Feb. 18 The Just Shall Live by Faith – And if Not… the Devil Is Quiet
(Habakkuk 2:4 & Romans 1:17)
Ash Wednesday
Martin Luther, in his first year as an Augustinian monk, said that the devil was quiet.
When Luther entered law school, he was honoring his father’s wishes, but Martin’s heart was not in it. In three months, after surviving a violent thunderstorm, Luther created another storm with his father by quitting law school to become a novice monk at an austere Augustinian order in the same city of Erfurt, Germany.
Luther’s practice as a monk had been to get up in the middle of the night, around 2 a.m., to attend matins service. Then, he would spend the rest of the day vacillating between worship services, scrubbing floors, and doing other manual labor. Indeed, he felt, at the time, that this was righteous, good work! Even “saving work!” In hindsight, Luther eventually believed that his old SELF-righteous understanding of being righteous had been wrong. He realized he had been duped by Satan who was likely happy about it.
If Luther’s theory about a quiet adversary is correct, we must concur that Satan is often content when we are content… in our own righteousness. Why harass someone who does not really and absolutely need God’s whole help? Let him “whistle while he works.…” But people can also be content with apathy, laziness, selfishness….
Ignorance often leads to contentment, as well. After a campus event last fall, I was stopped by a campus police officer while I was intently and contentedly chatting with one of our members in the passenger seat. I hadn’t seen – or obeyed — a stop sign at a rather quiet and obscure entry road (the pastor said self-righteously).
Luther was ignorant, too. He was ignorant about how righteous God is, and how unrighteous a life without trusting Christ is. Eventually, it seemed to Luther, that, like my campus officer, God was no longer being quiet but was speaking up! Through Scripture….
Several words from the Lord began to shed light for Luther on a different aspect of God’s righteousness. One of the early texts were these words of Jesus from the cross, “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?” (Ps. 22:1; Mk. 15:34). Luther wondered, “Why would God forsake Jesus?!”
A bit later, Luther re-read Habakkuk 2:4 and Romans 1:17, “The righteous shall live by faith.” From this passage he concluded, “Life must be derived from faith.” Life – especially life everlasting – comes from faith in Christ, Who was forsaken instead of me. And, by the gift of faith, God gives me His righteousness.
What could the devil say to Luther, after Jesus’ gift of both faith and His Own righteousness!? Satan is silenced!
The officer let me go, even though I was guilty. My conscience did trouble me — a little – but the grace – spoke louder than the guilt!
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for Your righteousness given to me by faith! Satan is silenced! Amen!
