THE INSANITY OF LUTHER

ROMANS 7:14–25

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

(Romans 7:24).

If God is holy and man is sinful, what hope is there for man? This is the problem Martin Luther wrestled with for years. It drove him to despair. It caused him to cry out on one occasion, “Love God? Sometimes I hate Him!”

Luther’s fear of God nearly drove him insane. Some modern psychoanalysts contend that he was, in fact, quite neurotic. They point to his frequently intemperate speech, though in fact using strong language was simply part of the style of theological debate during that era. But beyond this, they point to Luther’s neurotic fears concerning his health and other manners, and the fact that he carried tremendous guilt for every sin he ever realized he had committed.

What is often not reckoned with, however, is that Luther was a brilliant student of law. He applied his knowledge to the Law of God, seeing that in the light of God’s Law, he could never reach the standards of God’s righteousness. In fact, he saw his sin as so awful before God that he began to hate any mention of God’s righteousness.

Then one day, as Luther was preparing to teach Romans 1 to his theological students, he came to verse 17 and read, “For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith.…” Luther said later, “I realized for the first time that my own justification depends not on my own righteousness, which will always fall short, but it rests solely and completely on the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which I must hold on to by trusting faith.”

Luther saw that the righteousness of Christ is provided for all believers graciously and freely. Our standing before God can only be right through Christ. We can never stand on our own. A right standing before God is freely offered in the Gospel, and we only need to lay hold of it as a gift. If we are too proud to take salvation as a gift, then we shall perish. But if we want deliverance from the fearfulness of God’s wrath, God offers that salvation freely. Our justification rests solely and completely on the righteousness of Christ alone.

CORAM DEO

Haggai

In a sense, people outside Christ are insane, not adjusted to reality. They live in a fantasy—a world without God. Luther’s “insanity” was the first stage to true sanity, becoming aware of the true state of reality. Thank God today that He has given you the mind of Christ to follow Him.

For further study: Hab. 2:1–4; 3:1–19 • Romans 3:19–26

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