Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Simul iustus et peccator.
As Christians we are a paradox. We are at one and the same time simul iustus et peccator (saint and sinner). Paul wrote of this seeming contradiction in Romans 7: "I see in my members another another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with the flesh I serve the law of Sin." (Romans 7:23-25) Simply stated, as Christians, we are made righteous through belief in Christ, whose righteousness covers us and is imputed to us, but we are sinners because we fall far short of God's law due to our sinful nature. As such, we Christians need to confess that we are, as the traditional Lutheran confession states, "poor miserable sinners." This confession, however dreary, is accurate and appropriate. However, we must not forget to rejoice in the forgiving love of Christ, who removes our guilt and sin, as announced and imparted in the absolution.
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2 comments:
Ah, I love paradox! I've been binging (wow that looks funny) on G.K. Chesterton as of late, and this is right up his alley. I also like C.S. Lewis's analogy: Our own faces cannot see God, but Christ has given His elect a new face: His own. It is His face alone that can communicate fully with God. This is the paradox, this is the great mystery. We are miserable, and indeed, that is what makes the paradox so very wonderful.
I like that "poor, miserable sinners." I mean, I don't like it, but it's the truth. Speaking of liturgies, I don't know if you guys say this in the Lutheran confession, but what really stabs me Sunday after Sunday is when we say "We confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone." Ouch. First of all, the thought, word, and deed part makes me realize what a poor, miserable sinner I am. And then if that wasn't bad enough, it's not just about the things that I have done, but the things that I have not done? That one humbles me weekly.
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