Through what means (or way) does He give us His grace (the undeserved love of God for sinners)?
Lutherans call this teaching "the means of grace". Luther's Catechism defines this as "the Gospel in Word and Sacrament". What does this mean?
This is a very weighty chapter! It has to be - to be able to answer all those questions we ask ourselves. God is also very clear in the Bible how He works and gives us absolute assurance that He is working through the means He gives us. He knows us all too well - that anytime humans try to come up with their own system, we'll make a mess! He takes our mess and makes us clean.
Fact: God caused Himself to be born as a human being. Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, kept the moral law perfectly. And then, when He was tortured to death on the cross, in perhaps the profoundest miracle imaginable, He took upon Himself every sin, every transgression ever committed, and suffered every punishment everyone in the human race deserves. Jesus died because "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). More than that, when He cried out in His death agony, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46), Jesus was experiencing the Holy God turning away from all the evil in the world - which Jesus was bearing in His body - the same withdrawal of God that constitutes hell. But then, having atoned for the sins of the world, Jesus rose again. (page 42)
Honestly, I should just keep typing but I'm afraid of carpal tunnel. Instead I'll use a graphic.
 |
| http://adam4d.com/great-exchange/ |
Lutheran theologians speak of "objective justification". Strictly speaking, justification took place outside of ourselves, in the actual historical events of Christ's death and resurrection. ... the objectivity of what happened on the cross has a profound spiritual implication for us now. Our own miserable little vices and perversities were there - right on the cross with Jesus. ... despite any subjective feelings we may have of guilt over what we have done, forgiveness is also objective. (pg 43)
So how do we attain a saving, life-changing faith?
... We are connected to Christ, and the Holy Spirit works both faith and good works in our lives by means of the Word and the Sacraments. (pg 44)
God's Word - I love to read! I have a ton of books in my personal library and we frequent our local library. We listen to books on tape, CD or digital format. I find it amazing that through something as ordinary as words (whether spoken, written or digitalized) we have the ability to sit at the feet of brilliant, creative writers that we can learn from. We have instant access to great thinkers of all time! We have ideas and thoughts of people dead and gone immortalized in the written word. The written word in some form is familiar to all people of all time in some form or another, and is needful in communicating and relating. Is it any wonder of wonders that our Lord chose a Book to communicate to us?
The Christian's relationship to God, like all other relationships, thrives on two-way conversations - the Christian speaks to God by prayer, and God speaks to the Christian by His Word. (pg 46)
The main difference between God's Word and merely human works, is that God - the Holy Spirit - promises to be at work whenever His Word is spoken. (pg 47)
The words of the Bible do not merely convey information, they convey the Holy Spirit. "The Word of God is living and active." The words of Scripture actually connect us to what they are describing. As we read those words on the page, God is literally and objectively present and working, inscribing in our hearts the gift of faith. (pg 50)
What this means to me is that if I want to know what God has to say, I will go directly to His Word found only in the Bible. What this means to me is that if I want to grow in knowledge and understanding, it is through reading and spending time daily in His Word that grows my faith. What this means to me is that if I desire to witness my faith to others, I will use the power found in the Words of God himself that has the ability to change hearts. This is the place where He is present and living and active. Jesus Himself is "the Word made flesh". "the Word of God, working through Law and Gospel, is the means by which the Holy Spirit bestows the gift of faith." (pg 53) Anytime the Gospel (Word of God) is preached in its' truth and purity, He is speaking.
OK. This is getting long and I haven't even made it to the Sacraments. But stay with me because the gifts just keep coming ....
"Baptism ... now saves you" reads the words of one of our banners at church. One Sunday a visiting family attended our service and noticed that banner. When the pastor approached them in greeting, they pointed to the banner and declared, "we don't believe that". I don't recall the exact words the pastor used in response to this but it was something like, "Well, that's what God says it does." (1 Peter 3:21)
According to this Scripture passage (Romans 6:3-5), Baptism unites a person to Christ, specifically, to His death and resurrection. In Baptism, we are immersed in His death. When we are baptized, we are buried with Him. When we are baptized, we are united with Him in His resurrection."
...To be baptized is to die - with Christ - and rise again. It is the link between now, this time and place, and Golgotha and the empty tomb. Someone who has been baptized can have the assurance that he or she has a share in Christ's death and resurrection. Someone who has been baptized has been born again. (pg 55)
According to the Bible, this is a gift God gives us. It's not an act we do for Him. There's no better example than the baptism of an infant. The infant has nothing to give, nothing to offer and yet is still born into sin, needing His grace . It is all a gift from God! He has the power to create faith in even the smallest of children. For those that come to faith at an older age, it still offers strengthening in that faith and assurance that your sins have been drowned through the waters of Baptism. You are God's child.
What this means to me is that I have assurance (even when I don't feel worthy), that God has made me worthy through Jesus life, death and resurrection. What this means to me is that I have the benefit of "remembering" by Baptism (even though I was an infant) every day and know my sins are immersed in His death, buried with Him and united in His resurrection (pg 55). What this means to me is that I can confidently bring my own babies to the font and know that the Holy Spirit is working faith in their souls that I as their parent will continue to nurture through the Word in our home. What this means to me is that I know where my identity and worthiness lies: "I am a redeemed child of God".
The Lord's Supper - Christ's body and blood present in, with and under the bread and wine.
In the Sacrament of Holy Communion, all of Lutheran spirituality is crystallized: God acts, objectively, through matter, embodying the Gospel and promising the forgiveness of sin. And, more than that - or rather, making all of these efficacious - is the real presence of Jesus Christ. (pg 64)
Not only is Christ present at the altar, but He also gives Himself to us. As we eat the bread, we are receiving His blood that sealed the covenant, assuring the forgiveness of sin. We are literally united with Christ - Christ crucified, resurrected, and ascended - bridging the gap between here and Golgatha, now and eternity. (pg 65)
I loved how at the end of the chapter, he likened the Means of Grace to food. We can all understand that we would die without food to eat. We have to eat to fuel our physical life; otherwise, we grow weak and waste away. The only food that can sustain our bodies comes from the death of other living things. (pg 67) Likewise, in the Lord's Supper we are spiritually fed and kept alive by Christ's own body and blood!
What this means to me is that Christ is personally touching me with Himself. What this means to me is that I am assured of my forgiveness. What this means to me is knowing without doubt that eternal life and salvation our mine. What this means to me is that He is continually strengthening my faith as He gives of Himself everything I need. What this means to me is that I have a regular opportunity to prepare for this meal by examining my heart in light of God's Word and in repentance, enter into this meal with the blessed assurance of his forgiveness and love. What this means to me is that not only is my relationship with Him strengthened, but I stand in a bond of unity with my spiritual family sharing this same meal with me. What this means to me is that I know He's pleased with me because when He looks at me He sees the perfection of Jesus.
I highly recommend listening to the following programs on Issues, etc
The Gospel for Former Evangelicals: "Do This in Remembrance of Me"
The Gospel for Former Evangelicals: "This is My Body"
*My Lenten Garden has become a tradition in my home.
It's a Diorama of Grace.
In it lies a clay, homemade grave with stone, a stick cross and a pool of water with a shell symbolizing our baptisms along with a few small plants and moss. A visual reminder of what He's done for us!
 |
| My Baptism (with my godparents) |
Lord, help me trust in your words and promises and base my faith upon your objective means of grace. Help me to follow Christ - cross now, glory later! Amen
How does it affect our faith and personal relationship with God having the objective facts and promises of the means of grace versus a faith based on my commitments, my feelings and my promises?
It seems that God likes to hide His most powerful gifts in seemingly common and familiar places - word, water, bread and wine attached to His promises. Why do you think God operates in this way?
5 comments:
Absolutely LOVE this blog!
Hey, Anonymous, thanks for the encouragement:)
Another great chapter, and some wonderful comments, photos, graphics, and recommendations for further listening from Rachel! Thank you! Haven't listened to the Issues, Etc. podcasts yet, but it's on my list. With the kids home for spring break this week, it's harder to find uninterrupted time to listen...
First, addressing the questions Rachel posed:
How does it affect our faith and personal relationship with God having the objective facts and promises of the means of grace versus a faith based on my commitments, my feelings and my promises?
Having these objective means of grace means that my relationship with God is not based on what I do. It is based on what he already did for me. With his work as the foundation for my faith, my status before God is constant, reliable, steady - because he is constant, reliable, and steady.
One of the quotes I highlighted from the text was in the early part of the chapter (I can’t give a page number because I’m reading it as an ebook): Instead of building our hope on the shifting sands of our own works or inner lives, we can have the confidence that what Christ did of us is a fact. Lutherans are thus always wrenching their attention from themselves to remember the concrete objectivity of what God has done for them in Christ. “Always wrenching their attention…” Oh, this is so true! It reminds me of my 7 and 10-year-old sons who cannot focus on anything else when a screen of some sort is in the room. My natural self is like a kid who lives with a screen in front of him – a screen constantly replaying the things I have thought, said, done, or felt. I have to wrench my attention away from that screen in order to focus on Jesus – the one whose work actually holds significance for my spiritual life.
To be continued...
Rachel's second question:
It seems that God likes to hide His most powerful gifts in seemingly common and familiar places - word, water, bread and wine attached to His promises. Why do you think God operates in this way?
If the places where he hid his most powerful gifts were less mundane, we might start to think that it was those special items that held the power. We might start worshipping those items rather than keeping our focus on our Lord. In another sense, it makes it clear that God’s power is for everyone. If it were only special things in special places that held God’s power, there would be some who would be unable to access it. We might start to get the idea that God is only for special people who can access the special things – not for the common people who can only access common things.
Again, this brings to mind a quote from the chapter near the beginning of the section entitled “The Word of God.” ”Other religions look for ‘visions’ of God; other theologies expect God to manifest Himself through a particular experience. Some Christians assume the Holy Spirit communicates with them directly, as an inner impulse or a personal revelation. For Lutherans, God comes from the outside; the Holy Spirit is to be found objectively. God speaks directly and effectually to us in His Word.” Having a revelation that comes from the inside would be something that only certain people at certain times would be able to claim with certainty. God’s Word, on the other hand, is for common people at common times.
This also relates to what I found as the most beautiful quote of the chapter. It is in the section about the Lord’s Supper: ”Sometimes the parishioners shuffling up to the Communion rail and back may have been simply caught up in a routine – though at other times I would be startled by a seraphic expression on one of the faces – but the routine doesn’t matter. God routinely feeds His people with their daily bread and with Himself. It is His action, and even our blindness or dull insensibility does not take anything away from His gifts.”
The common-ness and familiarity of the earthly elements used in connection with the means of grace might sometimes lull us into the sense that what God is doing through his word and sacraments is mundane. But it is truly miraculous! These are gifts from God that we can (and need to) receive on a regular basis to sustain our spiritual life.
Lord, give your people an ever-increasing appreciation for your means of grace. Lead us to draw deeply from the faith-sustaining well you provide!
And finally, a few quotes that were more challenging to me:
One spot I wondered about was also in “The Word of God” section. It is the paragraph that begins, ”No wonder, since God created the whole universe by His Word.” In this paragraph, the author indicates that language is part of the image of God. I’m not really sure about this idea. I have recently learned more about the image of God that Adam and Eve had before the fall into sin. I was taught that having the image of God meant that Adam and Eve’s intellect, emotion, and will (notice those three faculties of the human mind!) were completely aligned with God’s. I don’t think this necessarily means that those having the image of God would also have language. I’m also not entirely convinced that God, apart from humans, has language. I think it’s possible that language is what God has given our human minds to communicate with one another, and that this is also what he uses to communicate with us. My doubt about this paragraph doesn’t really detract from the overall points made in this chapter, though.
Here’s another quote that caught my attention. I’d be interested to hear more discussion of this idea, because it is something that has been pointed out to me in the last year. Before that, I had a much more narrow view of what God’s Word is. ”What the pastor preaches is the Word of God. Every proclamation of the Gospel, whether in a sermon or in a layperson’s informal witnessing to a friend, is a dissemination of God’s Word. This oral word, insofar as it is the message of the Bible, is God’s Word delivered by a human voice.” A few pages later, an important addition to this thought comes in the following paragraph: ”Lutherans and other Christians agree, then, that the Bible is authoritative. It is the source and the test, the touchstone, of all valid theology. Though God’s Word exists whenever human beings proclaim Christ, what humans say cannot be considered God’s Word unless it accords with and is an exposition of what the Bible says.”
Post a Comment