Reformation Day: Whose Faith are the Righteous Living By?

1 November 2017

All Saints Day

Most people connected with the Christian Church, either Protestant or Roman Catholic, will be mindful that something significant happened 500 years ago yesterday: Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg. Personally, I think ‘All Saints Day’ is more reflective of the life of the Church. However, we should not forget the appropriate movement that occurred 500 years ago. Martin Luther helped the whole of the Christian movement, both Protestant and Roman Catholic.

Many also know that Martin Luther’s theology was profoundly shaped by Paul’s phrase, borrowed from Habakkuk, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’.

For Luther, this idea helped him articulate the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. This stood in stark contrast to the system of ‘merits’ employed by the Medieval Roman Catholic Church. Of course much has happened since then in both Protestant and Roman Catholic circles.

But a better reflection is to seek what the phrase meant to the apostle Paul.

What did it mean to Habakkuk?

Whose ‘faithfulness’ are we even talking about?

Whose 'faithfulness' is Paul talking about? #Reformation500 Click To Tweet

We invite you into an opportunity to dig into the Epistle to the Romans from which Luther began to build his ideas about salvation by grace.

Enroll in the course Romans: Part One this week and you will receive 55% off the normal price of the course.

Click here to enroll.

May God richly bless you.

David P. Seemuth, PhD
N.T. Wright Online