Good works are essential but not enough

Welcome to "In All Our Doings" brought to you by Anglican Futures. Today,  explore Cranmer's teachings on justification by faith, emphasizing that good works are essential but not the basis for our justification.

If you want to discover what else Anglican Futures offers – blogs, events and practical support - please visit our website www.anglicanfutures.org

 

TRANSCRIPT

Hello and Welcome to “In All Our Doings”

Simply confession, Cranmer, a creed and collects. brought to you daily by Anglican Futures. 

Thank you for joining us and we hope these timeless truths will strengthen you for whatever you face in the coming day.

And so we begin with Confession

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Hear the Word of God to all who truly turn to him.

If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Cranmer’s third homily reminds us that we cannot justify ourselves

So the grace of God does not shut out the justice of God in our justification, but only shuts out the justice of man.  That is to say, the justice of our works, as being the merits of deserving our justification. And therefore Saint Paul declares here nothing on behalf of man concerning his own justification, but only a true and lively faith, which nevertheless is the gift of God and not man's only work without God.  And yet that faith does not shut out repentance, hope, love, dread, and the fear of God, being joined with faith in every man that is justified. But it shuts them out from the office of justifying. So that although they all be present together in him that is justified, yet they justify not altogether. Nor does faith shut out the justice of our good works, necessarily to be done afterwards out of duty towards God, for we are most bound to serve God in doing good deeds commanded by Him in His Holy Scripture all the days of our life. But it excludes them, so that we may not do them with the intention of being made good by doing them. For all the good works that we can do be unperfect and therefore not able to deserve our justification.

So we turn to Jesus’s words in John Chapter 6, beginning at verse 60

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

This is the word of the Lord

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

Let us pray

Our Father in Heaven

Hallowed be your name

Your kingdom come

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven

Give us today our daily bread

And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from the evil one

For the kingdom the power and the glory are yours now and forever Amen

 

Collect for today

Almighty God, we beseech you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the Cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Go before us, O Lord, in all our doings with your most gracious favour, and further us with your continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in you, we may glorify your holy Name, and finally, through your mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Final Words

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen

 

If you have found this episode of “In All Our Doings helpful – why not like it, share it with friends and family or subscribe to the podcast?  If you have any thoughts or questions about today’s episode, please leave a comment or contact us through our website www.anglicanfutures.org . 

Bible readings are taken from the English Standard Version with permission from Crossway.  The liturgy comes from the ACNA Book of Common Prayer 2019.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language