The Simul in the Old Testament

by Rev. Donavon Riley

Simul justus et peccator. We Christians are at once saint and sinner. And while we might have the entire Scriptures at our fingertips, so often our go-to passages about this reality of the Christian life are in the New Testament. Let’s be honest. There are few passages that nail the “simul” as well as Romans 7, where we read about Paul agonizing about not doing the good that he wants to do and doing the bad that he doesn’t want to do. And yes, we can relate to that struggle all too well.

Not surprisingly, when we consult Martin Luther on the subject of the “simul,” he certainly appeals to the New Testament as well.

In his comments on Galatians 3 [:23], Luther lays out why Christians must view themselves in two ways at the same time, rather than as either a sinner or saint:

Therefore the Christian is divided this way into two times. To the extent that he is flesh, he is under the Law; to the extent that he is spirit, he is under the Gospel. To his flesh there always cling lust, greed, ambition, pride, etc. So do ignorance and contempt of God, impatience, grumbling, and wrath against God because He obstructs our plans and efforts and because He does not immediately punish the wicked who despise Him. These sins cling to the flesh of the saints. Therefore if you do not look at anything beyond the flesh, you will remain permanently under the time of the Law. But those days have to be shortened, for otherwise no human being would be saved (Matt. 24:22). An end has to be set for the Law, where it will come to a stop. Therefore the time of Law is not forever; but it has an end, which is Christ. But the time of grace is forever; for Christ, having died once for all, will never die again (Rom. 6:9–10). He is eternal; therefore the time of grace is eternal also.

Without this “simul” distinction our theology lapses into moralism—do goodism. Salvation is reduced to a process of self-improvement in which God and man each contribute their fair share and man’s progress is measured against a scale of increasing holiness. For the reformer, this was a totally unacceptable way to view Scripture, do theology, and live. In fact, if we abandon Luther at this point we will never understand how he engages and interprets the Bible, does theology, or why his life took shape the way it did. And part of this involved his looking intently into the pages of the Old Testament about our “simul” reality.

For example, in Luther’s commentary on Psalm 51 he states that God cannot be justified unless we are sinners. Yet, because we are sinners, we constantly resist, oppose, judge, and condemn all God’s words and works. There is, he says, “a constant legal war between Him and [self-righteous and selfsatisfied men] over His words and works.”

Luther makes this dichotomy a point of emphasis not only here, in relation to Psalm 51, but treats all the Old Testament this way. But, why? Because, as he writes, “All Scripture and the Word of God point to the suffering of Christ, as He Himself declares in the last chapter of Luke (24:46-47) that Scripture contains nothing else than the promised grace and forgiveness of sin through the suffering of Christ, that whoever believes in Him, and none other, shall be saved.”

So, when we follow Luther’s line of thinking, everything we read in Scripture is about Jesus crucified for sinners. On the other hand, then, everything we read in Scripture alerts us to the opposing fact that we are wholly sinful and in need of a gracious and forgiving Savior. That’s the “simul”, which means, we do not read the Bible as a manual for how to go from sinner to saint by way of the Ten Commandments or Jesus’ example. Instead, we learn from Dr. Luther to read all Scripture as God’s Word that at one and the same time reveals the truth about God and us. We are miserable sinners, and Jesus is a merciful Savior. It reveals that we are simultaneously condemned by God’s Word of Law and absolved by God’s Word of Gospel. We read and understand that we are unclean, weak sinners and simultaneously pure and strengthened in faith by Jesus’ blood that washes and cleanses us from all sin in a baptismal flood of grace. And for Luther, this is no small thing. This way of reading Scripture is literally a matter of death and life, because our eternal relation to God is at stake.

With this in mind, Luther’s comments on Psalm 51:5 illustrate the reality of the Christian life, not as going from sin to virtuous living, but from death to new life:

Adam must die and decay before Christ can arise completely, and this begins with a penitent life and is completed through death. Hence death is a wholesome thing to all who believe in Christ; for it does nothing else than destroy and reduce to powder everything born of Adam, so that Christ alone may be in us.

And so that we do not wonder how Christ alone may be in us who are miserable, unholy sinners, Luther continues [Psalm 51:11], adding that, the Holy Spirit must do it all for us. “The Holy Spirit must make me holy and sustain me. Furthermore, without the Holy Spirit Himself there is no gift or grace satisfactory to God.”

We are sinful, and that is all we ever bring to our relationship with God. On the other hand, God is kind, gracious, and forgiving for Christ’s sake. That is what He brings to the relationship. Therefore, until we are wholly dead to sin and wholly alive to Christ we can’t be in a right relation to God.

This is why we continue to listen and learn from Dr. Luther today. He points us to the reality of the Christian life as revealed to us by God’s Word of Law and Gospel in Scripture, both Old and New Testaments. It’s why we can rejoice when we read the Bible, do theology, and go about our life because, as Luther says, we give God nothing, but only take from Him. This is how He wants to be God for us. God gives, He does not take. 6 And to that Good News we can’t help but say, consistent with our “simul” selves, “O Lord, open my sinful lips, and my justified mouth will declare Christ’s praise.”

Rev. Donavon Riley is the pastor of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Webster, Minnesota. He is also the online content manager for Higher Things.