DEVOTION//Sin’s only solution

Within every human being lives the idea that we can contribute something toward creating a right relationship with God. This is obvious in every religion in the world – except for Bible-based Christianity. But this desire to be responsible – in some degree – for winning God’s favor also lives in most Christian denominations.

Martin Luther urges us to despair of finding a solution to our sin in any place but in the Son of God who suffered the punishment for all sins when he died on the cross. On the cross, our sins were completely forgiven because Jesus won their forgiveness. On the cross, our guilt was removed because Jesus took all our guilt on himself. On the cross, the curse our sins demanded fall on us was transferred to God’s Son. It can no longer cry out against us.

Listen to Luther

Isaiah 53:6 speaks… about Christ. It says: "God has laid on him the iniquity of us all"….

Christ not only was crucified and died but, by divine love, sin was laid upon him.

When sin was laid upon him, the law came and said: “Let every sinner die! And, therefore, Christ, if you want to reply that you are guilty and that you bear the punishment, you must bear the sin and the curse, as well.”

Christ became a curse instead of us

Therefore, Paul correctly applies to Christ this general law from Moses: “Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13-14). Christ hung on a tree; therefore, Christ is a curse of God.

This is our highest comfort: to clothe and wrap Christ this way in my sins, your sins, and the sins of the entire world, and, in this way, to behold him bearing all our sins.

Human works deny God’s grace

When he is beheld this way, he easily removes all the fanatical opinions of our opponents about justification by works.

For the papists [as well as many other Christian groups] dream about a kind of faith “formed by love.” Through this they want to remove their owns sins and be justified.

This is clearly to unwrap Christ and to unclothe him from our sins, to make him innocent, to burden and overwhelm ourselves with our own sins, and to behold them, not in Christ but in ourselves.

This is to abolish Christ and make him useless.

Only Jesus can remove sin’s curse

If it is true that we abolish sins by the works of the law and by love, then Christ does not take them away, but we do. But if he is truly the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, who became a curse for us, and who was wrapped in our sins, it necessarily follows that we cannot be justified and take away sins through love.

For God has laid our sins, not upon us but upon Christ, his Son. If sins are taken away by him, then they cannot be taken away by us.

All Scripture says this, and we confess and pray the same thing in the Creed when we say: “I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who suffered, was crucified, and died for us.”

Source: Luther's commentary on Galatians 3:13, Luther’s Works, Volume 279-280, American Edition.