Luther on Virtual Or Real Good Works
By Rev. Jack Cascione

 

Have you done any good works lately? When you do them is God working through you or are you the one who is doing them? Did you motivate your own good works or did God? What about good intentions, or virtual good works, are they real good works? Can we motivate ourselves to do good works?

Back in the 1518, before there was computer generated virtual reality, Luther was writing about the difference between virtual works and real works.

Luther addresses the subject of who is doing the good works by examining our motivation for every kind of good work whether it is prayer, donations of time and money, to volunteering to sing in the choir and etc. Luther writes in his Commentary on Romans chapter 14:

"Therefore examine yourself when you pray, when you make a sacrifice, when you enter the choir or do anything else whether you would do the same thing if you had your liberty, and then discover who you are in the eyes of God. For if you would not do it, if you would rather be free and without restraint, then you are doing nothing, because you are a servant and a hireling. However, there are some who know this and set themselves down in some corner and say: 'I will arouse in myself a good intention and a will if this is necessary.' Meanwhile the devil laughs and replies to him: 'Preen your fur, little kitten, we are going to have company,' then he gets up, goes to the choir, and prays and says: 'Little owl, how beautiful you are! Where did you get the peacock feathers?' If I did not know (according to the fable) that you were an ass, I would believe that you were a lion, such is your roar; but put on your lion's skin, your ears will cause you to be recognized. Then the tedium begins, he counts the pages and the verses, wondering if the prayer is almost finished, and comforting himself he says: 'Scotus proved that a virtual intention suffices and an actual intent is not required.' Then the devil says to him: "Well said, you are right, be secure."

Luther continues, "O God, what a laughing stock we are for our enemies! A good intention is not so easy as that, nor (good God!) is it given into your power, O man, to arouse it in yourself, as Scotus and his school teach and learn to our harm. For in our time this presumptuousness is most pernicious, that we can form good intentions of ourselves, as if we were sufficient of ourselves to think up anything, in direct opposition to the express statement of the apostle. Hence we snore on in our smugness, relying on our free will that we have at hand whenever we wish the power to make a pious intention. Why then does the apostle pray: "May the Lord direct your hearts and bodies" (2Thess. 3:5)? And why does the church pray: "May our words be spoken and our thoughts and works directed always to doing Thy righteousness." [A prayer for Prime in the Roman Breviary.] But these ideas are the snares of the unrighteous, of which we read in Ps. 5:9: "Their heart is a snare," and in Prov. 11:6: "The unrighteous shall be caught in their own snares."

"Not so, you unrighteous men, not so! But it is necessary that you prostrate yourself in your chamber and pray to God with all your strength that He give to you also the intention which you have presumed to arouse in yourself. You cannot walk in a security which has been produced of and by yourself, but rather in one which has been sought and looked for from His mercy."

Luther says the whole notion of doing something for God by our own motivation is Pelagian. (Pelagius was a 4th Century false teacher who said people get to heaven by good works.) The Pelagians had no fear that they needed God's grace to please Him with their good works. Luther says part of their confusion was that they didn't understand that God allows the ungodly to sin even when they do their so-called "good works". Yet Job says, "I feared all my works." Job 9:28; and again, another says: "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord always" Prov. 28:14. The Christian always knows that he can't do anything without the grace of God. On the other hand, foolish Christians think their good intentions, and by their own estimation what they believe are their good works, are proof of God's grace. But the truth is the proof of God's saving grace is only the cross of Christ and not what we do.

Luther writes: "And this is the reason why the apostle Peter also commands: 'Fear God' (1Peter 2:17), and Paul says: 'Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men ' (2cor. 5:11), and again: 'Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling' (Phil. 2:12). And in Ps. 2:11 we read: 'Serve the Lord with fear and with trembling rejoice unto Him.' Now how can one fear God or his own works unless he regards these things as evil or suspect? For fear comes from evil. Thus the saints are concerned about constantly imploring the grace of God. They do not place their trust in their good intention or their general diligence, but they are always still afraid that they are doing something wrong. And humbled by this fear, they seek and sigh, and by this humility they cause God to be favorable toward them. [Luther is speaking about fruit of the spirit at this point not justification.] And thus the most pestilent class of preachers today is that group which preaches about the signs of present grace, so that it makes men secure, when in fact the very best sign of grace is that we fear and tremble, and the surest sign of God's wrath is to be smug and self-confident. And yet everyone pants for this with marvelous ardor. For in this way grace is found through fear, and through grace a man is made willing for good works, and without grace he is unwilling. And yet through this unwillingness (if I may say so) he is fearless, strong, and secure, because he accomplishes outwardly the works which are good in his own eyes and in the eyes of men." LW25:494, 498"

Luther's conclusion is that Christians should always be fearful and tremble that they have not done the proper good works. It is those who think they are doing a good job who are in danger of losing their salvation. It is almost like those who are afraid that they have committed the unforgivable sin. If they are afraid, that is a sure sign that they didn't commit it but if they are not afraid they will never be concerned about being associated with the church.

So, what should I do? Whatever good works we do, we know that all our works are tainted by sin. Don't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. In other words, don't even think about keeping count. Every remembrance of our good works is another reason to repent. God won't lose count. If the work was good, it was God who gave me the grace to do it. In every circumstance, without God we cannot do anything. So, I try to put off from myself any thought of personal accomplishment in the service of Christ and pray that God helps me to serve my neighbor.

Good works are a mirror of justification. If I am faithless it is my fault. If I believe it is God's gift. So in sanctification or good works, when I sin, it is my fault. When I accomplished a good work in God's eyes, it was the grace of God that allowed me to serve. All our service is only the power of the cross in our lives. We are to keep our focus on the cross and Christ is the one who looks back at us and determines if He sees faithful or unfaithful servants.

These words tell me it is time to repent.


Rev. Jack Cascione is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church (LCMS - MI) in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. He has written numerous articles for Christian News and is the author of Reclaiming the Gospel in the LCMS: How to Keep Your Congregation Lutheran. He has also written a study on the Book of Revelation called In Search of the Biblical Order.
He can be reached by email at pastorcascione@juno.com.

February 9, 2001