Orthodox Luther (Antiochene Christian) Salvation
Assurance
“When the devil throws our sins up to us and
declares we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus: ‘I admit I
deserve death and hell. What of it? Does this mean I shall be sentenced to
eternal damnation? By no means. For I know One who suffered and made
satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Where he
is, there I shall be also.’”
“As to myself, I openly confess, that I should not wish “Free-will” to
be granted me, even if it could be so, nor anything else to be left in my own
hands, whereby I might endeavor something towards my own salvation. And that,
not merely because in so many opposing dangers, and so many assaulting devils,
I could not stand and hold it fast (in which state no man could be saved,
seeing that one devil is stronger than all men); but because, even though there
were no dangers, no conflicts, no devils, I should be compelled to labor under
a continual uncertainty, and to beat the air only. . . .”
“But now, since God has put my
salvation out of the way of my will, and has taken it under His own, and has
promised to save me, not according to my working or manner of life, but
according to His own grace and mercy, I rest fully assured and persuaded that
He is faithful, and will not lie, and moreover great and powerful, so that no
devils, no adversities can destroy Him, or pluck me out of His hand. “No one
(saith He) shall pluck them out of My hand, because My Father which gave them
Me is greater than all” (John 10.27–28).”
“God
has not bidden you soar heavenward on your own, and gape to see what He is
doing in heaven with the angels. No, this is His command: “This is My Beloved
Son; listen to Him. Here I descend to you on earth, so that you can see, hear,
and touch Me. Here, and nowhere else, is the place for those who encounter and
find Me, who desire Me, and who wish to be delivered from their sin and be
saved.”
Proper
conclusion from Christian Lutheran student: Lutherans are assured of our
salvation the same way any other Christian is: through our baptism, our faith
given by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel, and receiving the sacrament of
communion. If there were a certain measure of good works required to secure
your salvation, then why did Christ have to die? In other words, as long as you
are at least 51% good, then Christ's sacrifice on the cross covers the
rest...right?
No. No one is righteous, not even one. It's your heart that
makes you right with God, not your church attendance or the number of times a
year you receive the Lord's Supper. Those things can be and are the fruit of a
believing heart, but works in and of themselves do not save us. That's really
the central thrust of the Lutheran expression of the Christian faith---that we
are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. Even the faith to believe is
a gift from God.
