“Luther’s problem has stopped being our problem.”

Pastor Christopher Esget has posted a sermon at his blog that really got me thinking.  Here is an excerpt:

The problem with the church today is that Luther’s problem has stopped
being our problem. Luther’s problem was the original problem of all
true theology: How can mankind be redeemed – rescued from his sins, and
the death and hell they have merited? For Luther, the question became a
very personal one: “How can I be redeemed?”

This question is really a question about God: “How can I find a God of mercy?” Today’s questions about God – if they are about God at all – are thoroughly self-absorbed: How can I find a God who can give me my best life now? How can I have a life of purpose? How can I be happy? In these questions, God is a means to an end. But God is not a means to an end. God is the end, even as He is the beginning.

I heard a church historian speaking recently about how modern
American religious thought is different from previous ages. One of the
things that makes our age unique is that nobody thinks he is going to
hell. Luther wrestled with a different kind of problem. He couldn’t see
how he wouldn’t be condemned to hell.

It occurred to me while singing the wonderful hymns "A Mighty Fortress is our God" and "Salvation Unto Us Has Come" this past Sunday that these are songs that were written by people with a deep conviction that hell, God's wrath, and the devil were real dangers.  Hell and the wrath of God were terrifying prospects and the devil was a real and powerful enemy.  Our condition under the Law is desperate, bleak and hopeless.  It is only through Christ and his perfect life, death and resurrection that we have any hope of escaping God's wrath.

To run the risk of severe understatement, one does not get this sense so much today.  Mention hell and the wrath of God and you might get dirty looks from Christians as well as non-Christians.  It's not seeker-friendly to talk about such things, and we ourselves are not so sure we're comfortable with a God into whose hands it is a fearful thing to fall.

And so in most of American Christianity, God has been reduced to a relatively benign, therapeutic figure that, I am convinced, Martin Luther and the other Reformers would not even have recognized.  Except as an idol.

How did we get to this point?

It seems to me as though the self-centered questions we ask today are only symptoms of a larger problem.  Luther and the Reformers answered the question "How can I find a God of mercy?" with the Biblical answer of the Gospel – that Jesus Christ lived a perfect life for us, died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead three days later.  The terrifying fury of the Law was answered by the sweet, wonderful news that God is for me in Christ even though I deserve nothing but wrath.

Somewhere down the line, the question "How can I find a God of mercy?" seemed to be answered by either downplaying God's wrath or eliminating it altogether as an outdated, antiquated notion.  Thus the Gospel is reduced to "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.  Sin prevents you from participating in this wonderful plan.  Accept Jesus as your personal Savior and find your purpose."

But I don't need Christ dead on a cross to live an abundant life by the standards of this world.  I don't need Christ dead on a cross to find my purpose in life.  I don't need Christ dead on a cross to be happy.  Believe it or not, there are a lot of happy, fulfilled non-Christians out there.

I do need Christ dead on a cross if my problem is sin that condemns me to hell.  I do need Christ dead on a cross if my sin has earned God's wrath and judgment.

One does not find a God of mercy by creating an idol.