Philosophical jargon, insistence on one reading of a passage, and a picture! And another long post.

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

Chapter 3 in its entirety is cited at the end of the Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article 1: Original Sin (FC, SD 1.62) in reference to Luther’s writing on this chapter. Those who followed Luther in Germany after his death embraced his technical philosophical language for understanding original sin. Original sin is an accident. But this does not mean a “whoopsie.”

In Greek philosophy, which predominated the thinking of Luther’s world, every thing has essence and accidens. The essence is the aspects of the thing that are necessary for that thing to be of that thing For example, a pen must have some way to transfer ink from some storage device to what is being written or drawn upon. If the thing doesn’t have this basic characteristic, it might be a used up pen (a.k.a. trash), but it is not a pen.

The accidens of a thing are all the parts that can change about a thing without changing its essence. So the size, shape, style, age, material of manufacture, etc., are all accidens of a pen.

Lutherans argue that sin is an acciden of humanity, not part of our essence. We are made holy and pure, but we our purity is corrupted by sin.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
— Genesis 3:6

Verse 6 and following is cited in the Smalcald Articles, Part 3, Article 1 (SA 3.1.3) as the final in a list of scriptural citations that show us the corruption of sin, which cannot be grasped by reason, but only by faith.

Psalm 32

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
— Psalm 32:1

Verse 1 is quoted in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 4: Justification (AP 4.76) as, Melanchthon says, the first instance on justification my faith. Using the translation “blessed” instead of happy, this is a plain reading of the text.

A little later in the same article (AP 4.103), Melanchthon quotes a letter from Ambrose to Irenaeus that quotes verse 1 to show that this was a faithful reading of this verse.

With this established, Melanchthon comes back to verse 1 a little later (AP 4.162-163ish) to spell out that Jesus continues to intercede for us before the Father to forgive us our sins because this is the only way our works can be good. If our sins were not continually forgiven, faith would not happen and no work could be good.

Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
— Psalm 32:6

Verse 6 sneaks in here (AP 4.168ish) using a quote from the Vulgate to make the point that even the holiest people pray for forgiveness because not even they could do enough works to cover their sinful desires.

Near the end of the article (AP 4.377ish), Melanchthon quotes verse 1 again to bring it all together through a reference to a sermon from Bernard of Clairvaux. Bernard, a saint of the church, recognizes his need for forgiveness and that his works will not get him heaven. Bernard consoles himself with the forgiveness is sin and gift of eternal life given through Jesus. Even saints of the church are on record showing that it is God’s gift of faith that saves, not works.

Finally, verse 1 is cited in a footnote to the Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article 4: Good Works to give the proper reference for a quote within a quote in Affirmative Thesis 2 (FC, Ep 4.7, n. 35). Taking it right out of Luther’s Bible, there is a quote of Romans 4:6-8, of which verses 7 and 8 are Psalm 32:1. This thesis makes the point that good works must not be part of our discussions on salvation and justification.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
— Psalm 32:5

Verse 5 is quoted in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 12: Repentance (AP 12.107). In this part of the article, Melanchthon is looking at the process private confession and satisfaction, and in this particular paragraph, the issue of contrition. His argument is that contrition is what happens when we confess our sins to God, and not just a listing off of sins, but confession that comes from the heart: acknowledgement of being sinful and that God’s wrath is just and right. This is what drives true confession and does not need to happen before another person. (But neither does that mean it shouldn’t.)

Romans 5:12-19

Romans 5:12 thru 6:6 are cited in a footnote near the end of The Large Catechism, Part 4: Baptism (LC 4.64, n. 217) as a way to help us understand that in this conclusion, Luther’s reference to the old Adam or the old creatures in this conclusion come from Paul’s use of these phrases.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned…
— Romans 5:12

Verse 12 is cited twice in the Smalcald Articles, and twice in the Solid Declaration. Both citations in the Smalcald Articles are in Part 3, Article 1: Concerning Sin (SA 3.1.1, and SA 3.1.3) The first citation places Luther’s understanding of original or inherited sin in line with Paul’s. The second citation is as the second of four scriptural citations that show us the corruption of sin, which cannot be grasped by reason, but only by faith—like Genesis 3:6 above, which is the last one in this list.

The two citations in the Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, are in Article 1: Original Sin (FC, SD 1.7 and 1.9). The first is a partial quote used in a quick summary of AC 19, that God does not cause sin, but instead sin was instigated by the devil and came into the world through Adam. The second is a simple citation at the start of the numbered list summarizing the argument from AP 2.2-50, but this first point of the summary is that original sin is really an inherited defect called guilt, which is from the disobedience that we inherited from Adam and Eve.

Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.
— Romans 5:18

Verse 18 is partly quoted in the Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article 3: Righteousness (FC, SD 3.12) as those who followed Luther worked together to figure out the role of faith in being righteous before God. This verse, along with Romans 3:28 and Romans 4:5, they agree, say the same thing: we are justified before God by faith. This faith is, however, not itself a work, but a gift of God that receives the promises of God in Christ.

Matthew 4:1-11

Verse 1 thru 11, yes, this entire reading, is cited in a footnote to The Small Catechsim, Part 3: The Lord’s Prayer, The Sixth Petition (SC 3.17, n. 73) because this is the story of the woodcut assocaited with the sixth petition.

It’s not a bad idea to do a sermon on the sixth petition for the first Sunday in Lent.

TheoThru

A lot of technical language, but it all goes to serve an important point: God makes us good. Sin is inherited from Adam’s disobedience. Justification comes through Jesus’ faithfulness. These are central points for Lutheran theology and keeps Lutherans different from Roman Catholics and the other Protestant denominations.

On a side note, please remember that the, “If you are the Son of God,” phrase the devil uses in today’s gospel reading is not, “If, and I don’t know the answer,” but, “If, and I know you are.” The devil knows who Jesus is.

I’m going to come back to my last comment on the gospel reading. A sermon on the sixth commandment could open up some minds to the depths of temptation—both ours and Jesus’. Just unpacking “false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice” (SC 3.18) could be an entire Lenten series.