Today, we are going to talk about the foundation of our faith, the teaching that lies at the core of our hope and confession. It is not a complex or hidden thing in the Word of God. It is, in fact, the clear testimony of Scripture, but it remains a teaching that comes under constant attack, for it stands in sharp contrast to the desires of us all. The teaching that we are justified before God by faith alone is the heart of our faith. We are justified, that is declared righteous, and so heirs of eternal life and all the blessings of Paradise, not by our works, not by our good intentions, but by faith in Christ. This is the foundation of our hope and confidence. As Luther famously said, “Justification is the article by which the Church stands and falls.” To give up this teaching, to move away from this truth, is to move the Church itself away from its foundation and to fall into error.

To say we are justified by faith is to say that everything with regard to your salvation hinges and is dependent upon Christ alone. It is all Him; His birth, His life, His baptism in the Jordan by John, His teaching and parables, His miracles and healing, His suffering and punishment, His crucifixion outside the walls of Jerusalem, His resurrection on the third day, His blessing and proclamation of peace, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His promise to come again in glory. He alone is the author and perfector of your faith. He alone carries those who believe in Him through this age into the age to come. Christ alone is your prophet, your priest, and your king.

And this truth, this promise, is the source of extraordinary joy. To be a Christian is to live in this confidence, to be sure that salvation is already secured for you because of what Christ has accomplished. The Final sacrifice has been made. So, salvation is given freely to you. As Paul says in our Epistle reading today, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peace, peace with the Creator, peace with the final judge of the living and the dead, all through faith in Christ alone.

In fact, Paul presses this truth forward into your daily lives. The assurance of your justification plays out here and now. Not only have you obtained access by faith and stand boldly in the grace of God. Not only do you rejoice in hope of the glory of God. He says, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame.” Being justified by faith changes how you meet the suffering and trials of this life here and now. The suffering of a Christian is not their undoing but a gift that shapes and informs their endurance, character, and hope. Here, the people of God are called to live a life which is radically different from our world, a bold and confident life even as the trials and hardships pile up on them.

This teaching is completely countercultural. Suffering in our day is regularly viewed as the greatest of evil and to be avoided at all costs. In fact, we are consistently encouraged to go to great lengths in order to prevent or end suffering. A while ago, a lady contacted me seeking some advice. Her daughter, who lived in Canada, had a former pastor who was in his late eighty’s and was struggling with a myriad of health issues. Somehow, they had found out that he had applied to a program called MAID (Medical Assistance In Dying). I later learned that over five percent of all deaths per year in Canada are a result of this program. As we talked, it seemed as if the main driving force for euthanasia was suffering; the individuals suffering or, as it seemed in this case, the suffering that would be inflicted on others, both financially and emotionally, by this man’s prolonged care. To avoid suffering, we choose death. In fact, the avoidance of suffering lies at the heart of the abortion argument as well. Beyond the debates of autonomy and rights, beyond the discussion of when life begins, the killing of the unborn is embraced as a means to prevent suffering; suffering to a young, unprepared mother, suffering to a child born into less than desirable conditions.

Suffering is a terror that leads to blind and desperate actions. Among the people of God, suffering is known to bring forth doubt and despair. When trials come, they can often lead us to question whether God is really there, whether He cares, whether He sees what you are going through, whether He knows the grief you bear in your hearts. And, often, such a situation leads you to take a good, hard look at yourself, to examine your failings and shortcomings. So, you are driven to take hold of what you can do, be more faithful, read your Bible more, pray more, and be more diligent in your witness. You begin to look at your own works as a means to ensure you can overcome your suffering and bask in the blessings of God.

You can become consumed by your efforts to triumph over your trials through your own work. It is the temptation which arises in our age to justify oneself before God. The hope is to prove you deserve the blessings, that you are worthy of the good and gracious things He gives. You see others who seem to have it all together, who seem to be thriving, so you follow their patterns. You read the right books, listen to the right podcast, and increase your knowledge and understanding. You strive to be spiritual enough, good enough, wise enough, but there is no end to this search. In the end, you find you are still mired in sin, you are still weak and small before your God, you deserve nothing, and you have earned nothing.

Therefore, Paul speaks this word of hope and assurance, a word that does not look away from your suffering and sin. It is a word that comes to you here and now, in the midst of your failure, in the midst of your stumbling. He says, “For while we were still weak, at the right times Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die, but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus did not wait for you to become good enough. He did not wait for you to rid yourself of suffering and weakness. He died for you as you are. The cross of Christ stands before us as a proclamation that suffering is not the absence of God but is the very place where He does His great work. In His suffering and death for you, He transforms your suffering. Because you are justified by faith, you can rejoice in the trials of life, for they do not turn you toward your own work but to the eternal promises of Christ your Savior.