Here We Stand: Reformation Day

“Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” - Martin Luther

Two Kinds of Righteousness
Addresses: "Who am I and what does it mean to be human?"
Righteous means to be the human person God envisioned when He created us.

 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

God does not keep score, He keeps promises.

 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:20a

So to be a righteous human in one way is defined by what God has done for me. Trust that gift of identity.

 "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

"The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20b

Before God we rest; before our neighbor we serve.

"Our theology, by which we teach a precise distinction between these two kinds of righteousness, the active and the passive, so that morality and faith, works and grace, secular society and religion may not be confused. Both are necessary, but both must be kept within their limits." - Martin Luther

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3:16