Pure Receptivity
Via The Righteousness of Faith According to Luther
A Reflection on Psalm 139, by Janet Ayliffe
Therefore, there is only one way to receive new life and that is through faith which is nothing less than pure receptivity; the acceptance of that which God promises in His Word to man. [Luther writes] “No work and no merit brings him the inheritance, but only his birth. Thus he obtains the inheritance in a purely passive, not in an active way; that is, just his being born, not his producing or working or worrying, makes him an heir. He does not do anything toward forgiveness of sins, righteousness, the glory of the resurrection, and eternal life – not actively but passively. Nothing whatever interferes here; faith alone takes hold of the offered promise. Therefore just as in society a son becomes an heir merely by being born, so here faith alone makes men sons of God, born of the Word, which is the divine womb in which we are conceived, carried, born, reared, etc.” The nobility of the Godly-birth is the seal of the child of God and boasting of performance is the sign of slaves. The manner in which a person stands in relationship to his works shows to whose spirit he belongs. Therefore, Luther also says in one of his theses: “when faith exists without every, even the smallest work, it is not justified and is not faith at all.” – and in the next thesis he says, “faith cannot stand without constant, great and living works.” Faith that comes from God is faith that is devoid of any work to which a person brings nothing; no accomplishment, no glory, no sacrifice, no knowledge, no law. Faith that comes from God is found in the hand that receives, the ear that hears, the heart that believes and loves and hopes. This kind of faith is satisfied with what God gives, namely, Jesus Christ. The unity of faith and Christ should therefore not be sullied through any work and should not be lost sight of for an instant. When faith turns to the world it receives what comes to it and doesn’t try to influence God like the heathen do, because it knows that Another is there that intercedes for us with God; One who is the Other and mightier even than the greatest work, namely Christ. Faith lives by virtue of Christ’s intercession before God. Heaven is no longer the goal of works, but heaven freely gives the works. Just as Christ came down from heaven to help us, faith steps down out of the world of the Word and of freedom to serve the neighbor. What God has given to faith, faith gives to the neighbor. So faith is steadfast in works, in service to the neighbor, and at the same time always celebrating, living from what Christ has done for him. Only that faith – devoid of any work – that suffers the work of God to be done in him can do the work of God on earth, which also pleases God. Thus it is true that all that does not proceed from faith is sin.
