But Christ "committed no sin, and no guile was found on His lips" (1 Peter 2:22). Therefore He owed nothing to the Law. And yet against Him - so holy, righteous, and blessed - the law raged as much as it does against us accursed and condemned sinners, and even more fiercely. It accused Him of blasphemy and sedition; it found Him guilty in the sight of God of all the sins of the entire world; finally it saddened and frightened Him that he sweat blood (Luke 22:44) and eventually it sentenced Him to death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8)...Therefore we believers are free of the Law through Christ who "triumphed over it in Him" (Col. 2:15.
This glorious triumph, accomplished for us through Christ, is grasped not by works but by faith alone. Therefore faith alone justifies.
Martin Luther, quoted in "Treasury of Daily Prayer," page 526
