This morning, I trust with the
Lord's help and with his blessing, I bring before you a threefold
text. A threefold text. Romans 1, verse
17. Romans 1, verse 17. For therein,
that is in the gospel of Christ, is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live
by faith. Galatians chapter 3 verse 11. But that no man is justified
by the law in the sight of God, it is evident. For the just shall
live by faith. And Hebrews 10 verse 38. Now
the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my
soul shall have no pleasure in him. Our text then, this morning,
the words of which are found in each of these three New Testament
scriptures, is the just shall live by faith. The just shall
live by faith. And these words are of course
a quotation from the Old Testament, the book of the prophet Habakkuk.
Chapter 2 and verse 4, Behold, his soul which is lifted up is
not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith. Such is the importance of these
words, and such is the importance of the doctrine contained in
these words that it seemed good to the Holy Ghost who has inspired
these words to cause that these words should be recorded four
times in the Holy Scriptures. The just shall live by faith. It was these words which became
the means under God of awakening the soul of Martin Luther. And
so these words became, as it were, the watchword of the Protestant
Reformation. The just shall live by faith. It was after reading and pondering
these words in Romans that Martin Luther said, writing later of
his experience, this passage of Paul became to me a gate to
heaven. But it is on this great subject
of faith then that I preach a little this morning, the Lord helping
me. But what is faith? What is faith? This is really the first question
which we need to ask. There is such confusion about
the nature of faith, as to what faith actually is. There are
those who would tell us that faith is a duty, a duty to be
performed by the unregenerate, in order that they might be saved.
As such, make faith a work to be performed, in order to obtain
salvation. But the Scriptures tell us that
salvation is not of works or duties or any such thing, not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing
of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Savior, that being justified by his grace we should
be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. No, it
is not by works of righteousness which we have done. Faith itself
is God's gift, we are told. 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. Faith is not a work, it is a
gift. It is that which God works in
the heart. It is, as Paul writes to the
Colossians, the faith of the operation of God. It's God's
work. William Gadsby answers the question,
what is faith, very succinctly in his Catechism. His answer
to that question is this. Faith is a grace of the Holy
Spirit, whereby the sinner believes in God as he is revealed in his
word, and whereby he beholds and receives Jesus Christ as
a Savior, just suited to his case in the glory of his person,
fullness, work, offices, and relationship. And it is called
the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not
seen. Alexander Cruden defines faith
in his concordance. Justifying faith is a saving
grace wrought in the soul by the Spirit of God whereby we
receive Christ as he is revealed in the gospel to be our prophet,
priest, and king. trust in and rely upon him and
his righteousness alone for justification and salvation. Faith then is
not a duty to be performed by the natural man in order that
he might be saved, and neither is faith a mere acceptance of
the truths of the gospel as being true. Now, of course, true saving
faith does accept and receive all the truths of the gospel
as absolutely true. Where there is true faith, there
must be the belief of the truth. There cannot be saving faith
without it. Paul writes to Timothy, in his second epistle, of repentance
to the acknowledging of the truth. And to Titus he writes, Paul,
a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to
the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth,
which is after godliness. Where there is true faith, there
must be the belief and the acknowledgement of the truth. And yet, true saving
faith is more than that. A man may believe that there
is a God in the heavens, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God,
that he died on the cross for sin and for sinners, elect sinners
at that, that he rose again from the dead on the third day, and
that he has ascended up into heaven. He may believe that the
Bible is the Word of God, and he may believe all the historicity
of the Holy Scriptures from the book of Genesis onwards. and
yet he may still come short of the faith of God's elect. You see, the devil knows and
believes all those things. Thou believest that there is
one God thou doest well, the devils also believe and tremble. In Mark 3 11 we read the confession
of unclean spirits or demons and unclean spirits, when they
saw him, fell down before him and cried, saying, Thou art the
Son of God!" Oh, we want more than the faith
of devils! True saving faith is more than
the mere belief and acceptance of the truths of the Gospel.
And true faith is not a temporary thing either. There are those,
and we have known such, who made a profession of faith
they received the word with joy which is more than the devils
do for they believe and tremble but have no joy and they continued
in their profession for some time some were even baptized
and joined in church membership oh how closely did their faith
seem to resemble true faith You know, there are some goats
that do seem to resemble very closely sheep. Pigora and Angora
goats, for example. At first sight, they look like
sheep. They look like sheep, but they're
actually goats. We have known those who seem
to give a credible profession. They'd been baptized, they joined
the church, and then they deserted us and joined in worship with
the harlot church of Rome. They turned from the living and
true God to serve idols. How many we have known who seem
to be true believers, but then after a while they fell away
and dropped their profession altogether. they went out from
us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would
no doubt have continued with us but they went out that they
might be made manifest that they were not all of us. The Lord speaks of those who
are stony ground hearers which when they hear receive the word
with joy And these have no roots, which for a while believe, and
in time of temptation fall away. Where there is true faith, there
will be a continuance in the faith. Then said Jesus to those Jews
which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are
ye my disciples indeed. For there is a perseverance in
true faith, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved, Jesus
said. Remember again what Paul says
in Hebrews, Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man
draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are
not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe
to the saving of the soul. As we come to consider this threefold
text, then, we should consider just two things this morning
regarding the nature of true saving faith. Firstly, the origin
of faith, and then secondly, the object of faith. And briefly,
by way of conclusion, we should consider the end of true saving
faith. Well, let us consider firstly,
then, the origin of faith. Where does faith come from? bearing
in mind that true faith is spiritual, for we read of the spirit of
truth, can that which is spiritual ever come from that which is
natural? Can true faith ever be produced
by the natural heart? Can that heart which is dead
in trespasses and sins ever produce a living faith? Of course not! That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. True
spiritual faith must be wrought in the heart by the Spirit of
God. For whatsoever is born of God
overcometh the world. And this is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our faith. It is that faith only
which is born of God that overcomes the world. A faith which is born
of man will overcome nothing, but will in the end be overcome
and destroyed. And so we read in Colossians,
as I said earlier, of the faith of the operation of God. Remember
how Jesus said, this is the work of God. that ye believe on him
whom he hath sent. This is how we are to understand
John when he says in his first epistle, and this is his commandment, that we should believe, that
we should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ. Yes, the Lord commands faith
into the hearts of his people, his dear elect, just as surely
as he commanded the light to shine out of darkness. This is
how we are to understand the word should, of course. It is
the should of God's invincible and irresistible purpose that
we should believe. on the name of His Son, Jesus
Christ. God has commanded the faith. We've already proved from the
Scriptures that faith is the gift of God, for by grace are
ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God. And as faith itself is the gift of God, well so too
is the measure of faith, that is, how much faith a man or a
woman has, the amount of faith or the strength of that faith and so we read in Romans chapter
12 verse 3 for I say through the
grace given unto me to every man that is among you not to
think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to
think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure
of faith now mark those words that God hath dealt to every
man the measure of faith. The disciples of the Lord Jesus
realized their dependence on the God of all grace for the
grace of faith and for the measure of it, and the apostles said
unto the Lord, increase our faith. Faith then is of God. The measure
of faith is of God. God is the origin of all true
and saving faith. It is of God the Father. And
so the Lord Jesus taught his disciples and so he teaches us. No man can come to me except
the Father which has sent me draw him and I will raise him
up at the last day. It is written in the prophets
and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that
hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. We see it in the case of Simon
Peter when the Lord asked his disciples, But whom say ye that
I am? And Simon Peter answered and said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which
is in heaven. Faith is of God the Father, and
it is of God the Son. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
author and finisher of our faith. Or as the margin says there in
Hebrews 12 verse 2, the beginner and finisher of our faith. The opening verse of Peter's
second epistle reads, Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through
the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Now
again, see the marginal rendering of that verse. Simon Peter, a
servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained
like precious faith with us through the righteousness of our God
and Saviour Jesus Christ. Just as Christ is exalted to
be a prince and a saviour for to give repentance to Israel
and forgiveness of sins, so he gives faith to his dear Israel,
the purchase of his blood. He is the author and beginner
of our faith. Faith then is of God the Father
and of God the Son. And so Paul says in the words
of his benediction at the end of the epistle to the Ephesians,
peace be to the brethren and love with faith from God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is of God the Father and
of God the Son. And it is of God the Holy Spirit
too. In Galatians, chapter five, we
read of the fruit of the Spirit, that is, of the Holy Spirit,
who indwells the people of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
and so on. He is the spirit of faith, as
Paul says to the Corinthians, we having the same spirit of
faith according as it is written, I believed and therefore have
I spoken, we also believe and therefore speak. It is the spirit of God who takes
the law of God, which is holy and just and good, and applies
it to the elect sinner's heart and conscience. and it is the
same Spirit of God who reveals a precious Jesus. Indeed, it
is the same Holy Spirit who makes the only Saviour of sinners so
precious to the awakened and trembling sinner. Again, to quote
Alexander Cruden, Justifying faith is a saving grace wrought
in the soul by the Spirit of God, whereby we receive Christ
as He is revealed in the Gospel to be our Prophet, Priest, and
King, trust in and rely upon Him and His righteousness alone
for justification and salvation. All true faith is of God the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And true saving faith
is to God. It's to God. So let us go on
to consider then in the second place the object of faith. God alone is the true and proper
and perfect object of all true saving faith. In Mark 11, verse 22, we read
that Jesus said to his disciples, have faith in God. Have faith in God. The Thessalonians
were commended for their faith in God. For from you sounded out the
word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also
in every place. Your faith to God is spread abroad
so that we need not to speak anything. Paul writes to Titus
regarding good works, which are the fruit and product of a true
and living faith in God. He says, This is a faithful saying,
and these things I will, that thou affirm constantly, that
they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain
good works. Just as true faith is of the
three persons of the eternal Godhead, so true faith is to
the three persons of the eternal Godhead. God the Father is the
object of faith. He is the object of our faith
as our creator and sovereign preserver, sustainer and benefactor. I believe in God the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, reads the Apostles' Creed. Oh, what
a comfort it is! to the child of God to know that
the Father who is almighty who has made all things and who upholds
all things by the word of his power is able to uphold us and
to keep us and to supply all our need my help cometh from
the Lord which made heaven and earth says the psalmist in Psalm
121 Our Lord Jesus Christ instructs
us to pray to our Father which art in heaven and to use such
words as these, give us this day our daily bread. God is the
object of our faith as our creator and sovereign sustainer and preserver,
our gracious benefactor. He is the object of our faith
according as he has loved us. and chosen us in Christ before
the foundation of the world for the father himself loveth you
the Lord Jesus tells his disciples we're not to think that the father
hated us or at least that he did not love us until such time
as we we repented of our sins and believed on the name of his
dear son we're not to think that he hated us or did not love us
until Jesus as our great high priest had made atonement for
our sins, no he says in Jeremiah, yea I have loved thee with an
everlasting love therefore with loving kindness have I drawn
thee there never was a time when the
father did not love his people He loved them from eternity.
It was the Father's eternal love which included us in the eternal
covenant of grace. It was the Father's eternal love
which gave us to Christ in that eternal covenant and appointed
Him to be our surety. It was the Father's love that
gave the world a Savior. for God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have everlasting life. The Father's love is manifested
in Christ's dying for us, that is, in the place of his dear
elect people. In this was manifested the love
of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son
into the world that we might live through him, hearing his
love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent
his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. What is faith but
the quickened soul's response to the Father's love and we have
known and believed the love that God hath to us. The Father is
the object of our faith in that He is our Father. Faith views Him as such. What
a word that is that is declared by the Lord Jesus to His disciples
after He had risen from the dead. I ascend unto my Father and your
Father and to my God and your God. Again, he does not. The Lord
instruct us to pray after this manner, our Father which art
in heaven. It is a great comfort to the
living child of God to know that the Father is a Father to him
and that he will be and that he will ever be a father to him.
Yes, even when he foolishly and wickedly sins against his God
and his Father. Yes, the just shall live by faith. But we also read that there is
not a just man upon earth who doeth good and sinneth not. The
child of God, though he is born again of the Spirit of God, is
still prone to sin, because of the corruption of his heart through
Adam's fall, and because of the power of that indwelling sin,
and because of the temptations of the enemy. the enemy of his
soul, Satan, whose name means adversary. He has prone to wander. Lord,
I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Another hymn expresses it like
this. Often I feel my sinful heart prone from my saviour to
depart. But though I have him oft forgot,
his loving kindness changes not. Or sin is a constant grief and
a constant trouble to the child of God. And there are times when
it seems almost to have the mastery over him. Ah, but he's brought
back again, like the prodigal in the parable. I will arise
and go to my father. I will say unto him, Father,
I have sinned against heaven and before thee. and see how the Lord addresses
His backsliding people in Jeremiah 3 verse 22. Return ye backsliding
children and I will heal your backsliding. Though they are backslidden,
He still regards them as His children. and see the response
of those who are the children of God. Behold, we come unto
thee, for thou art the Lord our God. Truly in vain is salvation
hoped for from the hills and from the multitude of mountains.
Truly the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. For shame hath devoured the labour
of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds,
their sons and their daughters. We lie down in our shame, and
our confusion covereth us. For we have sinned against the
Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this
day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God. Oh,
what mourning! What confession of sin! How they
cry out for forgiveness! and for a sense of pardoning
mercy and for deliverance from the hardness of their sinful
hearts. Isaiah chapter 63 verse 15. Look down from heaven and behold
from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory Where is thy
zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies
toward me? Are they restrained? Doubtless
thou art our Father. Though Abraham be ignorant of
us, and Israel acknowledge us not, thou, O Lord, art our Father,
our Redeemer. Thy name is from everlasting.
O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened
our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servancy the tribes
of thine inheritance. All faith views and approaches
the Lord God against whom we have sinned as Father. Doubtless
thou art our Father, Though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel
acknowledge us not, Thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer. Thy name is from everlasting. Again, we are taught by Christ
to pray. Our Father, which art in heaven, and then to pray.
And forgive us our sins. And forgive us our sins. God
the Father is the object of faith. And God the Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, is the object of faith. Now faith in Christ is variously
described in the scriptures. It's closely connected with knowledge. For I know whom I have believed,
and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
committed unto him against that day. Job confesses his faith
in Christ, for I know that my Redeemer liveth. Faith is an experimental knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that spiritual and experimental
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is at the very heart of
a living and true faith, is twofold. It comprises two things. An experimental
knowledge of one's sinful self, and an experimental knowledge
of Christ as the only one that can do helpless sinners good. And this saving knowledge of
Christ can only be gained through a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. You can't read it in the sky,
you can't read it in the clouds or in the stars, you can't see
it in the trees or in the grass or in the seas or the mountains. is only through a knowledge of
the Holy Scriptures. Paul reminds Timothy and that
from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which are
able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus. Faith in Christ is described
as seeing Christ and of looking to him John the Baptist preached
Christ and he pointed to Christ, didn't he? Behold the Lamb of
God which taketh away the sin of the world. And Jesus himself
said, and this is the will of him that sent me that everyone
which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life
and I will raise him up at the last day. And just as a spiritual
and experimental knowledge of Christ is twofold, so a spiritual
sight is twofold. There is the sight of self and
there is the sight of the Saviour. And this was typified in the
book of Numbers. In Numbers 21, verse 9, And Moses made a serpent of brass
and put it on a pole. And it came to pass that if a
servant had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass,
he lived. As soon as the Israelite realized
that he'd been bitten by a serpent and was in danger of death, he
was to look to that serpent of brass which Moses had made and
set up on a pole. and so the perishing Israelite
would live and not die well the Lord refers to this doesn't he
in John chapter 3 verse 14 and as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the son of man be
lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but
have eternal life This is faith. It's a looking
to Jesus for life and for salvation. There is no such thing as blind
faith. There is only blind unbelief. Faith in Christ is described
as coming to Christ. We see it, for instance, in John
6, verse 35, where the Lord Jesus says, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. To
come to Christ is to believe on Him. To believe on Christ
is to come to Him. As you know, there is every encouragement
in the Gospel for sinners to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is to believe on Him. Come
unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. take my yoke upon you and learn of me for i am meek
and lowly in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls for
my yoke is easy and my burden is light and so the holy spirit
in the church republishes as it were the gracious invitation
of the gospel by means of the of the ministers of the gospel
whom he raises up and sends And the Spirit and the Bride say,
Come. And let him that cometh say,
Come. And let him that is athirst come.
And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. Faith in Christ is expressed
as fleeing to Christ. In such places as Hebrews 6 verse
18, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set
before us, And in Proverbs, Proverbs 18 verse 10, the name of the
Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe. Now this surely presupposes great
danger. Well, there is indeed a danger,
great danger. There is a danger in sin. There
is a great danger in sin. for the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Remember how Lot was urged to
flee Sodom, escape for thy life. Look not behind thee, neither
stay thou in all the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest
thou be consumed. Faith flees to Christ, the Rock
of Ages, for refuge. Rock of ages, cleft for me, let
me hide myself in thee. Remember the pilgrim in Bunyan's
Pilgrim's Progress. His wife and children tried to
call him back when he went to leave the city of destruction
to go to the celestial city. But the man put his fingers in
his ears and ran on, crying, Life, life, eternal life! So he looked not behind him,
but fled. Faith flees to Christ and there's
an urgency in it. And faith is always accompanied
by repentance. Faith and repentance are like
Siamese twins and these twins are inseparable. And so we read
of Paul and his preaching in the book of Acts, testifying
both to Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. We read of Christ himself
in Mark chapter 1, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of
God and saying, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at
hand. Repent ye and believe the gospel. When Peter preached the
gospel to the Gentiles in Cornelius' house, he spoke of faith in Christ. To him give all the prophets
witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall
receive remission of sins. But when he relates his account
of the conversion of the Gentiles to the brethren in Jerusalem,
It is the repentance of the Gentiles which is taken notice of. When
they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified
God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance
unto life. And we note again that repentance,
like faith, is the gift of God. Then hath God granted repentance
unto life. And true faith in Jesus Christ
is always accompanied by love. Faith regards him as the chiefest
among 10,000. Peter says, unto you therefore
which believe, he is precious. Faith expresses itself in love,
and so Paul in Galatians speaks of faith which worketh by love. God the Son then is the object
of true saving faith. To him give all the prophets
witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall
receive remission of sins. And God the Holy Ghost likewise
is the object of true saving faith. How dependent we are upon
the Spirit of God in the life of faith. The Holy Spirit begins
the work in us. in that which is called the new
birth. Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Jesus said to Nicodemus, Except a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. What is this seeing of the kingdom
of God? Why, it is faith. There must be the new birth,
the work of the Spirit in the heart, before there can be any
real saving faith. Now, how can we know that we
are truly born again of the Spirit of God? Well, surely it's by
the fact that we are brought to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. And believing in Christ, we believe his word. And he teaches
us, if ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask him? being born again of the
Spirit of God, we feel a continual need of the help of the Holy
Spirit in the life of faith. And we ask the Father because
we believe the Son. And we ask Him for that best
of all donations, the gift of the Holy Ghost. Ours is a Trinitarian
faith. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals
Christ to us and the things of Christ. John 6.13 Jesus said all things
that the Father hath are mine therefore said I that he shall
take of mine and shall show it unto you a little while and ye
shall not see me and again a little while and ye shall see me because
I go to the Father I should have read from verse 13 there John
6.13 how be it when he the spirit of truth is come he will guide
you into all truth For he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things
to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall
receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that
the Father hath of mine, therefore said I, that he shall take of
mine, and shall show it unto you. This is the Spirit's teaching
in the hearts of God's people. It is the Holy Spirit who enables
us to live the life of faith, For if ye live after the flesh,
ye shall die, but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds
of the body, ye shall live. It's through the Spirit that
we mortify the deeds of the flesh. And it is the Holy Spirit who
helps in all true prayer. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as
we ought. But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us groanings
which cannot be uttered, oh how dependent we are upon the Holy
Spirit in the life of faith. The Holy Spirit begins the work
of grace in us and the Holy Spirit will continue and carry on that
good and gracious work which He has begun within us and He
will bring it to its glorious conclusion, being confident of
this very thing that He which has begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. So in conclusion,
what is the end of a life of faith? What is its glorious conclusion?
Well, it is an everlasting salvation. as Peter says in his first epistle,
receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Yes, it is life! Life! Eternal life! And so it is written
in the Gospel according to John, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have eternal life for God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish but have everlasting life. At the
end of that third chapter of John, he that believeth not the
Son He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and
he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath
of God abideth on him. And so it is written in the words
of our threefold text, the just shall live by faith. May the Lord bless his word to
us in this threefold text. May he bless it to each of our
souls and may these words be made to us as it was to Martin
Luther, a gate to heaven. The just shall live by faith. Amen.