Luther on Romans
In his commentary Martin Luther says that the object of Romans is to destroy all wisdom and works of the flesh . . . our righteousness and wisdom must be destroyed and rooted out of our hearts and our self-complacent minds. Regarding Paul’s introductory comments (1:1-17) to his Roman audience, he also explains that the eternal promise given to us in Jesus Christ was foretold in the Old Testament in accordance with His predetermined counsel of salvation. The fulfillment of this promise is the gospel, of which Luther can thus state, the Gospel therefore is not merely what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John have written, but, as the verse shows, the word concerning the Son of God, who was made man, suffered, and was glorified. And he adds, Paul’s hearers were to realize that they were saints, not because of any merit on their part, but because of God’s love and call, so that he ascribes all things—their whole salvation—to God. No one indeed becomes a believer, or a saint, unless he is called by God. Two points Luther deduces is that God calls people and that God causes people to believe in the gospel, in Jesus Christ himself.
Additionally, Luther writes, the Gospel is called the power of God in contradistinction to the power of man. The latter is the (supposed) ability by which he, according to his carnal opinion, obtains salvation by his own strength, and performs the things which are of the flesh. But this ability God, by the Cross of Christ, has utterly declared null and void, and he now gives us His own power by which the spiritual—(the believer)—is empowered unto salvation.
Comentarios