Nov
12
2012
All Of Grace
“The fatuous idea that a person can be holy by himself denies God the pleasure of saving sinners. God must therefore first take the sledge-hammer of the Law in His fists and smash the beast of self-righteousness and its brood of self-confidence, self wisdom, and self-help. When the conscience has been thoroughly frightened by the Law it welcomes the Gospel of grace with its message of a Savior Who came–not to break the bruised reed nor to quench the smoking flax–but to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, and to grant forgiveness of sins to all the captives.”
Martin Luther
12 Comments
since we know that truth does not change and that God’s method of dealing with souls is ever the same, we must be faithful in our wielding of the slaying sword of the Spirit. Thus only can we meet their real need. GOD NEVER RAISED ANY SOUL TO LIFE THROUGH THE GOSPEL WITHOUT FIRST SLAYING HIM WITH THE LAW. With honest skeptics, for such often fall into this class, we should be firm and fearless while we speak the truth in love. Our burden should be: a holy God declares that all are less perfect than He, and therefore sinners; that the wages of sin is eternal death; but
that He has provided a Sin-bearer in Christ who has fully met every demand of divine justice against the sinner. It is the entrance of such a word that gives light. No man has ever been argued into salvation; no man has ever been led to Christ through human wisdom. Only the flat presentation of human need and
Christ’s sufficiency will do it. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
Good stuff!
love this (& amen!).
thx so much for sharing.
oh my goodness, that’s so beautiful and well said…
Yes!
This is a perfect explanation of regeneration.
I just wonder if it is right to hijack Luther’s words for your premise concerning sanctification?
This is a word to the unregenerate and those of us who seek to ‘win souls’ for Christ.
That we might know and understand how the Spirit works in men, to draw them to the Lord.
Amen.
To take this teaching of Luther’s and then apply it to our daily CHRISTIAN walk (as has been done here before) is not what Luther had in mind, I dare say.
As beleivers, loved and redeemed by our Father, it is His desire that we, empowered by His Spirit, might follow the NT imperatives and glorify Him, yes, imperfectly, but in a ‘growing’ way.
Without this growth, there is good chance no seed has taken root, yes?
Just checking…….
Wow, this stuff makes me want to preach the Law.
Great post Tullian!
“Coming out of the fog?”
Really? I’d say the following quote (not mine) applies in your case.
“There’s nothing more dangerous than an isolated individual with a Bible verse.”
Growth?
Are we now in our own “growth” business?
No, “God will complete the good work that He started in us” (that is a quote from St. Paul).
In spite of our help…not because of it.
It’s getting as thick as sea poop.
Thank you Dr. Luther.
And thanks to you Tullian for sharing!
[...] (HT: Tullian Tchividjian) [...]
Beautiful quote, Deb. Thanx for sharing it!
Love,
Donna
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