Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
AS LUTHER TAUGHT: THE APOSTLES' CREED
The Ten Commandments show us our sin. This is Law. The Apostles' Creed shows us our Savior. This is Gospel. The Creed talks about what God's Son did to save us from hell. He became human. He kept the Law perfectly. He offered Himself to suffer our hell, thus taking our punishment away forever.
The Apostles' Creed also echoes the Bible's teaching that God is "three-in-one". Though there is only one God, God has three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is said to be our Creator, the Son our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit our Sanctifier.
Sanctification in the wide sense is everything the Holy Spirit does to bring a sinner to faith and keep that sinner trusting in Christ for forgiveness. Sanctification in the narrow sense is everything the Holy Spirit does to create fruits of faith in the life of a Christian. "Fruits of faith" are good words and actions that match God's will.
First, the Holy Spirit brings a sinner to faith through the Gospel. At this point, the sinner is safe. If he dies, he will go to be with God in heaven -- solely because of what Christ has done in his place. This is sanctification in the wide sense.
After saving faith is created, then the Holy Spirit proceeds to change us within, producing good words, actions, and attitudes to replace our old sinful ones. This is sanctification in the narrow sense.
Some churches teach that good works get us to heaven. But that's not what the Bible teaches. Good works are simply the outward indications that an inner faith in the Savior exists. A car's exhaust doesn't get it from point A to point B, it only shows that the engine is running. In the same way, good works don't get us to heaven, they just show that there is faith in Jesus inside our hearts.
