Sustained by Trust
You may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
EPHESIANS 5:5
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Sustained by Trust
It is a great error to attribute justification to a love that does not exist or, if it does, is not great enough to placate God; for, as I have said, even the saints love in an imperfect and impure way in this present life, and nothing impure will enter the kingdom of God (Ephesians 5:5). But meanwhile we are sustained by the trust that Christ, "who committed no sin and on whose lips no guile was found" (1 Peter 2:22), covers us with His righteousness. Shaded and protected by this covering, this heaven of the forgiveness of sins and this mercy seat, we begin to love and to keep the Law. As long as we live, we are not justified or accepted by God on account of this keeping of the Law. But "when Christ delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every authority" (1 Corinthians 15:24), and when "God is everything to everyone" (1 Corinthians 15:28), then faith and hope will pass away, and love will be perfect and eternal (1 Corinthians 13:8).
From Lectures on Galatians (1535) (Luther's Works 27:64)
EPHESIANS 5:5
+
Sustained by Trust
It is a great error to attribute justification to a love that does not exist or, if it does, is not great enough to placate God; for, as I have said, even the saints love in an imperfect and impure way in this present life, and nothing impure will enter the kingdom of God (Ephesians 5:5). But meanwhile we are sustained by the trust that Christ, "who committed no sin and on whose lips no guile was found" (1 Peter 2:22), covers us with His righteousness. Shaded and protected by this covering, this heaven of the forgiveness of sins and this mercy seat, we begin to love and to keep the Law. As long as we live, we are not justified or accepted by God on account of this keeping of the Law. But "when Christ delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every authority" (1 Corinthians 15:24), and when "God is everything to everyone" (1 Corinthians 15:28), then faith and hope will pass away, and love will be perfect and eternal (1 Corinthians 13:8).
From Lectures on Galatians (1535) (Luther's Works 27:64)
Posted in Daily Devotions
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