We publish this Defense of the Augsburg Confession for several reasons. (1) Most "so-called" and "misnomered" evanglicals do not know the issues of the Reformation and live in a provincial world--including their academics, pastors, and centres of advertisement. (2) If properly understood, these statements augur well for a recovery of the Law and Gospel. (3) If understood, this document, reflecting Scriptures, impugns and oppugns all forms of self-justification and works-righteousness. This specific section oppugns the abuse of special gatherings, e.g. monasteries, and the assumptions about one group being better than another, vitiating justification by faith alone. While this is specific to monasteries, by extrapolation, it has application to every expression of theological hubris and Pharisaicism. As Luther said somewhere, probably in his commentary on Galatians, we must sing, read, pray, repeat, review, return and ever hold fast to this doctrine of justification by faith alone. Why? Without the divine aid, we would always return to our pride and self-justifications. (4) In this scribe's small orbit of experience, Reformed and Presbyterian leaders do not deeply or widely read Luther. They, like myself, get stuck on Calvin--a good thing too. There are exceptions. Baptists, aside from some, do not even read the Reformers. I say not further concerning "yappaphilic" charismatics. They just don't read at all. Also, the Anglicans appear to rarely read Luther. The Anglo-Romewardizers vitriolically castigate Luther and the entire Reformed spectrum as "heretics." In other words, the orbits do not understand their relationship to the rest of the galaxy of Reformed, Lutheran and Anglican stars of yesteryear and today. This is offered here by a Calvinist Anglican with some differences with my Lutheran brethren, but advocating for a better understanding of the galaxy of divine stars in the True Church of Christ.
Article XXVII: (XIII): Of Monastic Vows.
24] But look at the impudence of the adversaries! They not only teach that these observances are justifying services, but they add that these services are more perfect, i.e., meriting more the remission of sins and justification, than do other kinds of life [that they are states of perfection, i.e., holier and higher states than the rest, such as marriage, rulership]. And here many false and pernicious opinions concur. They imagine that they [are the most holy people who] observe [not only] precepts and [but also] counsels [that is, the superior counsels, which Scripture issues concerning exalted gifts, not by way of command, but of advice]. Afterwards these liberal men, since they dream that they have the merits of supererogation, sell these [DPV: the truncation here is not a typographical error. It occurs in the text, inserting the "numeric 25" in the middle of a sentence. It is somewhat mis-numerated on our view, but that's minor housekeeping issue. XXVII.5 will follow tomorrow, God willing.]
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