Luther: 3 Kinds of Obedience
Again, here’s a post from Dane Ortlund’s blog. Wonderful stuff.
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A few years ago I mentioned my discovery of, and reproduced in large measure, C. S. Lewis’ essay ‘Three Kinds of Men,’ found in his book Present Concerns. Perhaps the two most important pages I have read outside Scripture (see also here); at least, I can’t think of anything that would rival it. Lewis says there are not two ways to live: living for oneself vs. living for God. Rather there are three: living for oneself, living for oneself by being good, and truly living for God by enjoying him. Since then I’ve found a similar way of thinking in Thomas Aquinas, F. B. Meyer, and Soren Kierkegaard. Jonathan Edwards gets at the same reality in his own way, though not with the clear threefold taxonomy as these others. I was delighted tonight to discover a similar way of understanding obedience (and a similar taxonomy) in Luther.
In 1521 the reformer preached a sermon called ‘The Three Kinds of Good Life for the Instruction of Consciences,’ found in vol. 44 of LW.
He says there are ‘three kinds of conscience and three kinds of sin, as well as three kinds of the good life with three kinds of good works’ (235). The first kind ‘is concerned only with outward works’ (235). ‘As a result of this kind of teaching, people become hardened and blind’ (236). ‘[T]heir holiness is circumscribed by their five senses and their bodily existence. And yet, this very holiness shines brighter in the eyes of the world than does real holiness’ (238). This is the Pharisee, the person who does the right things but with a rotten heart.
The second kind of person has a well-developed conscience. It understands ‘humility, meekness, gentleness, peace, fidelity, love, propriety, purity, and the like’ (239). Such people, however, ‘set about them in the wrong way’ (240). They ‘maintain a pious posture not out of their own desire, but because they fear disgrace, punishment, or hell. . . . And this false ground is so deep that no saint has ever fathomed its bottom.’ Such people have a sensitive conscience, unlike the first kind, but they follow it not from godliness but self-love. Luther then prepares to transition into the third kind of person. ‘God does not just want such works by themselves. He wants them to be performed gladly and willingly. And when there is no joy in doing them and the right will and motive are absent, then they are dead in God’s eyes’ (240). Luther explains that none of us can rise above this second kind of person of our own ability.
The third kind of person is different not in externals but is qualitatively different in the heart–this person wants to obey. They are characterized by two realities, says Luther: self-denial and the Holy Spirit. He then concludes: ‘When the Spirit comes . . . look, he makes a pure, free, cheerful, glad, and loving heart, a heart which is simply gratuitously righteous, seeking no reward, fearing no punishment. Such a heart is holy for the sake of holiness . . . and does everything with joy’ (241-42).
The helpfulness and profundity of all these thinkers is their articulation of that middle way, between all-out rebellion and glad gospel obedience, of (where we all live) begrudging obedience that obeys like paying a tax, hoping that afterward we’ll have some money to spend on ourselves, and failing to see that such ‘obedience’ is just as much a rejection of the gospel as open rebellion.
The End of the Law for Righteousness
Romans 10:1-4
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
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This is profound. Lip service is given to the previous verses, but rarely is it embodied. My prayer is that we will increasingly submit to God’s righteousness in Christ, recognizing the futility of our efforts and joyfully experiencing His pleasure in Christ.
Present Acquital
The following post comes from Dane Ortlund’s blog. I’m a big fan of his site.
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There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life will set you free . . .
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life has set you free . . .
The first sentence is how we functionally live the gospel. The second is what Paul actually said.
In listening to my dad’s sermon on this text from a few weeks ago I began to see the important connection between the first two verses of Rom 8. Taken by itself, v. 1, despite the ‘now,’ might be seen as referring to what will really only be true on the last day (It is now decided that you will, at the end, be acquitted). But verse two confirms that the ‘now’ means exactly what it sounds like it means, because v. 2 says we have been set free, not that we will be set free.
I conclude: the reality as well as the feelings of condemnation that assault us every day, sometimes out of the blue and sometimes resulting from quite concrete sin, have no part in the life of the Christian. But that isn’t how we live. We intuitively live as if we’ve been set free from ultimate condemnation on the last day, but in the meantime a bit of healthy somberness and wincing over our moral failings is in order. ‘Thanks, Lord, for freeing us from final condemnation–what wonderful mercy–now let me get back to the little acts of self-indictment that underscore how little I deserve that mercy.’
According to Rom 8:1-2, that is not helping the gospel but denying it. There is no condemnation now because we have been set free. If that’s true, then we’re not only freed from having our sins articulated against us then, but also now. Sometimes it’s others who articulate our sins against us; usually it’s our own conscience. But conscience-condemnation is still condemnation, and all condemnation has been eliminated.
In light of the gospel–’Christ died for our sins’–sin is not the biggest problem in our life. There’s an answer for sin shockingly readily available: Christ, atonement. Our fierce resistance to embrace the sheer freeness of that atonement is the biggest problem. That embrace is what the New Testament calls ‘faith.’ And it results in no condemnation–not only then, but also now. Not only doctrinally, but also emotionally.
Come to Me and Drink
John 7:37-38
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
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Jesus is what we long for. He cannot be attained by our furious effort. He gives Himself to us freely and must be received, not earned. The more that we believe that we are the beloved of God in Christ, the more we will be out-word focused, loving those around us for their sakes and not primarily for our own. We will become springs of life to our friends, co-workers and strangers because the love of Jesus is within and flowing out of us to the world.
Go to Jesus. Ask for his grace. Dwell with him. He has steadfast love for you and is completely faithful, no matter what your feelings may be communicating to you.
Love Bade Me Welcome
Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack’d anything.
“A guest,” I answer’d, “worthy to be here”;
Love said, “You shall be he.”
“I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee.”
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
“Who made the eyes but I?”
“Truth, Lord, but I have marr’d them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.”
“And know you not,” says Love, “who bore the blame?”
“My dear, then I will serve.”
“You must sit down,” says Love, “and taste my meat.”
So I did sit and eat.
– George Herbert
He is the Food Our Spirits Were Designed to Feed On
The following quote comes from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (p. 54):
What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could “be like gods” – could set up on their own as if they had created themselves – be their own masters – invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history – money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery – the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.
The reason why it can never succeed is this. God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to makes us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.
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John 6:25-59 says,
25When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
28Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
30So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[c]“
32Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”
35Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’[d] Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
52Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
The Roof of a Greenhouse
This quote comes from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (p. 64):
“That is why the Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or – if they think there is not – at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. But the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a greenhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it.”
Spiritual Depression
Would you like to be rid of this spiritual depression? The first thing you have to do is to say farewell now once and forever to your past. . . . Never look back at your sins again. Say, ‘It is finished, it is covered by the Blood of Christ.’ That is your first step. Take that and finish with yourself and all this talk about goodness, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only then that true happiness and joy are possible for you. What you need is not to make resolutions and to live a better life, to start fasting and sweating and praying. No! You just begin to say, ‘I rest my faith on Him alone, who died for my transgressions to atone.’”
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression, page 35.
HT: Ray Ortlund
The Bible’s Purpose
My good friend Dan Weber sent me the following quote this morning. I hope that Dan begins a blog soon as God is revealing his grace to him right now in an intense way. I get the benefit of hearing from him often, and I’ll be sure to let you know if he gets a blog going.
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“The Bible’s purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life. The Bible’s purpose is to show you how God’s grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from the sin and brokenness otherwise you would never be able to overcome… religion is ‘if you obey, then you will be accepted’. But the Gospel is, ‘if you are absolutely accepted, and sure you’re accepted, only then will you ever begin to obey’. Those are two utterly different things. Every page of the Bible shows the difference.” – Timothy Keller
The Freer it is, the Better it is (T. Chalmers)
The following excerpt comes from “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection” by Thomas Chalmers, a famous Scottish preacher from the early 19th centruy. I encourage you to read this sermon in its entirety (only 11 pages). You can find it here.
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Thus it is, that the freer the Gospel, the more sanctifying is the Gospel; and the more it is received as a doctrine of grace, the more will it be felt as a doctrine according to godliness. This is one of the secrets of the Christian life, that the more a man holds of God as a pensioner, the greater is the payment of service that he renders back again. On the tenure of “Do this and live,” a spirit of fearfulness is sure to enter; and the jealousies of a legal bargain chase away all confidence from the intercourse between God and man; and the creature striving to be square and even with his Creator, is, in fact, pursuing all the while his own selfishness, instead of God’s glory; and with all the conformity’s which he labours to accomplish, the soul of obedience is not there, the mind is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed under such an economy ever can be. It is only when, as in the Gospel, acceptance is bestowed as a present, without money and without price, that the security which man feels in God is placed beyond the reach of disturbance – or, that he can repose in Him, as one friend reposes in another, – or, that any liberal and generous understanding can be established betwixt them – the one party rejoicing over the other to do him good – the other finding that the truest gladness of his heart lies in the impulse of a gratitude, by which it is awakened to the charms of a new moral existence.
Salvation by grace – salvation by free grace – salvation not of works, but according to the mercy of God – salvation on such a footing is not more indispensable to the deliverance of our persons from the hand of justice, than it is to the deliverance of our hearts from the chill and the weight of ungodliness. Retain a single shred or fragment of legality with the Gospel, and we raise a topic of distrust between man and God. We take away from the power of the Gospel to melt and to conciliate. For this purpose, the freer it is, the better it is. That very peculiarity which so many dread as the germ of antinomianism, is, in fact, the germ of a new spirit, and a new inclination against it. Along with the light of a free Gospel, does there enter the love of the Gospel, which, in proportion as we impair the freeness, we are sure to chase away. And never does the sinner find within himself so mighty a moral transformation, as when under the belief that he is saved by grace, he feels constrained thereby to offer his heart a devoted within, and to deny ungodliness. To do any work in the best manner, we should make use of the fittest tools for it.
