real grace for real sin

This is an excerpt that I received at RUF from a letter that Martin Luther wrote to Spalatin. Spalatin was apparently well-known for giving advice. Luther received word that Spalatin had one day given someone confident advice and then woke the next morning that it was actually very terrible advice--harmful, sinful advice. Thus Luther writes him this letter, filled with the offense, biting and uncomfort of the gospel, yet wonderfully freeing in the rest that giving up on our own righteousness provides.

"...my faithful request and admonition is that you join our company and associate with us, who are real, great and hard-boiled sinners. You must not, by no means, make Christ to seem paltry and trifling to us, as though He could be our helper only when we want to be rid of imaginary, nominal and childish sins. No! No! That would not be good for us. He must rather be a Savior and Redeemer from real, great, grievous and damnable transgressions and iniquities, yea, and from the very greatest and most shocking sins; to be brief, from all sins added together in a grand total...Dr. Staupitz [Luther's mentor] comforted me on a certain occasion when I was in the same hospital and suffering the same affliction as you, by addressing me thus; Aha! you want to be a painted [meaning having a good external appearance] sinner, and accordingly, expect to have in Christ a painted savior. You will have to get used to the belief that Christ is a real Savior and you a real sinner. For God is neither jesting nor dealing in imaginary affairs, but He was greatly and most assuredly in ernest when He sent His own Son into the world and sacrificed Him for our sakes."