Concerning Sanctification as the Effect of Justification...

Concerning the meaning of the phrase "sanctification has its ground in justification," some out there in bloggo-land may be getting hung up on the term ground and reading more into to it than is warranted. Certainly there is no justification or sanctification to be found outside of our union with Christ. So that his gracious person and work are the ultimate ground and source of salvation, from election to glorification. Christ Jesus is the water we believers swim in and the water in which and through which God mercifully does all things.  That being said, sanctification and justification are not parallel blessings independently given in Christ.  Rather they are connected as effect is to cause as stated by this obscure reformer:

In short, I affirm, that not by our own merit but by faith alone, are both our persons and works justified; and that the justification of works [sanctification] depends on the justification [forensic] of the person , as the effect on the cause.  (John Calvin, Acts of the Council of Trent with the Antidote)


Calvin further explains in Institutes 3.14.21:
(Outline) 21. A third objection--viz. that the good works of believers are the causes of divine blessings. Answer. There are inferior causes, but these depend on free justification, which is the only true cause why God blesses us. These modes of expression designate the order of sequence rather than the cause.
21. Moreover, when Scripture intimates that the good works of believers are causes why the Lord does them good, we must still understand the meaning so as to hold unshaken what has previously been said--viz. that the efficient cause of our salvation is placed in the love of God the Father; the material cause in the obedience of the Son; the instrumental cause in the illumination of the Spirit, that is, in faith; and the final cause in the praise of the divine goodness. In this, however, there is nothing to prevent the Lord from embracing works as inferior causes. But how so? In this way: Those whom in mercy he has destined for the inheritance of eternal life, he, in his ordinary administration, introduces to the possession of it by means of good works. What precedes in the order of administration is called the cause of what follows. For this reason, he sometimes makes eternal life a consequent of works; not because it is to be ascribed to them, but because those whom he has elected he justifies, that he may at length glorify (Rom. 8:30); he makes the prior grace to be a kind of cause, because it is a kind of step to that which follows. But whenever the true cause is to be assigned, he enjoins us not to take refuge in works, but to keep our thoughts entirely fixed on the mercy of God; "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life," (Rom. 6:23). Why, as he contrasts life with death, does he not also contrast righteousness with sin? Why, when setting down sin as the cause of death, does he not also set down righteousness as the cause of life? The antithesis which would otherwise be complete is somewhat marred by this variation; but the Apostle employed the comparison to express the fact, that death is due to the deserts of men, but that life was treasured up solely in the mercy of God. In short, by these expressions, the order rather than the cause is noted.  The Lord adding grace to grace, takes occasion from a former to add a subsequent, so that he may omit no means of enriching his servants. Still, in following out his liberality, he would have us always look to free election as its source and beginning. For although he loves the gifts which he daily bestows upon us, inasmuch as they proceed from that fountain, still our duty is to hold fast by that gratuitous acceptance, which alone can support our souls; and so to connect the gifts of the Spirit, which he afterwards bestows, with their primary cause, as in no degree to detract from it.

Calvin uses the phrases free justification, the mercy of God, and gratuitous acceptance to point to the same thing, that the primary cause of everything pertaining to salvation flows from God's sovereign grace and mercy as freely offered in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That which secures a man's salvation is ultimately not dependent upon his works, i.e. his progressive sanctification.  As both the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and the Westminster Confession of Faith teach, good works are the evidence of faith, the fruit of a true and lively faith, i.e. the effect.  The reformers jealously guarded this understanding of salvation with the words by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, lest the error of Rome would again find a foothold in the church.  And it is this that the apostle Paul taught in order that - "... in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus:  for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory." (Eph. 2:7-9) ASV.

The Ground of Sanctification...

Regarding the liberty from sin for which man so thirsts, I ended my last post (first post here) with these words of Owen's:    
  

    Fourthly; Christ is not in the law; he is not proposed in it, not communicated by it, - we are not made partakers of him thereby.  This is the work of grace, of the gospel.  In it is Christ revealed, by it he is proposed and exhibited unto us; thereby are we made partakers of him and all the benefits of his mediation.  And he it is alone who came to, and can, destroy this work of the devil.... This "the Son of God was manifested to destroy."  He alone ruins the kingdom of Satan, whose power is acted in the rule of sin.  Wherefore, hereunto our assurance of this comfortable truth is principally resolved.  And what Christ hath done, and doth, for this end, is a great part of the subject of gospel revelation.


Me:
Again, the subject matter under discussion by Owen is summarized by the verse from Romans 6:14, "Sin shall no longer have dominion over you; for ye are not under law but under grace."  The law is limited by God's purpose for it.  It can only point the way.  The law gives no aid in freeing the sinner from the rule and tyranny of sin.  That office is found alone in God's sovereign grace declared in the gospel of Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the grave.  Through faith in Him by grace alone, sins are pardoned, the believer is justified with the righteousness of Christ, and the reign and rule of Sin is broken.  The believer has been delivered from sin's dominion and translated to the kingdom of Christ Jesus, now under God's reign of grace unto righteousness.  And this good news, the power of God unto salvation as witnessed to and transmitted by the Holy Spirit, is the effectual ground upon which the believer walks in sanctification.  It is not a walk free of sin or battles with the flesh - but a walk, though with many limitations and weaknesses, that nonetheless increases in faith and godliness through trusting dependence upon the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that which He has secured for the redeemed. 


From the last section in Owen's A Treatise of the Dominion of Sin and Grace:


     It is that which the law and all the duties of it cannot procure.  The law and its duties, as we have declared, can never destroy the dominion of sin.  All men will find the truth hereof that ever come to fall under the power of real conviction.  When sin presseth on them, and they are afraid of its consequents, they will find that the law is weak, and the flesh is weak, and their duties are weak, and their resolutions and vows are weak; - all insufficient to relieve them.       ... They sin and promise amendment, and endeavor recompenses by some duties, yet can never extricate themselves from the yoke of sin.  We may therefore learn the excellency of this privilege, first, from its causes, whereof I shall mention some only:-      1.  The meritorious procuring cause of this liberty is the death and blood of Jesus Christ.  So it is declared, 1Pet.1:18-19; 1Cor.6:20, 7:23.  Nothing else could purchase this freedom... "Christ died, and rose, and revived," that he might be our Lord, Rom.14:9, and so deliver us from the power of all other lords whatever.      
   ... Let those that are believers, in all the conflicts with sin, live in the exercise of faith on this purchase of liberty made by the blood of Christ; for two thing will hence ensue:- [1.]  That they will have a weighty argument always in readiness to oppose unto the deceit and violence of sin... See Rom.6:2.  [2.]  The internal efficient cause of this liberty, or that whereby the power and rule of sin is destroyed in us, is the Holy Spirit himself; which farther evinceth the greatness of this mercy.  Every act for the mortification of sin is no less immediately from him than those positive graces are whereby we are sanctified.  It is "through the Spirit" that we "mortify the deeds of the body," Rom.8:13.  Where he is, there, and there alone, is liberty...      
     ...Wherefore, a great part of our wisdom for the attaining and preserving this liberty consists in the acting of faith on that promise of our Saviour, that our heavenly Father will "give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him" of him.  When sin in any instance, by any temptation, urgeth for power and rule in us, we are ready to turn into ourselves and our own resolutions, which in their place are not to be neglected; but immediate cries unto God for such supplies of his Spirit as without which sin will not be subdued, we shall find our best relief.  Bear it in mind, try it on the next occasion, and God will bless it with success....      
     ... We are called into a theatre, to fight and contend; into a field, to be tried in a warfare.  Our enemy is this sin, which strives and contends for the rule over us....      
     ... First, The conflict with sin, making continual repentance and mortification absolutely necessary, will continue in us whilst we are in this world.  Pretences of perfection here are contrary to the Scriptures, contrary to the universal experience of all believers, and contrary to the sense and conscience of them by whom they are pleaded, as they make it evident everyday.      
     ... This is our lot and portion; this is the consequent of our apostasy from God, and of the depravation of our nature thereby....      ... It is so ordered that the continuance of sin in us shall be the ground, reason, and occasion, of the exercise of all grace, and of putting a lustre on our obedience.
     ... Herein lies the spring of humility and self-resignation to the will of God.      
     ... Wherefore, the continuance of us in this state and condition in this world, - is best for us, and highly suited unto divine wisdom, considering the office and care of our Lord Jesus Christ for our relief.
     ... There is mercy administered in and by the gospel for the pardon of all that is evil in itself or in any of its effects:  "There is no condemnation unto them that are in Christ Jesus."  Pardoning mercy, according to the tenor of the covenant, doth always disarm this sin in believers of its condemning power; so that, notwithstanding the utmost endeavours of it, "being justified by faith, they have peace with God."      
     ... The great rule for preventing the increase and power of vicious habits is, watch against beginnings.  Sin doth not attempt dominion but in particular instances, by one especial lust or another.
     ... The strict charge given us by our Lord Jesus Christ to "watch," and that of the wise man, "above all keepings to keep our heart," have especial regard unto these beginnings of sins's obtaining power in us.      
     ... Make continual applications unto the Lord Christ, in all the acts of his mediation, for the ruin of sin, especially when it attempts a dominion in you, Heb.4:16.  This is the life and soul of all directions in this case, which needs not here to be enlarged on; it is frequently spoken unto.  Lastly, Remember that a due sense of deliverance from the dominion of sin is the most effectual motive unto universal obedience and holiness; as such it is proposed and managed by the apostle, Rom.4.

Year End Poem...

Romans 6:14 - For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace. 

Inspired by John Owen's A Treatise of the Dominion of Sin and Grace:

On the cross Christ Jesus for sinners procured

Sin's pardon, release from guilt and shame.

Under grace not law, believer's liberty secured.

Sin's dominion broken, no longer to reign.

Yet rebellious remnant still seeks to control,

To assert Satan's power, to regain its sway.

Holy Law gives no aid, cannot make one whole.

"Do this and live" points only the way.

God's foolish Word answers:  Mercy declared!

Power unto salvation Holy Spirit conveys.

Jesus’ blood and body, food rightly shared,

Faith looks not within but to Christ who was raised.

Sweet exchange, man's sin for Christ's merit proclaimed.

No condemnation, comfort alone in Him found.

Faith-repentance liturgy each day, as

Sinners-Saints plod along solid ground.

-Jack Miller

John Owen on Sin, Law, and Gospel - II

Continuing from the last post on Owen's A Treatise of the Dominion of Sin and Grace - which ended with his question, "But how doth this [the gospel] give relief'" - to the believer - regarding the dethroning of sin and delivering him from its dominion to a life empowered unto godliness under the rule of grace?  What follows is a message that needs a hearing and indeed a following in the local church.   It is encouraging and strengthening, reinforcing the proclamation of the Gospel of the grace in Christ Jesus administered in both Word and Sacrament.  In that glorious gospel we receive through faith not only our justification, but also the transforming power of Christ crucified and risen through the Holy Spirit's ongoing work of sanctification in us unto salvation.


Owen:
     "But how doth this [the gospel] give relief?  Why, it is the ordinance, the instrument of God, which he [the believer] will use unto this end - namely, the communication of such supplies of grace and spiritual strength as shall eternally defeat the dominion of sin."
     This is the one principle difference between the law and the gospel, and was ever so esteemed in the church of God, until all communication of efficacious grace began to be called in question:

Owen here is referring to the corruption of the means of grace in both the preaching of the Word and the right administration of the Sacraments in the medieval and then current Roman church.  The two Words of Scripture, law and gospel, had receded from the scene and were no longer employed by the Church in order to bring souls to Christ and build up and strengthen them in faith and godliness.  Owen goes on to explain the purposes and limitations of the law regarding sin and the centrality of the gospel administered in breaking the dominion of sin and as the power of God unto salvation for the work of sanctification in the believer.

Owen:
     The law guides, directs, commands, all things that are against the interest and rule of sin.  It judgeth and condemneth both the things that promote it and the persons that do them; it frightens and terrifies the consciences of those who are under its dominion.  But if you shall say unto it, "What then shall we do? this tyrant, this enemy, is too hard for us.  What aid and assistance against it will you afford unto us? what power will you communicate unto its destruction?"  Here the law is utterly silent, or says that nothing of this nature is committed unto it of God: nay, the strength it hath it gives unto sin for the condemnation of the sinner:  "The strength of sin is the law."  But the gospel, or the grace of it, is the means and instrument of God for the communication of internal spiritual strength unto believers.  By it do they receive supplies of the Spirit or aids of grace for the subduing of sin and the destruction of its dominion....
     Hereon then depends, in the first place, the assurance of the apostles's assertion, that "sin shall not have dominion over us," because we are "under grace."  We are in such a state as wherein we have supplies in readiness to defeat all the attempts of sin for rule and dominion in us.
     But some may say hereon, they greatly fear they are not in this state...
     In answer hereunto the things ensuing are proposed: -

1. Remember what hath been declared concerning the dominion of sin.  If it be not known what it is and wherein it doth consist...  A clear distinction between the rebellion of sin and the dominion of sin is a great advantage unto spiritual peace.
2. Consider the end for which aids of grace are granted and communicated by the gospel.  Now, this is not that sin may at once be utterly destroyed and consumed in us, that it should have no being, motion, or power in us any more.  This work is reserved for glory, in the full redemption of body and soul, which we here do by groan after.  But it is given unto us for this end, that sin may be so crucified and mortified in us, - that is, so gradually weakened and destroyed, - as that it shall not ruin spiritual life in us... although our conflict with sin doth continue, although we are perplexed by it, yet we are under grace, and sin shall have no more dominion over us.  This is enough for us, that sin shall be gradually destroyed, and we shall have sufficiency of grace on all occasions to prevent its ruling prevalency.
3. Live in the faith of this sacred truth, and ever keep alive in your souls expectation of supplies of grace suitable thereunto.  It is of the nature of true and saving faith, inseparable from it, to believe that the gospel is the way of God's administration of grace for the ruin of sin.  He that believes it not believes not the gospel itself, which is "the power of God unto salvation," Rom.1:16... This is the fundamental principle of the gospel state, that we live in expectation of continual communications of life, grace, and strength, from Jesus Christ, who is "our life," and from whose "fulness we receive, and grace for grace."... This faith, hope, and expectation, we are called unto by the gospel; and when they are not cherished, when they are not kept up unto a due exercise, all things will go backward in our spiritual condition.
4. ... Does [sin] take advantage from our darkness and confusion, under troubles, distresses, or temptations?  On these and the like occasions it is required that we make especial fervent application unto the Lord Christ for such supplies of grace as may be sufficient and efficacious to control the power of sin in them all.  This, under the consideration of his office and authority unto this end, his grace and readiness form special inducements, we are directed unto, Heb. 4:14-16.
5. ... we may be sure we shall not fail of divine assistance, according to the established rule of the administration of gospel of grace.

     ... the truth stands firm, that "sin shall not have dominion over us, for we are not under the law, but under grace;"... the law gives no liberty of any kind, it gendereth unto bondage, and so cannot free us from any dominion, - not that of sin, for this must be by liberty.  But this we have also by the gospel.  There is a twofold liberty: - 1. Of state and condition; 2. Of internal operation; and we have both by the gospel... 

     The first consists in our deliverance from the law and its curse, with all things which claim a right against us by virtue thereof; Satan, death, and hell... This liberty Christ proclaims in the gospel unto all that do believe, Isa.61:1.  Hereon they who hear and receive the joyful sound are discharged from all debts, bonds, accounts, rights, and titles, and are brought into a state of perfect freedom.  In this state sin can lay no claim to dominion over any one soul.  They are gone over into the kingdom of Christ, and out from the power of sin, Satan, and darkness.  Herein, indeed, lies the foundation of our assured freedom from the rule of sin.  It cannot make an incursion on the kingdom of Christ, so as to carry away any of its subjects into a state of sin and darkness again...

     2.  ... Again, there is an internal liberty, which is the freedom of the mind from the powerful inward chains of sin... Hereby is the power of sin in the soul destroyed.  And this also is given us in the gospel.  There is power administered in it to live unto God, and to walk in all his commandments; and this also gives evidence unto the truth of the apostle's assertion.

     Thirdly, The law doth not supply us with effectual motives and encouragements to endeavour the ruin of the dominion of sin in a way of duty; which must be done...  It works only by fear and dread, with threatenings and terrors... "Do this, and live," yet withal it discovers such an impossibility in our nature to comply with its commands...  Now, these things enervate, weaken, and discourage, the soul in its conflict against sin; they give it no life, activity, cheerfulness, or courage, in what is undertaken.

   ... But the law makes nothing perfect, nor are the motives it gives for the ruin of the interest of sin in us able to bear us out and carry us through that undertaking.    Fourthly; Christ is not in the law; he is not proposed in it, not communicated by it, - we are not made partakers of him thereby.  This is the work of grace, of the gospel.  In it is Christ revealed, by it he is proposed and exhibited unto us; thereby are we made partakers of him and all the benefits of his mediation.  And he it is alone who came to, and can, destroy this work of the devil.... This "the Son of God was manifested to destroy."  He alone ruins the kingdom of Satan, whose power is acted in the rule of sin.  Wherefore, hereunto our assurance of this comfortable truth is principally resolved.  And what Christ hath done, and doth, for this end, is a great part of the subject of gospel revelation.


Amen!

John Owen on Sin, Law and Gospel...

What does a believer need to hear, believe, and do in order to navigate what is called his sanctification?  I find there is much out there that helps, yet even more that confuses.  In practice where does the power for change come from?  Is the Christian life a two track path:  one path that celebrates the free gift of forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ (our justification), the other path the believer's job to appropriate the grace and power of the Holy Spirit to battle and find victory over sin and live obediently (our sanctification)?  What is the biblical remedy and food that is offered to counter and weaken that remnant of sin that daily seeks to draw the believer off the path of godliness and throw him into despondency? 


 In John Owen's A Treatise of the Dominion of Sin and Grace one finds a most helpful exposition on the role of law and gospel as regards sanctification and more specifically the battle against sin.  The book presents a focused teaching built around the Romans 6:14 verse, "For sin shall not have dominion over you:  for ye are not under law but under grace" (ASV).  For the one who has believed the gospel and received forgiveness of sins by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, the holy law continues to be the righteous, moral standard to which he is still called.  It nonetheless, Owen explains, has certain weaknesses and limitations as far as its ability to be a remedy for sin's dominion in the unregenerate or providing any comfort or aid in mortifying sin's continued rebellion within the believer.  Below are some gleanings regarding the law from the treatise.

     The law falls under a double consideration, but in neither of them was designed to give power of strength against sin:-

1. As it was given unto mankind in the state of innocency; and it did then absolutely and exactly declare the whole duty of man, whatever God in his wisdom and holiness did require of us.  It was God's ruling of man according to the principle of the righteousness wherein he was created.  But it gave no new aids against sin; nor was there any need that so it should do.  It was not the ordinance of God to administer new or more grace unto man, but to rule and govern him according to what he had received; and this it continueth to do forever.  It claims and continues a rule over all men, according to what they had and what they have; but it never had power to bar the entrance of sin, nor to cast it out when it is once enthroned.
2. As it was renewed and enjoined unto the church of Israel on Mount Sinai, and with them unto all that would join themselves unto the Lord out of the nations of the world.  Yet neither was it then, nor as such, designed unto any such end as to destroy or dethrone sin by an administration of spiritual strength and grace.  It had some new ends given then unto it, which it had not in its original constitution, the principal whereof was to drive men to the promise, and Christ therein; and this it doth by all the acts and powers of it on the souls of men.  As it discovers sin, as it irritates and provokes it by its severity, as it judgeth and condemneth it, as it denounceth a curse on sinners, it drives unto this end; for this was added of grace in the renovation of it, this new end was given unto it.  In itself it hath nothing to do with sinners, but to judge, curse, and condemn them. //  There is, therefore, no help to be expected against the dominion of sin from the law.  It was never ordained of God unto that end; nor doth it contain, nor is it communicative of, the grace necessary unto that end, Rom. viii.3. //  Wherefore, those who are "under the law: are under the dominion of sin.  "The law is holy." but it cannot make them holy who have made themselves unholy; it is :just," but it cannot make them so, - it cannot justify them whom it doth condemn; it is "good," but can do them no good, as unto their deliverance from the power of sin.  God hath not appointed it unto that end.  Sin will never be dethroned by it, it will not give place unto the law, neither in its title nor its power.

Those under law...
     "will attend unto what the saith, under whose power they are, and endeavour a compliance therewith; many duties shall be performed, and many evils abstained from, in order to the quitting themselves of sin's dominion.  But, alas! the law cannot enable them hereunto, - it cannot give them life and strength to go through with what their convictions press them unto; therefore, after a while they begin to faint and wax weary in their progress, and at length give quite over."

Having explained the purpose and limitations of the law, Owen goes on to explain the presence of sin and the role of the gospel in the believer who is no longer under law but under grace.

     "Grace" is a word of various acceptations in the Scripture.  As we are here said to be under it, and as it is opposed unto the law, it is used or taken for the gospel, as it is the instrument of God for the communication of himself and his grace by Jesus Christ unto those that do believe, with that state of acceptation with himself which they are brought into thereby, Rom. v.1,2.  Wherefore, to be "under grace" is to have an interest in the gospel covenant and state, with a right unto all the privileges and benefits thereof, to be brought under the administration of grace by Jesus Christ, - to be a true believer.... 
    Is it that there shall be no sin in them any more?  Even this is true in some sense.  Sin as unto its condemning power hath no place in this state, Rom. viii.1.  All the sins of them that believe are expiated or done away, as to the guilt of them, in the blood of Christ, Heb.i.3; 1 John i.7.  This branch of the dominion of sin, which consists in its condemning power, is utterly cast out of the state.  But sin as unto its being and operation doth still continue in believers whilst they are in this world; they are all sensible of it...
      Wherefore, to be freed from the dominion of sin is not to be freed absolutely from all sin, so as that it should in no sense abide in us any more.  This is not to be under grace, but to be in glory...
     But the assurance here given is built on other considerations; whereof the first is, that the gospel is the means ordained and instrument used by God for the communication of spiritual strength unto them that believe, for the dethroning of sin.  It is the "power of God unto salvation," Rom.i.16, that whereby and wherein he puts forth the his power unto that end...  We are absolved, aquitted, freed from the rule of sin, as unto its pretended right and title, by the promise of the gospel; for thereby are we freed and discharged from the rule of the law, wherein all the title of sin unto dominion is founded, for "the strength of sin is in the law:"  but we are freed from it, as unto its internal power and exercise of its dominion, by the internal spiritual grace and strength in its due exercise.  Now, this is communicated by the gospel; it gives life and power, with such continual supplies of grace as are able to dethrone sin, and forever to prohibit its return...
     "This you have," saith the apostle, "Ye are not under law, but under grace; of the rule of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, administered in the gospel."  But how doth this give relief?

To be continued...

Object of Faith vs. the Act of Faith

I came across this quote (below) by Martin Luther a while back. Unfortunately I don't remember where I found it. Luther succinctly explains the difference between the object of our faith - Christ Jesus our Saviour - and the strength of that faith which holds as its object Christ alone. We are called to look away from ourselves and the vain focus on our faith - strong or weak, our many sins

and weaknesses, our efforts at moral self-improvement, our successes, our failures, our pride. We are to look solely to the One of peerless worth who, for our salvation, lived a perfect life, learning obedience through the things he suffered (Heb 2:10); who bore the penalty of our sins through his death upon the cross, fully satisfying the justice of God.  This One who was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven as both Lord and Saviour is now given to believers as their righteousness and sanctification... their full salvation... through simple faith in him.

Martin Luther wrote:
In this Christian brotherhood no man possesses more than another. St. Peter and St. Paul have no more than Mary Magdalene or you or I. To sum up: Taking them all together, they are brothers, and there is no difference between the persons. Mary, the Mother of the Lord, and John the Baptist, and the thief on the cross, they all possess the selfsame good which you and I possess, and all who are baptised and do the Father’s Will. And what have all the saints? They have comfort and help promised them through Christ in every kind of need, against sin, death, and the devil. And I have the same, and you, and all believers have.

But this also is true, that you and I do not believe it so firmly as John the Baptist and St. Paul; and yet it is the one and only treasure. It is the same as when two men hold a glass of wine, one with a trembling, the other with a steady hand. Or when two men hold a bag of money, one in a weak, the other in a strong hand. Whether the hand be strong, or weak, as God wills, it neither adds to the contents of the bag, nor takes away. In the same way there is no other difference here between the Apostles and me, than that they hold the treasure firmer. Nevertheless, I should and must know that I possess the same treasure as all holy Prophets, Apostles, and all saints have possessed.

See-Saw Reform: The Church of England's confused course...

The duck-billed platypus pictured here has been proposed by some as a sort of "patron" mascot of the Anglican Church, inasmuch as the odd looking creature is hard to define.  Bird, mammal, reptile?  Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox?  By in large I appreciate the intent of the analogy, that being that there is nothing incompatible between that which is truly small 'c' Catholic and truly Protestant.  Yet I wonder if this depiction might, unfortunately, be apt for another reason:  that it's a metaphor for unresolved tensions in Anglicanism that have their origins in the 16th century reformation of the English Church.  What I'm referring to is the battle for the doctrinal soul of the Church of England that began with Thomas Cranmer becoming the Archbishop in 1533 and the subsequent years of reform and compromise in both doctrine and practice.

By the time of his appointment, Cranmer had already had come to accept the essential doctrines of the reformation.  Over the next several years he would leave behind the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, as well as accepting only two sacraments (holy communion and baptism) as of the gospel and instituted by Christ.  The other five so-called sacraments (confession, marriage, confirmation, anointing of the sick, holy orders), though valid and godly in nature, were not biblically instituted as such nor had they two parts (outward material sign and inward grace) necessary for a sacrament.

Cranmer's reformed path was quite distinct from a large percentage of the bishops who served throughout England at that time.  Many of those men were still Roman Catholic in outlook, if not in doctrine and practice.  The years leading up to the death of King Henry VIII were marked by a kind of see-saw slow-motion reform... three steps forward, two steps back, so to speak.  This was clearly seen in the first attempt at a church confession, the Ten Articles, which was a compromise between the Roman Catholic party and those favoring  reform.  King Henry as monarch had become the Supreme Head of the Church when England threw off the Pope's authority.  As was his wont when deciding doctrinal questions, he selected the committee bishops by appointing equal representation from the Catholic conservatives and the evangelical reformers; the perfect formula for doctrine compromise based on a political consensus rather than Holy Scripture alone.

This was to be the pattern throughout the latter part of Henry's reign.  It reflected his own theological ambivalence and ever-changing political concerns.  This course set the stage for three developments that stayed with the English Church for the next 100-plus years of back and forth reform.  One, it unofficially institutionalized a doctrinal see-saw battle between the Evangelicals and those of the more Catholic/medieval persuasion.  Two, it validated a kind of rear-guard action by the Catholic conservative bishops (often in sync with the King or Queen)  to preserve or reinstate certain medieval doctrines and practices and resist a fuller reformation of the English Church.  Three, the involvement of the Monarch as both head of State and Church guaranteed that political calculations as well as personal religious preferences would intrude themselves in matters of Church doctrine, practice, and further reform.

Evangelical Good Old Fashioned Experiential Goo...

Back in the 1920's, J. Gresham Machen diagnosed not only the intellectual and theological drift of his day but of that which would continue to develop over the next 90 years. He wrote,

The depreciation of the intellect, with the exaltation in the place of it of the feelings or of the will, is, we think, a basic fact in modern life, which is rapidly leading to a condition in which men neither know anything nor care anything about the doctrinal content of the Christian religion, and in which there is in general a lamentable intellectual decline. (What is Faith?, p.28)

The drift away from theology, i.e. the events of the redemptive-historical drama in the Bible and their meaning (doctrine), created a vacuum that has been gradually filled with other things. And one of the main results has been the rise of both the relational and the experiential as pillars of many expressions of American Christianity.

The Aquarius age of the sixties ushered in the full-blown relational era. All you need is love, the Beatles sang. I remember as a young Christian in the early 1970's hearing the oft prescribed formula for gospel acceptance by the world... they will know you're my disciples by your love for one another. It was no coincidence that Body-life became all the rage. In fact, a popular book came out at that time with that very title by Ray Stedman, who summed up his model for the church this way,

The church is a living organism. In the physical body, the hand moves when the brain says to. So too the members of Jesus’ spiritual body takes direction from Him as our Head. Jesus gives each member gifts and talents, making himself alive within his church. He equips his people to love one another, and to serve in unity his kingdom. This is Body Life.

Jesus gives each member gifts and talents, making himself alive within his church... The relational-conduit led to experiential reality. In one church that I was a part of for a number of years in the seventies, sharing one's "experience of Christ" in the worship meeting was the very cutting edge of body life. What was needed was not "dead doctrine," but life supplied from the members of the body of Christ (grace and heavenly blessing given via the horizontal-relational). And of course this accelerated the already established trend of democratizing truth by elevating the greatest common denominator among believers, a person's subjective experience. Everyone had one! Everyone could share it. Truth filtered through my lens, my experience to the church.

To paraphrase the words of Traffic's hit song from that same time period, a new old fashioned experiential goo was replacing the Word-based proclamation of Christ, i.e his death and resurrection for unworthy sinners in both Word and Sacrament (doctrine from above). To be built up in Christ now had more to do with being touched by someone's testimony of their experience, accompanied by their own unique interpretation of the Spirit's work in their life. And of course, it was incumbent upon those listening to be appropriately and relationally supportive with "amens" and "praise the Lords." Interestingly, that's not all too different from what one finds in any number of different support groups. The means of grace in Word and Sacrament by which sinner/saint is comforted and strengthened in faith was gradually replaced with shared testimonies of subjective experiences and mystical worship moments to attain a corporate sense of "God's Spirit."

Now certainly there's nothing wrong at all with a corporate sense of God's Spirit. But one needs to look critically at what was happening. Scriptural doctrine fell off the radar screen of that church as an ancient and unnecessary means of direction. No matter how true, doctrine was simply "dead-head knowledge," an impediment to the Spirit's working.  Faith no longer was fed by hearing, understanding, and receiving the gospel truths. What the church needed was Life which came through the direct operation of the Spirit found in one's personal/mystical experience of God.

Faith, no longer pointed to nor rooted in the redemptive-historical objectivity of the gospel, was redirected toward the ever-elusive subjective. So, once again Machen's words from the twenties presciently described what came about,

But if theology be thus abandoned, or if rather (to ease the transition) it be made merely the symbolic expression of religious experience, what is to be put into its place?... Mysticism unquestionably is the natural result of the anti-intellectual tendency which now prevails; for mysticism is the consistent exaltation of experience at the expense of thought. (p.35)

The identifying mark of much of today's evangelical church is the subjective/experiential elevated above the objective/declarative of the Word. And it is this modern means of grace which is deemed spiritually authentic. Speak of doctrine or objective biblical truth and eyes begin roll in boredom. Share your experience of a God-moment and heaven has come to earth.

Calvin: The Lord's Supper - the visible gospel...

I recently finished reading the biography Calvin by Bruce Gordon. Gordon gives a very accessible, balanced portrait of the man, his life and theology and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about this 16th century reformer.  I want to draw from Gordon's chapter on "Healing Christ's Body" to highlight a theme I've touched on before (here, here, and here), the feeding of God's people in the preaching of the gospel and the Lord's Supper:

• ... when asked in the Genevan catechism why God had instituted the signs of bread and wine, the response was 'the Lord consulted our weakness, teaching us in a more familiar manner that he is not only food to our souls, but drink also, so that we are not to seek any part of spiritual life anywhere else than in him alone'... Gospel and sacrament, for Calvin, are the same but different, and cannot exist without one another.  Humans, sensuous creatures that they are, require external forms as aid to faith, and this is what God has provided.  Eating the bread and drinking the wine are not simply an act, but together with the Word of God spoken from the pulpit they form the means by which the Christian receives Christ. (p.165)

From A Short Treatise on the Lord's Supper, Calvin wrote:

• Here, then, is the singular consolation which we derive from the Supper.  It directs and leads us to the cross of Jesus Christ and to his resurrection, to certify that whatever iniquity there may be in us, the Lord nevertheless recognises and accepts us as righteous - whatever materials of death may be in us, he nevertheless gives us life - whatever misery may be in us, he nevertheless fills us with all felicity.  Or to explain the matter more simply - as in ourselves we are devoid of all good, and have not one particle of what might help to procure salvation, the Supper is an attestation that, having been made partakers of the death and passion of Jesus Christ, we have every thing that is useful and salutary to us.

Gordon continues,

• Through the instruments of bread and wine God gives Christ to the people - to receive the symbols (bread and wine) is to receive what they signify (Christ).  The dynamic in Calvin's teaching is between knowledge and faith.  Through preaching, catechising and schooling the people are taught the nature of God and salvation through Christ.  They are instructed in the Christian life.  This is the knowledge revealed in scripture and it is the duty of ministers to teach and of laity to learn.  But Calvin did not mean mere head learning, as we might call it - facts about religion.  In learning of God and Christ a person begins to hunger for that salvation.  That is the work of faith, which opens eyes to the reality of sin and the goodness of God.  Yet because humans, even the faithful, are weak and sinful, they need to be continually fed.  This is the role of preaching and the Lord's Supper [emphasis mine]. (p.166)

Works of Sanctification - Reward found not in their merit...

Whatever value is indeed received in the works of sanctification by those who trust in Christ, it is accrued to them not by the spirituality or devoutness of their own righteous deeds, but rather on the basis of God's gratuitous grace.  And I might add that the grace of God in both our justification and sanctification in Christ is received solely by faith alone.

"Our third and last exception relates to the recompense of works,­ we maintaining that it depends not on their own value or merit, but rather on the mere benignity of God. Our opponents, indeed, admit that there is no proportion between the merit of the work and its reward; but they do not attend to what is of primary moment in the matter: that is, that the good works of believers are never so pure as that they can please without pardon. They consider not, I say, that they are always sprinkled with some spots or blemishes, because they never proceed from that pure and perfect love of God which is demanded by the law. Our doctrine, therefore, is that the good works of believers are always devoid of a spotless purity which can stand the inspection of God; nay, that when they are tried by the strict rule of justice, they are, to a certain extent, impure. But, when once God has graciously adopted believers, he not only accepts and loves their persons, but their works also, and condescends to honor them with a reward.

"In one word, as we said of man, so we may say of works: they are justified not by their own desert, but by the merits of Christ alone; the faults by which they would otherwise displease being covered by the sacrifice of Christ. This consideration is of very great practical importance, both in retaining men in the fear of God, that they may not arrogate to their works that which proceeds from his fatherly kindness; and also in inspiring them with the best consolation, and so preventing them from giving way to despondency, when they reflect on the imperfection or impurity of their works, by reminding them that God, of his paternal indulgence, is pleased to pardon it."

-The Necessity of Reforming the Church (1543), John Calvin.