Paul was not talking about God's righteousness, but rather a righteousness that was made available

to believers by faith. And so Luke said, whoa, you mean the righteousness by which I will be saved

is not mine. It's what he called an alien righteousness, a righteousness that belongs properly

to somebody else. It's a righteousness that is outside of us, namely the righteousness of Christ.

Why did Martin Luther stand up against popes and emperors in defense of the gospel?

Because he had finally understood the gospel. He now knew what made the good news good.

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of Renewing Your Mind as we walk in the footsteps of Martin Luther

to better understand the significance of the Protestant Reformation and to appreciate a fresh

the sweetness of the gospel. Luther knew God was holy, that God was righteous, but he also knew

that he wasn't, and he had looked for answers in a monastery. He took a pilgrimage to the city of Rome.

But it was during his studies in Paul's letter to the Romans that the good news became clear

and to quote Luther, the doors of paradise swung open and I walked through.

Here's R.C. Sproul to take us through this critical moment in Luther's life and as it

would turn out in the life of the church.

We're going to continue now with our study of Luther and the 16th century Reformation.

Earlier in these lectures I mentioned that in the younger years of Luther he had a propensity

for having a serious crisis every five years. In 1505 he had the lightning bolt experience

that sent him into the monastery in 1510 as we looked at the last time.

He had his experience of disillusionment on his journey in pilgrimage to Rome.

But perhaps the most significant crisis of his entire life, that episode that defined him as a man,

as a theologian, as a reformer, and as a Christian took place in the year 1515,

in what has been called his tower experience.

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