Reformation 500 - Christ Alone and The Glory of God Alone

The final instalment of my notes for the Lent Course:

 Reformation 500 Lent Course Session 5

Review so far

Sola No. 4: Solus Christus - In Christ Alone

Christianity is Christ! The clue is in the title. Take Christ out and we are more or less left with inanity!

“Solus Christus is an excellent summary of theology’s first principle, and first love. The gospel is essentially the announcement – the setting forth in speech – of what is in Jesus Christ.” Vanhoozer, After Babel, p149

Colossians 2:3; Ephesians 3:8

Acts 4:12 – The only Saviour; John 14:6 – The only way to God the Father

Christ’s unique person – The eternal Son – The God-Man – Hebrews 4:15; Colossians 2:9

Christ’s unique saving work – incarnation – life – death – resurrection – ascension – return – 2 Corinthians 5:19

Christ the Anointed One / Messiah (cf. OT) as prophet, priest and king (see Institutes II.15.1-6, Letham, The Work of  Christ) – revealer, reconciler, ruler

1 Timothy 2:1-6 – As God and man Christ is uniquely qualified to be our Mediator – represents both God and man – as a man he can die; as God his death is of infinite value

Christ’s saving work – all that is needed for salvation - John 19:30 - “It is finished” – not “I am finished”, a cry of victory, “done!”, “accomplished!”, “achieved!” – price fully paid, Jesus’ saving work complete

Christ unique sinless means he is the only possible saviour – the lamb of God without spot or blemish (1 Peter 1:19) – an acceptable sacrifice – everyone else is part of the problem not part of the solution!

The cross as essential and central – Emil Brunner, “Luther certainly hit the nail on the head when he described Christian theology… as a theologia crucis [a theology of the cross]. The whole struggle of the Reformation for the sola fides, the soli deo gloria, was simply the struggle for the right interpretation of the Cross. He who understands the Cross aright – this is the opinion of the Reformers – understands the Bible and understands Jesus Christ.” Luther says: “this text – ‘He bore our sins’ – must be understood particularly thoroughly as the foundation upon which stands the whole of the New Testament or the Gospel, as that which alone distinguishes us and our religion from all other religions…. Whoever believes this article of faith is secure against all errors, and God and the Holy Ghost is necessarily with him.” The Mediator, p435 citing Luther Works v25, p330 – 1 Peter 2:24

Christ as the centre and goal of the Scriptures - Luke 24; John 5:39-40 – The Written Word leads us to the Incarnate Word

Every spiritual blessing in Christ – Ephesians 1:3

Faith unites us to Christ – what is in Christ (light, life, love etc.) is all ours in Him (Luther’s marriage analogy – Christ’s riches, status ours, our debts his etc.)

Colossians – Christ is supreme (1:15ff) therefore Christ is sufficient, so stick with him (2:6ff) – no need to add anything to Christ – in fact, adding anything to Christ as necessary for salvation takes away from Christ’s saving work – he alone is powerful to save

Gospel plus something is actually less than the gospel – not saving good news any more

As opposed to our good works / morality – we cannot save ourselves (see sessions on grace and faith) – we need a Saviour not just a bit of help or a few tips nor education nor example etc.

Not religion or “church” without Christ etc. Not by sound theology

As opposed to the saints esp. Mary – no excess merit of the saints – not as mediators – not to be prayed to

Notice that Mary calls God her Saviour – she is not the rescuer, she was in need of rescue (as we all are)

Cf. The sacrifice of Christ and the supposed sacrifice of the Mass – the once for all nature of Christ’s sacrifice – Hebrews 9-10 – his unique and final High Priesthood

Also Turks at the gates

Galatians 1:6-9 – stick with the grace and gospel of Christ as proclaimed by the Apostles

What might people be tempted to add to Christ? Or depend on instead of Christ?

Sola No. 5: Soli Deo Gloria - To The Glory of God Alone

What do you think of as glorious? What answers might you give in a word association game for “glory”?

What is the ultimate aim (or aims) of your life? How might others describe their ultimate goals?

Is your God to small? Do you underestimate or neglect his glory and greatness? How?

Vandrunem: “Soli Deo Gloria can be understood as the glue that holds the other solas in place, or the center that draws the other solas in a grand, unified whole.” (p15) – the logical consequence of the other solas – a necessary and fitting conclusion of them – salvation is the work of God alone so he alone gets the glory

The Te Deum Laudamus - “We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord….” Etc. (BCP Morning Prayer)

Glory – Hebrew: kabod – heaviness, weight, substance, mass, worth, presence, value, splendour, reputation, honour – God substantial (cf. human dust!)

Rick Warren: The glory of God: “It is who God is. It is the essence of his nature, the weight of his importance, the radiance of his splendour, demonstration of his power, and the atmosphere of his presence. God’s glory is the expression of his goodness and all his other intrinsic, eternal qualities.” (The Purpose Driven Life, p53)

The glory cloud – Exodus 13:21-22; 14:19-20; 16:6-10; 19:9, 16-18; 40:36-38; Numbers 9:15-23 cf. Psalm 97:1-2 – clouds surrounding God; Psalm 99:7 – associated with the Holy Spirit – Isaiah 63:11-15; Nehemiah 9:19-20; Haggai 2:5 – tabernacle – Exodus 40:34-35

Moses’ request to see God’s glory – Exodus 33:18-23 – note connection with God’s presence (vv14-15), name, character etc.

1 Samuel 4:21-22 – Phinehas’ wife calls her son Ichabod = no glory – the glory of the Lord has departed with the capture of the ark

Glory cloud filling the temple – 1 Kings 8:10-11; 2 Chronicles 5:13-14; 7:1-3

Visions of God: Ezekiel 1 esp. v28; 3:12, 23; Isaiah 6

The glory cloud departing from the temple – Ezekiel 10:18-19

God is the Glory of Israel (1 Samuel 15:29), the King of Glory (Psalm 24:8, 9, 10) and the God of Glory (Psalm 29:3; Acts 7:2). God the Father the Father of Glory (Ephesians 1:17) – God’s name glorious and awesome (Deuteronomy 28:58)

NT Greek: doxa LXX for kabod – secular Greek, opinion, reputation

We give God glory (praise, honour, esteem) because he is glorious!

John Calvin: “Our being should be employed for [God’s] glory: for how unreasonable would it be for creatures, whom he has formed and whom he sustains, to live for any other purpose than for making his glory known? … The whole order of things would be strangely subverted, were not God, who is the beginning of all things, the end also…. God justly claims for himself absolute supremacy, and that in the condition of mankind and of the whole world nothing is to be sought beyond his own glory. It hence follows, that absurd and contrary to reason, and even insane, are all those sentiments which tend to diminish his glory.”

Calvin: “We never truly glory in him until we have utterly discarded our own glory…. The elect are justified by the Lord in order that they may glory in him, and in none else.” Institutes 3.13.2

The glory of God revealed in creation – Psalm 19; 8 – Calvin, creation the theatre of God’s glory, Institutes 1.14.20, Commentary on Hebrews 11:3

God Himself, the Giver not just his gifts! – Seek first – Matthew 6:33

The passing nature of human glories – Psalm 103:14ff – wealth uncertain (Matthew 6:19ff), fame fleeting etc.

Heaven as glory – when a Christian dies they have been “called to glory” – BCP, “the hope of glory” – future glory – Romans 8:17-18; Titus 2:13, we await the glorious appearing of our great God and Savour, Jesus Christ – “he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead”

Jesus the radiance of God’s glory – Hebrews 1:3 – his glory seen by the apostles, John 1:14 – the crucified Lord of Glory, 1 Corinthians 2:8 – Transfiguration reveals Christ’s glory – 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, God has given us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ

Glory revealed by Jesus’ signs – John 2:11; 11:4; also work of the Spirit 16:14; disciples 17:10 – esp. Jesus’ death – 12:23-28; 13:31; 17:1-4; Christ’s glory 17:22, 24

Jesus a reversal of worldly glory – greatness in humble, self-sacrificial service not status / display – Philippians 2:5-11 – John 5:44; 12:42-43

2 Corinthians 11:30; 12:8-10 – glorying in weakness

Basil the Great of Caesarea (d. 379): “A man glories fully and perfectly in God when he does not extol himself on account of his own righteousness, but knows that he is lacking in true righteousness, and that he is really justified by faith alone in Christ. Paul boasts of the fact that he despises his own righteousness, but seeks that righteousness by faith which comes through Christ, which comes from God, so that he may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible he may somehow attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Homily 20.3)

Luke 2:14 – The song of the angels

Romans 3:23 – all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Cf. Babel – Genesis 11 – a false striving for glory without God

Nebuchadnezzar’s failure to glorify God – Daniel 4:30-34, 37

Herod fails to glorify God – Acts 12:21-24

Ephesians 1:6, 12-14 – God saves his people for the sake of the glory of his name – Psalm 79:9; 102:15

We glorify God by bearing fruit as Jesus’ disciples – John 15:8

Isaiah 42:8; 43:7; 48:11; 61:1

Jonathan Edwards, The End for Which God Created the World – no need or inadequacy in our perfect Triune God - his own glory – the overflow of God’s goodness

Is it egotistical of God to want to glorify himself?

No, because God is the highest possible good, the sum of all perfections, it is good for God to glorify himself. It is for our good.

Westminster Shorter Catechism: “Q: What is the chief end of man? A: To glorify God and enjoy him for ever”

1 duty not 2, glorify God by enjoying him

John Piper: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him”

The alternative – some praise to me!

Good works not to earn salvation but out of gratitude and for the glory of God (see quotations from The Augsburg Confession 20.27-28 and Cranmer, Sermon on Salvation, quoted in Reformation Anglicanism, p170)

J. S. Bach – manuscripts: “JJ” = Jesu juva = Jesus, help! - “SDG”

How do the other solas lead to the glory of God alone?

Salvation entirely the sovereign, gracious work of God

Psalm 29:2; 115:1

1 Corinthians 10:31 – everything to be done to the glory of God

Romans 11:33-36; Revelation 1:5-6

Kipling’s, Non Nobis Domine (1934) – “Not unto us, O Lord! / The Praise or Glory be” etc. (hymn, Google!)

Habakkuk 2:14; Revelation 21:1-2, 22-26 – The New Jerusalem: the glory of God gives it light and the glory of the nations will be brought into it

Summary

[Salvation] according to Scripture alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, to the glory of God alone

Which sola seems most important or relevant to you? Is there one you think we especially risk neglecting?

How will the solas help to shape your prayers and praises, the way you think and live, your evangelism?

What do you think Luther or Calvin might make of the state of the church / society today?

Further reading / resources:

John Piper, God’s Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards (Crossway, 1998)

David Vandrunem, God’s Glory Alone: The Majestic Heart of the Christian Faith and Life – What the Reformers taught… and why it still matters – The 5 Solas Series (Zondervan, 2015)

Glen Scrivener sermons - http://christthetruth.net/2010/08/04/christ-alone-sermon/

http://christthetruth.net/2010/08/30/gods-glory-alone-sermon/

Books that judge us

Plundered from a friend on Facebook.

A. A. Milne said:

“One does not argue about *The Wind in the Willows*. The young man gives it to the girl with whom he is in love, and, if she does not like it, asks her to return his letters. The older man tries it on his nephew, and alters his will accordingly.

"The book is a test of character. We can't criticize it, because it is criticizing us. But I must give you one word of warning. When you sit down to it, don't be so ridiculous as to suppose that you are sitting in judgment on my taste, or on the art of Kenneth Grahame. You are merely sitting in judgment on yourself. You may be worthy: I don't know, But it is you who are on trial.”

And more so, of course, when you come to read the Word of God

John 11 My sermon

If you are coming to Bodle Street or Warbleton on Sunday, you may wish to look away now.

My uplifting and light-hearted all age talk might go something like this:

We must all face death.

In the face of death Jesus loves and cares (vv3, 5, 35-36)

Jesus is angry at death (vv33, 38)

Jesus demonstrates his power over death:

(a) by raising Lazarus (vv38-44)

(b) by his own resurrection (ch 20-21)

But Jesus deliberately delayed going to Lazarus (vv5-6, v21) so that God's glory might be revealed and so that we might believe (v4, vv14-15, v40, v42)

We are all spiritually dead without Jesus and in need of his resurrection power. To see who Jesus is and to trust in him are more important than extending our physical lives or avoiding discomfort.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Will we put our trust tim him? (vv25-26)

Snappy and child-friendly, eh?

John 11 - some sermon headings

17^th March 2013 – Anthony Bewes – Invitation Service – St Ebbe’s

(1) The claim – v25 – Jesus is the resurrection and the life and whoever believes in him will live

(2) The credentials – Lazarus’ resurrection, and indeed Jesus’ resurrection

(3) The crunch – v26 – do you believe this?

* * *

Pete Wilkinson - 12 Jun 2009 – St Ebbe’s Website

Have you ever received a message like that in v3?

(1) Jesus declares his power over death (first part of the chapter)

(2) Jesus demonstrates his power over death (second part of the chapter)

4 surprises

(1) Strange love (vv1-6) – strange that Jesus delays and does nothing

God’s inexplicable delays can be matters of love

We can often be like toddlers who can only understand now not later

(2) Strange confidence (vv7-10) – Jesus is willing to head back to Judea / near Jerusalem, facing death, trusting God’s timing – a whole different way of seeing death merely as sleep

In the words of John Wesley, we are immortal till our work on earth is done

(3) Strange joy (vv14-15) – Lazarus died, Jesus glad he was not there

(4) Strange comfort (vv17-27) – I am the resurrection and the life – hold on to me in the face of death – do you believe this / trust in me?

Also 19 Jun 2009

Jesus is confronted by death and Jesus confronts death

For God’s glory and for our faith

Cf. v32, “if only…” – words that often follow death

(1) Jesus’ tears (v35)

(2) Jesus’ anger (vv33, 38) – deeply moved = moved to anger, outrage, indignation at death, like a horse snorting

(3) Jesus’ power

* * *

Rico Tice – All Souls’, Langham Place - 3D-Life in perspective - E001 Guest Services - 16/03/2008

(1) Jesus Christ was indignant about death (v33, v38)

Jesus came to draw the sting of death, sin

(2) Jesus Christ demonstrated his power over death

* * *

Charlie Newcombe - http://www.emmanuelwimbledon.org.uk/Media/AllMedia.aspx - 7. Christ our Life - THE SEVEN SIGNS - in John's Gospel - 09/09/2007

3 themes in vv25 and 26

(1) In Jesus there is a realism about death – “even though he dies” – death is a sure thing and a sad thing

(2) In Jesus there is a reversal of death – Jesus not only makes the claim but proves his credentials

(3) In Jesus there is a response to death – believing in Jesus is required (v15, vv25-26, v40, v42, v45)

* * *

Simon Vibert, Lives Jesus Changed: Lessons about Life from John’s Gospel (Christian Focus, 2010)

Mary, Martha and Lazarus: Life that Doesn’t End in Death

They think it’s all over

Faith emerges slowly

Even bringing a dead man back to life is not enough to convince some

* * *

John Chapman, St Helen’s, Bishopsgate, 31 January 1989

(1) Death comes to everyone – do you think you are equipped to handle it?

(2) Death is not the end – do you trust Jesus with your death?

Jesus says the judgement day has arrived in me (v25): he is the last day of the resurrection brought into the present.

Whether or not we have eternal life, depends on our response to Jesus

* * *

The end of all things

Jesus says (in John 11v4) this sickness of Lazarus' will not end in death.

But it's not just Lazarus who has a problem.

The whole of creation is sick.

And the universe will not end in death.

Jesus’ life will not end it death – there will be resurrection.

And so it is with the cosmos.

Death is not the end.

God will make all things new.

Jesus will be the pattern for the whole of creation transformed and renewed.

So death is not the end of all things.

What is the ultimate end?

The end, the goal of creation is sharing in the glory of God, that the Son may be glorified through it (v4)

Reformation 500 Lent Course Session 4 - Through Faith Alone

Reformation 500 Lent Course Session 4

Sola No. 4: Sola Fides – Through Faith Alone

The formal principle of the Reformation – Scripture Alone – how? Authority / method

The material principle of the Reformation – what? – content – the very substance of the gospel

Review – by grace alone

The coherence of all the solas - How does the nature of grace fit with faith? Why is faith a fitting response to grace?

The empty hand – a needy beggar – Augustus Toplady, Rock of Ages hymn, “nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling”

To what extent do you think we live in a meritocracy? Is this / would this be a good thing? What if God operated a meritocratic salvation policy?!

How might someone try to get right with God?

Do you believe in, say, extra-terrestrial life? What difference does that belief or unbelief make to you? Do you believe in close members of your family? In a different way?

Has anyone ever said to you / have you ever said, “I wish I had your faith”? What do you think that might mean? What view of faith does it suggest?

What do you think we mean by “blind faith”? Is Christian faith like that?

Do you think the devil “believes in” God? Do you think the devil has sound doctrine? How is that different from saving faith? James 2:19

“this slogan [sola fide, by faith alone] was not merely a doctrinal nicety cooked up by scholars. It was, the evangelical Reformers insisted, the very essence of the Christian life itself. It was a truth that brought them and many others the comfort and hope for which they had longed and yet, at the same time, a proposition for which many would be prepared to die.” (Jensen in Reformation Anglicanism p125)

Justification an increasingly discussed topic in the period - Humanism a rise of individual consciousness? – a variety of views – lack of official agreed position

Via moderna pre-Reformation thought which influenced Luther said do “what is in you” and God will regard you as worthy of the gift of salvation – but how can one know one has ever done all that one might be able to do? Was I contrite enough? Did I confess all my sins? – lack of assurance

Reminder of Luther’s experience as a conscientious monk wearying his confessors, hating and fearing the righteousness / justice of God (Romans 1:17), which he knew must punish him – Tower experience

Queen Katherine Parr (“survived”!), The Lamentation of a Sinner (1547) – spiritual autobiography – she was “not like other men” an “adulterer, nor fornicator, and so forth” but spiritual pride “most presumptuously thinking nothing of Christ crucified” and “went about to set forth mine own righteousness” – “the blood of Christ was not reputed by me sufficient for to wash me from the filth of my sins… but I sought for such riffraff as the bishop of Rome hath planted in his tyranny and kingdom, trusting with great confidence by the virtue and holiness of them, to receive full remission of my sins.” – she distinguishes between a “history faith” and a “lively faith”, “a dead human, historical faith, gotten by human industry” and “a supernal [supernatural] lively faith, which worketh by charity [=love].” Quoted in Jensen, Reformation Anglicanism

Justification by Faith Alone

Became the particular focus for Luther / the idea he is most associated with – Luther called it the summary of Christian doctrine: “if the article [doctrine] of justification is lost, all Christian doctrine is lost at the same time.” “When the article of justification has fallen, everything has fallen…. This is the chief article from which all other doctrines have flowed…. It alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves, and defends the church of God; and without it the church of God cannot exist for one hour.”; justification is “the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines.” (What Luther Says, vol. 2, pp702-4, 715)

Justification by faith alone “the article by which the church stands or falls” (Johann Heinrich Alsted, 1618 but similarly Luther WA40/3:352.3).

Calvin called justification by faith alone “the main hinge on which salvation turns” and the sum of all piety, Institutes, p726

Cranmer: justification “the strong rock and foundation of the Christian religion” - “whosoever denieth [this doctrine] is not to be counted for a true Christian man… but for an adversary of Christ.” (Homilies, sermon on salvation)

Puritan Thomas Watson: justification is the very “pillar of Christianity. An error about justification is dangerous, like a defect in a foundation. Justification by Christ is a spring of the water of life. To have the poison of corrupt doctrine cast into this spring is damnable.” (A Body of Divinity, p226)

A vitally important question - How can I (a sinner deserving God’s judgement) be right with God?

If you died tonight, why should God let you into his heaven? – all answers that begin, “Because I…” are strictly speaking wrong! – “Because Jesus…”

Justification (dik word group in the Greek NT) – justice / righteousness / vindication / declared in the right / forensic or legal courtroom term – found not guilty, acquitted – the opposite of condemnation

Not a reward but an award / gift – right standing / status (before God) / right relatedness (to God)

Pidgin English: “God he say I’m alright!”

Justified – “Just as if I’d never sinned”

Not made righteous, not infused / imparted / inherent righteousness – cf. but an alien / external / extrinsic imputed righteousness – counted / accounted / considered / reckoned righteous in Christ (faith union – joined to Christ by faith in the Spirit) – clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ – what God does for me not what God does within me (though he does change my heart and life)

Romans 1:17, 3:9-31 etc.! – universal human sin and guilt, God’s gracious provision of forgiveness in Jesus, received through faith – Luther called Romans 3:21-26 “the chief point, and the very central place of the Epistle, and of the whole Bible”

Luther in fact added in the word allein, alone, in his German translation of Romans 3:28 in 1522

God’s just way of justifying the unjust (v26) – 4v5 – the just God justifies the wicked!

Luther argued that the Christian believer is always simultaneously righteous (by faith in Christ) and a sinner (both by nature and in practice until heaven): “We are in truth and totally sinners, with regard to ourselves and our first birth. Contrariwise, in so far as Christ has been given for us, we are holy and just totally. Hence from different aspects we are said to be just and sinners at one and the same time.” 

Again, the importance of the alone – of course RC said faith is important!

Justification, faith and works

The RC church feared the error of justification by faith alone would lead to Antinomianism (nomos=law): if God has acquitted us, can we live as we like, sinning with impunity.

The Reformers countered that we are justified by faith alone, but the faith which justifies (real living faith) is not alone (i.e. it flows from a changed heart and is accompanied by good works) – James 2:14ff – not actually a right strawy Epistle as Luther suggested – no real conflict between justification by faith alone as taught by Luther and James - Real faith works – faith without works is a false / dead faith – good works are the result not the cause of justification, a thankful response

Article XI. Of the Justification of Man: “We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings: Wherefore, that we are justified by Faith only is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.” = The Homily on Salvation

Saving faith “is not a kind of worthy, meritorious virtue but is a simple dependence on God and his promises.” (Jensen, Reformation Anglicanism, p128) – faith not an alternative Good Work by which we earn salvation

Luther: “If faith is not without all, even the smallest works, it does not justify; indeed it is not even faith.”

Faith itself is a gift of God – Ephesians 2:8-9

Strictly speaking it is Christ who saves my, by grace, received through faith – it is not my faith that saves me – the object of faith is vital – it’s not the quality or quantity of my faith which saves but Jesus in whom I put my faith – even a tiny bit of real faith (faith as small as a mustard seed, Matthew 17:20) saves, since it is faith in such a powerful Saviour - Luther says if you own 100 guldens, it makes no difference if you carry them around in paper sack or an iron chest, they still belong to you; similarly, Christ belongs to us if we lay hold of him with a weak or a strong faith – Mark 9:24 a good prayer – we are not saved by passing a theology exam or by working up a sense of expectation etc. – faith as passive, merely the instrument / means / channel of receiving the gift of salvation

Faith unites the believer to Christ – cf. Luther’s analogy of faith as a wedding ring in The Freedom of a Christian (1520) – he pays our debts, we get his riches and name / standing etc.

The dying thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43) – saved by faith, no good works to speak of – salvation only ever 9 words / a prayer away

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector – justified, v14 – looks to God for mercy (Luke 18:9-14)

The nature of faith

Hebrews 11:1 – description / definition of faith

Calvin defines faith as: “a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence towards us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” (Institutes III.2.7)

Faith subjective and objective – faith in The Faith

Aspects of saving faith (involves both the intellect and the will):

(1) Knowledge (notitia) – some awareness of and connection to the object / content of faith / a measure of understanding – something in the head as well as the heart

(2) Assent (assensus) – belief that The Faith is true – conviction – believing that before believing in

(3) Trust (fiducia) – personal commitment / dependence / reliance, faithful apprehension – believing in / into Christ, casting ourselves upon him

Which aspects of faith would Satan have?

Luther insisted that we must believe that Christ is as described in the gospels not just for Peter and the saints but for us personally. Cf. getting on a ship – we must climb aboard and entrust ourselves to the ship.

Temporary false faith that is not enduring and saving – Parable of the Sower, rocky soil (Luke 8:13)

Real faith endures – The Perseverance of the Saints – not just a prayer of commitment / going forward at an evangelistic rally but on-going trust

Faith and evidence

2 Corinthians 5:7 contrasts faith and sight (cf. Romans 8:24 – we hope for what we do not yet see) – a future orientation

Faith and evidence – not just a leap in the dark

Doubting Thomas – seeing is believing (John 20:24-31, esp. v.25)

Jesus – reading is believing (vv29ff)

Faith in the Word of God, in God’s promises – a new priority for the Bible and preaching – contrast medieval notion of “implicit faith” in whatever the church teaches which might lack knowledge – Martin Luther: “The ears alone are the organ of the Christian” since faith comes by hearing – Romans 10:17 – cf. Latin Mass as something the congregation watched from afar and likely did not understand etc.

The Lord’s Supper – “feed on him in your heart by faith” – a renewed focus on right reception, not magical or automatic ex opere operato (from the work worked)

Council of Trent (1545-), 6^th session on Justification (concludes 1547) anathematizes sola fide – Canon 9, 11 – justification as a process of renewal within the believer – justification includes sanctification (becoming more holy) – not imputed – believers justified by baptism, forfeited by sin, renewed by penance

A basic human tendency to try to justify / vindicate ourselves – justification by faith alone a humbling doctrine – we must depend entirely on Christ not on ourselves – thus to the glory of God alone

A comforting doctrine – salvation is a gift we did not earn and cannot repay – our standing before God is not a matter of our performance

Further reading / resources:

Glen Scrivener’s sermon: http://christthetruth.net/2010/08/17/faith-alone-sermon/

Leithart and Vanhoozer discuss the Reformation

Protestantism: Telos and Terminus

A prayer of Thomas Aquinas before study

A version of this, which I don't remember coming across before, is quoted by James K. Smith in You Are What You Love, p169f

http://preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Varia/CreatorIneff.html

John 11 & 12 smells (repost)

John 11 and 12 are deliberately linked together by mention of Mary and the anointing of Jesus in chapter 12 and of Lazarus in chapter 12.

We should note the smells:

http://marclloyd.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/john-11-12-are-smelly.html
http://marclloyd.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/2-smelly-men.html

John 11 some headings

From a sermon by The Revd David Jackman:

The need that led to prayer

The wisdom that led to delay

The doubt that led to faith

The faith that leads to life

John 11

Some jottings on the Gospel reading for the forthcoming Sunday:

Jesus the Resurrection, Lord of Life & Death (John 11:1-47)

Trust in Jesus, The Resurrection and the Life, the Christ, the Son of God, the Master à belief / faith vv25-26, 45; 20v31

… even in the face of sickness and death – vv1-2

Take your needs straight to Jesus (in prayer) – v3

… even when he seems to get things wrong – v4

… even when his timing is inexplicable or help is delayed – v6

… even when you can’t understand what he says or does, when your faith is weak or confused – vv4-6, 7-8, 11-13; Mark 9v24

… even when it means persecution and opposition and the dangerous self-sacrificial way of the cross – vv7-8, 16

… even when he seems not to answer prayer as we wanted or when it seems hopeless and too late – vv17, 21

… even in the midst of tears, real grief and pain – v19, 21, 31-33

… because of his great love, compassion, sympathy, empathy, true humanity – vv3, 11, 35-36 – Jesus knows what it’s like to weep

… because of his unique, amazing supernatural God-like Creation power, because the Father hears him – vv41-45; 1vv3-4

… because Jesus rules death – vv33, 38 - and gives new life here and now – 17v3 - death is only sleep for the Christian – vv11-13 à nothing to fear – 1 Cor 15v55; a foretaste of the Resurrection, v24

… because if you do you will see the glory of God – v4, 40 - and your faith will be strengthened, which is for your best. Jesus is in control, has a plan and knows what he’s doing

A picture of spiritual rebirth through the gospel – 3v3, 5vv24-29, Eph 2vv1-6à proclaim the gospel with confidence in Jesus’ power

Reformation 500 Lent Course Session 3: Grace Alone

Reformation 500 Lent Course 2017 (Session 3)

Sola no. 1: Sola Scriptura – By Scripture Alone – “formal principle” – method – authority – how?

The other solas material content – what?

Sola no. 2: Sola Gratia – By Grace Alone

Are there certain things you feel entitled to / have a right to / feel wronged if you don’t get?

What do you think you deserve from God and from others?

Would you describe yourself as grateful or resentful?

God’s grace and our answering gratitude not a bad slogan for much of the Bible and theology

The meaning of grace: undeserved love, gift

Relational - not some substance / thing or power but God’s disposition / personal attitude towards us and gift of his presence and activity flowing from his love – a characteristic of God

Hebrew OT, hen, (can denote gracefulness or beauty – Proverbs 22:11; 31:30 – charm could be translated favour or grace(fullness)) favour / mercy – Genesis 19:19; 30:27; 32:5; 33:8, 10, 15; 34:11. – Noah, Genesis 6:5, 8 – Genesis 33:11; 43:29; Exodus 33:12, 13, 16, 17, 19 (quoted in Romans 9:15); 34:9; 1 Samuel 1:18; 27:5; Esther 2:7; Deuteronomy 9:4-6, not based on Israel’s righteousness. Numbers 6:24-26 – Aaronic blessing

Hebrew, hesed, mercy / loving kindness / steadfast love / kindness / love / goodness / loyalty / faithfulness / covenant love – 245x in Scripture – Exodus 34:6; 1 Chronicles 16:34, 41; 2 Chronicles 7:3, 6; 20:21; Psalms 107, 118, 136; Deuteronomy 7:9, 12; 1 Samuel 20:8; Nehemiah 1:5; 9:32

Greek NT, charis (related to the word for rejoicing, something of pleasant external appearance – Luke 4:22; Colossians 4:6, loveliness, agreeableness, acceptableness) , grace / favour / good-will (used to translate hen in LXX) – Luke 1:30; 2:40, 52; John 1:14-17; Acts 2:47; 4:33; 7:46; 11:23; 18:27; 24:27; 25:9; 15:11; Romans 3:21-24; 4:4, 16; 11:6; Galatians 2:12; 2 Timothy 1:9; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Romans 12:3, 6; 1 Corinthians 3:10; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 8:7; Galatians 2:9; Ephesians 3:7-8; 4:7; 1 Peter 5:10; 2 Corinthians 9:8 – gratitude / thankfulness, 1 Corinthians 10:30; 15:57; 2 Corinthians 2:14; 8:16; 1 Timothy 1:2

Greetings and blessings in Epistles - Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; Romans 6:20, 24; 1 Corinthians 16:23; 2 Corinthians 13:14 – “The Grace”

G. R. A. C. E.

Grace is… Mercy is… (children’s song)

Often the favour an inferior finds in the eyes of a superior – e.g. Genesis 6:8; Numbers 6:25

Welsh preacher: “Love with stoop in it” - The love of the prince for a pauper – no rights or claims before God – not something we can merit / earn / demand / are entitled to

“Love for the loveless shown” not because they are lovely but “that they might lovely be” (Hymn: My Song Is Love Unknown) – cf. human attraction – we are not terribly loveable!

Not just narrowly about salvation - Grace is the very definition of who God is - The overflowing generosity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit – “Although all three persons are involved in everything that God does, we may assign to the Father… the giving of the love that creates (originating grace); to the Son… the giving of the life that redeems (saving grace); and to the Spirit … the giving of the light that sanctifies (illuminating grace).” (Vanhoozer, After Babel, p36 cites Calvin, Institutes 1.13.18)

“In sum, the grace that God communicates is ultimately himself, and he does so by uniting people to Christ through the Spirit…. Grace points us to… the priority of God’s presence and activity: his shining face.” (Vanhoozer, After Babel, p57)

Creation an act of the generous over-flowing grace of God – God does not need the world – he does not create the world e.g. because he is lonely!

Our creation is a matter of grace – what do we have that we did not receive? – 1 Corinthians 4:7 – no such thing as a self-made person - my birth, my next heart beat are all a matter of grace – everything I have is an undeserved gift of my loving heavenly Father – it is sheer grace all the way down

Theologians sometimes contrast Common Grace (God’s goodness to all people) and Special Grace (God’s covenant love towards his chosen people). John Murray defines common grace as “every favour of whatever kind or degree, falling short of salvation, which this undeserving and sin-cursed world enjoys at the hand of God.” (quoted in Frame, Systematic Theology, p247) - Psalm 145:9; Matthew 5:44-45

God graciously reveals himself – creation, Israel and the prophets, Christ, Scripture, Spirit all a matter of grace

Jesus was full of grace – John 1:14

God graciously makes covenants (agreements, deals, contracts with promises) with the people he chooses

Why did God choose Israel according to Deuteronomy 7:6-9?

The grace of God in redemption / salvation

Essential to understand our sinfulness and the fact that we deserve God’s righteous judgement – the good news only makes sense because of this bad news – the diamond of the gospel shines brightly in front of this black back-cloth – Romans 6:23; 1:18-3:20 - The amazing thing is not that any are lost but that any are saved – unless we see that we are sick and need a doctor, Jesus’ mission will never make sense to us – Luke 5:31-32

How do the following passages describe people’s condition without Christ? John 3:19-20; 8:34; Romans 3:10-18; 8:6-8; Colossians 3:5-7

Ephesians 1:4-6; 2:1-10 – notice the prominence of faith, Christ and the glory of God too (the other solas)– what is the turning point in 2:1-10?

The initiative is God’s – grace fits with election / predestination / God’s sovereign choice – God chooses us out of undeserved love – left to ourselves we would not choose him – John 3:19; Romans 8:28-39; 9:15-16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:9-10

We are free in the sense that we do what we want, make real choices, are moral agents accountable to God, but we are not free to live a perfect life – or indeed to want to. We are by nature slaves to sin. Luther’s, On The Bondage of the Will (1525) in response to the Humanist Erasmus’s, On Free Will (1524) – Romans 6:16-23; John 8:34-36

The nature of grace as gift fits with faith, which is the empty hand which receives the gift – faith itself is a gift (God’s gracious work in us)

The Reformed argue that God’s saving grace is irresistible – all whom he effectually calls to the Son come – John 6:37, 44

And since salvation is all of grace, the glory goes to God – all we contribute to our salvation is our sin – all the credit / praise goes to God; all the blame for sin belongs to people

Grace produces humility - attitude to others: there but for the grace of God go I!

Of course, again the RC church agreed that God is gracious – but sola gratia – grace alone – salvation entirely of the grace of God, his work alone – The Council of Trent, Session 6, Concerning Justification ( 1547)

Cf. RC church grace mediated by the church / priests through the sacraments – The Reformed agree that the sacraments are indeed amongst the “means of grace” but not automatic / magic / ex opere operato (from the work worked) – not an independent power, effective for salvation only when received by faith

Cf. Merit – RC church - treasury of surplus merit from the goodness of the saints which the pope could dispense as indulgences

Luke 1:28 – Angel Gabriel: “Hail, Mary, full of grace” – Vulgate made Mary sound like a reservoir of grace (which might be available to others) – better translation: “Greetings, you who have been highly favoured!” – Mary is the recipient of God’s grace

Mercy not merit - Jesus came not as a reward but as a rescue

Other religions, how to somehow reach up to God; Christianity, how God reaches down and lifts us up

Christianity is fundamentally about what God has done in Christ, not about what we must do – Martin Luther: “The law [of God] says, “Do this,” and it is never done. Grace says, “Believe in this,” and everything is already done.” (Heidelberg Disputation, Thesis 26) – One of the purposes of the Law of God is to show us our sin and our need for grace

Luther: “before you take Christ as an example, you accept and recognize him as a gift, as a present that God has given you and is your own.” (A Brief Instruction on What To Look For and Expect in the Gospels)

The Christian life is all of grace – not God saves us but then we must get on by our own unaided efforts / keep ourselves in God’s good books – we work as God works in us – Philippians 2:12-13 – not that we are entirely passive / “let go and let God”

God gives grace to the humble – James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5; Proverbs 3:34 – not that God is rewarding merit but he is responding to his own prior work in us – grace is effective for those who humbly receive it – the proud don’t think they need grace

God gives the gift of his Holy Spirit to his people (Acts 2:38; 10:45) and various other spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Hebrews 2:4; Ephesians 4:11-14) - Holy Spirit the Spirit of grace – Hebrews 10:29

The protestant scholastics distinguished:

(1) prevenient grace – the grace of the Holy Spirit bestowed on sinners in and through the Word which must precede repentance

(2) Preparing grace by which the Holy Spirit gives us a knowledge of our sinfulness and inability and a desire to believe the gospel

(3) Operating grace, the effective grace of conversion by which we are regenerated (born again), illuminated, granted faith, justified (put right with God and accounted righteous) etc.

(4) Co-operating grace / indwelling grace of the Holy Spirit, working in the believer to make us more like Jesus (sanctification – by which we become more holy)

(5) Conserving / preserving grace which enables the believer to persevere in faith (Muller, Dictionary, p129f)

Responses to grace

Does grace alone mean we can live however we like?

The Libertines in Calvin’s Geneva – we have received grace so we can live as we like – turns grace into licence – God will forgive us – Calvin argues that God’s grace always leads to inner transformation so that we begin to love God and want to please him – we are saved from sin not for sin – Romans 6:1-2; John 14:15

Titus 2:11-14 – What relationship between grace and good works does this passage suggest?

We are not saved by good works but we are saved for good works (Ephesians 2:9-10)

Not good works à salvation; but salvation (God’s gracious work in us) à good works

Grace à Gratitude, Graciousness, Generosity – The parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35)

Do you find God’s grace amazing? Why or why not?

What difference should the grace of God make e.g. to our attitudes, evangelism, prayer?

Further reading / resources:

James Montgomery Boice, Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace? Rediscovering the Doctrines that Shook The World (Crossway Good News / Paternoster Authentic Lifestyle, 2002)

John Cheeseman, Saving Grace (Banner of Truth, 1999)

Charles Spurgeon, All of Grace

Carl Trueman, Grace Alone - Salvation as a Gift of God: What the Reformers Taught... and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) (Zondervan, 2017)

http://christthetruth.net/2010/08/09/grace-alone-sermon/