Introduction
The theology presented by Martin Luther in the sixteenth century greatly influenced the
Protestant church reformation. Luther offered several ideas that tried to determine the
relationship between the gospel and the law and others that sought to explain justification by
faith. Unlike the Christian teachings during his time, Luther affirmed that the Christian
righteousness is only acquired from without. He suggested that the righteousness not only comes
from Christ but is also Christ’s righteousness that is ascribed to Christians through faith. In this
regard, Luther explored the dissimilarities between the righteousness accorded to Christians as a
gift through faith and Christian’s own proper righteousness which works in the power of the gift
through Jesus to do different works of mercy and love. Consequently, Luther presented a Latin
phrase that further described Christian justification, “Simul Justus et Peccator” which is directly
interpreted as “simultaneously just and sinners.” Therefore, this paper will explain and evaluate
Martin Luther’s ideas of the double righteousness possessed by Christians using his
commentaries on Galatians and Romans as well as his 1519 sermon on two kinds of
righteousness.
Luther’s ideas on Simul Justus et Peccator and Justification
Luther’s sermon on the two kinds of righteousness is associated with the reformers belief
of salvation and living by faith and not works. The original justice presented by Luther is the
alien righteousness that comes from without. 1 This kind of righteousness is the righteousness of
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Jesus Christ and is ascribed through faith. 2 Luther quotes the Bible in John 14:6 where Jesus
Christ says ‘I Am the way, the truth, and the life.’ this form of righteousness is accorded to
people in baptism after believing in Jesus Christ and beyond doubt being repentant. 3 Luther’s
argument is that the Reformed Christians only live by faith and not through the participation of
good works or indulgence of growth in holiness. To him, Christianity is not against the acts of
doing good, only that the Christians should not forget on the elementary destitution of Jesus
Christ of the person doing the right actions. Luther defines this aspect of a Christian as a double
characteristic whereby a Christian is both justified and at the same time is a sinner who needs
deliverance every day. The Christian identity is, therefore, dual in nature having a hundred a
hundred percent relationship. Paradoxically, Christians are ultimately saved from condemnation
through the righteousness of Christ while at the same time are malefactors they have always
been.
In Martin Luther’s commentary on the epistle of Romans, he describes the gross sins that
men carry in their hearts. 4 Luther commends Apostle Paul’s instigation of Romans with the
denouncing of sin among men. He notes that the Gentiles, who continue to disbelief the gospel of
Jesus and commit sin, live not under the grace of God. 5 To replenish the sins of men, Luther
suggests that men need Christ’s righteousness. 6 In his two kinds of righteousness sermon, he
describes this righteousness as God’s justice. According to the Epistle of Paul to the Romans, the
righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel (1:17). 7 It is through the faith in Christ that
1 Martin Luther. “Two kinds of righteousness” volume 31, 1519:p1
2 Ibid,p1
3 Ibid,p1
4 Martin Luther. “Martin Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans.” Vol. 1. Blackwood, S. Aust.: New Creation
Publications, 1995:p10
5 Luther, Martin Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, 1995:p11
6 Luther. “Two kinds of righteousness,” 1519:p3
7 Ibid, p3
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Christians can live righteously, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Luther’s conclusion is that
faith is the unbounded righteousness that cleans up all sins in a moment as Christ cannot sin. 8
However, Luther’s commentary on the epistle to the Romans explains that the justified men
remain Simul Justus et Peccator. 9 In as much as Christians have been justified before God
through Jesus Christ, to the degree that they continue engaging in sinful acts even to their death,
they remain to be sinners.
Luther used several analogies and Bible scriptures to elaborate on the dual nature of
Christians. Luther commented on Paul’s letter to the Romans, 8:32, where Paul comforts
Christian fighters regarding the daily struggles with the flesh. According to Martin Luther, this
verse shows how the spirit is derived from Christ’s gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit
that then subdues the flesh. Luther explains the verse as an encouragement to Christians to
always have faith for righteousness. 10 Luther shows that Christians will always have struggles
related to the flesh. In his commentary on Paul’s letter to the Galatians, 5:24, he suggests that
Christians are likely to be provoked into anger, carnal lusts, and intolerance, but will not do all
these because they have crucified the body on the cross through fasting and strengthening of the
spirit. 11 According to him, the flesh continues to harbor the sinful nature within it, however,
nailing it to the cross prevents it from acting upon its desires. 12 His argument goes on to use a
metaphor of a sick man and his doctor to demonstrate justification. The argument is:
8 Ibid,p3
9 Vitalis Mshanga. "Simul Iustus et Peccator: Ecumenical Reflections on the Lutheran–Roman Catholic Simul
Controversy." C ut H ere C ut H ere 2011:p6
10 Luther. “Martin Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans.”, 1995:p19
11 Martin Luther and Theodore Graebner. “A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians.” Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Pub. House, 1999:p125
12 Ibid,p125
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Justification is comparable to a sick man who presents himself to his doctor with the hope
of recovery and whose doctor assures him of certain recovery and in the intervening time
keeps his doctors orders of keeping away from all the things that are forbidden from him
which might hinder the promise of a full recovery or increase his sickness level.
After that now follows Luther’s stand on simuli:
After all, this, is the sick man health? The truth is that he is both well and sick at the same
time. He is sick but at the same time he is well (righteous) because of the doctor’s
promise of a sure recovery and in whom he completely trusts will cure him in the end. 13
Luther’s metaphor of Christian justification is also reflected in his commentary in Rom.
7:15 where Paul spoke about the Christian struggle between the flesh and the spirit. According to
Luther, the flesh, and the spirit are regarded as laws as they both make demands simultaneously.
The flesh makes demands and urges to fulfill its desires. On the other hand, the believer’s spirit
also rages demands that are in opposition with the flesh. 14 Luther asserts that this struggle lasts in
the lifetime of a believer in this world and varies from person to person and also the level of
strength in either of the two. This struggle finally ends when a believer dies and becomes
altogether spiritual. 15 This Christian nature is also reflected in Gal. 2:20 where Luther comments
that justification by faith is needed because Christian believers offend God all the time. 16
Therefore, a believer is considered righteous before God through the absolution of sins, which is,
through the judgment of God who recognizes the believer as righteous because of Christ’s sake.
13 Mshanga, Simul Iustus et Peccator, 2011:p6
14 Luther. Martin Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. 1995:p19
15 Luther. Martin Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. 1995:p18
16 Luther and Theodore Graebner, A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, 1999:p74
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The believer is at the same time a sinner in and within himself, explicitly as he is a human being
and lives in the world. 17
It is interesting to notice how extensively Luther explains the justification by faith and the
sinful nature of believers. He comments in Paul’s letter Rom. 6:19 by suggesting that sin does
not entirely dissolve from believers. It is the overarching spiritual wickedness in the world that
requires God’s redemption in a wider context of which we are mostly ignorant. 18 According to
Luther, sin will always exist even within believers; however, the faith in Christ continuously
fights against it so that believers are not condemned for eternity. 19 Because of the faith in Christ,
Christians now live under the grace and not under the law. 20 In his commentary on the epistle to
the Galatians, he quotes saying the law only arouses the conscious of believers to remember the
condemnation of hell rather than focus on working on their righteousness (Gal. 2:20). 21
According to Carl Trueman, Martin Luther preached the dogma of justification by grace through
Jesus and Him being the only base for the life of a Christian. For Luther, the justification by
grace establishes a servant-hood relationship between a Christian and any person who interacts
with him, therefore, making it a transformative doctrine. 22 Luther’s argument of justification is
based on the existence of the inner and outer man of which both are conceived in relational
words. The spirit has reference to the individual before God while the natural man has reference
to the world. The law reveals the helplessness of the outer man, and so he runs towards the
gospel. 23
17 Mshanga, Simul Iustus et Peccator, 2011:p9
18 Peter Jensen. At the Heart of the Universe: The Eternal Plan of God. Crossway Books, 1991:p57
19 Luther. Martin Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. 1995:p15
20 Ibid,p15
21 Luther and Graebner, A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, 1999:p74
22 Carl Trueman. "Simul peccator et justus: Martin Luther and Justification."Justification in Perspective: Historical
Developments and Contemporary Challenges 2006: p95
23 Trueman. "Simul peccator et justus: Martin Luther and Justification, 2006: p78
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All these explanations show Luther’s position and argument regarding the nature of
believers. He shows how Christians are both righteous and sinful at the same time. His argument
is based on the fact that humans are sinful in nature and can only be fully righteous after their
death in the faith of Christ.
Evaluation of Martin Luther’s ideas
At this moment, this analysis intends to disagree with Luther’s interpretation of the
doctrine of justification. His (Luther) understanding of Paul’s doctrine was falsely interpreted
and gave a different meaning as previously declared. At this point, the thesis introduces Tom
Wright who disagrees sturdily with Luther on the theological meaning of Justification. In his
book What Saint Paul Really Said, he presents the work of Apostle Paul, which was to declare
and announce that God is indeed the true God as opposed to all other gods. 24 Paul’s work reached
the Gentiles with a message that attacked their worldviews while replacing them with another
one that revolved around Jesus Christ. 25 However, amidst his explanations of Paul and his duty
for the Gentiles, he vehemently argued about the righteousness of God. He describes God’s
righteousness as His faithfulness to the covenant he made with Abraham and his seed. 26 Paul’s
true meaning of justification was not a description of how to become a Christian, but a definition
of how to tell which persons are members of God’s family through the covenant given to
Abraham. 27
Luther’s description of Simul Justus et Peccator illustrates that people cannot save
themselves through their own efforts but through the grace of the God. However, this teaching
24 N.T Wright,. ”What Saint Paul Really Said, was Paul if tarsus the real founder of
Christianity?” Lion Publishing, 1997:p59
25 Wright, ”What Saint Paul Really Said” 1997:p79
26 Piper, and Wright. "The Justification Debate: A PRIMER." 2009:p35
27 Wright, ”What Saint Paul Really Said” 1997:p122
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distorts Paul’s teaching on the reconciliatory ability of Jesus Christ through His gospel. Wright
uses a threefold description of justification to show God’s righteousness:
-It is a covenant term- Paul used this word during the second Judaism temple when the
Israel clung on God’s promises amidst political difficulties.
-Used as law court language- it was included to better understand what the covenant was
about. God’s intent is to bring order and justice to the world. 28
-An eschatological word- Paul used it to depict God’s decisive nature of rescuing the
world from sin and finally bring everything in subjection of Jesus 29
Taking into account of Paul’s time when speaking of justification, the above definitions show
that they are quite different from those in the fifth, sixteenth or twentieth century. Justification in
Paul’s time meant being included into Abraham’s big family through Christ. This is established
in Gal. 3:24-29 where Paul does not say, “If you’re Abraham’s seed, you are in Christ.” It is
rather the opposite. God already ascertained Abraham’s seed and so it is a matter of who belongs
to it? 30 Paul does not regard the law (Torah) as bad but recognizes it as a vital part of God’s plan
and another plan through Christ has begun so that salvation could be extended to all. Paul’s
words in Gal. 6:14-16 show the significance of the cross and its redeeming power in the history
of the world so that ‘neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of importance.’ According to
this text, it sounds like a covenantal language. 31 The meaning of justification in Galatians
enlightens that those who are in Christ through faith belong to the same seed and table.
28 N.T Wright,. "The Shape of Justification by N.T. Wright." The Shape of Justification. April 2001. Accessed May 24,
2016. http://ntwrightpage.com/Wright_BR_Shape_Justification.htm.
29 Wright, ”What Saint Paul Really Said” 1997:p117-118
30 Wright, ”What Saint Paul Really Said” 1997:p121
31 Wright, ”What Saint Paul Really Said” 1997:p122
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Luther’s presentation of faith as the only prerequisite for God’s justification is again
misinterpreted in Paul’s epistle to the Romans. When he speaks of the gospel, he does not mean
justification by faith but the proclamation that Jesus is Lord. This is the works that believers
were offered to do. Rom. 1:3-4 extends the message and Rom. 1:16-17 extends the effect of the
message. Luther uses verse 17 of this chapter, ‘the just shall live by faith’ to define justification.
However, Rom. 1:16-17 means that God’s righteousness is revealed through the gospel; the
proclamation that Jesus is Lord, the covenant of God to His people and the promises made. 32 The
final judgment will, therefore, be based on the ‘woks’ of preaching this gospel to nations. 33
John Piper criticized Wright’s definition of Justification by responding to him in his
publication The Future of Justification. According to Piper, if Christians ignore the concept of
imputed righteousness and regard their own works as the way to justification, then they will be
taking the role of Jesus Christ which they should not. 34 His interpretation is similar to Luther’s by
claiming that works cannot lead to future justification of a believer, but they only function during
the last judgment to depict the worth of Christ and the worth of his death and resurrection as the
substitute chastisement and substitute justice for believers. 35 However, Piper provides flawed
suggestions as he uses reformed theology to explain Paul’s words, especially in ambiguous texts.
For instance, in 1 Cor. 1:30, ‘Christ became us wisdom of God..and righteousness, sanctification
and redemption.’ He disagrees with a possible imputation of all the three as Wright suggested. 36
Piper’s problem is that whatever does not fit in his reformed theological idea is thus rejected. 37
32 Wright, ”What Saint Paul Really Said” 1997:p126
33 N.T Wright. "New Perspectives on Paul, by N.T. Wright." New Perspectives on Paul, August 2003. Accessed May
24, 2016. http://ntwrightpage.com/Wright_New_Perspectives.htm
34 John Piper. The Future of Justification: A Response to NT Wright. Crossway, 2007:p187
35 Ibid, p185
36 Wright, ”What Saint Paul Really Said” 1997:p123
37 John Piper. The Future of Justification: A Response to NT Wright. Crossway, 2007:p173
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It is keen to note that Paul critically analyzed the justification of God in a way to interpret
the cross and its significance to believers. He used other terms such as reconciliation and
adoption in different contexts to show the beneficial product of Christ’s death. 38 God raised Jesus
so that He could continue with His mission and take over His priestly kingdom at the right time. 39
He (Jesus) purposes to reconstitute the story of Israel and bringing it back to the true
eschatological Israel. 40 This represents a new life form that will be given after death and is shared
to Gentiles through the Jews. 41 But all these can be realized only through acceptance and
announcement of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The context of Rom. 3:24-26 suggests that those
who believe and accept Jesus are pronounced members of God’s covenantal family and are made
righteous through a metaphorical law court now and in the future thus making justification an
entirety of life. 42
To conclude, Luther’s assertions of Simul Justus et Peccator regarding Christian
justification are incorrect. His definition of Justification does not interpret Paul’s words. Paul’s
meaning of justification was how to tell which persons are members of God’s family through the
covenant given to Abraham. The epistle to the Galatians interprets this justification as a means of
telling God’s covenantal family. Piper and some other theology scholars have criticized this
definition but they have severally been flawed in their interpretations. The work that the
covenantal children of God have is the public announcement of the Christ’s Lordship in the
38 Stephen Finlan,. Problems with atonement: The origins of, and controversy about, the atonement doctrine.
Liturgical Press, 2005:p36
39 David Brondos, A. Paul on the Cross: Reconstructing the Apostle's Story of Redemption. Fortress Press, 2006:p50
40 N.T Wright. "Jesus and the Victory of God,(Christian origins and the question of God), vol. 2." Minneapolis:
Fortress 1996:p563
41 N.T Wright. Simply Good News: Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good,
Harper One, San Francisco, 2015:p53-54
42 Wright, ”What Saint Paul Really Said” 1997:p129
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world. Believers are therefore not justified through faith in Jesus Christ alone but also through
the continual proclamation of Jesus Christ’s Lordship, the gospel, to all nations.
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