A Calvinist and a Lutheran go on a Podcast to Talk About Luther

One of the things mentioned during the infamous roundtable discussion were the comments made by Martin Luther regarding the Jews. Now Michael Brown would say how can you condemn false teachers for what they say and do while giving Martin Luther a pass.

Chris Rosebrough has addressed those comments as well contacting Michael Brown. Recently Rosebrough joined Keith Foskey on YourCalvinist to discuss Luther's comments.

One quick note, if you do not know who Keith Foskey is, he is perhaps on the funniest men on the planet and has produced a lot of good content both theological and comical. So if you are wondering about the intro to this video, yes, he does start off with something that you might see on a TV show from the 1980's. I dare you to check out his denominational meeting videos. You will thank me later:

Chris Rosebrough's Response to Michael Brown's Comments on Martin Luther and a Phone Call

During the roundtable discussion, Michael Brown mentioned comments that Martin Luther made regarding the Jews of his day. In this video, Chris Rosebrough offers some clarification regarding Luther's comments:

In this next video, Rosebrough calls Brown on his live broadcast to discuss the clarification of Luther's comments:

Around The Web-February 27, 2019

WTS Books has a special going this week with Ligonier and Reformation Trust:

Reformation Study Bible

Selected Titles from Reformation Trust

Ligonier Teaching Series

Doctrine and Devotion on the James MacDonald story

3 Principles for Christian Political Engagement by Jared C Wilson

You Don’t Need to Be ‘Woke’ to Be Biblical: A Review of Eric Mason’s ‘Woke Church’ by Alex Kocman

5 Reasons People Walk Away From Church by Jesse Johnson

Regenerate Church Membership, Baptism of Disciples Alone & Coveting from The Sword and The Trowell

4 Ways Martin Luther Encourages Pastors to Pray by Mark Rogers

Jonathan Leeman gives advice to pastors on practicing church discipline for the first time.

The Beginning, The Middle, and The End

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible (Hebrews 11:3).

No creature can assist in its own creation or sustain itself. Similarly, we didn’t create ourselves, and we can’t keep ourselves alive for a single moment by our own strength. God alone is responsible for our growth and development. Without him, we would have died a long time ago. If our Creator, who continues to work, and his coworker, Christ, were to stop their work, everything would break down in an instant. This truth inspires us to confess, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” If God hadn’t been sustaining us all along, we would have died long ago—even in infancy or at birth. The writer of Hebrews also teaches us about how God creates and sustains us: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” In other words, the author of Hebrews is saying that through Christ, the Father continually makes the invisible become visible. He makes what is nonexistent come into existence.

A hundred years ago none of us could be seen. People who will be born ten or twenty years from now can’t be seen either. They haven’t been born and don’t exist yet. But when they are born, they will become visible and real. Christ is the one who creates something visible from the invisible. Through him, heaven and earth were created out of nothing. Christ the Lord was present when everything was created. He wasn’t merely a spectator, but was equal to the Creator. He was the Father’s coworker. He will continue to rule and will sustain everything until the end of the world. He is the beginning, the middle, and the end for everything and everyone.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

The Word was God

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:1-3).

John wrote about the majesty and divine nature of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in a profound way. John said that Christ, in his divine essence, is the Word of the eternal Father. If the Word existed from the beginning before anything was created, then it must follow that this Word is God. We can easily draw this conclusion: whatever had its existence before the creation of the world must be God, because only the Creator can exist separate from creation. Everything that exists is either Creator or creation—either God or creature. Through John, the Holy Spirit stated that “in the beginning was the Word” and “without him nothing was made that has been made.” For this reason, we can never think of the Word as something created. The Word is eternal. No one can deny or disprove the conclusion that this Word is God.

This passage establishes that Christ is God. On the basis of this fact, we believe and know with certainty that Mary gave birth to our Lord and Savior and that he is true and natural God, born in eternity by the Father. This is why he can’t be considered an angel. Instead, he is the Lord and Creator of angels and of all other creatures. As Paul states, “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” (Colossians 1:16). Now, we know that Holy Scripture is God’s Word and will last forever (1 Peter 1:25). Scripture clearly states that the Word existed in the beginning before anything was created and that the Word made everything. So it follows that believers can’t hold any other opinion or come to any other conclusion: The Word was not created or made, but already existed from eternity.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Praying Sincerely

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matthew 6:5-6).

In this passage, Jesus emphasizes that our prayers must be sincere. Christ teaches us the right way to pray so that our prayers won’t be hypocritical. Instead of standing on street corners reciting long prayers, it would be more appropriate if we would pray at home in private. Most of all, Christ wants to make it clear that we need to get rid of improper motives. We shouldn’t pray in order to be recognized or to gain something from others. This doesn’t mean that we should never pray in public.

Christians aren’t restricted to certain places where they may or may not pray. Locations, like street corners, marketplaces, outdoor areas, and churches, are certainly not off-limits for prayer. We can pray anywhere. But we shouldn’t show off when we pray or use prayer to gain admiration or profit. Christ doesn’t denounce blowing trumpets or ringing bells to attract attention for good causes. But he does rule out impure motives in prayer when he says emphatically, “to be seen by men.” Going into a private room and locking the door aren’t required when we pray. However, we might want to be alone to pour out our wants and needs to God with words and gestures that we wouldn’t feel comfortable having others see.

Although we can pray in our hearts without saying anything aloud, words and gestures help kindle the spirit. So our entire lives should be devoted to God—spreading his Word and praising his kingdom. Whatever we do must be grounded in sincere prayer.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Shoving Aside God's Grace

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose (Galatians 2:21).

Wanting to be justified by our own works through the law is so wrong that the apostle Paul calls this throwing away God’s grace. It shows not only ingratitude—which is extremely bad in itself—but also contempt, because we should eagerly seek God’s grace. Instead, we shove aside his grace, which we receive free of charge. This is a serious error. Consider Paul’s argument: “If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Paul confidently declares that either Christ’s death was pointless, which is the highest blasphemy against God, or Christ’s death was essential, and through the law we can have nothing but sin.

Some teachers categorize various kinds of righteousness using distinctions they have made up in their heads. If these teachers try to bring these ideas to theology, they should be kept far away from the Holy Scriptures. For these people say one kind is moral righteousness, another is righteousness of faith, and they describe others I don’t even know about. Let civil government have its kind of righteousness, the philosophers have theirs, and each person have their own. But we must understand righteousness the way the Bible explains it. The apostle clearly says that there is no other righteousness than through faith in Jesus Christ. All other works, even those according to the holiest laws of God, do not offer righteousness. Not only that, but they are actually sins.

Our sins are so great and so far away from righteousness that it was necessary for the Son of God to die so that righteousness could be given to us. When discussing theology, don’t call anything righteousness that is apart from faith in Christ.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Christ's Mission on Earth

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).

The gospel tells us who Christ is. Through it, we learn that he is our Savior. He delivers us from sin and death, helps us out of all misfortune, reconciles us to the Father, makes us godly, and saves us apart from our own works. Anyone who doesn’t acknowledge Christ in this way will fail. For even if you already know that he is God’s Son, that he died, rose again, and sits at the right hand of the Father, you still haven’t known Christ in the right way. This knowledge doesn’t help you. You also must know and believe that he has done all of this for your sake—in order to help you. Some have contemplated only Christ’s pain and suffering and mistakenly think he is now sitting in heaven with nothing to do, enjoying himself. As a result, faith cannot come alive, and their hearts remain barren.

We should not think the Lord Christ belongs to himself alone. We must preach that he also belongs to us. Otherwise, why would it have been necessary for him to come to earth and shed his blood? As Jesus said, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). So Jesus must have accomplished what the Father sent him to do. God sent to earth, not only Christ’s divine nature, but also his human nature. As soon as he was baptized, he began what he had been sent to the world to accomplish. God sent him to proclaim the truth and win us over so that all who believe in him would be saved.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Fighting Against Sin

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do (Galatians 5:17).

As a believer, you can be deeply comforted by Paul’s teaching. You have both the sinful nature and the Spirit in the same body in such a way that the Spirit reigns and the sinful nature is subordinate. Righteousness rules, and sin serves. Not everyone is familiar with this teaching. If you think that believers must be completely flawless, and yet you feel deeply flawed, then you will be consumed by sorrow and will despair. Whoever recognizes and makes use of this teaching will discover that even the worst will work out for the best.

For when your sinful nature entices you to sin, you will be motivated to seek forgiveness of sins through Christ. You will want to grasp the righteousness of faith, which you wouldn’t normally regard or desire. Christians should keep the wickedness of their sinful nature in mind so that they are encouraged and motivated to believe and call on Christ. At such an opportunity, Christians become skillful artists and wonderful creators. They can create joy from sorrow, comfort from fear, righteousness from sin, and life from death when they restrain their sinful nature in this way, make it their servant, and subject it to the Spirit. If you are aware of the desires of the sinful nature, you shouldn’t despair of your salvation.

Though you will be aware of these desires, you must not give in to them. The more you grow in Christ, the more you will sense this conflict. Anger or sexual desire may still be stirred up in you, but you must not allow it to rule. Sin may arouse these desires, but you must not give in to them.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

True Freedom and False Freedom

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36).

There are two kinds of freedom. The first is a false freedom of false disciples. These people want freedom for satisfying their desires. They become Christians for that reason, just as the people in this passage became followers of Christ because they heard his followers were devout, good, patient, and gentle people, not thirsting for revenge. His followers freely gave to the poor and were generous. They also heard that his followers worshiped a merciful God, not an angry one.

When they heard all of this, they liked the idea that believers would give to them and serve them. So they said, “I will gladly have others give to me, serve me, and forgive me. The Lord God will also forgive my sins and help me get to heaven.” They were glad to be on the receiving end of all this. However, people like this are scoundrels and don’t want to leave their lives of sin and idolatry or give anything to anyone. They want to live lives of sexual immorality and self-gratification as they did before coming to Christ. Yet they still want to be considered Christians. These are false disciples who only want freedom for their physical desires. They praise the gospel and at first follow it earnestly. Soon after, they do what they want, following their evil lusts and desires. They become worse and more indecent than before. They are smugger, wilder, and greedier. They even steal more than others do.

The second type of freedom is the true freedom of genuine disciples. Those who stick to God’s Word and endure, suffer, and tolerate what they must are the ones who will be set free. They will become stronger as time goes on.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Christ The Sun

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— (Galatians 3:13).

The gospel—the most loved and comforting doctrine of all—doesn’t focus on our works or the works of the law. Rather, it shows us the incomprehensible, inexpressible mercy and love of God toward us, who are unworthy and lost people. The merciful Father saw that we were oppressed by the curse of the law and held under it. On our own and through our own efforts, we never could have freed ourselves. He sent his only Son into the world.

He put all the sin of all the people on his Son and said, “You will be Peter, who denied me; Paul, who persecuted, blasphemed, and acted violently; David, who committed adultery; the sinner who ate the apple in Paradise; the thief on the cross. In summary, you will be the one who committed all the sins of all the people. Make sure you pay for these sins and make atonement for them.” At this point the law said, “I find Christ to be a sinner—the one who has taken the sins of all the people upon himself. I do not see sin on anyone else except him. Therefore, he must die on the cross.” Then the law grabbed him and killed him. Since this happened, the entire world has been cleansed and atoned of all sin and freed from death and all evil. If everyone in the whole world believed, God would see only purity and righteousness.

This is because Christ would have taken away all sin and death. And even if there were any remnants of sin remaining, God wouldn’t see them because of the brightness of Christ, the Sun.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Praying The Psalms

"...Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart" (Ephesians 5:18-19).

Consider what the most respected church fathers, especially Athanasius and Augustine, taught about using psalms. They said we should adapt and adjust our minds so that we are in tune with the psalms. We must sing the psalms with the help of the Holy Spirit. They are like a school for the attitudes of the heart. For example, when you read in Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,” you must actually reject the advice that wicked people give you. When you read, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD,” you shouldn’t take it easy and pat yourself on the back as if you are a person who already loves the Lord’s teachings.

For as long as you live, you will need to think of yourself as a person who desperately needs to love God’s teachings even more. When you read, “Whatever he does prospers,” you should wish this for yourself and feel sorry for those who find themselves in trouble. Don’t think that you are being asked to do the impossible. All you need to do is try, and I know you will be glad you did. First, practice on one psalm or even one verse of a psalm. You will be successful as soon as you have learned how to make just one verse come alive and live in your heart—even if it takes a day or a whole week. However, after you begin, everything else will follow naturally, and you will find a rich treasure of insight and love. Just be careful you don’t let weariness and discouragement prevent you from getting started.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

The Gospel From God

So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me (John 7:16).

Christ answered his adversaries carefully. He showed that he understood them and realized they were accusing and slandering him. They thought his teaching came from the devil. So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.” Does that make sense? If Jesus’ words were not his own, why did he preach, promote, and embrace them so strongly? Why did he refuse to accept the honor of his own words? Why didn’t he say, “This is my teaching”? Christians often say, “This is my sermon, my baptism, my Christ, my God.” Or we might say, “my gospel.” Yet none of these are ours, for we didn’t create them.

They didn’t originate in us. They aren’t our works. Yet, at the same time, they are ours because God gives them to us. In the same way, we might say, “my child,” “my husband,” or “my wife.” Yet none of those people are truly ours, for we didn’t create them. They are the work of another, and they are presented and given to us. We didn’t pour them into a mold or carve them out of wood. They were given to us as gifts. Christ says the same about his teaching.

This is why I insist that this gospel is mine. It’s different than the teaching of other preachers. This is my teaching—in other words, Luther’s teaching. At the same time, I’m saying, “It’s not my teaching. It’s not my work, but God’s gift.” I didn’t create it in my head. It didn’t grow in my garden. I didn’t give birth to it. Rather, it’s God’s gift. So both are true. The gospel is mine, yet it’s not mine, because it’s God’s.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

The Evil Within Us

And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness (Mark 7:20-22).

Whether people believe it or not, no agony, pain, or burden could be worse than feeling all of the evil that lies within themselves. The evil they don’t feel is even greater and worse than the wickedness they do sense. For if people were able to feel all of their evil, they would get a taste of what hell is like. So when the all-powerful God disciplines us in his mercy, he only shows us our lesser evils. He knows that if he shows us all of our wickedness, we would be ruined and would die in an instant.

According to the author of Hebrews, God shows us some of the evil within us as a part of fatherly instruction or discipline: “He punishes everyone he accepts as a son” (Hebrews 12:6). By showing us our lesser evils and disciplining us, God wants to drive out the greater evils so we will never have to see them. As Proverbs says, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15). Isn’t it true that devout and faithful parents experience more suffering, grief, and distress when their children become thieves or are otherwise bad than if their children were wounded?

Faithful parents would much rather severely discipline their children than allow them to become bad. What prevents us from feeling all the evil within us? God has established matters so that people won’t die by seeing the evil in their innermost selves. So God is the one who hides our wickedness from us. He wants us to see it only through the eyes of faith.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

No Longer Condemned

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Christians are truly humble when they genuinely feel their sin and recognize that they are worthy of the wrath and judgment of God and eternal death. So in this life, Christians will be humbled. At the same time, however, they possess a pure and holy pride, which makes them turn to Christ. By turning to Christ, they can pull themselves out from under this feeling of God’s wrath and judgment. Christians believe that any remaining sin is not counted against them. They also believe that they are loved by the Father. Christians are loved, not for their own sake, but for the sake of Christ—the one whom God loves. From this it becomes clear how faith justifies us without works. It becomes clear why we still need Christ’s righteousness credited to us.

The sin, which God thoroughly hates, remains in us. Because this sin still remains in us, Christ’s righteousness must be credited to us. God gives us that righteousness for the sake of Christ—the one given to us, the one we grasp by faith. Meanwhile on this earth, we still have sin and godless people. Even believers continue to sin. That’s why Paul, in Romans 7:23, complains about how believers still have sin within them. Yet Romans 8:1 says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Who can reconcile these diametrically opposed statements: that the sin in us is not sinful, that those worthy of condemnation will not be condemned, that the wicked will not be rejected, that those worthy of wrath and eternal death will not be punished?

The only one who can reconcile these is the “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). As Paul says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Listen To Christ

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear (Matthew 13:16).

Some people listen to what Jesus says but don’t believe that the Father is speaking. They don’t believe that his words are the words of the Father. That’s why God must draw them further along. When they hear the Word, God impresses it on their hearts. Then they’re able to believe that they’re hearing the Father’s words when they hear Christ speaking.

I plead with you to learn what it means for the Father to draw you. This means you must listen to the words from Christ’s mouth. You must learn from him. You must not stray from his words. It’s not reason that brings you to faith. Christ overthrows your own self-deceit and reason. He condemns people who reject his spoken word and want to wait for something special to happen. They hope the Father will speak personally to them from heaven and give them the Spirit directly. They want to hear an audible voice from heaven, but it won’t happen.

The only way to hear the Father speak is through the Son. You will hear the words of Christ, but these aren’t enough to draw you. Your reason says that Christ is only a man, and his words are only the words of a man. But if you delight in reflecting on the Word—reading it, listening to it being preached, and loving it—soon you will come to the point where you say, “Truly this is God’s Word!” In this way, faith comes alongside reason.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Remaining In The Vine

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

By saying that believers remain in him and he in them, Jesus is making it clear that Christianity is not something we put on externally. We don’t put it on like clothes. We don’t adopt it as a new lifestyle that focuses on our own efforts, as do those who practice a holy lifestyle they have invented themselves. Rather, Christian faith is a new birth brought about by God’s Word and Spirit.

A Christian must be a new person from the depths of the heart. Once the heart is born anew in Christ, these fruits will follow: confession of the gospel, love, obedience, patience, purity, and so on. In this passage, Christ warns his disciples that they must remain in his Word. Remaining in the Word leads to genuine, newborn Christians. These true Christians produce much fruit. They guard themselves from the teaching that perverts God’s Word and that tries to make grapes from thistles and thorns. This will never happen, however, because each kind produces its own kind.

Even if you teach about, strive for, and pile up good works, your nature won’t change. You must first possess a new nature. You won’t accomplish anything by striving and exhausting yourself. The two types of works remain vastly different. The one type of work is produced by human effort, while the other grows naturally. The works we make up always require us to strive harder, but they never do as well as natural growth. In contrast, natural growth stands, moves, lives, and does what it should naturally. So Christ says, “All other human teaching cannot succeed, because it instructs people to make up works. But if you remain in me, as natural branches remain on the vine, you will certainly produce good fruit.”

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Defying The World

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you (John 15:19).

Christ warns us here about the world’s opposition to Christians. We must learn to despise the world’s envy and hatred and whatever else it tries to do to us. It’s inevitable that the people of the world will hate God and Christ. And because they hate Christ, they will also hate us. Because of this ongoing opposition, we must know how to overcome it. We overcome it by despising the world’s arrogance.

The more we let the world’s arrogance bother us, the more the devil and the world like it. If the devil could make us agonize and worry day and night about the world’s opposition to the gospel, he would have great fun with it and would have to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. The people of the world would only rant and rave longer and louder. They would think they were succeeding because they were making us wail and cry. But if we defiantly ignore them, they become angry, sad, and irritated that their enemies are mocking them to their face—even when their ranting is at its peak.

The devil is extremely arrogant, and so is his bride, the world. So nothing is worse to him than being despised and mocked. When he experiences this and can’t do anything about it, he retreats. Otherwise, he doesn’t stop until he makes us discouraged and exhausted. He urges and pushes so long and hard that one could die of sorrow. But when he sees that we’re determined to hold out against his hatred and that we continue to be cheerful and even mock him, he’ll be the first one to grow tired. He’s so haughty that he can’t tolerate it when we defy him.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Following Christ's Steps

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21).

As God’s servants, we should impress on our hearts that we should be ready and willing to suffer what comes our way because Christ did so much for us. We should think along these lines: “Though completely innocent, my Lord served me and gave his life for me. Why should I refuse to serve him in return? He was entirely pure and without sin. Yet he humbled himself, shed his blood, and died, wiping out my sin. Shouldn’t I also suffer a little bit if this pleases him?” Whoever thinks about Christ’s death without feeling moved must be made out of stone. For if a master walks ahead and steps in the mud, it’s only reasonable for his servant to follow him through the mud.

So Peter says, “To this you were called.” To what? To endure suffering as Christ did. Peter is saying, “If you wish to follow Christ, you must not argue and complain very much when you are wronged. You must endure it and even forgive it.” Remember that Christ suffered everything for you, even though he was completely innocent. He didn’t appeal to justice when he stood before his judges. In the same way, you should set justice aside and say to yourself, “Thank you, God. I’m called to endure injustice. Why should I complain when my Lord didn’t complain?”

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Bitten By Sin

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (1 John 1:10).

Not only have we sinned, but we also continue to sin. Because of the weakness of our corrupt, sinful nature, which we will have as long as we have these bodies, there is an ongoing battle between the sinful nature and the Spirit. Paul talks about this: “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Romans 7:18).

Certainly it’s not just the immoral sexual desire of a man toward a woman or a woman toward a man that is sin. In the legends of the saints, there are also many sins that take on the form and appearance of holiness and are passed off as good conduct. For the church fathers usually looked at outward sins and not at inner ones—such as envy, jealousy, a hostile heart, and slippage from faith and hope. We still have sin that bites and entices us, but it doesn’t rule over us. The sin within us is like a person who is tied up and being led away to his death. The weapons that person might use to harm others have all been taken away. But that person isn’t dead yet. Similarly, the sin in our bodies surges up, rages and rants, and doesn’t let up.

For we always love what is ours and depend on our own strength. We don’t put our trust in the Word and don’t believe God. Our sinful nature doesn’t want it any other way. But the best remedy against the pull of this nature is meditating diligently on God’s Word.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther