Reconciling the world—but not without means

I offer here another piece of Lutheran history on the Lutheran Church's historical understanding of 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

Some assert that God "finished" reconciling the world to Himself 2,000 years ago, and that He justified all people at that time ("not imputing to them their sins").  Now, they say, He has entrusted the ministers of the Word with the task of announcing that God finished reconciling the world to Himself in the past, and in this way, they say, people become "individually" or "subjectively" reconciled to God.  They claim that Paul is teaching two separate things in these verses:  (1) that God finished reconciling the world (i.e., all people) to Himself at the cross, and (2) that by preaching this truth, ministers of the Word enable hearers to become "subjectively" reconciled as well.

But that this is not how 2 Corinthians 5 should be understood is made clear by Martin Chemnitz's treatment of it in the Examination of the Council of Trent.  He ties the reconciling of the world to the means of grace, specifically to the Ministry of the Word.  God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself through the preaching ministry of Christ.  So also Christ is present in the authoritative preaching ministry of the apostles, still reconciling the world to Himself.

It is not as if God actually "completed" the reconciling of the world to Himself 2,000 years ago, and then gave the Apostles the ministry of telling the world that the reconciliation was completed.  Instead, God even now continues His work of reconciling men to Himself through this ministry. 

I sense that some who balk at this understanding do so, for one reason, because the thought of such an authoritative Office of the Holy Ministry is repulsive to them.  They would rather see the Pastoral Office as simply announcing the fact that pardon has already been issued, so that the pastors are simply passing on information or communicating what was already true.  They don't like the fact that God actually and personally works through the ministry of the Word to pardon sins and to effect reconciliation.  But this is exactly what God says of the Office of the Holy Ministry, not that the apostles/pastors are to announce something that was already done in heaven long ago, but "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 18:18).

 

10 Now this power of forgiving sin must not be understood to have been given to the priests in such a way that God had renounced it for Himself and had simply transferred it to the priests, with the result that in absolution it is not God Himself but the priest who remits sin. For Paul expressly distinguishes between the power and efficacy of reconciliation which belongs to God, and the ministry which was given to the apostles, so that it is God who reconciles the world to Himself (2 Cor. 5:19) and forgives sins (Is. 43:25), not however without means but in and through the ministry of Word and sacrament.

Ministers indeed are said to loose and remit sins on account of the keys, that is, because they have the ministry through which God reconciles the world to Himself and remits sins. Thus Paul says (2 Cor. 1:24) that although he has authority, he nevertheless does not lord it over their faith but is a servant and steward of the mysteries of Christ (1 Cor. 4:1), so that he who plants and he who waters is nothing, but He who gives the increase, namely God (1 Cor. 3:7). Nevertheless, he shows that the use of the ministry is useful and necessary, for, says he, we are co-workers, that is, assistants, whose labors God uses in the ministry, but where nevertheless all the efficacy belongs to Him. We are servants, says he, through whom you have believed. Likewise: “I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel” (1 Cor. 4:15). Paul treats this distinction clearest of all in 2 Cor. 5:18–20. It is God who reconciles us to Himself through Christ, not counting our sins against us. To the apostles, however, He gave the ministry of reconciliation. But how so? “He entrusted to us,” says Paul, “the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Thus this distinction honors God and gives Him the glory that properly belongs to Him; it also claims for the ministry the honor and authority it has according to the Word of God. For even as it is Christ who baptizes through the ministry and also imparts His body and blood, so also it is Christ who through the ministry absolves and remits sins.

Chemnitz, M., & Kramer, F. (1999). Vol. 2: Examination of the Council of Trent (electronic ed.) (559–560). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Chemnitz on judicial or forensic justification

I posted this article on Martin Chemnitz' definition of justification this morning.  He claims his definition to be the only true meaning of the word "justify" according to the Holy Scriptures, as justification is discussed in the doctrine of justification.  (See the link for Chemnitz' quote in context.)

I invite our readers to compare the following definitions of "forensic" or "judicial" justification.  One is by Martin Chemnitz.  The other is by WELS District President Jon Buchholz, as quoted in a comment on the previous post.

Chemnitz: The meaning of the word 'justify' in this article is judicial, namely, that the sinner, accused by the Law of God, convicted, and subjected to the sentence of eternal damnation, fleeing in faith to the throne of grace, is absolved for Christ’s sake, reckoned and declared righteous, received into grace, and accepted to eternal life."

Buchholz: "Here is the legal or juridical nature of justification, revealed at Calvary. The change does not take place in the sinner. The change takes place in the relationship or the status between a sinner and God.2 A verdict has been rendered, which declares man free of sin and guilt, righteous in God’s sight, and worthy of eternal life, for Jesus’ sake." Page 2
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BuchholzJustification1.pdf

Notice when this courtroom or judicial verdict is said to occur in each definition.  According to Chemnitz, the verdict is rendered when the sinner flees in faith to the throne of grace (i.e., Christ).  According to Buchholz, the verdict was already rendered for all people at Calvary, i.e., 2,000 years ago.

Some will claim that Chemnitz is describing what they call "subjective justification," while Buchholz is describing "objective justification," like "two sides of the same coin."    I find this explanation to be completely inadequate and arbitrary.  Chemnitz does not claim to be describing one side of some fictional "justification coin."  He is describing how sinners are justified, period.  Chemnitz's definition has the support of dozens of Scripture passages.  Buchholz's position has the support of (dare I say) none.  On the contrary, his position is directly contradicted by several passages of Scripture (John 3:16-18, John 20:23, John 5:22-24, Luke 18:14, John 3:5-8, John 3:36, Rom. 9:30-33, Rom. 10:10, 2 Cor. 6:14, Gal. 2:16-17, Gal. 5:4-5, Eph. 2:1-3, 1 John 5:11-12, etc.).

To assert that God did or declared something is a big deal, and one had better be able to support such a claim with clear passages of Scripture.  There are many passages that describe Christ's finished work at the cross, but "justification" is not one of them.  On the contrary, unbelievers throughout Scripture are said to be condemned, not "justified, whether they believe it or not."

Chemnitz's Absolution for only the Penitent Faithful

On 'Issues Etc.' radio the other day, Rev. Will Weedon (Director of Worship for LCMS)   mentioned an Absolution included in the Kirchenordnung for Braunschweig-Wolfenbuettel by Chemnitz and Andreae in A.D. 1569. 

 "The Almighty God has been merciful to you, and through the merit of the most holy suffering death and resurrection of Jesus Christ His beloved Son, He forgives you all your sins, and I as a called and ordained servant of the Christian Church proclaim to all you who truly repent and who through faith place your trust and minds on the merit of Jesus Christ and who order your lives according to the commands and will of God the forgiveness of all of your sins in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. On the contrary however, I say to any impenitent and unbelieving, according to God's Word and in His name, that God has held your sin against you and this certainly is punished. Amen. "

How would — if at all — such an Absolution sting our ears in our modern WELS pews?  

Chemnitz and the Two Tribunals - a Fitting Meditation for the Reformation

The justification of the sinner through faith alone in Christ was the Gospel that thrilled Luther and that fueled the Reformation. Below is an excerpt from Chemnitz' Loci Theologici in which he beautifully pictures the "act of justification" as the Apostle Paul presents it in Romans 3.

*********************************************************

Paul clearly describes the act of justification in this way in Romans 3:

1. The conscience of the sinner is through the Law placed before the judgment tribunal of God (who is a consuming fire and in whose sight not even the stars are pure), is accused, convicted, and condemned, so that it is afflicted and pressed down by a terrifying sense of the wrath of God, Rom. 3:19 KJV: “… that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God”.


2. The heart thus contrite does not entertain Epicurean thoughts but anxiously seeks whether and how it can be freed from the comprehensive sentence of condemnation. From such thoughts come such passages as Ps. 130:3: “If You should mark iniquities ….”; Ps. 143:2: “Enter not into judgment …”; Rom. 7:24: “Who shall deliver me …?” Paul, by listing these points, shows that if anything can justify before God, it necessarily would be either the ethical system of the philosophers, according to the teachings of men, or the works of the divine law, because the Law has the promise of righteousness and eternal life. But Rom. 1:18 ff. shows that the teachings and ethical principles of philosophers cannot justify. And Rom. 3:20 says: “By the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.” For the Law shows and accuses the sin present even in our good works, because “the Law is weak through the flesh,” Rom. 8:3.


3. Therefore God, “who is rich in mercy” [Eph. 2:4], has had mercy upon us and has set forth a propitiation through faith in the blood of Christ, and those who flee as suppliants to this throne of grace He absolves from the comprehensive sentence of condemnation, and by the imputation of the righteousness of His Son, which they grasp in faith, He pronounces them righteous, receives them into grace, and adjudges them to be heirs of eternal life. This is certainly the judicial meaning of the word “justification,” in almost the same way that a guilty man who has been sentenced before the bar of justice is acquitted.

It is manifest how much clarity this gives to the discussion of justification. The fathers in disputing this matter often spoke inadequately about justification. But in their devotional writings, when they were looking at the picture of the divine judgment or the divine judicial process, they handled the doctrine of this article very well.

The example of Bernard [of Clairvaux, 1091–1153] shows this clearly, because he was not involved in idle speculations but was exercising himself in the serious matter of repentance based on the doctrine and testimony of Paul. Gerson has some wonderful thoughts about the tribunal of God’s justice and the throne of His grace. For if we are discussing our common position before the tribunal of God, we are all subject to the tribunal of His justice; and because before Him no living person can be justified but all are condemned, therefore God has also set up another tribunal, the throne of grace. And the Son of God pleads for us the benefit of being called away from the tribunal of justice to the throne of grace. Therefore the Pharisee, because he was not willing to use the benefit of this calling, but wanted to enter into judgment before the tribunal of justice, was condemned. But the publican, who was first accused at the tribunal of justice, convicted and condemned there, later by faith called out to the throne of grace and was justified [Luke 18:9–14].

All these points so beautifully illustrating the doctrine of justification come from the correct linguistic understanding of the word “justification.”

Chemnitz, M., & Preus, J. A. O. (1999). Loci theologici (electronic ed.) (481–482). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Enchiridion - Faith

152 What is Justifying Faith, of Which Scripture Speaks?

The definition of faith is well known; but to the unlearned it can most simply be explained thus: The object of faith in general is the Word of God; for we ought to apply faith to every Word divinely given and revealed. But justifying faith has its own and special object that it seeks in Holy Scripture and that it regards and apprehends, namely Christ our Mediator and the promise of grace, which is given for the sake of Christ. Rom 3:24-25; 4:13,16; Gal 3:22.


[PAR – Chemnitz repeats yet again what the object of justifying faith is: “Christ our Mediator and the promise of grace, which is given for the sake of Christ.”]

153 But How Does Faith Apprehend and Embrace the Object that is Proper to It?

First, it learns from the Word of God to recognize the person, office, merit, and benefits of Christ; all these things it holds to be altogether true and certain. Eph 1:17; 4:13; Col 2:2.

Second, justifying faith apprehends all those things not as simple history, nor only insofar as they are in themselves true in general, but in such a way that it specifically includes the person of the believer in that promise of grace, so that each believer apprehends and receives Christ in the Word and the Sacraments with true confidence of the heart as given personally to him, and applies them to himself individually. And though this faith is often attacked by various temptations and of itself is weak and languid, yet it surely is faith by which each one specially or warmly believes and trusts that sins are forgiven him by God for the sake of Christ, that he is received into grace, [and] that he is adopted into the sonship of God. Jn 1:12; 3:15–16; Ro 1:16; 3:22; 4:16, 23-24; 5:1-2; 8:35, 38–39; 10:4,9; 1 Ti 1:16; Mt 9:22; Lk 7:50.


[PAR – Just a note here on the three phrases toward the end: “that sins are forgiven him by God…that he is received into grace…that he is adopted into the sonship of God.” Chemnitz coordinates all three of these phrases. They accompany one another. God forgives a person his sins, God receives a person into grace, and God adopts a person as His son. Why? Because God examines a person's faith and then approves it and rewards it? No, but because through faith in Christ, we receive Christ and are clothed with Christ, and therefore God judges us, not based on our faith, but based on Christ, whom he graciously sees in us who believe. Just as our adoption as God’s sons takes place through Baptism and faith (Gal. 3:26-27), so also the reception of grace and having one’s sins forgiven take place through Baptism and faith.]

154 What If a Secure Epicurean, Without Repentance, Holding Fast to the Intent to Continue in Sins, Forms This Conviction, that He Nevertheless Has a Merciful God-is that Kind of Conviction True and Justifying Faith?

By no means. For faith is not this kind of conviction, that it is immaterial before God to remain in sins or desist from sins, to love sins or detest them; true faith likewise does not seek this in Christ, that it dares to indulge in sins and give rein to them securely and freely, without any fear, in the hope of impunity. But the nature and property of true faith is seen and recognized in sincere repentance, namely when the heart acknowledges its sins in such a way that it seriously shudders in acknowledging the wrath of God, and no longer delights in sin, but is seriously and earnestly troubled, lest it fall into danger of eternal damnation. When faith, in such repentance or contrition, looks around for Christ, seeks [Him], looks to [Him] and apprehends [Him], desiring, seeking, believing, and trusting that sins are remitted to him for the sake of Christ, etc., this very thing is a very sure indication of true and justifying faith. Is 61:1; 66:2; Mt 9:12.

155 But You May Find Many Who Boast that They Have Faith, Though They Neglect and Despise the Word and the Sacraments.

One departs from true faith also this way. Hearing the Word, and faith, are correlative, for faith is conceived, nourished, and increased thereby. He who wants to apprehend Christ by faith must know where he should look and [where] he can find Him, namely in the Word and the Sacraments. Likewise, if faith, as our hand, is to receive anything from God, we must not seek it outside the Word and without the Word, out of the air, as it were, but receive [it] from the hand of God, which He opens in the Word and the Sacraments, offering us the fullness of His grace. For God has determined to deal with us at this point through the Word of the Gospel and the Sacraments. Ro 10:17; Tts 3:5.

156 Can Man by His Own Free Will or by Virtue of His Own Powers Acquire This Faith?

No. 2 Thess 3:2. It is a gift of God, Philippians 1:29, not of yourselves, Eph 2:8. By nature we are foolish and slow of heart to believe, Lk 24:25. God opens and enlightens the heart and mind and kindles faith in the heart. Lk 24:25; Acts 16:14; 2 Co 4:6; Eph 1:17–18. Faith is not wrought by our human powers, but according to the working of the mighty power of God, Eph 1:19.

157 Are There, Then, in the Activity and Exercise of Faith No Actions or Feelings of the Human Mind, Will, and Heart Whatever?

The intellect, heart, and will of man (of whatever kind they are of themselves by the first birth, before they are illumined and renewed by the Holy Spirit) cannot contribute anything or cooperate in beginning and establishing faith. 1 Co 2:14; 2 Co 4:4; Dt 29:4. For reason is by nature in conflict with faith. Lk 24:25; 1 Co 2:14. Therefore it is to be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 2 Co 10:5. Yet faith does not exist without certain feelings or actions in the mind, will, and heart of man. For faith is nothing else than assent in the mind, and trust in the will, regarding, apprehending, accepting, and applying to itself the promise of grace. As for the rest, man cannot by his own natural powers conceive, begin, and perfect those feelings, nor does he have this of himself, but it is a special gift of God, who works that very thing in the intellect, heart, and will of man by the power and efficacy of the Holy Spirit.


[PAR – It is often asserted that the teaching of “universal objective justification” is necessary in order to guard against synergism (that is, the teaching that faith is man’s contribution to his salvation). Likewise, it is asserted that the formulation of UOJ in the 19th and early 20th Centuries was vital in combating the synergists who gave at least some credit to man in producing faith. But already in the 16th Century, the notable theologian Martin Chemnitz had clearly shown that faith is in no way acquired by man’s own free will or by virtue of his own powers. It was not and is not necessary to formulate a new approach to teaching justification in order to guard against synergism. Already here in his 16th Century Enchiridion Chemnitz had defeated the 19th century synergists.]

Enchiridion - Justification, Part 2

149 Are All Men Justified and Saved Because of This Righteousness of the Son of God?

The way is broad that leads to damnation, and there are many that walk in it. Mt 7:13.


[PAR – Here Chemnitz asks the very specific question: “Are all men justified?” He makes no distinctions, as modern theologians have done. He does not speak of an “objective sense” in which all men are justified, and then a “subjective sense” in which only believers are justified. Nothing of the sort. He simply responds to this simple question with a simple answer, “There are many who walk on the way that leads to damnation.” In other words, “No, not all men are justified. Far from it.”]

150 What, Then is the Reason? Did Christ Not Make Satisfaction for All? or Does the Heavenly Father Not Want This Benefit to Be Common to All?

The cause or fault of damnation is by no means to be ascribed to God. For Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, 1 Jn 2:2. And the will of God is that no one should perish, but that all be saved. 1 Ti 2:4; 2 Pet 3:9; Eze 18:23; Mt 18:14. But it is by the fault of men that not all are saved, because not all accept that benefit. Jn 1:5, 10–11; 3:19. For it is necessary that the benefit or merit of Christ become ours (Ro 8:32), that is, that it be applied to us, so that each one accept and apprehend it (Jn 1:12), and thus Christ be in us (Jn 6:56) and we be found in Him (Ph 3:8–9).


[PAR – Certainly Christ made atonement for the sins of the whole world, according to Chemnitz. And certainly God wants all men to be saved. Those who are not saved have only themselves to blame for not accepting “that benefit.” And what is “that benefit” that they do not all accept? “The benefit or merit of Christ,” that is, the righteousness of Christ and the satisfaction for sins that has been made by Christ. That is what is offered to men in the Gospel and applied to those who have faith.]

151 By What Means is Christ, or the Merit of Christ, Applied to Us?

For that application two things are absolutely required: First, that God, through the Holy Spirit set forth, offer, present, and give to us that benefit. For this purpose God has established a certain means or instrument, namely the word of the Gospel and the Sacraments. That means is, as it were, the hand of God, which He extends and opens to us, offering and presenting to us the merit and benefits of His Son for our salvation. Ro 10:17; 2 Co 5:19–20; Titus 3:5.


[PAR – So according to Chemnitz, in order for justification to take place, the merit of Christ must be applied to the sinner. The first necessary element in this application is the Means of Grace. Through the Means of Grace (“the word of the Gospel and the Sacraments”), God’s own hand extends to us sinners and offers and presents to us the merit and benefits of Jesus. The merit and benefits of Christ are complete for all. The righteousness of Christ is valid for all. But “justification,” that is, “the righteousness of Christ applied to sinner,” only comes through the Means of Grace. It does not occur without the Means of Grace as Chemnitz defines justification.]

The other thing that is required for application is that we apprehend, receive, and apply to ourselves the benefit of the sons of God that is offered and presented to us in the Word and the Sacraments; this is done by no other means or instruments than faith. Ro 1:17; 3:28; 4:5; Jn 3:15–16; Gl 3:22, 24. For faith is, as it were, our hand with which we take, apprehend, and accept the benefits of Christ. Jn 1:12. And it is a kind of bond by which we are bound to Christ, that He might be and dwell in us (Eph 3:17) and that we might be found in Him (Ph 3:8–9).


[PAR – Faith alone receives the benefits of Christ offered in the Means of Grace. Again, the “benefits of Christ” is not “the justification of the world.” Nowhere does Chemnitz assert such a thing. No, the “benefits of Christ” which the hand of faith receives is the perfect obedience of Christ and the innocent death of Christ. This faith, says Chemnitz, is the bond that unites us to Christ. This is the one and only way in which Chemnitz speaks of justification taking place – only by faith in Christ.]

Enchiridion - Justification

145 In What, Then, Does Justification of Man the Sinner Before God Consist According to the Statement of the Gospel?

In this very thing, that God imputes to us the righteousness of the obedience and death of Christ the Mediator and thus justifies us freely out of grace, without our works or merits, alone by faith that apprehends the grace of God the Father and the merit of Christ; that is, He forgives us [our] sins, receives [us] into grace, adopts [us] as [His] sons, and receives [us] to the inheritance of life eternal. Ro 4:24–25, 28; 4:5; 10:4; Gal 3:24; Eph 2:8–9; Titus 3:5–7.


[PAR – Chemnitz makes no distinction at all here between “objective” justification and “subjective” justification. He speaks of the Justification of “Man the Sinner,” which, in UOJ terminology, is the same as saying “mankind / the whole world of sinners/ all people.” But there is no justification of “Man the Sinner” in Chemnitz’s definition except “alone by faith.”

By definition, “justification” in Chemnitz’s language is the actual imputation of the righteousness of the obedience and death of Christ to the one who believes. Where there is no faith, there is no imputation of the righteousness of Christ, and therefore, no justification at all.

Also important is Chemnitz’s constant repetition describing the object of faith. A sinner is not to have faith that “the whole world has been justified.” Instead, faith “apprehends the grace of God the Father and the merit of Christ.” Chemnitz appears to know of no other justification than this, no “objective righteous status of all people” assumed to be in the background. He fully defines justification here in this answer: “that God forgives us our sins, receives us into grace, adopts us as His sons, and receives us to the inheritance of life eternal.”]

146 But to Justify, by Reason of Etymology or Composition, is the Same as to Make Just; And Since the Holy Ghost Renews Believers, So that They Yield Their Members Instruments of Righteousness (Rom. 6:13), Surely Justification Consists in that Renewal of the Holy Ghost, or in the New Obedience of the Reborn.

One must not determine the true meaning of the word justify by Latin usage, for it is a special word proper to the Holy Scriptures. For when Scripture wants to say that someone is cleared of a charge that was aimed [at him] and of the sentence of damnation, it uses the word justify in a forensic sense and often in antithesis, opposing damnation with justification. Dt 25:1; Prov 17:15; Ro 5:18; 8:33–34. Now, at this point the Holy Spirit was pleased [to use] the word justification in a forensic sense. For the whole process or act of the reconciliation of man the sinner with God is simply and clearly represented, as it were, with the word justify. For this matter is not handled incidentally or lightly, but seriously and, what is more, before the court of God and God Himself the judge. For the Law summons us to the tribunal of divine judgment, where it not only accuses us of sin, but completely convicts us. And since before that just court of God every mouth is to be stopped and the whole world [is to be] subject to God (Ro 3:19), therefore Moses pronounces against us the sentence of death and condemnation. 2 Co 3:7, 9; Dt 27:26. Therefore when our conscience, now convicted of sins and therefore made subject to eternal death and damnation, anxiously looks about for something with which to oppose this just judgment of God, so that it might avoid and evade the broad sentence of damnation, it finds nothing at all. But finally God Himself, rich in mercy, sets His Son before us in the Gospel as atonement. Ro 3:25. And those who through faith take recourse to that Son the Mediator, and apprehend Him by faith—those the Father justifies from the charge placed by the Law and from the sentence of condemnation; that is, He absolves [them] for the sake of Christ, and, by imputation of the obedience and death of Christ, declares [them] righteous and awards them life eternal. Ro 8:33–34. And this is the process or act of the justification of a sinner before the judgment seat of God, so that he appeals from the throne of the strict justice of God to the throne of grace in the blood of the Son of God, as Gerson describes the matter of justification by the apt simile of forensic appeal.


[PAR – Chemnitz could not be clearer here. He describes the whole process of justification. According to his description, the world does not stand righteous before God. On the contrary, the world stands convicted by the Law before the “tribunal of divine judgment.” Far from being declared righteous, the whole world stands condemned. Only those “who through faith take recourse to that Son the Mediator – those the Father justifies from the charge placed by the Law…He absolves them…declares them righteous and awards them life eternal.”]

147 Does God, Then, Justify the Sinner Because of Sins, So that in that Justification No Righteousness Whatever Need Intervene in Respect to Which the Sinner is Pronounced Righteous?

God Himself calls that kind of justification abomination. Ex 23:7; Pr 17:15; Is 5:22–23. Therefore the judgment of God must be met with such righteousness—or there must be interposed between God, the angry judge, and man the sinner [such righteousness]—through which and because of which God justifies the wicked. For justification cannot take place without righteousness. Ro 3:22, 24.


[PAR – In summary, Christ himself has provided the righteousness necessary for the sinner’s justification to take place. It is the righteousness of Christ that the believer claims before the Judge. Those who do not claim the righteousness of Christ (i.e., all unbelievers) still stand before an angry judge. They are not justified.]

148 But What, Then, is the Righteousness that Faith Brings to the Judgment Seat of God, that God Might Justify the Miserable Sinner Because of It?

The new obedience of the reborn is indeed also called a kind of righteousness; e.g., Ro 6:16; 1 Jn 2:29. But it cannot be that righteousness through and because of which we are justified before God unto life eternal. For before anyone might render that righteousness of new obedience, it is necessary that the person be reconciled to God, that is, be justified by God. 1 Jn 2:29. Moreover, because of sin dwelling in our flesh, the new obedience of the reborn is weak, impure, and imperfect in this life, so that we can by no means be justified by it before God. Ps 143:2; 1 Co 4:4. Since, then, faith instructed by the Word of God knows that it cannot find such righteousness—either in the nature or in any of the most sanctified life of any man, or in any other creature—by which a man might be justified before God, it therefore apprehends, in the Word and the Sacraments, Christ the Mediator with His most holy obedience and most innocent death, by which He satisfied the Law for us, having formed the resolute conviction that this is the true and only righteousness that avails and stands before God. And faith meets the judgment of God with this righteousness, wishing, desiring, praying, and in true confidence believing that because of it a sinner is justified by God, that is, absolved of sins, received into grace, and given life eternal. And since this righteousness of Christ, rendered for us, is perfect, sufficient and abundant and can stand before the judgment seat of God, therefore God has promised that He would impute it to believers just as if they rendered it themselves. Ro 3:22; 4:23–25; 5:18. And thus believers absolutely have, not indeed in themselves, but in Christ, true and genuine righteousness, through which they are justified before God.


[PAR – The word “reconciliation,” both in the Enchiridion and in the Confessions seems to have a sense of "completion" in the vicarious satisfaction of Christ on the cross, and of "continuation" in the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. Some have concluded that "reconciliation" and "justification" are perfect synonyms. But this conclusion is not borne out by Chemnitz in this section, who associates "justification" with only the latter sense of the term "reconciliation" (i.e., in the sense of its "continuation," not in the sense of its "completion").

Proponents of UOJ frequently make the argument that “faith must have something to believe; it must grasp something that already exists.” Here again in this section, Chemnitz describes what that “something” is. It is not “that all people have already been declared righteous. Believe it!” Instead, Chemnitz very graphically describes faith and its object above. The object of faith is the righteousness of Christ – not even the “justification” of Christ, but the righteousness of Christ. This is what God has “promised that He would impute to believers just as if they rendered it themselves.”

Finally, note the passages Chemnitz cites above to prove that it is the righteousness of Christ that is imputed to believers: Romans 3:22; 4:23-25; 5:18. These are the very sedes that UOJ proponents point to in order to prove an objective justification of the world. But Chemnitz cites these passages as clear testimonies of the justification that only takes place when a person believes in Christ and thus has the righteousness of Christ imputed to him.]

Enchiridion - The Gospel, Part 2

138 Is the Law Destroyed or Abolished by the Gospel?

God forbid, says Paul, Rom. 3:31; but by the doctrine of the Gospel, or faith, the Law is rather established. See also Mat. 5:17.

139 But the Law and the Gospel Appear to Teach Complete Opposites. For the Law Sets an Angry and Offended God Before Sinners, But the Gospel [Presents] Him Gracious and Merciful. The Law Threatens Sinners with Punishment and Eternal Damnation; The Gospel Offers Them Remission of Sins and Life Eternal. The Law Promises Mercy, Life, and Salvation, But with the Condition of Fulfilling the Law; But the Gospel Promises Those Good Things Freely Without Our Works. These Things Truly Appear to Be So Contradictory that They Mutually Nullify and Destroy Themselves.

This antithesis is to be carefully weighed and correctly stated on the basis of true foundations. For the true and sound understanding of the whole doctrine of the Gospel depends chiefly on this basis. And those profane and Epicurean fancies are to be completely taken away out of the hearts of men, that God in the Law only acts as if He is angered by sins, but that in the Gospel, with that statement of His mind and [with] His will changed, He thus nullifies and destroys the Law, that the statement of the Law concerning sin is now taken away and made invalid by the revealed Gospel, and that this is the position of the Gospel: God is now neither concerned about sin, nor hates nor abominates it, but loves and approves [it], and is so delighted by it that He wants to give the ungodly eternal life because of sins. For such opinions are not only false and ungodly but also blasphemous. For the divine law is and remains the serious, eternal, and unchangeable will of God, which the Gospel by no means either nullifies or destroys, but rather confirms and establishes, so that the rule might remain firm and unchangeable: Unless the law of God is kept with full and perfect obedience, God neither can nor wants to be merciful to any sinner. Matt. 5:18; Rom. 8:4; Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3:10.

140 But that Kind of Fulfillment or Satisfaction is Impossible for Us. How Then Shall We Obtain Either Righteousness or Salvation?

As far as we are concerned, we would absolutely have to perish in eternal damnation. For if the divine law is not fulfilled, it can in no way be abolished or taken away. And for us its fulfillment is impossible. Therefore God, in his secret counsel regarding the restoration of the welfare of mankind, planned and determined, and made a decree, to send His Son into the flesh, who was not to abolish or destroy the Law, so that fulfillment would no longer be necessary for us, but who, made under the Law and subject [to it], would in our place perfectly render and discharge His fulfillment and satisfaction for our sins—indeed required of us by the unchangeable judgment of God, but impossible for us—and thus, since the Law would plainly be fulfilled for us, merit and obtain [this], that because of His obedience and satisfaction God would deign to be merciful and compassionate toward penitent sinners. And in this way the Gospel does not abolish or destroy the Law, but points out and testifies that Christ has fulfilled the Law for us by completely perfect fulfillment. Rom. 8:3–4; 2 Cor. 5:14; Is. 53:6; Gal. 4:4–5.


[PAR – The Law and the Gospel are both fully in place. All people are born under the Law and stand unrighteous before God because they do not and cannot keep the Law. Those who hear the Gospel of Christ and believe in him are placed under the Gospel – under grace, having been credited with the righteousness of Christ who fulfilled the Law for them. Therefore, only those who have faith in Christ have a righteous status before God. Those who do not believe remain under the Law, and therefore, are not justified (in any sense), but rather still condemned (John 3:18).]

141 But, Someone May Object, What [Good Does It Do] Me, that Another Has Fulfilled the Law, Since the Law Makes Its Demands on Me, and How Can the Satisfaction of One Be Enough and Sufficient for All?

Christ was made subject to the Law, was made sin and a curse, not because of Himself, but for us (Gal. 3:13; Gal. 4:4–5; 2 Cor. 5:21), and that by the decree and good pleasure of the will of God for our redemption (Eph. 1:5,7; 2 Cor. 5:14; Is. 53:6). And since this person is not only man, but God and man, that redemption is therefore so ample and great that it is sufficient propitiation for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn. 2:2); since Christ accomplished it in the flesh it provides us highest and sweetest comfort (Rom. 8:3,34).


[PAR – This point must be repeated: Christ is most surely the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, whether people believe it or not. This is objectively true, and emphasized repeatedly by the Lutheran Reformers. This is properly understood in the context of the righteous requirements of the Law – that sin must be punished for God’s righteousness to be satisfied (propitiated). And indeed, it has been punished in Christ, sufficiently for every sinner who has ever lived or will ever live. The Law cannot require that any believer in Christ be further punished for sin or condemned, because those who believe in Christ have the God-Man as their Advocate. He has already suffered all the punishment their sins deserve.

But those who do not rely on Christ are still under the Law. They do not rely on his propitiation for their sins, and therefore the requirements of the Law are still in place for them – punishment and condemnation for all their sins.]

142 But How Does Scripture Affirm that We are Justified and Saved Freely, Without Merits, If the Work of Redemption Cost Christ So Much, Namely His Own Blood and Death?

With respect to us, this righteousness and salvation is and is called free grace, which comes to us without either our works or merits and without any payment or satisfaction from us.


[PAR – It is not “our justification” that comes to us. It is “free grace”, “the righteousness of Christ” that come to us. And Chemnitz will explain shortly how this grace and righteousness come to us. It does not come to “all people” by objective imputation. It comes only through Word and Sacrament (which is why they are called the “means of grace”.]

But with respect to Christ the Redeemer it is and is called redemption, lytron [in Greek], or satisfaction, something bought or merited. Rom. 3:24; 1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18–19; 1 Tim. 2:6; Acts 20:28.

143 And What Kind of Satisfaction Does the Law Require that Christ Had to Render for Us?

I. The Law requires complete, holy, pure, and perfect obedience. This Christ rendered fully and perfectly for us. Rom. 5:19; Heb. 10:9–10,14.

II. The Law requires satisfaction for sins, that by passion and punishment divine wrath might be satisfied. And Christ accomplished this satisfaction for us by His passion and death. 2 Cor. 5:14; Gal. 3:13; Is. 53:5–6.

And in this way Christ obtained this for us, that by His redemption we are justified freely, or by grace, without our merit. Rom. 3:24.


[PAR – The phrase “we are justified” (here and in Romans 3:24) does not mean “all people have been justified.” It does not mean that “all people have a righteous status before God.” In Greek (and in German), this is a passive verb. The sense is that we “become justified” (werden gerecht) freely, without our providing any merit or righteousness of our own. As Chemnitz will point out in the next section, we “become” justified only in one way, that is, through faith in Christ’s completed redemption.]

144 What is the Difference Between the Law and the Gospel?

I. The Law is to some extent known by nature. Rom. 2:14. But the Gospel is a mystery hidden to reason, which God has revealed only through His Word. Mat. 16:17; 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 1:9; Rom. 16:25–26.

II. The Law is a ministry pointing out, censuring, and rebuking sins, and pronouncing all men worthy of eternal death because of them; but the Gospel is a ministry that points to true righteousness before God through Christ and through it offers and bestows life eternal to all that apprehend it by faith. 2 Cor. 3:7, 9; Rom. 1:16–17.


[PAR – According to Chemnitz, the Gospel does not point to an already-pronounced justification of the world. The Gospel points to the true righteousness that is the righteousness of Christ. Through the righteousness of Christ, the Gospel bestows eternal life, not on all men, but to all that apprehend it by faith.]

III. The Law indeed itself also speaks of righteousness and salvation, but it has respect to us, and it seeks and requires to perfection that righteousness in us, in our nature, actions, and works, if we want to be saved by it. But since that cannot be rendered by us because of our corrupt nature, therefore the Gospel sets Christ before us, who by His obedience, passion, and death has purchased for us the true righteousness before God that is imputed and given to us freely, without our merit, solely for the sake of Christ and through faith. Rom. 1:4; Gal. 3:24.


[PAR – Again, Chemnitz reiterates, the Gospel does not set before us our own pre-existing justification. Instead it “sets Christ before us,” with his suffering for sin and his own righteousness. His suffering and His righteousness were the purchase price for the righteous status that God credits (or imputes), not to all sinners, but to those who have faith.

But note that faith is not the cause that makes God willing to credit the righteousness of Christ to the believer. It is credited through faith “solely for the sake of Christ.” Faith is certainly not a meritorious work. Faith is not that which makes God gracious to us. Christ is the cause that makes God gracious.]

Enchiridion - The Gospel

While a few of us are in pastors' conferences this week, we are posting some excerpts from Martin Chemnitz's Ministry, Word and Sacraments: An Enchiridion. The Enchiridion was a document written in Q and A format much like Luther's Small Catechsim, only instead of catechumens like children or new Lutherans, the Enchiridion was used for the periodic examination of Pastors, to see if they were still orthodox. This entire work is priceless and ought to be regular reading for every pastor... I'll interject a few comments of my own here and there, marked in red, to make clear what Chemnitz's position, and the position of the early Lutherans, actually was. Since we'll be in meetings and unavailable for commenting during the week, there won't be an opportunity for readers to comment on this series of posts, either. Sorry!

PAR

***********************************************************

135 What is the Gospel?

…The preaching of grace and of remission of sins is not to be set forth before either the proud Pharisees or the secure Epicureans, but the contrite or penitent…


[PAR - This follows the proper distinction between Law and Gospel. Therefore, it is not right to announce grace and remission of sins to those who are impenitent and not contrite. They should never be given the message that, “they are already justified and forgiven, whether they believe it or not.”]

And finally, those who neither believe nor obey the Gospel are and remain under the wrath of God and eternal damnation, unless they are converted. Mk. 16:16; Jn. 3:36; 2 Thess. 1:8–9.


[PAR – That is to say, they are not justified, not in any sense of the word. They have not been declared righteous before God, but remain under his wrath.]

…the Gospel (as the Apology says) is properly the promise of remission of sins and of justification for the sake of Christ, preaching the righteousness of faith in Christ.


[PAR – Note that the Gospel is not essentially an assertion, but rather a promise based on an assertion. That is to say, the Gospel does not assert that people have already been forgiven. The Gospel asserts that Christ has obtained forgiveness and righteousness for all people, and on that basis, promises forgiveness and justification – a righteous status before God – to all who have faith in Christ. The promise-aspect of the Gospel is not that Christ has done something, but that God will do something for the one who has faith in Christ on the basis of what Christ has done. Justification is one of the promised gifts that accompanies or follows faith. It does not precede it.]

136 What are the Chief Parts in Which the Doctrine of the Gospel is Comprehended and Set Forth?

The Gospel is properly the doctrine of the person and office or benefits of Christ. But this doctrine consists most of all in these chief parts:

I. That the Son of God, before the world of time, was, by a wonderful decree made in the hidden counsel of the Trinity, appointed to be our Mediator, Redeemer, Reconciler, and Savior.

II. That this decree was revealed by the word of promise immediately after the Fall, and the promise of the coming Messiah gradually renewed and repeated to the fathers during the whole time of the Old Testament.

III. Likewise that the Son of God, according to the promise, was made man in the fullness of time and most perfectly completed the work of redemption and reconciliation by His obedience, passion, and death, and thus gained righteousness and life eternal, by His resurrection and ascension, for those who believe in Him.

IV. The Gospel does not only set forth the account of Christ in story form, but the proper doctrine of Him is the promise of grace, by which God, in the Word and the Sacraments, sets before and offers to miserable sinners—thoroughly terrified by the knowledge of sins and of divine wrath and damnation—grace, remission of sins, adoption, and the inheritance of life eternal freely and out of pure mercy or grace, without our merit, only for the sake of the obedience, passion, death, and merit of Christ.

V. The Gospel teaches that these benefits of Christ the Mediator are to be apprehended and applied by faith.

VI. The Gospel declares those who believe righteous and saved.


[PAR – Note that the Gospel promises and offers the benefits of Christ (“grace, remission of sins, adoption and the inheritance of life eternal”) to terrified consciences, for the sake of his “completed work of redemption and reconciliation.” Christ has indeed merited the remission of sins, adoption and eternal life for all people. But just as no one would dare to say that “all are objectively adopted into God’s family and have eternal life, whether they believe it or not,” so no one should say that “all people are forgiven, whether they believe it or not.”

Note also whom “the Gospel declares to be righteous and saved." "...those who believe.”)]

137 Is the Gospel a New Doctrine, Which First Began at the Time of Christ and the Apostles?

By no means. For as there is one faith of the pious both of the New and of the Old Testament (2 Cor. 4:13), so also is it one and the same Gospel of both people, those of the Old as well as of the New Testament (Rom. 1:1–2; Jn. 8:56; 1 Peter 1:10; Acts 10:43). For the doctrine of the Gospel was revealed by God immediately after the Fall and thereafter gradually repeated during the whole time of the Old Testament not less than in the New Testament. There is only this difference, that in the Old Testament it was the promise of the Messiah to come, who was to be a sacrifice for us; but in the New Testament it is truly Gospel, that is the joyful tidings of the Messiah who has been sent [and] who has completed the work of redemption. Rom. 1:1–4. There is also a difference in the mode of revelation, which was more obscure in the Old Testament, but is clearer and brighter in the New. But just as we in the New Testament are justified and saved by faith in Christ [who is] now revealed, so the fathers in the Old Testament were justified and saved by faith in Christ [who was] to come. Rom. 4:3, 6; Acts 15:11; Rev. 13:8.


[PAR – Again, Chemnitz points to Christ’s work of redemption as that which was proclaimed both in the Old and New Testaments. That work was not yet completed in the Old Testament, but now has been completed. In either case, those who rely on the redemption of Christ are the ones who are justified and saved. Justification did not take place at the time of the redemption. Justification takes place through faith in the redemption, whether before it was completed or after. This is what Chemnitz is clearly saying.]