Its been a busy week. I finally finished The British Lutheran and it is good to have that in congregations and start planning the rest of the year in a more manageable way. It will be able to be downloaded from the ELCE website later this week or if youre not on the mailing list, I can post one to you. At Westfield House one course has ended and the other continues. I enjoy the teaching. Yesterday the Executive Council met in London and the wider work of synod continues. The sun has returned - its a glorious day - and weve got the Ipswich service this afternoon. Easter isnt that far away ... This week our Lenten Bible Study / Discussion wil be at Maries home - meal at 6:00pm - and Lenten activities at 7:00pm. Keep safe and well. God bless. - George The Second Sunday in Lent 16th March 2014 Part of the problem I think for many people is that they don’t want to think of themselves as sinners. I think they make it such a bad term that they mishear it. Now it is a serious term – specifically before God. But a sinner can be law abiding – have no criminal record; faithful in marriage; kind; honest; etc as far as people and the world are concerned. Of course a sinner mightn’t be any of those things either. My point is that it is a word describing one’s status before God and standing under the cross I have no problem saying ‘I am a sinner’. After all one day I’ll die and death only comes to sinners. Martin Luther early in his thinking and discovery of what justification means wrote to a fellow Augustinian friar, George Spenlein: Beware of aspiring to such purity that you will not wish to be looked upon as a sinner, or to be one. For Christ dwells only in sinners. On this account he descended from heaven, where he dwelt among the righteous, to dwell among sinners. Meditate on this love of his and you will see his sweet consolation. For why was it necessary for him to die if we can obtain a good conscience by our works and affliction? Accordingly you will find peace only in him and only when you despair of yourself and your own works. Besides you will learn from him that just as he has received you, so he has made your sins his own and has made his righteousness yours. Paul wrote in Romans 4 … And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:5-8 ESV) Here it is clearly seen that God justifies the ungodly, that it is only through faith that we are righteous – trusting God’s declaration because of Jesus and our sins are covered – not obliterated – we are still sinners but God no longer counts our sin against us because of Jesus. This absolutely does not give us a licence to sin but in fact marks our discipleship as one of living each day to our new identities struggling to do so in these bodies of sin and death. So we will struggle as disciples of Jesus and not despair to the point of losing our faith should we fall into great and shameful sins but instead recognise the danger or tension we face, that our sinful selves are mighty good swimmers and need to be daily drowned in the waters of baptism as we daily repent of our sin and daily put on Christ to follow him. The older we become as Christians the more aware I believe we become of this ‘body of death’ of the depth of sin but also the more sweet becomes the cross of Jesus for us and the more we place our hope in God’s justifying verdict. Yes, Lutherans hold to this phrase ‘simul justus et peccator’ – simultaneously saint and sinner – because it accurately teaches and reveals the wonder of justification – that God has justified the ungodly, even us, and that Jesus, Lord and Saviour, will stay with us, even us, every day. And so Christians live with both repentance and joy every day. There’s no better way to live. From Straight Answers to Awkward Questions on Lutheran Radio UK – ‘What do you mean that Christians are saints and sinners?’
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 15:01:57 +0000
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