against unbelief; for by refusing to believe this
message of forgiveness they would -perish, while
“all that believe” it “are justified.” By proclaim-