I was raised in a Baptist environment. The church(es) we attended were not necessarily Baptist in name, but certainly were hard line Baptist in theology. I was baptised as any good Baptist is - after I could properly articulate my faith and give a proper testimony. Thus, as numerous traditional church members can usually say; that they were baptised on the 2nd day, or the 8th or 10th day, I could say that I was baptised in about the 10th year, only after I could give a proper testimony. And of course after my baptism by full immersion in a lake, the congregation sang "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." So, while my baptism is certainly valid, the underlying theology of baptism is in direct opposition to what the Scriptures teach about baptism.
Ultimately, when one's theology of the sacraments is completely emptied of their biblical import and meaning, defined by our Lord Jesus Christ, something else always rushes in to fill the void. So whereas a Lutheran can say "I was saved in my baptism," a Baptist would never say such a thing, because of the Baptist's theology of Baptism. In fact, to say such a thing would be paramount to heresy in a Baptist church. God forbid you were saved by your obedience! (Because baptism is nothing more than a work of obedience in baptist theology)
So what rushes in to replace the completely objective washing for the forgiveness of sins that is baptism? Why, it's my personal decision to choose Christ, of course! This is usually done by praying a certain prayer (the Sinner's Prayer or something like it), or walking forward at the end of the service to answer an "altar call" by submitting their life to Christ.
Far from being an isolated incident, I was asked, literally, numerous times: "If you don't know the moment you made a choice for Jesus, how do you know you're saved?"
Yes, this is really a common question in Baptist circles; especially those of a more fundamental baptist ilk. The problems with this sort of statement and theology are numerous. First and foremost, the Bible doesn't teach it anywhere. Nowhere does the Scripture ever exhort us to make a decision for Jesus, or ask Him into our heart, make Him our personal Savior, have a relationship with Him (everyone already has a relationship with Christ. They're either under grace and saved, or they're lost. Either one is a relationship), or other such ideas. Second, it actually rails against what Scripture actually says about the topic. Whereas Scripture repeatedly tells us that we are dead in sins (Eph 2), unable to obey God (Rom 8, 1Co 2), and that God alone saves us unilaterally apart from ourselves (Eph 2, Rom 8, etc), and not because of ourselves and our choice(s); this theology says the opposite; namely, that we are able to decide for ourselves with our free will.
In opposition to this wrong headed theology, which is utterly subjective and based upon something we must do and decide, the Scriptures give us pure objectivity. This objectivity is rooted in an unchanging God, who cannot lie (Tit 1). This objectivity is based on the Christ who created the world (Gen 1, Col 1). But where is this objectivity found? In our choice? Or elsewhere?
Since our choices and decisions are based on us, they are therefore subjective and fleeting. Christ, however, is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13). God, in His infinite wisdom, has given us objective means based solely on Himself, that are for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of the world. As Luther reminds us in his Small Catechism: "For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation." (SC VI)
Thankfully, God has seen fit to actually tell us where this objectivity is found. He has bound Himself to His Word, and His Word tells us that Baptism, the Word itself, Absolution, and the Holy Supper are the places in which He forgives sins. Far be it from overriding the cross and resurrection of Christ, these are the actual places that Christ has said deliver these benefits of the cross to us. In baptism, we are buried and raised with Christ (Rom 6, Col 2). In the Holy Supper of Christ in which we receive the body and blood of our Lord, we receive the forgiveness of sins (Mat 26, Mar 14, Luk 22, 1Co 10, 11). In the creative power of the Word of God, we are saved (Rom 10). This is the same creative Word that spoke the universe into existence (Gen 1). Christ has given us these means, based upon Himself, so that we would not be stuck floundering in subjectivity, and our salvation would be based on something certain and sure - Christ Himself. The predestination of God and His election to salvation is carried out, in time, through these means, which are always for you.
I'll take the Scriptures and the objectivity of our unchangeable God over myself and my choices all day, every day, and right on into eternity.
Praise be to God for His infinite wisdom.
+Pax+
Showing posts with label Absolution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Absolution. Show all posts
12/28/15
God is For Us
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:31-32 (ESV)
This is great news! God is for us, not against us. If a vengeful and wrathful God is what you seek, you must look somewhere other than Christ. For God gave up Christ to be crucified for us as an act of love. The Incarnation of Christ and His subsequent crucifixion and resurrection is all the proof we need that God is definitely for us.
This is great news! God is for us, not against us. If a vengeful and wrathful God is what you seek, you must look somewhere other than Christ. For God gave up Christ to be crucified for us as an act of love. The Incarnation of Christ and His subsequent crucifixion and resurrection is all the proof we need that God is definitely for us.
Not only so, but this is the definitive proof that God has given us. We needn't look elsewhere to seek out God. Only in Christ is where He will be found. God does not desire for us to look elsewhere. We do not need dreams. We do not need visions. We do not need to raise someone from the dead, talk gibberish, or experience any other charismatic mania to know that God is for us. He has sent His Son to die for us and rise again, defeating Satan, sin, and death in one fell swoop.
Moreover, it is a surety. God has done it all and continues to do it all. Christianity is not a religion of ladder climbing, where God weighs our good against our bad and then makes an infallible judgment call on the quality of our lives. Whereas good works are very important to Christianity, they are never able to merit us any sort of standing or favor before God.
Instead, Jesus Christ comes to be born in a manger with animals around Him, lives a perfect life fulfilling the law on our behalf, and then dies for our sins and rises again. Continuing into today and throughout history until He returns, He will continue to save people through His powerful creative Word, given to us in the preaching of the Gospel, the Sacraments, and the Office of the Keys which He instituted.
Christ came and lived, died, and rose for you due to nothing good in yourself. (1 Cor 15:1-4, Jer 17:9, Rom 3:10-12)
God is for us.
The good news of this life, death, and resurrection is preached to you. (Rom 10:9-17)
God is for us.
You are forgiven of your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (John 20:23)
God is for us.
He washes us in the waters of Holy Baptism and buries us and raises us in faith. (Rom 6:3-4, Col 2:12, Gal 3:27, Tit 3:5)
God is for us.
He gives us His true body and blood to nourish us, forgive our sins, and deliver to us life and salvation. (Mat 26:26-28)
God is for us.
And best of all, He is for all of us. desiring the salvation of everyone. (1 Tim 2:4-6, 2 Pet 3:9)
God is for us. All of us. Even you.
+Pax+
9/7/15
Running Away from Church
It's quite common for people to abandon the church. We've all seen it; a seemingly well-meaning Christian who simply up and walks away. Sometimes it takes a long period of time for this to happen and sometimes it happens strikingly quickly. It's common for Christians to face doubts. We all have. Sometimes those doubts cross over into a full-blown crisis of faith. It's not abnormal and it doesn't mean that your faith sucks or that you're somehow less of a person. Far from it. It makes you a human.
This post is not going to delve into defenses for the Christian faith, although there are some excellent ones out there. Rather, it's going to focus on something that the Christian church at-large has done a really poor job at, and I think that it contributes to driving people away from the church.
This is going to sound so simple it's almost foolish. The Christian Church at-large has abandoned Christ and the things He did to save us as the central teaching of the church. In other words, the Gospel is not the center of Christian teaching in most churches. Or at the very least, the Gospel is treated as something we already know, but now we're going to move on to bigger and better things.
This guy happens to think that this directly contributes to people leaving the church. It just makes sense that if you relegate the central teaching of Christianity to a sort of secondary status, something else rushes in to replace it and take the place of that central teaching.
Surprisingly, from what I can see, this thing that comes rushing in is almost always the same thing. When the Church abandons Christ the Savior as the central teaching of their Church and does not preach Christ crucified every time they gather, the thing that almost always rushes in to fill the void is me, myself, and I. It always comes back to that. Sure, the pastor or priest probably is using the Scriptures to deliver their message, but if they are not grounding it in the Gospel and not culminating their message in Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins, the message will ultimately drive people from the church or put them on the road to works righteousness.
Messages centered on victorious Christian living or helping others miss the point. Don't get me wrong, the Scriptures talk about helping others a lot. Yet, it is never the central focus of Christianity. Christ crucified for you is the focus. Messages like this ultimately give the listeners the wrong idea. The idea is that Jesus has died and risen, but that is old news. Now it is up to you to do, do, do. The doctrine of justification extra nos is swallowed up by the doctrine of sanctification, growing in grace, or living victoriously. In short, these sorts of messages put people on a treadmill that never ends.
These sorts of messages drive Christians to continual introspection, navel-gazing, and fruit checking. They do not point to the crucified and risen Lord. And in that regard, they severely miss the point.
How does this drive people away form the Church? Well, all it takes is for something to put their thinking cap on for a minute. When someone thinks about this, questions begin to arise. Am I doing enough to love my neighbor? Am I living victoriously? Am I doing what God wants me to? Am I getting the blessings God has for me? Am I meeting God's requirements and honoring Him in my life?
If the thinking person answers these questions honestly, they must answer them as follows: No, No, No, No, and finally, No.
And herein lies the problem. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. And for that we must repent. We do not live a life of constant victory. Christ did that for us. We can never do exactly what God wants of us, because we are sinful. If we're looking for special blessings outside of Christ and the forgiveness of sins, we're out in left field anyways. And we can never meet God's standards and requirements because He is God and He is perfect and we can never be.
In other words, when churches put people on this spiritual treadmill and the people think about this a little bit, they end up in one of two directions. The first and honest direction is to realize that you cannot do enough. The second direction ends up denying the sinfulness still inherent in all of us, even Christians, and ends up denying things like original sin and is ultimately a direct assault on Christ and the Gospel itself.
We end up judging each other by our outward holiness and actions. We refer to people as good Christians, nominal Christians, or bad Christians. All of this is bullcrap. The only thing you're good at is sinning. This is why we confess, as Lutherans, at the beginning of the service;
Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your Holy Name. Amen. (LSB - Divine Service Setting 1)
And the pastor responds:
Almighty God has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. (LSB - Divine Service Setting 1)
In other words, continual repentance and forgiveness is the Christian life. Not victorious living and perfect obedience to Christ. Obedience is good and obedience is important. But even our best obedience falls short. We need forgiveness, and for that, we need the work of Christ on our behalf, given to us objectively via Word and Sacrament.
We must anchor everything in our worship and practice in Christ crucified for the forgiveness of all of our sins. Once we get off of that sure footing, we end up on the never-ending treadmill. People realize this and end up running away from church. They're not dumb. There are a lot of ex-Christians out there who have left the church for this very reason. They get put on the treadmill and they realize they can't do it. Others have left for other reasons, but that is not what this post is about. People think and reason, and that is a good thing used within its proper context and setting. But if we're honest, we just can't stay on that treadmill that well.
Once you get away from Jesus, who He is, what He has done for us, and how we are made right with God completely apart from our insufficient works, you get away from Christianity altogether into a counterfeit of the real thing.
+Pax+
This post is not going to delve into defenses for the Christian faith, although there are some excellent ones out there. Rather, it's going to focus on something that the Christian church at-large has done a really poor job at, and I think that it contributes to driving people away from the church.
This is going to sound so simple it's almost foolish. The Christian Church at-large has abandoned Christ and the things He did to save us as the central teaching of the church. In other words, the Gospel is not the center of Christian teaching in most churches. Or at the very least, the Gospel is treated as something we already know, but now we're going to move on to bigger and better things.
This guy happens to think that this directly contributes to people leaving the church. It just makes sense that if you relegate the central teaching of Christianity to a sort of secondary status, something else rushes in to replace it and take the place of that central teaching.
Surprisingly, from what I can see, this thing that comes rushing in is almost always the same thing. When the Church abandons Christ the Savior as the central teaching of their Church and does not preach Christ crucified every time they gather, the thing that almost always rushes in to fill the void is me, myself, and I. It always comes back to that. Sure, the pastor or priest probably is using the Scriptures to deliver their message, but if they are not grounding it in the Gospel and not culminating their message in Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins, the message will ultimately drive people from the church or put them on the road to works righteousness.
Messages centered on victorious Christian living or helping others miss the point. Don't get me wrong, the Scriptures talk about helping others a lot. Yet, it is never the central focus of Christianity. Christ crucified for you is the focus. Messages like this ultimately give the listeners the wrong idea. The idea is that Jesus has died and risen, but that is old news. Now it is up to you to do, do, do. The doctrine of justification extra nos is swallowed up by the doctrine of sanctification, growing in grace, or living victoriously. In short, these sorts of messages put people on a treadmill that never ends.
These sorts of messages drive Christians to continual introspection, navel-gazing, and fruit checking. They do not point to the crucified and risen Lord. And in that regard, they severely miss the point.
How does this drive people away form the Church? Well, all it takes is for something to put their thinking cap on for a minute. When someone thinks about this, questions begin to arise. Am I doing enough to love my neighbor? Am I living victoriously? Am I doing what God wants me to? Am I getting the blessings God has for me? Am I meeting God's requirements and honoring Him in my life?
If the thinking person answers these questions honestly, they must answer them as follows: No, No, No, No, and finally, No.
And herein lies the problem. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. And for that we must repent. We do not live a life of constant victory. Christ did that for us. We can never do exactly what God wants of us, because we are sinful. If we're looking for special blessings outside of Christ and the forgiveness of sins, we're out in left field anyways. And we can never meet God's standards and requirements because He is God and He is perfect and we can never be.
In other words, when churches put people on this spiritual treadmill and the people think about this a little bit, they end up in one of two directions. The first and honest direction is to realize that you cannot do enough. The second direction ends up denying the sinfulness still inherent in all of us, even Christians, and ends up denying things like original sin and is ultimately a direct assault on Christ and the Gospel itself.
We end up judging each other by our outward holiness and actions. We refer to people as good Christians, nominal Christians, or bad Christians. All of this is bullcrap. The only thing you're good at is sinning. This is why we confess, as Lutherans, at the beginning of the service;
Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your Holy Name. Amen. (LSB - Divine Service Setting 1)
And the pastor responds:
Almighty God has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. (LSB - Divine Service Setting 1)
In other words, continual repentance and forgiveness is the Christian life. Not victorious living and perfect obedience to Christ. Obedience is good and obedience is important. But even our best obedience falls short. We need forgiveness, and for that, we need the work of Christ on our behalf, given to us objectively via Word and Sacrament.
We must anchor everything in our worship and practice in Christ crucified for the forgiveness of all of our sins. Once we get off of that sure footing, we end up on the never-ending treadmill. People realize this and end up running away from church. They're not dumb. There are a lot of ex-Christians out there who have left the church for this very reason. They get put on the treadmill and they realize they can't do it. Others have left for other reasons, but that is not what this post is about. People think and reason, and that is a good thing used within its proper context and setting. But if we're honest, we just can't stay on that treadmill that well.
Once you get away from Jesus, who He is, what He has done for us, and how we are made right with God completely apart from our insufficient works, you get away from Christianity altogether into a counterfeit of the real thing.
+Pax+
10/27/14
Becoming Lutheran
Why? Why am I a Lutheran? In this post, I'll attempt to answer that question, as well as give some background on how I got here. I am by no means a life-long Lutheran. Far from it, in fact. I wrote about this briefly before (From Calvinism to Lutheranism), but I intend to go a little deeper and give more of an explanation of my thoughts in this post and address more of the things flying around in my whirlwind of a mind.
I suppose I'll start from the beginning. I was raised in a Christian home with parents whom I respect and adore. My father was a pastor for many years in the Evangelical Covenant Church, although I also must comment that my dad was not Evangelical Covenant in theology (If there is such a thing. The ECC is open to pretty much anything these days.). He was a true blooded Baptist. He still is. And nobody studies the Word as much as that guy. So, suffice it to say, now as a Lutheran, I really don't agree with my father on many things within Christianity, but you're not going to hear me take shots at him. Far from it. Indeed, I am thankful and grateful for my Christian upbringing. My parents always tried to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
So, in short, I was raised in that environment. Baptist, pre-trib, dispensational, and so on. But mostly, I was raised to be a Christian, plain and simple.
I was baptized by full immersion in a lake when I was about 10 years old. It was Trinitarian, and my dad assisted in it. So, no need for me to be baptized again. ;)
Fast forward to 2007 or so. My wife and I had just moved to Michigan from Chicago and we ended up at a Bible Church in the area in which we lived. It was a vibrant church full of a lot of great people. They were big on weekday night studies in Scripture and I gained a lot from those. An inductive study on the book of Romans at that church was a big turning point for me. It led my fallen-away self back to the Gospel. But it also led me to the 5 points of Calvinism eventually.
You see, I have a very logical, mathematical, and scientific type of brain. Heck, I have a degree in Physics and taught high school Physics and Math in my life. That's just how I am wired. So, when I saw predestination all over Romans, my logical mind kicked in, and voila - Calvinism. When you take a doctrine like unconditional election (which is a true Scriptural doctrine) and jam your logic and reason onto it, everything else falls into place. Of course, when you do that, your primary operating assumption is the absolute sovereignty of God. Or we could say, that was my material principle. I interpreted everything in Scripture through that lens and made Scripture fit with the doctrine of election and predestination.
But I made one big faulty assumption. Where does Scripture itself tell us that the material principle and primary assumption is the hidden decree of God? Where does it ever even hint that is the central principle by which we should interpret all of Scripture. To put it bluntly, it never says that anywhere. Not to mention, there are other logical deductions that go hand in hand with that assumption. Namely, there are many Christians out there who are just confused and deceived. That's a logical deduction. They might not be elect. In other words, they might be non-elect, which is an idea that Scripture never uses, despite the rational sense it makes.
A logical mind like mine hates paradox and other things that I can't reconcile. I like to be able to figure it all out and put it into a neat little system where it all makes perfect sense and flows logically. Calvinism did that for me. I started with God's decree before the foundation of the world (heck, why not start at the beginning, right?) and saw everything as an outworking of that. Hence, you have the elect and the non-elect. You have those for whom Christ died (the elect) and those for whom Christ did not die (the non-elect). You have those whom God loves (the elect) and those whom God hates (the non-elect), or whom He only loves due to His "common grace," as many Reformed Theologians say. It all makes sense when you start with the hidden decrees of God and work from there.
Yet, the Holy Scriptures are full of paradox and things that we have a very difficult time reconciling. This does not mean that they can't be reconciled, but it does mean that God's ways are higher than our ways. Paradox is completely acceptable in theology, contradiction is not.
But there were a couple huge problems. God's Word says a lot of things that go against these doctrines, and God's Word must have the final say in these matters. This naturally led me to the work of Christ. Christ Himself is the key to the entirety of Holy Scripture, not God's decrees. Christ must be at the center. Christ must also be at the beginning. Where Calvinist Theology is very linear, starting at God's decrees, Roman Catholic Theology is very much grounded in Apostolic Succession and the magisterium of the Roman Church, Lutheran theology is like ripples on a lake. Christ is at the center, and all theology goes out from there, like the circular waves made when an object is dropped into water.
Recognizing that Christ is at the center of everything brought me to a couple huge questions: What did Christ do for us and how does He give it to us. Both Calvinists and Lutherans affirm that it is Christ alone that saves us.
The work of Christ is central. When we look at that in Scripture, it's very plain that it is available -and for- everyone universally. Far from resulting in free-will theology, this fact simply makes Christ's work, given by grace alone, universally available. Scripture says as much, stating in St. John 1:9, The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. And again in Titus 2:11, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. But nowhere does Scripture ever add to those passages, "but only if you choose it."
That draws us headlong into the discussion of how God gives us that universally available grace. Scripture answers this as well.
Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Romans 6:3-4: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 10:13: For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Colossians 2:12: having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
1 Peter 3:21: Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
St. Matthew 26:26-28: Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
And so on. Per the Holy Scriptures, grace is given to create faith in the finished work of Christ. We are saved by grace through faith. How is this grace given? Simply put, through various means. They are the preaching of the Gospel, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and Absolution (St. John 20:23).
Lutheranism affirms all these things. It parrots Scripture. Is this a case of "we believe it but you don't?" Well, sort of, and that's a common criticism now days - to act offended when someone challenges your beliefs. (Postmoderism...grr...) We must however, allow God's Word to have the last word. We must allow God's Word to speak for itself and not try to rationalize something systematic on top of it to make it fit. Not dispensationalism, not covenant theology, not free will. None of that. We start with Christ. We end with Christ. The Bible is about Christ.
The second big problem was Church history. Reformed Theology loves to claim St. Augustine. But he was anything but Reformed. Sure, he held to double predestination like the Reformed, but he also held to baptismal regeneration and falling from grace. In short, the early church was never Calvinist. Many Calvinist doctrines were never taught by anyone in the early church. The Council of Orange (529), which Reformed folks love, actually condemns double predestination and upholds baptismal regeneration. And more importantly, Scripture bears this out because it does not teach double predestination and does teach baptismal regeneration.
On a final note, I must address one other issue that has popped up lately. I've been accused of being arrogant lately, multiple times. I've also been accused of thinking that nobody but Lutherans are saved. I apologize if my tone is not always amicable, but I will never apologize for standing firm in what the Scriptures state.
First of all, it's never arrogant to stand on what Scripture says. I think all Christians would agree. The charge of arrogance is leveled when you stand on something plainly written and someone doesn't agree with you. The true accusation is that you think you're right and they're wrong and that is arrogant.
Secondly, I have *never* even hinted that people outside of Lutheranism are unsaved. That would be a form of neo-Gnosticism (salvation by knowledge). We're saved by grace alone. There are saved Lutherans, saved Calvinists, saved Roman Catholics, saved Baptists, and so on.
I certainly am harsh on theologies that deviate from Scripture. I absolutely am. Why is that so? Plainly put, any doctrine that is in error regarding Christ will lead people away from Christ, not toward Him. The more we get Christ wrong, the less Christ looks like Christ and the more He looks like an impostor. There are numerous cults out there that claim Christ and are not Christian at all. The same principle applies to any church. The more the false doctrines creep in, the further a church gets from Christ. Eventually, it's not even Christian.
The point is, true and pure doctrine drive proper faith and practice. Wrong teachings cannot bring us closer to Christ, only further away.
So in that light, I will continue to be someone who boldly proclaims truth and does not hesitate to call out error.
So why am I a Lutheran? Because it's true.
+Pax+
I suppose I'll start from the beginning. I was raised in a Christian home with parents whom I respect and adore. My father was a pastor for many years in the Evangelical Covenant Church, although I also must comment that my dad was not Evangelical Covenant in theology (If there is such a thing. The ECC is open to pretty much anything these days.). He was a true blooded Baptist. He still is. And nobody studies the Word as much as that guy. So, suffice it to say, now as a Lutheran, I really don't agree with my father on many things within Christianity, but you're not going to hear me take shots at him. Far from it. Indeed, I am thankful and grateful for my Christian upbringing. My parents always tried to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
So, in short, I was raised in that environment. Baptist, pre-trib, dispensational, and so on. But mostly, I was raised to be a Christian, plain and simple.
I was baptized by full immersion in a lake when I was about 10 years old. It was Trinitarian, and my dad assisted in it. So, no need for me to be baptized again. ;)
Fast forward to 2007 or so. My wife and I had just moved to Michigan from Chicago and we ended up at a Bible Church in the area in which we lived. It was a vibrant church full of a lot of great people. They were big on weekday night studies in Scripture and I gained a lot from those. An inductive study on the book of Romans at that church was a big turning point for me. It led my fallen-away self back to the Gospel. But it also led me to the 5 points of Calvinism eventually.
You see, I have a very logical, mathematical, and scientific type of brain. Heck, I have a degree in Physics and taught high school Physics and Math in my life. That's just how I am wired. So, when I saw predestination all over Romans, my logical mind kicked in, and voila - Calvinism. When you take a doctrine like unconditional election (which is a true Scriptural doctrine) and jam your logic and reason onto it, everything else falls into place. Of course, when you do that, your primary operating assumption is the absolute sovereignty of God. Or we could say, that was my material principle. I interpreted everything in Scripture through that lens and made Scripture fit with the doctrine of election and predestination.
But I made one big faulty assumption. Where does Scripture itself tell us that the material principle and primary assumption is the hidden decree of God? Where does it ever even hint that is the central principle by which we should interpret all of Scripture. To put it bluntly, it never says that anywhere. Not to mention, there are other logical deductions that go hand in hand with that assumption. Namely, there are many Christians out there who are just confused and deceived. That's a logical deduction. They might not be elect. In other words, they might be non-elect, which is an idea that Scripture never uses, despite the rational sense it makes.
A logical mind like mine hates paradox and other things that I can't reconcile. I like to be able to figure it all out and put it into a neat little system where it all makes perfect sense and flows logically. Calvinism did that for me. I started with God's decree before the foundation of the world (heck, why not start at the beginning, right?) and saw everything as an outworking of that. Hence, you have the elect and the non-elect. You have those for whom Christ died (the elect) and those for whom Christ did not die (the non-elect). You have those whom God loves (the elect) and those whom God hates (the non-elect), or whom He only loves due to His "common grace," as many Reformed Theologians say. It all makes sense when you start with the hidden decrees of God and work from there.
Yet, the Holy Scriptures are full of paradox and things that we have a very difficult time reconciling. This does not mean that they can't be reconciled, but it does mean that God's ways are higher than our ways. Paradox is completely acceptable in theology, contradiction is not.
But there were a couple huge problems. God's Word says a lot of things that go against these doctrines, and God's Word must have the final say in these matters. This naturally led me to the work of Christ. Christ Himself is the key to the entirety of Holy Scripture, not God's decrees. Christ must be at the center. Christ must also be at the beginning. Where Calvinist Theology is very linear, starting at God's decrees, Roman Catholic Theology is very much grounded in Apostolic Succession and the magisterium of the Roman Church, Lutheran theology is like ripples on a lake. Christ is at the center, and all theology goes out from there, like the circular waves made when an object is dropped into water.
Recognizing that Christ is at the center of everything brought me to a couple huge questions: What did Christ do for us and how does He give it to us. Both Calvinists and Lutherans affirm that it is Christ alone that saves us.
The work of Christ is central. When we look at that in Scripture, it's very plain that it is available -and for- everyone universally. Far from resulting in free-will theology, this fact simply makes Christ's work, given by grace alone, universally available. Scripture says as much, stating in St. John 1:9, The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. And again in Titus 2:11, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. But nowhere does Scripture ever add to those passages, "but only if you choose it."
That draws us headlong into the discussion of how God gives us that universally available grace. Scripture answers this as well.
Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Romans 6:3-4: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 10:13: For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Colossians 2:12: having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
1 Peter 3:21: Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
St. Matthew 26:26-28: Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
And so on. Per the Holy Scriptures, grace is given to create faith in the finished work of Christ. We are saved by grace through faith. How is this grace given? Simply put, through various means. They are the preaching of the Gospel, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and Absolution (St. John 20:23).
Lutheranism affirms all these things. It parrots Scripture. Is this a case of "we believe it but you don't?" Well, sort of, and that's a common criticism now days - to act offended when someone challenges your beliefs. (Postmoderism...grr...) We must however, allow God's Word to have the last word. We must allow God's Word to speak for itself and not try to rationalize something systematic on top of it to make it fit. Not dispensationalism, not covenant theology, not free will. None of that. We start with Christ. We end with Christ. The Bible is about Christ.
The second big problem was Church history. Reformed Theology loves to claim St. Augustine. But he was anything but Reformed. Sure, he held to double predestination like the Reformed, but he also held to baptismal regeneration and falling from grace. In short, the early church was never Calvinist. Many Calvinist doctrines were never taught by anyone in the early church. The Council of Orange (529), which Reformed folks love, actually condemns double predestination and upholds baptismal regeneration. And more importantly, Scripture bears this out because it does not teach double predestination and does teach baptismal regeneration.
On a final note, I must address one other issue that has popped up lately. I've been accused of being arrogant lately, multiple times. I've also been accused of thinking that nobody but Lutherans are saved. I apologize if my tone is not always amicable, but I will never apologize for standing firm in what the Scriptures state.
First of all, it's never arrogant to stand on what Scripture says. I think all Christians would agree. The charge of arrogance is leveled when you stand on something plainly written and someone doesn't agree with you. The true accusation is that you think you're right and they're wrong and that is arrogant.
Secondly, I have *never* even hinted that people outside of Lutheranism are unsaved. That would be a form of neo-Gnosticism (salvation by knowledge). We're saved by grace alone. There are saved Lutherans, saved Calvinists, saved Roman Catholics, saved Baptists, and so on.
I certainly am harsh on theologies that deviate from Scripture. I absolutely am. Why is that so? Plainly put, any doctrine that is in error regarding Christ will lead people away from Christ, not toward Him. The more we get Christ wrong, the less Christ looks like Christ and the more He looks like an impostor. There are numerous cults out there that claim Christ and are not Christian at all. The same principle applies to any church. The more the false doctrines creep in, the further a church gets from Christ. Eventually, it's not even Christian.
The point is, true and pure doctrine drive proper faith and practice. Wrong teachings cannot bring us closer to Christ, only further away.
So in that light, I will continue to be someone who boldly proclaims truth and does not hesitate to call out error.
So why am I a Lutheran? Because it's true.
+Pax+
6/13/14
Where Are You Looking For God?
God is all-powerful. God is omniscient. God can reveal Himself when and where He wants to, completely at His own discretion.
So, we can certainly say that God can reveal Himself however He wants to. After all, He is God.
But, where should we look for God? Where can we find Him? Where has He told He will be and promised to be?
Has He promised us to be present in signs, wonders, and miracles? Well, no, He hasn't. Although those things certainly did happen in Scripture.
Has He promised us to be present in a still small audible voice in our heads? Well, no again. Although that happened in Scripture as well.
But Jesus does not promise to meet us in those places. And indeed, many times people are completely deceived into thinking that He has.
But there are certain and sure places where we know God is present and gives Himself to us. They might seem boring to some people, but in God's infinite wisdom and providence, He has provided us with sure and objective means of grace. He uses the natural world, not a personal revelation whispered in your ear.
A personal revelation whispered in your ear is majorly subjective. First of all, how do you know it's even God? Could it be a voice in your head? Yeah, it certainly could be.
You see, God knows we are fragile creatures and our faith is bound to fail. So He gives us Himself objectively so we can know with certainty that we are receiving Him.
He gives us these natural means of grace to save the natural world. Simply put, the only places we should be looking for God are the places He has said He will be present in grace and not judgment. And not randomly and only for some people, but all the time, for everyone.
What are they? Word and Sacrament. Alone. Christ comes to us in His Word, and His Word is given to us by preaching, absolution, baptism, and the Eucharist.
He comes to us by natural means. The Word proclaimed by the pastor, the Baptism administered in the Name of the Triune God, and the true Body and Blood of Christ given to us in His Holy Supper, which by the way is for the forgiveness of sins.
Look nowhere else. Receive your Lord by the means in which He promises to be present, all the time.
+Grace and Peace+
So, we can certainly say that God can reveal Himself however He wants to. After all, He is God.
But, where should we look for God? Where can we find Him? Where has He told He will be and promised to be?
Has He promised us to be present in signs, wonders, and miracles? Well, no, He hasn't. Although those things certainly did happen in Scripture.
Has He promised us to be present in a still small audible voice in our heads? Well, no again. Although that happened in Scripture as well.
But Jesus does not promise to meet us in those places. And indeed, many times people are completely deceived into thinking that He has.
But there are certain and sure places where we know God is present and gives Himself to us. They might seem boring to some people, but in God's infinite wisdom and providence, He has provided us with sure and objective means of grace. He uses the natural world, not a personal revelation whispered in your ear.
A personal revelation whispered in your ear is majorly subjective. First of all, how do you know it's even God? Could it be a voice in your head? Yeah, it certainly could be.
You see, God knows we are fragile creatures and our faith is bound to fail. So He gives us Himself objectively so we can know with certainty that we are receiving Him.
He gives us these natural means of grace to save the natural world. Simply put, the only places we should be looking for God are the places He has said He will be present in grace and not judgment. And not randomly and only for some people, but all the time, for everyone.
What are they? Word and Sacrament. Alone. Christ comes to us in His Word, and His Word is given to us by preaching, absolution, baptism, and the Eucharist.
He comes to us by natural means. The Word proclaimed by the pastor, the Baptism administered in the Name of the Triune God, and the true Body and Blood of Christ given to us in His Holy Supper, which by the way is for the forgiveness of sins.
Look nowhere else. Receive your Lord by the means in which He promises to be present, all the time.
+Grace and Peace+
9/17/13
I Love Blogging. But Jesus Is Better
If you can't tell yet, I enjoy blogging. I enjoy writing, and I hope and pray that people read my ramblings and get something out of them. Namely, I hope they get the Gospel out of them. I am an avid blogger and an unapologetic Lutheran. If you must know, I haven't been an actual Lutheran for that long. The journey was long, and me, being the introverted thinker that I am, studied all things Baptist, Lutheran, Calvinist, and yeah, even Roman Catholic for some time. I wanted to be sure. I can't stand church hopping. I think it's foolish. So, I have been a Lutheran by conviction for some time now; close to or even over a year. Yet, I wanted to keep studying, to let it sink in. To make sure I was headed the right direction before I left my church and joined a Lutheran church. To make sure I was not chasing a temporary fad. In due time, the doctrines of the Lutheran church, as summarized in the Book of Concord and the Small Catechism, became irresistible to me (pun intended, Calvinists), so I made the jump. Why? Because they parrot Holy Scripture. I chronicled some of my reasons in my first "Lutheran" blog I did last month.
I Became A Lutheran Because It's Cool. Or Not.
But, Lutheranism is all about Christ. That's the biggest thing. If you're not all about Jesus, don't bother, because you're inserting something other than Jesus into Christianity. The whole of Holy Scripture is about Jesus. The Old Testament included. Look at Luke 24:27 for instance.
And here are my thoughts this morning...
St. Luke 16:14-17: The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
The Pharisees are responding to what they heard Jesus teach in the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, found in Luke 16:1-13. Jesus finishes up the parable saying:
St. Luke 16:13:No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
The Pharisees didn't like this. St. Luke tells us that the Pharisees were lovers of money and didn't like what Jesus just said. What else is new? The Pharisees were the false teachers of the day; trusting in their works and law-keeping to merit something before God.
Now a lot of people these days have decided that instead of Pharisaical law-keeping they'll improve their law-keeping. They look and Scripture and surmise that what the Pharisees were doing was clearly wrong and was rebuked repeatedly by Christ. So instead they insert social justice, feeding the poor, helping the needy, and so on. They reject the law-keeping of the Pharisees and replaced it with better law-keeping in their effort to fulfill the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-39). They then proceed to call this Gospel. But Jesus is clear: Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving your neighbor as yourself - is not the Gospel. It's the summary of the two tables of the Law.
I did a 2-part series on this topic of social gospel yesterday in response to a blog I came across.
Watering Down the Gospel - Uno!
Watering Down the Gospel - Dos!
The key verse from St. Luke's Gospel is this one:
St. Luke 16:17: But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
And this is exactly where our new theologically liberal friends miss the point just like the Pharisees did. The Law is not going to become void. After all, it's God's Law. And that, for us, is both bad news as well as good news.
It's bad news in that we are incapable of keeping this law and all stand comdemned universally by it.
The Law shows us to be sinners:
Romans 3:20: For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 5:20: Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more
Romans 7:7: What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
1 Corinthians 15:56: The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
And YOU are incapable of keeping it. The Pharisees could not and neither can the social justice Gospel folks.
James 2:10: For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
1 John 1:10: If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
More bad news. God requires perfection from you. Period. His Holy standards do not change. He is God.
Matthew 5:48: You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
And...oh-oh...The Law will not be made void and will not pass away.
St. Luke 16:17: But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
So, no salvation for you according to the Law. It's impossible. You can't do it. Not by being a Pharisee and not by inserting a better law of social justice in place of the Gospel.
Thanks be to God, He has another, more glorious Word on the topic. We call it the Gospel. The Gospel means "Good News." It's good news for me, for you, and for everyone. But it's not the Law. The good news is about someone else, outside of you, who comes to you in grace and mercy. And you're lost without Him, His work for you at Calvary, and His grace given to you through Word and Sacrament.
Not that your sin is ever good, of course. Your sin put Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. But it's actually good that you are incapable of earning or working to get salvation.
Why? Because that puts salvation outside of yourself and makes it certain. It puts it solely on the Crucified and Risen One who fulfilled this Law on your behalf. His righteousness, given to you. This is pure grace. It's Gospel.
It's certain because the work is already done. It's perfect work accepted by God. The resurrection of Christ shows this. If it were not so, Christ would not have risen and we would still be dead in our sins. St. Paul tells us this:
1 Corinthians 15:12-14: Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
He died for you and objectively justified the whole human race on the cross.
Romans 5:18: Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
It now must be received. it is received by God's grace alone, through faith alone, apart from works. Your works, as Holy Scripture tells us repeatedly, can merit nothing.
He gives this grace through means. It's objective and mediated. What are these means? The Word of God given to you is the means. The Word of God given to you is given through water in Holy Baptism, the true Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Supper, and the preaching and absolution proclaimed by God's ministers whom He ordained.
Believe this. Christ outside of you, dying and rising for you, given to you by grace to save you from your fallen and sinful state, in which you stand wholly condemned and can do nothing.
We continue to sing:
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever. Amen.
I Became A Lutheran Because It's Cool. Or Not.
But, Lutheranism is all about Christ. That's the biggest thing. If you're not all about Jesus, don't bother, because you're inserting something other than Jesus into Christianity. The whole of Holy Scripture is about Jesus. The Old Testament included. Look at Luke 24:27 for instance.
And here are my thoughts this morning...
St. Luke 16:14-17: The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
The Pharisees are responding to what they heard Jesus teach in the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, found in Luke 16:1-13. Jesus finishes up the parable saying:
St. Luke 16:13:No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
The Pharisees didn't like this. St. Luke tells us that the Pharisees were lovers of money and didn't like what Jesus just said. What else is new? The Pharisees were the false teachers of the day; trusting in their works and law-keeping to merit something before God.
Now a lot of people these days have decided that instead of Pharisaical law-keeping they'll improve their law-keeping. They look and Scripture and surmise that what the Pharisees were doing was clearly wrong and was rebuked repeatedly by Christ. So instead they insert social justice, feeding the poor, helping the needy, and so on. They reject the law-keeping of the Pharisees and replaced it with better law-keeping in their effort to fulfill the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-39). They then proceed to call this Gospel. But Jesus is clear: Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving your neighbor as yourself - is not the Gospel. It's the summary of the two tables of the Law.
I did a 2-part series on this topic of social gospel yesterday in response to a blog I came across.
Watering Down the Gospel - Uno!
Watering Down the Gospel - Dos!
The key verse from St. Luke's Gospel is this one:
St. Luke 16:17: But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
And this is exactly where our new theologically liberal friends miss the point just like the Pharisees did. The Law is not going to become void. After all, it's God's Law. And that, for us, is both bad news as well as good news.
It's bad news in that we are incapable of keeping this law and all stand comdemned universally by it.
The Law shows us to be sinners:
Romans 3:20: For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 5:20: Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more
Romans 7:7: What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
1 Corinthians 15:56: The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
And YOU are incapable of keeping it. The Pharisees could not and neither can the social justice Gospel folks.
James 2:10: For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
1 John 1:10: If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
More bad news. God requires perfection from you. Period. His Holy standards do not change. He is God.
Matthew 5:48: You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
And...oh-oh...The Law will not be made void and will not pass away.
St. Luke 16:17: But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
So, no salvation for you according to the Law. It's impossible. You can't do it. Not by being a Pharisee and not by inserting a better law of social justice in place of the Gospel.
Thanks be to God, He has another, more glorious Word on the topic. We call it the Gospel. The Gospel means "Good News." It's good news for me, for you, and for everyone. But it's not the Law. The good news is about someone else, outside of you, who comes to you in grace and mercy. And you're lost without Him, His work for you at Calvary, and His grace given to you through Word and Sacrament.
The Law is not going away, St. Luke tells us in verse 17. You're a sinner, you can't keep it perfectly, and God requires that you do. Not good.
But wait, oh yes. It actually IS good!
But wait, oh yes. It actually IS good!
Not that your sin is ever good, of course. Your sin put Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. But it's actually good that you are incapable of earning or working to get salvation.
Why? Because that puts salvation outside of yourself and makes it certain. It puts it solely on the Crucified and Risen One who fulfilled this Law on your behalf. His righteousness, given to you. This is pure grace. It's Gospel.
It's certain because the work is already done. It's perfect work accepted by God. The resurrection of Christ shows this. If it were not so, Christ would not have risen and we would still be dead in our sins. St. Paul tells us this:
1 Corinthians 15:12-14: Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
The crucifixion is everything. And the resurrection is everything.
JESUS CHRIST is everything.
JESUS CHRIST is everything.
He died for you and objectively justified the whole human race on the cross.
Romans 5:18: Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
It now must be received. it is received by God's grace alone, through faith alone, apart from works. Your works, as Holy Scripture tells us repeatedly, can merit nothing.
He gives this grace through means. It's objective and mediated. What are these means? The Word of God given to you is the means. The Word of God given to you is given through water in Holy Baptism, the true Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Supper, and the preaching and absolution proclaimed by God's ministers whom He ordained.
Believe this. Christ outside of you, dying and rising for you, given to you by grace to save you from your fallen and sinful state, in which you stand wholly condemned and can do nothing.
We continue to sing:
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever. Amen.
9/16/13
Watering Down the Gospel. Numero Uno.
I recently came across this article on a blog entitled "Formerly Fundie." The author of the blog is a well spoken and well educated Christian man who used to be a fundamentalist Christian. He wrote an article on watering down the Gospel, and claimed that we all do it.
The author, while writing this blog, states: "In fact, while I was writing this post, in some of my first quality hate-mail yet, I was accused of having a “liberal, watered down, democratic, toothless and people-pleasing gospel.” (emphasis mine)"
I don't think this accusation is quite fair. And although I am going to be in vast disagreement with the author's statements, I think this criticism is misguided. I would agree that what he is teaching is in fact liberal and I suppose could be considered 'democratic' in some ways. But I am not sure that the accusation of watered down fits the bill here. There has been no watering down of the Gospel. The Gospel has actually been completely removed and replaced! There is no water (baptism) in His Gospel at all. Or Eucharist...or Absolution...or Christ. Shame that.
The article is found here:
Formerly Fundie - Watering Down the Gospel
I plan to interact with these 10 ways in which the author claims that we water down the Gospel over the course of what will probably be 2 blogs; no more than 3.
Without further adieu, let's get to the list.
10. We water down the Gospel when we attempt to live it out in isolation, instead of in the context of community.
This is the author's #10 way in which we water down the Gospel. Is it true?
Well, no, not entirely. The biggest problem with the statement is that it is a class A category mistake. A big fat one. Why is this so? You can't live the Gospel. You can't be the Gospel. And nothing we do is the Gospel. The Gospel is an indicative. It's news. Something that has been done on our behalf. We do the law. We cannot do the Gospel.
Of course, I really don't have a problem with some of the things he says in this blurb. I am all for corporate worship as much as possible. I am all for living in community with other Christians, if all you mean by that is that hanging out with other Christians is a good idea. I don't think we're commanded by Christ to start a Christian commune though. Fellowship is important, after all!
I agree 110% with the author's critique of American 'rugged individualism' as he calls it. It's a cancer, but ironically, it leads to exactly what the author is espousing in this article: Doing the Gospel. It's an I can do it attitude, whether it be in isolation or in a group.
Another author has argued pretty persuasively that the things that Mr. Corey is arguing (or at least implying) as the full 'unwatered down' Gospel are actually things that are causing our kids to leave the church. In this Lutheran man's opinion, it's because all these other things fail to deliver Christ to the sinner. That is to say, there is a lack of the Gospel.
Why Our Kids Leave Church
He closes reason #10 with this:
"Trying to do this on my own? That’s watered down- the real gospel is lived out in community and healthy dependency with those committed to doing life together."
If I may: That's not watered-down. That's not the Gospel at all. That's pure law.
9. We water down the gospel when we make it about changing someone else, instead of first changing ourselves.
OK, here is #9. I apologize. This is going to get a little redundant. The Gospel has never been about changing others or ourselves. It's about what Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, has done at Calvary for you - precisely because changing yourself and changing others is a fool's errand. The Gospel is Christ crucified and risen for you, given to you as pure gift in Word, water, bread, and wine.
Change comes, sure. But that's not the Gospel either.
"When we see every passage, every lesson, every application as something that would be good for someone else, that’s a pretty good sign that we’re watering the gospel down to something that’s designed to challenge other people."
That's actually a pretty good sign that you've missed the Gospel altogether! The Gospel is for all of us. For me. For you. For President Obama. For Miley Cyrus. For Billy Graham. For my infant daughter. Even for the Biebs, as painful as that thought is. And it's not about us. It's all about Jesus and what he has done on our behalf.
8. We water down the gospel when we make it sound like following Jesus is easy (Spoiler Alert.. it’s not!).
Oh how I want to jump up and down and clap vigorously after reading this one. If the author would have just said:8. We water down the gospel when "we make it sound like following Jesus is easy (Spoiler Alert.. it’s not!)." I'd be all over it.
Yet again, this just isn't the Gospel. Following Jesus is not the Gospel. We can never perfectly follow Jesus and earn anything before Him. That's exactly why we need the Gospel!
I'm with you Ben, following Jesus is hard work. Yet His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt 11:30).
"I think part of the reason why so many people walk away from following Jesus is because they’ve been tricked into thinking that this is actually something that’s easy."
I'm with you broham. But I also would assert that a lot of people walk away from following Jesus because they realize that it's impossible and they've never heard...THE GOSPEL. They get burned out. They despair. Or worse, their spiritual pride tells them they are doing an amazing job of it.
"And, if that’s not real enough for you, know this: if you decide to follow Jesus, you’re actually going to fail at it– every day, for the rest of your life. It is that hard."
Yeah man. Amen. That's the truth. It is indeed that hard. And this is called sin. Which is why we need the Gospel.
7. We water down the gospel when we exclude people.
True. The Great Commission forbids this. After all, it was our Lord who said to the Apostles:
Matthew 28:19-20: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
One would think that "all nations" includes everyone. So, yeah, we're getting it wrong when we don't make disciples of all nations.
Hey, but speaking of water...how do we make disciples? By baptising and teaching.
6. We water down the gospel when we tell people it’s clear and simple.
This is sort of a yes and no answer. The pure Gospel, yeah, it really is pure and simple. It's a proclamation. Not about me, not about my works, not my works themselves...but of the Christ and what He did for us to save us. That's Gospel.
Yet, I would be remiss to not say that this Gospel is infinitely deep. We can spend our whole life learning about Christ and His work, and we still won't understand just how great the love of God is. We still won't understand the bitter sufferings and death of the Crucified One to its full extent. And we still won't understand the depths and atrocities of our sin that put Him there on that cross, dying for you.
The author, while writing this blog, states: "In fact, while I was writing this post, in some of my first quality hate-mail yet, I was accused of having a “liberal, watered down, democratic, toothless and people-pleasing gospel.” (emphasis mine)"
I don't think this accusation is quite fair. And although I am going to be in vast disagreement with the author's statements, I think this criticism is misguided. I would agree that what he is teaching is in fact liberal and I suppose could be considered 'democratic' in some ways. But I am not sure that the accusation of watered down fits the bill here. There has been no watering down of the Gospel. The Gospel has actually been completely removed and replaced! There is no water (baptism) in His Gospel at all. Or Eucharist...or Absolution...or Christ. Shame that.
The article is found here:
Formerly Fundie - Watering Down the Gospel
I plan to interact with these 10 ways in which the author claims that we water down the Gospel over the course of what will probably be 2 blogs; no more than 3.
Without further adieu, let's get to the list.
10. We water down the Gospel when we attempt to live it out in isolation, instead of in the context of community.
This is the author's #10 way in which we water down the Gospel. Is it true?
Well, no, not entirely. The biggest problem with the statement is that it is a class A category mistake. A big fat one. Why is this so? You can't live the Gospel. You can't be the Gospel. And nothing we do is the Gospel. The Gospel is an indicative. It's news. Something that has been done on our behalf. We do the law. We cannot do the Gospel.
Of course, I really don't have a problem with some of the things he says in this blurb. I am all for corporate worship as much as possible. I am all for living in community with other Christians, if all you mean by that is that hanging out with other Christians is a good idea. I don't think we're commanded by Christ to start a Christian commune though. Fellowship is important, after all!
I agree 110% with the author's critique of American 'rugged individualism' as he calls it. It's a cancer, but ironically, it leads to exactly what the author is espousing in this article: Doing the Gospel. It's an I can do it attitude, whether it be in isolation or in a group.
Another author has argued pretty persuasively that the things that Mr. Corey is arguing (or at least implying) as the full 'unwatered down' Gospel are actually things that are causing our kids to leave the church. In this Lutheran man's opinion, it's because all these other things fail to deliver Christ to the sinner. That is to say, there is a lack of the Gospel.
Why Our Kids Leave Church
He closes reason #10 with this:
"Trying to do this on my own? That’s watered down- the real gospel is lived out in community and healthy dependency with those committed to doing life together."
If I may: That's not watered-down. That's not the Gospel at all. That's pure law.
9. We water down the gospel when we make it about changing someone else, instead of first changing ourselves.
OK, here is #9. I apologize. This is going to get a little redundant. The Gospel has never been about changing others or ourselves. It's about what Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, has done at Calvary for you - precisely because changing yourself and changing others is a fool's errand. The Gospel is Christ crucified and risen for you, given to you as pure gift in Word, water, bread, and wine.
Change comes, sure. But that's not the Gospel either.
"When we see every passage, every lesson, every application as something that would be good for someone else, that’s a pretty good sign that we’re watering the gospel down to something that’s designed to challenge other people."
That's actually a pretty good sign that you've missed the Gospel altogether! The Gospel is for all of us. For me. For you. For President Obama. For Miley Cyrus. For Billy Graham. For my infant daughter. Even for the Biebs, as painful as that thought is. And it's not about us. It's all about Jesus and what he has done on our behalf.
8. We water down the gospel when we make it sound like following Jesus is easy (Spoiler Alert.. it’s not!).
Oh how I want to jump up and down and clap vigorously after reading this one. If the author would have just said:
Yet again, this just isn't the Gospel. Following Jesus is not the Gospel. We can never perfectly follow Jesus and earn anything before Him. That's exactly why we need the Gospel!
I'm with you Ben, following Jesus is hard work. Yet His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt 11:30).
"I think part of the reason why so many people walk away from following Jesus is because they’ve been tricked into thinking that this is actually something that’s easy."
I'm with you broham. But I also would assert that a lot of people walk away from following Jesus because they realize that it's impossible and they've never heard...THE GOSPEL. They get burned out. They despair. Or worse, their spiritual pride tells them they are doing an amazing job of it.
"And, if that’s not real enough for you, know this: if you decide to follow Jesus, you’re actually going to fail at it– every day, for the rest of your life. It is that hard."
Yeah man. Amen. That's the truth. It is indeed that hard. And this is called sin. Which is why we need the Gospel.
7. We water down the gospel when we exclude people.
True. The Great Commission forbids this. After all, it was our Lord who said to the Apostles:
Matthew 28:19-20: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
One would think that "all nations" includes everyone. So, yeah, we're getting it wrong when we don't make disciples of all nations.
Hey, but speaking of water...how do we make disciples? By baptising and teaching.
6. We water down the gospel when we tell people it’s clear and simple.
This is sort of a yes and no answer. The pure Gospel, yeah, it really is pure and simple. It's a proclamation. Not about me, not about my works, not my works themselves...but of the Christ and what He did for us to save us. That's Gospel.
Yet, I would be remiss to not say that this Gospel is infinitely deep. We can spend our whole life learning about Christ and His work, and we still won't understand just how great the love of God is. We still won't understand the bitter sufferings and death of the Crucified One to its full extent. And we still won't understand the depths and atrocities of our sin that put Him there on that cross, dying for you.
Who did Christ die for?
For YOU.
For YOU.
Who did Christ rise from the dead for?
For YOU.
Receive it. Believe it. Live it. Just kidding. You can't live it. It's already been done. It's all Jesus.
So, yeah, I get it man. You're concerned with Christian hypocrisy. I am too. I'm not for the fundies either, I think they get a lot of things wrong. I used to be in that camp myself to an extent. But I do think you reacted in the wrong direction. You went from the fire and brimstone pre-trib rapture and judgment preaching of the fundies to substituting the Gospel with a cheap knock-off that makes the good news our works and our social action. I'm not saying those things are bad. But they aren't the Gospel.
You see: We're ALL hypocrites. We need Christ and His work alone on the cross to save us.
The Gospel is the proclamation of the work Christ did for us, extra nos, or outside of us. It comes to us and is given to us as a free gift through means. It's about Christ dying and rising and now giving Himself to us in grace alone.
So you don't want to water down the Gospel? Keep it all about grace alone and leave the water there. You see, the grace is the water. This baptism now saves you, says St. Peter. (1 Peter 3:21) You are buried with Christ and raised with Him in faith - by baptism, says St. Paul. (Colossians 2:11-12, Romans 6:3-4) Baptism is a washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5), births us from above (John 3:5), and is a washing of water with the Word. (Ephesians 5:26)
This Baptism Now Saves You. Yeah, THIS One.
I baptise you in the Name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit
So you don't want to water down the Gospel? Confess your sins and be absolved. Your local Lutheran pastor does these things. John 20:23, by the way. Christ instituted the office of the ministry. They distribute the means of grace. Absolution is one of them.
So you don't want to water down the Gospel? Preach Christ crucified for the remission of sins. That's what St. Paul did. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25, for starters) He also said that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. (Romans 1:16-17) The Gospel is good news. And it must be preached. It must be given to you.
So you don't want to water down the Gospel? Keep Christ in the Eucharist in the center. This is My body, He said. This is My blood, He said. He said the Eucharist is the New Covenant and is for the forgiveness of all of your sins. (Matthew 26:28) He's really present. And not discerning the body of Christ is a grave sin. (1 Corinthians 11) He gives Himself to us in bread and wine. I don't know how this happens, but He said it. Believe it. It's grace, baby!
Keep it about Jesus work for us and not about our works for Him. We aren't the good news. Jesus Christ is. And that, my brothers and sisters, is excellent news!
Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29)
Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29)
9/6/13
Absolution: Yeah, It's In The text
Many Evangelicals and Protestants now days have no idea that the Lutheran Church makes use of the practice of Confession and Absolution. All too often, it is written off as a Roman Catholic thing that we shouldn't be doing because it's wrong. (Lots of Evangelicals reject lots of biblical stuff just because Rome does it.) But is that true? I don't think so, and I will attempt to answer that here.
As Lutherans, we believe that Christ Himself instituted the practice of Confession and Absolution. It's right there in Holy Scripture:
John 20:20-23: When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Christ here is speaking to the Apostles and is very clear about three things.
1. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.
Jesus is sending the Apostles. Sending them for what? Well, first and foremost to be ministers of the Word and to spread the Gospel. They are to make disciples by baptising and teaching, as Christ commands them in Matthew 28:18-20 (the Great Commission).
2. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.
Jesus now makes an extraordinary statement. He very clearly sends the Apostles and gives them the authority to forgive sins.
3. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.
This is another statement that ties right into the last one. The Apostles can also withhold forgiveness and retain the sins of people.
Of course, only God can forgive sins. How do we reconcile these two truths that only God can forgive sins but Jesus said the Apostles can too? Simply put, the Christian faith works through means. Christ comes to us for the forgiveness of our sins through baptism, preaching, and the Supper. Oh, and Holy Absolution, as John 20 tells us as well.
But, but, but...that was the APOSTLES!!! The Apostles can do that but no one can now days, right? Not so. The main reason is that first and foremost, the Apostles were ministers of the Gospel. They were sent to preach, to baptise, and to teach. In other words, Christ instituted an Office of the Ministry. Does this include the Apostles? Well yes, they were the first ministers of the Gospel; the first heralds of the good news of the crucified and risen Christ.
But do you know who else is a member of that Office of the Ministry? Do you know who else has the authority to administer the Sacraments and proclaim Holy Absolution?
That's right, your pastor is a member of this office that Jesus Christ Himself instituted. Your pastor is authorized to administer the means of grace that Christ has given, to preach the Gospel, to rightly divide the Word, and to grant forgiveness of sins to you.
But he is just a man! A pitiful sinner just like me! Yeah, that's true, he is. But the Word of Christ comes with him and he does not baptise, preach, administer the Eucharist, and grant Absolution by his own authority, but by Christ's. The Sacraments, the preaching of the Gospel, and Absolution do not depend on the perfect piety of your pastor. They depend -get this, this is utterly important- completely on the Word of Christ. It is GOD who works through these natural means. The supernatural invades the natural and sanctifies it, bringing us the crucified and risen Christ in Word (sound waves), water, bread, and wine.
So what does corporate Absolution look like? Here is one such Confession, taken from Lutheran Worship.
C: O Almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess to You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your punishment now and forever. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor sinful being.
P: Upon this your confession, I, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen
This, my friends, is awesome news. It's objectivity. It's not nebulous at all. It's Gospel. When we pronounce our Confession of sins to our pastor and he pronounces forgiveness to us, it is God Himself working through those Words, delivering the forgiveness of sins wrought by Christ at Calvary for you. When we confess our sins in private to our pastor and he pronounces this blessed Absolution, we are truly forgiven.
For God has given men to be ministers and heralds of His Word, given to us in spoken Word and Sacrament. This truly is excellent news for the whole world, for everyone who believes, and personally for you.
O God, without whose blessing we are not able to please You, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and govern our hearts; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen
As Lutherans, we believe that Christ Himself instituted the practice of Confession and Absolution. It's right there in Holy Scripture:
John 20:20-23: When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Christ here is speaking to the Apostles and is very clear about three things.
1. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.
Jesus is sending the Apostles. Sending them for what? Well, first and foremost to be ministers of the Word and to spread the Gospel. They are to make disciples by baptising and teaching, as Christ commands them in Matthew 28:18-20 (the Great Commission).
2. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.
Jesus now makes an extraordinary statement. He very clearly sends the Apostles and gives them the authority to forgive sins.
3. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.
This is another statement that ties right into the last one. The Apostles can also withhold forgiveness and retain the sins of people.
Of course, only God can forgive sins. How do we reconcile these two truths that only God can forgive sins but Jesus said the Apostles can too? Simply put, the Christian faith works through means. Christ comes to us for the forgiveness of our sins through baptism, preaching, and the Supper. Oh, and Holy Absolution, as John 20 tells us as well.
But, but, but...that was the APOSTLES!!! The Apostles can do that but no one can now days, right? Not so. The main reason is that first and foremost, the Apostles were ministers of the Gospel. They were sent to preach, to baptise, and to teach. In other words, Christ instituted an Office of the Ministry. Does this include the Apostles? Well yes, they were the first ministers of the Gospel; the first heralds of the good news of the crucified and risen Christ.
But do you know who else is a member of that Office of the Ministry? Do you know who else has the authority to administer the Sacraments and proclaim Holy Absolution?
Your Pastor
That's right, your pastor is a member of this office that Jesus Christ Himself instituted. Your pastor is authorized to administer the means of grace that Christ has given, to preach the Gospel, to rightly divide the Word, and to grant forgiveness of sins to you.
But he is just a man! A pitiful sinner just like me! Yeah, that's true, he is. But the Word of Christ comes with him and he does not baptise, preach, administer the Eucharist, and grant Absolution by his own authority, but by Christ's. The Sacraments, the preaching of the Gospel, and Absolution do not depend on the perfect piety of your pastor. They depend -get this, this is utterly important- completely on the Word of Christ. It is GOD who works through these natural means. The supernatural invades the natural and sanctifies it, bringing us the crucified and risen Christ in Word (sound waves), water, bread, and wine.
So what does corporate Absolution look like? Here is one such Confession, taken from Lutheran Worship.
C: O Almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess to You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your punishment now and forever. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor sinful being.
P: Upon this your confession, I, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen
This, my friends, is awesome news. It's objectivity. It's not nebulous at all. It's Gospel. When we pronounce our Confession of sins to our pastor and he pronounces forgiveness to us, it is God Himself working through those Words, delivering the forgiveness of sins wrought by Christ at Calvary for you. When we confess our sins in private to our pastor and he pronounces this blessed Absolution, we are truly forgiven.
For God has given men to be ministers and heralds of His Word, given to us in spoken Word and Sacrament. This truly is excellent news for the whole world, for everyone who believes, and personally for you.
O God, without whose blessing we are not able to please You, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and govern our hearts; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen
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