Martin Luther always argued that good works arise out of faith and that if faith was preached, those who were converted by the preaching could do nothing else than produce a life full of good works. To demand good works without preaching faith into the hearts of the hearers is like demanding that a baseball player with a broken pitching arm throw strikes. It is no use to tell the player what he ought to be doing if he is completely unable to do it. He would consider it cruel to demand that his broken arm should produce a 90-mile-an-hour fastball. Of course, any rational person would point out that the player's arm needs medical attention, and after the bone is set and his rehabilitation is complete, he might then be able to pitch. After the recovery of his arm, he would be eager to pitch again in competition.

Those who demand good works apart from faith are demanding fastballs from broken arms. This is a cruel demand, because the Lord's Word brings healing to broken humans by granting the faith that is an instant recovery. That recovery is accompanied by joy at the power to serve God. That joy can never be exhausted in the Christian life because faith in Christ is inexhaustible and the opportunities for service in faith are so abundant. The first commandment alone, "You shall have no other gods," can never be exhausted. Everything we believe and do is tied to who God is and what He does, especially in Christ. A thousand lifetimes would never fulfill the depth of faith that this commandment elicits. But if we have that faith, we will always be busy about the things that the command elicits from us. Faith does everything because it empowers humans to be busy about the things of God.