Concerning Monastic Vows – part 20
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: 2 Corinthians 4:3–4
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Click for a recording of today's lesson.
From the Confessions: The Defense of the Augsburg Confession
Besides, they dishonor Christ when they say that men merit eternal life through monasticism. God has not even conferred his law the honor that of meriting eternal life. He clearly says so in Ezekiel 20:25. “Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not have life.”
Pulling It Together: Those who who do not believe in salvation for Christ’s sake, in other words, because of what God has done through his Son, are not only blind and witless, they have refused grace. When they trust in their own deeds instead of the great divine deed, they have renounced God’s blessing. Placing any merit in your own actions is apostasy. Salvation is completely in the hands of God, spread and nailed to a beam, folded over the chest in the grave, risen in victory toward heaven. Believe in that; believe in him. Then your good works (Ephesians 2:10) will follow your faith, but your faith will not be in your works, but his alone.
Prayer: Open the eyes of my heart and mind, Lord, to see and believe the gospel. Amen
Share this post
Author
Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
Click Here For Content Archives