"The word of God is the greatest, most necessary, most important thing in Christendom. Without the external Word we would not know one spirit from another...Let the man who would hear God speak, read Holy Scripture." - Martin Luther

Friday, April 21, 2006

ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE

Here is Luther's bottom line about the nature of faith...and really what the grace of God is at core:
Is the nature of faith ACTIVE or PASSIVE on our part "for the obtaining of this righteousness"?
Luther asks / answers the gazillion $$ question:
"Do we then do nothing? Do we do nothing at all for the obtaining of this righteousness? I answer, Nothing at all!"


Please read this introduction of Luther in his commentary of Galatians (click here) and see how he unfolds the two angles of active & passive as it relates to the obtaining of righteousness. They are as far apart as heaven is from earth, spirit from flesh, grace from merit! I doubt you have ever read anything like this! And after you read it, please read your Bible and see if the type of language used in describing salvation portrays man as active or passive? One is red...and one is green...for a reason!

And for the record, check out this same emphasis on the nature of faith being both "passive" and "assuring" in John Calvin's definition of faith:

"We shall now have a full definition of faith, if we say that it is a firm and sure knowledge of the divine favor toward us, founded on the truth of a free promise in Christ, and revealed to our minds, and sealed on our hearts, by the Holy Spirit." (Institutes, Book 3, Ch 2.7 last sentence)

Just check it out for yourself and feel free to post your comments below.

posted by Daddy, Manf and Bean at 11:22 AM

1 Comments:

Blogger Mathetes said...

Great reminder! What is sad is how a lot of evangelicals shy from making such a distinction -though it seems particularly prevalent in some charismatic circles. To say we do "nothing at all" when it comes to our justification is to say too much, for them. It is imagined that there must be something, something that we can find in us so that we can safely presume upon such grace. And then it does, "So you are saying we can live however we want!" Of course we aren't (particularly given the God-centered, supernatural nature of converstion), yet just as in Paul's day, we who tell of the free justification of God in Christ are slanderously reported as teaching that we may continue on in sinning so that grace may abound all the more. But we must keep preaching it, for it alone is the power of God unto salvation. None of that other junk is worth the breath that was taken to speak it or the neurons needed to think it. Such a dead end!

2:44 PM

 

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