Dead in Sin
According to Philip Melanchthon, “The devil, who is powerful in the godless, does not cease to stir up this weak nature to various offenses, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:2” (Concordia, Apology, Article XVIII).
In Ephesians 2:1-2, Paul speaks of being dead in transgressions and sins, that is to say, walking in the flesh. This is the weakness in the godless that the devil exploits: the total depravity of human nature. Unbelievers follow the ways of the world, and the devil (the so-called ruler of the kingdom of the air) is at work in them:
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,2in which you used to livewhen you followed the ways of this worldand of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
Faith and Godliness
How, then, shall we be godly? How shall we deny the devil our heart? By faith in God alone. Yet, neither faith nor a godly conscience is a choice, for neither is an object of reason. We cannot apply reason to choose faith and godliness as we do in choosing between sensible objects. We can choose whether to eat, drink, rest, or engage in any number of familiar works. But we cannot choose to believe in God or love Him. Faith and godliness belong to the Spirit, which our free will cannot bind.
We do not assign spiritual matters to free will. These are to truly fear God, believe God, be confident and hold that He cares for us, hears us, and forgives us. These are the true works of the First Table, which the heart cannot produce without the Holy Spirit (Concordia, Apology, Article XVIII).
Melanchthon stresses this truth by encouraging us to consider it for ourselves: “People can determine this if they consider what their hearts believe about God’s will, whether they are truly confident God cares for and hears them” (ibid).
If you do not believe in God, can you make yourself believe? If you do not have a godly conscience, can you make it so? Try as you may, true belief is not a choice. The fear of God is not a choice. Reason cannot bind them.
This is why Melanchthon asserts that the works of the First Table cannot be performed without the Holy Spirit, as true faith in God and all that follows from it come not from reason but from the governing of the Holy Spirit in the reborn.
You cannot make yourself fear God, believe God, or hold hope in His promise. But if that hope comes upon you, you may be sure that it comes from God, for reason cannot touch matters of the heart.
Working with God
Furthermore, without faith, our works cannot be pleasing to God. So then, we must have faith in God before our works, performed with a godly conscience, and according to the Law, can please Him.
But what kind of faith? We must have faith that we are reconciled to God through the atoning sacrifice of his Son, given freely for our justification.
According to this faith, we do not merit His love for us through our own works. For, without being freed from the Law that condemns, our terrified consciences cannot satisfy those commands that require faith and not reason, such as loving God and holding none other before Him in our hearts. How could we truly love God unless we knew we were reconciled to Him? We cannot grasp this love with reason. We cannot make our hearts love God. And without this faith, we cannot keep even the first half of the Great Commandment given to us by the Son in Matthew 22:36-38:
36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37Jesus replied:“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”38This is the first and greatest commandment.
Conclusion
The devil tempts us all. For even the holy people of God cannot escape the ravages of sin. However, the serpent is most powerful in the godless, and he stirs their calloused hearts to vice. If we shall defend ourselves against the devil, we must turn our hearts of stone to flesh so that by true faith in God we can find strength in His promise and please Him with our good works, using our free will to judge between what is within our power with the love of God driving every choice we make.
Coram Deo
