This post is a continuation of “Part 3” of the series below, assessing the tradition with respect to John Piper and his defenders:
Rachel Miller Contra Mundum? The 5 Solas and John Piper: Part 1
Rachel Miller Contra Mundum? The 5 Solas and John Piper: Part 2, “Salvation”
Rachel Contra Mundum? The 5 Solas and John Piper: Part 3, Beginning at the End: The Marrow Men
Martin Luther: Good Works, the Fruits of Faith
“’For in Christ I have all things at once, neither need I anything more, that is necessary unto salvation’ [Luther]. And to us it is evident, that this is the believer’s plea, viz: Christ’s most perfect obedience to the law, for him, in answer unto its demand of good works for obtaining salvation….” ~The Marrow Men
Finding passages from Martin Luther consonant with the above is perfectly simple. On every other page we see him extolling the message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. He is even one of those simple rubes that puts Justification for Salvation and Salvation for Justification with no explanation, contrary to our more refined Reformed Scholastic forebears (yes, sarcasm). He teaches that the Gospel is only purely preached if good works are not added as conditions—why?—because faith apprehends the whole Christ, which is the whole of our salvation:
Bradly Mason 