This Side of the Pulpit » Theology » Do Lutherans Watch the World go ‘Round?
Do Lutherans Watch the World go ‘Round?
There’s a tendency in Lutheranism toward apathy. In emphasizing that it is the Holy Spirit who does the work of creating and sustaining faith Lutherans tend to be passive in their Christian living. “Good works are created in advance for us to do,” the Lutherans quote.
The other shoe is: “I don’t have to worry about good works at all. Let God do ‘em.”
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Filed under: Theology · Tags: aphorisms, Lutheranism, sanctification
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This issue has troubled me for years, having been raised Lutheran. Where is the urgency of the early Christian Church, if we were meant to wait around for the Holy Spirit to fill us a drive us to do good works? In the same vein, does that not go against the free will God created us with? Plus, how does this prevent complacency of faith? I believe St. Paul frequently taught about a synergistic relationship with the Holy Spirit, but I’m no theologian… After all, faith without works is dead (I’m NOT saying works will save you), but they definitely flow from the synergistic relationship we have from the Holy Spirit.
I fall into the practice and game idea. We spend much time in prayer and preparation, understanding what good works are and what sort of things we are given to do. Then we go out, and they will happen – God will bring them about. We stay on the watch for sin, beat it down, smack it down, and from there the plethora or good works that God brings forth will come forth.
Ideally one shouldn't be apathetic – rather, one should be free from pressure and worry about works. One should be like a hose – work out the kinks and let God's love flow.
My problem really isn't that I'm apathetic in relation to good works. Au contraire. My problem is that I'm usually pretty zealous in trying to run away from the opportunities to do good works which are so regularly presented to me in the needs and wants of those whom God has placed around me. Good works, or the opportunity to engage in such things, always seem to find me no matter how hard I try to hide myself from them. I think that's why I usually plop into my bed at night relatively exhausted. I bet you do, too.
It is nearly impossible for Christians to avoid being confronted with an overwhelming amount of opportunities to engage in good works on a daily basis–without ever even looking for such opportunities. The big Christian question is whether I will engage in such work selfishly, or self-sacrificially and for the sake of the other. It seems to me that the Holy Spirit's work in relation to all of this is to equip us to meet the needs and demands made upon us in a self-giving way—aka "love."