The Goods of the Right Hand

I really shouldn't post this quote, for, to take it out of it's context (Luther's lectures on Romans) is to strip it of much of it's power. However, I found this little quote so true and convicting, that I thought I should post it. Read through it all very slowly, especially towards the end where Luther talks about the right and left hand (see the footnote to understand what he is talking about) and be humbled.

Luther on the Book of Romans

But now Christ wants our whole disposition to be so stripped down⁶ that we are not only unafraid of being embarrassed for our faults and also do not delight in the glory and vain joys of our virtues but that we do not feel called upon to glory before men even in that external righteousness which comes to us from Christ. Nor should we be cast down by sufferings and evils which are inflicted on us for His sake. A true Christian must have no glory of his own and must to such an extent be stripped of everything he calls his own that in honor and in dishonor he can always remain the same in the knowledge that the honor that has been bestowed on him has been given not to him but to Christ, whose righteousness and gifts are shining in him, and that the dishonor inflicted on him is inflicted both on him and on Christ. But to obtain such perfection we need much practice, to say nothing of the special gift of grace. Even though a person with all his natural and spiritual gifts may be wise before men and righteous and good, God will not on that account look upon him as such, especially if he regards himself so. Therefore we must in all these things keep ourselves so humble⁷ as if we still had nothing of our own. We must wait for the mercy of God, who will reckon us righteous and wise. This God will do if we have been humble and have not anticipated God by justifying ourselves and by thinking that we are something, as we read in 1 Cor. 4:3–5: “I do not even judge myself.… It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, etc.” To be sure, there are many who for God’s sake consider the goods of the left hand,⁸ that is, temporal goods, of no value and gladly give them up, as the Jews and the heretics are doing. But there are few who for the sake of obtaining the righteousness of Christ consider the goods of the right hand, the spiritual goods and righteous works, worth nothing. This is something the Jews and heretics cannot do. And yet, nobody will be saved unless this takes place. For people always wish and hope that their own works will be accepted and rewarded by God. But this statement stands firm (Rom. 9:16): “It depends not upon man’s will or exertion, but upon God’s mercy.”

6 Expressions like “to strip off” (exuere) and “to be stripped of” (nudus) were commonplace in the language of various medieval writers whose works Luther studied. These expressions signified complete separation from everything objectionable. The Weimar editor cites a number of instances in which Luther adopts such phrases.

7 “Humility” is the nt note throughout these lectures and the early lectures on the Psalms as well. In fact, Luther is ready to say that “humility” is the theme of all of Scripture. “What else does all of Scripture teach but humility, in which we are subject not only to God but also to every creature!” he writes below on Rom. 2:11. A typical statement is humilitas … est nihil aliud nisi obedientia et tota iustitia (W, IV, 406, 5). “Pride” (superbia) is the very opposite, the root of all evil. Cf. n. 2 above. See also Luther’s comment on Is. 40:3: “Prepare the way of the Lord,” Luther’s Works, 17, pp. 8–9.

8 The phrases “of the left hand” and “of the right hand,” in the general distinction of “unfavorable” and “favorable” or “mundane” and “spiritual” respectively, were among Luther’s favorite devices, and he used them in a variety of ways.

Luther, M. Luther's Works, Vol. 25 : Lectures on Romans. Ed. J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann. Luther's Works. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999, c1972.

The words of Paul in Romans are, when you really think about it, stunning. Paul is completely stripping us of all worth (or, more accurately, he is merely telling us what we really look like) and is commanding us to totally forsake any reliance on our own merits. What could possibly be more unnatural for us? This is unheard of!

It is only when God, by His grace, reveals the worth of Himself to us, that we then can truly see what we and all our righteous works are - worthless.

But praise be to God for showing us to be worthless! For when we are weak, Christ is strong. When God humbles us, it leaves us with no place to go but into the arms of Christ. And when we run to Christ and are saved by Him, we cannot help but praise and glorify God for His mercy and grace!

And that is what it is all about.

Pslam 51

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
(Psalm 51 ESV)

Faith and Works

The question is asked, “How can justification take place without the works of the Law, and how by the works of the Law can there be no justification, since James 2:26 clearly states: ‘Faith apart from works is dead’ and ‘a man is justified by works,’ using the example of Abraham and Rahab (James 2:23–25)?” And Paul himself in Gal. 5:6 speaks of “faith working through love,” and above in chapter 2:13 he says that “the doers of the Law will be justified before God.” The answer to this question is that the apostle is distinguishing between the Law and faith, or between the letter and grace, and thus also between their respective works. The works of the Law are those, he says, which take place outside of faith and grace and are done at the urging of the Law, which either forces obedience through fear or allures us through the promise of temporal blessings. But the works of faith, he says, are those which are done out of the spirit of liberty and solely for the love of God. And the latter cannot be accomplished except by those who have been justified by faith, to which justification the works of the Law add nothing, indeed, they strongly hinder it, since they do not permit a man to see himself as unrighteous and in need of justification.

Here is an example. If a layman should perform all the outward functions of a priest, celebrating Mass, confirming, absolving, administering the sacraments, dedicating altars, churches, vestments, vessels, etc., it is certain that these actions in all respects would be similar to those of a true priest, in fact, they might be performed more reverently and properly than the real ones. But because he has not been consecrated and ordained and sanctified, he performs nothing at all, but is only playing church and deceiving himself and his followers. It is the same way with the righteous, good, and holy works which are performed either without or before justification. For just as this layman does not become a priest by performing all these functions, although it can happen that he could be made a priest without doing them, namely, by ordination, so also the man who is righteous by the Law is actually not made righteous by the works of the Law at all, but without them, by something else, namely, through faith in Christ, by which he is justified and, as it were, ordained, so that he is made righteous for the performance of the works of righteousness, just as this layman is ordained a priest for the performance of the functions of a priest. And it can happen that the man who is righteous by the Law does works which are more according to the letter and more spectacular than the man who is righteous by grace. But yet he is not for this reason righteous but rather may actually be more impeded by these works from coming to righteousness and to the works of grace.

Another example. A monkey can imitate the actions of people, but he is not a man on that account. But if he should become a man, this doubtless would not take place by virtue of these actions, by which he has imitated a man, but by some other power, namely, God’s; but then having become a man, he would truly and rightly perform the actions of a man.

Therefore, when St. James and the apostle say that a man is justified by works, they are contending against the erroneous notion of those who thought that faith suffices without works, although the apostle does not say that faith justifies without its own works (because then there would be no faith, since, according to the philosophers, “action is the evidence that form exists”33), but that it justifies without the works of the Law. Therefore justification does not demand the works of the Law but a living faith which produces its own works.

Luther, M. (1999, c1972). Vol. 25: Luther's works, vol. 25 : Lectures on Romans (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

You Must Despair and Give Glory to God

Concerning the statement, ‘It depends not upon man’s will [or exertion, but upon God’s mercy,’ Rom. 9:16], I respond: In this passage Paul was doing nothing less than disputing about predestination, but he was speaking against the Jews and the righteousness of the law and he meant to say, ‘You must despair, give God the glory, and confess that you didn’t start it.’ When I was a monk I depended on such willing and exertion, but the longer [I worked at it] the farther away I got. What I have now I have not from exertion but from God. So in this passage Paul was saying everything against presumption, so that we may say, ‘Lord, whatever [good] there is in us exists by thy grace.’

So he also appeals to that saying, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy’ [Rom. 9:15], that is, ‘you won’t do it without my forgiveness.’ In short, all this is spoken against those who are proud: ‘He to whom I give it will have it; you are not to win it from me by your holiness.’ What more should he do? He says, ‘You are to have it. But when you seek it and insist on having it because of your righteousness, I won’t suffer it. I would rather throw everything away — priesthood, kingdom, even my law. But expect grace from me, and you will have it.'

Luther, M. (1999, c1967). Vol. 54: Luther's works, vol. 54 : Table Talk (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

Forgivness of Sin Is Hard to Believe

It’s impossible for our adversaries to understand the forgiveness of sins because they are immersed in their notion of quality. The Holy Scriptures call Christians saints and the people of God. It’s a pity that it’s forgotten that we are saints, for to forget this is to forget Christ and baptism. (In Psalm 86 [:2] the Hebrew for ‘I am a saint,’ chasid, means the opposite, ‘I am cursed.’) So it comes about that those who are truly sinners don’t want to be considered sinners, and those who are saints don’t want to be called saints either. The latter don’t believe the gospel which comforts them and the former don’t believe the law which accuses them.

You say that the sins which we commit every day offend God, and therefore we are not saints. To this I reply: Mother love is stronger than the filth and scabbiness on a child, and so the love of God toward us is stronger than the dirt that clings to us. Accordingly, although we are sinners, we do not lose our filial relation on account of our filthiness, nor do we fall from grace on account of our sin.

You object that we are always sinning, and where there are sins the Holy Spirit does not dwell; therefore we are not saints because the Spirit sanctifies. I reply: The text says, ‘The Spirit will glorify me’ [John 16:13, 14]. Therefore, where Christ is, there is the Holy Spirit also. Besides, sins do not separate Christ from sinners who believe. The God of the Turks helps only to the extent that one is godly. This is also true of the pope’s God, but when a papist begins to doubt, as he must, that he has made enough satisfaction, he becomes alarmed. Such is the faith of the pope and the Turks. But the Christian says: I believe and cling to him who is in heaven as a Savior. If I fall into sin I rise again but don’t continue to sin. I rise up and become the enemy of sin. Thus the Christian faith differs from other religions in this, that the Christian hopes even in the midst of evils and sins. Without the Holy Spirit natural man can’t do this. He can only seek refuge in works. To say, ‘I am a child of God,’ is accordingly not to doubt even when good works are lacking, as they always are in all of us. This is so great a thing that one is startled by it. Such is its magnitude that one can’t believe it.

Luther, M. (1999, c1967). Vol. 54: Luther's works, vol. 54 : Table Talk (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

Contempt for and Love of God's Word

Such contempt [for the Word of God] ought to be both a consolation and a warning to us, so that we give thanks to God for the blessing of being among those who love his Word, diligently hear and learn God’s Word, and find delight in the Holy Scriptures. For it is a great punishment and a severe judgment of God if a man so hates God and his Word that he is unwilling to hear it and neither honors nor esteems the ministers of the Word.

Luther, M. (1999, c1967). Vol. 54: Luther's works, vol. 54 : Table Talk (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

55 Volumes of Pure Bliss

Well, just a few days ago I celebrated my 19th birthday. Hurray for me! My mom made me a chocolate cake and my family sang "Happy Birthday" to me. Then they had me sit down and “unwrap” (more like “pull a blanket off”) a large box. A mini-fridge! It will certainly come in handy next year at Moody and until then, I think I might put it up in my room. Because my dad has this phobia against air conditioning (I’ve tried to get him to seek help), I have devised an ingenious way to cool down my scorching room. I will plug in my new mini-fridge, open its door and then put my window fan in front of the opening, sucking out the cold air and blowing it into my oven of a room. Genius!

My sister kind of forgot to get me something by Wednesday (my birthday), but soon recovered by getting me the movie Kingdom of Heaven. It’s a sweet movie! I especially like the historical commentary feature, which lets you watch the movie while relevant historical facts about people and places pop up at the bottom of the screen. It’s actually quite interesting!

And then my birthday was over….or so I thought. Just yesterday, I was looking through the mail and saw a small cardboard package addressed to my dad. I didn’t really think anything of it (he gets a lot of books). But then he gave it to me, saying, “Happy Birthday!” Well, it turns out that they also got me The Complete Works of Martin Luther on CD and it is nothing short of amazing! I am not joking when I say it is one of the best presents I have ever received!

Fiftey-five volumes of pure bliss. That’s right – the CD contains fifty-five volumes of Luther’s works, ranging from commentaries on Genesis, to many of his Reformation writings, to the supremely interesting book entitled Table Talk (a collection of random thoughts and quotes by Luther, recorded by the many guests who stayed with him and ate at his table over the years). In all honesty, it is quite overwhelming. It will take years to work through all the material contained on that one little CD. Over the past few months I have really grown to like Luther a lot, and was planning on buying a few of his classics (like The Bon.dage of the Will), but after reading Here I Stand, a biography on Luther which included many quotes from Luther’s sermons and letters, I realized that there is much more to Luther than just his major, published works. I am especially looking forward to reading Luther’s commentary on Genesis. I read a small section from this commentary (it was about Abraham almost sacrificing Isaac) in Here I Stand and found Luther’s insights and thoughts to be wonderful (I will try to find this again and post it)!

There are also comprehensive introductions by the editors at the beginning of every volume. The introductions are all rather long, giving a lot of good historical and contextual information. They explain the circumstances surrounding the writing of the work, who the original audience was, etc. They also give information on how the pieces were translated from German (and sometimes Latin) into English.

Probably the feature that I find most helpful is the integrated footnote system. All one must do is hover their mouse over any footnote, and the information for that footnote will appear in a pop-up bubble. Many names and places are “footnoted” as well, displaying additional biographical and contextual information. And as if that wasn't enough, every single Bible reference, in ALL 55 volumes, is “footnoted” – just move your cursor over the reference and a pop-up will appear showing you the whole verse. I like.

There are many other great things about this program (bookmarks, advanced searching, extensive note taking system, citation system etc) but they are just icing on the cake. I do have one complaint, however. It was a pain to install. Because you are actually only buying book licenses, the core software is free and can be downloaded online. At first I used the CD, but it contained outdated software and just made the whole process take forever (update after update after update). However, once I got the stupid thing installed, it all worked perfectly.

I would definitely recommend this awesome resource to anyone who finds themselves attracted to Luther’s writing. Yes, it is rather pricey (about $150 on Amazon), but I think it will be worth it, and it is WAY cheaper than buying all 55 of those volumes in book form. Here you get 55 indexed, searchable, compact (you don’t even need the CD!), footnoted, copy/pasteable, and backupable books written by one of the greatest Christian thinkers in history.

Like I said…pure bliss.

Faith: God's Work in Us

Faith is a work of God in us, which changes us and brings us to birth anew from God (cf. John 1). It kills the old Adam, makes us completely different people in heart, mind, senses, and all our powers, and brings the Holy Spirit with it. What a living, creative, active powerful thing is faith! It is impossible that faith ever stop doing good. Faith doesn't ask whether good works are to be done, but, before it is asked, it has done them. It is always active. Whoever doesn't do such works is without faith; he gropes and searches about him for faith and good works but doesn't know what faith or good works are. Even so, he chatters on with a great many words about faith and good works. Faith is a living, unshakeable confidence in God's grace; it is so certain, that someone would die a thousand times for it. This kind of trust in and knowledge of God's grace makes a person joyful, confident, and happy with regard to God and all creatures. This is what the Holy Spirit does by faith. Through faith, a person will do good to everyone without coercion, willingly and happily; he will serve everyone, suffer everything for the love and praise of God, who has shown him such grace. It is as impossible to separate works from faith as burning and shining from fire. Therefore be on guard against your own false ideas and against the chatterers who think they are clever enough to make judgments about faith and good works but who are in reality the biggest fools. Ask God to work faith in you; otherwise you will remain eternally without faith, no matter what you try to do or fabricate.

The Wisdom of God

Show me a single mortal in the whole universe, no matter how just and saintly, to whose mind it would have ever occurred that this should be the way of salvation to believe in him who was both God and man, who died for our sins, who rose and sites at the right hand of the Father. What philosopher ever saw this? Who among the prophets? The cross is a scandal to the Jews and a folly to the Gentiles….If it is difficult to believe in God’s mercy and goodness when he damns those who do not deserve it, we must recall that if God’s justice could be recognized as just by human comprehension, it would not be divine. Since God is true and one, he is utterly incomprehensible and inaccessible to human reason. Therefore his justice also must be incomprehensible. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments!”

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (ESV)

School's Out for Summer!

Ok, it actually has been out for me for about two weeks now, but it's just now setting in. I keep waking up in the morning stressing about some forgotten paper or neglected lab. But alas, that's all over for a few months.

A few days ago I got a job working at the Pipac Center. I set up tables and chairs and anything else that they want me to set up for weddings, parties, chess tournaments etc. It's been pretty good so far. Although it's pretty mindless work, the people there are pretty cool and my manager is really easy going. It sure beats standing at a cash register for eight hours...

On a different note, I finally finished reading my second biography on Martin Luther, Here I Stand, by Roland H. Bainton. It was far better than the first book I read by Martin Marty (it was about three times longer as well). The book gave much more information on the circumstances and events throughout Germany and Europe during Luther's days, adding a much richer and full context to the story of the rebellious little monk from Wittenberg. One thing that I really liked about Here I Stand, as opposed to Martin Luther, was that Bainton quoted much more of Luther than did Marty. Almost every page had a quote on it, and many were very long. After reading through the book, I am now determined to read more of Luther's work (not just his published works like The Bon dage of the Will etc. but also his sermons and letters). Luther has a way with words that reminds me of C.S. Lewis. Although Luther is much harsher, direct and unrestrained with his words than Lewis ever was, Luther, like Lewis, has a unique ability to choose specific words to get his point across in the most precise and understandable way possible. Many times, after reading Luther, I nod my head in agreement and exclaim, "That's exactly what I was thinking!" (sometimes I do this aloud...luckily I am alone most of the time). However, at other times Luther's thoughts and insights are refreshingly new to me, causing me to look at an idea or passage about God in a totally new way. He is truly refreshing to read. And, as I mentioned in an earlier post, he loved the Word. His love for the Word is amazingly evident in all of his writings. In his preface to the book of Romans, Luther demonstrates his love for Scripture clearly when he says,

It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize [Romans] word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes. Therefore I want to carry out my service and, with this preface, provide an introduction to the letter, insofar as God gives me the ability, so that every one can gain the fullest possible understanding of it. Up to now it has been darkened by glosses and by many a useless comment, but it is in itself a bright light, almost bright enough to illumine the entire Scripture.

I am forever thankful to God that He has given me an ever growing love for His Word (it is such an inadequate and pathetic love). Luther is absolutely right when he says, "the more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes." I am rereading so many passages and I am finding that they seem new and fresh every time I read them. The Word is rich and full of God and cannot be exhausted. Luther is right: It is impossible to read or meditate on God's Word too much.

Now I have begun reading Jonathan Edwards' The Religious Affections. I have to say, Edwards is not as enjoyable to read as Luther is. His writing skills are not nearly what Luther's are (and his run-on sentences are killer!). However, Edwards has his moments...and in these moments he shines.

I am bold to assert, that there never was any considerable change wrought in the mind or conversation of any one person, by anything of a religious nature, that ever he read, heard or saw, that had not his affections moved. Never was a natural man engaged earnestly to seek his salvation: never were any such brought to cry after wisdom, and lift up their voice for understanding, and to wrestle with God in prayer for mercy; and never was one humbled, and brought to the foot of God, from anything that ever he heard or imagined of his own unworthiness and undeservings of God’s displeasure; nor was ever one induced to fly for refuge unto Christ, while his heart remained unaffected. Nor was there ever a saint awakened out of a cold, lifeless frame, or recovered from a declining state in religion, and brought back from a lamentable departure from God, without having his heart affected. And in a word, there never was anything considerable brought to pass in the heart or life of any man living, by the things of religion, that had not his heart deeply affected by those things.

Later he says,

If the great things of religion are rightly understood, they will affect the heart. The reason why men are not affected by such infinitely great, important, glorious, and wonderful things, as they often hear and read of, in the Word of God, is undoubtedly because they are blind; if they were not so, it would be impossible, and utterly inconsistent with human nature, that their hearts should be otherwise, than strongly impressed, and greatly moved by such things.

I said Edwards has "moments." However, this is not to say that most of what Edwards has written is bad or worthless. On the contrary, Edwards is very, very good. He can be much more profound than Luther at times. The Religious Affections is an amazing book, packed full of biblical truth. It just takes more work than much of Luther's stuff. His writing is hard to work through at times (most of the time). But this is not a count against him. Edwards is worth the work.

Well, I have spent far too much time writing this post and its time for supper. Later.

There is No Sin

This is wonderful news to believe that salvation lies outside of ourselves. I am justified and acceptable to God, although there are in me sin, unrighteousness, and horror of death. Yet I must look elsewhere and see no sin. This is wonderful, not to see what I see, not to feel what I feel. Before my eyes I see a gulden, or a sword, or a fire, and I must say, “There is no gulden, no sword, no fire.” The forgiveness of sins is like this.

When You are Tempted to Despair...

When I go to bed, the Devil is always waiting for me. When he begins to plague me, I give him this answer: “Devil, I must sleep. That’s God’s command, ‘Work by day. Sleep by night.’ So go away.” If that doesn’t work and he brings out a catalog of sins, I say, “Yes, old fellow, I know all about it. And I know some more you have overlooked. Here are a few extra. Put them down.” If he still won’t quit and presses me hard and accuses me as a sinner, I scorn him and say, “St. Satan, pray for me. Of course you have never done anything wrong in your life. You alone are holy. Go to God and get grace for yourself. If you want to get me all straightened out, I say, ‘Physician, heal thyself.’”

Aus tiefer Not

Aus tiefer Not
Martin Luther

I cry to thee in direst need.
O God, I beg thee hear me.
To my distress I pray give heed.
O Father, draw thou near me.
If thou shoudst wish to look upon
The wrong and wickedness I've done,
How could I stand before thee?

With thee is naught but untold grace
Evermore forgiving.
We cannot stand before thy face,
Not by the best of living.
No man boasting may draw near.
All the living stand in fear.
Thy grace alone can save them.

Therefore in God I place my trust,
My own claim denying.
Believe in him alone I must,
On his sole grace relying.
He pledged to me his plighted word.
My comfort is in what I heard.
There I will I hold forever.

Romans 7:15-25
The Apostle Paul

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Martin Luther and the Word

Currently, the poll about favorite theologians shows that Marin Luther is at the top of the list. I would have to concur. Ever since seeing the movie Luther and reading John Piper's book The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, I have become fascinated by Martin Luther. Since finishing The Legacy (which is actually about three different men), I have read many other articles on the internet and one biography of Luther (I plan on reading more). The book I just finished was written by Martin Marty (I laughed) and was simply titled Martin Luther. Apart from being just plain interesting reading, I was really struck by one thing in Luther that made him one of the greatest reformers (if not the greatest).

Luther was utterly devoted to the Word. This point cannot be stressed enough. Luther accepted the Bible and only the Bible as absolute authority, boldly rejecting the edicts and councils of the Church and Pope when they contradicted Scripture. This profound and amazing rejection of the Church is hard to grasp if one does not have some knowledge about the Church and it's influence and importance in Europe during the 16th century.

In the 1500's the Church was everything. Salvation was found nowhere but in and through the Church. The word of the Pope was equal in authority to the Word of God - in fact it was more authoritative than the Word of God. In response to Luther's 95 Theses, Sylvester Prierias said, "He who does not accept the doctrine of the Church of Rome and pontiff of Rome as an infallible rule of faith, from which the Holy Scriptures, too, draw their strength and authority, is a heretic." In 1516, Pope Leo X declared, "It is necessary for the salvation of all souls that all Christian believers be subject to the pope at Rome." When Luther read the Word, he did not see where God had given authority to the "pope at Rome," but instead saw Christ as being the one and only "pope." Christ was the head and salvation was found in him and him alone.

However, this position was heretical. To deny the authority of the Church was to deny salvation (according to the Pope). When Luther would go to debate church officials about his heretical ideas, he would often be asked this question: How do you know you are right? How could centuries of Church doctrine and thousands of Church leaders have been wrong? Who are you, one man, to go against the Church of Rome? This was a question that Luther struggled with.

At the Diet of Worms, after being shown a table covered with all of Luther's heretical writings, Luther was asked if he would like to recant. In response to this question, Luther asked that he be allowed to have a day to think about it. At this, many of his supporters became discouraged, thinking that he was getting weak and would bow under the pressure of Rome. Indeed the weight of Rome was heavy - Who was he to reject centuries of Church doctrine? However, because Luther was solely devoted to the Word, he returned to the diet the next day and boldly declared, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the Pope or in the councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience.” For this statement, Luther was excommunicated and put under imperial ban, but his faith was in Christ and therefore his salvation was sure.

We should all pray that God would give us a love for His Word and a devotion to it like the love and devotion that Luther had - one that eclipses all other loves and all other devotion. The Word of God is the mean that God has ordained to reveal Himself to us through. In short, it is how we know God. We cannot find God in any other way. Luther knew this. His faith in, and love for, the Word drove him to hold it higher than anything else. We must do this as well. Pray for God's grace that you might glorify His Word always.