By Faith Alone
Today’s Verse:
Romans 3:28 ESV
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Justification—how we are made right with God—is the heart of the Gospel. For Martin Luther, this truth lit the fire of the Reformation. He called it the article by which the Church stands or falls. Why? Because it answers the deepest question any sinner can ask: How can I be sure God accepts me?
Lutherans and Roman Catholics both believe in the grace of God and the importance of Jesus’ death and resurrection. But when it comes to justification, there’s a dividing line.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that justification is a process. It begins with God’s grace, but it also involves human cooperation. In Catholic theology, baptism starts the process, but staying justified depends on good works and participation in the sacraments. Grace helps you do your part, but you must do it.
Lutherans believe something radically simpler—and far more freeing.
We believe justification is God’s declaration that the sinner is righteous, based on Christ’s righteousness alone, received through faith alone. It’s not a process. It’s a verdict. It’s not based on what we do. It’s grounded entirely in what Christ has done. Our good works are the fruit of salvation, never the root of it.
This doesn’t make us careless. It makes us confident. We love and serve not to earn God’s love but because we already have it, fully and freely in Christ.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Gracious God, thank You for justifying me not by what I do, but by what Christ has done. Let this truth anchor my faith and free me to live in gratitude and love. Keep me from trusting in myself, and draw me daily to the cross. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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