Post-Emergent

Law and Gospel: Saint and Sinner

As a person under both the Law and the Gospel, we find ourselves as both Saint and Sinner, at the same time. This situation appears to be a paradox in that how can we be both at the same time.

What is a Saint?

Depending on who you ask, you may get an answer such as “Someone is very holy” or someone who did miracles”. With the death of Pope John Paul II, many Roman Catholic Christians believed that the late Pope should be put on “fast track” for sainthood. What they fail to realize, along with many Christians outside of the Roman Church, is what if the Pope died in Christ, he is already a saint in heaven. Since there is only heaven and hell, he cannot be purgatory as the current Pope has said. A problem is any of these definitions is that they all rely on the merits of the individual. As we have learned, no one can merit any righteousness through their own actions.

A proper definition of a saint is someone who in Christ.

St. Paul addresses his letter to the “saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1). These Christians are just like us. A saint isn’t what a person does, but who a person is. Martin Luther defined saint as a forgiven sinner. This is the Gospel

What is a Sinner?
 
It’s easy to find sinners. We are very good at finding the sinner in other people. When we understand the Law, then we see what we are: SINNERS!
 
Simultaneously Saint and Sinner

As Christians, we are both saint and sinners at the same time. This is a paradox unique to Christianity. We are declared righteous by God through Christ while at the same time asking God to forgive our sins.

In St. Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia, he starts by blessing them with grace and peace. Then St. Paul questions their faithfulness, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6). Yet, St. Paul continues to call the Galatians “brothers” (Galatians 1:11)

Even St. Paul, in Romans 7, how he continues to sin even through he wants to be holy. This is the struggle that all Christians must deal with. The good news is that we are not alone in the struggle. God is with us. He provides his Holy Spirit and protects us. When we sin, we know that we can go to the cross of Christ for forgiveness of our sins.

Law & Gospel: Gospel

The Gospel can be defined in many ways: First four books of the New Testament, the story of Christ, or Christ’s atonement for our sins. All three are correct. To understand the power for the Gospel and our need for it, we must understand God’s demand, our position, and Christ’s work for us. The Gospel is about making wicked man righteous before God. It’s not about making us into moral people, giving us victory in our lives, or even making us more loving to our neighbor.

Why We Need the Gospel

The only why to be with God, for eternity, is to keep God’s Law perfectly. Period. So, we must be found to perfectly keep God’s Law. If not, we will spend an eternity separated from God. This is the problem that all of us must deal with.

In the Old Testament, God demanded of Israel what He demands of us today, perfect obedience of His Law. God provided a means by which Israel could receive forgiven of their sins. It was by a lamb dieing for their sins. This atonement was made by an innocent victim taking the punishment for sinful people. In Leviticus 16, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is set out as the time that the people confess their sins and their sins are forgiven through the sacrifice.

We, as Gentiles, are subject to same standards that God set out for Israel. We must obey the Law and we just keep all of the sacrifices that are commended in the Old Testament.

There was a major limitation to this system: Each year the high priest had to sacrifice a lamb to atone for the sins of Israel. The atonement was limited in that people were still accountable to the Law and had to fulfill the law. They were dependent on their ability to complete observe all of the Law for their salvation. The limitation of the animal sacrifice of sin pointed to the need for a final and complete solution. The writer of Hebrews point this out in Hebrews 10:1-18.

So we are back to obeying the Law, which we know we cannot perfectly obey. We are still in need for someone to perfectly obey the Law.

Why Jesus

Even before Jesus begins teaching about what He is about, John the Baptizer proclaims Jesus’ entire ministry in one sentence: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). As with the lamb in Old Testament, Jesus became the atonement for our sins.  St. Paul put it best in 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin be to sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God.”

Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for our sin. He is sinless and he fulfilled the requirements of the Law. The writer of Hebrews writes about this Hebrew 10 on why Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all. St. Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:18-19 “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

In Jesus, we have the great exchange. Jesus imputed our sins on him at the cross and Jesus imputes his righteousness to our account. This is the Gospel. When God see us, He does not see our sin, but Christ’s righteousness. Martin Luther called this an “alien righteousness” since it is not our own righteousness, but Christ’ righteousness. In 1 Peter 2:24 we that “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

At the Cross, Christ forgave all our sins. When He said, “Father forgive them”, it was for all people, for all time. This was not just for the Roman soldiers or the Jewish leaders or even the mob that yelled “Crucify him!”

What Do We Do

Nothing. Anything we try to do is a sin. Why? When we try to add to our salvation, we are rejecting the complete work of Christ on the Cross. Salvation is a gift. Again St. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” When we receive a gift, it is not due to our merit or effort. We accept the gift of God’s grace through faith. Even faith is a gift since we cannot create faith. In Romans 10:17, we learn that faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ. That is why faith only comes when the Gospel is preached. Faith comes through Word and Sacrament. Faith is also God’s gift to us, just as salvation is a gift.

The Roman Church teaches Faith + Works while many American “Evangelical” churches teach Faith + My Experience or Faith + My Acceptance. In any of these cases, it is faith plus something we do. This type of faith is not true faith, but provisional faith. When we understand that salvation is 100% God and 0% us, then we understand how sinful we are and how great God’s grace to us is.

Law & Gospel: Law

For most Christians, the Law is the Ten Commandments while others consider the Law to be the entire Mosaic Law. The Law is what God demands for us to do and not do. We see the Law through both the Old and New Testaments. As God gave the Law through Moses, Christ gave us the Law in the four Gospels.

Law: Implicit and Explicit

The Law comes in to us in two forms: implicit and explicit. Another way to think about the Law is that we have revealed law (what is in the scripture) and nature law (what we see in nature). We are subject to both types.

Explicit, or revealed law, is what most Christians are aware of. We can find this starting in Genesis 3 where God commands Adam and Eve not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. When Adam ate, he sinned. Through both the Old and New Testament, God has revealed His Law through direct revelation so that we might know what God demands and expects. Through Moses, God gave us the Ten Commandments as well as all of Mosaic Law. Christ is also the Law Giver. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that our thoughts, not just our actions, are subject to the Law. If I hate someone, it is the same a murdering them (Matthew 5:2-22). 

The Implicit, or natural law, is what God has revealed, not through His word to us, but by nature. The natural law that I refer to is not the same as “Natural Law” that many in the legal and political areas refer to.  St. Paul referred to this type of law in Romans 1:20 

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

 This type of God’s law is seen in three stories found in Genesis. Cain knew that killing his Abel was wrong when God confronted him (Genesis 4). Prior to the great flood, man’s wickedness was noted as the cause of God’s judgment (Genesis 6 and 7). Finally, Joseph knew that adultery was wrong when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him (Genesis 39). In each story, God’s law was evident even though God had not pronounced His Law to man. This law is also evident in many societies, throughout history, were actions such as murder, stealing and lying are considered crimes.

 Law: It’s Purpose

The chief purpose of the Law is to show us God’s perfect standard and our complete failure to obey it perfectly. No one is made righteous before a Holy God by trying to fulfill all of the requirements of the Law. In Romans 3:10-18, St. Paul quotes various Psalms passages to support the point that there is no one who is righteous before God. When we look to the Law to validate our righteousness, we only find ourselves becoming conscious of sin. Why is that? God demands perfect obedience of the Law and when we look at ourselves, we realize how sinful we really are.

God does not grade on the curve or give partial credit. We see that in Joshua 1:8 where God demands that Joshua must carefully to everything that is in the “Book of the Law” in order to have success and prosperity. Joshua’s success is not due to Joshua’ obedience of the law, rather to God’s grace, despite Joshua’s sin. Jesus commands us to “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

 The priest Isaiah saw “the Lord seated on a throne”, his reaction as to cry “Woe to me!” and “For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips”. It was God’s action of mercy that resulted in Isaiah’s sin being atoned for. (Isaiah 6). When we begin to understand how holy God is and how sinful we are, our reaction will be like that of Isaiah. It’s the Law that shows us how great of divide there is between God and us.

In St. John’s first Epistle, he wrote that if we say that we deny we have sinned, we deny the truth and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8-10). Why do we sin?  St. John answers this question by saying anyone who breaks the law is sinning and sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4)

Law: The Solution

Since we are all sinners and we cannot perfectly keep the Law of God, what do we do? There is nothing that we can do. At this point, we can only be like the tax collector in Jesus’ parable where we also cry “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. This is the sinner’s prayer that all should pray, both Christian and non-Christians.

Even before our cry for mercy, God showed us his mercy in Christ. In the next section, the Gospel will show how through Christ, God has fulfilled the Law so that we may find life.

Law & Gospel: Introduction

When you ask Christians to divide the Bible into its two great themes, they’ll post likely say “Old  Testament and New Testament”. This works until you ask if there is any gospel in the Old Testament or Law in the New Testament, they may say “NO!” Well, starting in Genesis, we see the two great themes of Law and Gospel introduced. Law and Gospel is the method that the great reformers of the Sixteenth Century came to understand the proper way to read and understand the Bible. This is also seen in St. Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome, as well as throughout the Old and New Testaments.

What is Law

Most Christians would say that the Law is the 10 Commandments or the Law of Moses. While that is correct, it is only part of the Law. The Law is want God has commanded us to do and not to do. While we benefit from a written Law, God’s Law existed prior to Moses. Just read Genesis and the story of Cain and Able. While Cain knew that murder was wrong, it was not written on a stone tablet for everyone to read (Genesis 4). Another example is Joseph. How did he know adultery with Potiphar’s wife was a sin when she tried to seduce him? (Genesis 39:9)

 Paul wrote that the Law of God has been revealed in His creation so that we are all without excuse. (Roman 1:20). Claiming to not know God’s law is like telling the policing officer that you never saw the posted speed limit sign, as he writes you a ticket of going 60 in a 40.

Jesus was also a law giver. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us that it is not just our actions, but our thoughts and intentions that break the Law. If I am angry with another, it is the same as murdering them in God’s judgment. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 4).

With God’s Law, God demand perfect obedience. Anything less is unacceptable to a holy and righteous God. (Galatians 3:10). God doesn’t grade on the curve or give partial credit for our attempt to following the Law.

What is Gospel

Most Christians would say that the Gospel is either the first four books on the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) or Jesus dieing for the sins of the world. Again, that is part of the answer. The Gospel is God doing for man what man cannot do to fulfill the Law. In Genesis 1, God gives His creation man as a gift. Adam did not earn this gift. After Adam and Eve broke God’s Law, God shows his love by providing for Adam and Eve. This love is shown by God’s promise of Christ and the punishment of Satin (Genesis 3:15) as well as providing clothing for them (Genesis 3:21). Even after their rebellion, Adam and Eve still received God’s blessing through children.

Through Genesis, God shows us the gospel with Noah, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Joseph and the rest of Jacob’s family. The history of Israel shows us the gospel in God redeeming Israel despite their consist sin. The gospel, as shown in the Old Testament, points to Christ.

 The Gospel is God’s gift to us. Through the Old Testament, God’s grace was always free, just as it is in the New Testament and now. There is nothing we can do to merit what God gives us.  St. Paul stated this best in Romans 3:22-24:

 
“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Throughout the New Testament, the gospel does not come to those who obey the Law, but those who realize that they cannot and must rely on Christ.

What does this mean?

When we understand Law and Gospel, we then can truly comprehend how sinful we really are and how great the salvation that God gives us through Christ’s sacrifice. If we fail to understand the proper distinction between Law and Gospel, we can confuse how we are saved and how to live the Christian life.

Martin Luther coined the phrase “Theologian of Glory” and “Theologian of the Cross” to help explain this confusion. The Theologian of Glory, or those who believe and teach this belief, focus on what we do to please God through our actions while the Theologian of the Cross focus on what Christ did for us on the Cross since we cannot do anything to please God.

Jesus gave us the best example of the two theologians in his parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. While the Pharisee prayed on how righteous he was, the tax collector said “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. Jesus stated the tax collector, not the Pharisee, was justified before God. (Luke 18:9-14).

"Whatever Happened to Sin?" More Good Stuff

The White Horse Inn radio program has been reviewing St. Paul's letter to the Church in Rome as the basis for the American Church to return to the truth of the Reformation.  The following is a link to their broadcast files.  The most interesting/sad/disturbing aspect is where a reporter goes to the Christian Booksellers Association convention and asks basic questions of the Christian Faith and doctrine to the random people. The respondents cannot answer basic questions of the Faith or they disagree with key aspects of the Faith.  Many have rejected the doctrine of Original Sin and fact that man is dead in their sin and cannot please God.  It's amazing how Christians have bought into the post-modern view of truth.

 

http://www.whitehorseinn.org/

Also, there is a very good article by R.C. Sproul entitles “The Pelagian Captivity of the Church” that was published in Modern Reformation Magazine.

 

http://www.modernreformation.org/rcs01pelcap.htm

"What Ever Happened to Sin?"

In the late 1980’s, Steve Taylor, one of my favorite Christian music performers, performed a song call “What Ever Happened to Sin?”.  In this song, he questions Christians on how they can justify their actions and beliefs that run contrary to the God’s Word. We used to complain that those “liberal” denominations have minimized what sin is in areas such as homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, and personal behavior. Now this lax attitude towards sin has found its way into the “seeker sensitive” churches (Church Growth), “Word of Faith” churches, as well as the emerging church. This is not new to the late twenty century and early twenty-first century. You can trace this problem back to fifth century

To help better understand this attitude towards sin, this question is very helpful: “Do we sin because we are sinners or are we sinners because we sin?”

 
“We Sin Because We Are Sinners”

 
This answer assumes that sin in part of our nature and the act of sinning is a result of this nature. This position has been part of historic Christian orthodox teaching from the first Century. St. Paul wrote about this through his letter to the Church in Rome where he stated the sin came through Adam’s disobedience to God and the result of sin is death.(Romans 5:12). Just as we all share in Adam’s DNA, we all share in Adam’s sinful nature (a spiritual DNA).  St. Paul also writes that the result of sin it effects everyone and we are falling short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). This historic church teaching is called “Original Sin”.

No matter how hard we try, we continue to sin. This is not due to a lack of faith on our part, but do to our sinful nature.  St. Paul said it best in Romans 7:18 “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”

 
“We are Sinners Because We Sin”

 This answer assumes that is our sinful nature is the result of our decision to sin. This position has been rejected by the Church, starting with Pelgaius who taught that man was not born with Original Sin, but born in the same condition that that Adam was created in. This position views Adam as a bad example for us not to follow. If we assume this position, the Christ is not our savior, but our example since it is our actions the determine our salvation. We participate in our salvation since we have ability to stop sinning.

Today, this teaching is alive and well. You can find this in many “conservative” evangelical in what we call decision theology or “I accepted Jesus as my Savior”. If we are dead to Christ due to our sin, how can we make the decision to accept Jesus? (Eph 2:1-2) This is called Semi-Pelagainism which is still Pelagious in its view of the human condition towards God.

 
Another way you hear this is in Christians sermons where the preacher tells you to “Stop Sinning!”. Trying going a week without sinning or how about a day. As Jesus said, it not just what we do and say, it is want we think and believe. Sin has affected very aspect of our being and our world. If St. Paul continued to struggle with his own sin, am I that much of better Christian that I can stop sinning? (Roman 7:18-19).
 

There is a self-deception that occurs with this view of sin and human nature. It causes us to say “I pretty good” or “God will reward me for trying hard and being sincere”. God doesn’t grade on the curve. His standard is very simple: 100% perfection in keeping the law. Anything less is sin.

So What Does This Mean?

With an unbiblical view of man’s sinful nature, we will minimize the need for Christ Alone for our salvation. Also, we will view the Bible, not as the sole source of our beliefs, but as “The Good Book” which provides moral insights and principles for living.

 

Arrived: Solus Christus

Post-Emergent, Uber-Guru, Dr. Rod Rosenbladt of White Horse Inn fame, has a fantastic essay published online discussing the topic of Solus Christus, from Christ Alone.

Here is a quote from this essay:

The testimony of Luther. What is the Bible about? It is about Jesus Christ. Martin Luther, the great Reformer, said that Jesus Christ is the "center and circumference of the Bible," meaning that its fundamental content is Jesus Christ—who he is and what he did for us in his death and resurrection. To miss him as the center and key to Scripture is to remain in darkness and ignorance.

This is the judgment and punishment which God permits to come upon those who do not see this light, that is, do not accept and believe God’s Word concerning Christ, and then go about steeped in utter darkness and blindness and no longer know anything whatever of matters divine. They now understand no article of Christian teaching: what sin is, what man’s ability is, how one gets rid of sin and becomes righteous, what Law or Gospel is, what faith is, what good works are, what the Christian estates are. And since they do not know Christ, they cannot really know and see a Christian, but must condemn and persecute the true church and Christians, who teach the Word of Christ.

Whoever has not accepted or will not accept perfectly and purely this Man, called Jesus Christ, God’s Son, whom we Christians are preaching, should let the Bible rest in peace. This is my advice. He will certainly take offense and become blinder and madder the longer he studies. (What Luther Says, ed. Ewald Plass [St. Louis: Concordia, 1959], pp. 145-148)

In taking this position, Luther was not dreaming up some new and novel way to read the Scriptures. He knew that he was simply reflecting what Jesus Christ, and later his disciples, said.

If you would like to learn more about Solus Christus, we highly recommending reading the rest of this Essay.

Click Here to Read More.

Post-Emergent Agreement With Augburg Confession RE: The Doctrine of God

The Post-Emergent Church Movement, unanimously agrees with Augsburg Confession regarding the doctrine of God. We are absolutely certain that the Augburg Confession correctly interprets scripture in this regard. Here is what the Augsburg Confession says on this matter:

We unanimously hold and teach, in accordance with the decree of the Council of Nicaea, that there is one divine essence, which is called and which is truly God, and that there are three persons in this one divine essence, equal in power and alike eternal: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. All three are one divine essence, eternal, without division, without end, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, one creator and preserver of all things visible and invisible. The word “person” is to be understood as the Fathers employed the term in this connection, not as a part or a property of another but as that which exists of itself.

Therefore all the heresies which are contrary to this article are rejected. Among these are the heresy of the Manichaeans, who assert that there are two gods, one good and one evil; also that of the Valentinians, Arians, Eunomians, Mohammedans, and others like them; also that of the Samosatenes, old and new, who hold that there is only one person and sophistically assert that the other two, the Word and the Holy Spirit, are not necessarily distinct persons but that the Word signifies a physical word or voice and that the Holy Spirit is a movement induced in creatures.

To this Article we say “Amen and Amen”!

Arrived: God is a Trinity

The Post-Emergent Church Movement affirms with absolute certainty that the Bible teaches that the One God Exists in Three Persons.

The ‘Issues Etc’ radio program recently did a fantastic job of unpacking this mysterious Biblical teaching for us.

The Trinity is discussed across two broadcast hours.

Click Here to Listen to the First Hour. The discussion of the Trinity begins 38:50 into the broadcast.

Click Here to Listen to the Second Hour.

Arrived: The Bible and the ‘Word of God’ are One and the Same

Francis Pieper, one of the modern fore-bearers of Post-Emergent thinking, in his monumental work, “Christian Dogmatics”, decisively demonstrated that the Bible is nothing less than the actual “Word of God”.

Pieper’s careful scholarship and pious submission to Biblical Authority are a gift to us today. His conclusions provide us with the confidence and certainty that we so desperately need in a world where spiritual uncertainty is somehow viewed as a virtue. Through Pieper’s work we learn to reject the muddled thinking of those who try to undermine Biblical Authority by driving a wedge between scripture and the ‘Word of God” and teach that the two are not the same.

Here is what Pieper wrote:

Scripture teaches the identity of Scripture and God’s Word in several ways.

a. The Scriptures of the Old Testament are quoted in the New Testament plainly as God’s Word. The words of Is. 7:14: “Behold, a virgin shall be with Child and shall bring forth a Son,” are quoted in Matt. 1:22–23 as “spoken of the Lord by the Prophet.” When Hos. 11:1: “Out of Egypt have I called My Son,” is adduced in Matt. 2:15, it is at once stated of these words that they were “spoken of the Lord.” Ps. 2:1: “Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing?” is quoted in Acts 4:25 with the remark that God spoke this by the mouth of His servant David. When Is. 6:9–10 is brought to the attention of the Jews in Rome: “Go unto this people and say, Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see and not perceive,” it is plainly stated in Acts 28:25 ff.: “Well spake the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the Prophet unto our fathers.” Heb. 3:7 it is said of a quotation from Psalm 95: “As the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Rom. 3:2 the entire Scriptures of the Old Testament, committed to the Jews, are called “the oracles of God,” God’s sayings, God’s words. And because the entire Scripture of the Old Testament is God’s Word, Christ says of it (John 10:35) that it cannot be broken in one single word—the one single word here being the word elohim, gods, as used of government officials.

There is another lengthy series of Scripture passages which must not be overlooked when the question is raised whether Scripture and the Word of God are one and the same or not. These are the passages which state that all events in the world are directed by the Word of Scripture. All that has taken place and will take place, from the beginning to the end of the world, takes place because it is so written. Thus the birth of Christ from the Virgin Mary occurred “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet” (Matt. 1:22). John 17:12 Jesus speaks of the defection and end of Judas and adds: “That the Scripture might be fulfilled.” When Peter seeks with the sword to prevent the arrest of Jesus in the Garden, Jesus intervenes with the words: “But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” (Matt. 26:54.) And of all that happened to Christ, especially His suffering and the ensuing glory, Christ says: “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning Me” (Luke 24:44). If all things written in Scripture must be fulfilled, Scripture cannot be the word of man, but must be the Word of Him who holds everything in heaven and on earth in the hollow of His hand, who guides all events, without whom nothing in heaven and on earth can occur, who is omnipotent and all-knowing, who is, in short, the great majestic God Himself.