Although Luther “raged” against God, his “troubled conscience” drove him to meditate on Romans 1:17: “Day and night” he pondered the connection between the righteousness of God, especially the statement “He who through faith is righteous shall live.”3 Luther was right to study Romans 1:17 so carefully, since it states the gospel in kernel form. Romans 1:1–17 begins with a greeting that also functions as an overture by revealing several of the book’s themes (Rom. 1:1–7). Then, after offering them