![\"luther-chemnitz-gerhard\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/523\/2014\/07\/luther-chemnitz-gerhard.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThere has been a fair amount of misrepresentation of Lutheranism by Lutherans in recent days and weeks \u2014 on the internet, of course, or how else could I make such a statement? Clairvoyant, I ain\u2019t. Anyway,\u00a0these misrepresentations are by no means original or unprecedented (in fact they are quite common), but they are still very much worth addressing.<\/p>\n
I do not wish to go word for word with the misrepresenters so much as point out two things:<\/p>\n
A) what these misrepresentations are; and<\/strong><\/p>\n B) what our Lutheran tradition has to say which demonstrates that these are in fact misrepresentations of Lutheranism.<\/p>\n I use the term \u201cmisrepresentations\u201d because it doesn\u2019t say anything about anyone\u2019s intentions (which I don\u2019t know, obviously), nor does it suggest that all of these are cases of blatant falsehood. But intentional, blatant, subtle, or otherwise, they remain problematic.<\/p>\n Here are some summaries of the misrepresentations:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And, my personal favorite:<\/strong><\/p><\/li>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019d like to address\u00a0#6 briefly, if I may, before going on:<\/p>\n There sees to be\u00a0a popular identification of Luther\u2019s famous phrase\u00a0simul iustus et peccator,\u00a0<\/em>\u201cat once just and sinner\u201d,\u00a0with the dichotomy in Ephesians 4:22-24<\/a> and Colossians 3:9-10<\/a>\u00a0of Old Man\/New Man. Until recently, I was not aware of just how common this was\/is. \u201cIustus<\/em>\u201c, it is said, equals \u201cNew Man\u201d, while \u201cpeccator<\/em>\u201d equals Old Man. Basically, it is claimed, the phrase is about the existential struggle of the Christian described by St. Paul in Romans 7. As easy as this connection may be to make, there is ample reason to believe that this identification is somewhat overwrought.<\/p>\n While these two dualities (at once just and sinner; Old Man\/New Man) are related, they are not identical.<\/strong> This is crucial to recognize. The reality of us being simul iustus et peccator<\/em>\u00a0certainly pertains\u00a0to the Old Man\/New Man dichotomy, this is most certainly true. But the phrase is basically an un-existential statement about\u00a0our being \u201creckoned righteous\u201d, even though we\u00a0remain sinners this side of the Resurrection.<\/strong><\/p>\n In short, at its core \u201cThe Simul\u201d is more Romans 4 than it is Romans 7. And this isn\u2019t assertion on my part, nor is it mere conjecture: the Rev. Dr. Thomas Winger, president of Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario, traces the usage of the phrase in Lutheran theology in his excellent essay \u201cSimul Justus Et Peccator:\u00a0<\/em>Did Luther and the Confessions Get Paul Right?\u201d (presented in Dresden in 2004 and published in LTR XVII 2004-5, 90-108; available here<\/a>). The first use of the phrase comes from Luther in his commentary on Romans 4. Dr. Winger writes:<\/p>\n The first clear use of simul justus et peccator language occurs in Luther\u2019s early lectures on Romans (1515)\u2014and this fact is extremely important for locating the Scriptural foundation of the idea. Surprisingly, though, it is not in his discussion of chapter seven that the phrase first occurs, but in his comments on Romans 4:7-8, which itself is a quotation of Psalm 32:1-2.<\/p>\n Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven [\u1f00\u03c6\u1f73\u03b8\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd; remissae<\/em>], and whose sins are covered [\u1f10\u03c0\u03b5\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1f7b\u03c6\u03b8\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd]; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon [\u03bf\u1f50 \u03bc\u1f74 \u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u1f77\u03c3\u03b7\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9; non inputabit<\/em>] his sin.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n So far Winger.\u00a0This isn\u2019t to say that simul iustus et peccator<\/em>\u00a0has nothing to do with Romans 7 \u2014 of course it does. But it\u2019s a first premise, in the same way that Romans 4 is necessarily an a priori<\/em> for Romans 7. One cannot freight this phrase with everything that can possibly be said about our\u00a0existential experience\u00a0as justified Christians without doing injury to its primary meaning, which is very simple:\u00a0take heart, for although you are a sinner, you are righteous in God\u2019s sight.<\/strong> For a helpful explication of this, see here.<\/a> (NB: I don\u2019t necessarily endorse every single thing that the author of the linked piece says. I only say that because I haven\u2019t had the time to tell if I do. Even so, it\u2019s worth reading.)<\/p>\n Without further ado, here are the promised quotations from our Lutheran fathers on the matters of free will, good works, and, well\u2026\u201dThe Simul,\u201d I guess.<\/p>\n This is the freedom and the slavery of which Paul speaks in Rom. 6:20, 22: \u201cWhen you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But now that you have been set free from sin, you have become slaves of God.\u201d But let us set this up in a diagram:<\/p>\n Freedom from righteousness\u00a0 \u00bb \u00a0Service of sin<\/em><\/p>\n Service of righteousness \u00a0\u00bb \u00a0Freedom from sin<\/em><\/p>\n For he who is free from sin has become a slave of righteousness; but he who is the slave of sin is free from righteousness, and vice versa. . . . \u201cChrist,\u201d he says, \u201chas made us free with this freedom.\u201d It is a spiritual freedom, one to be preserved in the spirit. It is not that heathen kind, which even the pagan Persius knew was not enough. It is freedom from the Law, but in a way contrary to what usually takes place among men. For it is human freedom when laws are changed without effecting any change in men, but it is Christian freedom when men are changed without changing the Law. Consequently, the same Law that was formerly hateful to the free will now becomes delightful, since love is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). In this freedom, he teaches us, we must stand strongly and steadfastly, because Christ, who fulfills the Law and overcomes sin for us, sends the spirit of love into the hearts of those who believe in Him. This makes them righteous and lovers of the Law, not because of their own works but freely because it is freely bestowed by Christ.<\/p>\n (Blessed Martin Luther, commentary on Galatians v. [1519]; Luther\u2019s Works<\/em>,\u00a0vol. 27, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan; CPH: St. Louis, 1964, 1992; pp. 325-326)<\/p>\n :: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0:: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0::<\/strong><\/p>\n And when I exhort to walk in the Spirit, that you fulfill not the concupiscence of the flesh, I do not require of you that you should utterly put off the flesh or kill it, but that you should bridle and subdue it.<\/strong> For God will have mankind to endure even to the last day. And this cannot be done without parents, which do beget and bring up children. These means continuing, it must needs be that flesh also must continue, and consequently sin, for flesh is not without sin. Therefore in respect of the flesh we are sinner: but in respect of the Spirit we are righteous, and so we are partly sinners and partly righteous.<\/strong> Notwithstanding our righteousness is much more plentiful than our sin, because the holiness and righteousness of Christ our Mediator doth far exceed the sin of the whole world, and the forgiveness of sins which we have through Him is so great, so large, and so infinite, that it easily swalloweth up all sins, so that we walk according to the Spirit, &c.<\/p>\n (A Commentary on St. Paul\u2019s Epistle to the Galatians\u00a0By Martin Luther<\/em>, eds. Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Tischer, Samuel Simon Schmucker;\u00a0Philadelphia, Smith, English & Co.: 1860;\u00a0p. 571)<\/p>\n :: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0:: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0::<\/strong><\/p>\n That is what my Antinomians, too, are doing today, who are preaching beautifully and (as I cannot but think) with real sincerity about Christ\u2019s grace, about the forgiveness of sin and whatever else can be said about the doctrine of redemption. But they flee as if it were the very devil the consequence that they should tell the people about the third article, of sanctification, that is, of new life in Christ. They think one should not frighten or trouble the people, but rather always preach comfortingly about grace and the forgiveness of sins in Christ, and under no circumstance use these or similar words:<\/strong> \u201cListen! You want to be a Christian and at the same time remain an adulterer, a whoremonger, a drunken swine, arrogant, covetous, a usurer, envious, vindictive, malicious, etc.!\u201d Instead they say, \u201cListen! Though you are an adulterer, a whoremonger, a miser, or other kind of sinner, if you but believe, you are saved, and you need not fear the Law. Christ has fulfilled it all!\u2026They may be fine Easter preachers, but they are very poor Pentecost preachers, for they do not preach\u2026 \u201cabout the sanctification by the Holy Spirit,\u201d but solely about the redemption of Jesus Christ, although Christ (Whom they extol so highly, and rightly so) is Christ, that is, He has purchased redemption from sin and death so that the Holy Spirit might transform us out of the Old Adam into New Men\u2026Christ did not earn only gratia<\/em>, grace, for us, but also donum<\/em>, \u201cthe gift of the Holy Spirit,\u201d so that we might have not only forgiveness of, but also cessation of, sin.<\/strong> Now he who does not abstain from sin, but persists in his evil life, must have a different Christ \u2014 that of the Antinomians; the real Christ is not there, even if all the angels would cry, \u201cChrist! Christ!\u201d He must be damned with this, his new Christ.<\/p>\n (On the Council and the Church<\/em>, Luther\u2019s Works, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan; CPH: St. Louis, 1964, 1992; 41:113-114).<\/p>\n [I]n our churches all the sermons are occupied with such topics as these: of repentance; of the fear of God; of faith in Christ, of the righteousness of faith, of the consolation of consciences by faith, of the exercises of faith; of prayer, what its nature should be, and that we should be fully confident that it is efficacious, that it is heard; of the cross; of the authority of magistrates and all civil ordinances [likewise, how each one in his station should live in a Christian manner, and, out of obedience to the command of the Lord God, should conduct himself in reference to every worldly ordinance and law]; of the distinction between the kingdom of Christ, or the spiritual kingdom, and political affairs; of marriage; of the education and instruction of children; of chastity; of all the offices of love. From this condition of the churches it may be judged that we diligently maintain church discipline and godly ceremonies and good church-customs. (Apology, Article XV [VIII], 43-44)<\/p>\n Doctor Luther says (regarding Ps. 90):<\/p>\n In worldly and external affairs; which pertain to the livelihood\u00a0and maintenance of the body, man is cunning, intelligent, and quite active; but in spiritual and divine\u00a0things, which pertain to the salvation of the soul, man is like a pillar of salt, like Lot\u2019s wife, yea, like a\u00a0log and a stone, like a lifeless statue, which uses neither eyes nor mouth, neither sense nor heart. For man neither sees nor perceives the terrible and fierce wrath of God on account of sin and death [resulting\u00a0from it], but ever continues in his security, even knowingly and willingly, and thereby falls into a\u00a0thousand dangers, and finally into eternal death and damnation; and no prayers, no supplications, no\u00a0admonitions, yea, also no threats, no chiding, are of any avail, yea, all teaching and preaching is lost\u00a0upon him, until he is enlightened, converted, and regenerated by the Holy Ghost, for which [renewal\u00a0of the Holy Ghost], indeed, no stone or block, but man alone, was created. And although God, according\u00a0to His just, strict sentence, has utterly cast away the fallen evil spirits forever, He has nevertheless, out of\u00a0special, pure mercy, willed that poor fallen human nature might again become and be capable and\u00a0participant of conversion, the grace of God and eternal life; not from its own natural, active [or effective]\u00a0skill, aptness, or capacity (for the nature of man is stubbornly hostile against God), but from pure grace,\u00a0through the gracious efficacious working of the Holy Ghost.<\/span><\/p>\n And this Dr. Luther calls capacitatem<\/em>, capacity, non activam<\/em>, not active, which he explains thus: Quando patres liberum arbitrium defendunt<\/em>;\u00a0that is:<\/p>\n When the Fathers defend the free will, they are speaking of this, that it is capable of freedom in this sense, that by God\u2019s grace it can be converted to good, and become truly free, for which it was created in the beginning. [Tom. 1:236\/WA 2:647]; to like effect also Augustine has written, lib. 2, Contra Iulianum<\/em><\/a>. Doctor Luther on Hosea 6; also in the Church-Postil on the Epistle for Christmas<\/a>; also on the Gospel for the\u00a0third Sunday after Epiphany.<\/a>\u00a0(SD FC II.20-23)<\/p>\n :: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0:: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0::<\/strong><\/p>\n [T]here is a great difference between baptized and unbaptized men. For since, according to the doctrine of St. Paul, Gal. 3:27, all who have been baptized have put on Christ, and thus are truly regenerate, they have now arbitrium liberatum (a liberated will), that is, as Christ says, they have been made free again (Jn. 8:36); whence they are able not only to hear the Word, but also to assent to it and accept it, although in great weakness.<\/p>\n For since we receive in this life only the first-fruits of the Spirit, and the new birth is not complete, but only begun in us, the combat and struggle of the flesh against the spirit remains even in the elect and truly regenerate men; for there is a great difference perceptible among Christians not only in this, that one is weak and another strong in the spirit, but each Christian, moreover, experiences in himself that at one time he is joyful in spirit, and at another fearful and alarmed; at one time ardent in love, strong in faith and hope, and at another cold and weak. (FC SD II.67-68)<\/p>\n *whom I consider to be the greatest Lutheran theologian ever to have lived<\/em><\/p>\n This teaching is set forth in our churches plainly and distinctly from the Word of God, namely, that the expiation of sins, or the propitiation for sins, must not be attributed to the merits of our works. For these things are part of the office which belongs to Christ the Mediator alone. Thus the remission of sins, reconciliation with God, adoption, salvation, and eternal life do not depend on our merits but are granted freely for the sake of the merit and obedience of the Son of God and are accepted by faith. Afterward, however, the good works in the reconciled, since they are acceptable through faith for the sake of the Mediator, have spiritual and bodily rewards in this life and after this life; they have these rewards through the gratuitous divine promise; not that God owes this because of the perfection and worthiness of our works, but because He, out of fatherly mercy and liberality, for the sake of Christ, has promised that He would honor with rewards the obedience of His children in this life, even though it is only begun and is weak, imperfect, and unclean. These promises should arouse in the regenerate a zeal for doing good works. For from this we understand how pleasing to the heavenly Father is that obedience of His children which they begin under the leading of the Holy Spirit in this life, while they are under this corruptible burden of the flesh, that He wants to adorn it out of grace and mercy for His Son\u2019s sake with spiritual and temporal rewards which it does not merit by its own worthiness. And in this sense also our own people do not shrink back from the word \u201cmerit,\u201d as it was used also by the fathers. For the rewards are promised by grace and mercy; nevertheless, they are not given to the idle or to those who do evil but to those who labor in the vineyard of the Lord. And so the word \u201cmerit\u201d is used in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the W\u00fcrttemberg Confession, and in other writings of our men. In this way and in this sense, we set forth the statements of Scripture in our churches about the rewards of good works:<\/p>\n 1 Tim. 4:8: \u201cGodliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Luke 14:14: \u201cYou will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt. 5:12: \u201cYour reward is great in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt. 10:42: \u201cHe shall not lose his reward.\u201d<\/p>\n Gal. 6:9: \u201cLet us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.\u201d<\/p>\n Eph. 6:8: \u201cKnowing that whatever good any one does, he will receive the same again from the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n Heb. 6:10: \u201cGod is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love which you showed for His sake in serving the saints.\u201d<\/p>\n 2 Thess. 1:6\u20137: \u201cSince indeed God deems it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to grant rest with us to you who are afflicted, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n Scripture is full of such promises of spiritual and bodily rewards. (Examen Concilium Tridentini<\/em>\u00a0[1:653ff])<\/p>\n (II) Neither does the question concern the state of the reborn and renewed person: as to how the powers of free choice have been established in him, for we confess that the person who has been reborn and renewed through the Holy Spirit has free will toward spiritual good, in fact, a will freed from slavery to sin by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet in this life this freedom is far from the perfect freedom of the life to come, as shall be explained in greater detail a little later. (Waiting on a citation from the translator<\/em>)<\/p>\n That\u2019s all, folks. I might continue to amend this list as continue my research.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n +SDG+<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There has been a fair amount of misrepresentation of Lutheranism by Lutherans in recent days and weeks \u2014 on the internet, of course, or how else could I make such a statement? Clairvoyant, I ain\u2019t. Anyway,\u00a0these misrepresentations are by no means original or unprecedented (in fact they are quite common), but they are still very […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,30],"tags":[115,116,121,134,154,158,159,221,237],"class_list":["post-901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts","category-theology-proper","tag-free-choice","tag-free-will","tag-good-works","tag-johann-gerhard","tag-lutheran-confessions","tag-martin-chemnitz","tag-martin-luther","tag-simul-iustus-et-peccator","tag-the-simul"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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::<\/strong><\/h1>\n
Blessed Martin Luther<\/h2>\n
The Apology of the Augsburg Confession<\/h2>\n
The\u00a0Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration<\/h2>\n
Blessed Martin Chemnitz*<\/h2>\n
Blessed Johann Gerhard<\/h2>\n