Authentic Christianity: How Lutheran Theology Speaks to a Postmodern World

by Gene Edward Veith Jr.

Justification by faith means that we are not doing good works for ourselves. We have no need for good works to earn salvation. Since we are not “getting anything out of it,” the good works that we do freely acquire genuine moral significance. Of course, Christians do sin. We do not always love our neighbors or do good works spontaneously and freely. Part of us still lives in bondage. Although we have been redeemed, we are still “in the flesh” and still must struggle against our sinful nature. The Gospel does free us to do good works and to love our neighbor as we should. But we do not always do that. Or we do to a certain extent, but parts of our lives remain moral cesspools. Which means that Christians still need the Law, still need to be brought to repentance, and still need the Gospel. This is the basis for the classic Lutheran paradox: a Christian is simultaneously a saint and a sinner. Clothed in Christ and His righteousness, a Christian is holy before God. And yet, the Christian is also a sinner, in constant need of Christ’s forgiveness. It is not a binary sinner or saint; rather, it is both sinner and saint. A Christian has two identities, and the conflict between them shapes the Christian’s spiritual life. This struggle between sin and grace—described also in Scripture as “the flesh” and “the Spirit” (Romans 8:1–17) and “the old self” versus the “new self” (Ephesians 4:22–24)—is that of sanctification.