Martin Luther’s Lying Heresy: Righteousness by Faith Alone without Conformity to God’s Law
Martin Luther, in a statement that marked a turning point in the history of Christianity, affirmed: “The righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel as written: the righteous shall live by faith, I began to understand that the righteousness of God means the righteousness that God gives.” This view
profoundly distorts the biblical message by reducing
righteousness to a unilateral gift from God, independent of
obedience to the Law, and by removing human responsibility for acquiring righteousness through holiness and faithfulness.
According to Luther, the believer, although still a sinner, can be justified before God solely by his faith, even if he persists in his sins. This view is nothing other than a falsification of the Gospel, a poison for the human soul.
Luther, by contrasting faith and obedience, rejects the indissoluble link between authentic faith and obedience to the Law.
Luther’s mistake: Simul justus i peccator “At the same time righteous and a sinner”
According to Luther, man is “at the same time righteous and a
sinner.”
This statement suggests that the Christian can continue to sin while being declared righteous by God. This view is incompatible with the gospel, because it excuses sin instead of eradicating it. Jesus Christ himself declared:
Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven
is perfect.
Hebrews 12:14 Persue peace and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
Justice without transformation
Luther teaches that righteousness is only a legal status that God grants to the believer through faith. This implies that man remains inwardly corrupt, a slave to sin, but is considered righteous before God through faith.
Now, the Bible teaches that righteousness is more than a mere
declaration: it is a synergic and active work with the Holy
Spirit.
The righteous is the one who walks according to the Law of God and who does not sin at all under the guidance and directive voice of the Holy Spirit
Ezekiel 18:20 The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
Luther claims that man can be saved by completed faith, regardless of his works or his conformity to the Law. This doctrine is an insult to the Gospel, because it transforms God’s grace into a license to sin. Paul, often misquoted by Luther, nevertheless wrote:
Romans 6:1-2 Must we sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!
True faith does not tolerate sin. It leads to total abandonment of sins and complete sanctification.
Luther taught that even if the believer persists in his sins, he can be saved by faith alone. This is a destructive heresy that opens the door to spiritual fatalism and moral laxity.
Yet the Bible clearly teaches that persistence in sin is incompatible with salvation:
1 John 3:6 Whoever abides in him does not sin.
In his scandalous book “The Slavery of the Will” Luther writes
that God’s law shows man’s inability to obey it.
What a scandal! The followers of the lying movements have taken up
Luther’s theories word for word.
The fallacious interpretation of salvation by faith, as it is widespread in some modern movements, leads believers into a false spiritual security. It makes them believe that obedience to the law, to the will of God, is secondary or
optional, as long as they “believe” in Jesus.
This view profoundly distorts the message of the Gospel by minimizing
the call to a life of complete and permanent victorious
sanctification. It suggests a kind of “faith without fruits or
with incomplete fruits, never ripe” where personal
transformation, essential to be pleasing to God, takes a back
seat that will never be complete .
In reality, true faith is manifested by willing and complete conformity to the Law of God, not by compromise or tolerance of occasional sin.
Genuine salvation by faith is not only justification from the guilt of sin, but also deliverance from its power a complete freedom to live without sin. Is that salvation by faith a reality in your life?
If you believe in Jesus, then has Jesus set you free from sin? Has he
saved you ?
Do you live now without sin by the power of Holy Spirit in the victorious process of sanctification?
1 John 3:9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin,
for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
John 8:36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us to renounce ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live
self-controlled, righteous and godly lives in this
present world.
Contrary to Luther, justice is not a simple gift from God that one receives passively. It is the fruit of obedience and personal fidelity.
Ezekiel 18:5 The man who is righteous, who does justice and righteousness…
Ezekiel 14:14 If there were in him these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, they would deliver their souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
In the mindset of false evangelical Protestant movements,
saying that we must be righteous is seen as an attack on the
sovereignty of God.
They perceive it as prideful and boastful, because in their understanding, being righteous, holy, without sin, or pure is something extraordinary and prestigious,
impossible to attain.
According to them, striving for such a state elevates a person above others and makes them appear as someone seeking their own glory.
However, this is a complete distortion of biblical truth. Obeying God, doing His will, and living in righteousness, holiness and without sin is not something extraordinary, but simply normal and expected . There is nothing prestigious or
exceptional about following the commands of God—it is simply the way every believer should live.
One’s own holiness or righteousness is not an achievement to boast or take pride in, but the natural result of a life fully surrendered to the Moral Law and the Will of God.
Neither Jesus nor the prophets and apostles ever suggested that righteousness, holiness, or obedience to God’s will was something prestigious or extraordinary, leading to pride.
Instead, they commanded it as something normal, as it is in
the Kingdom of God in heaven.
Matthew 5:48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Jesus does not present perfection or completeness as an exceptional achievement, but as the normal standard for the children of God. Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in
heart: for they shall see God.”
Jesus declares purity of heart as a condition to attain for seeing God, not as something “prestigious” or out of reach.
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Doing God’s will is not about pride, but simply what is required to enter the Kingdom.
Luther’s destructive phrase: “You, Lord Jesus, are my righteousness, but I am your sin.”
This outrageous statement by Martin Luther alone sums up the deeply flawed theology he developed regarding sin and righteousness. By stating, “You, Lord Jesus, are my righteousness, but I am your sin,” Luther introduces a notion
that distorts both the holiness of Christ and human responsibility for sin.
Romans 6:2 Far from it! How can we, who are dead to sin, live any longer in it?
What is the meaning of the word “death” here that we do not understand?
Luther presents the idea that the believer can attribute his sins to Christ while receiving Jesus’ righteousness, regardless of personnel righteousness or living in accordance with God’s law. This concept, known as passive imputation, holds that Jesus becomes “our sin” and we become “his righteousness,” as if this exchange allows the Christian to persist in his sins
without consequence for his salvation.
To say that Christ literally “became our sin” is a theological aberration. Jesus bore the sins of the world as an atoning sacrifice, but at no point did he become “sin” in essence or nature. Luther’s statement distorts Christ’s mission and insults his perfect holiness.
1 Peter 1:19 with the precious blood of Christ, as of a
lamb without blemish and without spot…
Luther reduces righteousness to a outward covering, where the Christian is declared righteous by faith, without having to live a life in accordance with God’s righteousness. Yet biblical righteousness is not an alien or imposed righteousness, but a righteousness that transforms and sanctifies man from
within:
1 John 3:7 He who does righteousness is righteous, just
as he is righteous.
The righteousness that God requires is not a outward declaration, but a lived reality. Luther, in affirming that Jesus is our righteousness, rejects the biblical requirement to walk in holiness and conformity to God’s Law. However, the Scriptures teach that God’s righteousness is revealed through faithful and active obedience:
“The righteous shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4) – A faith that includes acts of righteousness.
“Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.”
(Hebrews 12:14).
By saying, “I am your sin,” Luther suggests that sin is a permanent and inevitable condition for the Christian. He is part of his theology in which sin is tolerated as an inexorable reality of human life, even after regeneration. This is in stark contrast to the Bible, which calls believers to a life without
sin:
2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his; and, Whosoever shall name the
name of the Lord, let him depart from iniquity.
1 John 3:6 Whoever abides in him does not sin
Luther confuses grace with tolerance of sin, whereas “grace
teaches us to renounce ungodliness and to live in holiness” Titus 2:11-12
This heresy resonated favorably with the occasional sinners and the powerful of Martin Luther’s day. German kings, seduced by the idea of imputed righteousness and salvation by faith, imagined that they were saved in spite
of their sins.
Thus, these sectarian doctrines spread rapidly, flattering the rich and powerful while condemning the poor, uneducated peasants.
Even today, this echo persists in modern lying movements that profess Christianity. These groups seek to fill their buildings with seductive rhetoric, sophisticated speeches, and romantic words, but never address the seriousness of sin or preach radical repentance.
Their goal is to please their audience by avoiding confronting sinners with the reality of their sins, thus deviating from biblical truth to seduce the
masses.
This phenomenon took root in Christianity as early as the fourth century, continued at the dawn of the Protestant era by Luther and Calvin, and continues today in contemporary movements claiming to be Christian. However, thanks be to God, from the apostolic era until today, a minority of men have not been seduced by these misleading doctrines of
salvation by faith alone, without the Law of God, and have been able to resist the devil’s snares.
Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
The lying heresy of Martin Luther: “Simul Justus et Peccator” Martin Luther, in his teaching on justification, develops what he considers a “paradox”: “Simul Justus et Peccator”, in other words, man is both just and a sinner. According to him, in ourselves, we remain sinners, but in the eyes of God, through
faith in Christ, we are declared just.
This justice does not reside in a real and complete transformation of the person; but in a justice “imputed” by God through faith,
Luther goes further by affirming that sin continues to reign in man, not as a total domination, but as a reality to which the Christian is subject until glorification. For him, sin is not eradicated in this life, but simply covered by divine grace.
This doctrine implies that sin coexists with righteousness in the heart of the believer, and that man must “endure” sin until he reaches the glorified state after death.
Is this what Paul teaches?
Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your
mortal body
Luther’s thesis contradicts the holy nature of God and the radical transformation he brings about in the life of the believer.
How could the holy God regard as righteous those who willfully remain in sin, even occasionally? The Scriptures clearly state:
1 Peter 1:16 Be ye holy, for I am holy.
1 John 3:9 He who is born of God does not commit
(poieō) sin.
Luther presents an unbalanced view of the relationship between Christ and the believer. By asserting that Christ is “our righteousness,” he absolves the Christian of his duty to live a pure and a life without sin. The Bible, on the contrary, shows that love for Jesus is manifested through obedience:
John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments. 1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
The righteousness of Christ is not an excuse to continue in sin, but a power to live in holiness:
Romans 6:14 Sin shall not have dominion over you, because ye are under grace.
Luther’s statement “You, Lord Jesus, are my righteousness, but I am your sin”
is a dangerous distortion of the gospel. It misrepresents the mission of Christ, excuses sin, and denies the biblical requirement for lived righteousness. In contrast to this fallacy, the Bible teaches that true righteousness is that
which transforms the believer to live in total and perpetual obedience to God’s law.
Luther sowed theological confusion that persists to this day in the false evangelical movements, but the Scriptures are clear:
“He who is in Christ does not sin, for he lives according to the Spirit and not
according to the flesh.”
Because of these destructive heresies, the followers of the lying movements have neither determination nor motivation to lead a completely holy and pure life, without sin.
Since, according to them, Jesus paid everything, they consider
themselves righteous and holy once and for all, incapable of
living otherwise. Salvation, according to their perspective, would be achieved only by faith, and they imagine that they have acquired a heavenly nationality, regardless of their conduct.
This mentality pushes them to spiritual softness, which dominates them throughout their lives. Their preaching is then exclusively centered and reduced to faith and perseverance in this same faith, despite their constant falls and sins. Augustine, Luther and Calvin are their spiritual
fathers, who laid the foundations of these erroneous
thoughts, thus committing a true spiritual genocide on these men.
2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who shall privily bring in damnable
heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them,
and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their licentious ways, and the way
of truth shall be evil spoken of through them.
Through covetousness they shall make merchandise
of you with deceitful words: whose condemnation is
of a long time, and whose destruction slumbereth
not.
God makes a sinner righteous by the forgiveness of sins through the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ. It is essential to distinguish between the initial justification, which purifies man by the blood of Jesus for the forgivness of past sins and the victorious process of sanctification of keeping one’s “white robe” until the end of the race of salvation. This process involves loving God’s law and obeying it in deed, word, thought, and imagination.