Luther on Sanctification

 

 Luther on Sanctification

 Prof. Dr. Hong-Yul Chung

I. Introduction

II. The Relationship between Justification and Sanctification

 1. Luther's Emphasis on Justification

 2. Significance of Sanctification in Luther's Soteriology

 3. Justification and Sanctification in Eschatological Fulfillment

III. Sanctification by the Works of the Holy Spirit

 1. Sanctification through the Word of God

 2. Sanctification through the Forgiveness of the Sin

IV. Sanctification as the Response of the Justified Sinner

 1. Sanctitas passiva

 2. Faith and Sanctification

 3. Works and Sanctification

V. Conclusion

Introduction

 Articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae The article of faith by which the church stands or falls. This terminology comes from the Lutheran orthodox theologian Valentin Ernst Löscher who mentioned this theological term first in his book "Timotheus Verinus"(1712) .

expresses the importance of the doctrine of justification by faith, that it belongs to the heart of the Lutheran Church. This article originated from the reformer Martin Luther and he has organized the whole Christian doctrine upon it.

 It was the crucial question for Luther; how can the unrighteous be justified before God. Luther found the answer to this question from the Bible, that is "The righteous will live by faith"(Rom. 1:17). The reformation is often portrayed as a rediscovery of the Bible, particularly of the Pauline corpus. From this biblical proclamation Luther tried to recover the pure doctrine of salvation as over against Roman Catholic meritism. Luther's doctrine of justification emphasized the sufficiency of God's grace and man's faith, however it tended to neglect the human responsibility from the human side. For this reason, Roman Catholic Church criticised Luther's doctrine of justification by faith alone as quietism.

 For a better understanding of the Protestant doctrine of salvation, the reformers turned their sights to the doctrine of sanctification. Melanchton's proposal of the third use of the law and Calvin's doctrine of sanctification belong together as the response from Protestant theology to the criticism from the Roman Catholic Church.

 Our question is, how Luther himself solved this problem. Luther stressed the doctrine of justification, it is true, nevertheless it does not mean that he had no idea of sanctification. According to Bayer, there is no theologian who emphasized sanctification like Luther regarding personal responsibility and obligation. However, it takes a position after the Word of God. Oswald Bayer, Aus Glauben leben, (Stuttgart, Calwer Verlag, 1990), 65.

For Luther sanctification can not be separated from justification. What Luther says about justification is nothing other than that of sanctification. In this sense he did not mention as much about sanctification as justification. When Luther talked about sanctification, it means that he emphasized justification from the theological system. Ibid., 66.

 Therefore, Luther's doctrine of sanctification takes a secondary position in comparision with the doctrine of justification in most theological judgement. However, Luther developed his doctrine of sanctification, in regards to the work of the Holy Spirit in some of his works. Now we focus on these works, as to how he understood the relationship between justification and sanctification and the significance of the doctrine of sanctification.

II. The Relationship between Justification and Sanctification

 In the Pauline corpus, Paul sometimes uses sanctification in terms of justification. For example, when he addresses the Christians in Corinth, he writes "those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy"(I Corinthians 1, 2). In this case, "sanctified" implies the same meaning as "justification". Paul does not distinguish sanctification from justification.

 In the same manner, Luther does not develop the doctrine of sanctification apart from the doctrine of justification, for he understands the doctrine of sanctification from the doctrine of justification. Therefore, if somebody wants to know his doctrine of sanctification, he must begin with his doctrine of justification. From this reason, we begin with his doctrine of justification and then later we will turn to his doctrine of sanctification. Among Luther's many works "Von den Konzil und Kirche"(On the Council and the Churches 1539) deals with especially the relationship between justification and sanctification. We will focus on this work and some other works which relate to this subject, for example his small catechism, The freedom of a Christian(1520) and commentary on Galathians(1535) and so on.

1. Luther's Emphasis on Justification

 Luther's crucial question can be summarised in the following three sentences:

-How can we stand before God?

-How will God handle us?

-What may we hope from God?

 The doctrine of justification goes together with these questions. Justification by faith alone, without works of the law is the heart of the Reformation. The reformer understands justification as the action of God who gives his righteousness to men.

 On 26 August 1533 Luther interpreted a verse in Psalm, "But with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are feared"(Psalm 130;4) as the highlight of Christian doctrine and as the sun which lightens the holy divine church. Because the church stands, so long as this article stands, and the church falls, if this article falls. WA 40 III, 352, 1-3.

For Luther the forgiveness of sin is the entrance to Christianity and the core of the gospel. Thus, he sees the justifying God in this forgiveness of sin. Three years later, in December 1536, when Luther wrote the so called "Schmalkalischen Artikel"(Smalcald Articles 1537), he says "Neither work nor law nor merit, it is clear and sure that this faith alone makes us holy." BSLK 415, 14.

 Lutheran theology describes the doctrine of justification as the material principle, whereas the Bible is the formal principle. In this sense, Eduard Böhl introduces Luther's doctrine of justification as the Protestant cardinal dogma. Eduard Böhl, Von der Rechtfertigung durch den Glauben, Leipzig, 1890.

 Luther asserts in his commentary on Psalm 51, that "the only object of theology is the sinnful man and the justifying God, or the redemption of this sinner. Any theological argument except these lead to error and poison for theology." WA 40 II, 328, 20.

For Luther the doctrine of justification is not just a theory but the hermeneutical principle which includes the total relationship between man and God who loves and forgives the sinner with his abundant love and mercy.

 Thus, the doctrine of justification does not exist for itself. For Luther it is clear that without the doctrine of the Trinity and Christology the doctrine of justification becomes meaningless. The doctrine of justification reveals the judging and redeeming action of God and it guides us the theological dialogues, thus it reveals who God is, what God has done, what God has promised, for whom we are waiting. Without answers to these questions, the doctrine of justification becomes unconceivable. Gerhard Sauter, "Rechtfertigung - eine anvertraute Botschaft", EvTh., 1999, 45.

It is clear that the doctrine of justification is related to the all crucial theological subjects.

2. Significance of Sanctification in Luther's Soteriology

 Throughout the whole of Luther's works, there is no other work like on the Councils and the Churches" which speaks explicitly about sanctification from the view of the work of the Holy Spirit.

 Luther says:

 Christian holiness, or the holiness of universal Christendom is that which comes when the Holy Spirit gives people faith in Christ, according to Acts XV, that is, He makes heart, soul, body, works and manner of life new and writes God's commandments, not on tables of stone, but on hearts of flesh according to II Corinthians iii. To speak plainly, according to the first table He gives knowledge of God, so that those whom He enlightens can resist all heresies, in true faith, and overcome all false ideas and errors, and thus remain pure in faith against the devil. . . . Thus he also gives true fear and love of God, so that we do not despise God and murmur or grow angry at His marvellous judgements, but love, praise, thank, and honor Him for all that happens. This is a new, holy life in the soul according to the First Table of Moses. It is called tres virtutes theologicas, "the three chief virtues of Christians," faith, hope and love; and the Holy Spirit, who gives them and does and work these things for Christians whom Christ has won, is therefore called Sanctificator, or Vivificator. . . .

 In the Second table, and in the body, He also sanctifies Christians and it is of His gift that they willingly obey parents and overlords, conduct themselves peacefully and humbly, are not wrathful or revengeful or malicious, not lewd, adulterers, unchaste, but pure and chaste, whether they have wives and children or not; and so forth. They do not steal or take usury, are not avaricious, do not cheat, etc., but work honorably, support themselves honestly, lend gladly, give and help whenever they can. Therefore, they do not lie, deceive, back-bite, but are kind, truthful, faithful, and reliable, and whatever else God's commandments require. This is done by the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies and awakens even the body to this new life, until it is completed in the life beyond. That is Christian holiness. WA 50, 629, 2. (On the Councils and the Churches III).

 This passage actually introduces the whole understanding of Luther's doctrine of sanctification. It is evident that the Holy Spirit enlightens and guides us to live according to the Law of God. The Holy Spirit is here introduced as the one who makes us holy. Moreover, as we have seen above, what is meant by sanctification might just as well be described by the theological term regeneration. Thus, the Holy Spirit sanctifies the unholy by His action, so that He gives them His own holiness and fulfills their redemption.

3. Justification and Sanctification in Eschatological Fulfillment

 Luther's famous anthropological terminology "simul iustus et peccator" is defined to mean that we are sinners in reality(in re) but we will be righteous in the future(in spe). For this reason, Karl Holl thinks that Luther's doctrine of justification may be interpreted as a progressive reale Gerechtmachung (making righteous). Holl illustrated this concept with reference to the analogy of a sculptor and his vision of the final product which motivates and guides him as he begins to work on a block of crude marble; similarly, God's present justification of the sinner is based upon his anticipation of his final sanctification, in that man's present justification takes place on the basis of his foreseen future righteousness. Holl's exposition of the dialectic between the sinner's state in re and in spe does indeed correspond closely to the sanative concept of justification, frequently employed by Luther in the 1515-16 Roman's lectures. Alister McGrath, Iustitia Dei, (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000), 198.

 Justification is thus a 'sort of beginning of God's creation', by which the Christian waits in hope for the consummation of his righteousness. Like a sick man under the care of a doctor, who is ill (in re) yet healthy (in spe), the Christian waits in hope the final resolution of the dialectic between righteousness and sin. Justification is regarded as a healing process. Ibid., 200.

Thus, for Luther justification does not belong to status quo, but to a progressive activity. If Luther understands justification like this, then his doctrine of justification is not far from that of sanctification. It is in sanctification that the Christian life is described as a sanative process. Thus, it becomes clear that Luther does not make a distinction between justification and sanctification.

 The Holy Spirit as sanctificator and vivificator makes us in our heart, from our center, totally holy and new through the continuous forgiveness of our sin. In this sense, Luther describes the state of a Christian as a mortificatio carnis et vivificatio spiritus. If we are growing in Christ, than our old man(vetus homo) dies day by day, but on the contrary our new man(novus homo) lives day by day. At last, the new man wins over the old man, which it is the growth of our faith. Axel Gyllenkrok, Rechtfertigung und Heiligung, (Uppsala, Uppsala Univ., 1952), 102-103.

The end of the work of the Holy Spirit is our resurrection and eternal life.

III. Sanctification by the Work of the Holy Spirit

 Luther's starting point in his doctrine of sanctification is that Holy Spirit makes us holy. Luther thus gives his attention to the name of Christian in the New Testament as those who are called to be holy. Sanctification comes from this main role of the Holy Spirit. This consideration is very decisive for Luther's doctrine of sanctification. Generally speaking, people understand what God does for us is justification, while on the other hand what man does for God, is sanctification. Therefore, sanctification follows after God's justifying work for man. For this reason, many theologians see human responsibility and response as sanctification. It was William of Ockham who emphasized the merit of man in his salvation. Although he did not recognize the theological foundation upon which man's acts might be considered as capable of meriting grace or eternal life, his theology of merit allows him to take a favourable view of man's moral capacities. Alister McGrath, Iustitia Dei, 116.

 On the contrary, Luther sees sanctification primarily not from the human side, but from the divine side. Sanctification is nothing other than God's work that He does in man.

 John Riches describes the relationship of Luther's justification and sanctification as follows:

He understands the righteousness of God as the active power of God who makes the sinner righteous and free, and sanctification is here understood as the work of union which means not only exchange between Christ's righteousness and the sin of believers but also permission of his victory against sin and condemnation. John Riches, "Heiligung" TRE XIV, (Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 1985), 725.

1. Sanctification through the Word of God.

 In 1539, "Von den Konzil und Kirchen"(On the councils and the churches), in which Luther deals with the doctrine of sanctification, he raises the question from the view of the work of the Holy Spirit, what is the Christian church. The Holy Spirit works in both tables of the law, by which he makes the whole man vital and holy. The representative mark of the church is holy, because the Holy Spirit makes his people holy by virtue of the both tables of the law, that is called to be sanctification. Although we confess the church as a holy congregation, our emphasis does not lie on the human side but on the divine attribute. If we are called to be holy, it is because God himself is holy. What God speaks, what God makes, what God does, all these are holy. Therein God shares his holiness with his people.

 The most important reason, why we are called to be holy, lies in the Holy Word of God. Luther says, "this is the masterpiece and the most holy place, from where the Christians are to be holy. Since God's Word is holy and it makes all holy, that he touches." WA 50, 629, 20.

This holy making Word of God is primarily the spoken word of God.

The word of God is holy and it makes all holy.

 Luther clarifies in a treatise the relation of the Word of God, faith and sanctification. In this passage sanctification appears in terms of pleasing God and giving the highest honor to Him.

Now, as we plainly see, God deals with us in no other way than by His holy Word and the sacraments, which are like signs or seals of His Word. The very first thing necessary, then, is faith in these words and signs; for when God speaks and gives signs man must firmly and whole-heartedly believe that what He says and signifies is true, so that we do not consider Him a liar or trickster, but hold Him to be faithful and true. This faith pleases God above all things, and does Him the highest honor, because it believes Him to be true, and a righteous God. Therefore He, in turn, counts this faith to us as righteousness good and sufficient unto salvation( from An Argument in Defense of All the Articles of Dr. Martin Luther Wrongly Condemned in the Roman Bull). Hugh T. Kerr, A Compend of Luther's Theology, (The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1966), 99.

 Consequently, the Word of God makes us holy and brings us faith by which we please and honor God. It is nothing other than sanctification.

2. Sanctification through the forgiveness of sins.

 The most important way, by which we are sanctified, is the forgiveness of sins. Without remission of sins, we can not be to be called holy. It is the Holy Spirit who makes us holy by the daily forgiveness of sins.

 In his "table talk," Luther distinguishes the true church from the false church. The true church teaches the forgiveness of sin without our works, whereas the false church teaches the forgiveness of sin by our own works. WA (Tischreden) 5996.

By virtue of this forgiveness of sins, we are called to be holy.

 Moreover, in his small catechism Luther recognized the forgiveness of sins as the main work of the Holy Spirit.

But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church he daily and abundantly forgives all my sins, and the sins of all believers. BSLK, 512.

 As we have seen above, Luther holds that the Holy Spirit sanctifies us and forgives our sins through the Word of God.

IV. Sanctification as the Response of the Justified Sinner.

 Sanctification means not only that God works in us, but also we work for God. Unquestionably, for Luther, the priority lies on the divine side. Human response does not make man holy. In all cases, God alone makes us holy, however, while God makes us holy, we respond in the form of our works. Although these works do not make us holy and righteous, but they are still a necessity.

 Luther describes the life of the justified sinner as follows:

He(Christian) ought to think: "Although I am a unworthy and condemned man, my God has given me in Christ all the riches of righteousness and salvation without any merit on my part, out of pure, free mercy, so that from now on I need nothing except faith which believes that this is true. Why should I not therefore freely, joyfully, with all my heart, and with an eager will do all things which I know are pleasing and acceptable to such a Father who has overwhelmed me with his inestimable riches? I will therefore give myself as a Christ to my neighbor, just as Christ offered himself to me; I will do nothing in this life except what I see is necessary, profitable, and salutary to my neighbor, since through faith I have an abundance of all good things in Christ."

Behold, from faith thus flow forth love and joy in the Lord, and from love a joyful, willing, and free mind that serves one's neighbor willingly and takes no account of gratitude or ingratitude, of praise or blame, of gain or loss. WA 7, 35-36.

 The Christian life shows us the true response of the justified sinner.

1. Sanctitas passiva (Passive Sanctification)

 In the Galathian Commentary(1531) Luther emphasized the passivity of justification. Here he distinguishes iustitia passiva from iustitia activa.

In his other Galathian commentary(1535), at this time, he speaks of sanctitas activa and sanctitas passiva. We Christian remain as sinners in the continuous saving work of the Holy Spirit.

 The holiness of the church is passive holiness, it does not change into its own active holiness. The church remains still under the continuous redemptive work of the Holy Spirit. WA 40, 70, 14

 Justification and sanctification were given to us only through faith. Justification and sanctification depend on the mercy of God, thus we receive them by faith alone. It is however clear for Luther that faith is given by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Therefore, according to Luther sanctification is a passive process in man.

2. Faith and Sanctification

 The most significant discussion of faith can be found in the 1521 treatise Rationis Latomianae confutatio, in which, on the basis of an exegesis of John 1:17, gratia is identified with favor Dei, and veritas with iustitia seu fides Christi- both of which are given in Christ. For Luther, the grace of God is always something external to man, and an absolute, rather than a partial, quality. Man is either totally under grace or totally under wrath. In contrast to this, faith is seen as internal and partial, in that the man under grace may be partially faithful and partially sinful. Faith is thus seen as the means by which the man under grace may depend and grow in his spiritual life. By arguing that grace and faith are given in Christ, Luther is able to assert at one and the same time that the righteousness of the believer is, and will remain, extrinsic to him. Furthermore, Luther avoids any suggestion that man is justified on account of his faith: justification is propter Christum, and not propter fidem. Alister McGrath, Iustitia Dei, 200-201.

 If faith is seen as a means of justification, in the same manner, it is also seen as a means of sanctification. Thus, for Luther, faith means self-denial. The best way to sanctification lies in the self-denial of the justified sinner.

 If the gospel make us righteous, then faith makes us holy. Luther says in his small catechism, "we are sanctified and maintained in correct faith." BSLK 512, 4. (Bekenntnisschrift der Lutherischen Kirche)

The correct faith distinguishes sanctification by the work of the Holy Spirit from self-sanctification of man. As Luther rightly comments, "our faith in Christ does not free us from works, but from false opinions concerning works, that is, from the foolish presumption that justification is acquired by works." WA 7, 38.

3. Work and Sanctification

 Luther did not mention much about works. He does not accept that human works can contribute to our salvation. In any case, he separates the role of works from the way to salvation. Although he does not separate works from faith, he thinks that human works can not play any role before God.

 In his treatise "de iustificatione"(1536) Luther is opposed to the following argument that our obedience is truly necessary for our salvation, thus obedience is the partial cause for our justification. He confirms that our obedience is not the means by which we are justified, but he accepts that it is still necessary. He distinguishes what is necessary in the Christian life from the cause of salvation. According to him there are many necessary things in this world. Earth is very necessary for our life, however, it does not bring salvation to us. only faith alone give us salvation.

 Nevertheless, he does not ignore the value of works in the Christian life. In his treatise "de fide"(1535) he says, "If our work is not accompanied with our faith, then it is nothing other than dead faith and it is witness that Jesus is not in our heart." Therefore, he confirms that true faith is not lazy.

 Luther says that:

Now it is also needful we testify in our work that we have received the forgiveness of sins, by each forgiving the faults of his brother. There is no comparison between God's remitting of sins and ours. For what are one hundred pence, in comparison with ten thousand pounds? as Christ says, naught. And although we deserve nothing by our forgiving, yet we must forgive that thereby we may prove and give testimony that we from God have received forgiveness of our sins. Hugh T. Kerr, 86-87.

For Luther, the value of our work is not that it is the cause of our salvation, but rather the testimony of thanksgiving to God for our salvation. In this sense, our work is needful for our Christian life.

 The next of Luther's sermon reveals the significance of work in sanctification.

 He says:

God does not want hearers and repeaters of words, but doers and followers who exercise themselves in the faith that works by love. For a faith without love is not enough - rather it is not faith at all, but a counterfeit of faith, just as a face seen in a mirror is not a real face, but merely the reflection of a face. WA X/III, 4.

 In this sermon we see the role of work in Luther's understanding of sanctification. Faith without works is not the true faith, in other words, true faith comes together with works. Faith and works are true witness of the justified and sanctified Christian.

V. Conclusion

 Luther does not deal with the doctrine of sanctification apart from the doctrine of justification. Rather, his doctrine of sanctification belong to doctrine of justification. However, he has his own theological principle, whenever he speaks of sanctification, he thus understands sanctification primarily from the view of the work of the Holy Spirit who makes us holy, but not from the human side. Whereas justification is conceived of as the work of God outside of man(extra nos); sanctification is related to the work of the Holy Spirit inside of man(in nobis). In other words, if we interpret justification as follows, "I will be your God", then sanctification might be interpreted as "Ye shall be my people". The work of the Holy Spirit motivates the response in our heart, thus, works must come together with our faith.

 Luther's doctrine of sanctification has a place in his eschatological tension. His famous theological term "simul iustus et peccator" indicates that we are ongoing in fulfilling our salvation. However, this does not simply mean there is temporally a difference between these two doctrines. For Luther, justification and sanctification are the one simul redemptive act of God. Luther does not argue that justification takes place separately first and then sanctification follows after it in a temporal sense. Nevertheless, Luther puts the primacy on justification from a theological point of view. As Barth says, whereas Calvin must be called the theologian of sanctification, Luther must be called the theologian of justification. Karl Barth, CD IV/2, 509.

 We hold that Luther's doctrine of justification and of sanctification are related as the two sides of a coin, so that a statement of the one amounts to a statement of the other. Justification and sanctification are indissolubly bound up with each other.

 In conclusion regarding sanctification, though Luther does not ignore the response of the justified sinner, his preference lies with the work of the Holy Spirit who makes the unholy holy.