Inestimable Peace and Happiness
The following comes from Ray Ortlund’s Blog, Christ is Deeper Still:
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“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” Galatians 3:13
What is the curse of the law? It is the or-else-ness of the law: “Do this, or else.” Christ took the or-else-ness of the law onto himself at the cross, so that there is no more or-else for anyone in Christ, as God looks upon us now. Or-else is gone forever from your relationship with God.
“We, being delivered from these everlasting terrors and anguish through Christ, shall enjoy an everlasting and inestimable peace and happiness.”
Martin Luther, commentary on Galatians 3:13.
The Forgiveness of Sins Covers It All
HT: Ray Ortlund
“It is the supreme art of the devil that he can make the law out of the gospel. If I can hold on to the distinction between law and gospel, I can say to him any and every time that he should kiss my backside. Even if I sinned I would say, ‘Should I deny the gospel on this account?’ . . . Once I debate about what I have done and left undone, I am finished. But if I reply on the basis of the gospel, ‘The forgiveness of sins covers it all,’ I have won.”
Martin Luther, quoted in Reinhard Slenczka, “Luther’s Care of Souls for Our Times,”Concordia Theological Quarterly 67 (2003): 42.
Luther: The Strange Blessings Gathered by the Labors of Another
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I am a sinner, but I am borne by his righteousness which is given to me. I am unclean, but his holiness is my sanctification, in which I ride gently. I am an ignorant fool, but his wisdom carries me forward. I deserve condemnation, but I am set free by his redemption. . . . [I]n [this] we are lifted up not only above our evils, but even above our blessings, and we are set down in the midst of strange blessings gathered by the labors of another. . . . We are set down, I say, in Christ’s righteousness, with which he himself is righteous, because we cling to that righteousness whereby he himself is acceptable to God, intercedes for us as our mediator, and gives himself wholly to us as our high priest and protector. Therefore, just as it is impossible for Christ with his righteousness not to please God, so it is impossible for us, with our faith clinging to his righteousness, not to please him. It is in this way that a Christian becomes almighty Lord of all, having all things and doing all things, wholly without sin.
I was stunned by the next sentence.
Even if he is in sins, these cannot do him harm; they are forgiven for the sake of the inexhaustible righteousness of Christ that removes all sins. Really? No harm at all? Is this another of Luther’s exaggerations for the sake of effect? Gloriously not. ‘Inexhaustible’ is just the right word. Listen to that sentence again.
Even if he is in sins, these cannot do him harm; they are forgiven for the sake of the inexhaustible righteousness of Christ that removes all sins. . . . He who does not believe this is like a deaf man hearing a story. He does not know Christ, neither does he understand what blessings are his nor how thye may be enjoyed. –Martin Luther, “Fourteen Consolations,” written to Elector Frederick the Wise when Frederick fell deathly sick, in LW 42:164-65
The Gospel is for the Brokenhearted
Per Dan Weber (friend), per Of First Importance
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“The Law is for the proud and the Gospel for the brokenhearted.”
- Martin Luther
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I don’t know about you, but my heart sure could be more broken than it is. I have so much pride that God is yet to bring the hammer to (but it will happen sure enough).
Criticism and the Gospel
The following comes from C.J. Mahaney and can also be viewed here.
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The Gospel and Personal Criticism
by C.J. Mahaney 6/5/2009 6:25:00 AM
Many years ago I came across a quote from Martin Luther about personal criticism from unfriendly critics. Luther’s point was that no matter how bad the personal criticisms—no matter how accurate, or inaccurate, the accusations—there is more sin in each of our hearts than a critic could ever discover.
Luther’s humbling reminder has been useful when I have been criticized and accused of things that were simply not accurate (although to avoid any misunderstanding, there have been plenty of critics that were right in their observations, too).
Far too often, my initial impulse has been to dismiss the criticism and defend myself, not realizing that this response is simply an evidence of pride.
Luther’s words directly confront my temptation to a prideful response, because he reminds me that, even if the criticisms are inaccurate or exaggerated, there remain in my heart many other sins that go unnoticed by my critics. And had my critics been aware of these other sins, they surely would have put them to use in their cause!
Luther’s reminder of the depth of personal sin has served me on numerous occasions over the years. And recently Luther’s words have served my friend Carl Trueman, too.
Carl is the Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary. And he has taught a course on John Owen in the Pastors College. Carl is a gifted, insightful, and witty writer (despite writing with just two fingers). I am a friend and a fan of Carl Trueman.
In his most recent online article, “Thank God for Bandit Country,” Carl explains how Luther’s words have served him in handling personal criticism. Listen as the words of Luther and the words of Trueman merge:
I have learned much (as elsewhere) from the master theologian, churchman, public figure, and normal Christian believer, Martin Luther. It is well-known that in his writings [and] in table conversation Luther would often refer to visits from the Devil, how the Devil would come to him and whisper in his ear, accusing him of all manner of filthy sin: “Martin, you are a liar, greedy, lecherous, a blasphemer, a hypocrite. You cannot stand before God.” To which Luther would respond: “Well, yes, I am. And, indeed, Satan, you do not know the half of it. I have done much worse than that and if you care to give me your full list, I can no doubt add to it and help make it more complete. But you know what? My Saviour has died for all my sins—those you mention, those I could add and, indeed, those I have committed but am so wicked that I am unaware of having done so. It does not change the fact that Christ has died for all of them; his blood is sufficient; and on the Day of Judgment I shall be exonerated because he has taken all my sins on himself and clothed me in his own perfect righteousness.”
Luther knew what temptation looked like; he knew his own wickedness; but he also knew the all-surpassing perfection and grace of Christ. So, in closing, I want to thank my blog critics, the crass, the colourful, the profane, and the plain old crazy, for helping me to understand better my sin and my Saviour. You think I’m arrogant? You should talk to my wife: she could fill you in on just how arrogant I really am. You think I’m ruthless and cold? Believe me, you don’t know where half of the bodies are buried. You think I’m a weak and spineless girlyman? Hey, you don’t know nearly the extent of my cowardice. You think I’m an inveterate street fighter? Bring it on. If someone will hold my coat, why go out onto the street? We can finish this right here and right now. But you know what? My Saviour knows the full depth of all my sleaziness, my sin, and my moral insanity, and has covered by his blood all these crimes you allege against me. Indeed, he has covered many more and much worse; and your reminders of my sinfulness and my need of him are most gratefully received.
Carl’s words, with Luther’s voice in the background, provide us with a humbling and helpful pattern to follow when encountering personal criticism. When we face criticism, the gospel provides us with an ever-present reminder of the depth of remaining sin in our hearts, the scale of our need for our Savior’s blood, and our unceasing need for God’s abundant grace each day.
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.
Unique Teaching
I’ve been encouraged to read Luther’s Commentary on Galatians by several people over the past couple years and came across the following in a bible study on Galatians from Tim Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. The following excerpt is not too lengthy and it is certainly one of the best things I’ve ever read. If you are looking for a good bible study, click here and if you want to see more of Luther’s Commentary, click here.
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Preface to Galatians by Martin Luther
1. The most important thing in the world
The one doctrine which I have supremely in my heart is that of faith in Christ, from whom, through whom and unto whom all my theological thinking flows back and forth, day and night. This rock, which we call the doctrine of justification through faith, was shaken by Satan in paradise when he persuaded our first parents that they might by their own wisdom and power become like God. Every since then the whole world has invented innumerable religions and ways through which, without the aid of Christ, use their works to redeem themselves from evil and sins. When Paul discusses the biblical doctrine of justification by faith he explains that there are several kinds of “righteousness.” First, there is political or civil righteousness — the nation’s public laws — which magistrates and lawyers may defend and teach. Second, there is cultural righteousness — the standards of our family and social grouping or class — which parents and schools may teach. Third, there is ethical righteousness — the Ten Commandments and law of God — which the church may teach but only in light of Christian righteousness. So all these may be received without danger, as long as we attribute to them no power to satisfy for sin, to please God, or to deserve grace… These kinds of righteousness are gifts of God, like all good things we enjoy… Yet there is another righteousness, far above the others, which Paul calls “the righteousness of faith” — Christian righteousness. God imputes it to us apart from our works — in other words, it is passive righteousness, as the others are active. For we do nothing for it, and we give nothing for it. We only receive it.
2. The need for Christian righteousness
This “passive” righteousness is a mystery that the world cannot understand. Indeed, Christians never completely understand it themselves, and thus do not take advantage of it when they are troubled and tempted. So we have to constantly teach it, repeat it, and work it out in practice. Anyone who does not understand this righteousness or cherish it in the heart and conscience will continually be buffeted by fears and depression. Nothing gives peace like this passive righteousness. For human beings by nature, when they get near either danger or death itself, will of necessity examine their own worthiness. We defend ourselves before all threats by recounting our good deeds and moral efforts. But then the remembrance of sins and flaws inevitably comes to mind, and this tears us apart, and we think, “How many errors and sins and wrongs I have done! Please God, let me live so I can fix and amend them.” We become obsessed with our active righteousness and are terrified by its imperfections. But the real evil is that we trust our own power to be righteous and will not lift up our eyes to see what Christ has done for us… So the troubled conscience has no cure for its desperation and feeling of unworthiness unless it takes hold of the forgiveness of sins by grace, offered free of charge in Jesus Christ, which is this passive or Christian righteousness… If I tried to fulfill the law myself, I could not trust in what I had accomplished, neither could it stand up to the judgment of God. So…I rest only upon the righteousness of Christ… which I do not produce but receive, God the Father freely giving it to us through Jesus Christ.
3. Law and grace
It is an absolute and unique teaching in all the world, to teach people, through Christ, to live as if there were no law or wrath or punishment. In a sense, they do not exist any longer for the Christian, but only total grace and mercy for Christ’s sake. Once you are in Christ, the law is the greatest guide for your life, but until you have Christian righteousness, all the law can do is to show you how sinful and condemned you are. In fact, to those outside of Christian righteousness, the law needs to be expounded in all its force. Why? So that people who think they have power to be righteous before God will be humbled by the law and understand they are sinners. Therefore we must be careful to use the law appropriately. If we used the law in order to be accepted by God through obedience, then Christian righteousness becomes mixed up with earned/moral righteousness in our minds. If we try to earn our righteousness by doing many good deeds, we actually do nothing. We neither please God through our works-righteousness nor do we honor the purpose for which the law was given. But if we first receive Christian righteousness, then we can use the law, not for our salvation, but for his honor and glory, and to lovingly show our gratitude. So then, have we nothing to do to obtain this righteousness? No, nothing at all! For this righteousness comes by doing nothing, hearing nothing, knowing nothing, but rather in knowing and believing this only — that Christ has gone to the right hand of the Father, not to become our judge, but to become for us our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness, our salvation! Now God sees no sin in us, for in this heavenly righteousness sin has no place. So now we may certainly think, “Although I still sin, I don’t despair, because Christ lives, who is both my righteousness and my eternal life.” In that righteousness I have no sin, no fear, no guilty conscience, no fear of death. I am indeed a sinner in this life of mine and in my own righteousness, but I have another life, another righteousness above this life, which is in Christ, the Son of God, who knows no sin or death, but is eternal righteousness and eternal life.
4. Living the gospel
While we live here on earth, we will be accused, exercised with temptations, oppressed with heaviness and sorrow, and bruised by the law with its demands of active righteousness. Because of this, Paul sets out in this letter of Galatians to teach us, to comfort us, and to keep us constantly aware of this Christian righteousness. For if the truth of being justified by Christ alone (not by our works) is lost, then all Christian truths are lost. For there is no middle ground between Christian righteousness and works righteousness. There is no other alternative to Christian righteousness but works righteousness; if you do not build your confidence on the work of Christ, you must build your confidence on your own work. On this truth and only on this truth the church is built and has its being. This distinction is easy to utter in words, but in use and experience it is very hard. So I challenge you to exercise yourselves continually in these matters through study, reading, meditation on the Word and prayer, so that in the time of trial you will be able to both inform and comfort both your consciences and others, to bring them from law to grace, from active/works-righteousness to passive/Christ’s righteousness. In times of struggle, the devil will seek to terrify us by using against us our past record and the wrath and law of God. So if we cannot see the differences between the two kinds of righteousness, and if we do not take hold of Christ by faith, sitting at the right hand of God (Heb.7:25) and pleading our case as sinners to the Father, then we are under the law, not under grace. Christ is no savior, but a lawgiver, and no longer our salvation, but an eternal despair. So learn to “speak the gospel” to one’s heart. For example, when the law creeps into your conscience, learn to be a cunning logician — learn to use arguments of the gospel against it. Say: O law! You would climb up into the kingdom of my conscience, and there reign and condemn me for sin, and would take from me the joy of my heart which I have by faith in Christ, and drive me to desperation, that I might be without hope. You have overstepped your bounds. Know your place! You are a guide for my behavior, but you are not Savior and Lord of my heart. For I am baptized, and through the gospel am called to receive righteousness and eternal life… So trouble me not! For I will not allow you, so intolerable a tyrant and tormentor, to reign in my heart and conscience — for they are the seat and temple of Christ the Son of God, who is the king of righteousness and peace, and my most sweet savior and mediator. He shall keep my conscience joyful and quiet in the sound and pure doctrine of the gospel, through the knowledge of this passive and heavenly righteousness. When we are assured of this righteousness, we not only cheerfully work well in our vocations, but we submit to all manner of burdens and dangers in this present life, because we know that this is the will of God, and that this obedience pleases him. This then is the argument of this Epistle, which Paul expounds against the false teachers who had darkened the Galatians’ understanding of this righteousness by faith.
Relax
“Know enough to start each day with a thoroughgoing stand upon Luther’s platform: you are accepted, looking outward in faith and claiming the wholly alien righteousness of Christ as the only ground for acceptance, relaxing in that quality of trust which will produce increasing sanctification as faith is active in love and gratitude.” – Richard Lovelace
The Freedom (to Be)
My greatest fear in life has been that I would die before achieving some level of excellency or performing something of serious substance. Why? Because more than anything, I long to hear God look at me and say that I am his boy, that He is so proud of me and that He is so in love with me.
Can you relate?
Sure, God loves us and if you are in Christ, he forgives us, but do you long to hear this as well? Well if you do relate then I guess that you can also relate to the tiredness, the burden, the anxiety that comes with living in such a way. Reading 1 chapter in the Old Testament gives enough laws to keep you busy for a while and to keep your guilt fired up for an eternity. Saved by grace, but need to get it done for the rest of our lives to hear our Father say “Well Done!”
If you are tracking with me and you feel my pain, I’ve got some good news. If you are tracking with me and have already found relief, I hope this will encourage you as you are reminded of the most blessed, amazing, wonderful, life-giving, burden-relieving, joy-giving truth. If you have accepted Christ, the moment you placed your faith in Him, God is so perfectly pleased with you, He is so proud, He is beaming with contentment and joy, He is satisfied, He feels the same way about you as He does about Jesus, He says, “Well Done!”
The “Well Done” is not a pending thing, dependent on how you live, etc. NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!! It is all about Jesus. It is all about the life He lived and the death He died in our stead. It is not about us. We cannot satisfy the demands of the law and the people that strive to hear God say ‘Well Done’ end up bitter, tired and heavy burdened. It’s not about us striving! It is about Christ and that He strived (if that’s a word) and did it perfectly and did it in our place!!! WE SIMPLY NEED TO PLACE OUR FAITH IN WHAT HE DID AND THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST IS PLACED OVER US AND GOD BEAMS OVER US IN CHRIST!!!
I just heard the story of a man who experienced this joy, freedom, etc. and it speaks to this. His name was William Holland and he was listening to Charles Wesley read from Luther’s Commentary on Galatians. When he heard a certain section, his burden was loosed and tears came to his eyes. Here is what he heard read to him that day:
So then, do we do nothing to obtain this righteousness? No, nothing at all. Perfect righteousness is to do nothing, to hear nothing, to know nothing of the law or of works, but to know and believe only that Christ has gone to the Father and is no longer visible; that [H]e sits in heaven at the right hand of [H]is Father, not as a judge, but is made by God our wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption; in short that[H]e is our high priest, entreating for us and reigning over us and in us by grace. In this heavenly righteousness sin can have no place, for there is no law; and “where there is no law there is no transgression” (Romans 4:15).
Christ frees us from ourselves. In my own life, the moment that I experienced this radical grace and joy was when I heard that whether I am doing really good or really bad, God feels the same way about me as He does about Jesus (when you are in Christ). This set me free from myself. Right now, He’s saying Well Done because of Christ. Amen. Praise be to God. Wow.
It is Finished!
John 19:28-30 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Due to our radical tendency towards self-justification (Luther), many of us run as hard as we can to hear the world say that we count, that we are valuable, that we are loved. Some people attain great acclaim from people around the world while most people don’t, but what unites both groups is that neither of them ever find the contentment their soul is longing for.
Augustine said that everyman is turned in on himself. That’s the problem. Whether we are pursuing bad things or good things to feel loved and accepted, we will continue to long for rest as long as we are resting on our own efforts. The gospel is that Jesus lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died and only by looking to Him will we receive the rest that we so desire. Jesus proclamation that it is finished means that he did what we could not do and only by looking to Him, placing our faith in His finished work, will we experience rest for our souls.
Many of the world’s religions emphasize the need to move from self to others, but only the gospel of Christ provides the means to do so. In Jesus, we are loved and counted worthy not because of anything we have done or any merit of our own, but as a result of grace. Jesus not only offers forgivness, but in Him, the Father looks at us and is absolutely happy, content, satisfied, so proud he could bust because God sees Christ’s perfect record when He looks at us! The Father feels the same way about us as He does about Jesus, whether we are doing really good or really bad. Wow.
