ViaCrucis
Confessional Lutheran
- Oct 2, 2011
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What passes for a lot of Christianity these days (at least American Christianity, it's all I can really speak upon) amounts to little more than a kind moralistic therapy.
I recently came across a quote from the Lutheran theologian Gerhard Forde from his work "On Being a Theologian of the Cross", which I promptly purchased:
"Since the theology of glory is like addiction and not abstract doctrine, it is a temptation over which we have no control in and of ourselves, and from which we must be saved. As with the addict, mere exhortation and optimistic encouragement will do no good. It may be intended to build up character and self-esteem, but when the addict realizes the impossibility of quitting, self-esteem degenerates all the more. The alcoholic will only take to drinking in secret, trying to put on the facade of sobriety. As theologians of glory we do much the same. We put on a facade of religious propriety and piety and try to hide or explain away or coddle our sins...."
The part in bold struck me hard, it's much as Luther himself wrote in his letter to Philip Melanchthon (an often deeply misunderstood statement),
"If you are a preacher of grace, do not preach an imaginary, but true grace. If the grace is true, you must therefore bear true, not imaginary, sins. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world."
This is the [in]famous "sin boldly" quote that is, as I said, deeply misunderstood. Luther's point here is that if we are going to be preaching God's grace, then we have to confess that we are actually sinners. There's no room to stand around pretending like we're something we're not, going around pretending as though our poop doesn't stink--because it does. We are sinners, real sinners, and that is why the Gospel is a real Gospel, with real grace, for real sinners.
But so often we like to go around pretending like we're holier than we really are. We let our sins occur behind closed doors, and then out in public we put on our masks of false piety, and with our masks we pretend as though we are religious, pious, and good and with that false piety presume to judge our neighbor, we strain at gnats, swallow camels, and pointing out the speck in our brother's eye all the while having a massive log in our own. It is hypocrisy, pure and simple.
The Scriptures say, "be sure that your sins find you out." No matter how hard we may try, no matter how much energy we put into trying to present ourselves--in the end, sooner or later, our houses of cards come falling down. Maybe that won't be found out until the Judgment, or maybe--as it often does--it will be discovered here and in this life. Those who have built for themselves gilded facades, white washed tombs, in truth they are decaying bones. Eventually all which is done in secret, all which is in the dark, is exposed to the light.
Let us, instead, be honest and repentant. We are sinners. Confess this, boldly. You are a sinner. I am a sinner. I have sinned against you, I have sinned against others, I have sinned against God. And, in truth, I will do it again. I will try not to, I don't want to--"Oh, what a wretch that I am!" "the evil I do not want to do, I do".
Do I then go and build up my facade? Construct my white citadel (which is nothing but a desiccated tomb), and put on my mask, and act like a nice saccharin, rose-eyed, moralistic somebody that somehow has gained any right whatsoever to speak condescendingly toward my fellow man? Or do I confess, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!", repent, lay prostrate, hoping only in grace. Most certainly the latter, for I have heard, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." That God might renew in me a clean spirit, to "do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before [my] God" (Micah 6:8).
If I may steal a phrase I once read @dzheremi use once, much of what goes on amounts to little more than religious live action roleplaying.
And what is being preached is not the Gospel, the good news of mercy toward sinners, of God's love toward sinners (and intrinsic here, is that I am a sinner), but moralistic therapy: Let's all be "pure", saccharin-sweet, rosey-colored, masked automatons presenting a farce of religion in which we can pretend as though we have our lives figured out (we don't) and then tell everyone else how to be happy by selling them the cheapest, bargain-priced, nonsense.
The Christian life is not a life lived living our "best life now", it is not standing on the street corner condemning and damning others. The Christian life is a life lived in and through the Cross.
-CryptoLutheran
I recently came across a quote from the Lutheran theologian Gerhard Forde from his work "On Being a Theologian of the Cross", which I promptly purchased:
"Since the theology of glory is like addiction and not abstract doctrine, it is a temptation over which we have no control in and of ourselves, and from which we must be saved. As with the addict, mere exhortation and optimistic encouragement will do no good. It may be intended to build up character and self-esteem, but when the addict realizes the impossibility of quitting, self-esteem degenerates all the more. The alcoholic will only take to drinking in secret, trying to put on the facade of sobriety. As theologians of glory we do much the same. We put on a facade of religious propriety and piety and try to hide or explain away or coddle our sins...."
The part in bold struck me hard, it's much as Luther himself wrote in his letter to Philip Melanchthon (an often deeply misunderstood statement),
"If you are a preacher of grace, do not preach an imaginary, but true grace. If the grace is true, you must therefore bear true, not imaginary, sins. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world."
This is the [in]famous "sin boldly" quote that is, as I said, deeply misunderstood. Luther's point here is that if we are going to be preaching God's grace, then we have to confess that we are actually sinners. There's no room to stand around pretending like we're something we're not, going around pretending as though our poop doesn't stink--because it does. We are sinners, real sinners, and that is why the Gospel is a real Gospel, with real grace, for real sinners.
But so often we like to go around pretending like we're holier than we really are. We let our sins occur behind closed doors, and then out in public we put on our masks of false piety, and with our masks we pretend as though we are religious, pious, and good and with that false piety presume to judge our neighbor, we strain at gnats, swallow camels, and pointing out the speck in our brother's eye all the while having a massive log in our own. It is hypocrisy, pure and simple.
The Scriptures say, "be sure that your sins find you out." No matter how hard we may try, no matter how much energy we put into trying to present ourselves--in the end, sooner or later, our houses of cards come falling down. Maybe that won't be found out until the Judgment, or maybe--as it often does--it will be discovered here and in this life. Those who have built for themselves gilded facades, white washed tombs, in truth they are decaying bones. Eventually all which is done in secret, all which is in the dark, is exposed to the light.
Let us, instead, be honest and repentant. We are sinners. Confess this, boldly. You are a sinner. I am a sinner. I have sinned against you, I have sinned against others, I have sinned against God. And, in truth, I will do it again. I will try not to, I don't want to--"Oh, what a wretch that I am!" "the evil I do not want to do, I do".
Do I then go and build up my facade? Construct my white citadel (which is nothing but a desiccated tomb), and put on my mask, and act like a nice saccharin, rose-eyed, moralistic somebody that somehow has gained any right whatsoever to speak condescendingly toward my fellow man? Or do I confess, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!", repent, lay prostrate, hoping only in grace. Most certainly the latter, for I have heard, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." That God might renew in me a clean spirit, to "do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before [my] God" (Micah 6:8).
If I may steal a phrase I once read @dzheremi use once, much of what goes on amounts to little more than religious live action roleplaying.
And what is being preached is not the Gospel, the good news of mercy toward sinners, of God's love toward sinners (and intrinsic here, is that I am a sinner), but moralistic therapy: Let's all be "pure", saccharin-sweet, rosey-colored, masked automatons presenting a farce of religion in which we can pretend as though we have our lives figured out (we don't) and then tell everyone else how to be happy by selling them the cheapest, bargain-priced, nonsense.
The Christian life is not a life lived living our "best life now", it is not standing on the street corner condemning and damning others. The Christian life is a life lived in and through the Cross.
-CryptoLutheran
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