Justification: The Dynamics of Sin and Grace

Veith, Gene Edward, Jr. The Spirituality of the Cross St. Louis: Concordia, 2010.

In the revised and updated 2010 edition you can enjoy a summary of Christian doctrine in a warm, kind, and reasoned discussion, taking only 208 pages of easy to read type. The six chapters and few appendices lend themselves to reasoned and charitable discussion of Jesus and his work for us. We’re planning to use this book in the near future as the spine for an adult class.

Chapter 1 “Justification: The Dynamics of Sin and Grace”

Veith categorizes man’s search for meaning into three areas (following Adolph Koeberle): moralism, speculation, and mysticism. Through those means our basic hope seems to be to ascend to God, showing ourselves valuable, or demonstrating our goodness. On the contrary, Lutherans assert that we are imperfect. We will have to admit that and realize that no amount of our own moral wrangling, no intelligent planning on our part, and no special secret hidden knowledge and understanding will change the fact that we are imperfect. He spends a good deal of this chapter discussing the downfall of moralism, speculation, and mysticism, showing why each one ultimately fails us in our quest. In the Bible God has made such demands for perfection that our moral attempts will always fall short. The more we learn about our world the more we realize that we finally are unable to understand it all. Mysticism then is our only hope and we realize quite quickly that it is limited to our own capacity and also falls short of God. We are left then looking at the curse on Adam, God’s just demands upon us, and what God does through his grace. Salvation cannot be of ourselves. It must be of someone else.

This view of moralism, speculation and mysticism gives rise to some interesting patterns. Veith cites Romans 3:10-11 as denying the effectiveness of each in order. He also observes that in John 14:6 Jesus presents himself as the solution to each.

Veith wraps up the chapter talking about some of the distinctives of how Lutherans look at faith and salvation. He points out that unlike much of Protestantism, Lutherans would affirm that salvation is purchased and delivered by Jesus through means of grace and that it is realized by faith. Our faith does not save us. It is the means by which we realize that Jesus has already saved us. It is simply dependence on Jesus’ death on our behalf. In a very brief way, Veith says, we revisit that salvation in the divine service on Sunday as our forgiveness is proclaimed over us by the pastor, as we then turn to God in repentance and ask for forgiveness, and the Word of God is given to us, granting us forgiveness and life which we continue to receive by faith.

Study Questions:
1) Why are poles of Law and Gospel, sin and grace, etc. important in a Christian view of life?
2) What are some of the important “poles” of life?
3) Why is it so important to think of God’s work alone in salvation?
4) How will God keep us in the Christian faith?
5) Do you think most people would agree with this view of life and salvation? Why or why not?