The Seventh Petition

But deliver us from evil.

What does this mean? We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.

Conclusion to the Lord’s Prayer

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.  

What does this mean?

This means that I should be certain that these petitions are pleasing to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him; for He Himself has commanded us to pray in this way and has promised to hear us. Amen, amen means “yes, yes, it shall be so.”

What does this mean? The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.

How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.

Follow along to the outline at Christforus.org or at my Substack https://pastorpreus.substack.com/ 

Also, please listen to the interview of Archbishop (retired) Dr. Benjamin Kwashi by Rev. Bryan Stecker: https://youtu.be/xhR6HaeVDxs?si=01UG2fyRsWISDB-k for context. 

October 2025

What does it mean to follow Jesus? 

Why is it comforting that Jesus calls sinners? 

Why does Jesus tell the Pharisees to "go and learn"? 

1. Is Charlie Kirk a Christian Martyr? 
2. Should the LCMS publicly recognize Charlie Kirk as a Christian Martyr? 
3. Erika Kirk, Charlie's widow, on September 12, 2025, urged those mourning Charlie's death, if they do not belong to a church already, to join a church, a Bible-believing church. Why do LCMS congregations fit the description of a Bible-believing church? Can you give a defense for why the spiritually homeless who want to find a Bible-believing church should try a LCMS congregation? 

#IrynaZarutska #Charlie Kirk

Episode 46 is an impromptu episode on the Death Penalty in light of the murders of Iryna Zarutska and Charlie Kirk. You can read the outline of this episode on Christforus.org or on my Substack.  

#deathpenalty #charliekirk #Irynazarutska

#LGBT #Homosexuality #Pride 

1. For what two reasons do we pray? 

2. What is needed for effective prayer? 

3. What do we need before we can pray in faith? 

4. What does it mean to pray in Jesus' name? 

5. If God cannot deny our prayer in Jesus' name, why does it seem like He isn't answering our prayers? 

#Bishop Fulton Sheen #Mercy #Compassion #Lutheran

#DailyWire #BishopBaron #BenShapiro #Catholocism #LumenGentium 

You can read along to my very detailed outline for this Bible Study at Christforus.org. 

Justification and Rome: An Evaluation of Recent Dialogues by Robert Preus © 1997 Concordia Publishing House. Used with permission under license number 24:8-1. All rights reserved. This publication is available as an eBook from CPH at www.cph.org.

Permission to publish this audio was given for one year. I will request an extension, but that is not guaranteed, so try listening to it before the end of 2025. I did not record the valuable endnotes, but you can read those if you purchase the book. Below is a copy of the timestamps for the chapters. The links work on Podbean, but have not transferred over to other platforms. 

• 00:00:00: Copyright
• 00:00:34: Chapter 9: Justification, Propter Christum, and the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness
• 01:10:34: Chapter 10: Faith, Justifying Faith, Faith Alone
• 01:29:21: Chapter 11: The Object of Justifying Faith
• 01:46:51: Chapter 12: Faith’s Part in Justification
• 01:57:17: Chapter 13: Justification by Faith Alone
• 02:12:51: Chapter 14: Conclusion: Some Necessary Comments
• 02:47:57: Copyright

Read by Rev. James Preus

Justification and Rome: An Evaluation of Recent Dialogues by Robert Preus © 1997 Concordia Publishing House. Used with permission under license number 24:8-1. All rights reserved. This publication is available as an eBook from CPH at www.cph.org.

You can listen to Part 2 Here. 

Permission to publish this audio was given for one year. I will request an extension, but that is not guaranteed, so try listening to it before the end of 2025. I did not record the valuable endnotes, but you can read those if you purchase the book. Below is a copy of the timestamps for the chapters. The links work on Podbean, but have not transferred over to other platforms. 

• 00:00:00: Copyright
• 00:00:33: Title, Dedication, and Forward
• 00:04:41: Introduction
• 00:10:45: Chapter 1: The Centrality of the Doctrine of Justification and Its Hermeneutical Role
• 00:27:50: Chapter 2: Recent Dialogues between Lutherans and Roman Catholics on the Doctrine of Justification
• 00:42:21: Chapter 3: The Basic Structure of the Article of Justification
• 00:50:11: Chapter 4: The Context of the Doctrine of Justification
• 00:58:39: Chapter 5: Sin
• 01:06:29: Chapter 6: The Bondage of the Will
• 01:10:33: Chapter 7: Repentance
• 01:18:04: Chapter 8: Grace

Source: https://media.ctsfw.edu/Person/Details/227# 

Matthew 9:1-8

Pastor James Preus

Trinity Lutheran Church

October 6,2024

One of the problems with much of our medicine is that it does not deal with the root problems, but simply masks the symptoms. We take pain killers to alleviate the pain of an injury for a while, but it does not actually heal the injury.  The treatments for many illnesses and diseases do not work to cure a person, but simply cover up the symptoms. And what is worse, the masking of symptoms often makes the illness so much worse in the long run. Four friends went to great lengths to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus, even, as St. Mark tells us, making a hole in the roof, so that they could let him down (Mark 2). And when Jesus the great physician saw their faith, He took pity on the paralyzed man, and He forgave his sins.

Yes, Jesus is the great physician, because He does not mask the symptoms or relieve your pain temporarily. Jesus gets to the root cause of your misery. The root cause of all your diseases, suffering, sorrow, pain, and especially death is sin. The wages of sin is death, which should be engraved in your memory. And all sicknesses and pains are mere minions of death. To really address your misery, you must address your sin! If you are to be free from your misery, you must be freed from your sin.

And so, by first forgiving the paralyzed man before He healed him of his paralysis, Jesus teaches us that even in our greatest suffering, we should desire nothing more than the forgiveness of sins. Not only because your sin is the root cause of all your trouble, so the forgiveness of sins is the solution to all your trouble, but also because the forgiveness of sins is the one thing you cannot give yourself! A physician may be able to grant temporary relief or even cure several illnesses. But who can take away your sins? King David laments with us in Psalm 38, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. 4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.” And again, in Psalm 130, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! … If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” Before us stands God the righteous judge! St. Paul says concerning our sin, “On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” (Colossians 3:6) You may be able to hide your sins from others, so they do not judge you and put you to shame, but King David humbles himself before God when he cries to Him, “Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what was evil in your sight.” (Psalm 51:4) We can hide our sins from the people we respect and fear. But we cannot hide our sins from God. He sees all, even in the depths of your heart. And you cannot remove your sins from yourself. You cannot make atonement for your sins or make up for your sin. Your sin is your greatest problem and the source of all your problems.

And so, this paralyzed man had comfort in his soul, even as his body languished on that bed, because Jesus, his Lord told him that his sins were forgiven. If his sins are forgiven, then also life and salvation are his. If his sins are forgiven, then he is reconciled with God. If his sins are forgiven, then there is no cross on this earth that he cannot bear with patience, because the forgiveness of sins makes every cross temporary and paradise eternal.

Yet, Jesus’ opponents grumble in their hearts, “Who is this who forgives sins? This is blasphemy!” It is not that these men did not believe that a person’s sins could be forgiven. Scripture is clear that God is quick to forgive and slow to anger. The Prophet Isaiah writes “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18), and likewise, the prophet Micah calls to God, “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19) And David, who felt the joy of having the weight of his sins lifted from his conscience, declares in Psalm 103, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, ... He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.” (vss. 3-4, 9-12)

So, the question is not whether God can forgive sins. But who is this Jesus who forgives sins? And so, Jesus, knowing their thoughts, though they kept them to themselves, asks them why they think it is impossible for Him to forgive sins. He asks, “Which is easier, to say, your sins are forgiven, or to say, rise and walk. But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Rise, take up your bed, and go home.” And the man immediately rose and went home! 

Now Jesus proves that He does have authority to forgive sins, because He has authority to undo the result of sin! And Jesus proves that He has the authority to forgive your sins in the same way! Christ languished on the cross, as His enemies scorned Him, shouting, “Physician, heal yourself! You who saved others, save yourself!” They mocked Him for declaring that He was God’s Son and the Christ. And Satan too laughed with scorn saying that it was impossible for Him by His death to take away the sins of the world. But which is easier? To take away the sins of the world as John the Baptist declared of Jesus? Or after having suffered and died with the weight of the world’s sins on your shoulder, to then after three days get up and walk? And so, that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive your sins and not your sins only, but also the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2), God raised Christ up from the dead on the third day, declaring Him to be the Son of God and Redeemer of the world (Romans 1:4).

The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. The Son of Man is Christ. He has authority on earth to forgive sins for two reasons. 1) He is God. 2) He paid for the sins of the whole world with His holy precious blood and innocent sufferings and death. Only Christ could have paid for our sins and only Christ did. Christ is a man, who forgives sins with the authority of God. This is why Jesus says in the Great Commission, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” He had this authority from eternity according to His divine nature, but He received it as a man through His incarnation and it was declared to Him again in His resurrection.

Yet, the crowds rejoiced and declared that God had given such authority to forgive sins to men. They didn’t say, “to a man or to the Son of Man.” They said, “to men.” Did they mischaracterize what happened? Are they lumping the Son of Man with all other men? Shouldn’t they rather say that this particular man has authority to forgive sins, but no other man does?

No, they got it exactly right. Christ the Godman gave authority to forgive sins to men, that is, He gave it to His Church on earth. In John 20, after Jesus rose from the dead, He who has all authority in heaven and on earth said to His disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (John 20:23) Jesus did this so that we in the Church may regularly hear and receive the good news that our sins are forgiven. Jesus said to His disciples, “The one who hears you, hears me!” (Luke 10:16) This is true in Baptism. When the minister pours water and proclaims the words of Jesus, it is Jesus Himself declaring the baptized a child of God. This is true in the Absolution. When the minister declares the forgiveness of sins in the stead and by the command of Christ, we consider it a voice from heaven and indeed, all the angels and God Himself bear witness to its truth in heaven as on earth. The Lord’s Supper is Christ’s true body and blood, not because of some power in the pastor or in his words, but on account of the words of Christ, which declare it forever.

So, what is the result of Christ giving to men such authority to forgive sins on earth, so that it is true even in heaven? Exactly what Jesus said to the paralyzed man as he still lay on his bed, “Take heart” that is, “be of good courage, be confident, your sins are forgiven.” With that little word, Jesus was telling the paralyzed man to have confidence before God’s throne, to not be afraid, but cheerful in the presence of the great judge, because his sins are indeed forgiven.

When a person is trapped in his sin, he deceives himself that his sin is not that bad and that no one knows about it and that he really hasn’t fallen too far. Yet, when a voice confronts the sinner and exposes his sin, it brings terror of conscience and repentance, as we see when David repented with tears when Nathan confronted him with his sin with Bathsheba. Likewise, when a person is overcome by guilt and cannot console his conscience because of his sin, he believes that he cannot be forgiven and is not a child of God. Even reading Scripture often does not help him, because his eyes ignore the comforting passages and his soul does not apply them to himself. Yet, when a voice sent by God declares God’s forgiveness and mercy, then the weight of guilt is lifted and the sinner finds a good conscience before God. In other words, the person finds good courage before God, because Christ has given authority to forgive sins to men.

This is why we must never forsake the preaching of God’s Word. It is indeed a voice from heaven, when it is faithful to Scripture. Christ makes clear that He intends you to hear His voice through His ministers, so that your heart may take courage and you may have a good conscience before Him.

Yet, there remains a second result of hearing this voice of forgiveness. It strengthens you to resist sin today and to walk according to the new man created after the image of Christ. To put off the old self, you must then put on the new self. You cannot walk in newness of life if you do not hear from Jesus that He has forgiven all your sins, just as the paralyzed man could not walk until after he was forgiven. So, we do not wait until we have overcome our sin before we listen to Jesus’ voice. We need to hear His forgiveness often. And through faith in the forgiveness of sins proclaimed to us, we receive power to walk with Jesus today and into eternity. Amen.

Pastor James Preus

Genesis 4:1-26

October 7, 2024

Adam was the first man. Adam was also the first husband. He knew his wife Eve not in the passion of lust, but in the purity of the marital embrace, and God blessed them with children. Adam was the first father. Adam and Eve and their children composed the first family. Adam was also the first preacher. After God declared the curses along with the protoevangelium in the Garden, He then joined to the promise of a Redeemer a Sacrament, that is, a sign of grace by clothing Adam and Eve with the skin of a sacrificed animal. The sacrificing of animals served as a continual sign of the promise that the woman’s bruised seed would atone for the sins of man. Then Adam began to preach. He regularly preached to Eve and to his children of the curses and the promise. And he taught them to sacrifice to the Lord. Adam was the first father and the first preacher. He also was the first civil ruler, who carried out punishments for crimes. So, in this fourth chapter of Genesis, we see the proto-family, the proto-church, and the proto-state functioning for the first time in a world where sin and ills contend. And for us brothers, who desire to be better husbands, better fathers and pastors, better men, it does us good to reflect how God led the first family and parish through this world of sin.

When Eve first gave birth, she named her son Cain, because he was a special possession given to her from the Lord. It appeared that Eve was under the impression that this firstborn was the fulfillment of the promise that her seed would crush the head of Satan (Gen. 3:15). Yet, when her second son was born, she named him Abel, which comes from the same word as vanity or breath (Eccl. 1:2). From these names, we see that Cain was highly esteemed by his parents, while Abel was esteemed little. Yet, when Cain and Abel brought their offerings to the Lord, it was Abel’s offering which was accepted by God, while Cain’s was rejected. And so, the Virgin Mother’s words have proven true from the beginning, “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly.” (Luke 1:52)

Yet, why did God accept Abel’s offering but not Cain’s? Because Abel brought his offering with faith and Cain did not. The text says that the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering He did not. He found favor with Abel before He accepted his offering. And He found no favor with Cain before He rejected his offering. This means that God accepted Abel on account of his faith, because apart from faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). God was pleased with Abel’s offering because of the faith through which he offered it (Hebrews 11:4). 

There are two types of offerings: sacrifices of thanksgiving and sacrifices of atonement. A sacrifice of atonement makes satisfaction for guilt and punishment and reconciles sinners to God. A sacrifice of thanksgiving does not make satisfaction for guilt; rather it is offered by the one who believes he has been reconciled to God through faith. Abel offered his offering as a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He believed the promise, which his father preached to him, that the seed of the woman would crush the head of Satan even as His heal was wounded. He offered the firstborn of His flock and their fat portions, because he believed that God would offer for his salvation the best He has. Cain, however, offered his offering as a sacrifice of atonement. He thought God should be satisfied with his offering, because of its merits. But there is only one sacrifice of atonement, Christ, the Seed of the Woman. So, because Cain did not put his faith in Christ, his offering was rejected. This is the same situation in our parishes today. All come to worship, yet some offer false worship in their hearts, while others offer true worship. And the preacher preaches to exhort true worship through faith in Christ.

Luther insisted that when the Lord spoke to Cain, it was Adam speaking in the Spirit to Cain. (I find Luther convincing). So, Adam said to his son, “Sin in crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” And this is what a good father and a good pastor preaches regularly. We carry about us original sin. We think it lies dormant, but it is ready to attack at any time. We must rule over it. The only way to rule over sin is through repentance and faith in Christ. As Adam did, so must every Christian father and pastor do today: rebuke sin and unbelief and call sinners to repentance and faith.

Yet, Cain did not heed his father’s preaching. Rather, he let sin rule over him, and he murdered his brother. Yet, by his death, Abel was the first to prove true Jesus’ words, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:11) Abel’s was the first human soul to enter heaven, foreshadowing Christ commending His Spirit to the Father on the cross thousands of years later. And so, though Abel died, he still speaks (Hebrews 11:4). Abel’s soul was among those seen by John in Revelation 6, who cried out to the Lord, how long? Yet, Abel and the rest of the martyred throng are told to wait until the number of martyrs is complete. So, the pattern of Genesis 4 continues even today. The righteous will be killed for the sake of God’s Word, yet their souls will rest in Christ until the resurrection.

God (or Adam, speaking on God’s behalf) asked Cain where Abel was. Cain responded, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” Thus, Cain showed total impenitence and abiding hatred for his brother. Cain’s impenitence stands in stark contrast to what Jesus says all Scripture depends on: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and your neighbor as yourself. But Cain loves neither his God nor his brother. Surprisingly for many, Cain’s life is spared. However, he is excommunicated from the Christian congregation and banished from Adam’s dominion. So, whereas before false worship was hidden in the unbeliever’s heart, now a false religion is established in competition to the true Church. And as it is today, the religion of Cain grows stronger and establishes itself as the civic religion of the great and mighty. As Cain’s children forged tools, created music, and built cities, so today the wealth and influence in government and culture of those who hate God and His Church grow strong as the Church and her parishes seem insignificant.

Yet, God did not leave the first Christian family and the first Christian parish without comfort. Adam again knew his wife, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, which comes from the verb to put or to set. This shows that the promise first made in the garden still stands. The Seed of the woman will yet crush the serpent’s head. You may not have noticed it before, but Seth is the first one Moses calls a son of Adam and Eve. Neither Cain nor Abel was called a son. This again foreshadows Christ, who is the only begotten Son of God and the firstborn of all creation. Seth was born instead of Abel, because Cain killed him. So, Seth’s birth foreshadows the resurrection of Christ. Abel, the righteous man, was killed for righteousness’ sake, as Christ was. Abel’s soul ascended into heaven as Christ commended His soul to God. And now, Abel has a replacement on earth in Seth. And so, Christ rose from the dead and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of Holiness (Romans 1:4). The Father declares to Christ in Psalm 2, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” Obviously, Christ is begotten from eternity. Yet, St. Paul says this passage is fulfilled in Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 13:33). It is as he wrote in Romans 1, Christ was declared the Son of God by His resurrection. And so, when Adam and Eve received a life in exchange for their dead, Moses prophesied of Christ by calling Seth the first son.

Yet, Seth’s birth does not only prophesy of Christ’s resurrection. He proves that God has not forgotten His promise to send the Redeemer, because that Redeemer will come through Seth’s lineage. The promise is established forever. And so also, Seth’s birth proves that Christ’s Church is established forever. As the lineage of the woman’s Seed cannot be snuffed out by Satan or murderers, so neither can Christ’s Church be snuffed out, but a remnant will remain forever.

When God gave Seth a son, he named him Enosh, which means man. This is the word for man used in Psalm 8, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord, that is, as people were oppressed by the Cainite tyrants, they turned to the promise of the Christ preached by Adam and Seth. Seth represents the enduring Church, the remnant that will endure until the end. Through Seth came Noah and his family, the lone survivors of God’s flood of judgment on the wicked unbelieving world. Cain’s religion, his cities and governments, music, power, and wealth were all drowned and destroyed in God’s judgment. Yet, Seth’s lineage continued. So also, this unbelieving world, with its wealth and power and prestige, with which it seeks to influence your family and parish, these will all perish in God’s judgment. But Christ’s Church will remain. And the faithful will endure in the ark of the Church.

Dear brothers, as it was in the beginning, the false religion of pride and hate will war against the Christian family and parish and usurp the power of the state. So, be a husband, a preacher, a man like Adam. Preach the word. Scripture depends on the command to love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, and mind and your neighbor as yourself. These truths endure that whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And the promise of Christ’s atonement and salvation still stands today as it did in the garden. When you bury your Christian dead, no soul is lost to Christ’s Church. And when God adds a child to your family or parish, He reminds you that the promise of the woman’s Seed is for yet another generation. The Son reigns. And all who belong to Him shall never perish, even if they die. As it was in the beginning, so let us preach this to the end. And God will prove faithful. Amen.

The controversy between venial and mortal sin has led to great confusion, not only among Roman Catholics, but especially among Lutherans! The Roman Catholics erroneously define mortal and venial sins, so Lutherans laity have been led to believe that there is no such distinction between mortal and venial and many mistakenly assert that all sins are the same. However, there is a biblical distinction between mortal and venial sins. Lutherans still make this distinction. And this distinction is helpful for the justification and sanctification of a Christian.

A mortal sin simply means a sin leading to death. Venial comes from the Latin for pardonable or forgivable. So, a mortal sin is one that leads to damnation and a venial sin is a sin that does not lead to damnation. However, the question is why? The Roman Catholic Church does not recognize concupiscence as sin. Concupiscence is the activity of original sin, the inclination to sin. And because concupiscence, which is the very desire to sin, is not sin in Roman Catholic theology, concupiscence is not mortal, but venial. This is also how the Roman Catholic Church deals with lesser sins. They categorize them as venial, because they do not estimate them as serious enough to merit God’s wrath.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Mortal Sin: A grave infraction of the law of God that destroys the divine life in the soul of the sinner (sanctifying grace), constituting a turn away from God. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must be present: grave matter, full knowledge of the evil act, and full consent of the will (1855, 1857)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Venial Sin: Sin which does not destroy the divine life in the soul, as does mortal sin, though it diminishes and wounds it (1855). Venial sin is the failure to observe necessary moderation, in lesser matters of the moral law, or in grave matters acting without full knowledge or complete consent (1862).

Do the remains of sin exist and remain in the reborn in this life?

They by all means are and remain. For though [the reborn] are ruled by the Holy Spirit, yet they complain that nothing good dwells in their flesh, in fact, also when they want to do good, evil is connected [with it] (Ro 7:18, 21)[2], and that the flesh wars against the spirit (Gl 5:17)[3]. And even also when they are holy and serve God and are not conscious of any evil, yet they confess that they are sinners. 1 Cor. 4:4; Psalm 32:6; 130:3; 143:3.[4] In fact, he that does not acknowledge and confess this, but says that he has no sin, deceives himself. 1 Jn 1:8. Therefore all the saints have need in this life daily to repeat this: Father, forgive us our sins.

Is then David, committing adultery, nevertheless righteous and holy, and does he remain so?

By no means. For Scripture distinguishes between sins, namely that in the saints or reborn there are some sins because of which they are not condemned, but at the same time retain faith, the Holy Spirit, grace, and the forgiveness of sins. Rom 7:23-8:1;[5] 1 Jn 1:8-9[6]; Ps 32:1[7]. But Scripture testifies that there are also some other sins in which also the reconciled, when they have fallen, lose faith, the Holy Spirit, the grace of God, and life eternal, and render themselves subject to divine wrath and eternal death unless, turned again, they are reconciled to God through faith. Rom. 8:13[8]; 1 Cor. 6:10[9]; Gal. 5:21[10]; Eph. 5:5[11]; Col. 3:6[12]; 1 John 3:6, 8[13]; 1 Tim. 1:19[14]; 2 Peter 1:9.[15] And the useful distinction between mortal and venial sin is drawn from this basis. Paul speaks of sin ruling against conscience or with conscience put away, and sin that indeed dwells in the flesh but does not rule.1 Tim. 1:19[16]; Rom 6:12, 14[17]; 7:17[18]

What is the use of retaining and earnestly inculcating this difference between mortal and venial sin in the church?

1. That we might learn to acknowledge and earnestly avoid mortal sins.
2. If we are caught in that kind of sins, that we do not obstinately persevere and continue in them impenitently.

• That we try the more to restrain and control sin that dwells in us, lest it become mortal. For, when this distinction is neglected or not rightly understood and used, Christians also often fall into security and impenitence. Pastors are therefore to be reminded and trained in the examinations not only to list the 7 mortal (or deadly, capital) sins,[19] but to be able to point out to their hearers, in each Commandment, which sins are mortal, which venial.

Is, then, original sin, which still remains in the reborn in this life, in itself such a light little sin, or, so to say, peccadillo, that God neither can nor wants to be angry against it?

All sins are not equal; some are more grievous and greater than others (John 19:11; Matt 11:22; Luke 12:47-48)[20]; yet if one judges according to the sense of the divine law, no sin per se and by its own nature deserves forgiveness; that is, none is so small and insignificant, but that it makes [one] subject to divine wrath and worthy of eternal damnation if God enters into judgment with him. Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10; James 2:10.[21] This error regarding the least commandment of the divine law is condemned by Christ in the Pharisees. Matt. 5:19.[22] Paul sadly complains also about sin still dwelling in his flesh. Rom. 7:24; Gal. 5:17.[23]

Are some sins so great and horrible that they cannot be forgiven in the Gospel to those who repent and believe in Christ?

No. Christ made satisfaction for all sins. 1 John 2:2[24]. He wants to save also the greatest sinners. 1 Tim. 1:15.[25] He commanded repentance and remission of sins to be preached in His name to all sinners. John 20:23[26]. Matt. 9:13[27], Luke 15:7[28]; 24:47[29]. Grace abounded more than sin. Rom. 5:20.[30]

Now, then, since it is clear that no sin per se deserves forgiveness, likewise that no sin is so horrible that it cannot be forgiven to those who repent and believe in Christ—why, then, are some sins in the reborn called venial, some mortal?

This should be well and carefully explained, so that each Christian can know and determine if he is living in mortal or venial sin. The explanation consists essentially in this, that everyone examine himself as to whether or not he has true repentance and faith. Rom. 2:4-5[31], Jer. 5:3[32] 2 Cor. 13:5[33]. Original sin, which still dwells in the flesh of the reborn, is not idle, but is the restless law of sin in our members, enticing, tempting, driving to sin with various suggestions and evil lusts. James 1:14[34], Rom. 7:8[35], Gal. 5:17[36]. Since, then, one who is reborn does not delight in this kind of carnal lusts, and is neither led by them nor follows [them], but earnestly represses and crucifies them as sins and mortifies {them}, but earnestly represses and crucifies them as sins and mortifies [them], but earnestly represses and crucifies them as sins and mortifies [them] through the Spirit, lest they rule or be performed (Rom. 6:12[37]; 7:15[38]; 8:13[39]; Gal. 5:24[40]), this very thing is a very sure sign of true and earnest repentance. And when the reborn pray that God would not impute their weaknesses to them but forgive for the sake of Christ, and at the same time believe and trust that Christ, as the true propitiation, would, in the sight of God, cover this their uncleanness with His innocence and obedience (Rom 4:7[41]; Psalm 32:1[42], 1 John 1:7[43], 2:1-2[44]), this also is a sure sign of truth and justifying faith. And where true faith, in earnest repentance, apprehends Christ in the Gospel, and relies on Him and is supported [by Him], there is no condemnation, but the pure grace of God, forgiveness of sins, and eternal salvation (Rom. 8:1; 1 John 1:9; Psalm 32:2)[45].  In this way there are and occur these venial sins in the reborn, for which they are not condemned, because, as Augustine says, they live under grace.

But what if we indulge and delight in evil lusts and seek occasions to give them free rein (Rom 6:12; Micah 2:1; James 1:15)[46]?

Then they become mortal sins (Rom. 8:13[47]; James 1:15), because there surely is no room for true repentance and faith where the lusts of the flesh are served and given rein, so that they break out into action. 1 Tim. 1:19; 5:8; 2 Peter 1:9[48]. It is the nature and particular character of true faith that it does not seek how to commit, continue, and heap up sins freely, but rather hungers and thirsts after the righteousness that releases and frees from sins. Therefore, where there is no true repentance, the Holy Spirit pronounces a very solemn sentence. Jer. 5:3, 9; Rom 2:5, 9; Luke 13:3; Rev. 2:5[49]. And where there is no true faith, there is neither Christ, nor the Holy Spirit, nor the grace of God, nor forgiveness of sins, nor any salvation. Therefore what? Doubtless the wrath of God, death, and eternal condemnation, unless the fallen are turned to God again. Col. 3:6; Rom 8:13[50]. As a result of this, therefore, and for this reason mortal sins occur in the reborn, namely when repentance, faith, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are driven out and lost.

How, then, should one deal with those who have fallen into this kind of sins?

There sins are not to be disguised by silence, camouflaged, excused, or defended, but solemnly and earnestly censured and rebuked. Isaiah 56:10; 58:1; Ezekiel 13:10, 18; 2 Tim. 4:2; Titus 11:13[51]: “Reprove them sharpl”,: in such a way that the fearful judgment of God is threatened on them; 1 Cor. 6:10; Gal. 5:21; Col. 3:6; 1 John 3:15; Mt. 11:21; 2 Peter 2:10.[52] For he that regards those people as true Christians, and charms and misrepresents them, not only miserably misleads them, but also makes himself partaker of their damnation. Isaiah 3:12; Jeremiah 8:11; 23:17; Ez. 3:17; 33:8[53]

Now, the preaching of repentance, rebuking sins, is the instrument and means by which God wants to lead fallen sinners back to the way and convert them. Jer. 26:2-3[54]. But if the wicked, neglecting this means, will persevere and continue in his wickedness, he indeed shall perish, but the word of the minister shall deliver his soul. Ezekiel 3:19[55].

But what if the fallen rise again by the grace of God and earnestly repent?

Then they are indeed to be received with joy and are to be restored and supported with the declaration of the forgiveness of sins. Jer. 3:12; 18:8; Ezekiel 18:21; 33:15; Matt. 18:13, 27; Luke 15:7.[56] This is what the examples of Scripture testify, e.g., Peter, David, the prodigal, the Corinthians and Galatians, And this indeed not only seven times, but seventy times seven times, Matt. 18:22.

Luther said that in this way a righteous man sins in every good work. But in this place Andrada says that this is not to be understood of mortal sins but of venial ones. And this, indeed, he says rightly. For mortal sins drive out faith and the Holy Spirit, and then men cease to be righteous; but venial sins are found also in the regenerate, yet they do not on that account cease to be just. This also is said correctly. But the question is how and why the regenerate are not condemned on account of venial sins, namely, because those men are blessed whose sins are covered and to whom their sins are not imputed Psalm 32:1-2; Rom. 4:7-8). For “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). The eleventh Tridentine chapter might also appear to lean toward this meaning, for it gives the following reason why the saints do not cease to be righteous in this life, although they fall into venial sins: “Because the righteous say humbly and truthfully, ‘Forgive us our debts.’” But Andrada, the interpreter of the council, does not grant this. For he contends that venial sins are in themselves so trifling and light that they are not against the perfection of love and that they cannot hinder perfect and complete Obedience to the Law, since, indeed, they are not worthy of the wrath of God and of condemnation but of pardon, even if God should enter into judgment with them. As Lindanus says: “The insignificant little faults of daily lapses are sprinklings and little spots which in themselves do not defile and contaminate but sprinkle the life of the Christian lightly as with fine dust, so that the works of the regenerate in this life are nevertheless in themselves perfect and in every respect unstained.” But that this is wrong has been demonstrated above. For although there are differences and degrees of sin, nevertheless, no sin is so insignificant and light that it is not ἄνομία, that is, a transgression of the divine law.

The Law pronounces a curse upon everyone who does not continue in all the things that are written in the book of the Law. For he who keeps the whole Law and yet offends in some one point is guilty of all. For not even one of the least commandments of God dare to be relaxed.

But we all fail in many ways according to James. The Law therefore accuses and condemns also those sins which are called venial, unless they are covered and not imputed for the sake of Christ. In one way, therefore, according to Augustine, that man is blessed who is without sin, which will be in the next life. In another way that man is blessed to whom the Lord does not impute sin, which happens in the believers in this life. However, there cannot be a complete and perfect fulfillment of the Law where man cannot be without sin.

• All sins are mortal in so far as all sins condemn.
• Sins are venial, not because they are not worthy of condemnation, but because they are forgiven by grace through faith.
• The proper distinction between mortal and venial sins is the distinction between ruling sins, which go against conscience and which drive out faith and grace, such as murder, adultery, and other active sins. Venial sins are sins of weakness, which inflict every work a Christian does. Of these we daily repent and ask God for forgiveness, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer.
• Not all sins are the same. Certain sins have more serious consequences.
• It is important to recognize the distinction between mortal and venial sins, so that we guard ourselves from mortal sins and daily repent.
• The problem with the Roman Catholic view of mortal and venial sin is that it does not encourage proper repentance and fear of God.

[1] Martin Chemnitz, Enchiridion 102-105.

[2] 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.; 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.

[3] 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

[4] 1 Cor. 4:4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

Psalm 32:6 Therefore let everyone who is godly     offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters,     they shall not reach him.

Psalm 130:3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,     O Lord, who could stand?

Psalm 143:3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;     he has crushed my life to the ground;     he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

[5] Romans 7:23-8:1: 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

[6] 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[7] Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,     whose sin is covered.

[8] 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

[9] 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

[10] 21 envy,[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

[11] 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

[12] 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.

[13] 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

[14] 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,

[15] 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

[16] 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,

[17] 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

[18] 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

[19] Pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth.

[20] John 19:11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” Matt 11:22: But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. Luke 12:47-48: 47 And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

[21] Deuteronomy 27:26 “‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ Gal. 3:10: 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” James 2:10: For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

[22] Matt. 5:19: Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

[23] Rom. 7:24: Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Gal. 5:17: For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

[24] 1 John 2:2: 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

[25] 1 Tim. 1:15: The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

[26] John 20:23  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

[27] Matt. 9:13: Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

[28] Luke 15:7: Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

[29] Luke 24:47: and that repentance for[a] the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

[30] Romans 5:20: Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

[31] Rom. 2:4-5:  Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

[32] Jer. 5:3: O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down,     but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them,     but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock;     they have refused to repent.

[33] 2 Cor. 13:5: Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

[34] James 1:14:  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

[35] Rom. 7:8: But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.

[36] Gal. 5:17: For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

[37] Rom. 6:12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.

[38] Rom. 7:15:  For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

[39] Rom. 8:13: For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

[40] Gal. 5:24: And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

[41] Rom 4:7: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,     and whose sins are covered;

[42] Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,     whose sin is covered.

[43] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

[44] My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

[45] Rom. 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.; 1 John 1:9:  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ; Psalm 32:2: Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,     and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

[46] Rom 6:12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.; Micah 2:1: Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand.; James 1:15: Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

[47] Romans 8:13:  For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

[48] 1 Tim. 1:19: holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,; 5:8:  But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.; 2 Peter 1:9: For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

[49] Jer. 5:3: O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent., 9: Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?; Rom 2:5: But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed., 9: There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,; Luke 13:3: No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.; Rev. 2:5: Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

[50] Col. 3:6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.; Rom 8:13: For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

[51] Isaiah 56:10: His watchmen are blind;     they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs;     they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down,     loving to slumber.; 58:1: “Cry aloud; do not hold back;     lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression,     to the house of Jacob their sins.; Ezekiel 13:10: Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash,, 18: and say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? 2 Tim. 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.; Titus 1:13: This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

[52] 1 Corinthians 6:1010 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:2121 envy,[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do[b] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Colossians 3:66 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.[a]

1 John 3:1515 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Matthew 11:2121 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

2 Peter 2:1010 and especially those who indulge[a] in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.

Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,

[53] Isaiah 3:12: My people—infants are their oppressors,     and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you     and they have swallowed up[a] the course of your paths.; Jeremiah 8:11: They have healed the wound of my people lightly,     saying, ‘Peace, peace,’     when there is no peace.; 23:17: They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”; Ez. 3:17: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.; 33:8: If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.

[54] Jer. 26:2-3: “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. 3 It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.

[55] Ezekiel 3:19:  But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

[56] Jer. 3:12: Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,

“‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger,     for I am merciful, declares the Lord; I will not be angry forever.

; 18:8:  and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.; Ezekiel 18:21: “But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.; 33:15: if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die.; Matt. 18:13: And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray., 27: And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.; Luke 15:7: Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

[57] Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent 1:649-650

Michaelmas

Matthew 18:1-11 and Revelation 12:7-12

Pastor James Preus

Trinity Lutheran Church

September 29, 2024

“I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.” We confess these words in the Nicene Creed. From Scripture we learn that God has created not only what we see, but also what we cannot see. For today’s sermon, I want to teach you about what we do not see. In 2 Kings 6, the Syrian army surrounded the city where Elisha lived to kill him, so Elisha’s servant despairing said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” to which Elisha responded, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then he prayed, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So, the Lord opened his eyes and he saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire! Thus, God rescued Elisha with the help of angels. Yet, the angels did not come into existence when Elisha’s servant saw them. The angels were already there! And so, Scripture teaches us, the angels are around us now, though we do not see them.

Hebrews 1 says of angels, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (vs. 14) And Psalm 103 calls them “mighty ones who do [God’s] Word.” They obey God’s commands and God commands them to protect us. Psalm 91 states, “He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” (vss. 10-11) And Psalm 34:7 declares, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” So, we should believe fervently that angels form a hedge around us, protecting us from evil and serving us for Christ’s sake. Yet, even more, we should start believing what Scripture says, so that we recognize that a lot more is going on than what we see.

On the cross we see a dying man, bleeding and weak. It’s a pitiful and gory sight, which inspires no hope of victory. Yet, Scripture tells us that while this is what we see physically, in the heavenly realm Michael and His angels are fighting Satan, the ancient dragon, and his evil angels, and that they cast Satan and his hordes of demons out of heaven by the blood of Christ shed for us! What we see with our eyes is not the whole picture.

Likewise, we saw little William get baptized this morning: a tiny infant had water poured on his head as a few words were spoken. To the unbeliever, a quaint tradition, which accomplishes nothing but getting a baby’s head wet. Yet, what does Scripture say? When Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ like a dove, and God the Father spoke from heaven, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!” And so, we should firmly believe that when little William was baptized, although we could not see it, the heavens indeed were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him and God the father declared William His own dear child. This is attested enough by Christ and the Apostles, who tell us that Baptism is a washing of water and the Spirit (John 3:3-6; Titus 3:5-8) and that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism (Acts 2:38), and that Baptism grants new birth and makes one an heir of Christ (Titus 3:5-8; Galatians 3:27, 29).  

So much more is going on around us than what we see with our eyes or sense with any of our senses. We must walk by faith not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). So, what else is true that we do not see with our eyes? The disciples asked Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And our Lord calls to Himself a little child and says, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever therefore humbles himself as this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name, receives Me.”

This is not what we expect, because this is not what we see. Children are not considered great. Rather children are despised. Our culture hates little children and looks at them as pests and even parasites. Sixty-five million babies have been murdered in the womb in our country in the last fifty some years. Eighty-five percent of abortions are done for unmarried women, meaning that if people would simply stop fornicating, we would have far fewer abortions. But our culture doesn’t care about children. Our nation cares more about protecting the “rights” of adults to sexual pleasure than it does about protecting children.

And while we can point the finger and condemn others for supporting the killing of these children, we in the church have accepted the major premise, which justifies the conclusion to kill children. We think it is appropriate to look at children as a problem and to not want them. We lie to ourselves and say that we want the church to grow, while we make sure that we don’t bring too many children to church, children to whom Christ said the kingdom of heaven belongs (Matthew 19:14). Now it is God alone who builds a household and grants children (Psalm 127; Gen. 30:2). So, you must never pass judgment on others for not having children, because you do not know from whom God has withheld children according to His own purpose or what physical ailment may prevent children. However, we must change our attitude toward children and have a biblical attitude toward them. God says, “Be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:28; 9:1) and Psalm 27 declares, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.” And Psalm 28, “your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.”  And our Lord Jesus commands, “Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

So, we should put away the worldly wisdom, which has decimated our churches over the past several decades, and stop telling young married couples to hold off on having kids or stop having kids, so they can make more money. And instead, encourage young married couples to welcome the children God chooses to give them, trusting in God to protect and provide for them, and bring them to church to be baptized into Christ and raised in the true Christian faith, because this kingdom belongs to them. We see little children as expenses who prevent us from doing what we want to do. God sees them as the greatest in His kingdom, as little princes and princesses, lords and ladies, heirs to His kingdom. See that you do not despise them or hinder them from Christ’s kingdom, because their angels always behold the face of God your Father in heaven. And they are powerful to act.

Unless you become like such a child, you will by no means enter God’s kingdom. You become like a child by humbling yourself, repenting of your sins, repenting of your own wisdom and knowledge and pride, and accepting the wisdom of Christ. That is the only way to receive the forgiveness of sins through faith. Saving faith can only abide in the humble. And if you humble yourself like a child, you too will have an angel, who always beholds the face of God, who will fight for you and protect you.

Yet, this brings us to another topic. What do we need these guardian angels for? Michael declares from heaven, “But woe to you, o earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (Rev. 12:12) These angels are not just neat. We need them! If God withheld the protection of the angels, we would be devoured by Satan and become his slaves (1 Peter 5:8). And so, you need to recognize the spiritual battle taking place around you for your very soul! So, we should always pray that God send His angels to protect us.

Yet, you must understand that what you watch in movies about angels and demons is fiction. To recognize Satan and his demons and to avail yourself of the assistance of the angels, you must look to Scripture. Jesus tells us that Satan is the father of lies and that there is no truth in him (John 8:44). This means that the weapons of Satan and his demons are words. Satan seeks to murder your soul with lies that you can hear with your ears. Scripture also tells us that the Law was given through the intercession of angels (Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19). And from the conception, birth, and resurrection of Christ, the Good News was always proclaimed by an angel (Luke 1:26-38; 2:8-20; Matthew 28:5-6). So, we know that we find the help of angels in God’s Word, both in the Law and the Gospel.

So, as you fight back against the devils, you must train yourself to recognize what your eyes do not see. While the world assures you that looking at certain things on the internet or in movies is harmless titillation, Scripture warns you to turn your eyes from worthless things, because Satan and all forms of evil may enter through your eyes and make your whole body dark (Psalm 119:37; Matthew 6:22-23). So, when Jesus tells you to cut off your hand or foot or pluck out your eye if it causes you to stumble, He is not telling you to mutilate yourself. He is saying that you should cut off anything in your life that would hinder you from entering the kingdom of heaven. Satan and his hordes will use pornography, drunkenness, immoral friends, and sinful habits to pull you away from Christ’s kingdom and make you a child of hell. Satan will lie about how harmless these things are. And since Satan is a liar, he will above all use false preaching and teaching to draw you away from Christ and His kingdom.

So, if you want the protection of the angels, where do you go? If Satan uses lies, then run to the truth! The angels obey God’s Word, so they are always present where God’s Word is proclaimed! They fight for you for the sake of Jesus’ blood, so the angels are ever prepared where the Gospel of Christ’s crucifixion is proclaimed. Michael declares in Revelation 12 that those who are accused by Satan, but now rejoice in heaven conquered Satan with the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even to death (vss. 10-11). And does not Christ avail you of that same Satan-slaying weapon? Did your Lord Jesus not say, “This is my body given for you; this is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”? And did St. Paul not tell you, “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”? Yes, and it is by this blood of Christ, and by this word of our testimony that our Lord died for us, that we too conquer that great dragon, that ancient serpent, who with his lies and slander seeks to drag us to hell. This is why we rejoice with angels and archangels every time we receive the Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood.

What you see is not all of reality. In fact, much of what you see, Satan uses to distract you from the truth. So, we hold fast not to what we see, but what we have heard from Christ in Holy Scripture. And we know that when we hold fast to Christ’s Word, in church and at home and at work, holy angels go with us to protect us from every evil. What is great and mighty and wealthy in this world is a delusion. Christ’s little children are greater than any power on earth. For them fight a mightier army than any nation on earth could muster. And God will send this army of angels to bring His children to their rightful inheritance, purchased with the blood of Christ. Woe to anyone, man or devil, who tries to stop them. Amen.  

I walk with angels all the way, They shield me and befriend me.

All Satan’s pow’r is held at bay When heav’nly hosts attend me;

They are my sure defense, All fear and sorrow, hence!

Unharmed by foes, do what they may, I walk with angels all the way. Amen.

The title of this topic might seem to be needlessly provocative, but it addresses a real theological issue in the Church. When Christ instituted the pastoral office, He instituted it as an exclusively male office. A pastor is a male job, not a female job. For a woman to usurp the office of pastor is for her to transgress a gender barrier established by Christ. The promotion of female pastors is in essence transgenderism. And when we make this connection, we see why most churches that have female pastors have also embraced homosexuality, so-called same-sex marriage, and now transgenderism.

But before we go further, let us pray:

Enlighten our minds, we beseech Thee, O God, by the Spirit which proceedeth from Thee, that, as Thy Son hath promised, we may be led into all truth; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord.

So, why can’t women be pastors? Simply put, the Bible forbids women to be pastors. We must start with Jesus. Jesus instituted the pastoral office. He did this when He called His disciples, gave them authority to forgive sins, and sent them out to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments (Luke 10:16; John 20:19-23; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:44-47). Jesus sent only men to preach. All twelve of His Apostles were men (Matthew 10:1-4). Why did Jesus choose only men? Did He not have women followers? The Bible teaches that Jesus had many female followers (Matthew 27:55; Luke 8:2-3). These women loved Jesus, and Jesus loved them. Why didn’t He make Mary, Martha, Joanna, or Susanna apostles? Jesus certainly loved these women. He even honored some of them as being the first witnesses of His resurrection. But He did not send any of them to publicly preach and teach. Jesus certainly wasn’t afraid of going against the social norms of that day or upsetting the Jews, who would have been opposed to female rabbis. Jesus did not call women to be preachers, because He did not want women to be preachers.

It is important that we started with Jesus, before we got to the prohibitions by Paul, because starting with the institution helps us understand why Paul makes prohibitions. When arguing against women pastors, we often jump immediately to 1 Timothy 2:12 or 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. And many critics and proponents of women’s ordination will then attack Paul or his letters to defend women’s ordination. But it is Jesus who placed only men into the ministry. He chose the disciples. He sent out the apostles. And He did not send women to preach, even though He had many wonderful, pious women to choose from.

Still, before we get to Paul’s explicit prohibition of women preaching and performing the pastoral office, we should look at how Scripture describes the pastoral office.

• Under-Shepherd of the Chief Shepherd
  • Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:17)
  • Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood. (Acts 20:28)
  • So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4)
• The hearers (sheep) are supposed to submit to the under shepherd as to Christ.
  • Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)
  • Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17)
• The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseermust be above reproach, the husband of one wife,sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:1-7)
• “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:1-2

The reason for reading these passage before going into the prohibitions given by Paul, is so that we see that Paul’s prohibitions are necessary and they are what we would expect from what we already know about the pastoral office. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if we did not have Paul’s explicit prohibition of women teaching and speaking publicly in Church in 1 Timothy 2:12 and in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, the church would still not have women pastors and would have sound biblical reasons not to have women pastors.

• Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control. 1 Timothy 2:11-15
• As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 14:33b-37

The reasons Paul gives for prohibiting women from teaching and publicly speaking in church is that Adam was formed first, Eve was deceived, and that women will be saved in child-birth.

• Adam being formed first shows the order of creation. When God created Adam and then Eve, he made the husband the head of the wife. This is shown in 1 Corinthians 11 and Ephesians 5:
  • But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife[a]is her husband,[b] and the head of Christ is God. 1 Corinthians 11:3
  • Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.[a] 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Ephesians 5:22-33
  • In marriage, a husband represents Christ to his wife. The wife takes the place of the church. The husband provides and gives, the wife receives. This is the model Scripture gives us for Christ and His Church as well as a husband with his wife. In the church, the pastor fills the roll as husband and father. The congregation fills the roll as bride. For a woman to fill the roll of pastor is for a woman to stand in the place of Christ. It would be a lesbian relationship.
• Note also, that St. Paul explains that the woman was deceived first. Why does he say this? I often hear people say, women would make great pastors, but God just says no. It’s as if God made an arbitrary rule, and we just need to follow it. This also leads to permitting women to do all sorts of activities in the church, which St. Paul clearly forbids, but it is justified, because the women are not ordained. So, women will still publicly teach, read lessons, distribute communion, etc. However, nowhere in Scripture does it say that women would make good pastors. It says that they make good mothers. And there are many examples of good godly mothers in Scripture, including Eunice and Lois, the mother and grandmother of Timothy, who taught him the faith as a child. There are examples of faithful sisters in Christ, who have corrected erring brothers, like Priscilla correcting Apollos after taking him aside with her husband Aquilla. But the Bible does not say that women could make good pastors, but God just says no. Rather, St. Paul is clearly indicating that women would make poor pastors. Eve was deceived. This may sound harsh and sexist. I am not saying that women are not smart. I am saying that God did not bestow on women the necessary attributes to be pastors, in the same way that God did not bless women with the necessary attributes to be husbands and fathers. Children need a mother. A husband needs a wife. Women are good at being wives and mothers. This is why St. Paul says that women will be saved in childbearing. He does not mean that giving birth will save them. Rather, he is saying that the work God has given them to do as they follow their course of salvation through faith is ordinarily as wives and mothers. Paul is making a direct connection to the office of pastor and the office of husband and father. Women make great wives and mothers. But a woman cannot be a husband or a father. And God does not give women the necessary attributes to be good husbands and fathers. This used to be common knowledge. Not so much anymore. Yet, the reason a woman does not make a good husband or father is the same reason she does not make a good pastor. A woman does not make a good pastor in the same way two lesbians cannot replace a mother and a father as parents for a child.

Although a few churches adopted women’s ordination in the 19th century, it ramped up in the 20th century to the point that every mainline Protestant denomination had women’s ordination before the 21st century. Most churches reached this conclusion by either denying that Paul wrote 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14, or by saying that Paul did write them, but they are not inspired by the Holy Spirit. Others spoke as if God caused Paul to write these things for that time, but they do not fit in our time. And some even try to reconcile women’s ordination with the words of Paul, as if Paul was unclear in what he meant.

What is clear is that Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, forbids women from carrying out the office of pastor, namely, teaching and preaching. So, how have so many denominations embraced the ordination of women?

Feminism, which blurs the lines between men and women, brought about a cultural shift, so that women’s ordination was demanded. It didn’t matter what argument was made to get there. Feminism demanded women’s ordination, because anything a man could do, so could a woman. Anything entrusted to a man, must also be entrusted to a woman.

Church bodies, which have embraced women’s ordination according to the dictates of feminist culture were also, by and large, the church bodies, which embraced same-sex “marriage,” and now transgenderism. The ELCA officially accepted homosexual clergy in 2009 and a few years ago made “history” with the first “transgender” bishop. One could simply blame the ELCA’s propensity for going with the progressive crowd. However, it is not just that. The acceptance of female pastors necessarily leads to the acceptance of homosexuality and transgenderism, because women’s ordination itself transgresses sex and gender.

A woman pastor is a transvestite. She is dressing up as the opposite sex. It is like a man wearing a dress. Our culture has so bought into feminism, that it does not recognize the bending of gender until it goes to extremes. Today we see men dressing as little girls and going into women’s restrooms and locker rooms. Even secularists are saying, “enough!” There is even a new term called TERF. It stands for Trans-excluding Radical Feminist. It is supposed to be a pejorative against feminists, who oppose trans rights. However, feminism built the groundwork for transgenderism. It fought to tear down the cultural norms which distinguished man and woman. Same-sex “marriage” is absurd. But most people today do not recognize the absurdity, because they do not recognize men and women as not only different, but complementary. A head needs a body. You can’t have two heads without a body. That isn’t a person. You can’t have two bodies without a head. That isn’t a person either. So, you cannot have a marriage with two men or two women. This doesn’t even get to the fact that two men or two women cannot have children!

The arguments for women’s ordination are the same arguments for same-sex “marriage” and transgenderism. A person’s sex does not determine the limits of what that person can or should do. Everything depends on how a person feels. So, if a woman feels that she is called to be a pastor, no one has the right to tell her that she cannot. Her biological sex cannot bar her. Likewise, if a man is in love with a man and wants to do unspeakable things with another man, they should be able to call their union a marriage. It doesn’t matter that fifty percent of what is essential for a marriage, a woman, is not there. It doesn’t matter that a same-sex union is by nature childless; children are no longer an essential purpose of marriage. And since the marriage bed is already defiled, the purchasing of biological material or children is justified for the sake of equal rights.

Transgenderism denies God’s clear word, “In the beginning, God made them male and female.” (Mark 10:6) Transgenderism denies nature and biology, insisting that there is no real difference between the sexes. Transgenderism insists that a person determines his own identity and that others must accept that identity, even if it causes harm to others. The same is true about women pastors. The practice of women pastors denies God’s clear Word, “I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man…” (1 Timothy 2:12) Women pastors deny nature and biology, insisting that God did not make men with certain strengths over women and give men and women different roles in marriage, church, and society. Women pastors insists that a person determines her own identity and that others must accept that identity, even if it causes harm to others. The church did not need women pastors. The church needed mothers to cares for their children at home, as St. Paul instructs older women to teach younger women in Titus 2, “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” The church needed wives to help their husbands and encourage them to lead, as Sarah did for Abraham. The church needed husbands and fathers to not only preach and teach as pastors, but to set an example of how to be a good husband and father to the men in the church, as St. Paul instructs Timothy in 1 Timothy 4, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Transgenderism is an attack on the order of creation. It isn’t about a man who feels feminine being comfortable in his body or a woman, who feels masculine feeling comfortable in her body. It is about discarding any structure of sex in any part of life. This is why many of them identify as they/them or even some made up pronoun, calling themselves gender-nonbinary. They hate that God created us from the beginning as male and female.

Yes, St. Paul says in Galatians 3, that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and female, for you are all one in Christ.” But this speaks of our freedom in the Gospel to be heirs of Christ. Paul is not calling for the destruction of God’s creation. He is not even calling for the abolition of slave and master or employee and employer. Rather, he continues to teach that slaves should obey their master, children their parents, and wives should submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5-6).

Transgenderism will destroy itself, whether or not it destroys our civilization first. It is cultural suicide. Yet, we in the Church must recognize that women’s ordination is part of the transgender movement. They are both part of a movement to deny the reality of God’s creation and the clear words of God. But when we accept God’s order of creation, not only do we conform to biblical practices like only male pastors, but the household is put in order, the church supports the godly structure of the home, and men in society step up to their godly roles as protectors and providers, and women and children are protected. And then we see better the image of Christ and His Church, when we see pastors caring for their parishes as a husband and father, and fathers caring for their wives and children as Christ cares for the Church.

Trinity 17

Our Hearts Are Restless until They Find Their Rest in Christ

Luke 14:1-11

Pastor James Preus

Trinity Lutheran Church

September 22, 2024

St. Augustine begins his famous work, Confessions with a prayer to God in which He says, “Man, a little piece of Your creation, desires to praise You, a human being ‘bearing his mortality with him (2 Cor. 4:10), carrying with him the witness of his sin and the witness that You ‘resist the proud’ (1 Peter 5:5). Nevertheless, to praise You is the desire of man, a little piece of Your creation. You stir man to take pleasure in praising You, because You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

Our heart is restless until it finds its rest in the Lord. This truth is fundamental to understanding the Sabbath. Sabbath means rest. Moses records in Genesis 2, “And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:2-3)

God blessed the seventh day and made it a day of rest. Yet, man fell into sin. St. Paul tells us that the Law was added because of transgressions (Gal. 3:19). Moses writes in Exodus 20, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” When man sinned, he fell out of God’s Sabbath. He could not find rest in the Lord on account of his sin. So, God added the Commandment to remember the Sabbath Day, so that His people might find rest in Him. But the Commandment did not give them rest, because of their unbelief. Because of their hardness of heart and rebellion, the Lord says in Psalm 95, “Therefore I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” (Psalm 95:11)

Hebrews chapter 4 explains this, “For we who have believed enter that rest, as He has said, ‘As I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter My rest,’” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.’ And again, in this passage He said, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again He appoints a certain day, ‘Today,’ saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from His.” (Hebrews 4:3-10)

The command to rest failed to give the people rest! This is what St. Paul says in Romans 3, “Through works of the Law no human being will be justified in God’s sight, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin.” It could be paraphrased, “Through works of the Law no human being finds rest in God, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin.” The Law does not grant rest. Rest can only be received through faith, because it is God who accomplishes the work.

This sets us up for our Gospel lesson. A ruler of the Pharisees invited Jesus to dinner on the Sabbath, and they watched Him closely to see whether He would break the Sabbath. A man suffering from dropsy was there. “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Jesus asks. And they are silent. Their silence shows their ignorance of the Law and of the Sabbath. They think they find Sabbath rest in their works. And they gloat over the possibility that Jesus will fail to find that rest by showing compassion to a suffering man. Their desire for the Sabbath is evil. But Jesus’ desire is good. He heals the man, breaking the Sabbath in the eyes of the Pharisees, but making it holy in the eyes of God.

The man with dropsy is a picture of our sinful condition. Dropsy is known as a rich man’s illness, because it is caused by overindulgence. It causes the body to retain water. The man’s body retains water, so that he is swollen and bloated, yet he cannot quench his thirst. His condition is a result of overindulgence, yet it presses him into further indulgence until he dies. This is the state of sin. We do not find rest in our sin. We do not find rest in our ability to keep the Law. We find rest only in Jesus, who rescues us from our sin.

The man with dropsy is a picture of us. We are heavy laden with our sinful condition. We have consumed too much, and it is killing us. Yet, the disease of sin drives us to keep consuming more and more until we die.  We crave that which kills us. We want to be freed from it, but it drives us on and on. We find no rest in our sin, in our lust, hatred, and craving after earthly pleasure. Yet, sin is a slave master, which drives us further on. We need to find rest for our souls. We need to be forgiven and freed from our sin and the guilt which presses upon us because of it. Jesus declares in Matthew 11, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

As Jesus healed the man of dropsy from the condition, which was suffocating his very heart, so Jesus heals us of our sin and lifts the heavy burden off our conscience. Jesus did this by doing the work of re-creation. On the first day, He entered Jerusalem triumphantly to shouts of Hosanna. On the fifth day, He washed His disciples’ feet. On the sixth day, He labored on the cross until His work was done. And on the seventh day, He took His rest in the tomb. And on the first day of a new week, He rose from the dead, having taken all our sins away, so that He might give us a renewed Sabbath in the Lord to be received through faith. The first Sabbath was already holy, but we could not enter it because of our sin and unbelief. So, Jesus came to take away our sins, so that we may enter God’s rest through faith in Him.

God gave the Sabbath commandment, not because He thought we could enter His rest through our own works, but to draw us to faith in Christ, who would win for us true rest. This is why St. Paul writes to the Colossians in chapter 2, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body belongs to Christ.” The body belongs to Christ. The Sabbath regulations of the Old Testament were a shadow. Jesus is the body, which cast the shadow. We no longer need the shadow. We have the body. This is why Christians do not observe the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament, including the prohibition to work on Saturday.

However, we do not ignore the commandment. Why did God forbid them to work on Saturday? So that they could not only rest their bodies, but also find rest for their souls by meditating on God’s Word, as Martin Luther writes in his hymn, “And put aside the work you do, so that God may work in you.” And so, we still have use for this commandment today. Martin Luther explains the meaning of this commandment, “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God, so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.” God still commands us to stop working, so that we may listen to His Word and learn it. To refuse to stop working and take a physical rest is foolish. To refuse to listen to God’s preaching and Word is wicked. Jesus said to those Jews who refused to listen to His preaching, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (John 8:47) Yet Jesus makes this wonderful promise to those who gladly hear His Word and preaching, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my Word, and my Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (John 14:23)

But outward observances of the law, even coming to church, does not give you Sabbath rest if you do not have faith. The rest Jesus seeks to give us is not simply physical rest, it is inner spiritual rest. The Lord spoke to Isaiah in chapter 66, “what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? … But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My Word.” The one who finds rest in Christ is the one who is humble and contrite in spirit, the one who is sorry for his sins and trembles at God’s Word. The one who finds rest in Christ is like the man with dropsy, who is weighed down with a heavy burden, which he cannot lift off himself. The Pharisees, who exulted themselves did not get this. They found rest in themselves, because they thought they had fulfilled the commandment. But their rest was fake, just as the pleasure that the man with dropsy indulged in was fake pleasure, which led him to the point of death.

If your heart is to find true rest in the Lord, you must humble yourself. You must recognize that your works are not good enough, that you have overindulged in the fading pleasures of this world, and that your sin bars you from any true rest. And when you recognize that, you are prepared to find true rest in Christ. Christ did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. He did not come to give rest to those satisfied with themselves, but to those who are heavy-burdened and who seek rest from the Lord.

The Apostles appointed Sunday for the day of worship for two reasons. First, to show that we are free from the shadow of the Old Testament and cannot be judged for not observing the seventh day or any other ceremonial law. Second, because Christ rose from the dead on Sunday, so we should know that we only find true rest in Christ. You should go to church every Sunday, because the Lord commands us to hear His Word. It is a sin to skip church, because it is despising God’s preaching and Word. Yet, much more, you should go to church every Sunday to find rest in Christ. You find rest in the Lord by hearing the words of Christ and believing His promise of forgiveness. We do not come to church to judge one another and see who has kept the Sabbath better. We come to church as dropsied sinners coming to the banquet where Jesus is, so He can heal us and satisfy that one unquenchable craving. Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in the Lord. We find that rest today in the words of Jesus. And we believe that we will enjoy that rest in perfect holiness in eternity with Him. Amen.

Gospel: Luke 7:11-17 

11 Soon afterward [Jesus] went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. 

Trinity 16 

Luke 7:11-17 

Pastor James Preus 

Trinity Lutheran Church 

September 15, 2024 

Laugh to scorn the gloomy grave 

And at death no longer tremble; 

He, the Lord, who came to save 

Will at last His own assemble.  

They will go their Lord to meet,  

Treading death beneath their feet. (LSB 741:7, Otto von Schwerin, Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense)  

The woman was a widow. That’s sad. But most married women are widowed eventually. She’s following the coffin of her only son. Now, that’s heartbreaking. Children aren’t supposed to die before their parents. Now, after this woman’s husband has died, death has taken away her only son. She’s alone and will likely need to depend on the charity of others to survive. Our Lord Jesus sees her and he has compassion on her. Yet, what Jesus does with this compassion is what is truly remarkable. He says to the mother of the dead man, “Do not weep,” which certainly would be a pho pas at any other funeral. Surely, at her son’s funeral, a woman is permitted to cry! But Jesus backs up his bold words by touching the coffin and saying to the dead man, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” And the young man rises from the dead, starts talking, and Jesus returns the man alive and well to his mother.  

What wonderful compassion our Lord Jesus has! Would that He would show such compassion today! Do we not have parents in our midst who have held the lifeless body of their child? Who would give all they have to see their child start moving again, open his eyes, and talk? Who would be forever thankful to Jesus if He would give their dead child back to them alive and well! Yes, we have such parents today, such pitiable mothers and fathers, even widows and widowers, who are in need of this comfort. Why doesn’t Jesus raise their dead? Or, could He at least keep them from dying! Where is Jesus’ compassion today?  

Scripture only records Jesus raising three people from the dead: Jairus’s twelve-year-old daughter in Capernaum, Lazarus of Bethany, and this young man from Nain. Certainly, there were others He raised, along with His disciples (Matthew 10:8). Yet, it is also certain that there were many more Jesus did not raise. Yet, this does not prove a lack of compassion on our Lord’s part, nor a lack of power over death. Rather, to understand this, we must learn that there are three types of death: 1) physical death, from which Jesus raised the young man from Nain; 2) eternal death, which is suffered by all in hell; and 3) spiritual death, into which all are conceived and born, which means they are dead to sin and incapable of choosing or pleasing God. When you recognize all three of these types of death, you realize that the raising of the young man in Nain was the least remarkable and least compassionate resurrection, which Jesus demonstrates in this Gospel lesson. The young man would later die again. Yet, there are worse deaths than physical death, from which Jesus seeks to save us.  

The cause of death, whether it is physical, spiritual, or eternal, is all the same: sin. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). God told Adam that on the day he disobeyed Him and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would surely die (Gen. 2:17). Yet, Adam and Eve did not physically die on the day they ate of the forbidden fruit. However, their physical deaths began. They spiritually died. And had God not converted them through the promise of Christ, they would have died eternally as well in hell. The cause of our spiritual death is sin. We are conceived and born in sin (Psalm 51:5). St. Paul writes to the Ephesians in chapter 2, “you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” And to the Romans, he wrote, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12) We die because of sin. If you want to get rid of death, you need to get rid of sin.  

And this is where Jesus shows His greatest compassion. We think Jesus was displaying His “human side” when He felt compassion on the mother. But this was not Jesus showing His human nature, but His divine nature. It is God’s nature to show compassion. That we feel compassion reflects our Creator. God showed His greatest compassion when He sent His Son to take all our sin upon Himself, and suffer and die in our place because of it. This is what God declared through the prophet Isaiah, “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and by His stripes, we were healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray, we have turned, every one, to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6) Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied of his son, declaring that he would “give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the compassionate mercy of our God.” (Luke 1:77-78) God’s compassion is shown in how He takes away our sins.  

And so, when Jesus raised that young man from the dead, He foreshadowed His own resurrection from the dead, when He would forever nail our sins to His cross, sins, which lock us in darkness and in the shadow of death. At Nain, Jesus raised one man from physical death. Yet, with this resurrection, He foreshadowed how He would win salvation from eternal death for all.  

Although Jesus won eternal life for all, not all receive it, because it can only be received through faith. Unless one is risen from spiritual death, which prevents a person from believing in Jesus and being saved, then he goes from physical death into eternal death in hell. So, we learn that not only is eternal death more severe than physical death, but spiritual death is much worse than physical death. For the Christian who suffers from physical death is immediately granted eternal life in Christ and will soon enjoy the resurrection of the body. But the spiritually dead can only expect eternal death and punishment.  

And so, we see that Jesus performed an even more compassionate and praiseworthy miracle at that funeral in Nain than He did by raising the man from physical death. What was the response of the people? They praised God and declared that a great prophet had risen among them and that God had visited His people. These are not simply generic praises of God. They are filled with faith and hope in God’s promises.  

In Deuteronomy 18, the Lord spoke to Moses, ‘I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I commanded Him.” This was a Messianic Prophecy, meaning, it prophesied of the coming Messiah/Christ. When the crowd declared that God raised up a great prophet from among them, they were confessing that God had fulfilled His promise to Moses and that Jesus was the Christ. Again, the crowd said that God had visited His people. How has God visited His people? Christ Jesus is God! God said through the prophets that He would visit His people when they were in captivity in Babylon, to bring them back to their land (Jeremiah 29:10). Now God visits His people in a greater way. Again, Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied of this when he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people, and raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of David His servant.” (Luke 1:68-69) This horn of salvation through whom God would visit and redeem His people is Jesus Christ, the Son of David. So, by raising this young man from physical death, Christ brought about that many would be raised from spiritual death by being brought to faith in Christ, and therefore, would be rescued from eternal death in hell.  

Only Jesus can raise the dead, because only Jesus can take our sins away. When Jesus raised that young man from Nain from physical death, He demonstrated His power to raise Himself from the dead after taking all our sins away on the cross. And when Jesus converted the crowd to believe that He was their Messiah, He rescued them from eternal death by granting them faith in the only One who can take away their sins.  

We cannot bring our loved ones who have physically died to Jesus today for Him to raise them up. Yet, that does not mean that our Lord does not have compassion on us today. Jesus has compassion on us now in the midst of the shadow of death. He can comfort us in a way that no one else can, as St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring to Him those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thess. 4:13-14) Christ gives us comfort in death, because He has defeated death by taking away all our sins.  

I love Jesus and I have devoted my life to telling people about Jesus, because only Jesus can comfort me when I am oppressed by things beyond my control. Only Jesus can comfort me when I lament my sins, which I cannot undo, because He alone died to take them away. Only Jesus can comfort me in the face of death, because only Christ undoes death. I love Jesus, because He is not only my Savior, but my children’s Savior. He comforts me not only as I face my own death, but as I face the death of my wife and children, regardless whether that precedes my own. Because Christ Jesus is their Savior too, as St. Peter declared in His first Pentecost sermon, “The promise is for you and for your children.”  

We cannot bring our physically dead to Jesus for Him to raise them to life for a few more decades. But we can bring our children to Jesus, for them to be raised from spiritual death and to be sustained in spiritual life, so that physical death will lose its sting and eternal death will be completely undone. Christ Jesus shows His compassion today in raising us from spiritual death, so that we may enjoy eternal life without fear of physical death or any of the sorrow associated with it. Jesus shows us this compassion in Baptism, where we are buried with Christ and united to Him in His resurrection (Romans 6:3-5). Jesus shows this compassion through the preaching of the Gospel, where we hear the good news that Christ has taken away all our sins, which is the sting of death. Through the preaching of the forgiveness of sins, we are strengthened in spiritual life, so that eternal death cannot harm us. Christ comforts us today by robbing physical death of its power to gloat over us. Rather, Christ gives us the right to mock death and call it just a little nap, because Christ will raise those who belong to Him from physical death, as a mother wakes her little child up from a nap. And they will enjoy eternal life with Him.  

Then take comfort and rejoice,  

For His members Christ will cherish.  

Fear not, they will hear His voice;  

Dying, they will never perish;  

For the very grave is stirred 

When the trumpet’s blast is heard. (LSB 741:6, Otto von Schwerin, Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense) 

Amen.  

Gospel: Matthew 6:24-34

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

25  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34  “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Trinity 15

Matthew 6:24-34

Serve the Better God

Pastor James Preus

Trinity Lutheran Church

September 8, 2024

Jesus instructs us that we cannot serve two masters, therefore, we cannot serve God and mammon. Mammon is earthly wealth. You will either love and cling to God and hate and despise Mammon, or you will love and cling to Mammon and hate and despise God. So, you have a choice of which god you will serve. Will you serve mammon, the god of earthly wealth? Or will you serve God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth? Jesus presents us with a perfectly logical argument why God is the better Master to serve and why we should stop serving the false god Mammon.

First, how do you serve Mammon? You serve Mammon by being anxious, that is, by caring for the things of this life. In other words, by worrying. But Jesus tells us not to worry, not to be anxious, because our heavenly Father cares for all our needs without us offering incense to Mammon with our worrying. He begins by using the logical argument, that if the greater is true, so is the lesser. Consider the birds of the air. They do not toil as you do. They don’t stay up at night worrying. Yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Of how much more value are you than they? Study the lilies of the field. They do not spin nor sow, but your Father in heaven clothes them more majestically than Solomon the Great. Is it not self-evident that God cares more for you than the grass of the field which is gone tomorrow?

Did God create the birds in His own image? Did He give them dominion over the earth? Did God take on the flesh and nature of birds to become their Redeemer? Did He send His Son to die for the flowers in the field? No. But He has done that for you! God the Son took on our human flesh and blood, lived under the Law for our sake, and was crucified for our sins! How much more does God care for you than for birds and grass! And yet, your Father in heaven does not fail to care for these lesser creatures. How much more will He provide for you!

In that same vein, God has given us much greater blessings than food for the belly and clothing for the body. St. Paul employs this same logical argument of Christ’s when he writes to the Romans in chapter 8, “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” (vs. 32) If God did not withhold His own Son from bitter pain and death for your sake, would He hold back from you any good thing? Would He deprive you of food and drink, shoes, and clothing? If God has remembered you from before the foundation of the earth, will He forget you today? If God chose you in Christ from before He created the earth for eternal life, will He fail to keep your life today? He who offers the Holy Spirit without measure for drink for your soul (John 3:34; 7:37-39), will He fail to give you water to drink for your body? He who offers His own Son as food and drink for our souls and invites you to an eternal wedding banquet, will He fail to feed your body today? He who has clothed your soul in a robe of righteousness and gave you Christ Himself as a holy garment (Isaiah 61:10; Gal. 3:27), will He fail to clothe your body today?

And so, you see, if you truly believed the Gospel of Christ, you would put away all worrying and anxiety. If God gives you much more than you desire for the soul, He will not fail to give you the lesser things for the body. If He cares for that which is of lesser value in His eyes, He will certainly care for you, who are the apple of His eye. This is why Jesus repeatedly calls God our Father. Even an earthly father will give good gifts to his children, even though he is evil and weak in his nature (Luke 11:13). How much more will your heavenly Father, who is good and all-powerful give you what you ask for?

So, you see that your heavenly Father is a much better God than that imposter Mammon. While Mammon demands that you worry, yet promises nothing in return, your heavenly Father bids you to stop worrying and to cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). It is God, who provides for all you need in this life. Yes, He commands you to work, but not to worry. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil, for He gives to His beloved sleep.” (Psalm 127) Do not think that your work has given you all that you have. There are many who have worked much harder than you and have had less. And there are those who have worked far less and have more. It is God who provides according to His own generosity at His discretion and according to His purpose.

Finally, Christ crushes the false worship you offer Mammon by pointing out that it is utterly useless. Who, by worrying, ever added an hour to his life or a cubit to his stature? Yet, those who put away worry do not lack any good thing. Jesus wins us over to worship the true God with the comforting words, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” Mammon promises nothing, but forces you to worry. The Father promises you everything, and tells you not to worry.

Yet, there are some of you who think you do not serve Mammon, because you do not worry. You have enough food and drink and clothing. You sleep like a baby at night after telling your soul that you have goods stored up for many years, so relax, eat, drink, and be merry (Luke 12:19). Yet, do not think that you are not worshiping Mammon with this attitude. While Mammon tortures most of its followers with anxiety and worry that they will not have enough, it drugs others into a complacent stupor with the riches and pleasures of this life until it finally chokes out the word of God from their hearts (Luke 8:14). Remember, that word for be anxious does not simply mean to worry. It means to care for.

So, what do you care for? What do you serve? The true God or mammon? Are you more concerned with increasing your earthly possessions than storing up treasures in heaven? Do set your mind more on that next vacation, that next vehicle, that next financial milestone, than you do in your own sanctification? Do you plan more for your children’s financial future, for their worldly education, future career, or even their hobbies and sports than you do for their eternal salvation? You could leave your children and grandchildren millions of dollars, yet leave them in the greatest poverty without the kingdom of heaven. Do you take salvation for granted and serve the things that are perishing instead fighting the good fight of faith (2 Timothy 4:7)? Remember Jesus’ solemn warning, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

It is easy to strive after earthly riches. And you will have much company doing it. That is why no one bats an eye when you set aside worship and God’s Word to pursue the pleasures of this life. Yet, that broad way leads to destruction. But the narrow hard way involves crucifying your flesh, repenting of your covetousness and love of earthly riches, and to seek after the heavenly treasure Christ has won for you. It is hard, because it involves daily repentance. It is narrow, because only through faith in Christ may you enter it. Yet, it is the only way that leads to everlasting life.

Many, by striving after riches, have wandered away from the faith (1 Timothy 6:10). It is hard to confront your love of money and riches. It is difficult to tear yourself away from service to Mammon. Yet, when you turn from it, you have the certainty of eternal riches in heaven. Jesus warned earlier in His Sermon on the Mount not to store up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up your treasure in heaven where it is safe, concluding, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

And this is what Jesus is teaching us about: The service of your heart. You may have nothing, but in your heart are the riches of this world as you worry and long after them. You may be rich like King David, yet call yourself poor and needy (Psalm 70:5). That’s what it means to be poor in spirit and so possess the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3). You may not worry, because you think you have everything you need in earthly possessions. Yet everything you love will be taken from you. And since you filled your heart with these perishable treasures, you will be locked out of the true riches in heaven. If you sow after that which is perishable, you will reap corruption.

This is why Jesus concludes, “Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness, and the rest will be added unto you.” He is speaking about your service in your heart. Do not set your heart on the riches of this world. God gives them to whom He pleases. They will not satisfy you. They will eventually leave you. Yet, your service to them will lock you out of heaven. Rather, set your heart on the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness, and the rest will be added unto you. Here, Jesus concludes His logical argument of “if the greater is true, so is the lesser.” If you seek from God that which is greater, His kingdom and righteousness, then He will certainly add the rest of these lesser things to you.

Yet, how do you seek God’s kingdom? By seeking His righteousness. God reveals His righteousness through faith in the Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16-17). Through faith in Christ, you receive the righteousness of God, which gives you access and ownership of the greatest riches in heaven: the forgiveness of sins, peace with God, eternal life, adoption as God’s children, heirs of Christ. Christ won this righteousness for you through His bitter sufferings and death on the cross, when He died hungry, thirsty, and naked, foregoing the earthly riches we so long for. And Jesus gives this righteousness to us through His Word and Sacraments. Here, He feeds us with heavenly food for our souls and clothes us with a heavenly robe of righteousness. We eat this heavenly food and clothe ourselves with this heavenly garment through faith, when we believe and trust in the promise God attaches to these means of grace. This is the greater food and greater clothing, which if you have, you will not worry about the lesser. The kingdom of heaven is before you in Christ’s Word and Sacrament. So, seek after this with all your heart. And God will not neglect to add to you whatever you need for each day. Amen.

You can read the text of the sermon at Christforus.org. 

1. Asking for tolerance. 2. Demanding Equality. 3. Asserting Supremacy. 

Listen to how this progression of error is taught in Scripture, seen in history, and how it takes root in the present day, including in our own lives. You can read the quote and outline to the Bible Study at Christforus.org. 

#Theology #Krauth #errorinthechurch #Lutheran #Biblestudy

After recording this episode, I discovered that Charles Porterfield Krauth’s “Conservative Reformation” is available free online at lutheranlibrary.org as a pdf. You can find it here. You can also purchase “Conservative Reformation” from CPH .

By Charles Porterfield Krauth

When error is admitted into the Church, it will be found that the stages of its progress are always three. It begins by asking toleration. Its friends say to the majority: You need not be afraid of us; we are few, and weak; only let us alone; we shall not disturb the faith of others. The Church has her standards of doctrine; of course we shall never interfere with them; we only ask for ourselves to be spared interference with our private opinions. Indulged in this for a time, error goes on to assert equal rights. Truth and error are two balanced forces. The Church shall do nothing which looks like deciding between them; that would be partiality. It is bigotry to assert any superior right for the truth. We are to agree to differ, and any favoring of the truth, because it is truth, is partisanship. What the friends of truth and error hold in common is fundamental. Anything on which they differ is ipso facto non-essential. Anybody who makes account of such a thing is a disturber of the peace of the church. Truth and error are two co-ordinate powers, and the great secret of church-statesmanship is to preserve the balance between them. From this point error soon goes on to its natural end, which is to assert supremacy Truth started with tolerating; it comes to be merely tolerated, and that only for a time. Error claims a preference for its judgments on all disputed points. It puts men into positions, not as at first in spite of their departure from the Church’s faith, but in consequence of it. There recommendation is that they repudiate faith, and position is given them to teach others to repudiate it, and to make them skilful [sic] in combating it. Charles Porterfield Krauth, Conservative Reformation and Its Theology, CPH, St. Louis, 195-196.

Error enters the Church in three stages:

1. Asking for Toleration.
2. Demanding Equal Rights.
3. Asserting Supremacy.

• The High Places, God’s prohibition to let the pagan nations abide with them.
  • Solomon tolerated the high places. 1 Kings 3; 11
  • Soon the kings of Judah and Israel worshiped the other gods as equals to the true God. 1 Kings 12:25-33
  • Ahab and Jezabel as well as Athaliah and Manasseh forbid true worship. 1 Kings 18; 2 Kings 11; 21
• Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. 2 Corinthians 6:14-15
• A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Galatians 5:9
• Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
• I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. Romans 16:17

• The Roman Catholic Church on the doctrine of justification by works.
• The Reformed Church verses the Lutheran Church and forced unions, Rationalism, Higher Criticism, Unionism, etc.
• C. P. Krauth’s experience with Protestant Unionism in America, Samuel Simon Schmucker (1799-1873), organizer of the General Synod, founder of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and Pennsylvania College. He among others pushed for union among the protestants in America, even removing five articles from the twenty-eight articles of the Augsburg Confession.  

• Feminism, universalism, and higher criticism in the Church
• Open Communion                                                                                                                
• Evolution, relativism
• Unionism, thinking that Lutheran is equal to other denominations and it is just a matter of preference.  

• Sexual Revolution
• Abortion
• “LGBT”

• What sins and errors have you tolerated?
• What opinions have you accepted as equal to the teaching of Scripture?
• What opinions and errors and sins have you permitted to rule over you in regards to your faith and morals instead of what Scripture teaches.

Hallowed be Thy name. What does this mean? God’s name is certainly holy in itself, but we pray in this petition that it may be kept holy among us also. How is God’s name kept holy? God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven! But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God’s Word profanes the name of God among us. Protect us from this, heavenly Father!

What is the first way the law serves the Gospel? 

How is Jesus the Good Samaritan?

What is another way the law serves the Gospel? 

You can read and follow along to the Bible study at Christforus.org. 

#theology #Lutheran #StPaul #StJames #Justification #Faith #Works

• Augsburg Confession IV

• Our churches teach that people cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works. People are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. By His death, Christ made satisfaction for our sins. God counts this faith for righteousness in His sight (Romans 3 and 4).
• Romans 3:21-28
  • 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
• Romans 4:4-8
  • Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
• According to Paul, a sinner is clearly justified before God apart from works through faith alone.
  • Galatians 2:16
    • yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
  • Galatians 3:10-14
    • For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
  • Philippians 3:8-9
    • For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith
• Does James disagree with Paul on Justification?
  • James 2:14-26 (especially verse 24)
    • 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
    • “From James 2:24, they cite, ‘You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.’ No other passage is supposed to be more contrary to our belief. But the reply is easy and plain. If the adversaries do not attach their own opinions about the merits of works, the words of James have in them nothing that is unhelpful to us.” Ap. V (III). 123.

• What Paul writes in Romans 3 and 4 and Galatians 2 and 3 appears to disagree with what St. James writes in James 2. How can we deal with this apparent contradiction?  
  • To solve this problem, we have several options.
    • Admit that Paul and James disagree. Some have determined along with some in the ancient church that James is not authentic, so it cannot be used against Paul. Paul’s letters belong to the classification of homologoumena, which are the books of the New Testament which had unanimous support among the early church. James falls under the classification of antilegomena, because, as Eusebius writes, “since few of the ancients quote it,” and he included it among the disputed books.
    • This is why Martin Luther called James “an epistle of straw.” However, He still found it useful. Luther writes concerning the Epistle of James:
      • Though this epistle of St. James was rejected by the ancients, I praise it and consider it a good book, because it sets up no doctrines of men but vigorously promulgates the law of God. However, to state my own opinion about it, though without prejudice to anyone, I do not regard it as the writing of an apostle; and my reasons follow. In the first place it is flatly against St. Paul and all the rest of Scripture in ascribing justification to works [2:24]. It says that Abraham was justified by his works when he offered his son Isaac [2:21]; though in Romans 4:2-22 St. Paul teaches to the contrary that Abraham was justified apart from works, by his faith alone, before he had offered his son, and proves it by Moses in Genesis 15:6. Now although this epistle might be helped and an interpretation devised for this justification by works, it cannot be defended in its application to works [Jas. 2:23] of Moses’ statement in Genesis 15:6. For Moses is speaking here only of Abraham’s faith, and not of his works, as St. Paul demonstrates in Romans 4. This fault, therefore, proves that this epistle is not the work of any apostle. AE 35:395-96.
      • Luther gives a couple more reasons for rejecting James as apostolic, and which you can read in AE 35:396-97, and concludes, “Therefore I cannot include him among the chief books, though I would not thereby prevent anyone from including or extolling him as he pleases, for there are otherwise many good sayings in him.” AE:35:397.
    •  
      • The second option is to do as the Roman Catholics have done and interpret Paul in light of James. To do this, they will interpret the words “law” and “works” differently to say that Paul meant only the ceremonial law of the Jews or the ceremonial works of the Jews, which no Christians today believe Christians are obligated to keep (see Colossians 2:16-17).
        • The weakness in this argument is that Paul clearly speaks not simply of the ceremonial law of the Jews, but of the moral law. See Romans 3:9-20
          • 9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands;     no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14     “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16     in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.”18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. (especially verse 20)
          • And Romans 7:7-17. 7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
          • It is untenable that when Paul says that a person is justified apart from works of the Law that he only means ceremonial laws of the Jews and does not refer to all works.
    • Do as the Lutherans have done (despite Luther Himself not doing it) and interpret James in light of Paul. They do this by clarifying that James uses the word faith and justification in a different way than Paul does. To do this, we need to answer a few questions.
      • What does Paul mean by faith in Romans 3:21-28 and Galatians 2:16 and 3:10-14?
        • Paul means faith that holds onto and trusts the promise that God is reconciled to you and forgives you for Christ’s sake. This faith can only come about through rebirth by the Holy Spirit.
      • What does James mean by faith that does not justify without works in James 2:19, 24 and 26?
        • James is speaking of an historical faith, one that only holds to knowledge, but does not trust truly trust the promise. James is making a distinction between historical knowledge and true saving faith.
        • “He made a distinction between dead and living faith. He says that faith that does not bring forth good works is dead. He also says that a living faith brings forth good works. Furthermore, we have shown already several times what we mean by faith. For we do not mean passive knowledge, such as devils have. Instead, we mean faith that resists the terrors of conscience and encourages and comforts terrified hearts.” Apology of the Augsburg Confession. Article V (III). Love and Fulfilling the Law, 128 [249].
      • What does Paul mean by justify? Read Romans 4:2-8.
        • By justify, Paul means to be declared righteous and innocent before God’s judgment throne, to be reconciled with God and to truly have peace with Him (Romans 5:1). To be justified means that you will be saved.
      • What does James mean by justify in James 2:24?
        • James is not speaking of being justified before the judgment seat of God, whereby, a person is accounted righteous before God by his works. Rather, James uses justify to mean vindication, that a person’s justifying faith is outwardly proved by his good works.
        • “Here ‘to be justified’ does not mean that a righteous person is made from a wicked person. It means to be pronounced righteous in a judicial sense, as in Romans 2:13, ‘For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.’ These words ‘doers of the law who will be justified’ contain nothing contrary to our doctrine. We, too, believe about James’s words, ‘A person is justified by works and not by faith alone’ (2:24) because people are certainly pronounced righteous having faith and good works. As we have said, the saints’ good works are righteous and please God because of faith. For James praises only works produced by faith, as he testifies when he says of Abraham, ‘Faith was completed by his works’ (2:22). ‘Doers of the law who will be justified, ‘namely, those who believe God from the heart are pronounced righteous. Afterward, they have good fruit, which please Him because of faith. So they are the fulfillment of the Law. These things, simply put, contain nothing incorrect. However, they are distorted by the adversaries, who attach to them godless opinions made in their mind. For it does not follow that (a) works earn the forgiveness of sins, (b) works regenerate hearts, (c) works are an atoning sacrifice, (d) works please without Christ as the Atoning Sacrifice, and (e) works do not need Christ as the Atoning Sacrifice. James says nothing about these things. Yet, the adversaries shamelessly conclude such things from James’s words.” Ap. V (III) 131 [252]-132 [253]
        • Examination of the Council of Trent vol. 1:539: “It is clear that James is disputing about the demonstrations or manifestation of faith against the idle opinion of an empty faith and justification, for he says: ‘If a man says he has faith, let him show his faith by his works.’ And he takes the example of Abraham, which the angel himself interprets of the proof or manifestation, when he says: ‘Now I know that you fear the Lord.’ James, therefore, is speaking of this, that the obedience and good works of Abraham declared and furnished proof that He had truly been justified by faith. For to James ‘to be justified’ means to be declared righteous through external testimonies.”
  • Many will object to the attempt to reconcile Paul and James by saying that they are using the same words in different ways, but this is common in all languages. Words do not always have the same meaning and must be understood in their context. James himself uses several words with different meanings.
    • In James 1:13, James says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts (πειράζει) no one.” Yet, in John 6:6, John records the exact same word in Greek (πειράζω) to say, “Jesus said this to test πειράζων him, for He Himself knew what He was about to do.” It is the same word in Greek, but in different contexts it can mean to test, which God does to strengthen our faith, or it can mean to tempt, which Satan, the world, and our sinful flesh do to destroy our faith.
    • In James 1, James uses the word faith with a different meaning than he does in chapter 2. In verse 6, he says, “But let him ask in faith, without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord…” With these words, James describes saving faith, which not only has knowledge, but steadfast trust to receive what one believes. Yet, in chapter 2, he describes a dead faith, which only has knowledge, a faith which even the demons have! (vs 19). James certainly is using the word faith in more than one way in this short letter. It is certainly possible that James and Paul could use the word faith in two different ways in completely different letters.
  • Melanchthon makes several other good points regarding James and justification.
    • He quotes St. Paul in 1 Tim. 1:5, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
    • He points out that James speaks of works that follow faith.
    • He points out that James does not teach that a person is regenerated by works, but rather explicitly says that one is born again of the Word: “James said a little earlier that regeneration happens through the Gospel. For he says in James 1:18, ‘Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.’ When James says that we have been reborn by the Gospel, he teaches that we have been born again and justified through faith. For the promise about Christ is grasped only through faith when we set it against the terrors of sin and of death. James does not, therefore, think that we are born again through our works.” Ap. V (III): 126.
  • Chemnitz also clarifies in the Solid Declaration Article II:41: “This should not be understood as though justification and renewal were separated from each other in such a way that a genuine faith sometimes could exist and continue for a time together with evil intention.”
  • It is equally important to point out as Chemnitz does in SD II:43, “For faith makes righteous only because, as a means and instrument, it lays hold of, and accepts, God’s grace and Christ’s merit in the Gospel promise.”
    • This is an important distinction. Faith produces good works. These good works justify us in the sense that they prove the existence of saving faith and justification before God. But we are never justified before God on account of our works, because our works are insufficient to make atonement for our sins and satisfy God’s wrath. Only Christ can do this. Faith justifies only by clinging to Christ Jesus, His atonement, and forgiveness for His sake.
  • Conclusion:
    • Paul and James do not disagree. It is untenable to try to make Paul say what the Roman Catholics assert James says, because Paul agrees with the rest of Scripture that sinners are saved by faith alone apart from their works (John 3:16; Genesis 15:6; Psalm 103; etc.). It makes much more sense to interpret James, not only in light of Paul, but in light of the rest of Scripture. In this way, and in reading James in context, we see that James affirms that a person is saved by the power of God’s Word according to His will (James 1:18). James uses faith in chapter 2 differently than saving faith. Likewise, he uses justified not as being declared righteous and innocent of all sin before God for salvation before His judgment throne, but as a proof of the justifying faith that exists in the person’s heart.
      • There is no better summary of James’s position on justification by faith and works than what Chemnitz writes in the Examination, as quoted earlier: Examination of the Council of Trent vol. 1:539: “It is clear that James is disputing about the demonstrations or manifestation of faith against the idle opinion of an empty faith and justification, for he says: ‘If a man says he has faith, let him show his faith by his works.’ And he takes the example of Abraham, which the angel himself interprets of the proof or manifestation, when he says: ‘Now I know that you fear the Lord.’ James, therefore, is speaking of this, that the obedience and good works of Abraham declared and furnished proof that He had truly been justified by faith. For to James ‘to be justified’ means to be declared righteous through external testimonies.”

You can read the entire sermon at Christforus.org. 

#theology #Catholicism #pope #papalsupremacy #Lutheran

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church the Pope is “The successor of St. Peter as Bishop of Rome and Pontiff of the universal Catholic Church. The pope exercises a primacy of authority as Vicar of Christ and shepherd of the whole Church; he receives the divine assistance promised by Christ to the Church when he defines infallibly a doctrine of faith or morals.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Papacy: “The supreme jurisdiction and ministry of the pope as shepherd of the Whole Church. As successor of St. Peter, and therefore Bishop of Rome and Vicar of Christ, the pope is the perpetual and visible principle of unity in faith and communion in the Church.”

CCC 881 states, “The Lord made Simon alone, whom he called Peter, the ‘rock’ of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the Whole flock (Mt 16:18-19; Jn 21:15-17). ‘The office of the binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its head.’ (Lumen Gentium* 22) This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church’s very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope.”

CCC 882 states, “The Pope Bishop of Rome and Peter’s successor, ‘is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful.’ (Lumen Gentium 23) ‘For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered.’ (Lumen Gentium 22; cf. Christus Dominus** 2, 9)”

* Lumen Gentium is a document of Vatican II, November 21, 1964, which defines the nature and mission of the Catholic Church.

** Christus Dominus is the Vatican II Council “Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops,” October 28, 1965.

• The Papacy is the supreme office of the Church, the Pope, being that Office holder. He is the Vicar of Christ.
• Jesus appointed Peter as Pope and pastor of the entire Church (Matt. 16:18-19; John 21:15-17)
• The Bishop of Rome is Peter’s successor and visible source of unity of the bishops and of the entire Church.
• The bishops, who are successors of the apostles, and the entire priesthood receive the binding and loosing office from Peter.
• The pope, as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church. This means he has the right and authority to “infallibly” define Church doctrine of faith and morals.

By James A. Corbett from The Papacy: A Brief History

The Primacy of Peter. The first and best source of our knowledge about the origin of the papacy is, of course, the New Testament. From it we learn that the first pope was Peter, a fisherman from Bethsaida on the left bank of the Jordan. Until he met Christ, he was called Simon, son of Jona. It was his brother Andrew who brought Simon to Christ. At this very first meeting Christ gave Simon a new name, one full of meaning for the role he was chosen to play. He renamed him Cepha, the Aramaic word for rock. The Greek word for rock is petros, whence the English Peter. The reason for giving him a new name was only made clear on another occasion before the Crucifixion when Christ said to Peter: “Thou art Peter, and it is upon this rock that I shall build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” In these simple but momentous words Christ singles out Peter from all the others to be the head of the Church and to have supreme power over it after Christ should have left them. The appointment was confirmed on His third appearance to the disciples after the Resurrection. Then He asked Peter three times whether he loved Him more than the other disciples. To Peter’s affirmative answers Christ replied: “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” Peter, then was entrusted with the tremendous responsibility of teaching and caring for the whole body of the faith. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John never doubted the primacy which had been given to Peter: when naming the Apostles they always name Peter first.

Peter himself had no doubt of it. As the Apostles assembled in Jerusalem after the Ascension, it was Peter who presided at the election of Matthias to replace Judas. Ten days later when at Pentecost the Apostles received the gift of tongues, it was again Peter who explained to the astounded crowds how Christ had fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament about Him. It was Peter who, first of all the Apostles, performed a miracle by restoring a lame man to health, and who told the rulers and elders of Jerusalem by what power he had cured the cripple. It was Peter to whom the vision was given which explained that Christianity was to be for the Gentiles also, and who answered those insisting that the Gentiles be circumcised. “There was much disputing over it until Peter rose and said to them: Brethren, you know well enough how from early days it has been God’s choice that the Gentiles should hear the message of the Gospel from the lips and so learn to believe.”

After a number of years of preaching in the Near East, Peter went to Rome and was martyred there. These two historical facts are no longer seriously questioned by historians of the early Church. There is still, however, strong disagreement as to whether the supreme jurisdiction entrusted by Christ to Peter devolved upon his successors, the bishops of Rome.

The Church teaches, and it has always taught, that the primacy of Peter is held by all the successors of Peter. The popes, like Peter, are the vicars of Christ. Christ founded the Church and remains its true, though invisible, head. The popes, as successors of Peter, are the visible heads of the Church in this world and have the same powers and duties which Christ gave to Peter: to preserve intact the original deposit of faith entrusted to the Apostles by Christ, to teach it with authority and without error to all nations, to be the center of unity with supreme jurisdiction over the Church.

This teaching has been and remains a great stumbling block for those outside the Church. It has led historians to interpretations that differ all the way from complete acceptance to complete rejection. This does not mean that the methods of historical research are faulty, but rather that every historian has a philosophy or theology which will influence his interpretations of the documents he studies.

The Historian is limited in his search for the truth not only by the great loss and destruction of documents of other ages, but by the nature of historical knowledge, its methods and limitations. History is not the only way of knowing. The philosopher and the theologian use different methods to discover truths of a different and even higher order. Their conclusions do not contradict the truths learned by the historian; rather, they complete them and give us a richer and deeper understanding of reality.

The documents which have survived indicate an almost universal acceptance in the early Church of a belief that the Bishop of Rome actually possessed supreme authority. They indicate the continuing presence of a strong tradition in favor of the primacy of Rome.

Actually, the successors of Peter did not claim a primacy, they exercised it. Before the end of the first century, Pope Clement I, who had known Peter and Paul, intervened with gentle firmness in a schism in the church of Corinth: “If some shall disobey the words which have been spoken by Him through us,” Clement writes, “Let them know, that they will involve themselves in no small transgression.” Although St. John the Apostle was still living at Ephesus and there were other bishops closer to Corinth, it was the Bishop of Rome who exercised the right to settle the dispute. Corinth recognized the right of Rome to intervene by accepting the decision.

The letter of Bishop Ignatius of Antioch, which he wrote to the Roman church in 107 while on his way to Rome to be martyred, indicates the special position this eastern bishop recognized Rome as possessing: “Never have you envied anyone. You have been others’ teachers. I trust that what you have taught and prescribed to others may now be applied to yourselves.”

The pre-eminence of Rome is seen again in the book of Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, Against Heretics, written towards the end of the second century. In this, desiring to offer a simple means of learning with security what is the true tradition of Christian belief, Irenaeus refers his reader to the tradition of the Bishop of Rome, whose succession from Peter and Paul, he says, all men know. He adds a further reason for the security of the Roman tradition: “With this church, on account of its greater authority, every church must agree.”

When the churches of Asia were in disagreement as to the proper time to celebrate Easter, about the year 190, Pope Victor did not hesitate to intervene and to excommunicate those churches that refused to follow the Roman custom. There was a great controversy and Victor’s severity was blamed. But no one questioned his right to act. Later, in 260, Pope Dionysius condemned the bishop of the great and ancient see of Alexandria in Egypt, and Alexandria accepted the decision.

In this same third century, Cyprian, the Roman lawyer who after his conversion became Bishop of Carthage, was no doubt an independent-minded bishop, yet he recognized Rome as the center of unity of faith. Although he disagreed with Pope Stephen on the question of rebaptizing converts from heresy, he saw clearly the true position of the pope in the Church.

These examples bring out the traditional teaching of the Church and show that even in the early times there was a widespread acceptance of the special, though undefined, position of the Bishop of Rome. The many visits of outstanding Christian leaders to Rome from all over the empire, and numerous letters of Popes, condemning heresy and correcting discipline, indicate the prestige that the papacy enjoyed. Its prominence was recognized, not because the popes of the early centuries had great personal merits comparable to those of Cyprian, an Ambrose, or an Augustine, but because the see of Rome, no matter who held it, was founded by Peter to whom the keys had been entrusted. To be sure, the jurisdiction of the popes was not exercised as often as in later centuries, but exercised it was, even though the Church was outlawed and its heads lived in the very city of the emperors who were determined to destroy Christianity altogether.

The history of the popes of the first three centuries is not well known. Often forced to live in hiding, they were hunted down and martyred like other members of the Church. We have few documents which relate their lives and deeds—only occasional glimpses, sometimes only their names; but always they are acting like men conscious of their supreme authority. The see of Rome is the only one for which we have a complete list of names of the bishops. (James A. Corbett [professor of history, University of Notre Dame], The Papacy: A Brief History, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. Princeton, New Jersey, 1956. Pages 9-13).

• There is no question that St. Peter had a special place among the Apostles.
  • Along with James and John, he witnessed the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:51), the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1), and was brought with Jesus to Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37).
  • Peter has the most private conversations with Jesus.
  • Paul calls Peter, along with James and John, pillars of the Church (Galatians 2:9).
• There is no question that Bishop of Rome has had a special significance in church history, including the recognition of papal supremacy from many early and throughout history.
• But, does Scripture teach that Jesus gave Peter and all his successors supremacy over the Church on earth?
• Has the entire church unanimously believed the Pope to have supremacy over the Church?
• Does Scripture give the pope authority to establish or even change doctrine?

• ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ Σίμων Πέτρος εἶπεν· Σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος. 17 ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Μακάριος εἶ, Σίμων Βαριωνᾶ, ὅτι σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα οὐκ ἀπεκάλυψέν σοι ἀλλ’ ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· 18 κἀγὼ δέ σοι λέγω ὅτι σὺ εἶ Πέτρος, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ πύλαι ᾅδου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς· 19 δώσω σοι τὰς κλεῖδας τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ ὃ [n]ἐὰν δήσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται δεδεμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, καὶ ὃ [o]ἐὰν λύσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται λελυμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ 16:16-20
• Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  Matthew 16:16-20
  • Jesus calls Simon, Peter, which sounds like the Greek for rock. He then says, “on this rock I will build My Church.” Is Jesus saying the Church is built on Peter or on the confession, which Peter just made? Consider how the Lord is called a Rock throughout the Old Testament. Consider also how Jesus finishes the sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:24-27). The one who hears Jesus’ Words and does them is like a man who builds his house on a rock.
  • Jesus uses the singular form of you σοι, whoever, later He repeats almost the exact same words and addresses all the Apostles, using the plural form of you, ὑμῖν.
    • ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅσα [q]ἐὰν δήσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται δεδεμένα [r]ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ὅσα ἐὰν λύσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται λελυμένα [s]ἐν οὐρανῷ.
    • Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[f] in heaven.  Matt. 18:18
• Power and Primacy of the Pope by Philip Melanchthon:
  • They cite against us certain passages, namely, [Matthew 16:18-19,] “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church.” Also, “I will give you the keys.” Also, [John 21:15,] “Feed My lambs,” and some others. … In all these passages, Peter is representative of the entire assembly of apostles, as appears from the text itself. Christ does not ask Peter alone, when He says, “Who do you say that I am? [Matt. 16:15]. What is said here to Peter alone in the singular number, “I will give you [singular] the keys; and whatever you [singular] bind” [16:19], is elsewhere expressed in the plural [e.g., Matthew 18:18,] “Whatever you [plural] bind”; [John 20:23,] “if you [plural] forgive the sins of anyone”). These words show that the Keys are given to all the apostles alike and that all the apostles are sent forth alike. In addition, it must be recognized that the keys belong not to the person of one particular man, but to the Church. Many most clear and firm arguments show this. For Christ, speaking about the keys, adds, for example, “If two of you agree on earth” (Matthew 18:19). Therefore, He grants the Keys first and directly to the Church. This is why it is first the Church that has the right of calling. For just as the promise of the Gospel belongs certainly and immediately to the entire Church, so the Keys belong immediately to the entire Church, because the Keys are nothing else than the office whereby this promise is communicated to every one who desires it, just as it is actually manifested that the Church has the power to ordain ministers of the Church. And Christ speaks in these words: Whatsoever you shall bind, etc., and indicates to whom He has given the Keys, namely, to the Church: Where two or three are gathered together in My name. Likewise, Christ gives supreme and final jurisdiction to the Church when He says: Tell it unto the Church. Therefore, these passages demonstrate that Peter is the representative of the entire assembly of the apostles. They do not grant Peter any privilege or superiority or lordship. As for the declaration “on this rock I will build My church” [Matthew 16:18}, certainly the Church has not been built upon the authority of a man. Rather, it has been built upon the ministry of the confession Peter made, in which he proclaims that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God [Matt. 16:16]. Therefore, Christ addresses Peter as a minister, “On this Rock, that is, this ministry. Therefore, He addresses him as a minister of this office in which this confession, and doctrine is to be in operation and says: “Upon this rock,” i.e., this preaching and preaching office. PPP 22-25.

• Origen (d. 253): And also the saying, “Upon this rock I will build My church”? Are the keys of the kingdom of heaven given by the Lord to Peter only, and will no other of the blessed receive them? But if this promise, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, “ be common to the others, how shall not all the things previously spoken of, and the things which are subjoined as have been addressed to Peter, be common to them? For in this place these words seem to be addressed to Peter only, “Whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,” etc; but in the Gospel of John the Saviour having given the Holy Spirit unto the disciples by breathing upon them said, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit,” etc. … And if anyone says this (namely, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”) to Him, not by flesh and blood revealing it unto Him but through the Father in heaven, he will obtain the things that were spoken according to the letter of the Gospel to that Peter, but, as the spirit of the Gospel teaches, to everyone who becomes such as Peter was. For all bear the surname of “rock” who are imitators of Christ, that is, of the spiritual rock…” Origen’s Commentary on Matthew 11. ANF 9:456.
• Cyprian (d. 258): And although to all the apostles, after His resurrection, He gives an equal power, and says, “As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you: Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they shall be remitted unto him; and whose soever sins ye retain, they shall be retained;” yet, that He might set forth unity, He arranged by His authority the origin of that unity, as beginning from one. Assuredly the rest of the apostles were also the same as was Peter, endowed with a like partnership both of honor and power; but the beginning proceeds from unity.”  ANF 5:422.
• Chrysostom (347-407): “Upon this rock,” not upon Peter. For He built His Church not upon man, but upon the faith of Peter. But what was his faith? “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
• Hilary (d. 367): The Father revealed to Peter that he should say, “You are the Son of the living God” [Matthew 16:17}. Therefore, the building of the Church is upon this rock of confession. This faith is the foundation of the Church.
• Pope Gregory (590-604) OBJECTED TO BEING CALLED NIVERSAL BISHOP (Gregory I, Epistles, bk. VIII, no. 30, to Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria (NPNF, ser. 2, 12:241))
  • “you address me saying, As you have commanded. This word, command, I beg you to remove from my hearing, since I know who I am, and who you are. For in position you are my brethren, in character my fathers. I did not, then, command, but was desirous of indicating what seemed to be profitable. Yet I do not find that your Blessedness has been willing to remember perfectly this very thing that I brought to your recollection. For I said that neither to me nor to any one else ought you to write anything of the kind; and lo, in the preface of the epistle which you have addressed to myself who forbade it, you have thought fit to make use of a proud appellation, calling me Universal Pope. But I beg your most sweet Holiness to do this no more, since what is given to another beyond reason demands is subtracted from yourself. For as for me, I do not seek to be prospered by words but by my conduct,. Nor do I regard that as an honour whereby I know that my brethren lose their honor. For my honour is the honour of the universal Church: my honour is the solid vigour of my brethren. Then am I truly honoured when the honour due to all and each is not denied them. For if your Holiness calls me Universal Pope, you deny that you are yourself what you call me universally. But far be this from us. Away with words that inflate vanity and wound charity. And, indeed, in the synod of Chalcedon, and afterwards by subsequent Fathers, your Holiness knows that this was offered to my predecessors. And yet not one of them would ever use this title, that, while regarding the honour of all priests in this world, they might keep their own before Almighty God.”

• Scripture does not say that Jesus made Peter the head of the entire Church nor does it teach that Peter’s successors receive the office of Vicar of Christ. Rather, Jesus says, whoever would be great must be a servant. The rock referred to by Christ in Matthew 16 refers to Peter’s confession, which is common to the entire Church. Jesus repeatedly gives the Power of the Keys to the entire Church, to all the disciples, and not just to Peter, even saying, “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” And “Whatever two of you agree it will be done.”
• The early Church by no means universally agreed that the Pope was supreme over the Church. Not even all the popes agreed to this.
• The Eastern Orthodox have never acknowledged the Pope’s supremacy.
• The teaching that the Pope is the head of the Church usurps the place of Christ and Holy Scripture. Christ alone is the Lord of the Church. And Scripture alone is the source of the Church’s teaching.
  • the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, Ephesians 2:19-20
• The teaching that the Pope is the head of the Church has lead to great danger, as many popes have been immoral and corrupt and have changed Church doctrine. This was predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2: “For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Vs. 3-4

#theology #earlychurch #Lutheran #justification 

Lutherans teach Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone. This means that only the Bible is the source and norm of all Christian doctrine. We call this the formal principle. We do not determine what we teach based on church councils, popes, or church fathers. We teach that a sinner is justified by grace through faith alone apart from his works when he believes that he is received into favor and that his sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, not because this is taught by any man, but because it is the clear teaching of Holy Scripture. That a sinner is justified by grace through faith alone in Christ alone is the material principle, that is, the chief teaching of all of Scripture.

However, the writings of the church should not be ignored. We treat the writings of the church fathers as helpful witnesses of Holy Scripture. The reason for this episode is that I have been increasingly seeing claims by those in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church that their respective denominations were founded by Jesus Christ, while the Lutheran and Protestant churches were founded in the sixteenth century. And as we just a few years ago celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, clarification is in order. Is the Lutheran Church only five centuries old? Meaning, is the doctrine of the Lutheran Church that a sinner is justified by grace through faith alone apart from works an invention of Lutheran theologians, or does this doctrine predate the Lutheran Reformation in the Church? I recently read a chapter from Martin Chemnitz’s Examination of the Council of Trent, which compiles a number of quotes from early church fathers, which proves that the doctrine of the Lutheran Church that a sinner is justified before God by grace through faith alone apart from works for the sake of the innocent bitter sufferings and death of Jesus Christ was taught in the Church long before the sixteenth century. And in fact, it is the doctrines of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches that teach that justification is not only the forgiveness of sins through faith, but the renewal of the interior man, that is a new (manmade) teaching within the church.

Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent vol. 1, translated by Fred Kramer, CPH, St. Louis. Pgs. 514-522.

Basil the Great: 330-378 AD

Origen: 185-253 AD

Hilary: 310-367 AD

Ambrose: 340-397 AD

Augustine: 354-430 AD

Jerome: 340s-420 AD

Gregory the Great: Pope from 590-603

Bernard of Clairvaux:1090-1153

Posidonius (Friend of Augustine)

Anselm of Cantebury: Archbishop from 1093-1109

Bonaventura: 13c

Gerson: 14-15c

What is a steward? How are you a steward? What does Jesus want you to do with your stewardship? You can read the entire sermon on Christforus.org. 

#Justification #Lutheran #Biblestudy #Theology

Article IV of The Augsburg Confession: Our churches also teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works but are freely justified for Christ’s sake through faith when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven on account of Christ, who by his death made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in his sight.” (Rom. 3 and 4).

Bible Passage: Romans 3:23-25a: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

• What does it mean to justify? To justify means to declared or make righteous. To be righteous means to be without fault and pleasing in God’s eyes.
• Justification, righteousness, righteous, just, all translations of the same Greek word δικαιοσύνη or δίκαιος, and the verb to justify or declare righteous is the same verb δικαιόω or the same Hebrew word צְדָקָה or צַדִּיק or the verb צָדַק. To justify and to declare righteous is the same thing. To be just and to be righteous is the same thing. Justification and righteousness are the same thing.
• Righteousness can be determined either by one’s own merits under the law or it can be imputed as a gift through faith. Scripture does speak of righteousness under the law, but it also speaks of God’s wrath against those who do not follow the law perfectly. Righteousness that depends on faith does not depend on works.
  • For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Romans 1:18
  • For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. Romans 3:20-22
  • For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17
• Is justification and forgiveness the same thing? “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.'” (Romans 4:4-8) Yes.
• The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man.” Does the Roman Church and the Lutheran Church agree on justification? (Sanctification according to the CCC is, “An act whereby the sinner makes amends for sin, especially in reparation to God for offenses against him.” In other words, sanctification is the good works a sinner does to make up for his sins. “Renewal of the interior man” means that the person becomes a good person, before he is declared righteous). No. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that a sinner is justified by faith and works. The Lutheran Church teaches that a sinner is justified by faith alone. “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:28)
• “Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood.” What does it mean to propitiate? To propitiate means to take away God’s wrath and to make God look with favor upon us. Propitiation can also be called a sacrifice of atonement.
• This faith God imputes for righteousness in his sight.” What does it mean to impute? “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, …” (Romans 4:3-5) God imputes this faith for righteousness means that God counts us righteous through this faith.
• What does it mean to have justifying faith? What must we believe/trust in to be counted righteous by God? It means that I not only believe that Jesus lived, died, and rose for me, but I trust that God actually forgives my sins on account of Christ and counts me as his child.
  • “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” 1 John 3:1
  • “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”
  • “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6
  • “yet we know that a person is not justified[ by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2:16
  • “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness … In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be.’” Romans 4:5, 18
• What is the “Great or Blessed Exchange?” “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous (in exchange) for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” 1 Peter 3:18 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6 The Great Exchange is that God exchanged the sinless and righteous Jesus for us poor miserable sinners. Christ Jesus became our substitute.
• What does it mean to be saved by grace? “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” Romans 11:6 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23-24 Salvation by grace is salvation as a free gift apart from works.
• If you are justified by God, what does that say about your relationship with God? “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1 I am at peace with God.
• A merit is that which earns something. What is the sole merit of our justification? The merits of Christ, His perfect obedience and bitter suffering and death, which alone made atonement for our sins, merit our justification.
  • Romans 4:4-8, 14: Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,    and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. … For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ”
  • For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
  • who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began… 2 Tim. 1:9
  • “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28
  • For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:5-6
  • But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2
  • 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:33-34
  • As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. John 6:57
  • And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3
  • but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31
  • And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
  • For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
  • But he was pierced for our transgressions;     he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,     and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray;     we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him     the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:4-6
• Objective and Subjective Justification
  • Objective Justification: By His death and resurrection, Christ justified the entire world, that is, He declared the entire human population just/righteous.
    • All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 1 Cor. 5:18-20who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Romans 4:25He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2
• • • Subjective Justification: A sinner only receives this justification by grace through faith when He believes that His sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake.yet we know that a person is not justified[b] by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. Galatians 2:16For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
• • • for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood (Objective Justification) to be received by faith.(Subjective Justification)
• Justification must be true in order for it to be received by faith.

The Bible clearly teaches that we are justified, that is, declared righteous not because of our own works, but on account of Jesus’ perfect obedience and innocent sufferings and death by which He made satisfaction for all our sins. This justification is received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Jesus alone merits our salvation.

#theology #Lutheran #closedcommunion #Lord'sSupper 

The Sacrament of the Altar Part 3: Who receives this sacrament worthily?   

Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”  

But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words “for you” require all hearts to believe.

1. “Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training.” Are there spiritual benefits to fasting and bodily preparation? Yes, fasting and practicing self-control can help a person in his faith, but they do not make a person prepared to receive the Sacrament. “Bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way.” 1 Timothy 4:8 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
2. What makes a person truly worthy and well prepared to receive the Sacrament of the Altar? Faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
3. Who is unworthy to receive the Sacrament of the Altar? Anyone who does not believe or doubts Christ’s words.
   1. “We believe, teach, and confess also that there is only one kind of unworthy guests: those who do not believe. About these guests it is written in John 3:18, ‘Whoever does not believe is condemned already.’ And this judgment becomes clear and more  grievous, being aggravated by the unworthy of the Holy Supper (1 Cor. 11:29: For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.) Epitome of the Formula of Concord VII:18.
4. How should you examine yourself before receiving the Sacrament? I should examine whether
   1. I am sorry for my sins; “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.” Psalm 38:18 “Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you.” 2 Corinthians 7:10-11
   1. I believe in my Savior Jesus Christ and what he says about this Sacrament. “This is my body, which is given for you. …. This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Luke 22:19-20 “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” 2 Corinthians 3:15
   1. I intend, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to amend my sinful life. “To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”  Ephesians 4:22-23 (See Luther’s Christian Questions and Answers in the Small Catechism).
5. What if you’ve committed a terrible sin, but repented or you have a weak faith, does this make you unworthy to receive the Lord’s Supper? No, Christ instituted this Sacrament to strengthen and increase the faith of the forgiveness of sins. “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 “Whoever comes to Me I will never cast out.” John 6:37
   1. “We believe, teach, and confess that no believer—as long as he has living faith, however weak he may be—receives the Holy Supper to his judgment. For the Supper was instituted especially for Christians weak in faith, yet repentant. It was instituted for their consolation and to strengthen their weak faith [Matthew 9:12: Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.; 11:5, 28: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. … Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.].” Epitome VII:19
   1.  We believe, teach, and confess that all the worthiness of guests of this heavenly feast is and is founded on Christ’s most holy obedience and perfect merit alone. We receive these for ourselves by true faith, and by the Sacrament we are assured of them. Our worthiness is not at all in our virtues or inward and outward preparations.” Epitome VII:20
   1. “It must also be carefully explained who the unworthy guests of this Supper are. They are those who go to this Sacrament without true repentance and sorrow for their sins, without true faith and the good intention of amending their lives. By their unworthy oral eating of Christ’s body, they load themselves with damnation (i.e., with temporal and eternal punishments) and become guilty of profaning Christ’s body and blood. Some Christians have a weak faith and are shy, troubled, and heartily terrified because of the great number of their sins. They think that in their great impurity they are not worthy of this precious treasure and Christ’s benefits. They feel their weakness of faith and lament it, and from their hearts desire that they may serve God with stronger, and more joyful faith and pure obedience. These are truly worthy guests for whom this highly venerated Sacrament has been especially instituted and appointed. For Christ says: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (Matthew 9:12) [God’s] power is made mighty in the weak. [2 Corinthians 12:9 Luther] As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him; … for God has welcomed him. [Romans 14:1-3] Who believes in [the Son of God, be it with a strong or with a weak faith,] may have eternal life. [John 3:15] Worthiness does not depend on the greatness of smallness, the weakness or strength of faith. Instead, it depends on Christ’s merit, which the distressed father of little faith [Mark 9:24: “I believe; help my unbelief!”] enjoyed as well as Abraham, Paul, and others who have joyful and strong faith.” Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord VII 69-71.
   1. Agony and bitter labor Were the cost of God’s high favor; Do not come if you suppose You need not Him who died and rose. Christ says: “Come, all you that labor, And receive My grace and favor: Those who feel no pain or ill Need no physician’s help or skill. “For what purpose was My dying If not for your justifying? And what use this precious food If you yourself were pure and good?” If your heart this truth professes And your mouth your sin confesses, You will be your Savior’s guest, Be at His banquet truly blest. Let this food your faith so nourish That its fruit of love may flourish And your neighbor learn from you How much God’s wondrous love can do. Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Savior, stanzas 7-10, LSB, John Hus (1369-1415, German version, Martin Luther, 1483-1546)
6. To whom should the Pastor not give the Lord’s Supper?
   1. The publicly impenitent sinners, including those who belong to non-Christian religious groups. “You must not associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler- not even to eat with such a one. … ‘Purge the evil person from among you.'” 1 Corinthians 5:11, 13 “What pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” 1 Corinthians 10:20-21
   1. Those who refuse to forgive those who sin against them. “If you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:15
   1. Those of a different confession of faith, since the Lord’s Supper is a testimony of the unity of faith. Horizontal as well as vertical fellowship… “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42 “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” 1 Corinthians 10:17 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:26 “Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” Romans 16:17
   1. Those who are not able to examine themselves, such as infants, people who have not received instruction, or the unconscious. “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink the cup.” 1 Corinthians 11:28
7. What is closed Communion and why do we practice it? Closed communion is the biblical practice of giving Christ’s body and blood only to those who have been instructed properly in the true Christian faith and who faithfully confess that faith. (This is why we don’t give communion to those who have not been instructed and examined or to those of different confessions). “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?.” 1 Corinthians 10:17-22 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:26 “No one is admitted to the Sacrament without first being examined.” (ACXXIV:6) “Chrysostom (347-407AD) says “that the priest stands daily at the altar, inviting some to the Communion and keeping back others.” (ACXXIV:36) “To be sure; it is true that those who despise the Sacrament and live in an unchristian way receive it to their hurt and damnation [1 Corinthians 11:29:30]. Nothing shall be good or wholesome for them. It is just like a sick person who on a whim eats and drinks what is forbidden to him by the doctors.” Large Catechism, 69-70. “We believe, teach, and confess that not only the true believers in Christ and the worthy, but also the unworthy and unbelievers receive Christ’s true body and blood. However, they do not receive them for life and consolation, but for judgment and condemnation, if they are not converted and do not repent (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). (Formula of Concord, Epitome: VII:16).

The only true requirement to be worthy to receive the Sacrament of the Altar is faith, because the Sacrament is Gospel, it offers free forgiveness of sins and grace by the merits of Christ. Sinners and those weak in the faith should find consolation, forgiveness, and strengthening of faith in the Sacrament. However, unrepentant sinners, those who confess a contrary faith, and those who are unable to examine themselves should not receive Communion, because the unworthy take it to their own judgment and Communion is a public confession of fellowship.