Alan Hardy’s Blog

The 28 theses of Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation (1518) are worth studying. I am including the following extract, comprising 4 of the more explicit theses which particularly struck me this evening:

THESIS 18. It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of Christ.

THESIS 24. [The law] is not of itself evil, nor is the law to be evaded; but without the theology of the cross man misuses the best in the worst manner.

THESIS 26. The law says, ‘do this,’ and it is never done. Grace says, ‘believe in this,’ and everything is already done.

THESIS 28. The love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it. The love of man comes into being through that which is pleasing to it.

My initial exposure to this material was through one of New Creation’s Pastors’ Studies. Download this and check out the June study, titled The Theologies by Which Salvation Is Proclaimed.

“The kingdom of God is within you”, Jesus says in Luke 17:20. The comment was in response to a question on when the kingdom would come, but Christ quickly turns the discussion to more stinging issues.

He was talking to the Pharisees who thought that observance of the Law qualified them as God’s subjects. The kingdom to them was an outward thing, based on legal compliance, visible as an earthly empire. It was a doing thing.

Christ knew the weakness of men and this example of the Pharisees is there to cast the spotlight on all of us. The Pharisees displayed the characteristic flaw that they had been given something precious, then allowed its goodness to be eaten away as they tried to possess something with it that could only be reached by faith. The Law is not to be evaded, says Luther, “but without the theology of the cross man misuses the best in the worst manner”.

In this framework we become weary of grace and look outwardly for the kingdom, in works and culture, saying ‘here it is’ or ‘there it is’ (v21). We even allow our twisted theology to suggest that these works can stand in the place of Christ Himself, saying ‘there He is’ or ‘here He is’.

The nub of the matter is reached at verse 33: “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it”. Any kingdom requires a king. Whereas earthly kings might be admired from a distance, and their favour enjoyed while keeping a little control for ourselves, Christ is no such king. The king within you requires ownership of you.

People are creatures of culture. When a group’s actions make them distinctive from others we can refer to them as having a separate culture. Among Christians we could identify a number of religious cultures, and these can be seen in the way we go about things differently.

One of the weapons we have stumbled across as believers is how the Scriptures can be used to justify what we do, particularly in comparison to others. We enter a place where God becomes a tribal God, favouring us because of our doctrine, our way of doing things and how we’re not like ‘those people out there’.

Let me give you an example. We spent 15 years in a Christian movement (oh no, you’ll guess it) and found that this attitude was alive and well. There are a number of distinctive aspects of this movement which are described by its members with Biblical terminology. Terms like worship, headship, the presence of God, singing in the Spirit, baptism in the Spirit, speaking in tongues, prophecy, faith and, not to mention (cringe), teaching were all drawn from Scripture and applied either wrongly or with insufficient evidence that the practice so-labeled was in fact what the Bible is talking about.

The effect was that these elements of the culture were given divine sanction, and it was all too present in the thinking of people in the movement that those who did not have or do these things were a notch or two below the bar.

These people aren’t alone. We all need to examine ourselves for this attitude, which could be described as self-justification. Jesus told the Pharisees, “You are those who justify yourselves” (Luke 16:15). We should be looking to nothing other than the justification that Christ gives and to have our confidence among men stand on this alone. We all want to be authentic but let’s remember that the root of the word is author – our assurance is in the author of life.

Postscript: We had similar experiences in another movement which are detailed here: Moving On: The New Teaching on Family.

Man by the fall fell at the same time from his state of innocence and from his dominion over nature. Both of these losses, however, can even in this life be in some part repaired; the former by religion and faith, the latter by the arts and sciences.
- Francis Bacon, 1620

This quote indicates two aspects of the fall of man as a fall from our innocence and from our dominion over nature. I would like to explore how the remedy for each points us to grace.

Our fall from innocence is repaired through faith in Christ and His righteousness becomes our own. This is the Gospel we are familiar with.

God’s standard of righteousness is expressed in the Law. Rather than just being a written code, according to Romans 7:14 “the Law is spiritual”. The Law is a small window view into God’s holiness, an account in our language of His moral qualities and conduct. It is intrinsic to God Himself. This makes it easier to understand why “the Law is our tutor to lead us to Christ” (Gal 3:24) and how Christ came to fulfill the Law (Matt 5:17). The giving of the Law was to lead us to something greater, to a living Word with power to save.

When the man and the woman ate from the fruit of the tree in the Garden it is arguable that they tried to seize control of this Word illegitimately. As God said, “the man has become like one of Us (Gen 3:22). This outcome was circumvented by a dreadful curse, angels and a flaming sword guarding the way to the tree of life and, later, the confusion of languages.

The written Law alone is thus impotent as a source of salvation and men seeking autonomy have a futile quest. Obtaining its fulfillment requires a settling of allegiance, the fundamental challenge to man.

In that men are made in the image of God it is not surprising that the ability to contemplate law is a part of our nature. It is the quality that made it possible for God to communicate his requirements to the people of the Old Covenant. It is also what the serpent appealed to in the Garden when He deceived the woman. When the man and the woman accepted the serpent’s advice they were set on a path in which they would be lured to consider all things given by God in a framework of independence from the giver.

As far as the Law is concerned, a key effect of the fall is that men reject who the Law points to, adopting it as a specification of works to be done for justification. Man seeks to be self-sufficient, detaching the law from Christ and rejecting God’s essential role in salvation.

When we consider the second aspect of the fall, relating to our dominion, we find that man deals with the laws of nature, the subject matter of the sciences, in the same way. Men dislocate these laws from God. C S Lewis highlighted how we are accustomed to speaking about the laws of nature as though they cause events to happen. However law possesses no determinism of its own, as all it can do is to describe what is happening. What we fail to see is that the cause of events is not law but the activity of God and that the laws of nature are describing the regularity of that activity.

In modern times, understanding the laws of nature is seen as essential to achieving control of our world. In the same way that man seeks to use divine law to take control of his salvation, he seeks to utilise the laws of nature to take control of his environment.

We could say that the laws of nature define how we can interact with nature, but this is not going far enough. Rather, if we are observing God at work, then any proper study or application of these laws must be treated as an act of service, as an act of partnership with proper reverence.

It is allegiance which is required by the Lawgiver and the same curse, angels, flaming sword and confusion of languages bar the way to independent man achieving dominion over nature. There is something built in to the reality of things that forbids us to truly flourish holding only law in our hands, something alive at its source that frustrates it.

Francis Schaeffer provides the quote at the top of this post to indicate a confidence in the seventeenth century that the arts and sciences would help us to recover our dominion over nature. If it was devoted men that held this conviction then perhaps God crowned their efforts, as he promised to the psalmist:

“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” Ps 18:32

It is a matter of grace, after all.

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself … Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped” - Phil 2:3, 5-6

Is it possible for us to simply be selfless and humble? Is this passage saying, “Jesus took on humility, so you do the same … go on, just do it”? This raises the question of how we obtain virtue.

The word virtue comes from the Latin vir meaning “man”. It is used to refer to ideals of human character. Man is made in the image of God, from whom all virtue is derived. Man as a fallen creature is deficient in virtue. Given that our moral improvement (sanctification) is God’s work it doesn’t rub that men can take this process on themselves, that they can take the initiative to overcome their sinfulness. We are encouraged to participate in our sanctification but surely this needs to be understood in the context of God’s gracious work in us.

It is characteristic of our age that we try to get benefits by focusing on effects and not causes. I first understood this through reading First and Second Things by C S Lewis and it has stuck with me ever since. Lewis’ point was that although we want civilization, it can’t be preserved just by looking after it. Civilization is a ‘second thing’. We have to pursue something else, a ‘first thing’, in order for this to take place.

It seems that the same principle is true in our pursuit of virtue and that this is precisely where this passage is leading us. It encourages our moral improvement, to shun selfishness and conceit and to take on humility, but it points us to “the attitude … which was also in Christ Jesus”. What attitude is it referring to? I think it is pointing us to the triumph of His faith, that he was able to deliver Himself totally to the Father. It was this confidence that allowed Him to take on humility, to be a servant, because He knew that the Father would look after Him. The same is true for us.

Christ’s moral excellence is something to observe and imitate, but the realization of it in us should be seen as the result of God’s work, and not an end that can simply be pursued in itself. When we talk about the pursuit of virtue we are talking about the pursuit of holiness, of being like God, and this does not take place apart from the work of God.

“In [the tabernacle of Moses] we have a figure of the Christian man. His spirit is the holy of holies, where God dwells in the darkness of faith, where no light is; for he believes that which he neither sees nor feels nor comprehends.” – Luther

In past weeks I have noticed how easily I am led astray in my thinking about what is going on around me. It causes me to wonder how man is to make proper sense of his world.

We detect what is going on in our world through our senses. Our senses transmit this data to our mind which makes something of it. But does the mind tell us what is really going on?

The mind often interprets data wrongly. This can be because of inexperience. It can also be because the mind engages the creative power of the imagination to interpret the data in distorted ways. It can plunge us into depression, anxiety, fear, discouragement or any number of places we’d rather not be. In this way the mind is part of a human nature which is fallen and works against us.
This conveys how we can be affected negatively by our senses. In a way this is only half the story. What about when this data affects us positively, in a way which delivers a misleading sense of well-being?

Modern marketing and therapy are right on this track, offering satisfaction and fulfillment through things and experiences. It is also common in mainstream Christianity, where experience filled events and feel-good messages tweak us into a sense of being with God and in His favour. It all seems so far removed from what Luther refers to.

It is into this setting that the Scriptures speak: “Walk by faith not by sight”. Humans, by design, do not find stability by means of what they can see, feel or understand. Faith plugs us into the promises of God to discover that our security is in God’s faithfulness to bring about the best outcome in His way, in His time and contrary to how we think it should happen. It is not confirmed by good or bad feelings, but by what is eternally true.

Does this mean that our sight, feeling and understanding are of no use? The short answer is that they are of much better use when they are under the dominion of the Word of God. With the foundation of faith, God lights our path and gives us the proper view, so we are then in a safer place to experience with our sight, feeling and understanding.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.” - Eph 3:14-15

This passage reminds us of the existence of God’s family and presents it as a leading thought before Paul declares his amazing prayer, asking that God would lavish love, faith, confidence, fulness, understanding, power, strength and foundation on the Ephesian christians.

It appeals to me that these are the same qualities that should be fostered in a human family. It also makes sense, given that we are made in the image of God, true humanness involves doing such things. We are made to do them because our Father does them, albeit in smaller measure. The human family is to be a place where these same acts of service are performed, as a vessel for God’s work to be poured out.

“And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” 1 Cor 4:7

One of the precepts on which modern economics is built is the idea of self-interest. This 18th century notion suggested that men should be able to freely pursue personal advantage and that this would create an environment that was better for all.

This arose at a time when beliefs about service to others was still a strong steering influence, directing the fruits of this liberation of self-interest in responsible ways.

The ideals of service I refer to were those developed in the Reformation. It was then that the understanding emerged that God distributes gifts to men according to His wisdom and that he intends that these gifts be used for the benefit of others. God is the author of society, the arts and sciences, and of economies, however tainted these may be in a world affected by sin.
If we know that God is our father then we are free to look out for the interests of others because we are confident that God is looking after us.

How is the idea of service regarded today? Our Christian heritage is fading - few would argue with that. In the face of this the past few decades have seen a re-awakening in commerce to the idea of service. However, in what might seem peculiar to our forebears, business adopts this orientation as a means for profit. They say with one voice “the customer is number one” and “look after number one”.

Men are variously endowed with advantage. Whether this advantage is based on the opportunities provided by our environment or by our personal talents the Bible deals us a great leveller - it has all been given by God. How much scope do we have, really, to be so puffed up?

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” - 2 Cor 7:10

I’ve thought about this passage a number of times in past years, but when I thought about it today I saw how it pointed back to the fall.

Sorrow had no place in man before sin entered the world. Then the curse brought discomfort and inconvenience to life. The passage describes how sorrow can have two effects - it affects two sets of people in two different ways. To those outside of Christ the curse is a present judgement, denying man of the full life he seeks. It robs him of quality in his relationships. It robs him of his ambitions, his health, his youth. Ultimately it condemns his body to rot as his life is cut short. Sorrow bring death to man in life and utlimately it brings death to him in finality.

Those who are in Christ should understand that the curse is an act of blessing. This is because it brings to us a constant reminder of our limitations and our inability to properly manage the things in our sphere. It points us back to our need for God, and back to life by faith. Perhaps repentance would not be possible without the curse because we would be so puffed up with self-confidence that the need for God would not be given a thought. If this is true then the curse is blessing indeed. The curse brings, to those in Christ, “repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret”.

When Christ entered our world the cross was the end that drove Him. The cross, His suffering and rejection, was the cup He was to drink. It was inevitable.

Christ spoke of the cross that we are to take up. A glance at Luke 14:27 will suffice. The epistles speak in accord with Jesus about suffering and rejection for the believer in a way in which it can not be unbundled from the Christian life without the whole fabric of the faith falling apart.

What is the Christian’s cross? I am reading Walther von Loewenich’s Luther’s Theology of the Cross and this has helped to put this into clearer perspective.

The Christian is called to live by faith, rather than by dependence on our own power to rule ourselves and the things around us. This is at tension with our sinfulness and with the order of this world. This tension against our nature, the world and the devil, combined with the action of God to draw us in the walk of faith through repeated reminders of the limitations of our power, marks out our path of suffering and is our cross. It is the evidence of the battle we are in and God’s workshop for our maturity.

As was the case with Christ, there is no other option in this world for us but to take up our cross.