The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1917, Sheet 59

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Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A. MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PUBLISHED BY THE EVANGELICAL LuTHEerAN SyNnopicAL ConrERENcE or NortH AMERICA.
a 5

REv. F. J. LANKENAU, EDITOR.

Entered at the Post Ofiice at St. Louis, Mo., as second-class matter.

Vol. XXXIX.

ST. LOUIS, MO., AUGUST, 1917.

No. 8.

The Just Shall Live by Faith.

The pious father Abraham

To Canaan out of Haran came.

A man of faith was he indeed,

And proved it by a marv’lous deed:
He’d sacrifice his only son,

That thus Jehovah’s will be done.
His sins God freely did forgive,

For “by his faith the just shall live.”

St. Paul dwells very frequently

And likewise very earnestly

On this great theme, and makes it plain
That human works are quite in vain,

If they are done God’s wrath t’ appease,
And so man’s guilty heart to ease,

And that this truth alone can give
True peace: By faith the just shall live.

Under the bushel lay this truth,
When Luther, Christian hearts to soothe,
Again this sweet old Word Erowniniee
Oh, let us never be ashamed
Of it, but openly confess:
Christ Jesus is our Righteousness;
By grace He doth our sins forgive.
O joy! by faith the just shall live!
H. OsTerHvs.

" Justification.

The daily bread of our earthly lives should
be received by us with thanksgiving, and greatly
valued as a precious gift of God. This is true even
-in a higher sense with regard to the doctrine, which
is the daily bread of our spiritual lives, justifica-
tion by faith without the deeds of the Law, the
foremost of the teachings which Luther by God’s
prace restored. to the Church. Let us duly prize
this central doctrine of the Scriptures, although
we have it in rich abundance.

We stand in most urgent need of justification.

Romans 3, St. Paul proves from statements of the
Old Testament that all, Jews and Gentiles, are
“under sin.” “All the world is guilty before God.”
Therefore no member of the human ‘race is able
to justify himself before Jehovah (verse 20). All
must say with David, “Enter not, O Lord, into
judgment with Thy servant; for in Thy sight shall
no man living be justified.” (Ps. 143, 2.) While
natural man cannot perform any good at all, even
the regenerate cannot reach the perfection which
God demands (Lev. 19, 2; Matt. 5, 48). All are
guilty, hence under God’s curse and subject to dam-
nation. In this respect there is “no difference”
between men, not even between Christians and
heathen. “All have sinned and come short of the

glory of God” (Rom. 3, 23), “as the archer comes . ~

gaort of the mark, and the runner of the prize,” in
the words of an old commentator. Sinful man
cannot establish a glorious, faultless name for him-
self before God. Hence there is a crying, aye, an
absolute need among men for justification.

But is there balm in Gilead? Is justification
to be obtained? Blessed be the Lord, our God, who
Hinself justifies us. “We are justified by His
grace” (Rom. 3, 24); “He justifieth the ungodly”
(4, 5; see also 8, 35). Justification is nothing —
that occurs in us (although faith is necessary as
the means of receiving this gift), but God justified
us on Haster, even before we were born. This means,
He counts us righteous (Rom. 4, 5), He forgives
our sins, not imputing them unto us, but imputes
righteousness to us (4, 6. 7. 8). O gladsome mes-
sage, which sounds like the sweetest music in the
ear of those who fear God’s wrath and hunger for
salvation! © blessed truth, which lay buried dur-
ing the dark ages of popery, but has again been
brought to light by the Reformation |

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