June

 4 June 2017 – Pentecost – Romans 3:21-28
Obedience to God’s Word results from grace

11 June, 2017 –Holy Trinity – Romans 4:13-25
Abraham’s faith was reckoned to him as righteousness    

18 June – Proper 6 – Romans 5:6-15
God’s love is seen in Christ’s dying for sinners

25 June – Proper 7 – Romans 6:12-23
We are now slaves to righteousness

"The Righteous shall live by faith" - (Romans 1:17) These words, are the very words which became the  inspiration for the Reformation. Luther grew to become afraid of God. He was afraid of God because Luther understood God to be holy, righteous, and one who would punish sinners. 

Luther's fear turned to anger. Luther's frustration was expressed in a question, "how could I ever love a God who can never be satisfied. How could I ever love a just God?" 

Finally Luther discovered all he had been searching and for the first time in his life understood, "The just shall live by faith." By these words Luther discovered the gospel. He understood that we are not redeemed by our efforts or effort but by the obedience of faith. 

The fall of 2017 people the world over will observe the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. In preparation of this event we will be reading through the book of Romans from which Luther by God's grace discovered the gospel. The epistle lesson will be the sermon text from 28 May through 17 September.  It is my prayer that as we review this important book in Scripture, you too, will discover the treasure of the gospel and the hope we have in Christ. 

Luther’s Seal © Ed Riojas, Higher Things