Something from ... Augustine on what is good

Sinful minds craft a warped view of good and evil.  Good is often reduced to "what is good for me" or "what gives me pleasure."  Evil is reduced to "what I don't like."  As a result, people may embrace being evil because their vices bring them pleasure, but will despise being honest, hard-working people if they do not receive some kind of reward for it--whether fame or fortune.  

St. Augustine saw this same perverse attitude in the Roman Empire--people who want good things but have no desire to be good themselves.  That we still see this comes as no surprise; as King Solomon wrote, "There is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

From Augustine: "For evil men account those things alone evil which do not make men evil; neither do they blush to praise good things, and yet to remain evil among the good things they praise.  It grieves them more to own a bad house than a bad life, as if it were man's greatest good to have everything good but himself." 

The City of God, Book 2, Chapter 1.

Page 43, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, edited by Philip Schaaf.  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: Grand Rapids, MI. (c) 1956.

Summer Reading -- The City of God by Augustine

I am hoping to read through The City of God by St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo in north Africa (November 13, 354 – August 28 430).  It is considered a classic.  I fear my intentions will not measure up to my stamina.  I don't know if I enough time or ambition to read all 511 pages with small print, archaic translation, and heavy content.  Oh well, at least my summer reading title sounds impressive. 

Here is a brief snippet to start things off.  Something from Augustine on God's intentions in allowing suffering to come upon both the righteous and the wicked.

"Nevertheless does the patience of God still invite the wicked to repentance, even as the scourge of God educates the good to patience.  And so, too, does the mercy of God embrace the good that it may cherish them, as the severity of God arrests the wicked to punish them. ... But as for the good things of this life, and its ills, God has willed that these should be common to both; that we might not too eagerly covet the things which wicked men are seen equally to enjoy, nor shrink with an unseemly fear from the wills which even good men often suffer."

-- The City of God: Book 1, paragraph 8.  

Page 5, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, edited by Philip Schaaf.  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: Grand Rapids, MI. (c) 1956.

Something from ... Augustine on God's grace to aid against temptation

St. Augustine (November 13, 354 - August 28, 430), bishop of Hippo in northern Africa, wrote extensively about God's grace and man's lack of free will.  Free will suggests that man has the capacity to do whatever he wants.  However, the Lord's Prayer itself proves otherwise.  If we truly had free will and had the ability to be holy, then we would be holy.  We could achieve it, and we would not be haunted much by temptations at all.

Nevertheless, we still pray that God would forgive us our trespasses because we continue to be guilty of them.  Then we pray that our Father in heaven would lead us not into temptation.  If we had the capacity, that is, the freedom, to overcome temptations, there would be little need to pray to God for the strength to overcome them.

In spiritual matters, we are not free.  We are slaves to sin.  Freedom comes only from Jesus whom the Father sent to deliver us.  And since we never shed our sinful nature as long as we live on this earth, our prayers to God will remain necessary.  And God--praise him for this--remains merciful and faithful to us. 

St. Augustine writes, “Now if all this were true, surely after offering the petition of the Lord's Prayer, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, we could hardly go on and say, And lead us not into temptation. Matthew 6:12-13  The former petition we present that our sins may be forgiven; the latter that they may be avoided or subdued—a favour which we should by no means beg of our Father who is in heaven if we were able to accomplish it by the virtue of our human will.” (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 26)

Something from ... Augustine on the source of good works

Something from Augustine on the source of good works.  Augustine highlights first that we are saved by faith alone.  However, faith is never alone.  From faith (that is, the new life which the Holy Spirit works in us) comes the fruits of faith, which are good works.  If, however, the good works flow from faith, and if faith is a gift of God, then even our works are God's doing within us.

“Not that he denied good works, or emptied them of their value, when he says that God renders to every man according to his works; Romans 2:6 but because works proceed from faith, and not faith from works.  Therefore it is from Him that we have works of righteousness, from whom comes also faith itself, concerning which it is written, The just shall live by faith. Habakkuk 2:4” (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 17)

Good works are not evil; they are good.  But the merits of salvation come from Christ alone.  He is our Savior.  He saves us completely.  Once saved, good works flow forth.  For, those who are alive in faith must live.  That life is made evident by our good works.  And those works are rendered good only through faith in Christ.

Something from ... Augustine on where one places his faith

Something from Augustine on Good Works and where one places his faith:

“It is to be feared … lest poor wretched man, when he leads a good life and performs good works (or rather thinks that he leads a good life and performs good works), should dare to glorify in himself and not in the Lord, and to put his hope of righteousness living in himself alone...”  (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 6)

Seems to me that Augustine could have been a Lutheran, teaching that we are saved by faith alone and not by our works.  This is also why Lutherans believe that we are still the church catholic.  We teach what the Church has always taught.

Something from ... Augustine on faith and good works

Martin Luther found much in St. Augustine's writings that he liked, especially since Augustine confirmed for Luther what he himself was finding as he read the Bible.  Luther was never interested in starting a new church or even a sect within the church.  Lutherans have always insisted that we are the church catholic.  We have not invented anything.  We believe, teach, and confess what the Church has always believed, taught, and confessed.  The Augsburg Confession takes great pains to say as much.

Here is a comment from Augustine regarding the relationship between faith and works.  While Lutherans confess that we are saved by faith alone apart from works (Romans 3:28), we also insist that faith is never alone (James 2:14-17).  Faith produces good works.  It is not our works that save, however.  It is faith in Jesus Christ who has done all the works for us that saves.  Whatever works we do are purified in Christ.  All our righteousness--our status and the works that the Holy Spirit works in us--comes through Jesus.

So, Augustine was a Lutheran.  Or, Lutherans are Augustinian in this regard.  Or both are Christian, holding to the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Or both are catholic, standing with the Church in its faithful teaching of Scripture.  

“Not that he denied good works, or emptied them of their value, when he says that God renders to every man according to his works; Romans 2:6 but because works proceed from faith, and not faith from works.  Therefore it is from Him that we have works of righteousness, from whom comes also faith itself, concerning which it is written, The just shall live by faith. Habakkuk 2:4” (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 17)

Something from ... Augustine on God's grace to help us in our need

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo

          Actually, TWO things from Augustine (354 - 430), Bishop of Hippo.  Both emphasize our utter dependence upon God to aid us in our Christian life.  The first mentions God's grace to help us overcome temptation.  The second mentions God's grace to work in us to do good works.  Even in our Christian living, faith is useless unless God grants us the strength to live and act according to his will.  Therefore, we flee to God's word and sacraments again and again so that the Lord will strengthen and keep us in the true Christian faith unto life everlasting.

“If our Saviour had only said, Watch that you enter not into temptation, He would appear to have done nothing further than admonish man's will; but since He added the words, and pray, He showed that God helps us not to enter into temptation.” (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 9)


“Wherefore no man ought, even when he begins to possess good merits, to attribute them to himself, but to God, who is thus addressed by the Psalmist: Be Thou my  helper, forsake me not.  But saying, Forsake me not, he shows that if he were to be forsaken, he is unable of himself to do any good thing.” (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 13)

Something from ... Augustine, on grace and the Law

Something from St. Augustine.  Short and sweet.

“Grace makes us lovers of the law; but the law itself, without grace, makes us nothing but breakers of the law.” (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 38)

Something from ... Augustine on Grace and Good Works

          “Grace makes us lovers of the law; but the law itself, without grace, makes us nothing but breakers of the law."

-- St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 38

Something from ... Augustine on God's recompense

          This coming Sunday has its focus on the Last Judgment.  With that in mind, St. Augustine of Hippo (354 - 430) has us reflect on God's judgment and how he repays sinners according to both his justice and his grace.

“It is, I think, sufficiently clear that God works in the hearts of men to incline their wills wherever He wills, whether to good deeds according to His mercy, or to evil after their own desserts; His own judgment being sometimes manifest, sometimes secret, but always righteous.” (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 43)

“God will, therefore, certainly recompense both evil for evil, because He is just; and good for evil, because He is good; and good for good, because He is good and just; only, evil for good He will never recompense, because He is not unjust.  He will, therefore, recompense evil for evil—punishment for unrighteousness; and He will recompense good for evil—grace for unrighteousness; and He will recompense good for good—grace for grace.” (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 45)

Something from ... Augustine re: Faith and Grace

          Something from Augustine, Bishop of Hippo  (November 13, 254 - August 28, 430), regarding faith and grace.  St. Paul wrote that faith is "not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Augustine highlights this, reminding every Christian that salvation is completely God's work.  Even the faith, which we often call our own, is God's doing and God's gift.

“His last clause runs thus: I have kept the faith.  But he who says this is the same who declares in another passage, I have obtained mercy that I might be faithful. 1 Corinthians 7:25  He does not say, I obtained mercy because I was faithful, but in order that I might be faithful, thus showing that even faith itself cannot be had without God's mercy, and that it is the gift of God.” (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 17)

Something from ... Augustine on Good Works and Grace

          Something from St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (November 13, 354 - August 28, 430) on Good Works and Grace, noting that any good work we do is God working through us so that God rewards his own grace.  All of our salvation is God's doing, even our good works.


          “It is His own gifts that God crowns, not your merits—if, at least, your merits are of your own self, not of Him.  If, indeed, they are such, they are evil; and God does not crown them; but if they are good, they are God's gifts. ….
          “If, then, your good merits are God's gifts, God does not crown your merits as your merits, but as His own gifts.” (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 15)