Oct 1 Sermon, Mevo, Salvation = Justification?
Oct 1 sermon:
[26:21]
Man's solution to this then, was, through the church, really, you gain salvation by this equation:
Salvation was God beginning a work, which they called "Justification", and you completing it.
It was, to put it in theological terms,
Salvation equals
Justification (God getting you across the line)
Plus Sanctification (you doing your part)
Salvation equals
Justification (God getting you across the line)
Plus Sanctification (you doing your part)
This justification, putting you in this state, state something they thought happened when you were baptized as an infant, and his grace was infused, or placed into you. And now it was up to you to be a good spiritual gardener. To use an analogy, this grace was implanted in you, but now it was up to you to water it and to make it grow.
[31:27]
This problem with a holy God would only be solved by God himself. In fact, if I were to write a new equation, what Luther developed is
Salvation does not equal, as he had been taught,
justification a work that begins in you and is infused in you
and sanctification which you complete,
but
Salvation equals justification alone.
You say, "Well how do you get there? You mean you just believe?" Well, look again at Romans chapter 1. And I want to take you through a couple spots. You see, Luther began teaching in the Psalms. And then the next spot that he went to teach was in Romans, and it was here that I believe he rediscovered this truth of the gospel. And after that, he went to Galatians, and it ultimately catalyzed this understanding. Romans 1 says "For in it, (the gospel), the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith for faith. For it is written, the righteous shall live by faith." In another translation, you could say "the one who is justified, the one who is right, the one who is right before God, shall live by faith. Period. Full stop."
[quoting Luther] [42:41]
He says "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin, according to scriptures."
He goes on to say,
"Those who seek to earn the grace of God by their own efforts are trying to please God ultimately with sins. They mock God and they provoke his anger and the first step on the road to salvation is to repent."
What he's saying is, and it almost goes it almost sounds antithetical to our way of thinking, is "we not only have to repent of our sins, but we have to repent of our good works.
Just a few things here:
One. The case for salvation being restricted to justificaion was never made from scripture. Romans 1:16-17 only proves "faith alone", not "justification alone". You'd need to go to Eph 2:8-9 where the soter category is connected solely with faith (not works). But then you need to distinguish between the right to life and the possession of life.
Two. When Andy says "another way of translating this" about the Romans 1 passage, I wonder if he meant to say it the way Luther read it, which was to interpret the "by faith" as modifying "is righteous". (Luther translated it as "The one who by faith is righteous shall live." instead of "The one who is righteous shall live by faith")
Three. The quote from Luther is great in heart, but as usual, is a little clumsy. Christians can please God through their own good works, accepted in Christ.
Recent Conversations
There has been considerable recent debate about all of this.
Mark Jones
https://calvinistinternational.com/2017/10/07/john-piper-compromising-sola-fide/amp/
As Herman Witsius argued, The right to life is “assigned to the obedience of Christ, that all the value of our holiness may be entirely excluded.” However, regarding the possession of life, “our works…which the Spirit of Christ works in us, and by us, contribute something to the latter.”
But then take the latest Lutheran Satire video which equates the two (justification/salvation) by referencing Eph 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0BGf0Aj-lg
And consider this 2009 quote from Michael Horton from his "Introducing Covenant Theology" book:
"The first distinction is between justification on the one hand and sanctification and glorification on the other. Too often we use justification and salvation interchangeably, so the suggestion that we are justified without any condition other than faith leads some to conclude that it is the only condition of salvation. However, salvation is understood broadly in Scripture to encompass the whole work of God in restoring his fallen creation."
Salvation does not equal, as he had been taught,
justification a work that begins in you and is infused in you
and sanctification which you complete,
but
Salvation equals justification alone.
You say, "Well how do you get there? You mean you just believe?" Well, look again at Romans chapter 1. And I want to take you through a couple spots. You see, Luther began teaching in the Psalms. And then the next spot that he went to teach was in Romans, and it was here that I believe he rediscovered this truth of the gospel. And after that, he went to Galatians, and it ultimately catalyzed this understanding. Romans 1 says "For in it, (the gospel), the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith for faith. For it is written, the righteous shall live by faith." In another translation, you could say "the one who is justified, the one who is right, the one who is right before God, shall live by faith. Period. Full stop."
[quoting Luther] [42:41]
He says "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin, according to scriptures."
He goes on to say,
"Those who seek to earn the grace of God by their own efforts are trying to please God ultimately with sins. They mock God and they provoke his anger and the first step on the road to salvation is to repent."
What he's saying is, and it almost goes it almost sounds antithetical to our way of thinking, is "we not only have to repent of our sins, but we have to repent of our good works.
Just a few things here:
One. The case for salvation being restricted to justificaion was never made from scripture. Romans 1:16-17 only proves "faith alone", not "justification alone". You'd need to go to Eph 2:8-9 where the soter category is connected solely with faith (not works). But then you need to distinguish between the right to life and the possession of life.
Two. When Andy says "another way of translating this" about the Romans 1 passage, I wonder if he meant to say it the way Luther read it, which was to interpret the "by faith" as modifying "is righteous". (Luther translated it as "The one who by faith is righteous shall live." instead of "The one who is righteous shall live by faith")
Three. The quote from Luther is great in heart, but as usual, is a little clumsy. Christians can please God through their own good works, accepted in Christ.
Recent Conversations
There has been considerable recent debate about all of this.
Mark Jones
https://calvinistinternational.com/2017/10/07/john-piper-compromising-sola-fide/amp/
As Herman Witsius argued, The right to life is “assigned to the obedience of Christ, that all the value of our holiness may be entirely excluded.” However, regarding the possession of life, “our works…which the Spirit of Christ works in us, and by us, contribute something to the latter.”
But then take the latest Lutheran Satire video which equates the two (justification/salvation) by referencing Eph 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0BGf0Aj-lg
And consider this 2009 quote from Michael Horton from his "Introducing Covenant Theology" book:
"The first distinction is between justification on the one hand and sanctification and glorification on the other. Too often we use justification and salvation interchangeably, so the suggestion that we are justified without any condition other than faith leads some to conclude that it is the only condition of salvation. However, salvation is understood broadly in Scripture to encompass the whole work of God in restoring his fallen creation."
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