Thesis 10.
"Indeed, it is very difficult to see how a work can be dead and at the same time not a harmful and mortal sin."
"This I prove in the following way: Scripture does not speak of dead things in such a manner, stating that something is not mortal which is nevertheless dead. Indeed, neither does grammar, which says that "dead" is a stronger term than "mortal." For the grammarians call a mortal work one which kills, a dead work not one that has been killed, but one that is not alive. But God despises what is not alive, as is written in Prov. 15[:8], "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.'
Second, the will must do something with respect to such a dead work, namely, either love or hate it. The will cannot hate a dead work since the will is evil. Consequently the will loves a dead work, and therefore it loves something dead. In that act itself it thus induces an evil work of the will against God whom it should love and honor in this and in every deed." (LW 31, 47-48)
In earlier thesis, Luther rebutted the scholastic tradition that good works done by an unbeliever (without Christ) are said to be dead in the sense that (being without grace) they are not meritorious, but still they were not such as to be mortal, that is, deserving of eternal condemnation. For Luther, the scholastic tradition made us surrender the fear of God.
The scholastic tradition in the Middle Ages tried to make the distinction between "dead works' and "deadly works' to avoid the argument of the good works done by "benevolent pagans'. In this thesis 10, Luther asserts that that distinction is well-nigh incomprehensible. How can a work be dead and at the same time not be deadly?
As Luther explains in the proofs of the thesis, the distinction cause confusion in both scripture and ordinary grammar. Generally speaking, "dead' is worse that "deadly'. A dead work is one that has no life at all, whereas a deadly or mortal work at least has the power to kill. Therefore, the theological attempts of the scholastic tradition to be "gracious' to the nonbeliever is a contradiction in itself as it proves that the good works done by unbelievers are much more wicked.
The same is true of the Bible. In scripture God despises "dead' works - as when he counts the sacrifices of the wicked to be an abomination (Prov. 15:8). The distinction only leads us to favor that which God abominates.
Luther concludes by pointing out the confusion that results for the will by making such a distinction between "dead works' and "deadly works'. What is the attitude of the will toward "dead works'? Approval or disapproval, love or hate?
A "good' will ought, of course, to disapprove and hate works that are dead. However, the will is not neutral, and, being in a fallen and evil state, is bound to favor its own works. Thus it will end by loving dead works in defiance of the God it is obligated to love and honor in all things. For Luther, the man's will remains enslaved and bound. Man stands under the inescapable necessity of sinning in everything that he is and does. Therefore we do not sin against our will but rather according to our will. For this, Luther said: "Lust is born into us, and we do not act involuntarily but with the greatest will and desire both in the act of sinning and in the source of sinning (in pecato originali). We are not able to sin involuntarily"(WA 39 I, 378, 16-18.)
Regarding Luther's argument, some people may criticize Luther for taking a narrow view of man's moral capabilities. But Luther knows that man is able to produce a kind of "righteousness". Luther calls this "moral", "civil", "external", and civic" righteousness. As the righteousness exists between men, God wants and demands "civil righteousness," because he uses it in order to preserve peace and order in the world and to prevent the world from destroying itself. However, this righteousness is valid only before men. Even though man do the "civil" righteousness, it can't be recognized the righteousness before God. "When we stand under God's judgement, civil righteousness does not help us."(WA 39 I, 378, 16-18.) For Luther, the judgement which a man's own conscience passes on him belongs in the category of the world's judgment as long as his conscience has not been illuminated by God's Spirit.(LW 32,274; LW 34, 151.)
What Luther emphasis here is to avoid minimizing the greatness and seriousness of sin as though it did not matter by thinking that man is good in sense of "civil righteousness'. In spite of "civil righteousness', for deep down man seeks only his own advantage and "heroic virtues" that are corrupted by this.(LW 12, 354). Thus, instead of honestly saying they are good, in the sense of civil righteousness, they are called dead.
The Church in Korea and even in the world as a whole has achieved the greatest growth. The background of the growth lies in the optimistic view for human beings. Rather than the image of man as sinner, the messages of 'positive power,' "self-confidence,' "success and prosperity' have been emphasized. But these messages in the Korean church gave birth to critics who call the church community one that lacks social responsibility by emphasizing "individual success and prosperity'. Recently, there has been a growing voice that emphasizes social justice, such as "social responsibility' and "caring for the weak'. Some theologians argue that Church should show more generosity to nonbelievers, the weak, and other religious groups. They say taking care of your neighbors is God's command and the Bible message. Meanwhile, homosexuals are considered the most vulnerable members in America, and are now allowed to be pastors and elders of churches.
While ignoring the seriousness of sin as though it did not matter, it would be a selfish faith for the Church to only emphasize the messages of 'positive power' ,"self-confidence', or "success and prosperity'. It is not total grace of God, but the wrong faith intoxicated with self-confidence. Rather than the message of the seriousness of sin, shouting for only "social responsibility' and "caring for the weak' can make the church to be virtually civic group and "social service organization'.
So once again, the issue is "the fear of God'. Regardless of believer and nonbeliever, the rich and the poor, and the powerful and the weak, "the fear of God' allows all human beings to know that they themselves are sinners. To confess we are sinners and "say what a thing it is,' is the way to be theologians of the cross.
Reverend and Doctor Jin O Jeong is an assistant pastor for the Korean congregation at Zion Lutheran Church, Belleville, IL. He graduated from Luther University and received a Ph.D from Yonsei University. He was also a Research Fellow at Hebrew University and Visiting Scholar at Yale Divinity School. Tel: 618-920-9311 Email : jjeong@zionbelleville.org
