Lutherna View of Church and State

LESSON EIGHT

2006-2007

JUSTIFICATION

I. The word “Grace”. (p. 514).

A. Must again deal with a linguistic explanation.

1. M.C.: “The Holy Spirit, with singular wisdom, did not wish in the article of justification to use terms taken from the common usage of people, but many terms are of such a nature that they are neither used nor known with this meaning in other kinds of speech, but are idiomatic, proper, and peculiar to Holy Scriptures.”(p. 519)

2. As content in article of justification is not known to human reason, so also are the words peculiar.

B. M.C. two reasons for this:

1. Shows difference between the church’s doctrine and opinions of philosophers, based on reason.

2. Holy Spirit wanted terms to have a special meaning, distinct from philosophical language. (p. 520)

C. True light lost when vocabulary leaned toward philosophical meanings.

D. Purity restored when words were once more recalled to the source.

II. Ways “grace” was corrupted. (p.520).

A. Pelagian controversy.

1. Early on, Pelagians imagined “grace” meant the goodness of nature, i.e. gifts bestowed on human nature at birth.

2. “Grace” lent itself to this interpretation.

a. Because “grace” means that which is given to us and bestowed on us by God without any preceding merits.

b. And because before we existed we could not deserve even to exist, it is correct that grace be called a blessing of the article of creation.

3. Pelagius amplified this.

4. Erasmus also used this concerning man’s free will and contribution.

B. Augustine opposed this teaching of Pelagius.

1. Grace attributed unto salvation only to believers.

2. Paul says grace is given in Christ and for the sake of Christ.

3. Christ died in vain if by our nature and condition we have that grace by which Paul says we are saved.

C. Pelagius’ next argument.

1. Since human reason by nature did not know the counsel of God, He revealed His will to man in the Law and in Scripture.

2. When this “grace” has been received, man by powers of own nature can apply himself both to believing and doing the things set forth in Scripture.

D. Papists argued that this grace, by which we are justified in Christ, is a supernatural gift bestowed by God upon man, by which the mind is enlightened and the will is healed, so that man can now produce love toward God and neighbor with the perfection required by the Law.

1. They called this “grace which makes a person pleasing”.

2. They imagined that man, because of this new, inherent conformity with the Law, has remission of sins and is acceptable to God unto eternal life, without mention of trust in Christ the Mediator.

3. They did not even consider this grace as completely acceptable to God.

4. They say that Christ merited only the first grace, and that our free will, aided by that first grace, can elicit from us the attitude of love toward God and neighbor, and that through this attitude men are righteous and saved before God.

III. Divisions in the terminology. (p. 521).

A. Just as the benefit of Christ is twofold, reconciliation and renewal, so “grace”:

1. Sometimes, means the free benevolence of God, which receives believers for Christ’s sake unto eternal life.

2. Sometimes, means also the very gifts of renewal through the Holy Spirit.

B. We focus on meaning with reference to justification.

1. Ro 3:22-24 (v.24).

2. Eph 2:4-9 (vv.5,8).

3. Ac 15:11.

C. What is that grace by which we are justified and saved?

D. Augustine wrote of “grace” describing the gift of renewal to the degree that it appeared to be the chief point of the doctrine.

E. Led to great confusion.

IV. “Grace” with reference to doctrine of justification. (p. 523).

A. “The free goodness of God, His favor, His benevolence, and His mercy, by which not according to our works and worthiness but out of sheer mercy, for the sake of Christ, God receives into grace sinners who are repentant and flee in faith to the Mediator, and He accepts them into eternal life with their sins forgiven and the righteousness of Christ imputed to them.” (M.C., p. 523)

B. Study of Greek (charis) and Hebrew (chānan).

1. Grammatical points. (p. 524).

a. It is translated by the word “mercy”.

b. It is joined with the concept of showing mercy.

c. It is used in the sense of supplying strength.

d. Grace is shown although we deserve something else.

e. We must note correlation with supplication and prayer.

V. Our usage is in agreement with Scripture. (p. 525).

A. The word is used:

1. For both the cause and the effect.

2. That is, for mercy and for gifts.

B. In doctrine of justification before God, word means only the mercy of God, which is the remission of sins and free acceptance to eternal life for the sake of the Mediator.

C. Gifts (e.g. Spirit of renewal) follow after this acceptance by God, and thus these two matters cannot be torn apart, but must be distinguished.

D. Must not rely on our qualities, but solely on His mercy.

E. Testimonies. (p. 525).

1. Ro 5:15-17 (distinguishes between grace and the gifts).

2. Jn 1:14 (distinguishes between grace and truth).

3. Ro 4:4.

4. Ro 11:6.

5. 2Ti 1:8,9 (shows grace is not a quality or newness inhering in us).

6. Eph 1:4 (we did not yet exist).

7. Synonyms and words coupled with “grace” - “grace, mercy and peace”

a. Tit 3:4,5.

b. 2Ti 1:9 (above).

c. Eph 2:7 (above).

8. Heb 4:16.

9. Ro 5:20 - 6:1 (cannot be a “newness” inhering in us).