H. Michael Brewer
Crescent Springs Presbyterian
31 October 2004
FORGOTTEN TREASURES
Romans 1:16-17
Have you ever discovered forgotten treasures while cleaning out a closet or sorting through a long-
neglected drawer? Maybe you find the missing piece of jewelry or you come across a photograph of
a summer day you hadn’t thought of in years. Sure you have; we all have. In a sense, that’s what
happened to a fellow named Martin Luther early in the 1500s in a monastery in Germany. While
studying the Bible, Luther came across a verse in Paul’s Letter to the Romans, and it seemed to
Luther that the church had forgotten all about this verse. Oh, the words are simple enough, “The
righteous will live by faith.” Not a piece of Paul’s best writing. In fact, it’s not even original with Paul
who was actually quoting from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk.
The righteous will live by faith. Simple words, but long-neglected words, almost forgotten words
rediscovered by Martin Luther. There’s a line in the Old Testament about Isaac. It says that Isaac re-
dug the wells of his father. In a sense that was Luther’s great gift to the church. He re-dug the clogged
and sluggish wells of Christianity, opening the way for a recovery of what had been lost and
unappreciated.
What exactly did Luther rediscover in the Middle Ages? Well, for one thing he uncovered that
ancient foundation rock of Christianity—that we are saved by grace through faith. This was a surprise
to Luther and a relief. Luther says that he did his best to out-monk all the other monks. Indeed, says
Luther, if anyone could be saved by monkishness then my salvation was certain. Luther drove himself
to a life of penance and self-punishment in order to atone for his sins. He wore a hair shirt. He slept
on a cold stone floor. He made pilgrimages to holy places. He fasted so severely that he had stomach
troubles for the rest of his life.
Yet, in spite of all this, Luther remained uncertain of his own salvation. He felt his sinfulness had no
cure, he feared God, and at times he hated God for making life so impossibly hard and miserable.
Until he came across those words in Romans: The righteous will live by faith.
If we are saved through faith, then our good works don’t matter. In fact, being too fanatical about
good works might mean we don’t really trust God and we’re trying to save ourselves. Grace! Faith!
If that is how we are saved, then our place in heaven doesn’t depend upon our good deeds or our
church attendance or our tithing. No, we become righteous—that is, we are set right with God—by
trusting God, specifically by trusting God to take away our sins through Jesus Christ.
As I said, it’s a simple idea, but it lies at the very heart of our religion, and is probably the belief
that most clearly differentiates Christianity from every other world religion. And in all of Christian
doctrine, it is also probably the most difficult truth for us to really accept in our hearts and to live out
in our daily lives.
What else did Luther rediscover? Well, Luther’s views caught the unfavorable attention of church
authorities, and Luther was challenged to a public debate. He went toe to toe with a scholar named
John Eck. Eck was a shrew debater, well read and quick on his feet, and by all accounts he out-
argued Luther. Finally, backed into a corner, Luther blurted out, “I don’t care how many experts you
quote, or what church councils you invoke, because I take my stand on the Bible. And I reject any
authority that contradicts the Bible!”
Martin Luther, bless his heart, had rediscovered the authority of Scripture. Church councils can
make mistakes, said Luther. Tradition can wander off course. Christian leaders may err. But the Bible
is the sure and certain written word of God. The Bible is the clearest revelation of God’s will for
humanity. The Bible may not tell us everything we want to know, but it does contain everything we
truly need to know for our salvation and for the faithful service of God.
We Presbyterians like to write creeds and confessions to sum up our beliefs, but we don’t give
too much authority to those creeds. They are valid only to the extent that they faithfully declare the
truth of Scripture. Our creeds draw their authority from the Bible, and the Bible in turn draws its
authority from Jesus Christ who is revealed in its pages and who speaks to us through those ancient
writings. We needn’t make extravagant claims that the Bible never makes for itself, claims like
inerrancy in every word and detail. It is enough that God chooses to speak to us through the Bible as
through no other medium, and the church is at its best when it stays close to biblical teaching.
Setting out to rid the church of those practices Luther felt contradicted the Bible, he began closing
down monasteries and nunneries. In the process he had to deal with the whole idea of calling and
service. Was it a step backward for a nun to become a wife and mother? Was it a step down for a
monk to become a carpenter or an innkeeper? Is it holier and more pious to serve God in the church
than to serve God in the world?
In wrestling with these questions, Luther rediscovers the holiness of the common life. In other
words, Luther knocked down the wall that had been erected to separate “religious” service from
“secular” service. Certainly the world needs church workers, but the world also needs plumbers and
farmers and merchants, and any kind of work is pleasing to God if it is honest and honorable and
contributes to the common good. A Christian does not need to escape from the world in order to
serve God. We serve God where we are, using the particular gifts and opportunities God has given us.
Preaching is holy work. So is changing diapers, building houses, repairing cars, teaching, delivering
mail, and driving buses. No more dividing God’s people into two groups, with priests, monks and
nuns up here, and with all other Christians down in second class. In fact, says Luther, in the body of
Christ we all share the priesthood. We are priests to one another. Helping others come into the
presence of Christ is not a privilege for a few chosen Christians, but is the shared responsibility of all
Christians.
Five centuries later the church is richer for the determined digging of Martin Luther. Justification by
faith, the authority of Scripture, the priesthood of believers, and the holiness of common life—these
are the lost treasures Luther recovered. Perhaps the greatest lesson in Luther’s life is simply this:
those precious things that were lost to the church once, can be lost again. What was forgotten by our
forebears can also be forgotten by our children. Let’s hold fast to what we’ve received. Let’s keep
the wells clean and clear. Let’s remember what we believe, because that’s how we remember who
we are.
Soli Deo Gloria!