For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17)
Romans 1:17 is the verse that changed Christianity. Students of Church History know that until the Reformation, the Roman Catholic church represented all of Christianity. When Emperor Constantine professed faith in Christ in 312 A.D. and declared the entire Roman Empire as Christian, the hierarchy of government invaded the church. By the 1500s, some theologians questioned the official teachings of the Roman Catholic church. An earlier theologian, Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.), proposed that salvation came from God, not from works, but by the sixteenth century, the official teaching of the church included ways for people to “buy” their way into heaven. Many wealthy people of the day lived like heathens but paid for indulgences (financial gifts to the church) that supposedly paid for their sins. Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, was very aware of his own sinful nature. He often fasted to gain absolution from his sins. His Bible study led him to Psalm 31:1, which says, “In thee, OLord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness,” which eventually led him to Romans 1:17. The revelation of this verse was the foundation for several of Luther’s 95 theses, which he nailed to the Chapel door in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517, now recognized as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
When Christians understood the just shall live by faith, they no longer felt as if they had to continually do things to earn or buy God’s forgiveness. As Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” The revelation of faith changed the world!
Practical Application
Churches should focus 90% of their pulpit time to teaching and 10% to preaching, and one of the most valuable subjects they could teach is faith.