No denominational system of theology is without errors, and no denominational system of theology has a monopoly on truth; least of all Calvinism. Furthermore, there are not just two options: Calvinism versus Arminianism. Our systems of theology cannot and must not be our authorities when it comes to doctrine, church practice, family life, and personal holiness; what we believe and practice. Our absolute and final authority must be the Word of God! Neither Catholicism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism, Baptistism, Presbyterianism, Episcopalianism, Methodism, Adventism, nor Pentecostalism are the answer. The answer is a firm foundation in and upon Scripture—the Word of God!
Calvinists have sanctification out of place. They make an idol out of not making idols, emphasizing things more than the Bible does. You see, God does not need our good works—our neighbours do! All our good deeds, our sanctification, our abilities and skill sets, our responsibilities in various roles, are for the benefit of those around us; our families, our friends, our society, our neighbours, and even our enemies. Our faith makes us righteous with God and it keeps us righteous with God. Our sanctification neither makes us right with God nor keeps us right with God.
Calvinists blur the lines between justification and sanctification. They look to sanctification for assurance that one is right with God. This will do one of two things: (1) It fills us with discouragement for constantly missing the mark, filling us with self-doubt for applying subjective measures to assess our level of sanctification in order to determine our justification; or (2) It fills us with self-righteousness for fulfilling criteria we created, casting judgment upon others who do not meet that criteria.
Calvinists have functionally placed sanctification above justification. They put an emphasis on God with obedience to the Law, which perpetuates an inward focus, which results in the two problems above. Luther, on the other hand, placed the perfect work of Christ Jesus in justification over the incomplete process of sanctification. We are to look extra nos (outside ourselves) toward the righteousness of faith, which is our justification, for our assurance. This is where we find identity, stability, objectivity, and security. My security in the faith has nothing to do with my sanctification.
Martin Luther was truly committed to Sola Fide (by faith alone). His primary emphasis was in serving your neighbour through your vocation (whatever gifts God has given you). This is what the Body of Christ is called to do with each other in order to edify one another (build each other up). This emphasis maintains a distinction between our identity found in our righteousness of faith, which we receive from God (passive righteousness) versus our performance that we live out for the benefit of our neighbour (active righteousness). Christians should be seeking both kinds of righteousness!
We need to guard against our good works becoming the basis for our righteousness before God (as the Catholics practice), but we also need to guard against our righteousness of faith being used to eliminate the need for good works (as many Protestants practice). Our good works have value here on Earth (coram mundo - righteousness in the eyes of the world) but do not justify us before God (coram Deo - righteousness in the eyes of the Lord). These two need to be kept separate.
Three Uses of the Law
- Civil: It serves as a curb for all of us; fear of punishment for going too far.
- Condemnatory: It serves as a mirror, accusing and keeping consciences in fear.
- Didactic: It serves as a guide. This is exclusive to Christians; empowered by the Holy Spirit, showing us how to live in a sinful world with remnants of sin while being forgiven.
The first two uses are coram Deo; God's Law condemns. Even the Christian's best actions before God are sinful. The last use is coram mundo; how to treat neighbours, how to be faithful in our families, and how to live lives of holiness. The second use of the Law crushes us and should drive us to the cross. Jesus carried the load of the Law so that we would not have to! That is the point of the Gospel.
For Luther, the second use was the primary, and he is correct. When we share the Gospel with others, we need to use the Law first as a mirror to show them their sinfulness and need for a Saviour. Otherwise the Good News makes no sense. For Calvinists, the third use is primary.
Two Kinds of Righteousness
- Coram Mundo: righteousness before each other and the world; horizontal; active
- Coram Deo: righteousness before God; vertical; passive
Sanctified lives will not justify us! That is merely behavioural modification. Justification is a completed work. Sanctification is a partial and incompleted work. Coram mundo is where we are active. Coram Deo is where we are passive; Jesus did it all. Obedience naturally flows after justification. You cannot influence God with/by your works.
A fruit check does not determine whether one has been born again or not. Faith is where the evidence is. If you believed and trusted in Jesus in the past, you will be believing and trusting in Him today, and you will continue to believe and trust in Him in the future. If our faith justifies us and God has saved and baptized us, then we set our gaze outside of ourselves by serving others. We should be serving our neighbour.
When you are struggling with sin or doubting your salvation, you do not look inside yourself at your sanctification for evidence of your justification! You look outside yourself to the Person and work of Christ Jesus! Righteousness is extra nos ("apart from us" or "outside of us").
I have a confession to make, an apology to issue, and forgiveness to ask for. In the past, I have used 1 John as a litmus test for genuine faith. That is not what John wrote this epistle for. John was not trying to give a test to check if our faith is genuine. He was not writing doubting Christians to give them tests to see if they are saved or not. He was writing against anti-nomianism and sending warnings against the heresies of the proto-Gnostics. By using 1 John as a litmus test for genuine faith, preachers (and myself) are ripping the epistle out of context and eisegeting it. First John is not a test of genuine Christianity! Justification is not determined by sanctification.