Justification

In Christian theology, the doctrine of justification means being declared righteous by God because of the work of Christ.

As Billy Graham famously explained, because of the work of Christ, God views Christians “just as if” we had never sinned.

In addition, justification also means that God views Christians as if they had lived a perfectly righteous life because Christians are covered by Christ's righteousness.

Pastor Alistair Begg has a helpful sermon in two parts on justification called "After Darkness, Light" that can be found here…

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/truth-for-life/listen/after-darkness-light-part-a-294517.html

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/truth-for-life/listen/after-darkness-light-part-b-294519.html

 

I pray that you would find this resource helpful in learning more about being justified by God’s grace.

-Dave

The Future of Anglicanism

Here's a helpful audio interview at "The Whitehorse Inn" with host Dr. Michael Horton and Dr. David Virtue and retired Episcopal bishop C. FitzSimons Allison.

They discuss new missions in Anglicanism and the important doctrines of justification and imputation.

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/The_White_Horse_Inn/archives.asp?bcd=2009-8-23

Enjoy,

-d.

Luther's Legacy

Nobody's perfect...I was reminded of that fact last week with the celebration of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. In the midst of celebrating the "Great Emancipator" we were reminded from several sources that Lincoln had some very bad things to say about African Americans and their fate (for many years he wanted to deport them to Liberia).

Pastor John Piper wrote last week as well about Lincoln's failures and the fact that all earthly heroes will fail us. You can read the article here.

I was reminded of that truth again this week as I finished reading Roland H. Bainton's biography of Martin Luther, called "Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther".

Luther's legacy is truly staggering...leader of the Protestant Reformation, translator of the Bible into German, proponent of justification by faith....yet there was also a negative side to Luther as well. Unlike Lincoln who had some progression in his thinking of others, Luther's screeds became worse as he aged. Regarding the Pope, Luther was quite quick to call him the Anti-Christ. Regarding Jews, Luther had some very negative opinions. Bainton, Luther's biographer, notes that he wished Luther would have died earlier so that his anti-Semitic views would not have been known.

Regarding his positive contributions, Luther is unequaled. Here's how Bainton describes the work of Luther and his influence on Germans:

"The most profound impact of Luther on his people was in their religion. His sermons were read to the congregations, his liturgy was sung, his catechism was rehearsed by the father with the household, his Bible cheered the fainthearted and consoled the dying."

Compared to the Protestant Reformation in England, Bainton notes that there was not a similar character:

"The Bible translation in England was the work of Tyndale, the prayer book of Cranmer, the catechism of the Westminster divines. The sermonic style stemmed from Latimer; the hymnbook came from Watts. And not all of these lived in one century. Luther did the work of more than five men. And for sheer richness and exuberance of vocabulary and mastery of style he is to be compared only with Shakespeare."

I encourage you read Luther's biography...even though he was an imperfect man. He was a man who doubted, but a man who also had incredible faith...a faith that allowed him to say before the Emperor: "Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen."

Blessings,
-D.

Luther's Lyrics

This week I've been reading Roland Bainton's book called "Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther".

In the 1520's Luther challenged Catholic authorities on their practice of selling indulgences, arguing that it contradicted the Scriptural doctrine of justification - of being made right with God - through faith in Christ alone.

What was interesting to me was that for someone focused so much on faith instead of works, the works that Luther produced in the 1520's are truly staggering. During the course of just a few years Luther:

• wrote three major treatises (starting in 1520) on Christian freedom, "the priesthood of all believers", Two Kingdoms and the sacraments


• translated the New Testament into German (first published in 1522)


• wrote "On the Bondage of the Will" (first published in 1525) on the sovereignty of God and the limitations of humans to choose good and their inability to be right with God on their own strength


• wrote the "Large" Catechism (published in 1529), as instructions to parents and teachers


• wrote the "Small" Catechism (also published in 1529) for instruction to children

One of the most lasting legacies during this period is his hymn "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" written between 1527 and 1529. Here's a link to the lyrics: http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh110.txt

After nearly 500 years, the words to the hymn remain poignant and incredibly stirring.

Many Blessings,
-Dave

Indulge me for a moment...

I was interested in reading the following article in our local paper about the revival of the Catholic tradition of indulgences:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090215/NEWS01/902150363/-1/NEWS0109


According to the newspaper article, these indulgences are designed to "hasten" one's "journey to heaven" and "avoid punishment in the afterlife".

I have great respect for the Catholic Church. I am thankful that the Church has stood for the cause of Christianity for so many centuries in the midst of incredible, often difficult, circumstances. Personally, I've found a great number of Catholic authors helpful (especially St. Augustine, Henri Nouwen and Thomas Merton). But this area regarding indulgences is one where we sharply differ.

The issuing of indulgences was a major cause of (what is known today as) The Reformation, which started in the early 1500's and birthed the Protestant Church. The initial leader of the Reformation was a German named Martin Luther, who I've been reading recently for a seminary program.

Luther had initially considered being a lawyer before feeling called by God to become a monk. While living at a monastery and serving as a pastor and teacher in the city of Wittenberg, Luther wrestled with intense feelings of guilt...knowing that he was sinful and constantly falling short of God's standards.

At the same time a man commissioned by Rome, named Johann Tetzel, traveled throughout Germany selling indulgences, to limit the punishment of purgatory for those who purchased them and for their designated recipients who had already died.

Luther eventually did finally find comfort...not in indulgences, or in changing his beliefs about God's standards, but through his study of Scripture, particularly his study of St. Paul's writing (in Romans, to be exact). There he discovered the idea of "justification by faith"...that Christians are made right with God, not by their own works of righteousness but rather through faith in the work of Christ.

If you're struggling with this concept, I'd encourage you to read Romans or Galatians in the New Testament to see Paul's passion around this concept...that it's not our work, but the work of Christ that will remit sin because Christ has taken the punishment for us.

If you're interested in learning more about Luther, I'll be reading his biography this week. The biography I'm reading is by Roland H. Bainton called, "Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther". I'll keep you posted with what I learn.

Many blessings,
-Dave