Last week I taught a class on the inspiration of the Scripture. Some of the class centered on Reformation views of Scripture, in particular the views of Martin Luther and John Calvin. In my handout I placed some quotes from both men for the class to think about. Martin Luther who did not have a formal view of inspiration looked at the biblical text through the lens of Christology and justification by faith. For him Christ and the Scriptures hung together like the babe in the manger.1 Jesus Christ must always be the focus of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments. The Bible is the crib which holds Jesus. He wrote:
"He who would read the Bible must simply take heed that he does not err, for the Scripture may permit itself to be stretched and led, but let no one lead it according to his own inclinations but let him lead it to the source, that is, the cross of Christ. Then he will surely strike the center."
Despite Luther's feelings about the book of James and other books he never removed any from his translation and had this to say about the authority of Scripture, “… for Scripture alone is the true over-Lord and master of all writings and doctrines on earth."2.
Calvin had a very high view of Scripture. A statement from Calvin’s Commentary on 2 Timothy 3:16 reaches such a height that one could believe that some with liberal inclinations might shudder in fear of biblical idolatry . Yet it is his view of Scripture the Church so desperately needs today. Calvin wrote:
“All those who wish to profit from the Scriptures must first accept this as a settled principle, that the Law and prophets are not teachings handed on at the pleasure of men or produced by men’s minds as their source, but are dictated by the Holy Spirit. … We owe to Scripture the same reverence as we owe to God, since it has its only source in Him and has nothing of human origin mixed with it.”
Although it is the task of apologetics to offer reasons for belief concerning the inspiration of Scripture still it is the Holy Spirit which ultimately affirms this truth to the hearts of believers. On this Calvin wrote:
“For as God alone can properly bear witness to his own words, so these words will not obtain full credit in the hearts of men, until they are sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit. The same Spirit, therefore, who spoke by the mouth of the prophets, must penetrate our hearts, in order to convince us that they faithfully delivered the message with which they were divinely intrusted.” Institutes, book 1, chap. VII (4)
Also, this last Sunday, my husband and I went to the opera, Hansel and Gretel, as written by Engelbert Humperdinck. In the Opera there is a scene where, after Hansel and Gretel triumph over the witch, they discover all of the children looking like stiff gingerbread men, their eyes tightly closed.
As Hansel and Gretal go to each one, the children begin softly singing, to a beautiful melody, "Touch me too, that I may open my eyes." I found myself weeping with these words. And so again may the Holy Spirit touch the eyes of those whose eyes are closed and open them to see Christ's mighty triumph on the cross on behalf of his lost children.
1.See Timothy George, Theology of the Reformers.
2.WL –from “An argument in Defense of all the Articles of Dr. Martin Luther Wrongly Condemned in the Roman Bull.”
15 comments:
Thanks Viola... "Open my eyes, that I may see....". A good place to start the day.
Beautiful image from the opera, and it's one reason for not splitting the PCUSA. We can't abandon those whose eyes are closed. As it says in Ezekiel 33:8, "Suppose I say to a sinful person, 'You can be sure that you will die.' And suppose you do not try to get him to change his ways. Then he will die because he has sinned. And I will hold you accountable for his death."
Thanks Jim,--Good verse Debbie.
Viola, have you read anything by Peter Enns? I have been extremely dismayed by his attempts to move away from a Reformed (which is to say, correct) view of inspiration. And a (former) professor at Westminster no less!
Hi Kevin,
No I have to confess I don't even know who he is. Tell me how he is moving away?
"As it says in Ezekiel 33:8, "Suppose I say to a sinful person, 'You can be sure that you will die.' And suppose you do not try to get him to change his ways. Then he will die because he has sinned. And I will hold you accountable for his death."
Has no one heard about Unconditional Election?
Indeed the Law and works will not save us, as Ezekiel well knew. Fortunately Christ will.
It really is unfortunate that understandings of our Reformed tradition have become so limited. We tend to focus on Sunday School for kids, which is great, but what is also needed is Sunday School for adults so that they can learn our Reformed doctrines, like our doctrines of Election, the notion of salvation through grace, not through works, etc.
Alan,
Thanks for pointing that out.
I think it needed to be said, and I was afraid I would not be so gentle.
Alan your last part about needing Sunday Schools for Adults so they can learn about the Reformed faith is right on, it is after all how I started this posting.
But I think you are confused with your perception of divine election. Several things jump out at me here.
Perhaps you are thinking in several ways, I am not sure but here are my thoughts.
First It doesn’t matter if God’s chosen ones were chosen before the foundation of the world. We are still called to proclaim the gospel, (good news of Jesus’ life death on the cross for our sins and resurrection for our abundant life in him) to others. That is the command of Jesus himself as well as the O.T. which Debbie has just quoted. As Christians we are also called to pull the sinning Christian back away from his sin.
Beyond that the scripture does give us clues to how we might know that someone does belong to Jesus Christ, although we in most cases can not know and must receive the other as a brother and sister. But John in his first letter tells us that :
“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins; and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or knows him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning.”
The “practices” here is like habitually doing something and that with a feeling that its okay. So the person who says that they are a believer and keeps on continually sinning and calling it good truly needs the gospel preached to them so that they might repent. As John also says:
“if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
"First It doesn’t matter if God’s chosen ones were chosen before the foundation of the world. We are still called to proclaim the gospel... "
I didn't say we weren't. Those of us who are Calvinists don't often use this phrase because it sounds vaguely Catholic, but in fact it is orthodox Reformed theology that the preaching of the gospel is a "means of grace." That does not mean however that we are saved by listening to the Word, nor do we save anyone by preaching the word to them! It is a means to grace for those who have been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
"As Christians we are also called to pull the sinning Christian back away from his sin. "
Here's where a Calvinist like myself would respond, as Christians we *are* the sinning Christian! I'd suggest studying something we call the doctrine of "Total Depravity." It says that we are *all* sinners. Furthermore it says that everything we do is tainted by sin. (The "total" doesn't mean everything we do is totally evil, however, it simply means that sin impacts every aspect of our lives.) Every single action we do, no matter how well-intentioned, is tainted by sin, and falls short of the holiness that God intends for us.
So, the image you wrote about, of one Christian pulling another Christian away from his or her sin, really should bring to mind and image of the blind leading the blind.
Obviously, if we believe someone is sinning, then, following rules set down in Matthew 18, we should try to tell that person what we believe and why. We must be humble, knowing that we ourselves are also miserable sinners. But we should never have the prideful and grandiose notion that we are somehow saving them from their sin! Christ alone saves sinners, and Grace alone is what works in our hearts to enable us to respond in faith. Even our faith is not a work of our own doing, for it it were up to us, we would not even know how to choose faith. Fortunately God's good Grace works in us to respond in faith. So we should not attempt to take credit for our faith, nor should we attempt to take credit for any of God's works.
That's just simple, orthodox Reformed understanding of Unconditional Election and another Reformed doctrine we call "Irresistible Grace."
Alan,
I don't disagree that we are all sinners, or that it is Christ and his grace alone that saves sinners. However, God uses the preaching of the word to bring sinners to himself.
"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!'"
Remember the eunuch and Phillip. Luke writes that in explaining Isaiah to him, Philip, "opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him." So the human cooperating with the Holy Spirit is used by the Lord to bring someone to himself. Of course it is the Holy Spirit that begins the work and ends the work.
And while we are all sinners and it is the righteousness of Jesus Christ that God looks on in our salvation, nonetheless Christ begins a work of transforming us that brings us out of sin. It will not be complete until the coming of Jesus Christ but still there is a transformation that begins with our conversion to Jesus Christ.
For that reason it is a problem when some in the Church try to teach that certain sins are not sins. That leads to continued broken lives that have no way to be healed. That is what the warning is about. Jude warns of this. Its a very helpful book to read at this moment in the Church.
"And have mercy on some who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh." (Jude 21-23)
"So the human cooperating with the Holy Spirit is used by the Lord to bring someone to himself."
Faith and the Word are inseparable, as Calvin would say. God brings people to himself through his Grace. He educates them through His word, but the reading of the Word does not bring them salvation.
"For that reason it is a problem when some in the Church try to teach that certain sins are not sins."
I'm sorry if I'm misunderstanding the point you're trying to make in that sentence, and I don't want to presume to know what you mean, so perhaps you can clarify. But to be perhaps overly direct, it appears me that you do not take sin seriously enough. For goodness sake, Viola, Everyone in the church tries to teach that certain sins are not sins!! I think there is an element of pride in your statement that is quite unwarranted, Viola. Again, perhaps I am misunderstanding what you meant by that statement, but if you meant it the way that I've heard that same statement hundreds of times before, then it is nothing but damned pride. (literally)
"And while we are all sinners and it is the righteousness of Jesus Christ that God looks on in our salvation, nonetheless Christ begins a work of transforming us that brings us out of sin. It will not be complete until the coming of Jesus Christ but still there is a transformation that begins with our conversion to Jesus Christ."
Indeed, but that is sanctification, not justification as we were talking about earlier, which are two different things.
For anyone reading this posting with comments and wondering why I have taken the turn in my comments that I have it is because of the conversation I and my friend Tim Curtis have been having on my posting A Sacramento Gentleman harassed by the gay community", with Alan there. Reinterpreting Scripture, the Confessions and the Presbyterian book of Order to make sin okay, is not okay.And certainly not Reformed.
Saved by grace for good works which were prepared for you in advance.
Forgiveness and repentance are taught throughout the bible including by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes saved by grace but our works must follow. And yes sinners are to call sinners to quit sinning.
Just a few thougths, great post Viola
Sorry Viola, Typical behavior from you folks. Unless I agree with you on everything, then I am not reformed.
You're either with us or your against us, I suppose.
Very unfortunate.
"Yes saved by grace but our works must follow. And yes sinners are to call sinners to quit sinning. "
Agreed, Bill, was there anywhere in which I said any differently?
We are not, however, saved by works, as the original comment I discussed implied. A statement I think you'll agree is very Reformed.
Peace,
Bill,
I really like this thought,
"And yes sinners are to call sinners to quit sinning."
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