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In our day it is fashionable to portray Martin Luther as one who was strictly concerned with faith as a momentary event involving the transfer of one’s trust, apart from a subsequent lifetime of obedient works. I would like to suggest that this caricature is not only unfair; it is also inaccurate. This week’s entry is written in honor of my friend, the most venerable Lutheran Theologian Paul Szobody, in an effort to set the record straight.

Reformer Martin Luther’s “Preface to the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans” was written in 1522 for inclusion in his German translation of the Bible. The preface summarizes key words in Romans, such as “justification,” “faith,” “sin,” and “law.” It then outlines the meaning of each chapter of the epistle. Describing faith, Luther counters accusations that the Reformation doctrine of justification is indifferent to good works in the Christian life. Although justification is by faith alone, true faith is living and always results in good works.

“Faith is not the human notion and dream that some people call faith. When they see that no improvement of life and no good works follow—although they can hear and say much about faith—they fall into the error of saying, “Faith is not enough; one must do works in order to be righteous and be saved.” This is due to the fact that when they hear the gospel, they get busy and by their own powers create an idea in their heart which says, “I believe”; they take this then to be a true faith. But, as it is a human figment and idea that never reaches the depths of the heart, nothing comes of it either, and no improvement follows.

Faith, however, is a divine work in us which changes us and makes us to be born anew of God, John 1[:12-13]. It kills the old Adam and makes us altogether different men, in heart and spirit and mind and powers; and it brings with it the Holy Spirit. O it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good works incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them, and is constantly doing them. Whoever does not do such works, however, is an unbeliever. He gropes and looks around for faith and good works, but knows neither what faith is nor what good works are. Yet he talks and talks, with many words, about faith and good works.

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times. This knowledge of and confidence in God’s grace makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and with all creatures. And this is the work which the Holy Spirit performs in faith. Because of it, without compulsion, a person is ready and glad to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer everything, out of love and praise to God who has shown him this grace. Thus it is impossible to separate works from faith, quite as impossible as to separate heat and light from fire. Beware, therefore, of your own false notions and of the idle talkers who imagine themselves wise enough to make decisions about faith and good works, and yet are the greatest fools. Pray God that he may work faith in you. Otherwise you will surely remain forever without faith, regardless of what you may think or do.”1

Footnotes

1 Martin Luther, “Preface to the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans,” in Luther’s Works, vol. 35, Word and Sacrament I, ed. E. Theodore Bachmann (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1960), 365-380, at 370-371.

When many people hear the word “prophetic,” their minds immediately conjure up an image of some sage describing in exact detail events which are to happen in the future. Although the prophets in Scripture certainly could forecast events yet to come, the prophet was first and foremost a “forthteller.” The prophet spoke on behalf of God.

Throughout the Old Testament, men of God called His people to repentance and the nations to act justly. Whether it was Nathan confronting David with the truth of adultery, murder, and theft, or Jeremiah detailing the sins of Judah that inevitably led to exile, the Old Testament recounts the lives of many prophets whose voices rose above the sins of God’s people and the depravity of the nations to communicate clearly the word of God.

In the New Testament, Christ in His office as Prophet was the model for the apostles who likewise called the Church to obedient living and made clear to the ruling authorities that the Church “must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). In this spirit, and without fear, Paul preached “righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment” (Acts 24:25) to the Judean governor Felix and his wife Drusilla, even as he also instructed the Christians in Rome to respect civil government by regarding Caesar as the very “servant of God” (Rom. 13:4). Pointed, timely, and courageous application was in this sense “prophetic.”

Similarly, faithful gospel ministers throughout Church history considered it their God-ordained responsibility to speak the truth to power in the times in which they lived. Figures such as Augustine, Chrysostom, and Jerome refused to shrink from forthrightly addressing the great moral issues of their day. Less well-known pastors like Jean-Baptiste Massillon, who personally confronted the decadence of King Louis XIV, made certain the word of God received a hearing in the public square.

Today, both the Church and the nations await a new generation of courageous church leaders who are willing to take their place alongside the giants of the past through such prophetic preaching. If revival is to come and cultural idols are to be broken, it will require the proclamation of the whole counsel of God not only to the people of God, but to the rulers and authorities of this present age.

Venturing into this New Year, I and my colleagues at College Church possess a yearning to help the church pursue the Mission of God (the Missio Dei). Please let me explain.

Pastors and church leaders have a dual responsibility; with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, they must work hard to be good interpreters of both the Scriptures and the culture. Showing Christians how to apply the Bible to life should occupy much of the pastor’s time, both in and out of the pulpit. Far from being silent, biblically literate Christians will be culturally engaged Christians convinced that the Bible addresses all aspects of life.

Those who are called to the ministry of the Word are often pilloried in the media and popular culture. Faithful ministers who act on biblical convictions are viewed as buffoons and bigots. While, with Paul, they are sometimes rightly counted fools for Christ’s sake, the bias of the culture against biblical religion makes it even more important for pastors to maintain a good reputation both inside and outside the Church. Integrity and fidelity must be guarded.

In light of these challenges, cultural engagement is a daunting but necessary task. Biblical Christianity is truly revolutionary. Some aspects of the culture must be challenged by the Church. Other aspects must be transformed. Still others should be embraced and celebrated. Understanding, teaching, and modeling the appropriate posture toward the culture is just as much a part of serving the burden of gospel ministry in the 21st century as it was in the first century.