Rev. Jacob Ehrhard
Wait a second. If I can be forgiven simply by believing in Jesus, then…I can do anything I want! Get out of jail free card. In fact, the more I sin, the more I can get forgiven. Best. Religion. Ever. To celebrate, let’s tweet some nasty stuff about that awkward girl in study hall, then tonight go steal some liquor from the store and get drunk, and then tomorrow see if we can start a fight at lunch. Because, forgiven!
Not so fast. That’s not exactly how it works. Yes, we are forgiven for the sake of Christ; yes we are justified, or declared to be right before God, by faith in Him. This is done without respect to works, and all sins are covered by Christ’s all-atoning sacrifice on the cross and the blood that He shed. But it’s not the end of the story. In fact, it’s just the beginning for the Christian.
Our churches teach that this faith is bound to bring forth good fruit. It is necessary to do good works commanded by God, because of God’s will. We should not rely on those works to merit justification before God. The forgiveness of sins and justification is received through faith. The voice of Christ testifies, “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty'” (Luke 17:10). The Fathers teach the same thing. Ambrose says, “It is ordained of God that he who believes in Christ is saved, freely receiving forgiveness of sins, without works, through faith alone.” (Augsburg Confession, article VI).
Faith is followed by fruit. And not just any fruit, but those that are commanded by God and are done according to His will. These works are informed by the Ten Commandments. But just because a work agrees with God’s command doesn’t necessarily make it a good work. Even the heathen can perform outward, civil works of the Law to some degree. There is something that sets apart a good work of this new obedience from every other work.
Take, for example, the first sons of the first parents—Cain and Abel. Both brought sacrifices to God; both performed the outward act. But Cain’s offering was rejected while Abel’s was accepted (see Genesis 4). Why? The epistle to the Hebrews says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts” (Hebrews 11:4). The quality of the work does not determine its goodness, but the faith of the one who offers it.
To theological Cains, this looks like we don’t teach good works at all. But that’s not the case. Therefore, the adversaries falsely charge that our theologians do not teach good works. They not only require good works, but they also show how they can be done. The result convicts the hypocrites, who by their own powers try to fulfill the Law. For they cannot do the things they attempt (Apology of the Augsburg Confession, article V.15-16). We not only teach good works and require them, but we also show how they can be done.
That’s why the teaching on new obedience concludes not with the Law, but with the Gospel. The promise of forgiveness and that promise alone is what creates faith. In faith, that is, in Christ, we are right with God. The same Spirit who creates faith through the Gospel also stirs up love in us on account of those forgiven sins; and love fulfills the Law. And works done in faith, no matter how small and humble according to outward measures, are truly good and pleasing works before God.
Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in New Haven, MO. He can be contacted at pastor.ehrhard@gmail.com.
In the name of + Jesus. September 14 is the Festival of the Holy Cross. It was on this day in the year 326 A.D. that Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, is said to have discovered the cross of Jesus Christ hidden in Jerusalem. It’s a nice story, and quite possible that the cross upon which Jesus died was still around 300 years after His death (after all, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is nearly 300 years old, and we have no reason to doubt its authenticity). But then again, a lot of things happened in Jerusalem during those three centuries, and many people died on crosses under the Romans; it could have been any one of their crosses. It’s just as easy to doubt this story as it is to believe it.
This past Sunday I led the Divine Service at the parish I serve for the first time in two weeks as I had been away on vacation the two Sundays prior. On those vacation Sundays I got to wear “normal” clothes and sit with my family in the pew of the church we visited. It was a nice change for me to sit in the pew.
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16
A simple prayer of three words: Open my lips.
Jesus always embraces, welcomes, and forgives sinners. It is His association with, as well as compassion and love towards sinners that is most scandalous to the world. He runs after the doubters, the unbelievers, the sinners. Jesus goes after the poor, the lost, the sick, and the dead. They are the reason that Jesus came.
“I AM the Bread of Life,” says Jesus. “The one who comes to me will never hunger and the one who believes in me will never thirst” (John 6:35). Wow, Jesus, that’s deep. “I AM the Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, He will live forever. And the bread that I give for the life of the world is My flesh” (John 6:51). Wait, what? “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you have no life in you” (John 6:53). Ok, now this is just weird.
Here’s a quick quiz for you. When was the last time you heard someone reference the Ninth or Tenth Commandments? You know, the two coveting commandments. When was the last time someone dropped a, “Hey, don’t go breaking the Ninth Commandment here?” We’ll occasionally hear that with the others: “Don’t break the Eighth Commandment,” “This is a Sixth Commandment issue,” etc. Really with 1-8 we will bring them up fairly regularly (at least, if you think on the commandments). But 9 and 10—they don’t show up in normal discussion. They are just sort of…extra commandments.
I’ll be honest; I have no idea what I am doing. I am a 23-year-old Lutheran who is trying to live out a celibate lifestyle while struggling with some sins, namely, Same-Sex Attraction (SSA). Earlier this year, I wrote an article on dominant narratives in the United States that can have an influence over the hearts and minds of Christians struggling with SSA. The LGBTQ narrative is just one of them. It can be so tempting to leave a faithful Lutheran church for an affirming LGBTQ church. It seems like my worries would be over—able to have my cake and eat it too, so to speak. In other words, I’d be “free” to be openly gay and “Christian” at the same time. The world is telling us all kinds of stories while the Church catholic is telling us THE story. The stories we expose our hearts and minds to will shape who we are, and that’s why we need to hear the Gospel narrative—that is, the theology of the cross.
