Ascribing Truthfulness to God: Luther on the Function of Faith

In the last week the Holy Spirit has consistently been reminding me of the necessity of faith. Last Sunday I heard an excellent sermon about the persevering faith of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 by Dr. Greg Welty. The theme has been repeated in my conversations. Further, this morning Karen and I read the story of Jesus healing a demon possessed boy (Mark 9:14-29). The boy's father came to Jesus and begged him to heal the boy from his affliction, for it caused epileptic seizures that threatened his life. Jesus said that he could heal the boy if the father had faith. The father's response is so descriptive of our weak condition. He cries, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (v.24).

In one of Martin Luther's most famous works, The Freedom of a Christian, he offers a helpful explanation of the function of faith. Simply put, Luther sees faith as ascribing truthfulness to God. However, Luther deserves to be heard in his own words:

"It is a ... function of faith that it honors him whom it trusts with the most reverent and highest regard since it considers him truthful and trustworthy. There is no other honor equal to the estimate of truthfulness with which we honor him whom we trust. Could we ascribe to a man anything greater than truthfulness and righteousness and perfect goodness? On the other hand, there is no way in which we can show greater contempt for a man than to regard him as false and wicked and to be suspicious of him, as we do when we do not trust him. So when the soul firmly trusts God's promises, it regards him as truthful and righteous. Nothing more excellent than this can be ascribed to God. The very highest worship of God is this that we ascribe to him truthfulness, righteousness, and whatever else should be ascribed to one who is trusted. When this is done, the soul consents to his will. Then it hallows his name and allows itself to be treated according to God's good pleasure for, clinging to God's promises, it does not doubt that he who is true, just, and wise will do, dispose, and provide all things well."--Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian (in Three Treatises, 284-85).

This quote has come to mind several times throughout the day in various contexts. Tonight, I find myself wrestling through the following questions:

1. Do I trust that God is faithful to fulfill his promises?
2. Does my worship of God involve ascribing truthfulness to Him, His promises, commands, and judgments?
3. In what ways am I failing to acknowledge the truthfulness of God and His Word? In particular, do I question His truthfulness in the face of adversity?
   
4. Do I recognize the frailty of my own faith? Am I looking to God for help in sustaining and strengthening this weak faith?
   

May God grant us faith as well as the continued strength to believe and ascribe truthfulness to Him.

Grace & Peace,

J

P.S.--If you have never read anything by Luther, you should start by reading The Freedom of a Christian. It contains a classic exposition of his understanding of justification by faith alone. The edition of the work pictured above contains two other treatises that will give you a great feel for Luther's reformation efforts. I highly recommend it for your personal library.

Bonheoffer on Genuine Christian Fellowship

I read the following passage last night and was challenged by its call for authentic/transparent Christian fellowship.

"Confess your faults one to another" (James 5:16). He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners!

But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. "My son, give me thine heart" (Prov 23:26). God has come to you to save the sinner. Be glad! This message is liberation through truth. You can hide nothing from God. . . . You do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner. Thank God for that; He loves the sinner but He hates the sin.--Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 110-11.

Bonhoeffer will go on to spell out how one should go about such confession, namely to a trusted brother or sister in the faith. It is important to understand that he is not encouraging us to take sin lightly. Sin is serious; serious enough for God to send His only begotten Son to die the death that sin deserves so that we might have life through Him (cf., Bonhoeffer's classic The Cost of Discipleship). Bonhoeffer's point is that all men sin, even Christians. While we have been freed from the bondage to sin, we must still struggle against it until we die or Christ returns (cf., Hebrews 12:1-3ff.). He rightly contends that Christians will not have true fellowship with one another until, in their struggle against sin, they begin confessing their sins to one another and praying for one another (cf. Galatians 6:1-2; James 5:16).

Father, help us to hate sin as You do. May we fight against the desires of our old self and seek assistance from our brothers and sisters in the faith through humble confession. Build in us the image of Christ and assist us to image Him well by the aid of Your Spirit. Help us to give our hearts to You completely. As we do, may others see Your light in our attitudes and actions and give glory to You for the work You are doing in and through us.

Grace & Peace,

Jonathan

Whether you, eat, drink, or watch sports...

Today I received a link to a blog post that I found insightful with regard to our approach to watching sporting events. As a believer we are called to do everything to the glory of God, to let our light shine in such a way that when they see our good deeds they will give glory to Him alone for what they see (cf., 1 Corinthians 10:31 & Matthew 5:16). This call extends to every area of our lives even to the most mundane events and activities.

I encourage you to check this post out and ask yourself the question: "How should the Gospel affect the way I watch sporting events?" By this I mean, how should one's new identity and life in Christ guide him or her to watch "the big game?" What does it look like to remember and honor our Savior even in this seemingly unspiritual activity?

Here's the link. I hope you will take a few minutes to check it out.

http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Blog/post/Thoughts-on-Super-Bowl-XLIV.aspx

Grace & Peace,

Jonathan