Now comes the question: Since Christ has died and taken away our sins, how does it come that we still feel that sin and death are within us? For
sin gnaws at the conscience, and an evil conscience causes us to fear the judgment. Answer: I have already said that it is one thing to feel, and
quite another thing to believe. Faith clings to the Word in despite of feelings and reason. Feeling operates against faith, and faith against feeling.
For this reason you must set reason aside and listen only to the Word, permit the Spirit to inscribe the Word upon your heart and believe it. Hold to
the Word, even though you have no feeling that your sins are forgiven, and even despite the fact that you feel the power of sin in you. You must
not go by your feelings. You must hold fast the truth that sin, death and the devil are conquered, even though you feel that you are held back by
sin, death and the devil. For though there still is in you a feeling of the strength of sin, that should drive you all the more to faith and make you
strong in faith. Disregard your feeling of sin and guilt before God and take Him at His word. Then let your heart and conscience rest in Christ.
Thus faith leads us, in spite of our feeling and the strictures of reason, through sin, death, and hell. As a consequence, you shall see God’s
redemption. You shall realize thoroughly what you formerly believed, namely, that sin, death and all evil have been taken away from you…Sin still
clings to us, in spite of our faith and trust in the promises of the Word of God. Pride, avarice, anger, and other sins, still torment us, but only to drive
us to faith, in order that faith may increase and grow stronger every day.
sin gnaws at the conscience, and an evil conscience causes us to fear the judgment. Answer: I have already said that it is one thing to feel, and
quite another thing to believe. Faith clings to the Word in despite of feelings and reason. Feeling operates against faith, and faith against feeling.
For this reason you must set reason aside and listen only to the Word, permit the Spirit to inscribe the Word upon your heart and believe it. Hold to
the Word, even though you have no feeling that your sins are forgiven, and even despite the fact that you feel the power of sin in you. You must
not go by your feelings. You must hold fast the truth that sin, death and the devil are conquered, even though you feel that you are held back by
sin, death and the devil. For though there still is in you a feeling of the strength of sin, that should drive you all the more to faith and make you
strong in faith. Disregard your feeling of sin and guilt before God and take Him at His word. Then let your heart and conscience rest in Christ.
Thus faith leads us, in spite of our feeling and the strictures of reason, through sin, death, and hell. As a consequence, you shall see God’s
redemption. You shall realize thoroughly what you formerly believed, namely, that sin, death and all evil have been taken away from you…Sin still
clings to us, in spite of our faith and trust in the promises of the Word of God. Pride, avarice, anger, and other sins, still torment us, but only to drive
us to faith, in order that faith may increase and grow stronger every day.
| Christian Writings: Written by or Recommended by Christian Friends |
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| Simul iustus et peccator - simultaneously justified and sinful An excerpt from an Easter sermon by Martin Luther received from Pastor Don Baron |
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