Faith Alone, Justification, and Loving Your Neighbor

Martin Luther brilliantly taught that justification by faith alone is profoundly related to a Christian’s love for his neighbor.  If a Christian thinks that his works play even a small a part in justification, he will never be able to help his neighbor out of true love.  Instead, he will use his neighbor as a notch to put on his belt of God’s approval.  Here’s how Robert Kolb and Charles P. Arand summarize Luther’s thought on this topic.

“Works done on the premise of becoming righteous before God are ultimately works done not for one’s neighbor but for the glory and salvation of self.  Our neighbor’s needs then become little more than means to an end.  They cannot and are not carried out simply for the good of neighbor or because they are the right thing to do regardless of the benefit we may gain from them.  Whatever benefit they give the neighbor is collateral, like ‘icing the cake.’  In the process, the neighbor either becomes instrumentalized as a means to an end or devalued as of little use.  In the attempt to secure my future, I cannot carry my service to my neighbor, and thereby I deprive my neighbor of the Creator’s gifts.  Theologies of glory thus create a situation where a person does only the bare minimum required to meet the need of one’s neighbor” (p. 83).

This might be compared to a politician holding a baby for a photo op. He doesn’t really care about the baby, he just holds the child for a picture to gain voter approval. So it is with the person who thinks his works play a part in his justification. When he helps his neighbor, he doesn’t really care about his neighbor.  He is only helping his neighbor to gain God’s approval.  He’s using his neighbor, not loving him.

Once we realize that justification is by faith alone in Christ alone, we no longer view our neighbor as someone to use to gain God’s favor.  We realize that Christ has already gained God’s favor for us by his life, death, and resurrection.  That frees us up to truly love our neighbor, serve him, and help him.  So Luther also said famously said that God doesn’t need our good works.  Our neighbor does!

Robert Kolb and Charles Arand, The Genius of Luther’s Theology.

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The Wonderful Exchange (Frohlicher Wechsel)

 I’m enjoying Kolb and Arand’s discussion of Luther’s theology and how it applies to the Christian life today.  Here’s one part I found helpful and comforting.

“By creating faith and joining us to Christ, the Word of God effects what Luther would call a ‘wonderful’ or ‘joyous exchange’ (frohlicher wechsel)!  In developing the marriage metaphor, Luther drew on German law to develop the idea of an exchange that takes place between Christ and the believer.  German law distinguished between that which belonged to a person, was that person’s own (proprium), and that which one possessed or used (as in ‘possession is nine-tenths of the law’).  He pointed out that in marriage everything that properly belonged to the groom now comes into the possession of the bride, and everything that properly belonged to the bride now becomes the possession of the groom.  This union effects an exchange.”

“So also with Christ and the Christian.  ‘It follows that everything [each has] is [thereafter] held in common, the good as well as the evil.  The believing soul can boast of and glory in whatever Christ has as though it were his own, and whatever the soul has Christ claims as his own.’  Everything that belonged to Christ now belongs to me, and everything that belonged to me now belongs to Christ.  So in the promise Christ declared, ‘Your sin is mine, and my innocence is yours.’  By receiving the promise, faith hides nothing and holds nothing back from Christ.  It replies to Christ, ‘My sin lies on you, and your innocence and blessedness now belong to me.’  The Christian is thus joined to Christ by a faith that clings to the Word and now accepts that Christ is totally responsible for us.  This means ‘our sins are now not ours but Christ’s, and Christ’s righteousness is not Christ’s but ours.’  Only in faith are Christ and a human being so joined together, so made one, that in God’s judgment the human person participates in Christ’s righteousness” (p. 46).

To be sure, Luther did not say that by faith we become ontologically united to Christ (theosis).  Nor did he teach that we receive what is Christ’s by becoming more like him (as Rome taught).  “He held that the verdict of justification does not come at the beginning or end of a movement (toward becoming increasingly righteous); instead, it establishes an entirely new situation.  The joyous exchange is thus not a substantial exchange but a relational exchange.”  “Luther held that the Christian is a person who…is simil justus et peccator (simultaneously righteous and sinful)” (p. 47).  Luther said it like this:

“Though I am a sinner in myself, I am not a sinner in Christ.  In myself outside of Christ, I am a sinner; in Christ outside of myself, I am not a sinner.”

Robert Kolb and Charles P. Arand, The Genius of Luther’s Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008).  Kindle version here.

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Drunks and Pigs

Unfortunately some Calvinists think it’s cool to cuss and drink beer.  To be sure, cussing is not Calvinistic at all.  A person who really understands Calvinism will seek to keep his tongue from evil (1 Pet. 3:10).  And though drinking alcohol is not a sin, 1) it isn’t something to brag about because it has to do with Christian liberty, and 2) drinking too much – getting drunk – is a sin against God.  Speaking of drunkenness, I appreciate what Martin Luther had to say in a sermon he preached on 1 Peter 4:7-11 (May 18, 1539).  Here are some excerpts from that sermon.

“…To sit day and night, pouring it [beer] in and pouring it out again, is piggish.  This is not a human way of living, not to say Christian, but rather a pig’s life.”

“Eating and drinking are not forbidden, but rather all food is a matter of freedom, even a modest drink for one’s pleasure.  If you do not wish to conduct yourself this way, if you are going to go beyond this and be a born pig and guzzle beer and wine, then…you must know that you cannot be saved.  For God will not admit such piggish drinkers into the kingdom of heaven (Gal. 5:19-21). …Do not think that you are saved if you are a drunken pig day and night.  This is a great sin….  Everybody should know that such sin is contrary to his baptism and hinders his faith and his salvation.”

“If you are tired and downhearted, take a drink; but this does not mean being a pig and doing nothing but gorging and swilling.”

“…Peter states the reason why it is necessary for us to be sober.  Why?  In order to be able to pray, and this is necessary because we have an adversary, the devil, ‘who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’  …But when a man is drunk his reason is buried, his tongue and all his members are incapable of praying; he is a drunken pig and the devil has devoured him.”

I especially appreciate that last paragraph.  One reason we should stay sober is so that we can pray and resist Satan’s temptations.  One reason drunkenness us such a debilitating sin is because it hinders us from praying and resisting the devil.  The devil no doubt loves drunkenness; the Christian should hate it and avoid it.

As always, we appreciate your comments.  However, for this post, please keep your comical remarks to yourself.  Luther wasn’t joking around in this sermon!

The entire sermon is found in volume 51 of Luther’s Works.

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We Do Not Bear Him

Here’s a wonderful excerpt from a sermon Martin Luther preached on Isaiah 9:1-7 (Christmas Day, 1532).

“Thus, now, we hear how wonderfully and lovingly the prophet Isaiah describes Christ.  He is a child and son, he says, who is born and given to us, is a Lord and possesses a government.  But what kind of a Lord is he?  He is a Lord who bears us and on whose shoulder we lie.  If he does not bear us, we are lost.  If pope, bishops, monks, and priests believed this, they would deal much differently with this matter.  However, they do not want to be borne by Christ; instead they bear Christ, as they seem to think, and to them Christ is merely a painted Christ.  For in their thinking they believe they are to live in this or that manner, fast and pray, do enough to pay for their sins and appease God’s anger.”

“But that sort of carrying is contradictory.  If Christ does not bear you but you try to bear him, that will be a very heavy load for you, just as if a lost and strayed sheep would say to its shepherd who wanted to carry it: No, dear shepherd, you are not to carry me; I wish to carry you; sit on me!  Obviously that sheep would be crushed by the load.”

“But if the sheep is to be helped, the sheep must speak like this: Accept my thanks, dear Shepherd, for seeking and carrying me; I cannot carry you, but I shall let you carry me.”

“So also in Christ’s kingdom!  Christ wants to carry his sheep, just like a shepherd carries a poor, wretched, strayed sheep.  He speaks to a poor sinner in this manner: You are conceived and born in sin, you have angered God by many sins and are condemned to death; but you are not to suffer anguish on account of this, for your sins are forgiven you; simply lie on my shoulder, I want to carry you before God.”

This sermon and quote is in Volume 7 (pages 227-8) of The Complete Sermons of Martin Luther.

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Short Prayers, Good Prayers

 Ever since I was a younger Christian I’ve heard many godly men exhort me to spend long periods in prayer.  Some recommended waking up early to pray (from 5-6 AM), others recommended taking a day off each month to pray.  I’ve also read many accounts of great Christians who have spent hours upon hours in prayer – which has no doubt benefited Christ’s church.  I have to confess: though I do pray fervent prayers quite often, I find it very difficult to spend hours in uninterrupted prayer.  But I don’t despair for reasons that follow.

As wonderful and beneficial as longer prayers are, I think we have to be careful when it comes to this topic.  We’ve always got to remember not to judge prayers based on how long they are.  The essence of true prayer is a believing heart calling upon the Father through Christ by the Holy Spirit (see Heidelberg Catechism LD 45).  In fact, Jesus told us not to heap up empty phrases when we pray, thinking that we will be heard for our many words (Matt. 6:7).  And the pattern for prayer that he gave us is pretty short (Matt. 6:9-13).  I appreciate how Philip Ryken discussed this in When You Pray.

“Knowing God as Father means…you can keep prayer simple.  When children need something from their fathers, they do not hire a lawyer, draft a formal petition, or get down on their knees, they just ask.  That is why Christian prayers are straightforward.  The prayers of pagans tend to be overly complicated, but when Christians pray, they pray to their Father.”

“As a general rule, the prayers of God’s children are short and sweet.  Martin Luther (1483-1546) once said, ‘Our prayer must have few words, but be great and profound in content and meaning…Few words and richness of meaning is Christian; many words and lack of meaning is pagan.’  Indeed, one of the striking things about most biblical prayers is their brevity.  It is hard to find a prayer anywhere in the Bible that when read aloud would be more than five minutes long.”

“Some Christians measure spirituality by the amount of time a person prays.  True, there is plenty of teaching in Scripture about being devoted to the life of prayer.  Jesus himself spent a great deal of time in prayer, and the apostle Paul tells us to ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thess. 5:17, KJV).  However, the effectiveness of our prayers does not depend on the length of our prayers.”

Ryken goes on to discuss Elijah’s short, fervent prayer in contrast to the long-winded prayers of Baal’s prophets (1 Ki. 18).  Elijah’s prayer was brief and simple.  Or consider Isaiah’s prayer in which he confessed his sin (Is. 6:5).  Think about the publican’s prayer: God be merciful to me, a sinner (Luke 18:13).  Thomas’ confession-prayer also comes to mind: My Lord and my God! (John 20:28).  Ecclesiastes even says, Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few (Ecc. 5:2 NIV).

God’s people all have different personalities and temperaments.  Some can pray for hours on end with great fervency.  Others pray short fervent prayers throughout the day.  The point is that we pray often, from the heart, to our Father in heaven.  The saint that prays for hours is not more spiritual than the saint that prays frequent, brief, heart-felt prayers.  My own prayer life has grown since I’ve come to understand what Ryken means in this closing paragraph.  You may want to read it a few times if you’ve struggled in this area.

“God does not need any lengthy explanations.  If you find that your prayer life is too weak, is it possibly that you are trying to make things too complicated?  Our prayers must be fervent, of course, and they ought to be frequent, but they do not need to be fancy” (p. 30-31).

Philip Ryken, When You Pray.

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