{"id":71,"date":"2012-03-27T22:53:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-28T03:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2012\/03\/27\/works-and-law\/"},"modified":"2012-04-11T20:36:42","modified_gmt":"2012-04-12T01:36:42","slug":"works-and-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2012\/03\/27\/works-and-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Works and Law"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jacob<\/span><\/strong>:\u00a0 Pastor, I heard from someone today, that Jesus has freed us from the law and thus we can live as we please.<\/span><\/div>\n
Pastor<\/span><\/strong>:\u00a0 Well Jacob, you are correct that Jesus has freed us from the law and in a sense, yes we can live as we please.\u00a0 However, I need to ask you something.\u00a0 Do you trust in God?\u00a0 Do you believe that God tells us the truth and that God loves us?<\/span><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>Jacob<\/span><\/strong>:\u00a0 Pastor, all of these things I believe and have been taught all of my life.\u00a0 In fact,you have taught us all of these also.<\/span><\/div>\n
Pastor<\/span><\/strong>:\u00a0 Good Jacob, I am glad you have been paying attention to my sermons and recall this even back to Sunday school lessons.\u00a0 Martin Luther tells us in his writings, The Freedom of a Christian<\/em>, that as a Christian, that even though we are lord of all and subject to none, we are also to be a \u201c\u2026perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all\u201d.<\/a>[i]<\/span><\/span><\/span>Luther looks to 1 Cor. 9:19, where it says \u201cFor though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all\u2026\u201d<\/a>[ii]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Jacob<\/span><\/strong>: I think I understand but I am not sure.\u00a0 If we are free, than why do I have to do anything such as works?\u00a0 I thought works did not save us, Jesus did.<\/span><\/div>\n
Pastor<\/span><\/strong>:\u00a0 Yes, you are on the right track there. \u00a0You are\u00a0free and your works do not save but your faith in Jesus Christ has saved you.\u00a0 Glad you see that.\u00a0 Jacob, should we do things that are harmful to our body or could be harmful to our body?<\/span><\/div>\n
Jacob<\/span><\/strong>: Certainly not! That would be stupid to do something that harms us and we would not want to do that intentionally.<\/span><\/div>\n
Pastor<\/span><\/strong>:\u00a0 Good thinking there Jacob, you are correct.\u00a0 The same thing can be said of the soul as well.\u00a0 Luther says that there is no profit for the soul if it does as it pleases.<\/a>[iii]<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0 When the soul does as it pleases \u201c\u2026the mostgodless slaves of vice may prosper.\u201d<\/a>[iv]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Jacob<\/span><\/strong>:\u00a0 Pastor, I believe I get what you are saying.\u00a0 If I do nothing, no works at all, because I know that I am freed from the law, this can be dangerous to my soul because I am not doing good works. Therefore I might do evil instead?<\/span><\/div>\n
Pastor:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Jacob, you are really getting this down.\u00a0 Glad to see you take this all in.\u00a0 Please indulge me a little further.\u00a0 I want to go back to a question I asked earlier in that you agreed that God loves us and God is trustworthy.\u00a0 Luther says;<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When, however, God sees that we consider him truth and by the faith of our
\nheart pay him the great honor which is due him, he does us that great honor
\nof considering us truthful and righteous for the sake of our faith. Faith works
\ntruth and righteousness by giving God what belongs to him.<\/a>[v]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Luther also goes on to say with regard to good works and our soul (inner man),<\/span><\/div>\n
The inner man, who by faith is created in the image of God, is both joyful and happy because of Christ in whom so many benefits are conferred upon him; and therefore it is his one occupation to serve God joyfully and without thought of gain, in love that is not constrained.<\/a>[vi]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Jacob:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Pastor, are you telling me that although I am free from the law and do not have to do works that I still have to do works.Because I trust in God, believe that Jesus freed me from the Law and sin. That by doing these good works, not for the sake of my salvation, I keep my soul free in good works without tempting my soul to idleness or works of evil?<\/span><\/div>\n
Pastor:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Jacob, I see you have this nailed down.\u00a0 I am so glad that you understand the need of works not for the sake of salvation but as a response to God for what God does for us in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 Let me wrap this up with what Luther says; <\/span><\/div>\n
Although the Christian is thus free from all works, he ought in this liberty to empty himself, take upon himself the form of a servant, be made in the likeness of men, be found in human form, and to serve, help, and in every way deal with his neighbor as he sees that God through Christ has dealt and still deals with him.This he should do freely, having regard for nothing but divine approval.<\/a>[vii]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Jacob:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Thankyou, Pastor.\u00a0 This Martin Luther guy was pretty smart.\u00a0 Thank you for taking the time to explain th<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/p>\n
\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
<\/a>[i]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>MartinLuther, \u201cFreedom of a Christian,\u201d in Luther\u2019s Works, Volume 31: Career ofthe Reformer<\/em>, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton Oswald, and Helmut Lehmann,vol. 31, lw31.lbxlls ed. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 330.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a>[ii]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>TheHoly Bible: New Revised Standard Version<\/span><\/em> (Nashville: ThomasNelson Publishers, 1989), v. 1 Corinthians 9:19.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a>[iii]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Luther,\u201cFreedom of a Christian,\u201d 345.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a>[iv]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Ibid.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a>[v]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Ibid.,359.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a>[vi]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Ibid.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a>[vii]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Ibid.,366\u2013367.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Bibliography<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Luther, Martin. \u201cFreedom of a Christian.\u201d In Luther\u2019s Works, Volume31: Career of the Reformer<\/em>, edited by Jaroslav Jan P<\/span>elikan, Hilton Oswald, and Helmut Lehmann. Vol. 31.lw31.lbxlls ed. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999.<\/span><\/div>\n
The Holy Bible: NewRevised Standard Version<\/span><\/em>. Nashville: ThomasNelson Publishers, 1989.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jacob:\u00a0 Pastor, I heard from someone today, that Jesus has freed us from the law and thus we can live as we please. Pastor:\u00a0 Well Jacob, you are correct that Jesus has freed us from the law and in a sense, yes we can live as we please.\u00a0 However, I need to ask you something.\u00a0 … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,5,6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-admin","4":"post-71","6":"format-standard","7":"category-grace","8":"category-law","9":"category-works"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2m6h5-19","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":606,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2013\/10\/31\/truth-leads-to-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":71,"position":0},"title":"Truth Leads to Life","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"October 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Reformation Sunday Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalm 46:1-11 Romans 3:19-28 John 8:31-36 Audio Version Video Version Last week pastor spoke about wrestling with faith.\u00a0 We heard the story of Jacob being renamed after wrestling all night with a man who in the end gives another name to Jacob, which is Israel.\u00a0 As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Grace"","block_context":{"text":"Grace","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/grace\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":667,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2014\/01\/05\/vision-being-the-light-to-the-nations\/","url_meta":{"origin":71,"position":1},"title":"Vision, Being the Light to the Nations","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"January 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Video Link Audio Link Isaiah 60:1\u20136 Ephesians 3:1\u201312 Matthew 2:1\u201312 Today is the Epiphany of the Lord. 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