Sola Fide Fall 2021

Keith C. Wessel Chippewa River Valley Pastoral Conference (Menomonie, WI) October 4, 2021 Sola Fide 1 When one approaches the Lutherhaus in Wittenberg, in addition to the size of the Cloister two other 2 3 things catch the attention. One is a powerful, life-size, bustling-with-energy statue of Katherine Luther, caught in 4 full stride busily attending to some task.1 Behind her, at the main entrance to Lutherhaus, is Katie's gift to her 5 husband Martin to commemorate his birthday of 1540. It is commonly known as the Katerienenportal and it was 6 constructed in a popular Saxon style of the day: flanking either side of the decorative moldings is a little covered 7 stone seat where callers awaiting an answer at the door can rest. Each seat has a little Schalldekel of sorts, and if 8 you take the time to sit in the left recess and look up, carved into the stone above your head is the Latin of Isaiah 9 30:15: in silentio et in spe erit fortitudo vestra2 encircling a portrait of her husband. It was designed to be a statement of faith that appropriately encapsulated not only what the Reformer 10 11 stood for, but what she herself stood for. More than that, faith was what the entire Lutherhaus stood for—lived it, 12 breathed it, fostered it. Luther took his role as pastor of his family seriously, recognizing that it was his God-given 13 charge to raise his children in the fear and training of the Lord, fostering the "faith once for all entrusted to the 14 saints" (Jude 3). It was not just the famous table talks that happened in the main hall, but family devotions, 15 recitations of the Catechism, and copious hymn-singing as well. In fact, we perhaps most remember Luther for 16 this aspect of his life—not so much the rediscoverer of grace or the liberator of Scripture (there were other 17 forerunners3 who also laid those foundations), but that, in the end, he was a man of faith.4 ______________________ 18 1 Ernest George Schwiebert, Luther and His Times: The Reformation from a New Perspective, 1st edition (Concordia Publishing, 1950), 599. "Katherine was fully conscious of the fact that God had made her the wife of one of the great men of history, and she nobly fulfilled the role of wife, mother, and hostess." 2 Lit "In silence and hope will be your strength." 3 John Wycliffe (d. 1384), Jan Huss (d. 1419) come to mind, among others. 4 Although Sola Fide occupies the bottom row on the Seminary cornerstone, perhaps we could make the argument that the other two build up to this? 1 "Faith Alone" is the topic assigned to this essayist. The sheer scope and number of aspects to the topic is 19 20 enough to make one tremble. How will we proceed? I'd like to approach the topic in the following manner, and 21 pray that it will be a blessing for our encouragement. I would first like to talk briefly about Luther's journey of 22 faith, then trace the Lutheran understanding of faith as it developed throughout the years leading up to Augsburg 23 and beyond. Then, we will look at the doctrinal category of faith, considering what Scripture and theologians have 24 to say. Finally, some applications: recognizing some strong enemies of faith as well as our respective roles 25 serving as faithful teachers of the faith. I. The Faith of Luther 26 I earlier made the bold assertion that Luther should be remembered most as a man of faith. But how did 27 28 he develop so? We all know from numerous biographies how unpromising the prospect looked at the onset. 29 Raised by a hard-worker man named Hans Ludher, Luther grew up in modest circumstances which, nonetheless, 30 through the enterprising spirit of his father considerably improved over Luther's young life to the point that Hans 31 plotted out a career path for his eldest that would secure the family's name and fortune. Luther's keen intellect and 32 its development is well-known; he prospered in Magdeburg, Eisenach, and then finally Erfurt, where his fellow 33 students simply called him "the Philosopher."5 Our story, however, isn't concerned with Luther's academic progress, outstanding as it was. As we trace 34 35 the roots of sola fide in his life, it is more profitable for us to focus on those crises that God used to gradually 36 increase the Reformer's understanding of what it means to be saved by faith alone. First, we naturally need to 37 consider the milieu of Catholicism in which Luther and thousands of others lived during the late Middle Ages. 38 Although one could find scant traces of the gospel in some theological writings (notably Bernard of Clairvaux) as 39 well as traces of the gospel in the liturgy of the church, in general the atmosphere reeked of fear and angst in one's 40 relationship to a holy God. Piety consisted in prayers to saints, copious confession, true repentance, works of 41 satisfaction, etc., all the while being pursued by the constant fear of death and judgment.6 Traveling throughout 42 Europe even today, the mindset of this era can be clearly preserved in any number of side chapels of the 43 cathedrals that take as their theme either "death" or, more artistically, "the dance of death."7 The entire system of 5 James M. Kittelson, Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career, New Edition edition (Minneapolis, Minn: Fortress Press, 2003), 46. 6 The architectural theme of "The Last Judgment" is commonly found on cathedrals in Europe, usually on the tympanum of the main entrance for the laity (western door). At Erfurt, for example, one enters the cathedral doors flanked by the five wise and five foolish virgins. Chartes Cathedral in France also has a particularly graphic scene of the Final Judgment. 7 e.g. Lübeck's Totendanzen, painted in 1463 and placed in a side chapel of St. Marien Kirche. copying the concept from a Paris chapel displaying a painting called Dance Macabre. With the plague an ever-present trouble and reality (as well as war), medieval Christians lived surrounded by thoughts of death to a much greater extent that we moderns. Boccaccio's Decameron (10 Days), for instance, is another example of trying to deal with the omnivorous plague, as young aristocratic youths in Italy uncaringly try to shut out the plague and the 2 44 religion in young Luther's day had developed into something that far from provided the comfort and security of 45 the gospel. 46 Such things could not but have an impact upon the young German man. But apart from the general 47 atmosphere of the times, there were a few personal crises that God uses to drive Luther to the gospel. Biographers 48 of Luther note the rise at this period of what Luther would later label as Anfechtungen in his life.8 The depression 49 and anxiety were real and profound.9 But there were other things, too. We all are familiar with the thunderstorm 50 of 1505 as Luther was returning from Magdeburg to Erfurt. About five miles outside of the university town near 51 Stotterheim, a lightning bolt nearly struck him and Luther, knocked to the ground, pledged to St. Anne that he 52 would become a monk. Less well-known, perhaps, is Luther's near-death experience about 18 months earlier 53 when he severed an artery in his leg with a sword.10 As he lay bleeding alone in a field, waiting for his friend to 54 fetch a doctor—as well as throughout the night when the surgeon's stiches failed and he began bleeding again—he 55 cried out repeatedly to Mary to spare his life. Finally, Luther may have also been profoundly affected by the death 56 of two of young Erfurt lawyers in 1505 due to illness, young men who had just recently completed the same legal 57 cursus which Luther was studying. Luther later testified that, allegedly, the very last words that both of these 58 accomplished students spoke on their respective deathbeds were these, "Oh, that I had become a monk!"11 59 So, Martin Luther became a monk. But beneath the surface of quiet meditation and imposed silence that 60 blanketed the Augustinian cloister in Erfurt, Luther's soul was as troubled as ever. The seemingly endless rounds 61 of confession, with Augustinian confessors trained particularly, it seems, in pressing the private confessional to 62 discover the motives involved in sin,12 Luther found no relief. He became well-known among his fellow monks 63 for his highly sensitive conscience that pushed him to go on and on during public, joint confession in the monastic death outside by indulging in revelry to drown out all unpleasantness. (This book became the basis of Poe's Mask of the Red Death.) Totendanzen, the painting, was destroyed in 1942. 8 Kittelson, Luther the Reformer. See all of ch. 2, "A Man of Sorrows." 9 Eric Metaxas, Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World, 1st Edition (New York, New York: Viking, 2017), 28: "We know that Luther was too smart not to consider these things deeply and soberly and too sensitive not to have been bothered by them, often to the point of debilitating depression, which he called Anfechtungen. In fact, the word Anfectung really has no English equivalent. It has as its root the verb fechten, which means 'to fence with' or 'to duel with.' Fecht is also obviously etymologically related to the word "fight." so Luther's Anfechtungen meant to do battle with one's own thoughts and with the devil. But him this was something so horrible that its' difficult for us to fully comprehend. Anyone who has experienced depressions may have an idea. For Luther, it seems to have manifested itself as a widening hole of sheerest hopelessness, an increasing cacophony of devils' voices accusing him of a thousand things, and all of the true or true enough---and no way out of it." 10 Metaxas, 29. It was fashionable for young men of Luther's day to wear a sword. 11 Metaxas, 30. Citing Brecht, His Road to the Reformation, 45. 12 Kittelson, Luther the Reformer, 42. 3 64 Charter House.13 Kittelson notes that what Luther later called Anfechtung was commonly known among the 65 monks as being in cloaca, i.e. "in the toilet," or "in the dumps.14 Yet there were rays of hope from time to time. In particular there was an older, unnamed monk whose 66 67 short, encouraging exposition of the Apostles' Creed to young brother Martin was something Luther never forgot. 68 In Melanchthon's Latin version of his biography of Luther, he relates the following episode that Luther, years 69 later, had told him: 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 And [Luther] often talked about how he was often encouraged by discussions with a certain old man at the Augustinian College at Erfurt, with whom he had shared his own concerns. [Luther] listened to him speak much about faith as he talked, and he affirmed that he himself had been led back to the Symbol in which it is written, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins." [The old man affirmed] that this article was to be interpreted in this manner, namely, that not only should one believe in a general kind of way that sins are forgiven for some people (such as even the demons believe, or only to people like David or Peter), but that it is the command of God that we believe that people have their sins forgiven to them individually (singuli). And he was saying that this interpretation was confirmed in a sermon given by Bernard on the Annunciation when he pointed to the place where these words are, "But also that you may believe also this, that sins are forgiven to you (sg.) individually. This is the testimony that Spirit shows to your heart, saying, "Your sins are forgiven you." For thus the Apostle reckoned, "A man is justified by grace through faith." Luther often stated that this word not only comforted him but also reminded him of the entire tenor of Paul's approach (sententia), who impresses upon us this statement, "We are justified by faith." 15 82 The growing awareness of the grace of God to us in Christ was nurtured, as we know, when Luther's wise 83 Father Confessor Staupitz16 assigned Luther to be lecturer at the University of Wittenberg and preacher at the 84 Castle Church. Luther would need, in the process, to achieve his doctorate and the very thought of the work and 85 responsibilities involved caused Luther to refuse Staupitz initially.17 It was only after Staupitz exerted his 86 authority that Luther capitulated and pursued the professor's path, as ordered. 13 Our tour guide for the monastery (2018) highlighted this for us—a source of great irritation to the other monks. 14 Kittelson, Luther the Reformer, 56. "The temptation to despair was called the tentatio tristitiae. Someone who was afflicted with it was said to have the tentationes, or a case of the scruples." (56) 15 Translation is my own. However, the story must have been very well-known in Lutheran circles, for Gerhard has also recorded a version of the same with essentially the same details. Johann Gerhard, On Justification through Faith, ed. Joshua J. Hayes and Heath R. Curtis, trans. Richard J. Dinda, vol. XIX, Theological Commonplaces (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing, 2019), 186. Gerhard attributes the story to Selnecker, who writes of the old monk: "In 1507, when Luther was busy reading the Scholastics in obedience to his superior, he fell into very difficult crises of spiritual grief from which he was unable to extricate himself before some pious brother, an old monk, who shined like a rose among the thorns, cheered him up in confession and led him back to the free forgiveness of sins according to the words of the Creed: "I believe in the forgiveness of sins." Selnecker adds, "Countless times Luther was accustomed to announce the skill of that older brother and to commend his devotion and especially his explanation of the words of the Creed." 16 I recently learned that Staupitz is actually buried now in a church in Salzburg, Austria. 17 Kittelson, Luther the Reformer, 83. "But it will be the death of me!" Luther protested. 4 But the years of preparing lectures on the Psalms and Romans yielded great blessings for Luther, 87 88 especially in the area of a deepening understanding of the Bible's teaching of sola fide. The growing certainty 89 came, naturally, from the intense study of Scripture itself, which the Spirit used as the means of grace to bolster 90 Luther's burgeoning understanding. But it seems to me that there were other lesser—yet strong—influence on 91 Luther at this time that may have well contributed to his understanding of sola fide. One is the fact that he was 92 raised in the Augustinian Order. St. Augustine had, historically, been the champion of faith and its exposition. We 93 think primarily of his Enchiridion (summary of Christian doctrine) but also his massive defense of faith over 94 against over against attacks from all sides –Arians, Donatists, Pelagians, even the apostate emperor Julian (written 95 a number of years after Julian's death).18 Augustine's Confessions, in a way—a breath-taking innovation in 96 Western literature—is the story of the journey of individual faith from unbelief to doubt to certainty. But for our 97 purposes here, we also need to note that Augustine wrote much about the nature of free will in his debates with 98 the Pelagians. This idea of the role of the will, as we know, played a central part in Luther's great debate with 99 Erasmus, but the role of the will in faith is also something Augustine emphasized. Deutschlander captures it well: 100 101 So, God does not convert us by force. It is rather this way: as St. Augustine in his famous work The Enchiridion (ch. 102 32) puts it fairly well when he tells us that God's mercy goes before the unwilling to make him willing and dwells 103 with those thus made willing. God by the sweet message of the gospel knocks on the door of the soul and bids us 104 invite him in. He lures us by that message. He draws us with it. He pursues us as a lover his beloved--a picture used 105 so often in the Old Testament...At creation God breathed into man the breath of life and he became alive; so, in the 106 gospel he breathes into a spiritually dead souls and hostile will and gives the souls life and a new, changed will. 19 107 Luther's understanding of the nature of the will and its role in faith also, undoubtedly, had been fostered 108 by the Nominalists, under whose tutelage Luther studied at Erfurt as he followed the Via Moderna curriculum.20 109 In the High Middle Ages the Nominalists had battled the Scholastics over the understanding of the will and its 110 role in Christian faith. John Duns Scotus (b. 1260) had countered Aquinas' thinking on what leads to the greatest 111 happiness for mankind. For Aquinas, heavily influenced by Aristole's Nicomachian Ethics, the truly blessed life 112 consists in contemplating God.21 This is an act primarily of the intellect and shaped by the development of God's 18 For a complete listing and brief description of Augustine's major works and collections, see Johannes Quasten S.T.D, Patrology, Vol. 4: The Golden Age of Latin Patristic Literature, ed. Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum Angelo Di Berardino, trans. Reverend Placid Solari O.S.B (Westminster, Md: Christian Classics, 1983), 355–403. Daniel M Deutschlander, Grace Abounds : The Splendor of Christian Doctrine (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2015), 391, http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/213833256. 19 20 I encourage you to read---and reread—Joshua Zarling's excellent senior thesis on this topic (2013): Available at: What God Ordains: The Impact of Late Medieval Nominalism on the Theology of Martin Luther (wisluthsem.org) On the nature of the Via Moderna, Schwiebert has scattered references, but a good concise summary can be found in Kittelson, 67-74. 5 113 gift of reason. But for Scotus (and later Nominalists), the greatest happiness for man consistent in loving God, and 114 this is an act primarily of the will. Aquinas also spoke, of course, about loving God as did other towering figures 115 such as Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153).22 But Nominalists, in general, such as Scotus, Roscelin, Gabriel Biel, and 116 William of Ockham, asserted the supremacy of the will in man and its dominance over reason in one's relationship 117 with God. Luther eventually broke from the Nominalist school in 1517 in his public debate Disputation Against 118 the Scholastics.23 Luther opened his Disputation (Theses 5-11) by addressing his understanding of the nature of 119 the will, and in those theses, we see the seeds of his later De Servo Arbitrio against Erasmus.24 Yet I believe that 120 traces of this Nominalist influence regarding the nature of the will remained with Luther. This certainly is more 121 easily seen in how his sacramental theology25 developed, but I do not believe it to be implausible that the 122 Nominalists moved Luther to contemplate the nature of the will and its roll in faith. We know that by the time of Luther's excommunication, Luther's understanding of the role of the will in 123 124 faith was essentially set. The Reformer stood before the emperor's court not so much with overwhelming 125 knowledge but rather with trust (faith) in the sureness of God's Word. For Luther, trust—an act of the will—was 126 the essential quality of faith, not knowledge that leads to love.26 Nor does meritum congrui (natural inclinations 127 toward good in the will of unregenerate man) play a role, as God rewards natural spiritual efforts with prevenient 128 grace that leads to faith and, eventually, justification.27 This mature thinking manifested itself most openly when 129 Luther took to translating the New Testament at the Wartburg shortly after Worms, and chose to insert the 21 For more on the Scholastic position see Kenneth A. Cherney's essay, Core Like a Rock: Luther's Theological Center (p. 4-6) presented at the Reformation Symposium and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, October 2, 2017, as well as the official reaction to the same by Rev. Nathaniel J. Biebert. Available at the WLS Online Essay File. 22 E.g. On Loving God. 23 It was a traumatic event for Luther to turn his back and break his allegiance to the academic university that had nurtured him. Normally, graduates were expected to be loyal throughout their entire academic career. Luther wrote a heartfelt letter to his former (and much admired) teacher Trutvetter explaining himself, and indicating that his path would now be a different one. 24 We could probably assert the same about the wording of the Ninety-Five Theses, although the text never once mentions the word "faith." Yet the concept of sola fide certainly is present. For example, Thesis 36: " Any truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters." 25 The Nominalists, in their battle with Scholasticism, emphasized that God, in and of himself, has all potentia absoluta over everything in heaven and earth. But the Nominalists also asserted that God, in his dealings with the material world, chooses of his own free will to bind himself to do things a certain way (potentia ordinata). This matures into Luther's clear teaching on the means of grace, i.e. that God binds himself to visible elements and audible words, and in this way, he lets himself be found. Conversely, the same principle is at work in unbelief. cf.E.L. Wilson, “Faith,” in The Abiding Word: An Anthology of Doctrinal Essays for the Year 1945, ed. Theodore Laetsch, vol. 1, The Centennial Series (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), 199. " "It is evident, therefore, that unbelief, also called disobedience, has its seat not in the intellect, but in the will and in the affections." 26 27 Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent: 4 Volume Set, trans. Fred Kramer, vol. 1 (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub House, 1971), 541. The terms meritum condigni and meritum congrui are scattered throughout Chemnitz's loci on justification and faith in his Examen, but cf. esp. fn #80 for a concise definition (541). 6 130 German word allein into the Roman 3:25 passage. His enemies jumped all over this. In particular, one of the 131 earliest attacks upon sola fide and Luther's understanding of Romans 3 came from the pen of Johann Cochlaeus, 132 the humanist Catholic scholar who, though he met Luther only once in 1521, nevertheless launched a famous 133 verbal assault on the Wittenberg monk in a famous tractate which portrayed Luther as a seven-headed heretic, 134 babbling inconsistently about his teachings, talking out of all seven of his mouths as an enthusiast, heretic, monk, 135 teacher, etc. Cochlaeus had perceived that one of the main issues with Luther was his stance on sola fide and the 136 role of the will in faith. Cochlaeus wrote to the city council of Lübeck to be on guard against the man he had 137 previously labeled as "the minotaur of Wittenberg."28 In the letter he condescendingly summarizes Luther's 138 scattered teaching: 139 140 141 Here you see, honorable wise ones, how solid a foundation the poor man has in his teaching about faith, repentance, and good works. I have often and heartily pointed out to him that he builds all his teaching on this false foundation of faith alone making one righteous and blessed--which is found nowhere in scripture.29 142 This battle between Catholic theology and budding Lutheranism over the primary element of faith would 143 continue to fester throughout the 1520's and beyond, and would receive prominent treatment in the Augustana of 144 1530. Luther was at the Coburg during the Colloquy, working on his translation of the Old Testament. Yet the 145 thought of his allein of Romans 3 and the criticism it continued to receive at Augsburg and in Catholic circles 146 prompted him to pen an open letter on the art of translating, dedicated to his friend Wenceslaus Link. In that 147 letter, Luther clearly explained his thinking: 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 The matter itself in its very core, then, demands that we say, “Faith alone justifies.” And the nature of our German language also teaches us to express it that way. I have in addition the precedent of the holy fathers. And the danger of the people also compels it, so that they may not continue to hang upon works and wander away from faith and lose Christ, especially in these days, for they have been accustomed to works so long they have to be torn away from them by force. For these reasons it is not only right but also highly necessary to speak it out as plainly and fully as possible, “Faith alone saves, without works.” I am only sorry that I did not also add the words alle and aller, and say, “without any works of any laws,” so that it would have been expressed with perfect clarity. Therefore, it will stay in my New Testament, and though all the papal asses go stark raving mad they shall not take it from me. 30 156 Years later (1542), we find Luther holding to the same stance regarding sola fide. As he chaired the 157 doctoral examination for one Heinrich Schmedenstede, Luther asserted that what he had come to understand and 158 teach over the years concerning sola fide was completely in harmony with what the ancient Church had also 159 taught: 28 Adversus cucullatum minotaurum wittenbergensem: De sacramentorum gratia iterum (1523) 29 M. Patrick Graham and David Bagchi, eds., Luther as Heretic: Ten Catholic Responses to Martin Luther, 1518–1541 (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2019), 149. Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Volume 35: Word and Sacrament I, ed. E. Theodore Bachmann, Volume 35, Part I edition (Saint Louis, Mo.: Fortress Press, 1960), 197–98. 30 7 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 When the fathers taught that we become righteous by faith, hope, and love, it was the same as we now teach, that men are justified by faith alone. I prove the antecedent premise. When you speak of being justified by faith alone, you embrace three points: (1) knowledge which understands the righteousness of God, that is, the promise; (2) the movement of the will, which seeks and accepts those promises by the grace of God through Christ; (3) the movement of the heart, by which we decide that we are righteous, if we truly believe, etc. The fathers taught this same thing, for with faith they understood the knowledge of God’s righteousness, with love the movement of the heart, with hope the movement of the will. 167 168 Response: Faith does not mean knowledge to us, but trust in grace. Likewise, we do not combine faith, hope, and love as efficient causes, but as cause and effect.31 169 Here we see the mature Luther just years before his death holding to the proper, Scriptural understanding 170 of sola fide. This tri-partite division of faith into knowledge, assent, and trust (will)32 would continue to be a 171 guiding light for Lutheran theologians, especially the concept that the primary thrust of faith is trust (will) and not 172 knowledge. Lutheran preaching and hymnody soon was replete with it. And when asked on his deathbed, 173 "Reverend Father are you willing (emphasis mine) to die in the name of the Christ and the doctrine which you 174 have preached?" Dr. Luther's last word was a simple yet distinct "Ja!"33 The Reformer's journey of faith was 175 complete. II. The Battle Over the Nature of Faith 176 Lutheran theologians followed the lead of Luther throughout the 1520's, culminating the presentation of 177 178 the Augustana on June 25, 1530. Art IV, Of Justification, is rather short yet gets to the heart of the matter and the 179 role of faith: 180 181 182 183 Also, they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who, by his death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in his sight. Rom. 3 and 4.34 184 As I mentioned earlier, Johann Cochlaeus had been one of the first Catholics to spot the shift in Luther's 185 emphasis in the doctrine of faith away from love (charity, i.e. works of love) to "trust." He, along with Eck, John 186 Faber, and Conrad Wimpina (and 20 others!) were immediately tasked at Augsburg with penning the Catholic 187 response, a document known as the Confutation. Their assessment of the Lutheran position was clear: Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Volume 34: Career of the Reformer IV. Edited by Lewis W. Spitz., ed. Ed Spitz Lewis W, First Edition (Muhlenberg Press, 1960), 314–15. 31 32 See below, part III. 33 Schwiebert, Luther and His Times, 750. 34 Triglotta, 45 8 188 189 The mention, however, that they here make of faith is approved so far as not faith alone, which some incorrectly teach, but faith which worketh by love, is understood, as the apostle teaches aright in Gal. 5:3.35 190 Again, in the Catholic assessment of the Lutheran article on the nature of true repentance—being 191 confession and faith—the Confutation authors write: 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 But the second part of this article is utterly rejected. For when they ascribe only two parts to repentance, they antagonize the entire Church, which from the time of the apostles has held and believed that there are three parts of repentance - contrition, confession and satisfaction. Thus the ancient doctors, Origen, Cyprian, Chrysostom, Gregory, Augustine, taught in attestation of the Holy Scriptures, especially from 2 Kings 12, concerning David, 2 Chron 3:1, concerning Manasseh, Ps. 31, 37, 50, 101, etc. Therefore, Pope Leo X of happy memory justly condemned this article of Luther, who taught: "That there are three parts of repentance - viz. confession, contrition, and satisfaction -- has no foundation in Scripture or in Holy Christian doctors." 199 Melanchthon had trod lightly in his original Augsburg Confession, but his response in the Apology was of 200 a different nature. His rebuttal to the Confutation concerning the chief article of the Christian faith—justification 201 by grace through faith in Christ (Art IV)—masterfully dissects the errors of the Catholic theological position, 202 influenced as it was more by philosophy than by Scripture.36 The Lutheran teaching was—and is—crystal clear: 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 But since justification is obtained through the free promise it follows that we cannot justify ourselves. Otherwise wherefore would there be need to promise? [And why should Paul so highly extol and praise grace?] For since the promise cannot be received except by faith, the Gospel which is properly the promise of the remission of sins and of justification for Christ's sake, proclaims the righteousness of faith in Christ, which the Law does not teach. Nor is this the righteousness of the Law. For the Law requires of us our works and our perfection. But the Gospel freely offers, for Christ's sake, to us, who have been vanquished by sin and death, reconciliation which is received not by works, but by faith alone. This faith brings to God not confidence in one's own merits, but only confidence in the promise, or the mercy promised in Christ. This special faith, therefore, by which an individual believes that for Christ's sake his sins are remitted him, and that for Christ's sake God is reconciled and propitious, obtains remission of sins and justifies us. [IV.43-45] 213 Melanchthon adds, "And of this faith not a syllable exists in the doctrine of our adversaries." [IV.47] 214 If we fast forward a bit to aTrent, the official Counter-Reformation council that began sessions 215 immediately upon the death of Luther,37 we can see that the same issue concerning the true nature of faith 216 continued to be a source of conflict between the Romans and Lutherans. Trent, by the very act of publicly 217 assembling admitted that there were abuses in the church that needed to be addressed, nonetheless the real issues 218 (in the Lutheran mind)—faith, grace, justification, etc.—were not conformed to the Word of God but rather 219 clearly set in stone as false doctrine. Particularly pointed are the decrees of the Sixth Session, Canons XI and XII: 35 1530 Roman Confutation at http://bookofconcord.info/confutatio.php 36 "Let the discreet reader think only of this: If this be Christian righteousness, what difference is there between philosophy and the doctrine of Christ?" (Art. IV.12). Here is the heart of the matter. 37 Met in various sessions from 1546-66. 9 220 221 222 223 CANON XI.-If any one says that men are justified, either by the sole imputation of the justice of Christ, or by the sole remission of sins, to the exclusion of the grace and the charity which is poured forth in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, and is inherent in them; or even that the grace, whereby we are justified, is only the favor of God; let him be anathema. 224 225 CANON XII.-If any one says that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ's sake; or, that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified; let him be anathema. 38 226 The Catholic theologians clearly understood that the Lutherans were locating our justification entirely extra nos 227 ("outside of us"), especially above in XI where it condemns the thinking that "grace" is only something in God, 228 i.e. his "favor." This, of course, is naturally intertwined with their concept of faith and how faith exactly justifies. Martin Chemnitz's analysis of the Council of Trent, his large Examen, spills quite a bit of ink, as we 229 230 would expect, on these two loci of justification and faith. Different from Gerhard's later, rigidly logical and 231 dogmatic approach to the subject, Chemnitz's writing breaths a truly evangelical spirit that has as its focus the care 232 of consciences and souls. While even a limited summary of these two sections would take us far afield, for our 233 purposes I will note how the Lutheran emphasis on the tri-partite (logical) division of faith continued to be 234 emphasized and clarified: 235 236 237 238 239 240 From that knowledge and assent the heart, or will, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, conceives the desire that, because it deeply feels that it is burdened with sin and with the wrath of God, it desires, wants, seeks, entreats that there be given and communicated to it the blessing of justification, which is set forth in the promise of the Gospel, and this it lays hold of by faith to make its own. 39 Some fifty years later, Johann Gerhard engaged in a large-scale theological debate with the Catholic 241 Bellarmine, and the academic repartee is preserved for us in Gerhard's in his Theological Commonplaces. The 242 literary debate is thousands of pages long.40 Even the debate on the nature of faith consists of a couple hundred 243 pages. Bellarmine was particularly keen on debunking the Lutheran position that the primary element of faith was 244 trust; 245 246 …but this Bellarmine denies and attacks with all his might. Therefore, he tries to prove (ch. 5) that justifying faith is not trust in mercy but only the firm and certain assent to all the things which God sets forth to be believed.41 247 Gerhard defends the Scriptural position by turning to the etymology of the Greek word πίστις42, as well as 248 various other Hebrew words that essentially prove the same point: faith is primary an act of trust, i.e. an act of the 249 will. So, Gerhard concludes: 38 www.counciloftrent.com. 39 Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, 1:577–78. 40 Concordia Publishing House has been producing an English translation of Gerhard's Theological Commonplaces at the rate of two per year. Fifteen of a proposed twenty-eight volumes are currently in print. 41 Gerhard, On Justification through Faith, XIX:123. 10 250 251 252 Therefore, when the benefits of Christ are offered to contrite hearts in the word of the gospel, they then receive a conviction and trust about the mercy of God on account of Christ and trust God in their heart as truthful in promising his gifts.43 253 On a side bar, as we look at this particular debate between a Catholic theologian and a Lutheran one, it 254 strikes me that it is completely consistent with the Catholic concept of faith that they would emphasize both 255 Scripture and tradition as a source of divine truth. To the Catholic, both of these reside in the sphere of 256 knowledge, not trust; one can know tradition…but can one trust in it? Strangely enough, Gerhard records that at 257 Trent one Catholic bishop, Bishop Jacob Nachiantes of Fossa Clodia, protested that the council had voted to assert 258 that Catholic tradition must be received as a basis of faith with the same reverence as Scripture. For his protest, 259 the bishop was expelled from the council and directed to go to Rome and repent before the pope.44 But for Gerhard, brilliant dogmatician that he was, nonetheless the discussion of the nature of faith was 260 261 far more than an intriguing theologian joust. Rather, leaving the Commonplaces behind, we can hear his personal 262 conviction as he explains in his devotional book, Sacred Meditations, the importance of understanding the nature 263 of faith: 264 265 266 267 268 But faith is not a mere opinion or empty profession; it is a living and efficacious apprehension of Christ as He is set forth in the gospel. It is a most hearty conviction of God's grace to us, a confident tranquility of heart, and an undisturbed peace of conscience relying upon the merit of Christ. Such a faith springs form the seed of the divine word; for faith and the Spirit are one, but the word is that by means of which the Holy Spirit is conveyed into our souls... 269 270 271 Since faith unites us so closely to Christ, it is really the mother of all virtues in us. Where faith is, there Christ is; where Christ is, there is a holy life, namely true humility, true gentleness, true love. Christ and the Holy Spirit are never separated; and when the Holy Spirit is present in a soul there is true holiness.45 III. But What is "Faith"? 272 The entire Reformation era forced theologians not only of the Roman Church and Lutheran Church to 273 274 grapple with the nature of faith and its nature. Others soon joined the fray: Calvinist, Antinomians, Enthusiasts, 275 Anabaptists, etc., and all presented unique attacks upon the sola fide principle. But as the attacks mounted, the 276 Lutherans clarified their position and terminology to reflect in dogmatic terms what the Scriptures taught about 277 faith. Derived ultimately from πείθω, "to persuade." But the Greek for "trust" is πεποίθησις, the perfect passive ptc. made into a noun: "having been persuaded." 42 43 Gerhard, On Justification through Faith, XIX:123. 44 Gerhard, XIX:122. 45 Johann Gerhard, Sacred Meditations, trans. C. W. Heisler (Repristination Press, 2000), 68–69. 11 In the first place, Scripture describes faith as a gift of God, the gracious working of the Holy Spirit in 278 279 unbelieving hearts through the means of grace. "This is not of yourselves…" (Eph 2:9) Paul wrote. And he began 280 that chapter by stating, "When you were dead in your transgression and sins… But because of his great love and 281 mercy, God made us alive in Christ Jesus even when we were dead in our transgressions and sins—it is by grace 282 you have been saved" (Eph 2:1, 5). Indeed, it is entirely "because of God that you are in Christ Jesus" (1 Co 1:30), 283 and apart from Jesus, "you can do nothing (Jn 15:5)." The act of believing does take place inside of man, that's 284 true. But faith to believe is not the achievement of man, or a reasonable, logical decision.46 Rather, it is an 285 undeserved gift that is given from the mystery of God's grace to an individual. Since faith is not a work or achievement of any human, our Lutheran theologians emphasize that faith is 286 287 merely an "organ" (ὄργανον) that receives the blessings of God. Chemnitz 288 289 290 291 Most necessary is a true and genuine explanation of what justifying faith is and in what sense it is to be understood when the Scripture says that man is justified by faith. For faith is the means, or ὄργανον ("instrument"), through which we seek, apprehend, receive, and apply to ourselves from the Word of the Gospel the mercy of God, who remits sins and accepts us to life eternal for the sake of His Son, the Mediator.47 292 The last part of that statement reminds us of another important point that Lutheran theologians have long 293 emphasized: faith has an object. Properly, the object of faith is Christ. The dying thief prayed, "Lord, remember 294 me…" (Lk 23:42). Jesus promised, Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never 295 go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. … All those the Father gives me will come to me, 296 and whoever comes to me I will never drive away" (Jn 6: 35,37). And, as Pieper points out, St. Paul very 297 intentionally states, "I know whom I have believed…"; he does not say, "I know what I have believed."48 But very often our theologians also speak of the promise as the object of faith.49 This is not to infer that a 298 299 certain articulation of the doctrine of justification is the key element of faith. Rather, "the promise" as the object 300 of faith is tantamount to saying that Christ and the promise of the remission of sins he alone can give is what I put 301 my faith in. This in its simplicity is justifying faith.50 This personal trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins is also referred to dogmatically as fides quā, "the 302 303 faith by which" we believe. It is in the context of clarifying the Lutheran doctrine vis-à-vis the Roman Church that 46 The French philosopher Blaise Pascal (d. 1662), reacting to the heathenism of Descartes, tried to make it so with his famous piece, "The Bet." 47 Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, 1:565. August Pieper, “Paul, a Model of the Certainty of Faith, Especially for All Servants of the Word,” in The Wauwatosa Theology, trans. John Jeske, vol. 3 (Milwaukee, Wis: Northwestern Pub House, 2000), 214. Per Cherney, "Core Like a Rock", 4. 48 49 The Apology does so, as do Chemnitz, Gerhard, and others. 50 cf. discussion below concerning justifying faith and weak/strong faith. 12 304 the description of faith as "tri-partite" comes about. The Lutherans didn't invent the concept; the Scholastics of the 305 Middle Ages described faith in similar terms. But it way the emphasis placed on trust (i.e. "will") that marked the 306 Lutherans as different. Like a standard electrical wire in a home, faith appears to be one thing but, when sliced 307 open, reveals three different wires that work in concert: knowledge, assent, and trust. Briefly, we look at each. There is a body of information that one needs to know in order to possess saving faith. One hears so often 308 309 today the quasi-spiritual encouragement, "You just gotta have faith! You just gotta b'leive!" But have faith in 310 what? Believe what? We just mentioned that faith has as its object knowledge of Christ and his promise of the 311 forgiveness of sins. While this may be the bare minimum to possess justifying faith, nonetheless God in his grace 312 has revealed much for us to inwardly digest on the pages of his holy Word. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is 313 useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…(2 Ti 3:16)" It is also God's will that we 314 "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Pe 3:18). Knowledge is a vital element of faith. 315 And we ought to also remember that the power of the Holy Spirit is such that "even in cases of intellectual 316 disability or in cases of intellectual decline due to illness or old age, we will not limit or deny the power of the 317 gospel to impart knowledge and to create faith when and where the Spirit wills (Jn 3:6-8).51 318 Likewise, we assent to the truths we have learned from God. "Where there is no knowledge, there is no 319 faith; likewise, where there is no assent, there is no faith."52 To assent is not only to understand, to intellectually 320 comprehend, what the Scriptures are telling us, but to accept that information given by God as true and 321 trustworthy. This conviction the Holy Spirit works in us through the means of grace. Yet, "as vital as the first two elements are, it is this third element of confidence or trust that is the very 322 323 center of faith."53 Deutschlander again: "For faith to be present it is not enough that we know the facts and even 324 that we assent that those facts are really true; there must also be the confidence, the trust that those facts apply to 325 me."54 In this regard faith is very personal thing; I trust the only One who can save me from sin and death. 326 Through that organ or faith, the entire Godhead comes and makes his home within us (Jn 14:6), binding all who 327 believe to himself in a mystical union that we cannot understand, but trust it is so because God states it in his 328 Word (Eph 2). And, as one of our great Lutheran hymns says, "Who trusts in God a strong abode in heaven and 329 earth possesses." (CW 447) 51 Deutschlander, Grace Abounds, 382. 52 Deutschlander, 383. 53 Deutschlander, 383. 54 Deutschlander, 383. 13 330 We must always remember that when we speak of something as the tri-partite division of faith, we are 331 talking about a logical division (not temporal) as we seek to explain the various aspects of faith. In this way, the 332 discussion of faith is quite similar to the manner in which we logically divide the Trinity into three persons and 333 discuss their various roles—all the while admitted that in all works that are opera ad extra there is co-operation 334 among the three persons of the Godhead. Likewise, when we say that the Lutheran emphasis upon "trust" or 335 "confidence" as the primary element in faith, this is not to the exclusion of "knowledge" or "assent."55 After all, it 336 is not just that we believe, we also know what we believe, the truths revealed by the Spirit in the Word. But we 337 also must keep in mind the context in which these discussions originated. The clarification and emphasis upon 338 trust in Lutheran theology was a reaction against the Catholics who counted mere knowledge as "faith," and the 339 emphases on knowledge and assent undoubtedly served as a bulwark against the Schwaermerei ("Enthusiasts"). 340 Melanchthon explains the relationship in the Apology: 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 The adversaries feign that faith is only a knowledge of the history, and therefore teach that it can coexist with mortal sin. Hence, they say nothing concerning faith, by which Paul so frequently says that men are justified, because those who are accounted righteous before God do not live in mortal sin. But that faith which justifies is not merely a knowledge of history, [not merely this, that I know the stories of Christ’s birth, suffering, etc. (that even the devils know,)] but it is to assent to the promise of God, in which, for Christ’s sake, the remission of sins and justification are freely offered. [It is the certainty or the certain trust in the heart, when, with my whole heart, I regard the promises of God as certain and true, through which there are offered me, without my merit, the forgiveness of sins, grace, and all salvation, through Christ the Mediator.] And that no one may suppose that it is mere knowledge, we will add further: it is to wish and to receive the offered promise of the remission of sins and of justification. [Faith is that my whole heart takes to itself this treasure. It is not my doing, not my presenting or giving, not my work or preparation, but that a heart comforts itself, and is perfectly confident with respect to this, namely, that God makes a present and gift to us, and not we to Him, that He sheds upon us every treasure of grace in Christ.] (IV.48) 353 This is faith by which we are saved. 354 But we also speak of "the faith" as a body of doctrine, the fides quae, the "faith which" we believe. Jude 355 speaks of "the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people" (Jude 2). Paul instructs Timothy that 356 elders in the church must also "keep hold of the deep truths of the faith" (1 Ti 3:9). Many other passages make 357 the same point: there is a revealed body of teaching that we refer to as "the faith." 358 359 Very early in church history the concept appears in the term regula fidei, "the rule of faith." Irenaeus (ca 180) may have been the first to employ it, although he used the term regula veritatis, "the rule of truth."56 But 55 Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, 1:566–67. "There is, however, a certain general faith which embraces in general the historical knowledge of the things which are set forth by God in the Scripture, and a general assent by which we conclude that the things which have been revealed to us in the Word of God are true, not because of arguments from reason but because we are that they were taught and set forth by God, who is truthful and almighty…In this way, therefore, justifying faith presupposes and includes general faith. But the question is what is the proper and principal object to which justifying faith looks in the whole Word of God, in such a way that in it it seeks, lays hold of, and receives reconciliation with God, forgiveness of sins, adoption and life eternal." 56 Bengt Hägglund and Translated by Gene J. Lund, History of Theology, 4 Revised edition (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing, 2007), 45. 14 360 very early on the concept pointed to a specific body of teaching that was both definitive and authoritative. 361 Hägglund summarizes it this way: That "truth" which, according to Irenaeus, was the "rule" (the Greek word κανών [canon] was used in this connection) was the revealed order of salvation which is witnessed to in the Bible and summarized in the baptismal confession. "The rule of truth" was not, therefore, fixed in a specific formula; neither did it designate the Scriptures as a doctrinal codex. It rather referred to revealed truth as this was reflected not only in the baptismal confession and the Scriptures but also in the preaching of the church.57 362 363 364 365 366 367 As heresies such as Valentinianism (Gnosticism), Docetism, Arianism, Donatism, Pelagianism, etc. entered the 368 landscape of church history, the fides quae became more precise in definition, the adversaries forcing the 369 orthodox both to ponder and articulate exactly what the fides quae encompassed. This first led to the Nicene 370 Creed, then the Apostle's. It also led to such books as Augustine's Enchiridion and, a millennium later, Luther's 371 Catechism. A natural question that arises in this context of fides quae is this: how much is "required" for a Christian 372 373 to know to be "in the faith"? On the one hand we have the mandate of the Savior himself who instructed us to 374 teach "everything I have commanded you" (Mt. 28:19). Likewise, Paul told the Ephesians during their last 375 meeting that he did not hesitate to proclaim the whole will of God to them (Ac 20:27). Scripture is clear on this 376 point; all Scripture is given for learning. We might also point out the great blessings God promises to give 377 through meditation on his Word, as Psalms 1 and 119 emphasize. But the reality is, as we all know, that the people whom we serve are at different levels of understanding 378 379 "the faith." Perhaps here it is useful for us to be reminded of the distinction between fundamental and non- 380 fundamental doctrines that comprise "the faith." "We discover which belong in each category by examining the 381 chief purpose of the Scriptures."58 That chief purpose is threefold: God's honor, God's glory, and our salvation. 382 Fundamental doctrines are those that are most directly connected to these purposes of Scripture. Doctrines such as 383 those we find articulated in the Creeds immediately come to mind, the denial of which is faith-destroying. Thus, 384 the Trinity, the incarnation, redemption, the resurrection, baptism, etc. fall into the category of fundamental 385 doctrines. These, incidentally, are the very doctrines that we find in early Christian writings when the authors 386 speak of the regula fidei. More difficult to wrap our minds around is the concept of non-fundamental doctrines, for our very natural 387 388 reaction to that is to equate the term with "unimportant." Not so. Non-fundamental simply means that these 389 doctrines "are somewhat further removed from these [three great] purposes of Scripture."59 The doctrine of angels, 57 Hägglund and Lund, 45. 58 Deutschlander, Grace Abounds, 34. The entire discussion runs from pp. 34-39, and my summary above follows this. 59 Deutschlander, 37. 15 390 for instance, falls into this category. Can a Christian be saved with either an ignorance of angels or even doubt 391 about them? Sure. But this is a weakness, not a preference. What of the doctrine of the real presence? What of 392 fellowship? What of creation ex nihilo? What of the inspiration of Scripture? Again, as we teach the faith and 393 shepherd God's people, it is vital that we remember that "non-fundamental" does not mean "unimportant" or 394 "optional"; God nowhere in his Word encourages us to set the bar for Christians as low as possible. Yet, at the 395 same time, understanding this distinction may be useful for us in our care of souls when we patiently instruct our 396 people, recognizing that they are at different levels of understanding and knowledge. The distinction helps us to 397 assess what degree of danger a soul may be in from the attacks of the Master of Lies and Underminer of the truth. 398 IV. Challenges to Faith Alone The rediscovery of the doctrine of sola fide in the Reformation brought immense comfort to troubled 399 400 souls. Satan, of course, could not tolerate that development then any more than he tolerates the correct preaching 401 of it today. So, next I would briefly like to consider three main attacks that Satan makes in order to undermine, 402 destroy, and rob us of our faith in Christ. 403 The first of these attacks is, admittedly, the most obvious: doubt. Doubt is the very opposite of faith. We 404 immediately think of the times, perhaps, that Jesus chastised his disciples for their little faith or lack of faith. We 405 think of Thomas after the resurrection, and the penetrating question the risen Lord asked of all of them on Easter 406 eve, "Why do doubts arise in your mind? (Lk 24:38)" Jesus pointed out that it is doubt that hampers the exercise 407 of faith, whether that be cursing fig trees or throwing mountains into the sea (Mt 21:21). Gerhard, in his Commonplaces, was especially critical not only of Bellarmine but of the entire Roman 408 409 system that had created a "doctrine of doubt."60 Among the Catholic theologians he quotes, this particular 410 statement from Gregorius de Valentia shocks: "We teach that no one, on the basis of faith, is completely certain 411 that he belongs to those whose sins are forgiven."61 And the entire theological faculty of Louvain in Propositio 412 contra Lutherum: 413 414 The faith by which one believes firmly and claims with certainty that his sins have been forgiven for Christ's sake and that he is going to have eternal life has no witness in Scripture. In fact, Scripture is opposed to this. 62 415 In our weakness, we also doubt. The people we serve are filled with doubts. The rebuke of Jesus to 416 Thomas, the rebuke of James to his readers sting our ears too. Satan is quick to foster doubt and, along with it, 60 Gerhard, On Justification through Faith. The full discussion runs from pp. 170-214. 61 Gerhard, XIX:176. 62 Gerhard, XIX:177. Gerhard notes also a few Catholic theologians who insisted that doubt is a vital element of true faith. 16 417 fear and terror of God. People can reach a point where Satan turns them toward deep introspection, looking for 418 assurance within themselves over their status as the children of God. And some begin to doubt whether they are, 419 or if they have fallen from the faith and will be lost. It is a nasty game the devil plays when he forces us into a 420 room full of mirrors where we can only see ourselves, trying to find our assurance there. The only remedy for doubt is the gospel of Jesus Christ. There we hear the unfailing promises of God, the 421 422 good news of his incredible love and mercy. For good reason an ELS professor used to say in class, "Every 423 preacher has to preach behind the cross," for it is only the cross of Jesus and his work of redemption that can set 424 our souls at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. Only by fixing our eyes on Jesus are we 425 delivered from our natural religion of incurvatus in se ("curved in on ourselves") to extra nos ("outside of us"). But in the context of addressing doubt, perhaps here is it useful to discuss the differences between 426 427 justifying (saving) faith and weak or strong faith. Knowing and emphasizing this distinction can help us better 428 minister to troubled souls. Knowing this distinction also helps us in our preaching and teaching, as we realize that 429 while our listeners may all indeed be the children of God, they are different levels of understanding (i.e. faith) 430 and, as a result, at different levels of sanctification. As to these distinctions, best here to simply quote the fine 431 summary Deutschlander provides: 432 433 434 435 So then, saving faith is that knowledge, assent, and confidence which embraces Jesus, the Son of God and Mary's son, as my only Savior. Such a faith may be battered and storm tossed, but at bottom I either trust Jesus or I do not. Such faith is not a quantity to be measured, as though I had to have a certain amount of it before it could be called saving faith. 436 437 438 439 Weak/strong faith in Scriptures usually refers to knowledge, assent, and confidence in some promise of God that pertains to my Christian life. It may be a weak faith if I have forgotten the promise or do not know how it applies to my specific situation in life, or it may be described as strong when I do know and understand the promise and am able to apply it correctly.63 440 Important for us to know so that as good shepherds we can recognize that weakness of faith in respect to a 441 certain promise of God does not automatically warrant the conclusion that the troubled soul in my office has 442 fallen from the faith. Rather, they need to have weak faith bolstered by the gospel, the unfailing promises God 443 makes to us in his Son that speak to a given situation. 444 The two other attacks against faith alone lay at opposite ends of the spectrum. To use political terms, the 445 one attack promotes excessive liberalism in the use of our freedom faith brings with it, what we call libertinism. 446 The other promotes excessive conservatism, and tries to impose the threats of the law onto faith alone. This we 447 call legalism. Both are deadly attacks, and giving in to either can result in loss of faith, and loss of salvation. Both 63 Deutschlander, Grace Abounds, 408. 17 448 methods of attack have been around since the fall into sin, and the apostles were dealing with both already in their 449 day. Allow me a brief illustration to show how these two other attacks are still common in our own day and 450 451 age. When I was in graduate school at the University of Florida, over the summer one year I roomed with a 452 pleasant, older man named Richard. Richard was a devout Catholic, one who both knew well and seriously 453 practiced his faith. One evening we were talking religion and our conversation turned to the very topic of this 454 essay. I was trying to explain to him what gospel motivation is—how Christians willingly, humbly obey and live 455 a life of thankfulness to God. "Oh! Cheap grace" he replied, somewhat mockingly. "So, you can do whatever you 456 want, live however you please and not care, because you're forgiven?" Richard wrongly concluded that I was a 457 libertine. Richard was far from the first to express that sentiment. It is said that in Luther's day, that fierce opponent 458 459 of the Reformation, Duke George of Ducal Saxony, allegedly told Luther, "You can't go around and tell people 460 that they are forgiven! They won't behave!"64 Both my friend Richard and Duke George misunderstood the nature 461 of true Christian freedom. Their solution was to force people to obey, to motivate them with threats of the law, to 462 follow church rules, regulations, and traditions so that worship and obedience are done out of fear. On another 463 occasion that same week, Richard said to me in all sincerity, "Keith, I am just so very thankful that the church 464 tells me what to believe!" Such practices have the appearance of piety and wisdom65, every bit as much as the 465 Judaizers insisting that gentile Christians be circumcised and observe festivals. But it is not the gospel, and it is 466 not freedom, and it is not sola fide.66 Since these two false teachings still lurk around our world, seeking to destroy faith in Christ alone, it is 467 468 best that we briefly look at them so that we know how to recognize and resist them. 64 I picked up this anecdote from a professor in class, but have been unable to date to locate the primary source of it. However, the spirit of the quote can be found in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. III, under the entry for George, Duke of Saxony: "By this sermon the duke became aware of the fact that Luther aimed not only at certain reforms of the Church; but, in opposition to ruling Catholicism, announced a new Gospel which was bound to result in a complete rupture with the traditions of the past. Such a revolutionist George decidedly opposed." 65 Col 2:23: " Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Siegbert W. Becker, “Christian Liberty,” Proceedings of the 4th Bienniel Convention (The 47th Bienniel Convention of the Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod, New Ulm, Minn: NPH, 1983), 17: "Therefore, when the Judaizers came to Galatia do demand that the feast days and the Sabbaths be observed and circumcision be practiced as part of man's justification before God, Paul declared that any observance of the ceremonies was an insult to Christ." 66 18 469 Libertinism One temptation is to live however one pleases regardless of God's will, and it has its roots in the Garden 470 471 of Eden; it was the essence of Satan's attack on Eve. Satan depicted Eve's loving Father as a cruel tyrant who was 472 holding her back from reaching her full potential; he was restricting her freedom. We know the tragic results of 473 that attack. We also know that Paul dealt with the same attitude in Corinth. There, some members had apparently 474 bought into the philosophical argument of Platonic dualism that the body (flesh) is material and evil, and it is the 475 soul alone that is spirit and good. So, some were visiting prostitutes thinking, "It's just a 'body thing.' I can commit 476 sexual immorality without hurting my soul. Nothing wrong with that." Some also had adopted the mantra, "All 477 things are permissible! (1 Co 6:12)," meaning that it doesn't matter if we sin because we are forgiven in Christ 478 anyway. But Paul rebuked that thinking harshly: "You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. 479 Therefore, glorify God with your body." At the end of Galatians comes a similar warning: "Do not be deceived. 480 God is not mocked. To be sure, whatever a man sows he will also read. Indeed, the one who sows for his own 481 sinful flesh will reap destruction from the sinful flesh (Gal 6:7-8)." And in Romans67, Paul needed to combat yet 482 another variant of this thinking. For some people had apparently convinced themselves that by sinning more, 483 God's grace became even greater because he had more sins to forgive! And (they reasoned), since God wants to 484 be known as a forgiving and merciful God, it's okay to deliberately sin so that God can be just that! Paul simply 485 says, "Their condemnation is deserved (Ro 3:8)." It doesn't take too much effort to spot this libertine spirit in our world, and even in visible churches 486 487 claiming to be Christian. Lifestyles that are in complete contradiction with God's clear Word are embraced and 488 celebrated. Sinful behavior is openly promoted and even publicly blessed by churches and pastors claiming to 489 speak for Christ. In fact, some celebrate this as true, vibrant, and living "faith." In the history of the Lutheran church, the libertine spirit manifested itself early on as Luther had to deal 490 491 with certain preachers such as Michael Agricola68 who was teaching that since New Testament believers are free 492 from the law, only the gospel should be preached to believers, not the law. This theological position we label as 493 antinomianism. Although not as crass in form as pure libertine indulgence, nonetheless the two have this in 494 common: both despise God's law. The Antinomians, of course, did not want to minimize the freedom we have in 495 Christ and unnecessarily burden consciences. However, Luther and others rejected their teaching vehemently. In 67 The argument of libertinism is found in Ro 3:5-8. I paraphrase it in my own words here. See Armin W. Schuetze, “On the Third Use of the Law: Luther’s Position in the Antinomian Debate,” in No Other Gospel: Essays in Commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of the Formula of Concord, 1580-1980, ed. Arnold J. Koelpin (Milwaukee, Wis: Northwestern Pub. House, 1980), 207–10. The early phase, during the 1520's, involved preachers such as Andrew Poach, Anton Otto, Andrew Musculus, and Michael Neander. Luther believed he had dealt with the antinomians for good, but from 1537-1540 the debate about the use of the law on Christians flared up again in the person of Michael Agricola. 68 19 496 the end, the error came down to a lack of understanding between the roles of the law and gospel in the life of a 497 believer. Luther's position certainly does not contradict he earlier assertion in The Freedom of the Christian nor 498 some of the strong statements he makes about the law in How Christians Should Regard Moses.69 Rather, Luther 499 clarified the office of the law, that it still should be preached because the Christian is simul iustus et peccator ("at 500 the same time a saint and a sinner"). The preaching of the law is directed at the Old Adam that still clings to each 501 Christian and that only understands the threats and punishments of the law.70 No Christian is entirely New Man, 502 and so needs also to keep the Old Adam in check by using the law as a mirror to reveal sin. The Antinomian 503 Controversy was dealt with fully in Article VI of the Formula of Concord. But striking closer to home, if we're honest with ourselves, in our own lives we, too, experience the 504 505 temptation to "plan to sin" in some way thinking we're safe if we also "plan to repent" after it's over. Or, perhaps 506 we are caught in a persistent sin that we know from God's Word is wrong. Yet it may happen that we either justify 507 our own behavior and refuse to give up a "pet sin" in the belief that God's forgiveness in Christ is somewhat like a 508 safety net that will always be there for us, enabling us to live however we think is best for us. 509 But this is the heart of libertinism—the abuse of God's grace in the belief that faith and freedom in Christ 510 means freedom to live however we please. To live in such a way not only smacks of human reason and arrogance, 511 it destroys faith, causes us to give up our freedom and puts us once again under the "yoke of slavery" of which 512 Paul speaks in Galatians 5. Such a life becomes the very opposite of true freedom. For as Jesus himself testified, 513 "Truly, truly I tell you, whoever sins is a slave to sin (Jn 8:34)." 514 Legalism Equally destructive to faith alone is the spirit of legalism. We first encounter this assault in the book of 515 516 Acts, in a couple of places. Peter encountered this spirit of legalism when he returned to Jerusalem after his 517 encounter with the gentile Roman Cornelius (Acts 10). The Jewish faction accused Peter of ignoring the law of 518 Moses. We find the same issue surface again in Acts 15, one of the most important chapters in the New 519 Testament. There Jewish-Christian faction had become even more assertive, saying, "Unless you are circumcised Martin Luther, “How We Should Regard Moses,” in Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings, ed. Timothy F. Lull (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989), 139. "This text makes it clear that even the Ten Commandments do not pertain to us. For God never led us out of Egypt, but only the Jews. The sectarian spirits want to saddle us with Moses and all the commandments. We will just skip that. We will regard Moses as a teacher, but we will not regard him as our lawgiver—unless he agrees with both the New Testament and the natural law. Therefore, it is clear enough that Moses in the lawgiver of the Jews and not of the Gentiles." 69 See August Pieper, “The Law Is Not Made for a Righteous Man,” vol. 2, The Wauwatosa Theology (Milwaukee, Wis: Nothwestern Publishing House, 1997), 93. "Thus, insofar as the Christian still has the old Adam in him, he is under the law, completely and absolutely under it. But only to that extent. Insofar as he is spirit, he is absolutely, completely, in every way free from the law. 'But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law." (Gal 5:18). As part unbeliever, the Christian is truly under the law, but as Christian not at all. In as much as he is still unrighteous, unholy, ungodly, etc., he is and remains a slave and captive of the law, and is cursed and condemned. But in as much as he is righteous, renewed, sanctified, he is free from all law, blessed, and saved." 70 20 520 according to the law handed down by Moses, you cannot be saved (Acts 15:1)." Now their insistence had gone 521 beyond a mere matter of opinion or of preference. These legalists were making obedience to the law of Moses a 522 condition of salvation; true faith must have it. Peter, Paul, and Barnabus resisted them in "a serious argument 523 (Acts 15:2)," standing for the freedom of the gospel. The Council of Jerusalem came to an agreement that (to 524 quote Peter), "We believe that we are saved in the same way they are –through the grace of our Lord Jesus (Acts 525 15:11)." The spirit of legalism had been refuted, this very same spirit we find here in the book of Galatians. 526 One would think that the Council of Jerusalem would have ended the matter. However, church history 527 reveals to us that legalism continued on, and continues to this very day. The great appeal of legalism lies in its 528 relation to what our Lutheran theologians call the opinio legis ("opinion of the law"), that natural bent that all 529 people have to earn salvation by good works. After all, God did write the law into our hearts; by nature, we 530 believe and insists that man must do something to make himself or keep himself right with God. We see the 531 opinio legis in all other religions of the world that are not rooted in the grace of Christ. In the Roman world of the 532 New Testament—a world that considered itself very conservative and very religious—the general operating 533 principle was do ut dēs, "I give so that you (god) give."71 Yet to this present day, Buddhists, Muslims, Mormons, 534 Confucians, the spiritism of African tribes, the voodoo of Haiti—all these have the common element of striving to 535 obtain God's favor by works and ritual. In that way they really are different from one another only in external 536 form. Eventually the most insidious form of legalism came from the corrupt Roman Catholic church with its 537 unceasing demand for the performance of good works and obedience to the ordinances of the Church as necessary 538 conditions for faith and salvation. It was this legalism that sparked the Reformation. Sadly, it is a legalism that 539 persists in the Roman church down to the present day. 540 In the history of the Lutheran church, orthodox Lutherans, too, have had to battle legalistic attacks on sola 541 fide. Luther personally dealt with it throughout his ministry. One thinks immediately of the famous six sermons he 542 preached when he was forced to return to Wittenberg from the Wartburg Castle in 1522. Wittenberg was in chaos. 543 Some had, in a spirit of legalism, smashed altars, crucifixes, statues and other works of Christian art as they 544 demanded "pure worship." The Formula of Concord devotes all of Article X, Of Church Rites, to what we now 545 call the "Adiaphoristic Controversy," a controversy that raged in the years just after Luther's death. The 546 controversy dealt largely with issues in worship: what is permissible and what is not? Then as now, there were 547 those who were insisting that certain things must be done in the church even though they are things that God has 548 neither commanded nor forbidden (adiaphora). In such a case, freedom in Christ must be defended if someone 549 tries to make a rule or law or tradition binding upon the conscience of God's free people.72 Martin Franzman, in a 71 David L. Eastman, Early North African Christianity (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2021), 10. Generally, on how the Romans viewed themselves as one of the most religious people in the known world, cf. Robert Louis Wilken, The Christians as the Romans Saw Them, Second edition (New Haven London: Yale University Press, 2003), ch. 3: "The Piety of the Persecutors." 21 550 sermon he wrote to seminary students, once highlighted the opinio legis in humans that infects the church, that 551 desires laws, regulations, governance. Satan knows we have trouble living in freedom and appreciating it. For 552 living in freedom takes thought, it takes effort—something that Christians often just don't want to do. Franzmann 553 writes: 554 555 556 557 The agony of freedom is another of Satan's strategems. We grow tired of liberty; we cannot bear the freedom with which Christ has set us free. We long for a tyrannous bishop to tell us exactly what to do. We long for the trumpet of the abbot to spell it out: "Thus far and no farther!" We should like to believe what the church believes and let the church worry about it.73 558 Legalism took a very prominent form in Lutheran history in the form of Pietism, a reaction movement of 559 the late 1600's to what some perceived as "dead orthodoxy" of the Lutheran church. The Pietists Spener and 560 Franke had pure motives—to spark true spiritual life in Lutheran congregations. With its emphasis on personal 561 piety, prayer, and good works, the Pietists began well. But soon the spirit of legalism set in and self-righteous 562 pride (which always happens with legalism) as more mature Christians began to look down upon and separate 563 from those Christian they judged to be inferior. What also happened is that the proper emphasis of the gospel— 564 Christ for us—gradually took a back seat to the emphasis of Pietism, Christ in us. Or, to put it theologically, 565 sanctification became more important than justification. In Wisconsin Synod history, Seminary president J. P. Koehler wrote a long essay on the topic of legalism, 566 567 Gesetzliche Wesen Unter Uns.74 We usually translate this as, "Legalism Among Us," but my colleague Prof. Jim 568 Danell indicated to me that "A Legalistic Spirit Among Us" is really a better translation. That is a better 569 description. For often legalism and its sister Pietism are difficult to pinpoint. Dr. John Brenner, used to say, "It's 570 difficult to define "Pietism"…but you know it when you see it." Yes! The Pietists never wrote down articles of 571 faith per se, and they always considered themselves true Lutherans. But it was the spirit in which they approached 572 problems, the spirit in which they viewed other Christians that was the real issue. Sometimes the mindset was as 573 simple as my own (Pietistic) grandmother Wessel who absolutely forbid her seven sons to play cards on Sunday, 574 and insisted that they be clean-shaven before taking communion. Again, not that these are bad or wrong ideas. But 575 it was the spirit in which she approached them, giving the impression that a "good Christian" must do such things 576 for actions to be truly God-pleasing. These were not directives that flowed from the gospel, but from the law. And 72 Art. VII of the Augsburg Confession had given guidance to Lutherans in this regard, leaving room for the proper exercise of Christian freedom: "For this is sufficient for true unity of the Christian church, that the gospel is preached there in harmony according to a pure understanding of it and the sacraments are administered there according to God’s Word. And it is not necessary for true unity of the Christian church that ceremonies instituted by men be uniformly observed everywhere, as Paul says to the Ephesians in Chapter 4: “One body, one Spirit, as you were called to one and the same hope of your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” 73 Martin H. Franzmann, Ha! Ha! Among the Trumpets (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing, 1994), 16. John Philipp Koehler, “Legalism Among Us,” vol. 2, The Wauwatosa Theology (Milwaukee, Wis: Nothwestern Publishing House, 1997), 229–73. 74 22 577 whenever directives for Christian living flow from the law instead of from a thankful heart responding to the 578 gospel, the spirit of legalism is at work.75 But any good work that is forced out of someone by a preaching of the 579 law is worth nothing in the eyes of God, as Paul told the Galatians (5:1). Also, though, legalism likes to set up the conscience as the rule for other people to follow. We hear this 580 581 often: "What you did bothers me!" The implication is, "You shouldn't do that!" Sometimes we speak that way 582 when a fellow Christian has sinned against us, and we are trying to win our brother over again. However, if my 583 fellow Christian has done something that God's Word says nothing about—a matter entirely in the realm of 584 Christian freedom—and I try to change that person's behavior on the basis of my conscience, or give the 585 impression that "a good Christian doesn't do that"76 not because God's Word says so but because it bothers me— 586 that is the spirit of legalism at work among us. Koehler beautifully summarizes our entire discussion of legalism: 587 588 589 This legalism has three special characteristics: (1) It takes its impulses not from the gospel, but wants to operate by demanding and threatening. (2) It mingles into the content of these demands foreign elements that come, not from God's will, but from one's own 'conscience.' (3) It intermingles the consciousness of one's own righteousness .77 590 But what's wrong with all this? Shouldn't Lutheran Christians have self-discipline and be morally upright 591 people? Of course. Scripture is clear that God's will for us it to be his holy people. But if that holiness is forced 592 out of us by threats of the law or man-made rules, restrictions, even church traditions78, we are no better off than 593 the Galatians. Though outwardly smacking of piety, any works produced by the law are an affront to the grace of 594 God in Christ. What's more, legalism fosters the self-righteous spirit of the Pharisees that Jesus so often 595 confronted and condemned.79 And, tragically, Christian joy is lost and love is no longer the happy motivation to 596 live to God's glory.80 "What happened to your joy?" Paul asked the Galatians (Gal 4:15). The legalism of the 597 Judaizers had robbed them of it. Further, when the spirit of legalism rises up, consciences are unnecessarily 598 burdened, and to burden another's conscience is far from an act of love. It can also lead people astray into works- August Pieper, “The Difference between the Reformed and the Lutheran Interpretation of the So-Called Third Use of the Law,” vol. 2, The Wauwatosa Theology (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 1997), 109. 75 Pieper, “The Difference between the Reformed and the Lutheran Interpretation of the So-Called Third Use of the Law.” Especially 101-16. 76 77 Koehler, “Legalism Among Us,” 259. 78 Koehler, 250. "Traditionalism is the way of thinking in which tradition, the forms of teaching handed down by the fathers, becomes decisive…The term denotes not the falsity of the tradition, but the tendency to rely on human teachers and their interpretation instead of directly on Scripture itself." 79 E.g. Mt 16:5-12; Mt 23. 80 This is especially noted in the Formula of Concord's Art X, Of Church Rites, in para. 16. 23 599 righteousness or shake their faith and trust in their Savior. Legalism's logical end is that the sola fide principle is 600 destroyed. Paul was right to earnestly confront and condemn the legalism that had seeped in among the Galatians. 601 We must continue to do the same. Luther's great hymn, "Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" ends in this way: 602 603 604 Take care that no one's man-made laws should e'er destroy the gospel's cause. This final word I leave you. (CW: 377:10) 605 V: Some Applications for Faith-Filled and Faithful Servants of Christ 606 As we come to the end of our (brief) discussion of sola fide today, a few applications for our respective 607 ministries of what we've been talking about seem appropriate. One application that the discussion about the nature 608 of faith invites each of us to reflect upon our own preaching and the manner in which we proclaim the gospel. 609 How do we preach the good news? Perhaps it seems like an overly basic question, but let me explain myself. 610 Throughout the 1500's the debate between Rome and Wittenberg was over the nature of faith; was it primarily 611 knowledge or trust? The Lutherans asserted that faith as trust is the most important component, and that trust was 612 essentially seated in the will. This truth certainly does have implications for the way in which we proclaim God's 613 Word, especially the gospel. Without any particular brother in mind (but, rather, as I reflect upon my own 614 preaching), I wonder if the battles that we as a synod have been waging over the past decade or so in respect to the 615 doctrine of objective justification have subtly shaped the manner in which we proclaim the gospel. Has our gospel 616 preaching become more declarative statements of fact about the historicity and factuality of Christ's work of 617 redemption? To be sure, the gospel is history and of immense comfort that our salvation took place in history. But 618 if the sum total of our telling the good news sounds like this from the pulpit: "He died! He rose! He sits at God's 619 right hand, the conqueror of sin, death, and hell!" – are these statement that are directed at the will to foster trust? 620 Or are they just historical facts that increase our knowledge? How will we present the Word in such a manner as 621 to foster and nurture trust, as the unnamed old monk did for Luther at Erfurt? 622 623 In thinking about this, I reflected upon the manner in which Jesus preached to Martha at the tomb of her brother Lazarus. Listen to the dialogue: 624 625 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 626 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 627 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 628 629 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (Jn 1:21-26) 630 There is factual knowledge here in this passage, and Martha knew it. Yes, it's true that Jesus then built 631 upon that confession of Martha and expanded her knowledge. But notice how the passage ends: Do you believe 24 632 this? Here is the Word targeting the will. Here is the invitation to trust. Here is the comfort that comes from 633 having the proper object of faith—not just Christ who can do all things but Christ who loves me. St. Paul never 634 ceased to be amazed by it: "I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life 635 I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." (Ga 2:20) Perhaps it's beneficial for each of us to remember that a sermon is, essentially, a persuasive speech.81 636 637 Persuasion appeals not so much to sheer knowledge as it does the will. Wilson: 638 639 640 The preaching of faith is not simply a system of plain factual statements, logical reasoning, and rigid conclusions, but it is hortatory, pleading, persuasive in its message. It presents and conveys an earnest and authoritative appeal to the affections and to the will, rather than merely submitting a statement of fact to the judgment of the intellect. 82 641 Each Sunday we enter the pulpit God has assigned to us to share the Word of life, and convince people of the utter 642 trustworthiness of their God and his promises, which are all "Yes" in Christ. For me, a bit of a personal epiphany 643 came during my vicar year when then Dean Balge came to our church to preach for the area Reformation festival. 644 It was a passage in his sermon that aptly illustrates the point I've been making. I remember it verbatim to this day 645 because, as I said, a light bulb went on as to what it means to preach the gospel clearly. Preaching on Romans 646 4:25 and proclaiming the sureness of our justification through the death and resurrection of Christ, Dean Balge 647 said: 648 649 Dear friends, this is not true if you believe it; it doesn't become true when you believe it. It is true whether you believe it or not. But because it is true, you can believe it! And whoever does believe it has eternal life. 650 Another application for us speaks to our roles as teachers of the faith, the communicators of the truths of 651 the Word to the next generation. What first comes to mind, naturally, is our responsibility in overseeing such 652 things as Sunday school, Bible class, confirmation instruction, etc. The challenges in all these areas are 653 significant, especially with teaching the Catechism to those attending public schools. But we need to persevere 654 "with great patience and careful instruction" (2 Ti 2:4). In our role as teachers of the faith, I encourage each of us to also remember the hymnal—that great 655 656 Lutheran invention—that also serves as a teacher of the faith. The LCMS professor (now sainted) Carl Schalk is 657 perhaps a bit pointed in his criticism, yet he does emphasize some vital truths: 658 659 660 Today, families seldom gather around the piano anymore. Children, we are repeatedly told, can't learn the church's basic treasury of hymns because they are too hard, not particularly suited to children, or just plain not fun enough, and churches are told to get rid of their hymnals in the name of more effective marketing and growth. The result is 81 Joel Gerlach and Richard D. Balge, Preach the Gospel: A Textbook for Homiletics (Milwaukee, Wis: Northwestern Pub House, 1982), 102. "We are addressing more than a gathering of intellects when we preach to a flesh and blood congregation. There is an emotional side to every human being and our preaching should not neglect it." 82 Wilson, “Faith,” 197. 25 661 662 that in many parishes the historic treasury of the church's song is falling into disuse through neglect and, in some instances, by design… 663 664 665 666 667 668 The simple reason for this situation is not that hymns and carols are too hard or not enough fun. The church has failed children by simply neglecting to teach those songs which best nourish and nurture the faith. Their place has been taken by a variety of "children's songs" which do little or nothing either to nourish the faith or prepare children for participation in the worship of the congregation…One of the most significant things the church can do to pass on the faith to the coming generation is to teach them a basic core of hymns which the church uses to confess and celebrate the faith.83 669 In respect to this point about hymnody, I'd like to point out to the brothers that soon our new hymnal will 670 be arriving at congregations en masse, and with the first Sunday in Advent its use will become prevalent. But 671 perhaps a lesser-known aspect of the hymnal project is something our synod has never undertaken before: we are 672 producing a three-year hymnology curriculum to be used primarily—but not exclusively—in our Lutheran 673 elementary schools. The goal of this curriculum is for great hymns to serve as a teacher of the faith to the next 674 generation. It will be a great blessing to our church body, and even if you serve in a place with no school, this 675 valuable too can be adapted in a variety of ways to teach the faith in a congregation. After all, others have rightly 676 called a hymnal the doctrine book of the laity. A third application, but certainly floating to the top of the list in importance, is that those are called to 677 678 serve in the public ministry of the gospel are not merely to be faithful, as St. Paul directs, but also men of faith. At 679 the onset of this paper, this was the first thing we noted, that Luther above all was a man of faith. When we look in Scripture for the examples of faith that the Holy Spirit recorded for us, what do we find? 680 681 I'm sure we each have our favorite examples. Permit me to share three of mine. First, there is Gideon. What was 682 it, exactly, that God was looking for in a judge at that time? Simply this: God was looking for a man of faith who 683 was willing to go up, stand on a mountain, and watch God destroy the army of Midian. He was weak (as I so often 684 am), he was reluctant (as I so often am), but with gentle patience and persuading, God fanned the flame of faith in 685 Gideon to trust him and follow his directives. Against all logic he did, in faith. Yet not he, but the Spirit of God 686 working in him. Then there is Abraham, the heroic man of faith. Which episode from his life should we choose? The 687 688 sacrifice of Isaac, which Paul expounds upon in Romans 4? Certainly appropriate. But for me it is the quiet way 689 in which Abraham lived out his faith and showed his trust. In particular, although that man of God had enough 690 money and resources at his disposal to build a city and name it after himself (as many of his rich pagan neighbors 691 were doing at that time), as an act of faith he chose to live in a tent, because he was looking forward to the City 83 Carl Schalk, First Person Singular: Reflections on Worship, Liturgy, and Children (St. Louis, Mo: Morning Star Music Publishers, 2000), 71. Emphases are his. 26 692 whose architect and builder are God (He 11:10). That quiet, simple act of faith spoke loudly to all about the hope 693 that was within him, a sure hope that gives far, far beyond anything this fleeting world can offer. Finally, I think of Peter. But not Peter the sinking saint who trembled at the waves, rebuked for his lack of 694 695 trust; not Peter the sword-bearer trying to advance the earthly kingdom of God; not Peter rebuking Jesus for talk 696 about the cross. Rather, that Peter who bowed in repentant humility on the beach when Jesus overwhelmed his 697 boat with fish: "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."(Lk 5:8). Rather that Peter, so changed from 698 Gethsemane, who was sleeping between guards in prison the night before his scheduled execution (Ac 12). By the 699 Spirit's power he had become a man of faith whose act of sleeping spoke the language of faith, the same type of 700 faith in the face of death that Paul would express to Timothy, "I know whom I have believed, and am convinced 701 that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day." (2 Ti 1:12) And, "The Lord will rescue me 702 from every evil attack and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom." (2 Ti 4:18) A century ago, August Pieper penned an essay for the Quartalschrift that spoke to the continuing need for 703 704 pastors to be men of faith: 705 706 707 708 709 Vigorous sturdy faith is needed to do the work the ministry requires, to endure patiently the sufferings of the ministry, the thanklessness one meets in the church, the enmities of brother and of the world. It takes strong faith to deny oneself, to give oneself over completely to obedience and service of Christ. This takes a faith that 'is sure of what it hopes for and is certain of what it does not see' (Heb 11; Jn 12:29). 84 710 Such quotes remind us of the high calling—and undeserved grace—each of us has been shown to be 711 named a public servant of the gospel. Along with that comes both the encouragement and responsibility to be men 712 of faith who lead God's people; men rooted firmly in the Word that they know well and study as if they always 713 have much more to learn;85 men of faith who know whom we have believed, who know that whoever trusts in him 714 will never be put to shame (Ro 10:11), and live the way we do because we believe it. If our many, many 715 shortcomings and daily failures bog us down, men of faith know to whom to turn in repentance—the one who is 716 Faithful and True, who helps us up from the ground time and time again, who speaks the comforting word, "Take 717 heart, son; your sins are forgiven (Mt 9:2)." Restored yet again—even to seventy times seven times a day—we 718 then serve God and his people, committed with the Spirit's help to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord 719 Jesus Christ (2 Pe 3:18). Pieper, “Paul, a Model of the Certainty of Faith, Especially for All Servants of the Word,” 222. I am grateful to my colleague Daniel Waldschmidt for calling my attention to this essay. 84 85 Pieper, 226. "If our study of the Word has not brought us to a personal fellowship with Jesus Christ, our ministry will remain without purpose and power." And, "A preacher or teacher or professor may be able to speak and teach fluently and skillfully, but if he studies the Word infrequently or not at all, he is a sorry specimen." 27 For such a faith as this, Jesus himself taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come." It is a prayer the Spirit 720 721 loves to answer and which he, in his grace, never fails to answer. It is an act of faith in and of itself to pray such a 722 prayer, and by faith we remain confident of God's grace and blessing. Pieper gets the final word today—not so 723 much a rebuke as an encouragement to each of us to continue in faith and, by the Spirit's power, continue to grow 724 in faith: 725 726 727 728 729 730 The only think lacking in the church of our day, and especially among ministers of the Word, is faith: living, robust, confident faith –the certainty of faith. Where certainty of faith governs the church, it will prosper. The certainty of faith is the source of all spiritual life, as well as the power for it. 'Everything is possible for him who believes' (Mk 9:23).86 God grant it for Jesus' sake. 731 732 Keith C. Wessel 733 October 2021 86 Pieper, 207. 28