I just finished reading an article by Dr. Jeffrey A. Gibbs in the July 2008 volume of Concordia Theological Quarterly. It's entitled ,,The Son of God and the Father's Wrath: Atonement and Salvation in Matthew's Gospel".
Gibbs' article is rich in Heilsgeschichte (salvation history) language. Gibbs spends time unpacking Heilsgeschichte as it relates to Jesus as God's Son -- as Israel reduced to one. I believe Dr. Horace Hummel coined the term "Israel reduced to one". This obviously has a strong vicarious nature to it.
Gibbs writes, ,,Jesus ... begins to show the necessity -- presumably the divine necessity -- of his rejection, suffering, death, and resurrection in Jerusalem" (CTQ 218). He stands for the people -- Israel, you, and me. His death is vicarious, taking wrath and judgment in the place of the people (CTQ 223).
Gibbs concludes by highlighting not only Jesus' vicarious death for us, but also His vicarious resurrection from the dead for us (CTQ 225). This is the theological and heilsgeschichtlische application of Pauls declaration in Romans 6 that we have been buried with Christ in our Baptism....
I had Dr. Gibbs at the seminary for a class on the Gospel of Matthew. He is an excellent theologian, and I highly recommend reading his articles and his commentaries on Matthew
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Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
,,Theology the Lutheran Way"
A couple of weeks ago, I began reading a book by Oswald Bayer entitled Theology the Lutheran Way. This book is an English translation of his Theologie. It seems that this book was written as a theology textbook for students. Bayer is professor of systematic theology at the University of Tuebingen, Germany. I believe he is now a professor emeritus.
The book approaches Luther's way of doing theology. One of the main points that Bayer has hammered in the 30 or so pages I've currently read is Luther's three rules for studying theology: prayer, studying the Bible, and spiritual attacks (oratio, meditatio, tentatio). I have especially found this interesting, since I had learned in the seminary Luther's three rules for studying theology, but never what it's larger context was. I was just taught the three Latin words. Bayer argues that Luther applied these three rules for reforming theological education in Wittenberg and other universities that sided with the Reformation.
Another point Bayer has made over and over is that the academic and liturgical sides of theology cannot be separated. I remember as a theology major at university that my courses were heavy on the academic, but little attention was given to the liturgical. Fortunately, at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis I received a very balanced approach to theology that focused on both academics and liturgy.
Here are some other great nuggets from Bayer:
The righteousness of faith is passive in the sense that we let God work in us by Himself and we with all our powers do nothing or our own. Faith kills the old Adam and makes us altogether different. Faith then is entirely God’s work and not a human achievement. We can only ,,suffer” it. Christian righteousness which is passive, is entirely opposite to works-righteousness. We can only receive it. Faith isn’t an intellectual or moral virtue, but it is given to us by God; it is His gift to us (page 24).
Luther: What a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith is. It is impossible for it not to be always doing good works. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them, and is constantly doing them (LW 35:370) [page 26].
The cross alone is our theology (CRUX sola est nostra theologia) (WA 5:176, 32f.) [page 23].
The book approaches Luther's way of doing theology. One of the main points that Bayer has hammered in the 30 or so pages I've currently read is Luther's three rules for studying theology: prayer, studying the Bible, and spiritual attacks (oratio, meditatio, tentatio). I have especially found this interesting, since I had learned in the seminary Luther's three rules for studying theology, but never what it's larger context was. I was just taught the three Latin words. Bayer argues that Luther applied these three rules for reforming theological education in Wittenberg and other universities that sided with the Reformation.
Another point Bayer has made over and over is that the academic and liturgical sides of theology cannot be separated. I remember as a theology major at university that my courses were heavy on the academic, but little attention was given to the liturgical. Fortunately, at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis I received a very balanced approach to theology that focused on both academics and liturgy.
Here are some other great nuggets from Bayer:
The righteousness of faith is passive in the sense that we let God work in us by Himself and we with all our powers do nothing or our own. Faith kills the old Adam and makes us altogether different. Faith then is entirely God’s work and not a human achievement. We can only ,,suffer” it. Christian righteousness which is passive, is entirely opposite to works-righteousness. We can only receive it. Faith isn’t an intellectual or moral virtue, but it is given to us by God; it is His gift to us (page 24).
Luther: What a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith is. It is impossible for it not to be always doing good works. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them, and is constantly doing them (LW 35:370) [page 26].
The cross alone is our theology (CRUX sola est nostra theologia) (WA 5:176, 32f.) [page 23].
Sunday, August 10, 2008
A Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Martens on the Augsburg Confession
25.06.2008 1 Timothy 6,11b-16
Day of Commemoration of the Augsburg Confession
The Rev. Dr. Gottfried Martens
Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time – he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (ESV)
Today we examine another confession, not the Apostles’ Creed, which we have spent the the past few months looking at. Today is about the unaltered version of the Augsburg Confession, which was delivered 478 years ago today at the Diet in Augsburg to the Holy Roman Emperor, and yes, there is also an altered version of the Augsburg Confession that contains problematic content! The pastors of our Lutheran Church to this day will still bind themselves at their ordination to that unaltered version, just as the congregational bylaws of St. Mary’s Church cite the unaltered version as the basis for all our doctrines and confessions. Yes, the Augsburg Confession is the only confession in our Lutheran confessional writings which the Church year has given its very own day of commemoration, and so this evening we will again reflect on what we actually confess and what the Confession themselves say.
And so the Epistle for today’s Feast Day from the First Letter of St. Paul to Timothy is an important help. Certainly, the verses that we have heard in the Epistle have originally been a reminder of an ordination: Paul reminds his student Timothy about the confession, which he had sworn at his holy Ordination before many witnesses, and about the words, which he had spoken at his Ordination. However in this reminder of ordination, in this encouragement to Timothy to also live from the gift of his ordination, is that some fundamentals of the Christian confession will also become clear, which can also help us today, since most of us have not had the office transferred to us as Paul had passed on to Timothy. St. Paul shows us here that the confession is, always
a disputed confession
an accepted confession
a prayed confession
I.
Why does one actually need a confession? To be completely straightforward, you need it because what one confesses there in and with this confession, and has called into question because of this confession, therefore this confession is always a disputed confession.
This struggle has very different counterparts: It is first of all a struggle with the devil and the powers of evil that want to hinder us from confessing Christ, our Lord. And so it belongs to the Church already at the confession of Baptism when for the first time the rejection of the devil and all his work and ways occurs. Whoever confesses Christ altogether renounces Satan and engages in a struggle with him. By this confession we continually challenge the opposing natures of the world and men, so that we want to know nothing except Christ. Yes, such a confession, such a confession of Christ, expects Christ our Lord, so we have heard it even in the holy Gospel: Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My heavenly Father. And finally the confession also serves to differentiate true doctrine from false doctrine within the Church, so the confession always has as its reverse the rejection of the false doctrine.
In our epistle, Paul also speaks of the good struggle of the faith, encouraging Timothy to fight this good fight of the faith by reminding him that he, Timothy, has sworn the good confession before many witness at his ordination. Yes, to put everything into this good fight of the faith: he is involved in the struggle between Satan and Christ, which everyone has put on through our Baptism, and it is also the struggle with the world when our confession disagrees with their reflected confessions. Paul reminds Timothy of the good confession that Christ had testified under Pontius Pilate, a confession before the pagan public, a confession, that He has finally been introduced by His death on the cross. And likewise Paul forcefully warns Timothy in both letters about the false doctrine, which also penetrated into the Church, namely that the resurrection is only a spiritual resurrection and not a resurrection of the flesh, the body; such false doctrine has been around for nearly 2000 years.
The Augsburg Confession also laid out disputes when it was presented to the emperor 478 years ago. Yes, they even had to calculate that this confession could possibly cost them their lives.
Certainly, the particular concern of the Augsburg Confession was to clearly show that with their teaching they represented the doctrine of the true Catholic Church, that they stood in the continuity of the Church. They even reiterate in their confession the doctrines that the Church rejected in the first few centuries, and that they have no desire to establish a new Church. They claim, however, that they are and remain catholic, which put them into conflict with the Roman Church of the of that time, yes, specifically over what they taught and preached concerning the justification of the sinner before God. And so the Augsburg Confession became and also remained a confession born in controversy.
We are not surprised, therefore, when we, as a confessional Lutheran Church, always encounter opposition; we are not surprised when we are challenged from the devil, from the world that surrounds us, yes even within the Christian Church because of our adherence to confess Christ. Our confession is and remains a disputed confession.
II.
As we can infer it from the words of St. Paul, our confession is also an accepted confession.
Today, we are easily at risk to look at the Confessions, to which we as the Lutheran Church have been bound, as a type of collective bargaining: Sometimes we as a church are perhaps open and accommodating to a different teaching. What can we surrender from what we have confessed until now? And that includes what the other side claims and confesses, which is really heresy? Perhaps one could rightly understand, and then we need what we have confessed before, but it is no longer formulated quite as clearly as before! And when specific clauses of faith that were previously confessed in the company that surrounds us, is now no longer accepted – can one formulate something non-offensive and comply with those who thus make something heavy? For example, must one still speak today about Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross? Is it not surprising when one does confess that God is love?
St. Paul teaches that our confession distinguishes us from an entirely different perspective: We put this confession first and foremost not before other people, but first and foremost before God.
Before Him, all things are made alive, before Him, we have Jesus Christ’s confession under Pontius Pilate, we have first and foremost responsibility. Yes, the proper direction of all our confessions is Christ’s return, which asks for our confession. No, it is not that in the course of time the Confessions become obsolete and must be replaced with new ones, but it is to confess Christ, what He has done for us, and that He gives us a present or gift, this confession is always current, given the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as Paul formulates it here. It is precisely this proper distinction, this responsibility before Christ’s judgment bench, that the publisher of the Book of Concord, the collection of the Lutheran Confessions, also designates at the end of the 16th century in his Preface, and it is precisely why today that the proper distinction of all doctrines and the proclamation of the Church must also occur: not: What is good for the people, what is clever church-politics, by which we feel good? But: What can I be responsible for before Christ, when He comes? Have I actually held on to His word and believed it, or can I change something about it, tone it down, and go against the grain? No, our confession shall never become an item of collective bargaining; it is and remains an accepted confession, responsible before none other than to the return of the Lord.
III.
The words of our Epistle finally make a third point: Our confession is also always a prayed confession.
The words of St. Paul immediately exhorts his student to praise the living God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, how Paul formulates it here in deliberate contrast to the claims of the Roman emperor. God is praised and worshipped – that is the last and most sovereign form that the Christian confession has.
No, when we describe and understand ourselves as a confessional Lutheran Church, then this does not mean that we are in an ecclesiastical order where a series of confessional writings is listed, or that the Lutheran Confessions are distributed in any proper Lutheran pastoral office.
But we see that we are a confessional Lutheran Church, as it is proven to us in the Divine Service, proven in the Confessions, proven in our prayers, and proven in the liturgy, so that we have nothing other than the prayed dogma. No, I cannot merely report the content of the Confessions as I would report about a soccer game. But when I speak about God, when I speak about Christ, when I confess that He, the Triune God, has done and does for us, then I am turned to praise God in the worship, just as it also occurs here in our Epistle. If in our Divine Service we no longer stand upon what our Lutheran Confessional writings stand upon, and even the Augsburg Confession stands upon, then we cannot describe ourselves as a very confessional Lutheran Church. Let us continually study anew the Confessions of our Church – not because they are interesting historic documents, but because by them we are trained to pray, to celebrate the Divine service, to worship the Triune God, to which all the Confessions ultimately aim. Yes, to Him, the Triune God, be honor and eternal power! Amen.
Day of Commemoration of the Augsburg Confession
The Rev. Dr. Gottfried Martens
Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time – he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (ESV)
Today we examine another confession, not the Apostles’ Creed, which we have spent the the past few months looking at. Today is about the unaltered version of the Augsburg Confession, which was delivered 478 years ago today at the Diet in Augsburg to the Holy Roman Emperor, and yes, there is also an altered version of the Augsburg Confession that contains problematic content! The pastors of our Lutheran Church to this day will still bind themselves at their ordination to that unaltered version, just as the congregational bylaws of St. Mary’s Church cite the unaltered version as the basis for all our doctrines and confessions. Yes, the Augsburg Confession is the only confession in our Lutheran confessional writings which the Church year has given its very own day of commemoration, and so this evening we will again reflect on what we actually confess and what the Confession themselves say.
And so the Epistle for today’s Feast Day from the First Letter of St. Paul to Timothy is an important help. Certainly, the verses that we have heard in the Epistle have originally been a reminder of an ordination: Paul reminds his student Timothy about the confession, which he had sworn at his holy Ordination before many witnesses, and about the words, which he had spoken at his Ordination. However in this reminder of ordination, in this encouragement to Timothy to also live from the gift of his ordination, is that some fundamentals of the Christian confession will also become clear, which can also help us today, since most of us have not had the office transferred to us as Paul had passed on to Timothy. St. Paul shows us here that the confession is, always
a disputed confession
an accepted confession
a prayed confession
I.
Why does one actually need a confession? To be completely straightforward, you need it because what one confesses there in and with this confession, and has called into question because of this confession, therefore this confession is always a disputed confession.
This struggle has very different counterparts: It is first of all a struggle with the devil and the powers of evil that want to hinder us from confessing Christ, our Lord. And so it belongs to the Church already at the confession of Baptism when for the first time the rejection of the devil and all his work and ways occurs. Whoever confesses Christ altogether renounces Satan and engages in a struggle with him. By this confession we continually challenge the opposing natures of the world and men, so that we want to know nothing except Christ. Yes, such a confession, such a confession of Christ, expects Christ our Lord, so we have heard it even in the holy Gospel: Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My heavenly Father. And finally the confession also serves to differentiate true doctrine from false doctrine within the Church, so the confession always has as its reverse the rejection of the false doctrine.
In our epistle, Paul also speaks of the good struggle of the faith, encouraging Timothy to fight this good fight of the faith by reminding him that he, Timothy, has sworn the good confession before many witness at his ordination. Yes, to put everything into this good fight of the faith: he is involved in the struggle between Satan and Christ, which everyone has put on through our Baptism, and it is also the struggle with the world when our confession disagrees with their reflected confessions. Paul reminds Timothy of the good confession that Christ had testified under Pontius Pilate, a confession before the pagan public, a confession, that He has finally been introduced by His death on the cross. And likewise Paul forcefully warns Timothy in both letters about the false doctrine, which also penetrated into the Church, namely that the resurrection is only a spiritual resurrection and not a resurrection of the flesh, the body; such false doctrine has been around for nearly 2000 years.
The Augsburg Confession also laid out disputes when it was presented to the emperor 478 years ago. Yes, they even had to calculate that this confession could possibly cost them their lives.
Certainly, the particular concern of the Augsburg Confession was to clearly show that with their teaching they represented the doctrine of the true Catholic Church, that they stood in the continuity of the Church. They even reiterate in their confession the doctrines that the Church rejected in the first few centuries, and that they have no desire to establish a new Church. They claim, however, that they are and remain catholic, which put them into conflict with the Roman Church of the of that time, yes, specifically over what they taught and preached concerning the justification of the sinner before God. And so the Augsburg Confession became and also remained a confession born in controversy.
We are not surprised, therefore, when we, as a confessional Lutheran Church, always encounter opposition; we are not surprised when we are challenged from the devil, from the world that surrounds us, yes even within the Christian Church because of our adherence to confess Christ. Our confession is and remains a disputed confession.
II.
As we can infer it from the words of St. Paul, our confession is also an accepted confession.
Today, we are easily at risk to look at the Confessions, to which we as the Lutheran Church have been bound, as a type of collective bargaining: Sometimes we as a church are perhaps open and accommodating to a different teaching. What can we surrender from what we have confessed until now? And that includes what the other side claims and confesses, which is really heresy? Perhaps one could rightly understand, and then we need what we have confessed before, but it is no longer formulated quite as clearly as before! And when specific clauses of faith that were previously confessed in the company that surrounds us, is now no longer accepted – can one formulate something non-offensive and comply with those who thus make something heavy? For example, must one still speak today about Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross? Is it not surprising when one does confess that God is love?
St. Paul teaches that our confession distinguishes us from an entirely different perspective: We put this confession first and foremost not before other people, but first and foremost before God.
Before Him, all things are made alive, before Him, we have Jesus Christ’s confession under Pontius Pilate, we have first and foremost responsibility. Yes, the proper direction of all our confessions is Christ’s return, which asks for our confession. No, it is not that in the course of time the Confessions become obsolete and must be replaced with new ones, but it is to confess Christ, what He has done for us, and that He gives us a present or gift, this confession is always current, given the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as Paul formulates it here. It is precisely this proper distinction, this responsibility before Christ’s judgment bench, that the publisher of the Book of Concord, the collection of the Lutheran Confessions, also designates at the end of the 16th century in his Preface, and it is precisely why today that the proper distinction of all doctrines and the proclamation of the Church must also occur: not: What is good for the people, what is clever church-politics, by which we feel good? But: What can I be responsible for before Christ, when He comes? Have I actually held on to His word and believed it, or can I change something about it, tone it down, and go against the grain? No, our confession shall never become an item of collective bargaining; it is and remains an accepted confession, responsible before none other than to the return of the Lord.
III.
The words of our Epistle finally make a third point: Our confession is also always a prayed confession.
The words of St. Paul immediately exhorts his student to praise the living God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, how Paul formulates it here in deliberate contrast to the claims of the Roman emperor. God is praised and worshipped – that is the last and most sovereign form that the Christian confession has.
No, when we describe and understand ourselves as a confessional Lutheran Church, then this does not mean that we are in an ecclesiastical order where a series of confessional writings is listed, or that the Lutheran Confessions are distributed in any proper Lutheran pastoral office.
But we see that we are a confessional Lutheran Church, as it is proven to us in the Divine Service, proven in the Confessions, proven in our prayers, and proven in the liturgy, so that we have nothing other than the prayed dogma. No, I cannot merely report the content of the Confessions as I would report about a soccer game. But when I speak about God, when I speak about Christ, when I confess that He, the Triune God, has done and does for us, then I am turned to praise God in the worship, just as it also occurs here in our Epistle. If in our Divine Service we no longer stand upon what our Lutheran Confessional writings stand upon, and even the Augsburg Confession stands upon, then we cannot describe ourselves as a very confessional Lutheran Church. Let us continually study anew the Confessions of our Church – not because they are interesting historic documents, but because by them we are trained to pray, to celebrate the Divine service, to worship the Triune God, to which all the Confessions ultimately aim. Yes, to Him, the Triune God, be honor and eternal power! Amen.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Augsburg Confession
I just finished translating a sermon preached by The Rev. Dr. Gottfried Martens on the Commemoration of the Augsburg Confession (June 25, 2008). He had an interesting approach to the Confessions. I print the pertinent paragraph below:
,,And so the Epistle for today’s Feast Day from the First Letter of St. Paul to Timothy is an important help. Certainly, the verses, that we have heard in the Epistle, have originally been a reminder of an ordination: Paul reminds his student Timothy about the confession, which he had sworn at his holy Ordination before many witnesses, and about the words, which he had spoken at his Ordination. However in this reminder of ordination, in this encouragement to Timothy, to also live from the gift of his ordination, is that some fundamentals of the Christian confession will also become clear, which can also help us today, when most of us have not had the office transferred to us as Paul had passed on to Timothy. The confession is such that it shows us St. Paul here, always
a disputed confession
an accepted confession
a prayed confession"
He then summarizes each phrase with a short theme:
1. ,,Why does one actually need a confession? To be completely straightforward, you need it because what one confesses there in and with this confession, and has called into question because of this confession, therefore this confession is always a disputed confession."
2. ,,What can I be responsible for before Christ, when He comes? Have I held actually on to His word, or have I believed it, can I change something about it or tone it down, what if I go against the grain? No, our confession shall never become an item of collective bargaining; it is and remains an accepted confession, responsible before none other than to the return of the Lord."
3. ,,The words of St. Paul immediately exhorts his student to praise the living God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, how Paul formulates it here in deliberate contrast to the claims of the Roman emperor. God is praised and worshipped – that is the last and most sovereign form that the Christian confession has. "
Dr. Martens goes into detail regarding each phrase in his sermon, but I liked how he spoke about our Lutheran Confessions as disputed and prayed Confessions. All to often I think of the Confessions only in terms of accepted Confessions. I bound myself to them as the proper teaching of the holy Scriptures in my ordination vows. Sometimes I view them in terms of dispute, mainly since they challenged Catholic abuses in the 16th century that the Lutherans had reformed. The Confessions shape our debates and theological discourse we have with other Christians. The Confessions also shape how we worship God, by focusing us on the chief article of justification and how all the other articles of faith flow from that main article. Likewise, what we believe, teach, and confess will influence how we worship and pray.
Dr. Martens concluding sentences are very powerful:
,,If in our Divine Service we no longer stand upon what our Lutheran Confessional writings stand, and even the Augsburg Confession stands upon, then we cannot describe ourselves as a very confessional Lutheran Church. Let us continually study anew the Confessions of our Church – not because they are interesting historic documents, but because by them we are trained to pray, to celebrate the Divine service, to worship the Triune God, to which all the Confessions ultimately aim. Yes, to Him, the Triune God, be honor and eternal power! Amen. "
Yes, Amen, indeed!
,,And so the Epistle for today’s Feast Day from the First Letter of St. Paul to Timothy is an important help. Certainly, the verses, that we have heard in the Epistle, have originally been a reminder of an ordination: Paul reminds his student Timothy about the confession, which he had sworn at his holy Ordination before many witnesses, and about the words, which he had spoken at his Ordination. However in this reminder of ordination, in this encouragement to Timothy, to also live from the gift of his ordination, is that some fundamentals of the Christian confession will also become clear, which can also help us today, when most of us have not had the office transferred to us as Paul had passed on to Timothy. The confession is such that it shows us St. Paul here, always
a disputed confession
an accepted confession
a prayed confession"
He then summarizes each phrase with a short theme:
1. ,,Why does one actually need a confession? To be completely straightforward, you need it because what one confesses there in and with this confession, and has called into question because of this confession, therefore this confession is always a disputed confession."
2. ,,What can I be responsible for before Christ, when He comes? Have I held actually on to His word, or have I believed it, can I change something about it or tone it down, what if I go against the grain? No, our confession shall never become an item of collective bargaining; it is and remains an accepted confession, responsible before none other than to the return of the Lord."
3. ,,The words of St. Paul immediately exhorts his student to praise the living God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, how Paul formulates it here in deliberate contrast to the claims of the Roman emperor. God is praised and worshipped – that is the last and most sovereign form that the Christian confession has. "
Dr. Martens goes into detail regarding each phrase in his sermon, but I liked how he spoke about our Lutheran Confessions as disputed and prayed Confessions. All to often I think of the Confessions only in terms of accepted Confessions. I bound myself to them as the proper teaching of the holy Scriptures in my ordination vows. Sometimes I view them in terms of dispute, mainly since they challenged Catholic abuses in the 16th century that the Lutherans had reformed. The Confessions shape our debates and theological discourse we have with other Christians. The Confessions also shape how we worship God, by focusing us on the chief article of justification and how all the other articles of faith flow from that main article. Likewise, what we believe, teach, and confess will influence how we worship and pray.
Dr. Martens concluding sentences are very powerful:
,,If in our Divine Service we no longer stand upon what our Lutheran Confessional writings stand, and even the Augsburg Confession stands upon, then we cannot describe ourselves as a very confessional Lutheran Church. Let us continually study anew the Confessions of our Church – not because they are interesting historic documents, but because by them we are trained to pray, to celebrate the Divine service, to worship the Triune God, to which all the Confessions ultimately aim. Yes, to Him, the Triune God, be honor and eternal power! Amen. "
Yes, Amen, indeed!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
While I was going through my internet file that contains a bunch of German-Lutheran websites. One I got around to viewing was for a SELK church in Berlin, Germany. It is Evangelisch-Lutherische St. Mariengemeinde in Berlin-Zehlendorf und -Steglitz (Evangelical-Lutheran Church of St. Mary in Berlin, Zehlendorf, and Steglitz). Zehlendorf and Steglitz are communities in Berlin, both are southwest of the city-center, past Tempelhof. The Rev. Dr. Gottfried Martens is the pastor there.
I first heard of Dr. Martens when I read an article of his that was published in LOGIA a few years ago. I found his essay scholarly and theologically inciteful. I was happy to discover his church on the Internet. He posts his sermons online and even has four or five audio sermons available for listening. I am reading and translating his sermon from June 28, 2008.
Check out the church's site at:
http://lutherisch.de/
Also, The Rev. Armin Wenz is a pastor in the SELK; he is the pastor of Evangelisch-Lutherische St. Johannes-Gemeinde (Evangelical-Lutheran Church of St. John) in Oberursel, Hessen. I have translated some of his sermons.
Check out the church's site at:
http://www.selk-oberursel.de/index.htm
Pastor Wenz obtained for me the SELK hymnal, and sent it to me via a professor at Concordia Seminary in Ft. Wayne. I was so happy to receive the hymnal, and I hav enjoyed using it. It is a great hymanl resource for Lutheran pastors to have.
A third SELK church I surf on the web is Trinitatis-Gemeinde (Trinity Church) in München, Bavaria under The Rev. Frank-Christian Schmitt.
Check out the church's site at:
http://freenet-homepage.de/Trinitatis/
I first heard of Dr. Martens when I read an article of his that was published in LOGIA a few years ago. I found his essay scholarly and theologically inciteful. I was happy to discover his church on the Internet. He posts his sermons online and even has four or five audio sermons available for listening. I am reading and translating his sermon from June 28, 2008.
Check out the church's site at:
http://lutherisch.de/
Also, The Rev. Armin Wenz is a pastor in the SELK; he is the pastor of Evangelisch-Lutherische St. Johannes-Gemeinde (Evangelical-Lutheran Church of St. John) in Oberursel, Hessen. I have translated some of his sermons.
Check out the church's site at:
http://www.selk-oberursel.de/index.htm
Pastor Wenz obtained for me the SELK hymnal, and sent it to me via a professor at Concordia Seminary in Ft. Wayne. I was so happy to receive the hymnal, and I hav enjoyed using it. It is a great hymanl resource for Lutheran pastors to have.
A third SELK church I surf on the web is Trinitatis-Gemeinde (Trinity Church) in München, Bavaria under The Rev. Frank-Christian Schmitt.
Check out the church's site at:
http://freenet-homepage.de/Trinitatis/
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Heilsgeschichte, Part 3
Heilsgeschichte is the understanding that God does redeeming acts throughout history. Numerous examples could be given, but the two big acts were: the Exodus and Calvary.
S. G. De Graaf writes in his four-volume set, Promise and Deliverance: ,,We must not tell chiefly of people, of their faith as an attracting example and of their sins as a repelling example, but we must tell of the revelation of the grace of God in Christ” (Horton, Modern Reformation May/June Vol. 5 No. 3 1996).
Sadly, we don't find this kind of preaching in American churches; Europeans don't find this in their churches either. One of the reasons Europeans have left the churches vacant is because many of the pastors don't preach Christ crucified and risen. Strangely, I've noticed that in America the churches that preach Christ crucified and risen seem to be small and sparsely attended, while churches that preach a different gospel, a gospel of prosperity and positive self-image seem to be large and filled to the max. I know there are churches full of Christians where they hear Christ crucified and risen. I'm not sure why churches that preach a different gospel are so attractive and filled every Sunday. Perhaps American Christians haven't reached the depth of despair that our European brothers and sisters in Christ have reached; or perhaps our general attitude toward ,,me" as the most important person in my life is naturally attracted to the kind of preaching one can find on any Christian TV channel.
I am so glad that Issues, Etc. is back on the air. That show is focused on Christ crucified, and that is nothing other than Heilsgeschichte.
The Bible isn't about me and how I can succeed in life. Yes, there are directives in holy Scripture that tell us to trust in God who will bless us. But the real theme and core of the Bible is about God redeeming His fallen creation from sin. He redeems us in history. The saving acts of God are historical activities; other historians mention them in their histories. The crucifixion of Christ is mentioned by other Roman historians of that era. When we realize that God acts in history (He is immanent in, not transcendant from, our lives and from history), then we realize that He acts in my life. When Christ crucified is preached, then the proper doctrine of the Bible is being proclaimed. God is concerned about me; God died for me; God rose from the dead for me. That's Jesus who did that for me! Christ crucified and risen for my justification is the fulfillment of Heilsgeschichte, and so He is to be the focus of preaching. Jesus just can't be tacked onto a sermon, but Jesus must be permeate the sermon. Walther said that the gospel must predominate the sermon.
I just watched about a half an hour of an American Christian preacher having a crusade in Uppsala, Sweden. I recently read an article that said Sweden is one of the most secularized countries in the world and has the worst church attendance. The Church of Sweden (which is officially Lutheran) has essentially collapsed because Heilsgeschichte is not being preached from the pulpits. Well, this American preacher was going on and on about God. He tacked on the name of Jesus a few times, but he never got down to the real message of Christ crucified. The Swedes don't need a prosperity/positive self image gospel proclaimed to them, but they need a Christ crucified for their sins preached to them. Then, and only then, will the Swedes come to faith and seek out those few churches that actually preach the gospel in all its fullness and sweetness. And when more and more of them clamor for pure gospel preaching, then the Church of Sweden will (hopefully) get back on track and take Heilsgeschichte seriously.
S. G. De Graaf writes in his four-volume set, Promise and Deliverance: ,,We must not tell chiefly of people, of their faith as an attracting example and of their sins as a repelling example, but we must tell of the revelation of the grace of God in Christ” (Horton, Modern Reformation May/June Vol. 5 No. 3 1996).
Sadly, we don't find this kind of preaching in American churches; Europeans don't find this in their churches either. One of the reasons Europeans have left the churches vacant is because many of the pastors don't preach Christ crucified and risen. Strangely, I've noticed that in America the churches that preach Christ crucified and risen seem to be small and sparsely attended, while churches that preach a different gospel, a gospel of prosperity and positive self-image seem to be large and filled to the max. I know there are churches full of Christians where they hear Christ crucified and risen. I'm not sure why churches that preach a different gospel are so attractive and filled every Sunday. Perhaps American Christians haven't reached the depth of despair that our European brothers and sisters in Christ have reached; or perhaps our general attitude toward ,,me" as the most important person in my life is naturally attracted to the kind of preaching one can find on any Christian TV channel.
I am so glad that Issues, Etc. is back on the air. That show is focused on Christ crucified, and that is nothing other than Heilsgeschichte.
The Bible isn't about me and how I can succeed in life. Yes, there are directives in holy Scripture that tell us to trust in God who will bless us. But the real theme and core of the Bible is about God redeeming His fallen creation from sin. He redeems us in history. The saving acts of God are historical activities; other historians mention them in their histories. The crucifixion of Christ is mentioned by other Roman historians of that era. When we realize that God acts in history (He is immanent in, not transcendant from, our lives and from history), then we realize that He acts in my life. When Christ crucified is preached, then the proper doctrine of the Bible is being proclaimed. God is concerned about me; God died for me; God rose from the dead for me. That's Jesus who did that for me! Christ crucified and risen for my justification is the fulfillment of Heilsgeschichte, and so He is to be the focus of preaching. Jesus just can't be tacked onto a sermon, but Jesus must be permeate the sermon. Walther said that the gospel must predominate the sermon.
I just watched about a half an hour of an American Christian preacher having a crusade in Uppsala, Sweden. I recently read an article that said Sweden is one of the most secularized countries in the world and has the worst church attendance. The Church of Sweden (which is officially Lutheran) has essentially collapsed because Heilsgeschichte is not being preached from the pulpits. Well, this American preacher was going on and on about God. He tacked on the name of Jesus a few times, but he never got down to the real message of Christ crucified. The Swedes don't need a prosperity/positive self image gospel proclaimed to them, but they need a Christ crucified for their sins preached to them. Then, and only then, will the Swedes come to faith and seek out those few churches that actually preach the gospel in all its fullness and sweetness. And when more and more of them clamor for pure gospel preaching, then the Church of Sweden will (hopefully) get back on track and take Heilsgeschichte seriously.
Friday, July 04, 2008
Independence Day and Embassy Opening
July 4th is an important holiday in America. We celebrate with cookouts, fireworks, and patriotic music. This is great. I also set aside a few moments every July 4th to read the Declaration of Independence. It is one of the foundational documents for our country. Today is also a special day for American-German relationships: the newly built American embassy opened today in central Berlin. The embassy has now returned to its old home next to the Brandenburg Gate.
Here's an article from Deutsche Welle: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3461973,00.html
On June 12, 1987, Pres. Ronald Reagan gave his historic speech at the Brandenburg Gate in what was then West Berlin. His most famous line was: ,,Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Read his entire speech here: http://www.presidentreagan.info/speeches/brandenburg_gate.cfm
Reagan's speech captured the heart of July 4th and the Declaration of Independence. He spoke about freedom, a freedom that America desired a divided Germany and a divided Berlin to have. He reminded the Germans: You have a friend in America. They still do; and we still have a friend in Germany. There are many cultural and political ties between our countries, ties that have lead to freedom in Germany and other countries around the world. Reagan said it best in his speech: ,,Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor."
And now there is a U.S. embassy on the site of the previous embassy, next to the Brandenburg Gate, show-casing the friendship and the freedom that German and Americans have long enjoyed together: June 12, 1987; October 3, 1990; July 4, 2008.
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