In keeping with the Roman Holiday theme, I decided to go through the collection of hymns that have a basis or starting point in/from the Book of Romans.

Romans 3:28 says “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”

One of the first hymns that Martin Luther wrote, based on this verse and included in a small hymnal he put together in 1524 was “Dear Christians, One and All Rejoice.” http://www.ccel.org/a/anonymous/luth_hymnal/tlh387.htm

The beauty of this hymn is how it gets to the core of God’s Grace, not only in his planned salvation but in how Jesus lived the perfect life to fulfil the law we failed, and more importantly, in that His death and ressurection, victory was won.  The second to final stanza offers a reminder of the Holy Spirit teaching, guiding and comforting us, a simple woven illustration of the Triune God.

It is interesting in comparing the wording between The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) and the Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal (1993). For those knowledgeable in German, the reading of that version would be an added treat. While words have been changed to meet the more contempory times, Luther’s hymn is one of the best examples of justification to learn from and enjoy.