we are justified, or the gift of the forgiveness of sins. This righteousness in God is wonderful because it makes of God not a righteous Judge but a forgiving Father, who wants to use his righteousness not to judge but to justify and absolve sinners.5 This discovery, that God’s righteousness or essence is steadfast love and mercy, played a key role in the formation of Luther’s understanding of the biblical message. Also central to Luther’s “evangelical breakthrough”