Can we ever make God happy?- the Heidelberg Disputations (5 and 6 of 28)

I am going to consider the fifth and sixth of Luther’s Heidelberg Disputations together:

The works of men are thus not mortal sins (we speak of works which are apparently good), as though they were crimes.

The works of God (we speak of those which he does through man) are thus not merits, as though they were sinless.

We’ve already seen the shocking and almost over-stated statements Luther made in the Disputations (although overstated, they are still precise so don’t try to worm out of them because Luther is overstating his case). Now he clarifies them.

He previously argued that the works of man are mortal sins (Thesis 3). In the fifth thesis he clarifies that by saying they are not moral sins like crimes, but in their fruits the works of man are like mortal sins. They are just as damning as a mortal sin because of their selfish pride that motivates and results from them. When we try to do good in order to earn favor (from anyone, let alone God) the selfishness of the act negates any potential merit.

Then again, if we are to do something good- by the grace of God- those actions are not meritorious either. How can they be- God did them through us? How can we take credit for something that is the result of God’s action? Why would God think more highly of us for something he has done in us?

No matter how we might produce a good work, it will never be meritorious. As Isaiah says, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6).