True Hope
Via On Being a Theologian of the Cross pp. 46-48
Thesis 11. Arrogance cannot be avoided or true hope be present unless the judgment of condemnation is feared in every work.
Thesis 12. In the sight of God sins are then truly venial when they are feared by men to be mortal.
William Blake, "God Judging Adam"
Luther knows that due to sin it is impossible to avoid creaturely confidence completely. Arrogance always attends the slightest success. To avoid it not only in works but also in affections we must fear the judgment of God in every work. Thesis 12 gives some indication of the shape of this judgment. When are sins truly venial (i.e. forgivable)? When they are feared to be mortal! Luther here employs the distinction between venial and mortal sin in its original sense to undercut its use. Sins are truly forgivable when they are feared to be damning. All possibility of confidence in our own works and all pleading on the basis of the distinction are impossible. This, of course, seems quite depressing to inveterate theologians of glory. Yet we should not miss the new note that sounds out of the rubble of rejected human works. It is the note of hope. It is not possible, Luther declares, for true hope to be present unless the judgment of condemnation is feared in every work. Every hope built on human work will prove untrue. The hope that arises out of the ashes of the refining fire will not disappoint. The way, however, is the way of the cross.
