"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.
John 14:15–17 (RSV)
Luther once thought that salvation was a near-impossible task. He strove and worked doing everything the Church appeared to require. He confessed sins for hours. He punished his flesh in an attempt to beat sin from his spirit. He begged God for mercy, offering his tears in repentance.
He reached a point where the very thought of God was odious to him. He hated a God who demanded the impossible, then punished the sinner for failing to achieve it.
If we only read the first sentence of the passage above, we will agree with Luther. 'If you love me, you will keep my commandments", to which we might reply, "and how pray tell can we do this? Our hearts struggle to love ourselves. How can we love you, Jesus."
This is why Lutherans do not base anything on a single passage of Scripture. The very next sentence offers us the blessing by which we will love Jesus and keep His commandments.
Jesus prays to the Father to send the Holy Spirit to us. It is the Holy Spirit that creates faith within our hearts. The Spirit sustains that faith, nurturing it, so we trust the Father. Even the tiniest flame of faith ignited by the Spirit is pleasing to the Father.
Our Father longs for our salvation. He grants it through His Son, sending the Holy Spirit so we might have faith in His promise. A person must work very hard to be lost and condemned. Amazingly, many do just that, focusing only on themselves. They reject every offer of love and mercy from the Father.
Still, the Father will not cease His seeking the lost. He will pursue us with love without end. Jesus descended into hell to proclaim salvation to those enslaved by their folly.
As Luther discovered, salvation is the Father's gracious gift to those whom the Spirit grants faith.