Faith is a living, unshakeable confidence in God’s grace; it is so certain, that
someone would die a thousand times for it. This kind of trust in and knowledge of
God’s grace makes a person joyful, confident, and happy with regard to God and all
creatures. This is what the Holy Spirit does by faith. Through faith, a person will do
good to everyone without coercion, willingly and happily; he will serve everyone,
suffer everything for the love and praise of God, who has shown him such grace.
It is as impossible to separate works from faith as burning and shining from fire.
Therefore be on guard against your own false ideas and against the chatterers who
think they are clever enough to make judgments about faith and good works but
who are in reality the biggest fools. Ask God to work faith in you; otherwise you will
remain eternally without faith, no matter what you try to do or fabricate.
Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans
Martin Luther
1483-1546
If you enjoyed these readings, there’s a lot more where they came from. The “Rise” readings this week come from Volume 1 of Seeds: A Scattering of Groundbreaking Ideas,” edited by J.D. Walt. You can get it digitally or in print here.
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