Sanctification and You
The old evil foe of an aversion to sanctification continues to rear its ugly head in Lutheran circles, sad to say. Most recently I was in conversation with some folks who flatly asserted that Christians have no need of the Law since they are now guided by Love through the Gospel.
While this sounds quite reasonable and true, upon closer inspection we realize that in making such an assertion what the result is, is that the Gospel becomes Law.
Even as we reject legalism in the Church and put forward, firmly, the all sufficient sacrifice of Christ on the Cross for us, and His continuing power of salvation for us and therefore in us, we dare not forget that we are called to lives of good works, in Him, for Him and through Him: justification and sanctification. Lutheranism teaches both. We are to talk about the good works we are to be doing, and no, this is not merely/only by way of condemning sin. The Scriptures are replete with St. Paul describing the nature and consequences of the new life in Christ. A blog site put up this wonderful twist on the Rick Warren "Purpose Driven Life" book, which finally leaves the Christian not comforted, but only thrown back on his own resources. On the blog where this picture appeared, I provided a number of quotes from the Small Catechism that go along perfectly with a clear exposition of the Gospel. And here they are.
Christ lived, and lives, for us. We live in Him, and for him.
He gives us all His good gifts "all…out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without
any merit or worthiness in me." What is our response? "For all which I owe it to Him to thank,
praise, serve, and obey Him."
Christ lived a purpose driven life for me, and for you. Why?
"In order that I may be wholly His own, and live under Him in His
kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and
blessedness."
And because of what Christ did . . .
"He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian
Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith;
in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me
and all believers."
Consequently, as the Word is taught purely among us…
"We as the children of God also lead holy lives in accordance with it" and in this way hallow God's name.
This life is one of progress, not perfection. We strive to serve our Lord, according to His grace and mercy. There are some who say that we should not get into details in explaining and describing what it means to serve and obey God, or what that life is that we live in His kingdom, or what precisely it means to live holy lives in accordance with God's Word. But such a viewpoint has no justification, no pun intended, in light of God's Word and our Lutheran Confessions.