Winter Came...and Everything Changed! My Journey to Lutheranism

Greetings in the Name of our Father, His Gracious Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

 

You may not know me but I am extremely familiar with From Geneva to Wittenberg Blog.  You see, three (3) years ago my husband and I were Providentially brought to a Lutheran Church and subsequently the Lutheran understanding, which is the true understanding of the Christian faith. 

 

Last week I was asked to join this wonderful team and write for it.  To say I was surprised is an understatement.  Humbled, definitely.  Excited?!  ABSOLUTELY.  You see From Geneva to Wittenberg was my journey as well.  Okay, so I went from Azusa Street to Geneva then Heidelberg to Wittenberg.  Yes, a long journey to end up with the best theology, the clearest Gospel message and the most wonderful understanding of our Savior Jesus Christ (uhm, that the Bible’s story and found most clearly in the Lutheran Confessions).  This site helped me wrestle with my own questions and doubts, fears and spiritual insecurities or lack of true assurance as it probably would be expressed.  My journey may not be the same as yours, but if you’re here I have a suspicion it’s because you too are asking questions.  So, I thought, “Why not begin my entries on this blog with my own story?” (You can get the whole story in my book “The Accidental Lutheran: The Journey from Heidelberg to Wittenberg”.)  So, here we go:

Winter came…and everything changed

There is a popular show on HBO in which the phrase “Winter is coming…” is used in almost every episode.  For my husband, Bobby, and I we changed it a bit because the Winter of 2016/17 came and with it everything we knew and believed changed.

In July 2013 I completed my doctorate degree in Philosophy and Theology with a healthy dose of Apologetics mixed in.  The topic of my dissertation was the proverbial “Problem of Evil”.  Not to be witty, but after I completed this that’s when all my theological problems began.  Well, they weren’t so much problems as they were questions.  See, peering into the “secret things which belong to God” caused me a lot of inward wrestling.  I understood that God is Sovereign and just but now I believe I pressed the teachings of the Dutch Reformed view regarding the elective purposes of God just a bit too far.  The struggle began in my own heart first and then in discussions with Bobby, we both began to wonder about what we had and were still learning within the Dutch Reformed Christian world (hereafter referred to as Reformed). 

 In 2014 we moved from NYC to Idaho and began to attend a Reformed church about 50 miles away in Boise.  From the start we were warmly welcomed and felt as we had found a home in our new home.  We transferred our membership from that of our church on Long Island to the one is Boise and I began to help with the women eventually leading the mid-week Women’s Bible Study.  Going through several series, Romans, Church History and even Calvin’s Institutes, I’d felt a bond of sisterhood amongst many of the ladies.  However, the distance began to take its toll on me, in particular, with regard to friendships.  Living that far away from your church family is hard.  While we’d done that in NY (church was 45 miles away) I was so busy with completing my doctorate that I didn’t feel it too much.  However, here in Idaho I was really beginning to long for close friendships where I didn’t have to drive an hour to see them or them come to see me.  Three years later, Idaho experienced one of the heaviest snow total winters in decades.

Winter came…and EVERYTHING Changed

It began on Thanksgiving evening in 2016 and did not end until the end of April 2017.  Snow…snow…and more snow.  Bobby and I had moved here to Idaho in 2014 and our dear friends would tell us, when we asked about the winters here, “Oh, no problem. We might get 2 or even 4 inches but by noon it is all melted away.”  Ha!  While Winter 2015 did go that way, the winter of 2016 was not going to let up…at all it seemed.  Every weekend there were snow storms.  Not 2 or 4 inches but 10, 16 and 20 inches at a clip.  Over and over we were blocked in.  It was different here than living in the big city.  Back in New York City the plows would be out the moment an inch or two fell.  Not here in small town USA.  The one neighbor in our cul de sac who had a mini plow had moved back east so we were literally stuck. 

Up to this point we had been attending the reformed church in Boise, some 50 miles away.  We loved this little church.  It was growing and they loved to talk about God’s Word and theology even outside of service.  The church we had come from back east highly recommended it to us.  However, getting there in the winter months was proving near impossible.  On top of snow we would have quick thaws and then blistery temperatures would leave sheets of ice all along the route out of our development.  We tried to stay in contact with our new friends the the reformed church but the distance was proving that difficult.  Emails, social media and phone calls were becoming our only connection and those were quickly fading as the harsh winter marched onward with record snowfalls and thick, dangerous ice covered roads. 

I remember joking with my dear friend, Debby, as she was on the east coast for Thanksgiving and how she and her husband would be coming back to the first winter storm.  The Mountains, all covered in white was breathtaking.  As I sat in my home office, I could see the Trinities blanketed in white looking majestic and regal.  However, the snow didn’t stop that weekend and we missed church.  Later that week, everything melted and we thought, great we can get to church the next weekend. 

That changed drastically.  The next snow fell on Saturday and on Sunday was frozen over with a thick layer of ice.  We missed church again.  Well, in 2013 in NYC we had a tough winter so we both thought we would just slog through it.  Then another melt, then a freeze then another storm with more than a foot of snow in a town that usually had 4-6 inches for the entire Winter.  Each week the snow came, melted a bit, then froze over then more snow.  Soon our little cul-de-sac was a skating rink.  Our town had two plows and didn’t come through to our side for months.  Each weekend it seemed more snow fell and we missed church again.

By January we had not been to church since Thanksgiving and I was longing for the preached Word and fellowship with other believers.  This was not happening and both Bobby and I were beginning to feel it.  Then, one Sunday morning, frustrated that we were snowed in again, we looked at the religious channels.  We hadn’t done that since we left the evangelical church.  However, we figured we might find something a bit more biblical than the charismatics and as God providentially directed we did.  This program called Worship for Shut-In. 

However, the struggle with guilt, for missing services week after week, began to weigh heavily like the ice-laden snow in our town. I struggled with not being there with friends, not worshipping with brothers and sisters in Christ, and most of all, not taking the Lord’s Supper.  That was key for me.  I was hungry.  I was hungry for the preached Word but mostly this new hunger for the Word in the Sacrament began to build up in my heart.  The guilt of missing church week after week began to take its toll.  Bobby and I discussed possibly attending the Lutheran church in town (LCMS) but the snow and ice kept us from going local as well.  The hunger grew. The guilt became overwhelming.

Then, one Sunday morning, frustrated that we were snowed in again, we looked at the religious channels.  We hadn’t done that since we left the evangelical church.  However, we figured we might find something a bit more biblical than the charismatics and as God providentially directed we did.  This program called Worship for Shut-In. 

We sat and watched, listened, even sang along with the old hymns.  It was Lutheran.  It was liturgical.  The pastor even wore a white robe.  Well, we knew that some Lutherans were solid Christians and faithful to God’s Word so we watched and were fed.  Afterwards, I looked up the website, connected with it via email and we felt a bit refreshed.  At least we can get the preached Word until Spring…or so we thought.

Winter had come…and everything changed.  Each Sunday, with every weekend snow storm, we would sit ourselves down and together watch Worship for Shut-Ins (now Worship Anew).  I would even sing along with some of the choir pieces and solos that were part of the program when I knew the old hymns.  Some of these hymns, though, we’d never heard.  However, they were rich and deep and I soon came to learn the Lutheran Service Book is filled with hymns that speak of Christ and His Work, salvation by grace alone through faith alone, and the Lord’s Supper…and Baptism as God’s work alone.  We were being fed on good, solid, biblical food.  Then came the longing to share this with other believers each week but this just wouldn’t happen. 

Saturdays we would prepare to go to church in Boise and then…snow and ice…ice and more snow.  Now, because my dissertation was on God’s Providence I was beginning to “get it”.  God was hindering us from heading up to Boise.  The connections on social media were dropping as we missed service after service.  The phone calls began to wain and emails were less and less frequent.  Separated from our church family, no longer just by 50 miles, was beginning to take its toll.  Hungry for more than just a 30 minute program, though that was helping, we longed to join with the body of Christ to worship and praise our Savior and our God.

Bobby and I would talk…well, mostly I would tell him the longing of my heart.  I was missing being with God’s People and if winters were going to be like this one, then we needed to begin attending somewhere in town.  Many times during the week I would ask, “Could we just visit the Lutheran Church here in town?”  His answer would change the course of our lives.  “Sure, go check them out and we can visit.”

I wasn’t sure Bobby was ready to change churches just because I needed something closer to home but he heard my plea and I contacted Worship for Shut-Ins to see what church in town (there were two Lutheran ones we knew of) would be good for us to attend.  A few days later an email came that Faith Lutheran was a member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, which we knew to be more faithful to God’s Word than the other Lutheran denomination.  I don’t remember if I left a voice mail or sent an email but I contacted Faith Lutheran and determined that the next Sunday we would visit. 

Well, that Sunday came and Bobby was under the weather so I got ready to go to church.  I walked in, took a seat in a pew near the back and sat waiting for the service to begin.  I looked around at the stained glass, the beautiful pulpit and altar in the front and begin going through the hymnal (which is actually a service book with the whole liturgy in it).  Pastor Kellerman approached me and asked if I was Nancy.  I said yes and told him that Bobby was ill so I was there alone that day.  He welcomed me and a few minutes later service began.

I was familiar with most of the order of service but was shocked when Pastor gave absolution to everyone there.  We had corporately confessed our sins as well as had a moment to privately confess them and then the pastor said that he stood in the place of Christ and forgave us.  I was shocked to say the least.  I must have missed this at the Lutheran Church we would visit in Brooklyn, which friends of ours attend, because this just stunned me.  It wasn’t so much that a man was standing there forgiving me as I could read in the service book the words he just said, it was that sense of hearing in my own ears that Christ had forgiven me all my sins that was a bit shocking.  In the Dutch reformed churches you are given assurance your sins are forgiven but here I was being told “Your sins are forgiven you…”  Writing this just doesn’t bring out the impact of that truth but it awakened me within to the reality of hearing from Christ “daughter, your sins are forgiven…”

As the service continued it seemed to focus completely on the work and words of Christ.  Now, the reformed also focus on Christ but there is always this sense that you have to check yourself to make sure you are in the faith.  While that is biblical, the proof is where the waters get muddied.  In the Dutch Reformed church you look at the fruit you’ve produced to make sure you are a Christian and that you have true faith.  However, in this service I was hearing that we are to look at God’s work in our Baptism and that this faith is then fed through the True Blood and True Body of our Lord Jesus in the Sacrament of the Altar, the Lord’s Supper.  In the sermon the pastor reminded us that even as believers we can never follow God’s Law perfectly because we are still sinners, however, Christ did it for us and then gives us Himself in the Body and Blood of the Lord’s Supper to sustain us.  The focus was on this work of Christ which is completely, totally, 100% outside of us.  Faith is given by God through the Sacraments and then sustained in us through Word and Sacrament.

As a reformed gal the Sacraments were not that powerful.  They were “signs and seals” of God’s Work but they were not actually God’s Work.  This service opened my ears to hear God’s call of Absolution and then how He serves us in the Sunday worship service.  As I left, though the Lord’s Supper was not given that Sunday, I was full.  Then, a young man, Dennis, came over, asked my name and if I were married.  I said I was and that my husband was home sick.  His immediate response was, “Oh, we will pray for him.  Hope to see you again next week.”  That greatly impressed me, almost as much as the service itself, though I have to be honest, I was not used to following along with the liturgy through the Service Book.  However, I went home filled with the preached Word of God.  As I shared with Bobby how the service was, the topic of the sermon and how friendly everyone was, he said we could go again next Sunday.

A few weeks later, early May, we received a phone call from the Pastor in Boise.    During the call I shared how we were visiting the Lutheran church in town as the winter had kept us away.  I will never forget his words, “Well, if you have to attend an imperfect church I suppose you have to…”  That struck me in two ways. 

First, throughout our becoming Reformed we were always told that Lutherans are our brothers and sisters in the faith, only that Luther didn’t go as far as he should in reforming the church and Calvin finished Luther’s work of reformation.  Second, was our pastor somehow telling us that Lutherans weren’t a good church? Or was he saying that Lutherans were imperfect while Reformed were perfect?  The first question confused me.  The latter irked me.  I shared this with Bobby and he wondered to me if our pastor thought only the Reformed are perfect? 

The following Sunday we both felt well and the weather was perfect.  The snow had melted, the ice broken up the streams flowing down the curbs and we could finally travel without feeling the highway was dangerous.  However, that phone call providentially redirected us to attend Faith Lutheran again.  We walked into Bible study this time and enjoyed hearing those around us answering questions, reading the texts and interacting with the Sunday School lesson for the day.  We were warmly welcomed and pastor spoke with us again a little more at length. 

The next week, Bobby was having surgery on his foot so we had shared this with some at church.  On the morning of the surgery the doctor had called in the prescriptions for pain and antibiotic medicines.  While at Wal-Mart two of the ladies from church spotted me and immediately asked if Bobby had the surgery already and then prayed with me.  Wow!  Was this a benefit of attending a church closer to home that I would meet fellow members at stores in town?  Having attended a church 50+ miles away, this did not happen.  The joy just overwhelmed me as I shared this with Bobby after his surgery was finished.

That week we decided we would try out the Wednesday Bible Study at Faith Lutheran.  When we arrived pastor gave us a binder with their study, which they’d been working on for about a year already:  The Reformation and Reformers.  We both love Church History and all things reformational and were excited to learn.  Once again we heard of the work of God, how He does all things regarding our salvation; of justification by faith alone through grace alone; of the sacraments; of how many in the reformation would begin denying the Presence of Christ in the True Body and Blood of the Sacrament; denying that baptism actually does something; forgive us of our sins and washes us clean.  I thought I knew reformation history but over the next several months I was learning more and more and the scriptural teachings were becoming clearer each day.  We made our home at Faith Lutheran, becoming members that September.  For us

Winter came…and changed everything. 

THIS IS WHO WE ARE

Given theological differences, it is proper to listen to one another carefully so we can understand our differences clearly. We do not want to tell others who they are, but instead listen to them say who they really are.

For example:

Usually in relationships people of course have differing views of each other and who each other is. To work out differences, it is vitally important that others listen to the other "straight from the horse's mouth", as it were.

For example, extroverts view introverts as "anti-social." Whereas, the introverts simply say that *who they are* is focusing on spending their energy on a few people as close friends. Introverts prefer not to talk about the weather, but about deep issues.

So the introverts are misunderstood by the extroverts.

On the other end, extroverts are usually viewed by introverts as arrogant and always wanting to be the center of attention. But the extroverts simply reply that they simply enjoy being around a lot of people, and they enjoy being the life of the party and only wish to have fun.

So the extroverts are misunderstood by the introverts.

SO HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO THEOLOGY, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY TO LUTHERANISM?

These kinds of misunderstandings are sadly all too common in the theological world. Many times different branches and denominations of Christianity apply their own preconceived notions of who they themselves are, and take them and place them on other kinds of Christians.

In fact, many times how people think will come out practically in their interactions with other Christians, especially at the Lord's Table. (For some it will even come out in prayer, etc.)

For example, the Roman Catholics will not commune Lutherans--nor would we want to commune with them. But Rome makes clear that they will commune the Eastern Orthodox, since they view them as having "valid" apostolic succession.

So Rome *views* or *thinks of* the Eastern Orthodox as a "sister church" that is close to her.

But how does the East view itself?

The Eastern Orthodox absolutely forbid their parishioners from communing at a Roman Catholic church (or Eastern Catholic, for that matter). The East only allows their faithful to commune at an Orthodox church. In fact, to commune elsewhere is seen as very serious, even excommunicating oneself.

So the East *views* of *thinks of* herself not as a "sister church" with Rome. Instead, she views Rome as in error and herself as the truth.

***So what does this have to do with Lutheranism?***

I remember when I was evangelical and reformed, and how I thought of the Lutherans during that time. At the time, I *viewed* them and *thought of* them as just another denomination of Christianity. (Rome and the East were not Christian at all, of course, under such thinking.) After all, they taught justification by faith alone, so they had the Gospel. I just thought they were wrong on those naughty sacraments.

I had no problem saying they were welcome to come to my church's version of the Lord's Supper. I didn't see what the big deal was. I mean, we're all Christians, right? I mean I don't think I would have communed at a Lutheran church, because they had naughty sacraments. But they were welcome to commune at mine. It was, after all, simply a memorial or simply a spiritual presence by faith.

I was offended that they would not commune with me.

I was offended that Luther told Zwingli that he was "of another spirit."

I didn't understand what the big deal was.

After all, Lutheranism was "just another denomination" among many. Just another valid choice, right?

***Now that I'm Lutheran, I totally understand.***

You see, we Lutherans do *not*, I repeat, we do NOT view ourselves the way our evangelical and reformed friends view us.

We do NOT think of ourselves as just another "valid choice" of many denominations.

We do NOT think of the Lord's Supper as simply a memorial or only a "spiritual presence."

No indeed.

We view ourselves as an entire *branch* of Christianity.

In fact, we view Lutheranism as where the Gospel is preached most purely.

And we consider other branches and denominations as heterodox.

This is why we cannot in good conscience partake of Holy Communion anywhere else than with those Lutheran churches we are in fellowship with. This is why historically our Confessions and historic Lutheranism has always taken this position.

To take communion at a church that denies the Real Presence would aid and abet that false view of the Supper. In fact, to us, with all due respect to our friends, that false view is blasphemous.

How Christ instituted the Supper means everything to us.

HOW DID CHRIST INSTITUTE THE HOLY SUPPER?

Christ did not institute a supper that was only a memorial where one only remembers in action what He did.

Christ did not institute a supper that points us back to ourselves wondering if we have faith.

Christ did not institute a supper that has us raise ourselves up by faith to feed on Him only spiritually.

No indeed.

Christ furthermore did not institute a supper that atones for the sins of the living not present, nor did He institute a supper that forgives the sins of the dead.

No indeed.

Christ instituted His Most Holy Supper as His True Body and True Blood, given to us to eat, in our mouths, for the forgiveness of all of our sins.

*That* is the Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

SO WHO ARE WE?

So now you can hear it straight from the horse's mouth.

We Lutherans are not just another denomination of Christianity.

We Lutherans do not view all denominations as equally valid.

We Lutherans believe that justification by faith alone must stay central at all times.

We Lutherans reject any sort of turning oneself to their own faith.

We Lutherans believe the Gospel is always outside of us.

We Lutherans see the Word spoken and the Sacraments administered as vital for assurance of salvation and comfort.

We Lutherans see pastoral care as connected to the comfort of the Word and Sacraments.

We Lutherans see *this* Good News as truly Good News, and to be proclaimed to the world.

***So, my fellow Lutherans, please do not let others tell you who you are.***

****For those who really want to know who we are, our Confessions are summarized in the Book of Concord. www.bookofconcord.org ****

This is who we are.

We are simply beggars.

This is most certainly true.

The Simplicity, and Depth, of the Gospel

This post is not intended to be a major theological treatise, but rather, a reflection of my own journey to the Evangelical Catholic (Lutheran) faith. Granted, in my reflection there will be (and must be by necessity!) some theological statements and claims.

One of the most important facets of Lutheran theology is the distinction between Law and Gospel. The Law kills, whereas the Gospel brings life. The Law cannot bring life, for that is not its function. It can only tell us what to do. To lapse into finding life in obeying commands is to lapse into legalism, and to lapse into finding assurance in your works is to lapse into a perversion of the Gospel itself.

In Christianity, only the Confessional Lutheran Church upholds this proper distinction, although many Continental Reformed Churches are doing pretty good at it these days. Notice, I did not say all Reformed Churches. The Puritans did a horrible job of this, and their influence in Reformed circles is enormous, even today. Some of the Continental Reformed folks do OK here though. I think of Reformed scholars like Michael Horton, for example.

As I made my own journey to the Lutheran Church, I was confronted with all of these issues, especially I was a staunch Calvinist for many years; even flirting with Postmillennialism and Theonomy along the way. I still to this day have a high regard for the late Dr. Greg Bahnsen in the arena of apologetics. I think he is amazing in that regard. Yet I also think his theology is bunk in many ways.

The Law killed me. Absolutely, positively, killed me. In my journey, especially through Reformed Theology, I was constantly seeing the Law as a bad thing. Yes, I know, Reformed Theology does not see the Law as a bad thing - no Christian Church does. But allow me to explain. As a Calvinist, I was forced by necessity to judge my election based on my obedience to the commands of God. I can hear the howls of protest from my Reformed friends now...

Why is this so? Well, there are two doctrines in Reformed Theology that push a person in this direction. They are the doctrine of Reprobation and the doctrine of Limited Atonement. To put it simply, the doctrine of Reprobation (aka Double Predestination) says that a portion of humanity is predestined to burn in hell, for lack of a better explanation. Limited Atonement says that Christ only died for those who are elect and will be saved.

Here is the problem: If those two things are true, how can you know you are saved? Well, you can't know that you're not predestined for heaven. You might fall away or have a false faith. In that case, you were never saved in the first place. You also can't know for sure if Christ died for you, well, because you don't know if you're predestined for heaven and might fall away or have false faith.

So where does one look for assurance in Reformed Theology? To their own fruits. To be fair, many Reformed people would protest this, and rightly so. Much of Reformed Theology teaches people to look to Christ, and that is a good thing. Yet, how can you not help but to look to yourself if Christ only died for certain persons? To act a little Reformed here, it's an irresistible logic.

From our Lutheran perspective, this is a confusion of Law and Gospel. To look to anything you do (Law) to have assurance of salvation is going to drive you to despair. Or pride. In other words, the thing that is supposed to clearly show your election in Christ either kills you or makes you sin even more by presupposing something that is not a foregone conclusion (if Christ died for you), or leads a person to thump their chest in the name of humility to know and say they are elect.

All of these things mingle the Law into the Gospel. The Law does not give us assurance. It only causes despair or pride.

It's not that I don't think that Reformed churches (and Baptist, and...whatever else) don't have the Gospel. They certainly do. It's that they obscure it by allowing the Law to be mingled in with it. They don't allow the Gospel, and only the Gospel, to do all the heavy lifting.

The despair however, is where it led me. And, I would argue, the Law driving us to despair is precisely what it should do. And when the Law kills you, it also shows you that you are completely and utterly helpless. And screwed. Royally screwed.

That is where the simplicity, and depth, of the Gospel comes in. The Gospel is something outside of us that gives us Christ and His promises, benefits, and work, as a one-sided divine gift. Christ for you, outside of you, clothing you with His righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). He died for you (1 Jn 2:2).

And what's also awesome is that He gives Himself to us not only in His Incarnation, death, and resurrection, but also temporally, apart from ourselves. Not so much to make us better (although the Spirit comes in and the new man rises), but precisely because we suck and fall short. We fall short of everything. God demands perfection (Mat 5:48). We cannot meet it (Jam 2:10, Rom 3:23). We are sinful from conception (Ps 51, Rom 5:12-21).

The Law and the Gospel are both super important. Without the Law, we needn't be saved. Without the Gospel, we can't be saved. For it is the Gospel, not the Law, that is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16).

Nor does God kill us with the Law to save us with the Gospel just to drive us back to the Law again (Gal 3:2-3).

Christ outside of us, for us, continually coming to us in Word and Sacrament for our salvation. Not because of what we have done, but because of what Christ alone has done.

Anything less than that rips the purity from the Word of God and strips the Gospel of its power to assure us that we are Christ's and He is ours.

Christ saves us. He says: I baptize you in the Name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit (Mat 28:18-20). He says: Whoever believes in me is saved (Jn 3:16, Rom 10:9-13). He says, take and eat, take and drink, this is My body and blood, for you, for the forgiveness of your sins (Mat 26:28).

Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8), does it all, despite of us, not because of us. And because God's Word is sure and God never lies, we also locate our assurance in these promises given to us in Word and Sacrament outside of us, spoken by God.

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5

Amen

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+

A-Ha Moments from Calvinism to Lutheranism Pt. II

My next “a-ha” moment came when I was challenged to take the Scripture in Matthew 26:26-27 plainly: "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”

Now, all of evangelicalism – including the Reformed – do not take this as a literal body and blood meal of Christ. They either take it as a memorialist (or Zwinglian) view (evangelicals), or a spiritual meal (the Reformed). Why do this? It all goes back to the dispute between Luther and Zwingli, which caused an inevitable wall between Lutherans and the rest of evangelicalism that has never been breached. I must admit I believed the “spiritual presence” view as a Reformed believer. And I did so without reflection or study, because it all seemed so “rational and reasonable”. After all, Christ's physical body must be in heaven, at the right hand of the Father, and can't be in two places at once. Right? Well, not so fast. There's this small issue of God doing anything He wants in accordance with His Word. And since we take Scripture at its face, unless the genre or context demands otherwise, then we have no reason not to accept the plain statement that the body and blood of Christ that is served in Communion is indeed the true body and blood of Christ. When I realized that I was engaging in a gross rationalization by denying the plain language of Scripture, I changed from a spiritual presence, Reformed view of the sacraments to a Lutheran, real presence view of the sacraments. If you're looking for a more complex explanation than that, I don't have one. Maybe someone does. We can even talk about Eutychianism vs. Nestorianism. And there is a place for that discussion. I love theology. But this seems pretty simple to me.

A-Ha Moments from Calvinism to Lutheranism

In my conversion from Calvinism to Lutheranism, there were several occasions I would call “a-ha moments” - officially defined as “a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension.” Discussing some of these may help those of you wresting with the transition. For this post, we'll deal with the issue of images.

No doubt, if you are Reformed, you read the Ten Commandments and find “Thou shalt make no graven images" and say “Well, the matter is settled...no crucifixes, pictures of Christ, or other images allowed”. Well..not so fast. The Roman Catholic Church and most Lutheran churches, following Saint Augustine, combine "no other gods" with "no graven images" into the first commandment, and split "covet wife" and "covet neighbors..." into two commandments. The belief that the Reformed second commandment stood and forbid graven images manifested itself during the Reformation in the form of iconoclasm – the destruction of altars, images, and statutes. It should be painfully obvious that taking our sole cue from a bunch of marauding peasants in the 16th century is problematic. We need to take a step back and take a deep breath. The Lutheran does this by believing that the use of images is one of the many “things indifferent”, or “adiaphora”. It is not required nor is it forbidden. There is no command to use them, and even if we held to the Reformed view of the commandments, we would be hard-pressed to affirm that it means that any use of images is condemned. While thinking through this issue, one thing discovered about my own thought process was that the objection to images can also come about by a sort of of “guilt by association” argument that goes something like this syllogism: “Since Roman Catholic has false doctrine, and they use images, therefore, the use of images is bad.” Not a good place to get your beliefs! It can also come about from a sort of irrational fear that a moderate use of images will result in idolatry. This, of course, can be argued against easily. What about a computer? Certainly, a computer can become an idol if we love it more than we love God. But simply using a computer is using one of God's good gifts to us, and not sinful.

In future posts, I'll talk about some of the other “a-ha moments” I had in my transition from Calvinism to Lutheranism. By the way, for you podcast buffs, I will be interviewed soon, in time for the next Against the Winds podcast episode., where I will also discuss my transition.

Making the Transition

Having recently gone from being staunchly Reformed to Confessional Lutheran, I wanted to share some of my initial impressions - and some advice - for those making the same transition.

1 - Visit a Lutheran church as soon as possible. - Let's face it, Facebook and blogs are not the same as a real church. Connect with a good, confessional Lutheran church. You can employ some online friends to assist you with this, as I did. I just so happened to settle in with the first one I visited, after checking numerous websites and viewing sermon videos. Your mileage will likely vary, depending on your location (rural vs urban) and what part of the country you live in.

2 - Change your reading as soon as possible - Now, we're all different, but for me, I sold off nearly all of my Reformed books (except my church history) on online book-buyers websites. They gave me a pre-paid label to print, with a price for each one they would accept, and off they went. A week or two later, I got paid. I took all of the money earned and purchased some of the best Lutheran books that were recommended by online friends and Amazon reviews. This way, I did not have to spend hard-earned dollars that I didn't have to begin reading up on Lutheranism.

3 - Avoid mud-wrestling online with the Reformed - My knee-jerk reaction was to argue with the Reformed on why they should be Lutheran. I was even warned about this, but I didn't listen. This impulse was a mistake. It just fueled anger, and kept my focus off of the cross - which is why I went Lutheran to begin with. You don't want to be a cage-stage Lutheran, do you? So tread carefully with this. Seek wisdom. There's plenty of time for debating, but now isn't the time. Talk to solid Lutheran Pastors on and offline, whenever possible.

I was also the host of a pretty popular Reformed podcast, so I had to deal with ending that beloved part of my life for the time being. After all, I could no longer promote, with a clear conscience, what I had previously believed. I stopped adding new podcasts, posted an audio and text message on the podcasts's website that I was ending operations, and gave a deadline for anyone who wanted to download the MP3s.

Be prepared for varied reactions. Personally, at least so far, I received very few direct attacks. What I got was a vague cold-shoulder, as if I just joined the Masons or something. Which, of course, is normal. Don't be shocked. Your experience may look completely different from my experience. In any event, perhaps these tips will help you going forward. If you've made (or are making) the journey to Lutheranism, you're in for quite a ride. Just keep in mind, that most people "read" their way into being Reformed. My experience was that Lutheranism's pure Gospel found me. As I posted once recently online, "Lutheranism is the crown jewel of all of the denominations." And I believe that with all of my being.

The Purpose of This Blog

This blog exists for specific reasons, which will be laid out here.

First and foremost, the three of us who contribute to this blog are Confessional Lutherans. This means we hold unapologetically to the authority of Holy Scripture. It also means that we hold to the teachings found in the Book of Concord,which we believe to be the proper exposition of what is taught in Scripture.

This of course means that we are going to be heavy on Christ for you in Word and Sacrament. We'll speak about Baptism and the Lord's Supper a lot. We like to quote from Luther's Small Catechism and the six chief parts. And we love the Augsburg Confession, by the way.

It also means that as Confessional Lutherans, we are unapologetic in our stance that other theologies are in error. So there will be some talk about other theologies on this blog, and it may or may not be favorable to the other theology.

Finally, all of the contributors to this blog are former Calvinists as well as former Baptists. Therefore, one of the other purposes of this blog is to educate Lutherans regarding the more radical branch of the Reformation, which is today contained in the Reformed and Presbyterian churches (and to an extent Anglicanism), and in the more sacramentarian churches that are baptist in their theology. This is to say, there will be a lot of blogging done on Calvinism or on Lutheranism compared to Calvinism as well as critique of baptist theology and its errors.

This might rub some people the wrong way, but we believe that error must be outed, so to speak. We also believe that our Lutheran brethren should be aware of other teachings, why we do not agree with them, and why they are incorrect in light of Holy Scripture and our Confessions.

The blogging will not always be favorable to Reformed Theology or Baptist Theology either. We believe firmly that Reformed Theology is in error on some very key doctrines of the Christian faith; and Baptist Theology even more so on many accounts.

Of course this blog is not intended to be an anti-Calvinist rant, yet there will be, as stated above, numerous blogs in due time that are clearly in disagreement with Calvinism. The recent post that compared Calvin's view of the Lord's Supper with Nestorianism was one such example of this.

It is important to mention, however, that we in no way question the salvation or the dedication to Christ and the Gospel of either Calvinists or Baptists. We consider them to be Christians as we are. We also consider some of their teachings to be erroneous and in some cases even dangerous to the Christian faith.

We are very fortunate to have three contributors who understand Reformed Theology well; or at least well enough to comment on it with some substance. The same can be said for Baptist Theology. The three of us have taken very similar paths to Confessional Lutheranism.

That being said, we shall press on!

From Calvinism to Lutheranism

After some thought, I have decided to resurrect my old blog. I owe my Reformed friend Andy Underhile a debt of gratitude for digging the blog up. I thought I had deleted it and it was gone for good. I did this in light of my conversion to Lutheranism from Calvinism. I am glad Andy found it, however.

I will leave all of my former Calvinist blogs up on the site and indeed I will stand behind much of what I have written in the past. If you're interested in where I stood on things as a Calvinist, just peruse my old blogs. I'll leave them there. For instance, as a Lutheran now, I remain a presuppositionist in the apologetics area. I'll still stack the late Dr. Greg Bahnsen up against anyone in an apologetics debate.

So why the conversion from Calvinism to Lutheranism? (LCMS to be precise) I'm not going to go into a ton of detail here, but I will offer up my main reasons for doing so. Without further adieu, here are my reasons; and no, I'm not going to just post a picture of Holy Scripture!

1. The Christocentric hermeneutic of Lutheranism. The hermeneutics of Lutheran theology I do believe to be correct in light of Scripture. It really is all about Jesus. I know this sounds snarky, and I certainly do not mean to imply that my Reformed brothers are not Christ-centered! But Lutheranism sees all theology through Christ, as opposed to Covenant Theology (which is a pretty solid system, for what it's worth).

2. The sacraments. I found Calvin's views on the sacraments to be untenable and not in-line with Scripture. I find the memorialist views on the sacraments to be crass and out of line with Scripture. The Lutheran views on them are simple, to the point, and take the words in Holy Scripture at face value. Not to mention, the Lutheran views on the sacraments have historical continuity to a much greater degree than the Reformed views.

3. Assurance of Salvation. Limited Atonement in Reformed Theology locates assurance in the individual, whether it intends to or not. Most Calvinists I know will cry foul on this one and I get that. I really do. But where else are you to look if Christ only died for some? You look to your fruits and your changed life. In Lutheranism, we look to objective monergistic gifts that God has given us that deliver Christ crucified to us. That is to say, we know Christ died for us and we know that He has given Himself to us in Word and Sacrament.

4. The Divine Service. I am a huge traditional liturgy homer. It's based in Scripture and centered on Christ, every week and every service.

I would also throw out that reading Scripture and studying church history are two other reasons. But for now, this will suffice.

Grace and Peace