(Cross-posted from reviovine.com)

This afternoon, I met with someone to discuss some of his spiritual problems. As a former Roman Catholic now embarking on a Lutheran journey, this gentleman had a number of concerns about the central theology of the church, namely justification by faith alone in Jesus Christ. He, as someone raised within the Catholic Church, is having problems understanding why we leave out THE primary factor of the life of a Catholic – living lives according to God in love.

For people outside of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (sadly, I am finding that many “Lutherans” out there don’t accept this blessed understanding of the theology behind justification), it is spiritually troubling to understand fully that God does the justifying solely and we have no part in the justifying act. It is done by God by His grace, mercy, and love. Our Lord Jesus Christ does the work of redeeming humanity from sin; nothing we can do can accomplish even the tiniest bit of what our Lord did. In a love we’ll never understanding as long as we walk on this earth, God the Father gave over His Son to His enemies to suffer and die for us, to take our place of punishment for our sins for us. But first He fulfilled the Law by living His blessed, holy, and innocent life.

To us sinners, God imparts the victory that Christ won at the cross to us not because we’re all nice people and listen to Him all the time. He does so because He loves us and showers us with His mercy and grace. He gives us faith to believe in His Son and to believe wholeheartedly that what He did was enough to pay for our sins. As Saint John reminds us, God loved us so much that He did it all to save us and to bring us to Him for all eternity.

Now, to believe as we Lutherans do about justification doesn’t mean we should act like thugs and live lives as wanton sinners. We struggle to be better than that. We fight those internal and worldly external urges that push us to break the Law of God, acts that bring a smile to the devil every time. We know of our sinfulness and plead with God not to look upon our failures. In repentance we come before God and our loving Father forgives us our sins, reminding us how much we mean to Him.

And in forgiveness, He forgives forever.

So, this afternoon as I explained this very important theological point in as basic a way as possible, he said to me:

“But I still have to show love to my neighbors, right?”

I have found that Lutheranism scares people – it really isn’t for wimps. We espouse the greatness of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, not the power of the individual over sin. If we had any real power over sin, we’d be like Christ. And if you can find anyone who is like Christ in this world … well, you can’t so don’t try looking.