Day by Day with Martin Luther

Read: Esther 4:1-7:10 1st Corinthians 12:1-26 Proverbs 21:21-22

“Joyful News”

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit …”
[Ephesians 1:13]

Say here again, once for all, that you should understand the Gospel as nothing other than the Divine promise of His grace and the forgiveness of sins. For that is why it happened, that previously Paul’s Epistles were not understood and could not be understood, because they did not know what the Law and the Gospel really mean. For many, they regarded Christ as a lawmaker, and the Gospel as a mere doctrine of new laws. That is nothing else than locking up the Gospel and concealing “all things”. The Word “Gospel” is Greek and signifies “joyous news”, because it proclaims the wholesome doctrine of life by Divine promise, and offers grace and forgiveness of sin. And this is what causes our hearts to rejoice.