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RCT: The Holiness of God (V)
- 11/11/10
- 19
I mentioned in this morning’s A La Carte that my youngest daughter had learned how to sleep (or had taught herself, more properly). Last night she had a nightmare, the first in probably six months, and was wide awake in terror for a long, long time. That meant I was also wide awake (though not in terror). So I am going to use the little bit of awareness I have to share just a few of my favorite moments from this week’s chapter of The Holiness of God as we continue to read the classics together.
Summary
This week’s reading was quite a bit different from the ones before it. Chapter 5, “The Insanity of Luther,” is almost a biographical chapter that looks at the struggles of Martin Luther as he came face-to-face with the holiness of God. Luther, even before he came to understand what would be known as Protestant theology, had a profound sense of God’s holiness. And that holiness very nearly drove him crazy. He had a clear assessment of the infinite gap in holiness that existed between himself and his Maker. Sproul points out, “Whatever defense mechanisms normal people have to mute the accusing voice of conscience, Luther was lacking.” He was devastated by every little sin, knowing that each one of them was sufficient to condemn him to hell.
It has been said many times that there is a fine line between genius and insanity and that some people move back and forth across it. Perhaps that was the problem Luther had. He was not crazy. He was a genius. He had a superior understanding of law. Once he applied his astute legal mind to the law of God, he saw things that many people miss.
Luther simply looked to the laws of God, saw how he fell short, and knew that he was a condemned man. This was far more genius than insanity, far more light than darkness.
Luther “realized that if God graded on a curve, He would have to compromise His own holiness. To count on God doing so is supreme arrogance and supreme foolishness as well. God does not lower His own standards to accommodate us.” Luther realized that even our good deeds are none too good.
God commands that we do certain good things. He commands us to give to the poor. We give to the poor. That is a good deed, isn't it? Yes and no. It is good in the sense that our outward act conforms to what God commands. In that sense we do good often. But God also looks at the heart. He is concerned about our deepest motivations. For a good deed to pass the standard of God's goodness, it must flow out of a heart that loves God perfectly and loves our neighbor perfectly as well. Since none of us achieves that perfect love for God and our neighbor, all of our outwardly good deeds are tarnished. They carry the blemish of the imperfections of our inner motivations. The logic of the Bible is this: Since no one has a perfect heart, no one does a perfect deed.
And this is what Luther would have to reconcile: How could a holy God ever accept an unholy man? The answer to this question would spark the Reformation and change the world.
I will leave you to read Luther’s testimony, but for this sentence: “Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith.” That made all the difference to the apostle Paul; it made all the difference to Luther; it makes all the difference to you and me.
Next Week
For next Thursday please read chapter 6, "Holy Justice."
Your Turn
The purpose of this program is to read these classic books together. This means that it's now your turn to offer your thoughts or your questions on this week's reading. You can do so by leaving a comment here or by posting a link to your own site if you left a comment there. Of course there is no need to say anything. Just read and enjoy if that's more your style.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
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Comments (19)
Excellent post. Loved it.
This chapter brought home the fact that we really have a poor idea of what holiness is whereas Luther really understood this concept and it impacted his life mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Read more…http://awaitingawhiterobe.blogspot.com/2010/11/holiness-of-god-v-insane-…
I was struck by Luther’s desire to know God and be known by Him. This should strike terror in us to think that God knows every aspect of our being, including our thoughts. It also reminds me how great God’s grace is through Jesus Christ.
How fitting that this chapter on Luther be a detour from the norm! Nothing about the man Luther was ordinary, except for the fact that he was fallen like the rest of us.
Sproul did a brilliant job using the literary device of allusion to depict the arresting nature of such a momentous event in history—the glorious revelation of the Doctrine of Justification. To choose a man who was willing to struggle to the point of such physical and mental extremity was obviously not beyond God’s jurisdiction.
Along the timeline of history God has placed His diamonds, and sometimes He lifts them up for all to see that what light they carry is not of this world, but Divine.
I have to admit that first I didn’t understand why Sproul included this chapter on Luther. But I get it now. And even more so after reading Tim’s summary above.
Seeing how Luther came to grips with God’s holiness can help us do the same.
Once Luther grasped Paul’s teaching in Romans, he was reborn. The burden of his guilt was lifted.
More on my blog:
“Another Set of Eyes”
Excellent post! I think this was my favorite chapter so far! I’m familiar with Luther’s story, but I really appreciated Sproul’s perspective on it. I used almost the exact same quotes Tim did in my post! Good stuff. Here are my thoughts:http://homewithpurpose.blogspot.com/2010/11/reading-classics-together-ho…
I also have thought some about our motives to perform “good” deeds as Christians. I have come to the conclusion that we are always undone by our motives in some manner, even in the most simple, altruistic act.
For example, giving anonymously, but desperately hoping that someone will figure out who gave the money and being congratulated in the end.
“The law kills us, so that the can gospel resurrect us” Luther. Luther had a way of saying more with one sentence than the host of philosophers and theologians before him.
Recently, I picked up “The Bondage of the Will” and was edified and entertained by Luther’s deft wit and theological observations.
He was almost driven insane by his own sinfulness in the light of God’s revealed holiness, so much so he would literally spend hours a day confessing his motives, even his motives for confessing his motives!
No wonder the revelation of grace struck him like a lightning bolt!
I love this chapter! I love the book! I love the conversation!
Thank you, Tim.
We have learned so far how Isaiah, Peter, the disciples, Luther, the rich man approached God; the question I am embracing now is, “How do I approach God?”
Read my thoughts here:http://bit.ly/btNMOE
I am always amazed by the questions people do not ask. The important (well, I think they are important!) questions: Why am I here? What is my purpose on earth? Is this all there is…?
Then I compare my questions to Luther and wonder what am I not asking….
Wow, I’m speechless ……. undone ……… and yes, wondering what I am not asking ……… and what I’ve not seen or heard …….
I loved this week’s chapter. My thoughts are at my blog: http://pastortoby.blogspot.com/2010/11/holiness-of-god-chapter-5.html
Have a great week everyone!
So I’m interested in your responses to the comment made by a Catholic on my blog post for this chapter (the person doesn’t identify themselves as Catholic but I happen to know who they are). It’s the second comment, by “Anonymous”. Please feel free to respond in my comments if you’d like! :-)http://homewithpurpose.blogspot.com/2010/11/reading-classics-together-ho…
Great insights this week. I really enjoyed this chapter. From fear ,to striving, to realization of futility of trying to overcome his own sinful nature, the struggles of Luther laid out in this chapter helped me to analyze my own relationship with God. More thoughts on my blog http://ellen5e.com
I didn’t see this as a detour at all - the whole book has been biographical thus far (as Becky pointed out), starting with Sproul himself and his encounter with God then introducing several characters from the Bible who had encounters with the holy.
This got me thinking about Jonathan Edwards a bit (I’m just now reading Marsden’s biography) - another historical figure who had regular ‘encounters.’ His response was usually ecstatic delight, but he did battle bouts of doubt and depression as well.
I’m sure we’ll get to this later in the book, but how do these stories pertain to us, the masses of everyday Christians? Do only the ‘great ones’ (i.e., the apostles, prophets, major historical figures, best-selling authors), experience these things? How pervasive are they in Christendom? I have an inkling how to answer these questions, but I’ll wait until later in our readings to push these thoughts further.
“The human spirit recoils from such a universal indictment. Surely the Scriptures exaggerate. We know several people who do good. We see people perfomr good deeds frequently. We grant that no one is perfect. We all slip up from time to time. But we do perform a few good deeds now and then, don’t we? No! This is precisely the way the rich young ruler was thinking. He was measuring goodness by the wrong standard. He was evaluating good deeds from an outward vantage point.”
Amazing that we all find comfort in the fact that no one is perfect. If no one is perfect God has to accept us as we are right? If no one can meet his standards, He has to lower them right? He didn’t HAVE to do anything, and we SHOULD be held to His standard. Praise God for stepping in, when all hope was lost!
I really enjoyed this Chapter as well. Great summary, Tim! I also really appreciated Becky’s practical application: “How do I approach God?” It reminds me a lot of some of Jerry Bridges’ writing.
This chapter intersects with another stream of thought I have going through my study of the book of Joshua and listening to sermons on Romans from John Piper. Forefront in both these studies, currently, is the reality of the wrath of God toward us and our need to be saved from His wrath. As I approach the book of Joshua, I believe I am tainted by a culturally-loaded perspective that recoils from the suggestion of His wrath.
When we look back over Luther’s life with this culturally anger-neutered lens, I suppose there could be a tendency to view him as insane. I appreciate Dr. Sproul’s observation of the “fine line between genius and insantity” and Luther’s lacking of the typical “defense mechanisms normal people have to mute the accusing voice of conscience.” He was fully attuned to the anger of God toward him. Which brings me to the following quote from John Piper’s sermon, “Much More Shall We Be Saved by His Life”:
“‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ Here’s the good news: the love of God rescues us from the wrath of God. Don’t try to defend the love of God for us by denying the wrath of God against sinners. If you do, you will undermine the love of God. Because the greatest demonstration of the love of God is the way it rescues us from the wrath of God. If you deny wrath to defend love, you lose love.”
Through Mercy and Grace, illuminated to Luther was… The Gospel. And is it not through him that the Truth of the Gospel was more fully revealed to the masses through his protestantism? Is it not true that reformed Christianity is the only “faith” which holds that salvation is…by Faith alone? Nothing is required in order to be saved but a believing heart on the true work and purpose of Christ. No task, no work, no physical endurance, no ritualistic function. Hasn’t this been God’s intent from the beginning? The Holy Gospel!
Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:9, Romans 4:22, Galations 3:6, James 2:23
How freeing this was to Luther! How simple…yet how profoundly difficult a truth to accept the Grace of God in the renewing of his mind!
That is the merciful Grace of our Holy God! That He will renew our minds and reveal to those of His choosing the Truth of The Gospel of the salvation offered through the belief in His Son!
The concept of the saving Grace of our Lord… who would save a wretch like Luther without requiring ANYTHING from him; but to believe in Christ… remains hidden from many a hardened mind and heart. To many, this Grace of Faith alone is… insane! Thankfully, The Spirit is merciful!
Exodus 33:19 “And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Romans 9:16 ” It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
THIS is truly…Good News!