Glorifying God with Our Lives

The text below is taken from the book Why Reform Still Matters ?, by Michael Reeves and Tim Chester, a future version of Editora Fiel. What difference does God make on Monday morning?

Soli Deo glory, “the glory of God alone”, was one of the main statements of the Thought of the Reformation. The Reformation emphasized that all the achievements of salvation were far from human value, putting everything at God’s feet. No one could say, “I received eternal life because I have a good life, or I am a consecrated religious, or my reason is very intelligent. “All glory belongs only to God. In this, reformers reflect Paul’s thought in 1 Corinthians 1:28-31:

God chose the humble things of the world.
Those that are despised and those that are not.
To destroy those who are; so that no one can boast in the presence of God.

But you are his, in Jesus Christ, who made us God wisdom, justice, sanctification, and redemption, that, as it is written: He who stirs, glorifies himself in the Lord.

But soli Deo Gloria has also become the quintessence of a reformed lifestyle. Daily life has become the context in which we glorify God. Such an emphasis on daily life came from the rediscovery of biblical reformers, as they reflect biblical Christianity. of his rediscovery of justification by faith.

Mass ended up being seen as a sacrifice, the renewal of the act of atonement on Calvary that secured God’s blessing, so the more it was achieved, the more satisfied God was. It did not even need the presence of the congregation, mass could be said several times, mechanically, this practice reinforces the idea that the essence of Christianity is far from everyday life, and that leads to a divided world: the spiritual one. and the secular.

Where does the activity of value to God take place?If we are justified by infusions of?Grace?administered through the sacraments, as the Catholic Church suggests, the church activities that matter are sacramental. Or, if we want to achieve union with Christ through mysticism and contemplation, it is important activities that take place in the monastery. If you want to know God, you have to become a monk. If a person is ready to serve God, he must become a priest, nun, or monk.

Luther’s rediscovery of justification by faith eliminated the impetus for such activities. God did not demand religious duties as a form of payment for salvation. If justification is based on faith, the orientation and nature of religious activities change radically. Luther discusses in detail the nature of good works in his treatise Christian Freedom, begins with justification. We are saved only by faith, not partly by faith and part by works. Any claim that his works contribute to salvation denies the effectiveness of faith. Without faith in Christ, is there no connection to the works?What Luther means is that if it is not possible to have faith that only Christ saves, nothing else can benefit us.

This raises the question: why are so many works prescribed in the scriptures?A good answer is that the commandments in the scriptures reveal our inability to keep them. Through them, man is “really humiliated and reduced to nothing in his own eyes. “Its purpose is to bring us to the promises of the scriptures, which drive us into the arms of Christ.

So can we neglect good deeds? Paul’s answer to this question in Romans 6. 1-2 is: “Not at all!?Luther’s answer is similar: “I answer: this is not the case, O wicked, is it?And he explains:

Although, as I said, a man is abundant and sufficiently justified by the inner faith in his mind, and therefore has all that he needs, except that this faith and these riches must grow day by day to the afterlife; however, he remains in his mortal life on earth. In this life, you must control your own body and deal with men. This is where the work begins; here man cannot enjoy leisure; here you must certainly discipline your body through fasts, vigils, jobs, and other reasonable disciplines, and submit to the Spirit, the inner man, as is the nature of the body that must be done if it is not prevented. by faith, it was created in the image of God, it is joyful and happy for Christ, in whom so many blessings have been bestowed upon him; and, therefore, his only occupation is to serve God with joy and without thinking of profit, for a love that is not limited.

Here’s what Luther says: First, even though we don’t have to control our bodies to get to heaven, we must live “this mortal life on earth. ” Spiritual disciplines are important to ensure that our outer life adjusts to our new inner state, so that our bodies “obey and conform to the inner man and faith. ” The extent to which it does so, as well as the situations in which each of us must fast and work, vary from person to person, because our goal is to control the lust of the flesh; Such self-discipline is not an end in itself, but a means of self-control; However, those who claim to be justified by works do not consider the mortification of lusts, but only the works themselves. Do you think that if they had succeeded in making as many and as great works as possible, they would have done well and would they have become virtuous?

Second, although we do not have to control our bodies to reach heaven, it is our joy, because of the blessings bestowed upon us by Christ, that we now desire to “serve God with joy”. Before, we served God because we thought it would lead us to salvation, it was an egocentric service. Now we serve with “unrestricted love”.

Luther then offers a variety of analogies to illustrate his point of view:

We are like Adam and Eve before the Fall, who worked freely to please God, not to obtain justice, which they already had in their entirety.

We are like a bishop who does his duty because he is a bishop, not to become a bishop.

We are like a tree that bears good fruit because it is a good tree, not to become a good tree.

We’re like a well-built house. A good house is not what makes a good builder; he’s the right builder who builds a good house. Our work is of no use to us; once we are satisfied with faith, we produce good works.

As we free ourselves from the need to do good works for our own salvation, the gospel frees us to do good to others:

The man [?] He doesn’t need these things for his justice and salvation. Therefore, he must be guided in all his works by this thought, and contemplate only this thought: that he may serve the benefit of others in all that he does, without considering anything but the need and benefit of his neighbor.

Instead of doing good for God, we have this good of God, but this good that comes from God has to sink into others, Christ has identified with us so that, from Christ, all good things may flow and flow in us. Similarly, we must identify with others so that good things “flow over those who need them. “

The Catholic Church believed that a person did good deeds to save himself; good works have been done for God in order to obtain his approval; But Luther rejected the idea that good works were done for God; After all, God does not need our good. The good works done for God, which take us out of the world (spiritual exercises, monastic life, vows of celibacy and poverty), do not come from the fact that he needs them, but our good works are done by our neighbors, so that the gospel returns us to the world to serve in the love of others.

We therefore conclude that the Christian does not live for himself, but in Christ and for his neighbour; otherwise, he’s not a Christian. Live in Christ by faith, in your neighbor for love; by faith, he is led beyond himself, toward God; for love, descends below himself, towards others.

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