In the Gospels, Our Lord Jesus Christ uses the phrase "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Mat 11:15, Mar 4:9, Luk 8:8, Luk 14:35) and "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." (Mar 4:23)
Not surprisingly, this is a very misused phrase in Scripture. Aren't we all kind of like that sometimes though? The old Adam in all of us likes to take and abuse passages and phrases of Scripture to suit our own viewpoint.
Ultimately, the misuse of this phrase ends up being a sort of spiritual pride in most cases. In my Calvinist days, I would routinely hear some well meaning Calvinist folks use this phrase to decry people that rejected limited atonement or the universal saving will of God. They would quip that such a person who affirmed universal atonement (almost always the Arminians) just does not have ears to hear. That is to say, these Calvinistic folks were implying that the Spirit has given them ears so that they can properly affirm the letters and petals of the TULIP but that the other Christian over there (probably a rank Arminian!) is blind and deaf to the things of God. I am using this as an example. Other Christians do this as well - it is not limited to Calvinists, although abusing this phrase fits well with the Calvinistic system when you think about it.
Yet, I don't quite think this is what Jesus intends when He utters this phrase. In fact, in 4 of the 5 times this phrase is recorded for us in the Gospels, Jesus is using it in reference to understanding His parables.St. Mark and St. Luke record this phrase for us in the parable of the sower, for instance (Mar 4:9, Luk 8:8).
The only time Jesus uses the phrase not in reference to a parable is in Matthew 11. Here He is speaking about John the Baptist being the greatest man to be born among women, but He (Jesus) is greater than John.
So when Jesus uses this phrase, He is either using it to refer to His Godhood and status as Messiah, or He is using it to refer to parables with tricky meanings - which He ends up explaining to His disciples later anyways!
He is not intending the phrase to be speaking about denying clear and plain texts of Scripture in favor of some meaning that fits a theological system; especially when the meaning that is implied to be correct is quite foreign to a natural and plain reading of a text.
So when Scripture says that "God so loved the world..." (John 3:16) it probably means that "God so loved the world," not "God so loved the elect." Or when Scripture says that "God...desires all people to be saved" (1 Tim 2:3-4) it probably means that "God...desires all people to be saved" not that "God desires some people of all types of people to be saved." Or when Scripture says that Christ is "...the propitiation for our sins...and the whole world" (1 John 2:2) is probably means the whole world. Or when Scripture says that God "is patient...not wishing that any should perish" (2 Pet 3:9) it probably means that. It doesn't mean that God is wishing that all the elect are saved but not most of the human race. Or when Scripture says "Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you" (1 Pet 3:21) it probably means that "Baptism...now saves you."
And on and on we go. But the point is painfully obvious. Saying that someone does not have ears to hear because they deny plain readings of clear Scriptures is foolish at best. One does not need some sort of secret spiritual knowledge to interpret a passage to mean something totally different than what it says. If anything, it takes some sort of special ability (not in a good way) to butcher the mess out of plain and clear passages to fit some sort of pre-conceived system.
+Grace+
Showing posts with label New Testament. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Testament. Show all posts
6/17/16
Letter, Spirit, Forget the Bible?
2 Corinthians 3:6b: For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Here is a favorite part of Scripture for folks who like to discredit or downplay the Holy Scriptures. They see this text and surmise that the "letter" is a reference to the Scriptures and the Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Thus, it's the Spirit and their personal relationship and feelings that give life to them, apart from the Scripture. Hence, personal experience wins the day and all different waves of false beliefs are validated.
The funny thing is, the people who hold this stance are actually using the Bible as an authority to denigrate the Bible so it's not an authority. Imagine that.
But not so fast, grasshopper. All we need to do is to keep on reading.
2 Corinthians 3:7-8: Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?
These are the next lines given by St. Paul in 2 Corinthians. He explains clearly what he is referring to in v. 6.
Here is a favorite part of Scripture for folks who like to discredit or downplay the Holy Scriptures. They see this text and surmise that the "letter" is a reference to the Scriptures and the Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Thus, it's the Spirit and their personal relationship and feelings that give life to them, apart from the Scripture. Hence, personal experience wins the day and all different waves of false beliefs are validated.
The funny thing is, the people who hold this stance are actually using the Bible as an authority to denigrate the Bible so it's not an authority. Imagine that.
2 Corinthians 3:7-8: Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?
These are the next lines given by St. Paul in 2 Corinthians. He explains clearly what he is referring to in v. 6.
You have words like kills and death. He is linking verse 7 to what he just said in verse 6. The letter that kills is not the Holy Scriptures, it's the LAW. He states that the ministry of death was carved in letters on stone. Well, what was carved in letters on stone? He even says that the letter kills and that letters were carved on stone.
Clearly, he is speaking of the law and the Mosaic covenant. He explains that very plainly for us in verses 7 and 8.
Clearly, he is speaking of the law and the Mosaic covenant. He explains that very plainly for us in verses 7 and 8.
It does not matter what the text "means to me" or "means to you." What is important is what St. Paul is actually telling us.
Now what is the ministry of the Spirit? Well, let's let Jesus tell us that one.
St. John 15:26: But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
Shockingly enough, it's not some Pentecostal mumbo-jumbo nonsense. It does not matter what the text "means to me" or "means to you." What is important is what St. Paul is actually telling us. St. Paul is not giving us a free pass to "follow the Spirit" apart from the dead letter of Holy Scripture. That is not at all what is being said here. The Spirit is to bear witness to Christ. The Spirit does not point to Himself, but to Christ. He does not give you fuzzy feelings of whatever you want to believe and allow you to say "the Spirit told me so." He points to Jesus and His work on our behalf.
Now what is the ministry of the Spirit? Well, let's let Jesus tell us that one.
St. John 15:26: But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
Shockingly enough, it's not some Pentecostal mumbo-jumbo nonsense. It does not matter what the text "means to me" or "means to you." What is important is what St. Paul is actually telling us. St. Paul is not giving us a free pass to "follow the Spirit" apart from the dead letter of Holy Scripture. That is not at all what is being said here. The Spirit is to bear witness to Christ. The Spirit does not point to Himself, but to Christ. He does not give you fuzzy feelings of whatever you want to believe and allow you to say "the Spirit told me so." He points to Jesus and His work on our behalf.
In other words, the ministry of the Spirit is nothing other than the preaching and proclaiming of the Gospel, given to us in Word and Sacrament. Simply put, it's the New Covenant in Christ.
The misinterpretation of this passage is nothing less than a denial of everything else the Scriptures say about the Spirit, Christ, the Law, the Gospel, and the Scriptures themselves. It is a dangerous false belief that leads to self-sufficient Christianity and people making up and believing what they want and saying it came from the Spirit.
Since this particular belief aims it fiery darts directly at the function of the law and the Spirit directing us to the Gospel; and rejects what St. Paul is actually telling us here, it is not a Christian belief at all. It also runs a very high risk of leading to a form of Gnosticism - a denial of any means of grace at all.
I'll go even further. If the Spirit is not pointing to Jesus, it's probably not the Spirit. Do the math.
The misinterpretation of this passage is nothing less than a denial of everything else the Scriptures say about the Spirit, Christ, the Law, the Gospel, and the Scriptures themselves. It is a dangerous false belief that leads to self-sufficient Christianity and people making up and believing what they want and saying it came from the Spirit.
Since this particular belief aims it fiery darts directly at the function of the law and the Spirit directing us to the Gospel; and rejects what St. Paul is actually telling us here, it is not a Christian belief at all. It also runs a very high risk of leading to a form of Gnosticism - a denial of any means of grace at all.
I'll go even further. If the Spirit is not pointing to Jesus, it's probably not the Spirit. Do the math.
+Grace and Peace+
1/14/16
1 Peter 3:18-22
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah,while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 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, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. ~1 Peter 3:18-22 (ESV)
Here we have one of the clearest baptism passages in the New Testament. Unfortunately, this text has been a major battleground among Christians over the last few hundred years or so. There have been numerous interpretations put forth regarding the proper meaning of this passage. Some have been good, others feasible, and still others have been quite a stretch. I think, at the end of the day, it is not that difficult of a passage to figure out.
Certainly, interpretations of this passage fall along denominational lines. Consider Baptist pastor John Piper: "Now the problem with this is that Peter seems very aware that his words are open to dangerous misuse. This is why, as soon as they are out of his mouth, as it were, he qualifies them lest we take them the wrong way. In verse 21 he does say, "Baptism now saves you" - that sounds like the water has a saving effect in and of itself apart from faith. He knows that is what it sounds like and so he adds immediately, "Not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.""
And then later, "God saves you through the work of Christ. But you receive that salvation through calling on the name of the Lord, by trusting him. And it is God's will all over the world and in every culture - no matter how simple or how sophisticated - that this appeal to God be expressed in baptism."
Piper's article can be found here: Piper - Baptism
Hence, Pastor Piper is essentially arguing that Peter put the words in verse 21 regarding "removal of dirt" as a warning to not use his words to mean that baptism saves. As an aside, why would Peter write that at all if he thought they could be dangerously misconstrued to mean what they say? That makes a grand total of no sense whatsoever. And finally, Piper concludes that baptism is a symbolic appeal or pledge to God done by the believer as an expression of faith.
The most glaring problem with Piper's interpretation of this passage is that the passage simply does not say that. Peter is drawing a type and antitype parallel here. He references Noah and the ark. Moreover, Peter also is clear that Noah and his family were brought safely through the water. This is a type. The flood, in which Noah and his family were on the ark, were brought safely through the water. They were quite literally saved through the water in the physical realm.
The antitype, the greater reality which the flood pointed to is baptism. Just as Noah and his family were safely brought through the waters and saved, Peter says baptism, which corresponds to the flood, now also saves you.
And in this light, I agree with Pr. Piper when he says that Peter inserts language about removal of dirt as being important in that Peter does not want his words to be misused. However, the parallel that Peter is drawing actually speaks in the opposite direction as Pr. Piper would have us believe. Pr. Piper is essentially saying that Peter is saying that baptism now saves you, but not really saves you. It doesn't make you clean. In short, Piper is inserting somewhat of a contradiction into Peter's words in order to fit his preconceived theological leanings.
The more likely meaning, and really the plain meaning of this passage, is that Peter does not want his readers to believe that baptism is a strict one for one parallel with the flood. In other words, when Peter says that baptism now saves you and then continues with the removal of dirt language, he is telling us that baptism does not save us physically and temporally as God saved Noah and his family through the water. This water of baptism is a Word of God and is not a physical salvation from calamity. It is an eternal salvation. It is the greater antitype. Hence, Peter continues on: "...but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him." (1 Peter 3:21b-22)
In other words, whereas Noah was temporally delivered through the water, we are eternally delivered through the water. How? How can water do such things? Well, it can't. But God can. As Luther reminds us in his Small Catechism:
How can water do such great things?
It is not the water indeed that does them, but the word of God which is in and with the water, and faith, which trusts such word of God in the water. For without the word of God the water is simple water and no baptism. But with the word of God it is a baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and a washing of regeneration in the Holy Ghost, as St. Paul says, Titus, chapter three: By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost,which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that, being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying.
Here we have one of the clearest baptism passages in the New Testament. Unfortunately, this text has been a major battleground among Christians over the last few hundred years or so. There have been numerous interpretations put forth regarding the proper meaning of this passage. Some have been good, others feasible, and still others have been quite a stretch. I think, at the end of the day, it is not that difficult of a passage to figure out.
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| Top: John Piper Bottom: 1 Peter 3:21 |
Certainly, interpretations of this passage fall along denominational lines. Consider Baptist pastor John Piper: "Now the problem with this is that Peter seems very aware that his words are open to dangerous misuse. This is why, as soon as they are out of his mouth, as it were, he qualifies them lest we take them the wrong way. In verse 21 he does say, "Baptism now saves you" - that sounds like the water has a saving effect in and of itself apart from faith. He knows that is what it sounds like and so he adds immediately, "Not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.""
And then later, "God saves you through the work of Christ. But you receive that salvation through calling on the name of the Lord, by trusting him. And it is God's will all over the world and in every culture - no matter how simple or how sophisticated - that this appeal to God be expressed in baptism."
Piper's article can be found here: Piper - Baptism
Hence, Pastor Piper is essentially arguing that Peter put the words in verse 21 regarding "removal of dirt" as a warning to not use his words to mean that baptism saves. As an aside, why would Peter write that at all if he thought they could be dangerously misconstrued to mean what they say? That makes a grand total of no sense whatsoever. And finally, Piper concludes that baptism is a symbolic appeal or pledge to God done by the believer as an expression of faith.
The most glaring problem with Piper's interpretation of this passage is that the passage simply does not say that. Peter is drawing a type and antitype parallel here. He references Noah and the ark. Moreover, Peter also is clear that Noah and his family were brought safely through the water. This is a type. The flood, in which Noah and his family were on the ark, were brought safely through the water. They were quite literally saved through the water in the physical realm.
The antitype, the greater reality which the flood pointed to is baptism. Just as Noah and his family were safely brought through the waters and saved, Peter says baptism, which corresponds to the flood, now also saves you.
And in this light, I agree with Pr. Piper when he says that Peter inserts language about removal of dirt as being important in that Peter does not want his words to be misused. However, the parallel that Peter is drawing actually speaks in the opposite direction as Pr. Piper would have us believe. Pr. Piper is essentially saying that Peter is saying that baptism now saves you, but not really saves you. It doesn't make you clean. In short, Piper is inserting somewhat of a contradiction into Peter's words in order to fit his preconceived theological leanings.
The more likely meaning, and really the plain meaning of this passage, is that Peter does not want his readers to believe that baptism is a strict one for one parallel with the flood. In other words, when Peter says that baptism now saves you and then continues with the removal of dirt language, he is telling us that baptism does not save us physically and temporally as God saved Noah and his family through the water. This water of baptism is a Word of God and is not a physical salvation from calamity. It is an eternal salvation. It is the greater antitype. Hence, Peter continues on: "...but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him." (1 Peter 3:21b-22)
In other words, whereas Noah was temporally delivered through the water, we are eternally delivered through the water. How? How can water do such things? Well, it can't. But God can. As Luther reminds us in his Small Catechism:
How can water do such great things?
It is not the water indeed that does them, but the word of God which is in and with the water, and faith, which trusts such word of God in the water. For without the word of God the water is simple water and no baptism. But with the word of God it is a baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and a washing of regeneration in the Holy Ghost, as St. Paul says, Titus, chapter three: By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost,which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that, being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying.
How then? Peter answers thus: Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Baptism gives us Jesus. All the power and authority that Jesus has due to His crucifixion and resurrection is given to us in Baptism. (Matt 28:18-20)
Hence, Pr. Piper's answer, while creative and in attempt to be faithful to the biblical report, is untenable. Not only because Piper creates a contradiction in Peter, but also in that his preconceived theology simply will not allow the passage to speak clearly as it does. Where Pr. Piper thinks he is doing the church a service by exegeting Peter, he is in reality teaching people the opposite of what Peter has said, and that is never a good thing.
Baptism now saves you. Thanks be to God.
+Pax+
8/1/15
Gospel, Law, and Glawspel
St. Matthew 22:34-40: But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the prophets."
It is quite common in recent church history, especially in more liberal theologies, to see this passage as the Gospel in a nutshell. In other words, love God and love others is the Gospel.
Certainly, being a statement and command of Christ, loving God and loving others is of supreme importance. No Christian would dispute that. However, loving God and loving your neighbor is not the Gospel. The Gospel, or good news, is never a command, nor is the Gospel our actions, however loving they may be.
To be even more clear, those who claim that this passage in St. Matthew is a concise statement of the Gospel have actually missed the Gospel altogether.
Just read the passage. The Pharisee asked Christ, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" Jesus answered the Pharisee that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of your being. And the second one is to love your neighbor as if they were yourself.
In very plain language, these are commandments. In broad terms, anything that is a commandment is law, not Gospel. Gospel promises. It does not command. That is the office of the law. This is why, in our Lutheran Confessions of faith, we have excerpts in the Epitome and the Solid Declaration regarding the third use of the law. There is no third use of the Gospel or anything like that. The new obedience of the Christian is dealt with in terms of both law and Gospel, but it is always the law that makes the demands and tells us what should be done, never the Gospel. It is always the law that shows us what we ought to do and what we have not done. It is always the law that shows us our need to repent because it is precisely that law that shows us how short we really fall.
Let's push this a little further. Jesus' statements are a summation of the Ten Commandments. Love the Lord your God is a summary of the first table of the Law; commandments 1-3. Love your neighbor as yourself is a summary of the second table of the Law; commandments 4-10. In other words, if we hash this out to its conclusion, a theology that claims that Matthew 22:37-40 is the Gospel is ultimately doing the same exact thing as saying that the Ten Commandments are the Gospel. This is, ironically, a form of "Pharisaical Christianity." It's Gospel-less. Ultimately, this sort of theology teaches salvation by keeping the Law. How is this any different than the Pharisees? Hence, liberal theology that claims this is the Gospel is teaching a false Gospel.
Far from evicting obedience from the Christian faith, the Gospel - the real one - provides for the only sort of obedience that is genuine. Obedience done from love because our obedience does not contribute to our justification. We can never be declared righteous before God by that, because God's standards in this arena are perfection. Hence the work of Christ for us (the Gospel). Even so, our obedience in this life is never perfect. We are still simultaneously sinner and saint, after all. We need a righteousness that is above anything we could ever obtain through our love and obedience to commandments. We need a righteousness that is perfect. Only Jesus obtained that, and only Jesus can give us that.
That is why in the Divine Service we confess: "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 love 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 I)
+Pax+
It is quite common in recent church history, especially in more liberal theologies, to see this passage as the Gospel in a nutshell. In other words, love God and love others is the Gospel.
Certainly, being a statement and command of Christ, loving God and loving others is of supreme importance. No Christian would dispute that. However, loving God and loving your neighbor is not the Gospel. The Gospel, or good news, is never a command, nor is the Gospel our actions, however loving they may be.
To be even more clear, those who claim that this passage in St. Matthew is a concise statement of the Gospel have actually missed the Gospel altogether.
Just read the passage. The Pharisee asked Christ, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" Jesus answered the Pharisee that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of your being. And the second one is to love your neighbor as if they were yourself.
In very plain language, these are commandments. In broad terms, anything that is a commandment is law, not Gospel. Gospel promises. It does not command. That is the office of the law. This is why, in our Lutheran Confessions of faith, we have excerpts in the Epitome and the Solid Declaration regarding the third use of the law. There is no third use of the Gospel or anything like that. The new obedience of the Christian is dealt with in terms of both law and Gospel, but it is always the law that makes the demands and tells us what should be done, never the Gospel. It is always the law that shows us what we ought to do and what we have not done. It is always the law that shows us our need to repent because it is precisely that law that shows us how short we really fall.
Let's push this a little further. Jesus' statements are a summation of the Ten Commandments. Love the Lord your God is a summary of the first table of the Law; commandments 1-3. Love your neighbor as yourself is a summary of the second table of the Law; commandments 4-10. In other words, if we hash this out to its conclusion, a theology that claims that Matthew 22:37-40 is the Gospel is ultimately doing the same exact thing as saying that the Ten Commandments are the Gospel. This is, ironically, a form of "Pharisaical Christianity." It's Gospel-less. Ultimately, this sort of theology teaches salvation by keeping the Law. How is this any different than the Pharisees? Hence, liberal theology that claims this is the Gospel is teaching a false Gospel.
Far from evicting obedience from the Christian faith, the Gospel - the real one - provides for the only sort of obedience that is genuine. Obedience done from love because our obedience does not contribute to our justification. We can never be declared righteous before God by that, because God's standards in this arena are perfection. Hence the work of Christ for us (the Gospel). Even so, our obedience in this life is never perfect. We are still simultaneously sinner and saint, after all. We need a righteousness that is above anything we could ever obtain through our love and obedience to commandments. We need a righteousness that is perfect. Only Jesus obtained that, and only Jesus can give us that.
That is why in the Divine Service we confess: "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 love 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 I)
+Pax+
7/15/15
Christ's paradoxical words in John 6:63-64
When you think of our Lutheran theology, you think paradox. It’s in the straightforward reading of Scriptures that results in this paradox we find in this theology of the cross. A passage like John 6:63-64 is no different. Themes like the hidden will/revealed will distinction and paradox of monergism and objective grace being for all/you exist there.
Let us first examine John 6:63. Christ stated that the Spirit gives life while the flesh profits nothing. We see here salvation is fully of God. Not one allowance is given for anything in us to will to believe or to be renewed to new life in Christ. Salvation is entirely the work of God. The Spirit converts us by giving us life. That life that He gives us is not something we can self-generate. Nor can we offer anything, however small, of ourselves to will towards conversion. Nothing means nothing, not a little of something. John 6:63 flat out proved monergism.
Now human reason would assume since salvation is all of God and not all are saved, it must mean God’s saving grace is given only to the elect and not all. But that is not what Christ said in the next passage. He said that His words are spirit and life in them. In other words, there is saving power in His words. Yet, despite that, not all believe. Not all receive God Incarnate who had come for them.
Why? The whore of human reason would be tempted to say it is because man has some measure of freewill to decide for or against God. But Scriptures refute that. Christ said the Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. We did not choose Him but He chose us (John 15:16). God made us alive when we were dead in sins as the grace of God by which we are saved through faith as a gift of God, not of ourselves (Ephesians 2:1-8). None can confess Jesus without the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). Rebirth is not from human decision (John 1:13).
The other temptation would be to say that God only desires to save some and not all. But John 6:64 ruled that out. His divine word, with the power to save, was resisted. Christ desired to save many in Jerusalem yet was spurned, and He wept for it (Matthew 23:37). The Holy Spirit can be resisted (Acts 7:51). God does desire to save all (1 Timothy 2:1-6, 2 Peter 3:9, John 3:16).
So why are not all saved if God’s saving grace is given to all and if God’s grace alone converts us, not of anything in us? Scriptures do not say. Do note what John 6:64 did say. It said that Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.
Jesus was God. He had this power of knowledge of what will happen and in regards to who will be saved and won’t. We don’t have this knowledge. It is hidden to God. It is God’s inscrutable will which we dare not try to peer into. We are not essentially told why some come and some do not, when God wants to save all and comes to all yet grace alone saves us, not of any willpower that we can muster in us.
We see then in the passage that God’s revealed will is for them to be saved. Christ’s word is indeed spirit and indeed life given for even those who resist and reject it. He desired to save them, and they refused to believe.
We see then in the passage that God’s revealed will is for them to be saved. Christ’s word is indeed spirit and indeed life given for even those who resist and reject it. He desired to save them, and they refused to believe.
We are left with a paradox that goes against human reason that desires to force these passages to fit together like a puzzle or some Dutch flowery system. But Scriptures do not let us if we read them as these passages are meant to be read.
So why are we given such a paradox in Scriptures?
The truth is that such paradox is for our assurance. We would not know if Christ died for us and given to us objectively by His word through means of grace for us unless if it is objectively for all He died and objectively offered and worked in all. We can be assured of Christ died for us personally in a real true way only if He indeed died for all. Faith alone looks to this objective fact of what’s given for all means that it is true for us personally. Faith alone receives that objective fact and the benefits that this redemptive work of Christ applied to us. We can be certain of that and look outside ourselves for assurance on this objective truth and fact given to us in Word and Sacrament. No need to look inwards nor at one's own faith. And definitely, no need to look to fruits of faith for assurance.
The truth is that such paradox is for our assurance. We would not know if Christ died for us and given to us objectively by His word through means of grace for us unless if it is objectively for all He died and objectively offered and worked in all. We can be assured of Christ died for us personally in a real true way only if He indeed died for all. Faith alone looks to this objective fact of what’s given for all means that it is true for us personally. Faith alone receives that objective fact and the benefits that this redemptive work of Christ applied to us. We can be certain of that and look outside ourselves for assurance on this objective truth and fact given to us in Word and Sacrament. No need to look inwards nor at one's own faith. And definitely, no need to look to fruits of faith for assurance.
The fact God’s grace alone for us, not of ourselves, also give us assurance that as long as in Christ, the same God who converts us, is able to keep us. Again, we do not look to our own selves for assurance nor to keep ourselves. It is in Christ crucified for us that we are saved and in God’s hand. Look outside ourselves to Christ alone given to us in Word and Sacrament, not back at ourselves for assurance. He presented these means of grace to us as indeed His revealed saving will to us. That is where we can be sure that we are elect, when we are in Christ. That is where what is hidden to God becomes revealed to God. It is God Incarnate given to us.
For us and to us we have His forgiveness that He won for us at the cross and which we received (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) in baptism (Acts 2:38, 22:16). And we continue to look to what Christ did to nourish us in the one true faith as His body and blood comes to us in the Eucharist for us to partake of receiving the life that is in Christ’s blood (1 Corinthians 10:16). By grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Here we stand.
3/18/15
Be Perfect! Or Else...
St. Matthew 5:48: You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jesus says here that we must be perfect. Interesting verse, this. Everyone knows we can't be perfect, right?
So what of it? Why would Jesus say this when He knows darn well we can't be perfect? Did He really mean it? Is it a mere suggestion?
Here are a few things we can learn from this, and in the process, we can solve this passage.
1. Jesus not only says we have to be perfect, He actually demands that we are perfect. There is no wiggle room here. We must be perfect.
2. We must be perfect because God is perfect and God will not demand anything less than perfection from us. To do so would be for God to lay aside His Holiness. Which He won't do.
3. Because God demands perfection, this also means that sin is *never* OK. God is not OK with us sinning, ever.
OK, so far so good right? Certainly all Christians agree that sin is not OK. After all, Christ died for that. And if you do think sin is OK, well, you're wrong, and I know a guy who hung on a cross that agrees with me.
The crux of the answer to this passage lies in who we are, who God is, and what we are capable of.
According to Holy Scripture, humans are not God (except Jesus). Keep that in mind. So then, what are we? Well, we are sinful. Romans 5:12-21 is a good place to start in showing that. Not to mention Romans 3:23.
So, if we are sinful, and Jesus demands that we be perfect...how does that work?
The answer is something completely foreign to our sinful self who loves to think we are good and can do whatever we want by ourselves.
The answer is that God Himself gives what He requires out of love because we cannot meet this demand of perfection.
His Name is Jesus, and He not only was perfect on our behalf, but also died and rose on our behalf.
And because of Him and His work, we are forgiven, because frankly, we need it. We aren't perfect. We are incapable of such. But Jesus was and is perfect and He gives that to us. He gave it to us in real time at Calvary, and He continues to come to us in grace and forgiveness in Word and Sacrament.
And what could possibly be better news than that?
Jesus says here that we must be perfect. Interesting verse, this. Everyone knows we can't be perfect, right?
So what of it? Why would Jesus say this when He knows darn well we can't be perfect? Did He really mean it? Is it a mere suggestion?
Here are a few things we can learn from this, and in the process, we can solve this passage.
1. Jesus not only says we have to be perfect, He actually demands that we are perfect. There is no wiggle room here. We must be perfect.
2. We must be perfect because God is perfect and God will not demand anything less than perfection from us. To do so would be for God to lay aside His Holiness. Which He won't do.
3. Because God demands perfection, this also means that sin is *never* OK. God is not OK with us sinning, ever.
OK, so far so good right? Certainly all Christians agree that sin is not OK. After all, Christ died for that. And if you do think sin is OK, well, you're wrong, and I know a guy who hung on a cross that agrees with me.
The crux of the answer to this passage lies in who we are, who God is, and what we are capable of.
According to Holy Scripture, humans are not God (except Jesus). Keep that in mind. So then, what are we? Well, we are sinful. Romans 5:12-21 is a good place to start in showing that. Not to mention Romans 3:23.
So, if we are sinful, and Jesus demands that we be perfect...how does that work?
The answer is something completely foreign to our sinful self who loves to think we are good and can do whatever we want by ourselves.
The answer is that God Himself gives what He requires out of love because we cannot meet this demand of perfection.
His Name is Jesus, and He not only was perfect on our behalf, but also died and rose on our behalf.
And because of Him and His work, we are forgiven, because frankly, we need it. We aren't perfect. We are incapable of such. But Jesus was and is perfect and He gives that to us. He gave it to us in real time at Calvary, and He continues to come to us in grace and forgiveness in Word and Sacrament.
And what could possibly be better news than that?
1/17/15
Christ Died For YOU
Jesus Christ died for YOU. There are no conditions on this. No ifs. No buts. No candy and nuts.
Observe:
1 Corinthians 15:1-4: Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
So says St. Paul. Notice what he says in this text.
He calls the people he is addressing brothers. So clearly these are people who are Christians. But it is the rest of what St. Paul says that should be an eye-opener for the Reformed man.
St. Paul says that he preached the Gospel to these brothers by which they are saved. This flatly implies that He preached it to them before they were in Christ.
What did St. Paul preach to them?
1 Corinthians 15:3-4: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
He preached to them that Christ died for our sins. This means that he preached to them that Christ died for the sins of people who were unbelievers at the time.
Limited Atonement does not allow a person to preach that, and thus they cannot proclaim the Gospel the way St. Paul did.
That's a pretty big issue.
+Pax+
Observe:
1 Corinthians 15:1-4: Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
So says St. Paul. Notice what he says in this text.
He calls the people he is addressing brothers. So clearly these are people who are Christians. But it is the rest of what St. Paul says that should be an eye-opener for the Reformed man.
St. Paul says that he preached the Gospel to these brothers by which they are saved. This flatly implies that He preached it to them before they were in Christ.
What did St. Paul preach to them?
1 Corinthians 15:3-4: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
He preached to them that Christ died for our sins. This means that he preached to them that Christ died for the sins of people who were unbelievers at the time.
Limited Atonement does not allow a person to preach that, and thus they cannot proclaim the Gospel the way St. Paul did.
That's a pretty big issue.
+Pax+
12/22/14
Uh...That Aint What It Says, Pelagians
It's pretty disturbing when people can make Scriptures means the opposite of what they plainly state. One such example is Romans 12:3, which I will post in a few different translations.
Ro 12:3 (KJV): For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Ro 12:3 (ESV): For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Ro 12:3: (NASB): For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
Pelagians love to rip this verse out of its context in support of an inherent ability to choose Jesus and be saved by that choice. The argument goes something like this:
According to Romans 12:3, God has given everyone universally an amount of faith. Now it is up to them to use that faith properly and put it in Christ.
But that's not at all what it says. First off, it's addressed to believers in the church. It's not talking about everyone universally.
Second, this interpretation goes against other clear passages like Ephesians 2:8-9 that says we are saved by grace through faith.
Third, there are other Scriptures that flatly deny this interpretation, such as:
2 Thess 3:1-2 (ESV): Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.
So, the Pelagians would have us believe that Romans 12:3 says that everyone has faith and just need to use it properly, but the same inspired author tells us in another writing that not everyone has faith.
On the contrary, this passage is addressed to believers, telling them not to think more highly of themselves that they ought to, because it was God alone who gave them that faith in the first place, and their brothers and sisters in Christ have been given that faith as well.
By grace. Not by nature.
Just another reason Pelagius and the folks who espouse the same crap he taught a millennium and a half ago are rightly considered heretics. Yes, even now.
Ro 12:3 (KJV): For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Ro 12:3 (ESV): For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Ro 12:3: (NASB): For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
Pelagians love to rip this verse out of its context in support of an inherent ability to choose Jesus and be saved by that choice. The argument goes something like this:
According to Romans 12:3, God has given everyone universally an amount of faith. Now it is up to them to use that faith properly and put it in Christ.
But that's not at all what it says. First off, it's addressed to believers in the church. It's not talking about everyone universally.
Second, this interpretation goes against other clear passages like Ephesians 2:8-9 that says we are saved by grace through faith.
Third, there are other Scriptures that flatly deny this interpretation, such as:
2 Thess 3:1-2 (ESV): Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.
So, the Pelagians would have us believe that Romans 12:3 says that everyone has faith and just need to use it properly, but the same inspired author tells us in another writing that not everyone has faith.
On the contrary, this passage is addressed to believers, telling them not to think more highly of themselves that they ought to, because it was God alone who gave them that faith in the first place, and their brothers and sisters in Christ have been given that faith as well.
By grace. Not by nature.
Just another reason Pelagius and the folks who espouse the same crap he taught a millennium and a half ago are rightly considered heretics. Yes, even now.
11/2/14
Romans 8:29-30: I Don't Think It Means What You Think It Means
Romans 8:29-30 is a battleground text in Scripture. Differing theologies interpret it differently. I'm going to try to show what the verse says and what it doesn't say here. I'll do my best.
Romans 8:29-30 (ESV): For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
There it is. It's a heavy passage, loaded with some big time theological words. Foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified. Our Reformed friends see this as a golden chain of salvation. And I think in concept they're correct here. It is certainly talking about that. Yet, I also think they push it too far as well. Our Arminian friends see this as God looking through the corridor of time and seeing who would choose Him of their own free will. This interpretation is pretty far from the mark, I think. It actually makes little sense when it is fleshed out.
I've also heard of another interpretation in the past tense that this is only referring to those who were in Christ before the book was written and after they died. Thus, those whom God foreknew would be those whom He knew in ages past, pre-St. Paul.
So then, what is it saying, and how far should we take this? How far is too far? I think it's fairly simple if we just allow this one to say what it says and not read too much into it.
It is clearly a promise of God and flows naturally from Romans 8:28, which states: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
So God works all things together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. And then, the promise of that is that He predestines all those He foreknows, and promises to call, justify, and glorify them as well.
So I think this verse is a very strong passage for the Lutheran dogma of single predestination insofar as it is promising that God will save all those whom He foreknows and has predestined. He promises to call them, justify them, and glorify them. If we would like, we could call these people the elect.
But what this passage does not say is anything about those who are unbelievers. It says nothing about them. So whereas we know that God promises to save the predestined people, and those are the only ones who are finally saved, it never comments at all on others. In short, this is not a congruent passage teaching that there is a group of people who are predestined to be damned. Likewise, it never says anything that these other folks will not be called by God and will never be justified. It never says God predestines them to hell.
To put it simple, the people who do not end up in glory can't say that God predestined them there for His glory, because the Bible simply does not teach that; certainly not here in Romans 8. And indeed, in other places of Scripture, God is said to "desire all people to be saved" (1 Tim 2:1-4), and that "the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people" (Tit 2:11), and "The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world" (Joh 1:9).
Likewise, looking to our predestination is foolish. Wondering if Christ died for us is also foolish, because He did. You're a sinner and a human, thus He died for you. He also elects us before the foundation of the world, but carries this election out via means of grace temporally in Baptism, the Word, and the Eucharist.
So what is the gist of Romans 8:28-30? Well, it's a blessed promise. Those predestined in Christ are saved and will be in glory. Predestination is a soft pillow for the believer in Christ. It says nothing about unbelievers.
Thus, while strongly affirming predestination, we refuse to go beyond what is written. We look to Christ and His work and gifts to us as our assurance, not our election before the foundation of the world, for that is only revealed through the means of grace that bring us faith in the crucified and risen Christ. Plus nothing.
Yes, I know, neither our Reformed friends or our Arminian friends like this line of thought. They argue that it has to be one or the other, logically speaking. But when Scripture offers us this paradox without a solution in Holy writ, we must affirm both.
Of course, Lutheranism is not against reason and logic, per se. We are simply against using it as a lens through which to build a systematic theology (Calvinism, Arminism, etc.). Where the Word speaks clearly, our answer is to be Amen! Let it be so!
Even if our feeble minds can't logically explain it or reason out way into a perfect reconciliation of texts. Inevitably, something gets twisted and denied when we do that. The Reformed affirm a predestination to hell (due to logic), and the Arminians pervert the entire meaning of predestination - not to mention the foolishness that results from rationalism of the Open Theists or the Hyper Calvinists.
Rest in Christ. Our election is in Him and is given to us objectively in Word and Sacrament.
Amen! Let it be so!
Romans 8:29-30 (ESV): For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
There it is. It's a heavy passage, loaded with some big time theological words. Foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified. Our Reformed friends see this as a golden chain of salvation. And I think in concept they're correct here. It is certainly talking about that. Yet, I also think they push it too far as well. Our Arminian friends see this as God looking through the corridor of time and seeing who would choose Him of their own free will. This interpretation is pretty far from the mark, I think. It actually makes little sense when it is fleshed out.
I've also heard of another interpretation in the past tense that this is only referring to those who were in Christ before the book was written and after they died. Thus, those whom God foreknew would be those whom He knew in ages past, pre-St. Paul.
So then, what is it saying, and how far should we take this? How far is too far? I think it's fairly simple if we just allow this one to say what it says and not read too much into it.
It is clearly a promise of God and flows naturally from Romans 8:28, which states: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
So God works all things together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. And then, the promise of that is that He predestines all those He foreknows, and promises to call, justify, and glorify them as well.
So I think this verse is a very strong passage for the Lutheran dogma of single predestination insofar as it is promising that God will save all those whom He foreknows and has predestined. He promises to call them, justify them, and glorify them. If we would like, we could call these people the elect.
But what this passage does not say is anything about those who are unbelievers. It says nothing about them. So whereas we know that God promises to save the predestined people, and those are the only ones who are finally saved, it never comments at all on others. In short, this is not a congruent passage teaching that there is a group of people who are predestined to be damned. Likewise, it never says anything that these other folks will not be called by God and will never be justified. It never says God predestines them to hell.
To put it simple, the people who do not end up in glory can't say that God predestined them there for His glory, because the Bible simply does not teach that; certainly not here in Romans 8. And indeed, in other places of Scripture, God is said to "desire all people to be saved" (1 Tim 2:1-4), and that "the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people" (Tit 2:11), and "The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world" (Joh 1:9).
Likewise, looking to our predestination is foolish. Wondering if Christ died for us is also foolish, because He did. You're a sinner and a human, thus He died for you. He also elects us before the foundation of the world, but carries this election out via means of grace temporally in Baptism, the Word, and the Eucharist.
So what is the gist of Romans 8:28-30? Well, it's a blessed promise. Those predestined in Christ are saved and will be in glory. Predestination is a soft pillow for the believer in Christ. It says nothing about unbelievers.
Thus, while strongly affirming predestination, we refuse to go beyond what is written. We look to Christ and His work and gifts to us as our assurance, not our election before the foundation of the world, for that is only revealed through the means of grace that bring us faith in the crucified and risen Christ. Plus nothing.
Yes, I know, neither our Reformed friends or our Arminian friends like this line of thought. They argue that it has to be one or the other, logically speaking. But when Scripture offers us this paradox without a solution in Holy writ, we must affirm both.
Of course, Lutheranism is not against reason and logic, per se. We are simply against using it as a lens through which to build a systematic theology (Calvinism, Arminism, etc.). Where the Word speaks clearly, our answer is to be Amen! Let it be so!
Even if our feeble minds can't logically explain it or reason out way into a perfect reconciliation of texts. Inevitably, something gets twisted and denied when we do that. The Reformed affirm a predestination to hell (due to logic), and the Arminians pervert the entire meaning of predestination - not to mention the foolishness that results from rationalism of the Open Theists or the Hyper Calvinists.
Rest in Christ. Our election is in Him and is given to us objectively in Word and Sacrament.
Amen! Let it be so!
7/11/14
Can't Buy Me Love
The Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew, the 19th Chapter.
St. Matthew 19:23-26: Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Many Christian groups have a history of vast misinterpretation of passages such as these.
1. Jesus is not teaching that you have to literally give up everything you own to be saved.
2. Jesus is not saying that there will be no wealthy people (earthly wealth) in glory.
3. Jesus is not teaching some form of Christian socialism, or that wealth is bad.
So what is Jesus teaching us here? Very simply put, that nothing we do can earn us the kingdom of God. He uses the rich man as an example. Nobody can buy their way into heaven.
In other words, you can do nothing to save yourself. Not money, not wealth, not works. Nothing.
Jesus does it all for us. He lives a perfect life on our behalf. He dies at Calvary for us. He rises from the dead for us. Then, in the here and now, He baptizes us in the Name of the Triune God. He gives us His life-creating Word. He forgives us, and He gives us His true Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.
He's not teaching us a bunch of life principles. He's telling us that we can do nothing to save ourselves. With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Mat 19:26)
And He alone saves us. Not ourselves.
+Grace and Peace+
St. Matthew 19:23-26: Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Many Christian groups have a history of vast misinterpretation of passages such as these.
1. Jesus is not teaching that you have to literally give up everything you own to be saved.
2. Jesus is not saying that there will be no wealthy people (earthly wealth) in glory.
3. Jesus is not teaching some form of Christian socialism, or that wealth is bad.
So what is Jesus teaching us here? Very simply put, that nothing we do can earn us the kingdom of God. He uses the rich man as an example. Nobody can buy their way into heaven.
In other words, you can do nothing to save yourself. Not money, not wealth, not works. Nothing.
Jesus does it all for us. He lives a perfect life on our behalf. He dies at Calvary for us. He rises from the dead for us. Then, in the here and now, He baptizes us in the Name of the Triune God. He gives us His life-creating Word. He forgives us, and He gives us His true Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.
He's not teaching us a bunch of life principles. He's telling us that we can do nothing to save ourselves. With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Mat 19:26)
And He alone saves us. Not ourselves.
+Grace and Peace+
3/25/14
The Law Kills, But the Gospel Gives Life
2 Corinthians 3:6b: For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Here is a short passage of Scripture that is set up -out of context- to combat people who rely on Scripture alone and hold that the Word is Sacramental. That is to say, the Scriptures are gracious and create faith.
The normal interpretation of the enthusiasts here is to set up a dichotomy between the letter (Scriptures) and the Spirit, which is separated from the Scriptures and therefore gives life independently from the Word. That is to say, the Spirit speaks to us directly apart from means. Even Reformer Ulrich Zwingli took this position.
The problem with this interpretation however, is that is not at all what St. Paul is saying. He is not demeaning the Holy Scriptures at all, nor is he setting up a false dichotomy between the spiritual and the natural. In some ways this interpretation reeks of Gnostic dualism.
So what is St. Paul saying? If we continue reading, he explains.
2 Corinthians 3:7-8: Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?
He explains that the letter that kills is not the Holy Scriptures but is the Law. The Law kills us, precisely because it brings knowledge of sin (Ro 3:20) and we are incapable of keeping it (Ro 3:23) and are therefore guilty of breaking all of it (Js 2:10). St. Paul even goes as far as to say that the Law is the "ministry of death." The Law does not save us. It can't. The function of the Law is to command, not to give life. Only the Spirit can do that. Yes, the Law is holy, righteous, and good (Ro 7:12). After all, it is from God and reveals His standards. Jesus even ramped up the Law in the New Testament (Mat 22:36-40), saying that we must love the Lord with everything in our being and love our neighbors as ourselves.
So what then is the ministry of the Spirit? It's none other than the ministry of the New Covenant. In other words, it's the ministry of Word and Sacrament. Christ for you. The Spirit works through means. This is the clear teaching of the New Testament. He does not work in a vacuum separated from the means of grace. Not in the manner which the enthusiasts claim by speaking to us personally apart from Word and Sacrament, and not in the manner of the Neo-Calvinists and other non-traditional Calvinists, apart from Word and Sacrament based on a mysterious inward call.
We could phrase this passage in another way if we wanted: The Law kills, but the Gospel gives life. That is the point St. Paul is making. Only Christ's work at Calvary, given to us by the ministry of Word and Sacrament -the realm in which the Spirit works- gives us life.
+Grace and Peace+
Here is a short passage of Scripture that is set up -out of context- to combat people who rely on Scripture alone and hold that the Word is Sacramental. That is to say, the Scriptures are gracious and create faith.
The normal interpretation of the enthusiasts here is to set up a dichotomy between the letter (Scriptures) and the Spirit, which is separated from the Scriptures and therefore gives life independently from the Word. That is to say, the Spirit speaks to us directly apart from means. Even Reformer Ulrich Zwingli took this position.
The problem with this interpretation however, is that is not at all what St. Paul is saying. He is not demeaning the Holy Scriptures at all, nor is he setting up a false dichotomy between the spiritual and the natural. In some ways this interpretation reeks of Gnostic dualism.
So what is St. Paul saying? If we continue reading, he explains.
2 Corinthians 3:7-8: Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?
He explains that the letter that kills is not the Holy Scriptures but is the Law. The Law kills us, precisely because it brings knowledge of sin (Ro 3:20) and we are incapable of keeping it (Ro 3:23) and are therefore guilty of breaking all of it (Js 2:10). St. Paul even goes as far as to say that the Law is the "ministry of death." The Law does not save us. It can't. The function of the Law is to command, not to give life. Only the Spirit can do that. Yes, the Law is holy, righteous, and good (Ro 7:12). After all, it is from God and reveals His standards. Jesus even ramped up the Law in the New Testament (Mat 22:36-40), saying that we must love the Lord with everything in our being and love our neighbors as ourselves.
So what then is the ministry of the Spirit? It's none other than the ministry of the New Covenant. In other words, it's the ministry of Word and Sacrament. Christ for you. The Spirit works through means. This is the clear teaching of the New Testament. He does not work in a vacuum separated from the means of grace. Not in the manner which the enthusiasts claim by speaking to us personally apart from Word and Sacrament, and not in the manner of the Neo-Calvinists and other non-traditional Calvinists, apart from Word and Sacrament based on a mysterious inward call.
We could phrase this passage in another way if we wanted: The Law kills, but the Gospel gives life. That is the point St. Paul is making. Only Christ's work at Calvary, given to us by the ministry of Word and Sacrament -the realm in which the Spirit works- gives us life.
+Grace and Peace+
1/24/14
Epiphany 3 Matthew 8:1-13
The text for today reveals to us the account of Jesus doing two healings. One is for a paralytic and the other for a man with leprosy. All of the miraculous healings throughout the Gospels serve to underline the purpose for which Christ came. They show that he has come to deliver us from the curse of sin, from frailty and from death. Christ cures blindness, deafness, lameness and, of course, paralysis and leprosy.
All of these show the reality of the curse of sin, but perhaps none so graphically as does leprosy. Common in the ancient world, and even remaining in some regions today, the word leprosy describes several terrible diseases of the skin. God’s original plan for mankind was for all his creation to live in perfect health and wholeness. It was our fall into sin that brought all measure of infirmity into the world. Since that time, all man has inherited the curse of sin from their parents. Along with this comes propensity to develop all sorts of diseases.
Isaiah, in the very opening of his great book of prophecy, uses leprosy to describe our human condition. We have rebelled against our master, he says. We have provoked the Holy One to anger and soour whole head is sick. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness. Our wounds have not been closed or bound up, or soothed by ointment. We are covered with wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. Yes, putrefying. In some cases of leprosy, parts of the body actually die off and begin to rot. They necrotize. It is sad but true.
Even if some of us can boast physical health at the moment, sin still lurks within us soon to thrash us to the grave. Only some develop leprosy of the skin, but all are infected with leprosy of the soul. Jesus condemns those who believe they have rights to the Kingdom based on their descendancy from Abraham. They look for salvation by the keeping of the law, as children of promise. But in truth they deny the faith of Abraham, and remain as bastards and rebels.
We too today can fall into this trap if we expect to woo and impress God by our moral qualities. If we think that it is because of our faithfulness and our Christian living that God has blessed us, we are like those cast into outer darkness. Jesus praises the great faith of the Centurion. But this is not because of some internal “faith-power” from within him, one that wells up in the heart. Similarly, when Jesus praised Peter for the great confession of faith, You are the Christ the Son of the Living God, our Lord makes it clear that this confession comes not from man, but was given from above.
Aside from what is given to us by grace, we are worthless. Apart from me, Jesus says, you are nothing. The centurion in our text was aware of his own sinfulness before a Holy God. He knew that God could not tolerate being in the presence of the damned. When he beheld the perfect righteousness of Jesus, he was shamed by his own internal filth and guilt. I am not worthy that you come under my roof, he says. That would be like a scrubbed down brain surgeon rolling around in a hog-barn before an operation. A bride on her way to the wedding should not stop to suck out a septic tank.
Nonetheless Jesus effectively says to the Centurion, as well as the leper, I am willing. I don’t mind infecting myself. I could, in perfect justice, remain on high in heaven while mankind melts away. But he chooses not to. He could easily bring each and every one of us to a swift death. Instead he chooses to come and bring us life. He is willing to take on human life, that the Son of Man may serve us and give his life as a ransom for many.
The Lord and giver of life first took on life himself. He began this as a baby in a feeding bin. It was necessary that he be like us in every way. His world, like ours, was one of stink and maggots, of flies and decay. All men live in bodies suffering under the leprosy of sin. But his love for man is so great that he took on the same corruptible flesh. He did in no way endeavor to distance himself from the repulsiveness of life in this dying world.
In order to be like us, it was fully necessary for him to take on our frail human nature. For only as a man could he suffer and die truly in our place. It was him instead of us. Though he himself had no sin, he was still exposed to the full curse of sin. He gladly undertook all the sickness and leprosy connected with fallen man.
Thus it is no surprise that Jesus ignores the ceremonial law and social taboos, which strictly forbid touching lepers. Lepers must legally be shunned. But all the same, Jesus gives a gesture of pure tender compassion, reaching out and laying his hand on the decomposing flesh of the poor leper. It was probably gangrenous and as foul smelling as a corpse, but this was a lamb for whom Christ would die. He would cradle him in his arms like a mother with a precious infant. Like a hen gathers her chicks, our Lord laments over Jerusalem, so have I longed to wrap my wings around you, but you were unwilling.
This he says to the same ones who would soon torture and crucify him. So let us take comfort that none of us can rebelled against our Lord more than his grace abounds. All filth and unholiness in man rises as vomitous stink before the throne of the most high. Still he chooses to lower himself into the sewer and take our nature into himself. Touching a leper should disgust a Holy God more than anybody, yet his love is too great.
In love he made himself unclean. He allowed the guilt of all the world’s sin to be gouged onto his forehead. He submitted himself to have his back torn to shreds by shrapnel laden leather cords. Why? So that by his stripes we are healed. He let all punishment be laid upon him that we may be at peace. He was smitten by the Father…saying My God My God, why have you forsaken me?…that he might carry away our sorrows. He took our iniquity onto himself, that his righteousness may be given to us in exchange
In the body of this man Christ Jesus is the hope of the world. His words of law convict fallen man that this world and its pleasures are passing away. All of creation groans in travail as it is being choked by the cancer of sin. Yet into this creation comes God from on high to make all things new. That is his great gospel message. His resurrection from the dead publicly proclaims him to be the first fruit of a new creation, a world where there is no more crying, pain, or death.
This same Jesus was there when time began. With a word, he called all the universe into existence.For he spake, says the psalmist, and it came to be. He commanded and it stood firm. Now the Son of God is back in the world, recreating his perfect realm and fashioning a new eternal Kingdom, one ransomed soul at a time. Let there be light, he said on the first day. Be cleansed, he says to the leper in our Gospel reading.
In both cases, the words spoken by the Lord of Life bear in themselves the power to perform what they say. If the Son of Man declares you to be clean, you are. If he sets you free, you are free indeed. Each miraculous healing in scripture is a testimony to the fact that Jesus Christ has power over the forces of nature and the hordes of the evil one.
By his perfect life, horrible death, and glorious resurrection, he proclaims victory over sin, death, and the devil. He gives this victory, this new immortal nature, to each of us. United with Christ, we no longer “stink” to God. We are holy children in his sight whose prayers, purified by the Holy Spirit, rise before him as sweet incense.
In the same way, Jesus cleanses the leper… with a word. “Thy strong word,” says a modern Lutheran hymnist, “bespeaks us righteous”. Remember the second person healed in our text today was the servant of the centurion. He was paralyzed and helpless. He wasn’t even there. He did nothing to merit Jesus’ healing. So likewise, recall how powerless and weak is a quivering infant held over the Baptismal font. Through the conduit of a Pastor’s vocal cords, Jesus speaks the words, which make us clean and righteous.
“You are washed,” he says, “covered by my blood.” This is now my child to live beside me forever. “Only speak the word,” cries the Centurion, “and my servant will be healed.” What amazing insight this man has been given! He obviously knew that same Jesus Christ in whose presence we are served today. Jesus is here speaking words of life and deliverance through the pages of Holy Scripture.
All you lepers are cleansed in Baptism. He has forgiven your sins and taken your cursed guilt away from you as far as East is from West. To God, you are innocent, absolved.
+ Amen +
12/20/13
One Baptism - Part 2
In my previous post, I briefly surveyed three major beliefs on baptism. We looked at the Baptist view, the Reformed view, and the Lutheran view. I hope that each view was faithfully represented, as I tried to stick to major Confessions of faith from each group.
One Baptism - Part 1
I intentionally skipped over the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Church of Christ views. It's not because these views are not important to learn, but rather for a couple other simple reasons. The Church of Christ views defaults to salvation by obedience or works apart from grace. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox views are roughly similar to the Lutheran view, which I hold to. The debates between the Lutheran and Roman Catholic view tend to revolve around what baptism washes away (in Rome it's original sin for infants) and what makes the baptism effective (Lutheran - God's Word, Rome - the Priest, Holy Water, etc). The last comparison is simplistic, but suffice it to say, we agree that baptism is a means of grace that does something for the recipient from God.
Today we will focus on the Scriptures that speak about baptism as well as the Nicene Creed that speaks about the same. The Creed states: "I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins."
I'm not to deal with all the passages about baptism in the synoptic Gospels or John, but I will deal with a few. Here are the Scriptures fromthe Gospels and Acts.
Matthew 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Mark 16:16: He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
John 3:22: After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.
Acts 2:38: Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:47: Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?
Acts 16:15: And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Acts 16:33: And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.
Acts 19:3-5: And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 22:16: Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’
There are a cross-section of Scriptures speaking about baptism from the Gospels and from Acts. Here are some Scriptures from the didactic epistles.
Romans 6:3-4: Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
1 Corinthians 12:13: For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Galatians 3:27: For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Ephesians 4:5: one Lord, one faith, one baptism
Colossians 2:12: having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
1 Peter 3:21: Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
And there are the didactic epistles.
Generally, passages from Acts are descriptive history and the didactic epistles teach us doctrine, although that is not to say that Acts contains no doctrine or that the epistles contain no history. That being said, we are wise to look to the doctrinal epistles to tell us what something is, instead of trying to infer what something is from a historical account. This is true of baptism just as other doctrines.
The only two baptism passages I provided from the synoptic Gospel accounts are the two Great Commission passages. St. Matthew says that disciples are made by baptizing them and teaching them. Or at least, that is the interpretation that the majority of scholars take to the Great Commission passage in Matthew 28. St. Mark says that those who believed and are baptized shall be saved, and unbelievers will be condemned. The passage I provided from St. John's Gospel is important because it helps us understand the new birth discourse between Jesus and Nicodemus. Jesus speaks of being born from above by water and the Spirit in St. John 3:5. Immediately when the new birth discourse is completed (St. John 3:1-21), Jesus and the Apostles are going around baptizing people. (St. John 3:22) In other words, in a baptism, water and the Spirit are together. One baptism.
St. Matthew places baptism before teaching and St. Mark places believing before baptism. In short, a person cannot be dogmatic based on either of these passages regarding the order of baptism and belief. The best solution, and indeed I would propose the biblical one, is that belief, teaching, and baptism all go together. You can't have belief without teaching, and St. Matthew places baptism first. And a baptism without belief that precedes or follows is condemning. In other words, I don't think St. Matthew or St. Mark are proposing an order here. Neither one of them is saying that every person everywhere must believe first then be baptized after as an outward profession of faith, although we certainly do have ample historical example of first generation Christians believing then being baptized. But we also have ample examples of first generation Christians bringing their entire household to Holy Baptism. Some folks may object that those passages say nothing about infants, and they're right. But the objection is seriously weak. Surely, every single household baptism in Scripture did not involve all adults and adolescents who could articulate a profession of faith and know what baptism is.
I included Acts 10:47 because it shows that sometimes people are saved pre-baptism. We know this to be true. Even as a Lutheran who affirms the efficacy of baptism and indeed, baptismal regeneration, we do not hold that baptism is the only means of grace by which God saves. His Word saves us, and that comes to us in baptism, but also preaching, the Lord's Supper, and absolution. We affirm that baptism is the normal means and the usual means. In other words, it's necessary, but not absolutely necessary.
Acts 19:3-5 is included because it shows that John's baptism and Christian baptism are not completely identical. Tons of overlap for sure.
Acts 22:16 is included because it flatly says that baptism washes away sins.
The didactic epistles, which teach us doctrine, are very clear on this topic. St. Paul says that baptism buries and raises us with Christ in Romans 6, then again says the same thing and says we are actually raised in faith in baptism in Colossians 2. In 1 Corinthians 12:13, we see that it is the Holy Spirit who baptises us into Christ.
On a side note, many Christian churches now days have two baptisms in practice. One is water baptism, and is just a sign and symbol of an inward change. Then they have what is called the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is based on texts such as Acts 1:5 and 1 Corinthians 12:13.
The obvious problem here is that if this doctrine is true, Ephesians 4:5 is false. If we can change Ephesians 4:5 to two baptisms instead of one baptism, why can't we change it to two Lords and two faiths as well? There would be no reason why we couldn't, and I am sure no Christian is interested in doing that. The solution to this supposed dilemma is not to invent another baptism, but to recognize that Christian baptism is one, and it contains water and the Spirit. One baptism with water and the Holy Spirit. Not two.
That's why I include passages like Acts 2:38. This is talking about Christian baptism and St. Peter includes water and the Holy Spirit in his statement. Many non-paedobaptists (infant baptizers) and memorialist baptizers (Baptists) try to point out that "Repent" precedes "be baptized" in Acts 2:38. And that is true. But I've already argued that these things are part of one whole and go together, not a logical order. Or else St. Matthew (and Jesus, who said it) is quite possibly in error in the Great Commission by putting baptism first.
The final passage is from St. Peter's first epistle. This, I think, gives quite a bit of clarity to his words at Pentecost in Acts 2. Baptism, which correponds to this (God saving Noah and his family through water in the ark), now saves you. That's pretty clear. Baptism saves you. Not by water (although water is a means), but by the resurrection of Christ (Or, it raises us in faith, as St. Paul says in Colossians 2:12).
"I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins." ~Nicene Creed
This brings us to the Nicene Creed, which is an orthodox and ecumenical Christian creed. All Christians everywhere ought to hold to this creed. Not all Christians do. That does not necessarily mean they all are unsaved, but it does mean they are dangerously deviating from standard Christian teaching that has been held for 2000 years.
The Baptist view of baptism cannot account for this phrase very well. Granted, the phrase says nothing about paedobaptism (although earlier ecumenical councils take paedobaptism for granted. Carthage 253, for example). But it does say that baptism remits (forgives, same thing) sin. The Baptist view rejects this idea. They would have to reinterpret that Nicene phrase to make the "for" mean "because of." Such as: "I acknowledge one Baptism for (because I already have) the remission of sins." Yes, I believe a Baptist baptism is still valid. It is done in the Name of the Triune God and done with water.Water + Word = Baptism. I had a Baptist baptism.
The Reformed view of Baptism is oh so close. It's a bit confusing until one looks into it a bit. They acknowledge that baptism does something and is indeed a means of grace. They likewise baptize their children in the covenantal model of theology that they follow. However, they do not connect baptism to regeneration. In short, baptism is a means of grace, but it does not regenerate, for that is done by the secret inward call of the Holy Spirit apart from means.
The other big reason as to why the Reformed cannot accept baptismal regeneration is their theology that is rooted firmly in God's decrees and their doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. In other words, in order for the Perseverance of the Saints AND baptismal regeneration to be true, every baptized person ever in history must be elect and finally saved. We all know this not to be the case. Hence, they cannot accept baptismal regeneration and thus, like the Baptists in this regard, have a hard time with this phrase in the Nicene Creed.
The Lutheran (Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox too) view of Baptism has no issue with this phrase. We accept baptismal regeneration first and foremost on Scriptural grounds. St. Paul, St. Peter, and the book of Acts all teach it. The authors of the Nicene Creed held to this as well.
Baptism is a very core foundational doctrine of the Christian faith. Discerning Scripture's teaching on it is quite important. And with any other doctrine,the "higher"view one has of it, the more important it becomes within that church body.
We hold, as Lutherans, that baptism is one of the chief articles of the faith. It is a sacrament. A work done by God for us. We receive it, and it is not our work.
Thanks be to God.
One Baptism - Part 1
I intentionally skipped over the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Church of Christ views. It's not because these views are not important to learn, but rather for a couple other simple reasons. The Church of Christ views defaults to salvation by obedience or works apart from grace. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox views are roughly similar to the Lutheran view, which I hold to. The debates between the Lutheran and Roman Catholic view tend to revolve around what baptism washes away (in Rome it's original sin for infants) and what makes the baptism effective (Lutheran - God's Word, Rome - the Priest, Holy Water, etc). The last comparison is simplistic, but suffice it to say, we agree that baptism is a means of grace that does something for the recipient from God.
Today we will focus on the Scriptures that speak about baptism as well as the Nicene Creed that speaks about the same. The Creed states: "I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins."
I'm not to deal with all the passages about baptism in the synoptic Gospels or John, but I will deal with a few. Here are the Scriptures fromthe Gospels and Acts.
Matthew 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Mark 16:16: He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
John 3:22: After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.
Acts 2:38: Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:47: Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?
Acts 16:15: And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Acts 16:33: And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.
Acts 19:3-5: And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 22:16: Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’
There are a cross-section of Scriptures speaking about baptism from the Gospels and from Acts. Here are some Scriptures from the didactic epistles.
Romans 6:3-4: Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
1 Corinthians 12:13: For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Galatians 3:27: For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Ephesians 4:5: one Lord, one faith, one baptism
Colossians 2:12: having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
1 Peter 3:21: Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
And there are the didactic epistles.
Generally, passages from Acts are descriptive history and the didactic epistles teach us doctrine, although that is not to say that Acts contains no doctrine or that the epistles contain no history. That being said, we are wise to look to the doctrinal epistles to tell us what something is, instead of trying to infer what something is from a historical account. This is true of baptism just as other doctrines.
The only two baptism passages I provided from the synoptic Gospel accounts are the two Great Commission passages. St. Matthew says that disciples are made by baptizing them and teaching them. Or at least, that is the interpretation that the majority of scholars take to the Great Commission passage in Matthew 28. St. Mark says that those who believed and are baptized shall be saved, and unbelievers will be condemned. The passage I provided from St. John's Gospel is important because it helps us understand the new birth discourse between Jesus and Nicodemus. Jesus speaks of being born from above by water and the Spirit in St. John 3:5. Immediately when the new birth discourse is completed (St. John 3:1-21), Jesus and the Apostles are going around baptizing people. (St. John 3:22) In other words, in a baptism, water and the Spirit are together. One baptism.
St. Matthew places baptism before teaching and St. Mark places believing before baptism. In short, a person cannot be dogmatic based on either of these passages regarding the order of baptism and belief. The best solution, and indeed I would propose the biblical one, is that belief, teaching, and baptism all go together. You can't have belief without teaching, and St. Matthew places baptism first. And a baptism without belief that precedes or follows is condemning. In other words, I don't think St. Matthew or St. Mark are proposing an order here. Neither one of them is saying that every person everywhere must believe first then be baptized after as an outward profession of faith, although we certainly do have ample historical example of first generation Christians believing then being baptized. But we also have ample examples of first generation Christians bringing their entire household to Holy Baptism. Some folks may object that those passages say nothing about infants, and they're right. But the objection is seriously weak. Surely, every single household baptism in Scripture did not involve all adults and adolescents who could articulate a profession of faith and know what baptism is.
I included Acts 10:47 because it shows that sometimes people are saved pre-baptism. We know this to be true. Even as a Lutheran who affirms the efficacy of baptism and indeed, baptismal regeneration, we do not hold that baptism is the only means of grace by which God saves. His Word saves us, and that comes to us in baptism, but also preaching, the Lord's Supper, and absolution. We affirm that baptism is the normal means and the usual means. In other words, it's necessary, but not absolutely necessary.
Acts 19:3-5 is included because it shows that John's baptism and Christian baptism are not completely identical. Tons of overlap for sure.
Acts 22:16 is included because it flatly says that baptism washes away sins.
The didactic epistles, which teach us doctrine, are very clear on this topic. St. Paul says that baptism buries and raises us with Christ in Romans 6, then again says the same thing and says we are actually raised in faith in baptism in Colossians 2. In 1 Corinthians 12:13, we see that it is the Holy Spirit who baptises us into Christ.
On a side note, many Christian churches now days have two baptisms in practice. One is water baptism, and is just a sign and symbol of an inward change. Then they have what is called the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is based on texts such as Acts 1:5 and 1 Corinthians 12:13.
The obvious problem here is that if this doctrine is true, Ephesians 4:5 is false. If we can change Ephesians 4:5 to two baptisms instead of one baptism, why can't we change it to two Lords and two faiths as well? There would be no reason why we couldn't, and I am sure no Christian is interested in doing that. The solution to this supposed dilemma is not to invent another baptism, but to recognize that Christian baptism is one, and it contains water and the Spirit. One baptism with water and the Holy Spirit. Not two.
That's why I include passages like Acts 2:38. This is talking about Christian baptism and St. Peter includes water and the Holy Spirit in his statement. Many non-paedobaptists (infant baptizers) and memorialist baptizers (Baptists) try to point out that "Repent" precedes "be baptized" in Acts 2:38. And that is true. But I've already argued that these things are part of one whole and go together, not a logical order. Or else St. Matthew (and Jesus, who said it) is quite possibly in error in the Great Commission by putting baptism first.
The final passage is from St. Peter's first epistle. This, I think, gives quite a bit of clarity to his words at Pentecost in Acts 2. Baptism, which correponds to this (God saving Noah and his family through water in the ark), now saves you. That's pretty clear. Baptism saves you. Not by water (although water is a means), but by the resurrection of Christ (Or, it raises us in faith, as St. Paul says in Colossians 2:12).
"I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins." ~Nicene Creed
This brings us to the Nicene Creed, which is an orthodox and ecumenical Christian creed. All Christians everywhere ought to hold to this creed. Not all Christians do. That does not necessarily mean they all are unsaved, but it does mean they are dangerously deviating from standard Christian teaching that has been held for 2000 years.
The Baptist view of baptism cannot account for this phrase very well. Granted, the phrase says nothing about paedobaptism (although earlier ecumenical councils take paedobaptism for granted. Carthage 253, for example). But it does say that baptism remits (forgives, same thing) sin. The Baptist view rejects this idea. They would have to reinterpret that Nicene phrase to make the "for" mean "because of." Such as: "I acknowledge one Baptism for (because I already have) the remission of sins." Yes, I believe a Baptist baptism is still valid. It is done in the Name of the Triune God and done with water.Water + Word = Baptism. I had a Baptist baptism.
The Reformed view of Baptism is oh so close. It's a bit confusing until one looks into it a bit. They acknowledge that baptism does something and is indeed a means of grace. They likewise baptize their children in the covenantal model of theology that they follow. However, they do not connect baptism to regeneration. In short, baptism is a means of grace, but it does not regenerate, for that is done by the secret inward call of the Holy Spirit apart from means.
The other big reason as to why the Reformed cannot accept baptismal regeneration is their theology that is rooted firmly in God's decrees and their doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. In other words, in order for the Perseverance of the Saints AND baptismal regeneration to be true, every baptized person ever in history must be elect and finally saved. We all know this not to be the case. Hence, they cannot accept baptismal regeneration and thus, like the Baptists in this regard, have a hard time with this phrase in the Nicene Creed.
The Lutheran (Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox too) view of Baptism has no issue with this phrase. We accept baptismal regeneration first and foremost on Scriptural grounds. St. Paul, St. Peter, and the book of Acts all teach it. The authors of the Nicene Creed held to this as well.
Baptism is a very core foundational doctrine of the Christian faith. Discerning Scripture's teaching on it is quite important. And with any other doctrine,the "higher"view one has of it, the more important it becomes within that church body.
We hold, as Lutherans, that baptism is one of the chief articles of the faith. It is a sacrament. A work done by God for us. We receive it, and it is not our work.
Thanks be to God.
11/1/13
All Saints Day - November 1
November 1 we celebrate All Saints Day.
Old Testament:
Psalm 34:1-10
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Isaiah 26: 1-4, 8-9, 12-13, 19-21
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; he sets up salvation
as walls and bulwarks. 2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. 3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
8 In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. 9 My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
12 O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. 13 O Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance.
19 Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. 20 Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. 21 For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain.
Epistle:
Revelation 21:9-11, 22-27
9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The Holy Gospel:
St. Matthew 5:1-12
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Collect:
O Almighty God, by whom we are graciously knit together as one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which you have prepared for those who unfeignedly love you; through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Old Testament:
Psalm 34:1-10
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Isaiah 26: 1-4, 8-9, 12-13, 19-21
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; he sets up salvation
as walls and bulwarks. 2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. 3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
8 In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. 9 My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
12 O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. 13 O Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance.
19 Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. 20 Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. 21 For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain.
Epistle:
Revelation 21:9-11, 22-27
9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The Holy Gospel:
St. Matthew 5:1-12
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Collect:
O Almighty God, by whom we are graciously knit together as one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which you have prepared for those who unfeignedly love you; through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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