+ PLEASE READ THE THE 7TH-11TH CHAPTERS OF THE GREAT CONTROVERSY By Ellen White.
We can now go to the Reformation part of the Thomistic head of the Papacy, which covers from 1517 to 1545 A.C.B. The teachings of the Reformation, was meant to counter the horrible influence of Thomistic Theology and the scholars that were with his teachings. Concerning Martin Luther, from which the official Protestant Reformation is calculated, we are told:
“Foremost among those who were called to lead the church from the darkness of popery into the light of a purer faith, stood Martin Luther. Zealous, ardent, and devoted, knowing no fear but the fear of God, and acknowledging no foundation for religious faith but the Holy Scriptures, Luther was the man for his time; through him God accomplished a great work for the reformation of the church and the enlightenment of the world.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pg. 120.
“This was Martin Luther of Eisleben. He was the voice of God that awoke Europe to this great work and called the labourers into the field.” Andrew Miller, Miller’s Church History, pg. 611.i. When Luther first became a monk, he thought that the way to attain purity of heart was through the exertion of works. This was righteousness or salvation by human works. We are told:
“At this period of Luther’s history he thought nothing too great a sacrifice that might enable him to attain that holiness which would secure salvation now; and Heaven at last. He really thought to purchase eternal happiness by his own exertions; such is the darkness of the Church of Rome, and such was the delusion of one of her most faithful sons.” Ibid, pg. 620.ii. Luther practiced all sorts of works, deeds, extreme “penances” and bodily tortures to achieve freedom from sin and spiritual purity, to the point of largely damaging his health, but all was in vain as he sank over and over again into depression. One day God sent John Staupitz who was vicar-general of the Augustines Order in Germany, to which Luther had belonged. Here is how he assured Luther of salvation. All this was working for Luther’s conversion. We are told:
“He assured Luther that he was entirely mistaken in supposing that he could stand before God on the ground of his works or his vows; that he could only be saved by the mercy of God, and that mercy must flow to him through faith in the blood of Christ. “Let your principal occupation be the study of the Scriptures,” says Staupitz; and along with this good advice he presented Luther with a Bible, which of all things on earth he most desired.” Ibid, pg. 621.iii. Again Luther was filled with a frightful sense of his own guilt of sins and the lofty demands of the holy Law of God. His grief was dealt with when an old monk visited him as he was close to death in the infirmary of the cloister where he lived.
“One day, as he lay, overwhelmed with despair, he was visited by an old monk, who spoke to him the way of peace. Won by the kindness of his words, Luther opened his heart to him. The venerable father spoke to him of the efficacy of faith, and repeated to him that article in the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” These few simple words, with the Lord’s blessing, seem to have turned the mind of Luther from works to faith…. “Hear what St. Bernard says,” added the pious old monk: “The testimony of the Holy Ghost to thy heart is this, Thy sins are forgiven thee.” From this moment Divine light entered the heart of Luther, and, step by step, through the diligent study of the Word and prayer, he became a great and honoured servant of the Lord.” Ibid, pg. 621,622.
iv. Whenever Luther was converted, by the age of twenty-five he was invited by the Elector Frederick to occupy a chair of philosophy in the now developing University of Wittenberg in the year 1508. In his first discourse he lectured on Psalms and then Romans. We are told.
“When he reached in his expositions, the last clause of Romans 1.17, “The just shall live by faith,” a light, we may say, beyond the brightness of the sun, filled his whole soul. The Spirit of God clothed the words with light and power to the understanding and to the heart of Luther. The grand doctrine of justification by faith alone he received into his heart as from the voice of God. He now saw that eternal life was to be obtained not by penance but by faith.” Ibid, pg. 624.v. In the year 1510, Luther visited Rome to represent the Augustinian monasteries on certain business. As he reached Bologna, he became very ill. Here is what happened as God sought to fixate his study on the scripture.
“Here the enemy turned his thoughts in upon himself, and he became greatly troubled with the sense of his own sinfulness, for the prospect of death filled him with fear and terror. But the words of the apostle, “The just shall live by faith,” like a ray of light from Heaven, chased the dark clouds away, changed the current of his thoughts, and restored his peace of mind.” Ibid, pg. 625.vi. When Luther saw Rome in sight before him, he glorified it greatly, but once inside, he saw all sorts of corruptions and abominations that turned his stomach. Here is just one example:
“Rome was not a very healthy place to live. The marvellous aqueducts and baths of classical times were now unusable, and there was no provision for public sanitation other than the gutters. It was common practice in the morning for people to throw the contents of their chamber pots out their upper windows and into the street. Pity the traveller who happened to be walking below! On the other hand, house owners had to endure passers-by who commonly relieved themselves against any convenient wall. On account of this practice, Luther insisted that the Romans were no better than dogs. Europeans who had the means to travel often said that Rome was a “stinking cesspool”. But this comment was intended to refer to its public morals as well as its sanitation system. Respectable men would not even allow their wives on the streets unless they were veiled and in the company of an armed guard.” James M. Kittelson, Luther The Reformer, pg. 59-60.
“Everywhere he looked upon scenes that filled him with astonishment and horror. He saw that iniquity existed among all classes of the clergy. He heard indecent jokes from prelates, and was filled with horror at their awful profanity, even during mass. As he mingled with the monks and citizens, he met dissipation, debauchery. Turn where he would, in the place of sanctity he found profanation. “No one can imagine,” he wrote, “what sins and infamous actions are committed in Rome; they must be seen and heard to be believed. Thus they are in the habit of saying, ‘If there is a hell, Rome is built over it: it is an abyss whence issues every kind of sin’.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pg. 125. (1911)vii. Here is the third time that God impressed Luther’s mind with the need to properly understand and obey this particular Scripture.
“By a recent decretal, an indulgence had been promised by the pope to all who should ascend upon their knees “Pilate's staircase,” said to have been descended by our Saviour on leaving the Roman judgment hall and to have been miraculously conveyed from Jerusalem to Rome. Luther was one day devoutly climbing these steps, when suddenly a voice like thunder seemed to say to him: “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17. He sprang to his feet and hastened from the place in shame and horror. That text never lost its power upon his soul. From that time he saw more clearly than ever before the fallacy of trusting to human works for salvation, and the necessity of constant faith in the merits of Christ. His eyes had been opened, and were never again to be closed, to the delusions of the papacy. When he turned his face from Rome he had turned away also in heart, and from that time the separation grew wider, until he severed all connection with the papal church.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pg. 125. (1911)
viii. After Luther returned from Rome he received a degree of doctor of divinity at the Wittenberg University; he was now no longer a monk, but an authorized preacher of the Bible. Immediately he began to attack and oppose the teachings of the schoolmen, of whom Thomas Aquinas was the chief and leading influence. We are told:
“Luther saw the danger of exalting human theories above the Word of God. He fearlessly attacked the speculative infidelity of the schoolmen and opposed the philosophy and theology which had so long held a controlling influence upon the people. He denounced such studies as not only worthless but pernicious, and sought to turn the minds of his hearers from the sophistries of philosophers and theologians to the eternal truths set forth by prophets and apostles.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pg. 126. (1911)
However we need to look at the term “the just shall live by Faith” a little. The scripture taken from Romans 1:17 primarily was used by God to convert Luther and to interest his mind in the study of Justification by Faith which would become the leading doctrine in the Protestant Reformation, that would condemn the Roman Catholic doctrine of justification by works.
i. The phrase is also found in Heb. 10:38 and Gal. 3:11; and is derived from Hab. 2:4.
ii. The phrase “the just shall live by Faith” does not mean Justification by Faith, but sanctification by Faith, since it refers to how one lives and not how one is made righteous. This is clearly seen in the context of the verse as Paul uses it in Heb. 10:32-38.
iii. However, to be just, one has to be justified first, for a just person is a justified person. (Job 4:17; Job. 9:1,2; Job. 12:4); Job. 25:4.
iv. Thus “the just shall live by Faith” Led Luther to study and understand what it meant to be justified by Faith. Gal. 3:11.
v. Briefly, here is what justified means:
1. To be justified means to be made pure. Job 4:17; Job 17:9; Job 15:14; Job 25:4.
2. To be justified means to be washed and to be sanctified (separated from sin). 1 Cor. 6:9-11.
3. To be justified means to receive the “washing of regeneration” and the “renewing of the Holy Spirit”. Tit. 3:5-7.
vi. Briefly, here is what “Faith” means:
1. All the uses of the word “Faith” in the Bible, from Genesis down to the last saint to exist upon the earth, is described in Heb. 11:3,4,39, and Heb. 10:37-39.
2. And the definition of this universal Faith is “evidence of things not seen.” Heb. 11:1.
3. Evidence of things not seen is the revealed word of God. Pro. 22:17-21.
4. Faith is the “word of Faith” which we preach as Paul explains from Moses. (Deut. 30:11-14; Rom. 10:6-8).
5. Thus, while we must believe and trust, they are not the same as Faith which is always the Faith of Jesus or God. Gal. 2:16; Rom. 3:3.
vii. Briefly, here is Luther’s definition of Faith in its real sense. He says:
“This understanding… is faith itself, a knowledge; of things invisible and trustworthy. It is a hidden understanding, for it is one of those things that a man, know; by his own powers.” Quoted in, James M. Kittelson, Luther The Reformer, pg. 94.viii. Briefly, here is Luther’s definition of being “justified.” He says.
“…faith of itself is God’s gift and God’s work in our hearts, which therefore justifieth us, because it apprehendeth Christ our redeemer.” Martin Luther, A Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, pg. 98.
“…but as concerning justification, Christ and I must be entirely conjoined and united together, so that he may live in me and I in him.” Ibid, pg. 169.
ix. Thus the term “justified by Faith” means cleansed, washed, purified from sin by the revealed truths of the Word.” Is this so in the Bible? Yes! Here is Eph. 5:25-27.
x. To be justified is indeed to be changed from sin to righteousness. 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Tit. 3:5-7.
xi. The word of God or “revealed truths” of the Gospel does not itself make us righteous by an independent power from God, for it is God that justifies the penitent. Rom. 8:33.
xii. God justifies the penitent using Faith as the instrument to cleanse us. Gal. 3:8.
xiii. Thus the meaning of “justified by Faith” is the following summary:
1. It means to be delivered from the internal presence of sin by Faith.
2. It means to be made righteous or pure.
3. It means to be changed from sinning to obedience.
4. It is an internal moral change.
We now return to Luther and his conflict with the indulgences that led to the official beginning of the Protestant Reformation in 1517.
i. Pope Leo 10th ascended the papal throne in the year 1513, and wanted to raise money for the projects of his rule. We are told:
“Leo the Tenth ascended the papal throne in the year 1513. He was the third son of Lorenzo de’ Medici, the Magnificent, and brought with him to the Pontifical court the refined, luxurious, and expensive style of his family… The important question now was; how to find money to complete the grand cathedral, and to replenish the Papal treasury for the purposes of Leo’s Pontificate… Leo has the reputation of being one of the most polished and cultivated men of his day, he was far from being even a moral man. His court was gay; he was devoted to pleasure, and utterly careless of the duties of religion.” Andrew Miller, Miller’s Church History, pg. 630,631.
“To meet the various and heavy expenses of the extravagant Leo, the cry for money became louder and louder. “Money! money!” was the cry. “It was money,” says one, “not charity; that covered a multitude of sins.” Necessity suggested that the price of indulgences should be lowered, and that clever salesmen should be employed to push the trade all over Europe.” Ibid, pg. 631.ii. We are further told:
“The official appointed to conduct the sale of indulgences in Germany--Tetzel by name--had been convicted of the basest offenses against society and against the law of God; but having escaped the punishment due for his crimes, he was employed to further the mercenary and unscrupulous projects of the pope. With great effrontery he repeated the most glaring falsehoods and related marvellous tales to deceive an ignorant, credulous, and superstitious people.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pg. 127.
“Amongst the many salesmen in this great Papal fair, one man in particular attracted the attention of the speculators; this was the Dominican monk, John Tetzel, a name which has acquired an odious notoriety in European history.” Andrew Miller, Miller’s Church History, pg. 632.iii. Concerning Tetzel and his sale of indulgences in Europe, we are further told:
“As Tetzel entered a town, a messenger went before him, announcing: “The grace of God and of the holy father is at your gates….” And the people welcomed the blasphemous pretender as if he were God Himself come down from heaven to them. The infamous traffic was set up in the church, and Tetzel, ascending the pulpit, extolled the indulgences as the most precious gift of God. He declared that by virtue of his certificates of pardon all the sins which the purchaser should afterward desire to commit would be forgiven him, and that “not even repentance is necessary.” More than this, he assured his hearers that the indulgences had power to save not only the living but the dead; that the very moment the money should clink against the bottom of his chest, the soul in whose behalf it had been paid would escape from purgatory and make its way to heaven.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pg. 127-128.iv. Here is a brief account of Tetzel’s preaching about the sale of indulgences:
“Indulgences are the most precious and the most noble of God’s gifts. Come, and I will give you letters, all properly sealed, by which even the sins that you intend to commit may be pardoned. I would not change my privileges for those of St. Peter in Heaven, for I have saved more souls by my indulgences than the apostle by his sermons. There is no sin so great that an indulgence cannot remit. But, more than this, indulgences avail not only for the living but for the dead. Priest! noble! merchant! wife! youth! maiden! do you not hear your parents and your other friends who are dead, and who cry from the bottom of the abyss, We are suffering horrible torments! a trifling alms would deliver us; you can give it, and you will not! Oh stupid and brutish people, who do not understand the grace so richly offered! Why, the very instant your money rattles at the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from Purgatory, and flies liberated to Heaven. The Lord our God no longer reigns, He has resigned all powers to the Pope.” Andrew Miller, Miller’s Church History, pg. 633.v. After members of Luther’s congregation who bought indulgences came to him for the pardons they authorized priests to give to the purchasers, he refused and urged them to the only way to gain forgiveness from God. We are told:
“Luther, though still a papist of the straitest sort, was filled with horror at the blasphemous assumptions of the indulgence mongers. Many of his own congregation had purchased certificates of pardon, and they soon began to come to their pastor, confessing their various sins, and expecting absolution, not because they were penitent and wished to reform, but on the ground of the indulgence. Luther refused them absolution, and warned them that unless they should repent and reform their lives, they must perish in their sins. In great perplexity they repaired to Tetzel with the complaint that their confessor had refused his certificates; and some boldly demanded that their money be returned to them. The friar was filled with rage. He uttered the most terrible curses, caused fires to be lighted in the public squares, and declared that he ‘had received an order from the pope to burn all heretics who presumed to oppose his most holy indulgences’.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pg. 128-129.
“Luther now entered boldly upon his work as a champion of the truth. His voice was heard from the pulpit in earnest, solemn warning. He set before the people the offensive character of sin, and taught them that it is impossible for man, by his own works, to lessen its guilt or evade its punishment. Nothing but repentance toward God and faith in Christ can save the sinner. The grace of Christ cannot be purchased; it is a free gift. He counseled the people not to buy indulgences, but to look in faith to a crucified Redeemer. Ibid, pg. 129.vi. It was the year 1517, this was the year when the Protestant Reformation began with Luther nailing his 95 theses against the indulgences on the castle church door. We are told:
“As Tetzel continued his traffic and his impious pretensions, Luther determined upon a more effectual protest against these crying abuses. An occasion soon offered. The castle church of Wittenberg possessed many relics, which on certain holy days were exhibited to the people, and full remission of sins was granted to all who then visited the church and made confession. Accordingly on these days the people in great numbers resorted thither. One of the most important of these occasions, the festival of All Saints, was approaching. On the preceding day, Luther, joining the crowds that were already making their way to the church, posted on its door a paper containing ninety-five propositions against the doctrine of indulgences. He declared his willingness to defend these theses next day at the university, against all who should see fit to attack them. His propositions attracted universal attention. They were read and reread, and repeated in every direction. Great excitement was created in the university and in the whole city. By these theses it was shown that the power to grant the pardon of sin, and to remit its penalty, had never been committed to the pope or to any other man.” Ibid, pg. 129-130.vii. Luther, in 1517, when he posted the 95 theses, was yet greatly unlearned in the truths of the Scriptures against the Papacy, so we shall just show some of the clauses of this theses as an example, since they are so many. These are some of the theses by their rank number:
1. Our lord and Master Jesus Christ, in saying, “Repent ye,” etc., intended that the whole life of believers should be penitence.
2. This word cannot be understood of sacramental penance, that is, of the confession and satisfaction which are performed under the ministry of the priests.
5. The Pope has neither the will nor the power to remit any penalties except those which he has imposed by his own authority or by that of the canons.
21. Thus those preachers of indulgences are in error who say, that by the indulgences of the Pope a man is loosed and saved from all punishment.
27. They preach human doctrine who say that the soul flies out of purgatory as soon as the money thrown into the chest rattles.
33. We must especially beware of those who say that these pardons from the Pope are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to God.
62. The true treasure of the Church is the holy Gospel of the glory and grace of God.
76. We affirm, on the contrary, that papal indulgences cannot take away even the least of venial sins as regards its guilt.
79. To say the cross set up among the insignia of the papal arms is of equal power with the Cross of Christ is blasphemy.
92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, “Peace, peace!” through there is no peace.” Edited by John Warwick Montgomery, In Defence of Martin Luther, pg. 20-38.
viii. Luther in the years of his development in the Reformation attacked every heresy and those who taught them as far as he understood; he attacked Jerome, Augustine, the Francisican and Dominican Orders. He also attacked the Thomism of Thomas Aquinas. Here is an example:
“For one law always bringeth forth ten more; and so they increase without number and without end. This do the innumerable Summae witness (especially that devilish one which they call the Angelic), wherein laws of this sort are gathered and expounded. To be brief: he that striveth to be justified by the law endeavoureth to do that which he shall never be able to accomplish.” Martin Luther, A Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, pg. 389.
“Thomas and other school-doctors, speaking of the abolishment of the law, say that the judicial and the ceremonial laws are pernicious and deadly since the coming of Christ, and therefore they are abolished; but not so the moral law. These [blind doctors] knew not what they said. But if thou wilt speak of the abolishment of the law, talk of the law as it is in its own proper use and office, and as it is spiritually taken; and comprehend withal the whole law, making no distinction at all between the judicial, ceremonial and moral law. For when Paul saith that we are delivered from the curse of the law by Christ, he speaketh of the whole law, and principally of the moral law, which only accuseth, curseth and condemneth the conscience, which the other two do not. Wherefore we say that the moral law, or the law of the Ten Commandments, hath no power to accuse and terrify the conscience in which Christ reigneth by his grace: for he hath abolished the power thereof.” Ibid, pg. 427.ix. By attacking the schoolmen and what they taught Luther attacked Thomas Aquinas and others that were advocating kindred theology. Here is their false concept of Justification:
“When a man doth any good work, God accepteth it, and for that work he poureth into him charity, which they call charity infused. This charity, say they, is a quality remaining in the heart, and this they call formal righteousness (which manner of speaking it is expedient for you to know), and they can abide nothing less than to hear that this quality forming and adoring the soul, as whiteness doth the wall, should not be counted righteousness, They can climb no higher than to this cogitation of man’s reason, that man is righteous by his own formal righteousness, which is grace making him acceptable unto God, that is to say, charity. So to this quality clearing unto the soul, that is to wit, charity (which is work after the law, for the law saith: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,’ etc.), they attribute formal righteousness [that is to say, true Christian righteousness], and they say that this righteousness is worthy of everlasting life, and he that hath it is formally righteous; and more over he is effectually or actually righteous, because he now doeth good works, whereunto everlasting life is due. That is the opinion of the Popish schoolmen, yea, even of the best of them all. Some others there be which are not so good, as Scotus and Occam, which said, that for the obtaining of grace of God, this charity infused or given of God, is not necessary; but that a man even by his own natural strength, may procure this charity above all things. For so reasoneth Scotus; If a man may love a creature, a young man a maiden, a covetous man money, which are less than good, he may also love God, which is the greater good. If he have a love of the creature through his natural strength, much more hath he a love of the Creator. With this argument were all the sophisters convicted, and none of them all was able to refute it.” Ibid, pg. 132-133.x. The doctrine of Religious Liberty of Liberty of Conscience came from Luther, thus it can be traced back to him. Here is what he tells us:
“In matters of policy, as I have said, God will have us to honour and reverence these outward veils or persons as his instruments by whom he governeth and preserveth the world. But when the question is as touching religion, conscience, the fear of God, faith, and the service of God, we must not fear these outward persons, we must put no trust in them, look for no comfort from them, or hope of deliverance by them, either corporally or spiritually. For this cause God will have no respect of persons in judgement; for judgement is a divine thing. Wherefore I ought neither to fear the judge, nor to trust in the judge; but my fear and trust ought to be in God alone, who is the true Judge. The civil judge or magistrate, I ought indeed to reverence for God’s cause, whose minister he is: but my conscience may not stay or trust upon his justice and equity, or be feared through his unjust dealing or tyranny, whereby I might fall into any offence against God, in lying, in bearing false witness, in denying the truth, etc. Otherwise I will reverence and honour the magistrate with all my heart. So I would also honour the Pope and love his person, if he would leave my conscience free, and not compel me to sin against God. But he will so be feared and adored, as cannot be done without offence to the majesty of God. Here since we must needs lose one, let us lose the person and stick to God. We could be content to suffer the dominion of the Pope, but because he abuseth the same so tyrannously against us, and would compel us to deny and blaspheme God, and him only to acknowledge as our lord and master, clogging our conscience, and spoiling us of fear and trust which we should have in God, therefore we are compelled by the commandment of God to resist the Pope; for it is written: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’ (Acts v:29). Therefore, without offense of conscience, which is our singular comfort, we contemn the authority of the Pope.” Ibid, pg. 105-106.
“Only we expect the liberty of conscience which we have in Christ Jesus.” Ibid, pg. 100.xi. The doctrine held by Rome, which Luther condemned despite how this doctrine was structured, was in fact “justification by works”. Here is Luther exposing and condemning this species of justification.
“Wherefore those things which the popish schoolmen have taught concerning the justifying faith being furnished with charity; are nothing else but mere dreams. For that faith which apprehendeth Christ the Son of God, and is furnished with him, is the same faith that justifieth, and not that faith which includeth charity.” Ibid, pg. 98-99.
"Wherefore the wicked and pernicious opinion of the Papists is utterly condemned, which attribute the merit of grace and remission of sins to the work wrought. For they say that a good work before grace, is able to obtain grace of congruence [which they call meritum de congruo because it is meet that God should reward such work]. But when grace is obtained, the work following deserveth everlasting life of due debt and worthiness [which they call meritum de condigno]. As for example: if a man being in deadly sin, without grace, do a good work of his own good natural inclination – that is , if he say or hear a mass, or give alms and such like – this man of congruence deserveth grace. When he hath thus obtained grace, he doth now a work which of worthiness deserveth everlasting life.” Ibid, pg. 121.xii. Thus it is clearly seen that the species of justification taught by the Roman Catholic in Luther’s time is not to be called subjective or inner transformation even though they may use such words as “infused”. This species of justification is not an inner change, but merely a works derived acceptance by God, it is justification by works:
1. A good work before grace obtains grace.
2. God rewards such works.
3. After grace is obtained the work following merits or deserves eternal life.
4. A man in sin without grace do a good work out of his own natural good inclination.
5. He deserves grace.
6. When he gets the grace any good works makes him worthy of eternal life.
xiii. This is clearly a fictious justification so it has no real change in it.
1. We are not justified by any human works for to seek to be meritorious or earn salvation. Rom. 4:1,2,4.
2. Justification cannot be by works. Gal. 2:16.
3. It is God that justifies. Rom. 8:33.
4. God uses the instrument of Faith to justify us. Gal. 3:8.
5. The Faith that justifies us motivates us to the keeping of the Law of God. Rom. 3:31.
6. The justification we undergo by God actually changes the character, and makes us righteous instead of and in place of sinfulness. (Rom. 8:6; Rom. 5:1).
7. Thus we teach a change – oriented justification. 1 Cor. 6:9-11.
xiv. Another false concept that accounted for man’s good works being accepted by God to be meritorious for man was the concept of synteresis. This was called a “spark of goodness” in the sinner. Of this we are told:
“…they observed that almost all people had a conscience that led them to feel guilt. This sense of having done wrong was a leftover spark of the divine. This spark they called the synteresis, and they found it in almost all human actions. By extension, whoever loved self, spouse, and child was nonetheless, loving them in spite of human frailty. Granted, this was a partially good deed, but it was a good deed.” James M. Kittelson, Luther The Reformer, pg. 72.xv. This “spark of goodness” was something good in man that could be used or improved upon.
“No one could attain the perfection of God, but people could be improved simply by appealing to the spark of goodness that lay within them.” Ibid, pg. 72.xvi. Luther failed in using this alleged “spark of goodness” to gain merits for justification.
“During these years Luther discovered that true religion was far more than just the proper inclination of the heart and earnest attempts to work out his salvation. But every time he tried to fan his own spark of goodness, he found that all he was doing was focusing his attention on himself. From his own teachers he knew that to think of himself was to be in his most sinful state.” Ibid, pg. 80.xvii. However this false concept denies the total depravity of sinful man.
1. All have sinned, we are told, and are coming short of the glory of God. Rom. 3:23.
2. No good thing (no synteresis) dwells in any unconverted man. Rom. 7:18.
3. No unrighteous man can do any good. Rom. 3:10-12.
4. Any conscience of sin or of guilt; is caused by the Holy Spirit convicting man of sin. Jn. 16:8,9.
5. Sinful man is filled with all unrighteousness, thus has nothing good in him that is meritorious. Rom. 1:29-32.
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