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O Wisdom

O Come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who ord’rest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel
Shall Come to thee, O Israel! 

O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, pervading and permeating all creation, mightily ordering all things:
     Come and teach us the way of prudence.

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A “Treasury” of a quote from Luther

Treasury of Daily Prayer

Treasury of Daily Prayer

Here is a nice little gem from Martin Luther which comes from Treasury of Daily Prayer.

He is not righteous who does much, but he who, without work, believes much in Christ.

For the righteousness of God is not acquired by means of acts frequently repeated, as Aristotle taught, but it is imparted by faith, for “He who through faith is righteous shall live” (Rom. 1[:17]), and “Man believes with his heart and so is justified” (Rom. 10[:10]).  Therefore I wish to have the words “without work” understood in the following manner: Not that the righteous person does nothing, but that his works do not make him righteous, rather that his righteousness creates works.  For grace and faith are infused without work works.  After they have been imparted the works follow.  Thus Rom. 3[:20] states, “No human being will be justified in His sight by works of the law,” and, “For we hold that man is justified by faith apart from works of law” (Rom. 3[:28]).  In other words, works contribute nothing to justification.  Therefore man knows that works which he does by such faith are not his but God’s.  For this reason he does not seek to become justified or glorified through them, but seeks God.  His justification by faith in Christ is sufficient to him.  Christ is his wisdom, righteousness, etc., as I Cor. 1[:30] has it, that he himself may be Christ’s vessel and instrument.

Taken from Treasury of Daily Prayer, p. 1004
Quoted from “Heidelberg Disputation”, pp.55-56 in vol. 31 of Luther’s Works, American Edition.

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4-month shots

Santa Wes

Santa Wes

Yesterday, my little man got his 4-month shots.  I gotta say: I almost shed a tear when they jabbed him in both legs with the shots.  For a brief second, there was silence, and then there was that cry of pain which I have never heard from him before.  It’s that cry which you are helpless to do anything about.  Gwen quickly picked him up and held and rocked him.  Once we got his clothes back on him, he began to calm down.  He’s turned into quite the chunk.  He’s 17.10 pounds and measures 26 inches.  This is a pic of him that Gwen took Monday in his little Santa outfit.

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Just a little update

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, including sermons.

Things have been busy.  We haven’t had a church secretary since May and a lot of that work has fallen on my shoulders.  Now that Advent is upon us, that means an extra service each week.  Fortunately, it’s straight out of the hymnal, no extra bulletin required.

I’ve been running on fumes lately.  I desperately need a vacation, one that will come in January.

Right now, Gwen is downstairs trying to get Wesley asleep, but he’s screaming like there’s no tomorrow. I guess I should head down there and help.

UPDATE: Gwen is on the couch trying to feed him yet another “bedtime” bottle to get him to bed.

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The Eighth Commandment from Luther’s Large Catechism

THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
Note: This commandment was given to protect one’s name and reputation. Communicating in ways that do not uphold our neighbor’s name and reputation break this commandment. The greatest violators are false preachers who, by their false doctrine, speak ill of God and His name. If we are aware of something negative about our neighbor, but have no authority to act, we should remain silent and not speak of it. However, when the proper authorities call upon us to speak to the matter, we will do so honestly. Also, if we are aware of something that requires the attention of public authorities, we will share it with them. Luther clearly states that civil magistrates, pastors, and parents must act upon hearing of something requiring their attention. Luther carefully distinguishes between secret sins and open, public sins. Secret sins should not be made public. However, when the error is open we have every right, even the duty, to speak publicly about it and to testify against the person involved. Speaking publicly about another person’s public error or sin is not bearing false witness, nor is it a violation of Matthew 18. Luther concludes that putting “the best construction on everything” is a fine and noble virtue.
254 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
255 Over and above our own body, spouse, and temporal possessions, we still have another treasure—honor and good reputation [Proverbs 22:1]. We cannot do without these. For it is intolerable to live among people in open shame and general contempt. 256 Therefore, God does not want the reputation, good name, and upright character of our neighbor to be taken away or diminished, just as with his money and possessions. He wants everyone to stand in his integrity before wife, children, servants, and neighbors. 257 In the first place, we must consider the plainest meaning of this commandment, according to the words “You shall not bear false witness.” This applies to the public courts of justice, where a poor, innocent man is accused and oppressed by false witnesses in order to be punished in his body, property, or honor.
258 Now, this commandment appears as though it were of little concern to us at present. But with the Jewish people it was a quite common and ordinary matter. For the people were organized under an excellent and regular government. Where there is still such a government, instances of this sin will not be lacking. The cause of it is that where judges, mayors, princes, or others in authority sit in judgment, things never fail to go according to the way of the world. In other words, people do not like to offend anybody. They flatter and speak to gain favor, money, prospects, or friendship [Proverbs 26:28]. As a result, a poor man and his cause must be oppressed, denounced as wrong, and suffer punishment. It is a common disaster in the world that in courts of justice godly men seldom preside.
259 To be a judge requires above all things a godly man, and not only a godly man, but also a wise, modest, indeed, a brave and bold man. Likewise, to be a witness requires a fearless and especially godly man. For a person who is to judge all matters rightly and carry them through with his decision will often offend good friends, relatives, neighbors, and the rich and powerful, who may greatly serve or injure him. Therefore, he must be quite blind, have his eyes and ears closed, neither see nor hear, but go straight forward in everything that comes before him and decide accordingly.
260 Therefore, this commandment is given in the first place so that everyone shall help his neighbor to secure his rights and not allow them to be hindered or twisted. But everyone shall promote and strictly maintain these rights, no matter whether he is a judge or a witness, and let it apply to whatsoever it will. 261 A particular goal is set up here for our jurists that they be careful to deal truly and uprightly with every case, allowing right to remain right. On the other hand, they must not pervert anything by their tricks and technical points, turning black into white and making wrong out to be right [Isaiah 5:20]. They must not gloss over a matter or keep silent about it, regardless of a person’s money, possession, honor, or power. This is one part and the plainest sense of this commandment about all that takes place in court.
262 Next, this commandment extends very much further, if we are to apply it to spiritual jurisdiction or administration. Here it is a common occurrence that everyone bears false witness against his neighbor. For wherever there are godly preachers and Christians, they must bear the sentence before the world that calls them heretics, apostates, and indeed, instigators and desperately wicked unbelievers. Besides, God’s Word must suffer in the most shameful and hateful manner, being persecuted, blasphemed, contradicted, perverted, and falsely quoted and interpreted. But let this go. For this is the way of the blind world, which condemns and persecutes the truth and God’s children, and yet considers it no sin.
263 In the third place, which concerns us all, this commandment forbids all sins of the tongue [James 3], by which we may injure or confront our neighbor. To bear false witness is nothing else than a work of the tongue. Now, God prohibits whatever is done with the tongue against a fellow man. This applies to false preachers with their doctrine and blasphemy, false judges and witnesses with their verdict, or outside of court by lying and speaking evil. 264 Here belongs particularly the detestable, shameful vice of speaking behind a person’s back and slandering, to which the devil spurs us on, and of which much could be said. For it is a common evil plague that everyone prefers hearing evil more than hearing good about his neighbor. We ourselves are so bad that we cannot allow anyone to say anything bad about us. Everyone would much prefer that all the world should speak of him in glowing terms. Yet we cannot bear that the best is spoken about others.
265 To avoid this vice we should note that no one is allowed publicly to judge and reprove his neighbor—even though he may see him sin—unless he has a command to judge and to reprove. 266 There is a great difference between these two things: judging sin and knowing about sin. You may indeed know about it, but you are not to judge it [Matthew 7:1–5]. I can indeed see and hear that my neighbor sins. But I have no command to report it to others. Now, if I rush in, judging and passing sentence, I fall into a sin that is greater than his. But if you know about it, do nothing other than turn your ears into a grave and cover it, until you are appointed to be judge and to punish by virtue of your office.
267 People are called slanderers who are not content with knowing a thing, but go on to assume jurisdiction. When they know about a slight offense committed by another person, they carry it into every corner. They are delighted and tickled that they can stir up another’s displeasure, just as swine delight to roll themselves in the dirt and root in it with the snout. 268 This is nothing other than meddling with God’s judgment and office and pronouncing sentence and punishment with the most severe verdict. For no judge can punish to a higher degree nor go farther than to say, “That person is a thief, a murderer, a traitor,” and so on. Therefore, whoever presumes to say the same things about his neighbor goes just as far as the emperor and all governments. For although you do not wield the sword, you use your poisonous tongue to shame and hurt your neighbor [Psalm 140:3].
269 God, therefore, would have such behavior banned, that anyone should speak evil of another person even though that person is guilty, and the latter knows it well, much less if anyone does not know it and has the story only from hearsay.
270 But you say, “Shall I not say something if it is the truth?”
Answer: “Why do you not make your accusation to regular judges?”
“Ah, I cannot prove it publicly, and so I might be silenced and turned away in a harsh manner.”
“Ah, indeed, do you smell the roast?”
If you do not trust yourself to stand before the proper authorities and to answer well, then hold your tongue. But if you know about it, know it for yourself and not for another. For if you tell the matter to others—although it is true—you will look like a liar, because you cannot prove it. Besides, you are acting like a rascal. We should never deprive anyone of his honor or good name unless it is first taken away from him publicly.
271 “False witness,” then, is everything that cannot be properly proved. 272 No one shall make public or declare for truth what is not obvious by sufficient evidence. In short, whatever is secret should be allowed to remain secret [1 Peter 4:8], or, at any rate, should be secretly rebuked, as we shall hear. 273 Therefore, if you meet an idle tongue that betrays and slanders someone, contradict such a person promptly to his face [Proverbs 10:31], so he may blush. Then many a person will hold his tongue who otherwise would bring some poor man into bad repute, from which he would not easily free himself. For honor and a good name are easily taken away, but not easily restored [Proverbs 22:1].
274 So you see that it is directly forbidden to speak any evil of our neighbor. However, the civil government, preachers, father, and mother are not forbidden to speak out. This is based on the understanding that this commandment does not allow evil to go unpunished. Now, in the Fifth Commandment no one is to be injured in body, and yet Master Hans (the executioner) is excluded from this rule. By virtue of his office he does his neighbor no good, but only evil and harm. Nevertheless he does not sin against God’s commandment. God has instituted that office on His own account. God has reserved punishment for His own good pleasure, as He threatens in the First Commandment. In the same way, although no one has a personal right to judge and condemn anybody, yet if those who serve in offices of judgment fail to judge, they sin just as surely as a person who would act on his own accord without such an office. For in matters of justice necessity requires one to speak of the evil, to prefer charges, to investigate, and to testify. 275 This is no different from the case of a doctor who is sometimes compelled to examine and handle the private parts of the patient whom he is to cure. In the same way governments, father and mother, brothers and sisters, and other good friends are under obligation to one another to rebuke evil wherever it is needful and profitable [Luke 17:3].
276 The true way in this matter would be to keep the order in the Gospel. In Matthew 18:15, Christ says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.” Here you have a precious and excellent teaching for governing well the tongue, which is to be carefully kept against this detestable misuse. Let this, then, be your rule, that you do not too quickly spread evil about your neighbor and slander him to others. Instead, admonish him privately that he may amend his life. Likewise, if someone reports to you what this or that person has done, teach him, too, to go and admonish that person personally, if he has seen the deed himself. But if he has not seen it, then let him hold his tongue.
277 You can learn the same thing also from the daily government of the household. When the master of the house sees that the servant does not do what he ought, he admonishes him personally. But if he were so foolish as to let the servant sit at home and went on the streets to complain about him to his neighbors, he would no doubt be told, “You fool, how does that concern us? Why don’t you tell it to the servant?” 278 Look, that would be acting quite brotherly, so that the evil would be stopped, and your neighbor would retain his honor. As Christ also says in the same place, “If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” [Matthew 18:15]. Then you have done a great and excellent work. For do you think it is a small matter to gain a brother? Let all monks and holy orders step forth, with all their works melted together into one mass, and see if they can boast that they have gained a brother.
279 Further, Christ teaches, “But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses” [Matthew 18:16]. So the person concerned in this matter must always be dealt with personally, and must not be spoken of without his knowledge. 280 But if that does not work, then bring it publicly before the community, whether before the civil or the Church court. For then you do not stand alone, but you have those witnesses with you by whom you can convict the guilty one. Relying on their testimony the judge can pronounce sentence and punish. This is the right and regular course for checking and reforming a wicked person. 281 But if we gossip about another in all corners, and stir the filth, no one will be reformed. Later, when we are to stand up and bear witness, we deny having said so. 282 Therefore, it would serve such tongues right if their itch for slander were severely punished, as a warning to others. 283 If you were acting for your neighbor’s reformation or from love of the truth, you would not sneak about secretly nor shun the day and the light [John 3:19–20].
284 All this has been said about secret sins. But where the sin is quite public, so that the judge and everybody know about it, you can without any sin shun the offender and let him go his own way, because he has brought himself into disgrace. You may also publicly testify about him. For when a matter is public in the daylight, there can be no slandering or false judging or testifying. It is like when we now rebuke the pope with his doctrine, which is publicly set forth in books and proclaimed in all the world. Where the sin is public, the rebuke also must be public, that everyone may learn to guard against it.
285 Now we have the sum and general understanding of this commandment: Let no one do any harm to his neighbor with the tongue, whether friend or foe. Do not speak evil of him, no matter whether it is true or false, unless it is done by commandment or for his reformation. Let everyone use his tongue and make it serve for the best of everyone else, to cover up his neighbor’s sins and infirmities [1 Peter 4:8], excuse them, conceal and garnish them with his own reputation. 286 The chief reason for this should be the one that Christ declares in the Gospel, where He includes all commandments about our neighbor, “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them” [Matthew 7:12].
287 Even nature teaches the same thing in our own bodies, as St. Paul says, “On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty” (1 Corinthians 12:22–23). No one covers his face, eyes, nose, and mouth, for they, being in themselves the most honorable parts that we have, do not require it. But the most weak parts, of which we are ashamed, we cover with all diligence. Hands, eyes, and the whole body must help to cover and conceal them. 288 So also among ourselves should we clothe whatever blemishes and infirmities we find in our neighbor and serve and help him to promote his honor to the best of our ability. On the other hand, we should prevent whatever may be disgraceful to him. 289 It is especially an excellent and noble virtue for someone always to explain things for his neighbor’s advantage and to put the best construction on all he may hear about his neighbor (if it is not notoriously evil). Or, at any rate, forgive the matter over and against the poisonous tongues that are busy wherever they can to pry out and discover something to blame in a neighbor [Psalm 140:3]. They explain and pervert the matter in the worst way, as is done now especially with God’s precious Word and its preachers.
290 There are included, therefore, in this commandment quite a multitude of good works. These please God most highly and bring abundant good and blessing, if only the blind world and the false saints would recognize them. 291 For there is nothing on or in a person that can do both greater and more extensive good or harm in spiritual and in temporal matters than the tongue. This is true even though it is the least and weakest part of a person [James 3:5].

Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions, Edited by Paul Timothy McCain (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005), 388.
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A Blessed Reformation

Luther posts the 95 theses

Luther posts the 95 Theses

Today we remember the Reformation and what Martin Luther wrote which sparked a change in the Church: Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences or what we commonly refer to as the 95 Theses. Below are the 95 Theses.

Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther
on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences
by Dr. Martin Luther (1517) Published in:
Works of Martin Luther:
Adolph Spaeth, L.D. Reed, Henry Eyster Jacobs, et Al., Trans. & Eds.
(Philadelphia: A. J. Holman Company, 1915), Vol.1, pp. 29-38
_______________

Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter.

In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

    1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.

    2. This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance, i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by the priests.

    3. Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers mortifications of the flesh.

    4. The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

    5. The pope does not intend to remit, and cannot remit any penalties other than those which he has imposed either by his own authority or by that of the Canons.

    6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God’s remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely unforgiven.

    7. God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His vicar, the priest.

    8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to them, nothing should be imposed on the dying.

    9. Therefore the Holy Spirit in the pope is kind to us, because in his decrees he always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.

    10. Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory.

    11. This changing of the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory is quite evidently one of the tares that were sown while the bishops slept.

    12. In former times the canonical penalties were imposed not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.

    13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties; they are already dead to canonical rules, and have a right to be released from them.

    14. The imperfect health [of soul], that is to say, the imperfect love, of the dying brings with it, of necessity, great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater is the fear.

    15. This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (to say nothing of other things) to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.

    16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ as do despair, almost-despair, and the assurance of safety.

    17. With souls in purgatory it seems necessary that horror should grow less and love increase.

    18. It seems unproved, either by reason or Scripture, that they are outside the state of merit, that is to say, of increasing love.

    19. Again, it seems unproved that they, or at least that all of them, are certain or assured of their own blessedness, though we may be quite certain of it.

    20. Therefore by “full remission of all penalties” the pope means not actually “of all,” but only of those imposed by himself.

    21. Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope’s indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved;

    22. Whereas he remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to the canons, they would have had to pay in this life.

    23. If it is at all possible to grant to any one the remission of all penalties whatsoever, it is certain that this remission can be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to the very fewest.

    24. It must needs be, therefore, that the greater part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and highsounding promise of release from penalty.

    25. The power which the pope has, in a general way, over purgatory, is just like the power which any bishop or curate has, in a special way, within his own diocese or parish.

    26. The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not possess), but by way of intercession.

    27. They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies out [of purgatory].

    28. It is certain that when the penny jingles into the money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God alone.

    29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal.

    30. No one is sure that his own contrition is sincere; much less that he has attained full remission.

    31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare.

    32. They will be condemned eternally, together with their teachers, who believe themselves sure of their salvation because they have letters of pardon.

    33. Men must be on their guard against those who say that the pope’s pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to Him;

    34. For these “graces of pardon” concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man.

    35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia.

    36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.

    37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.

    38. Nevertheless, the remission and participation [in the blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in no way to be despised, for they are, as I have said, the declaration of divine remission.

    39. It is most difficult, even for the very keenest theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the abundance of pardons and [the need of] true contrition.

    40. True contrition seeks and loves penalties, but liberal pardons only relax penalties and cause them to be hated, or at least, furnish an occasion [for hating them].

    41. Apostolic pardons are to be preached with caution, lest the people may falsely think them preferable to other good works of love.

    42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy.

    43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons;

    44. Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more free from penalty.

    45. 45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God.

    46. Christians are to be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary for their own families, and by no means to squander it on pardons.

    47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment.

    48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring.

    49. Christians are to be taught that the pope’s pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God.

    50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St. Peter’s church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.

    51. Christians are to be taught that it would be the pope’s wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money to very many of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money, even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold.

    52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.

    53. They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who bid the Word of God be altogether silent in some Churches, in order that pardons may be preached in others.

    54. Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this Word.

    55. It must be the intention of the pope that if pardons, which are a very small thing, are celebrated with one bell, with single processions and ceremonies, then the Gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.

    56. The “treasures of the Church,” out of which the pope. grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among the people of Christ.

    57. That they are not temporal treasures is certainly evident, for many of the vendors do not pour out such treasures so easily, but only gather them.

    58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the Saints, for even without the pope, these always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outward man.

    59. St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church were the Church’s poor, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.

    60. Without rashness we say that the keys of the Church, given by Christ’s merit, are that treasure;

    61. For it is clear that for the remission of penalties and of reserved cases, the power of the pope is of itself sufficient.

    62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.

    63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last.

    64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.

    65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets with which they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches.

    66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.

    67. The indulgences which the preachers cry as the “greatest graces” are known to be truly such, in so far as they promote gain.

    68. Yet they are in truth the very smallest graces compared with the grace of God and the piety of the Cross.

    69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of apostolic pardons, with all reverence.

    70. But still more are they bound to strain all their eyes and attend with all their ears, lest these men preach their own dreams instead of the commission of the pope.

    71. He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let him be anathema and accursed!

    72. But he who guards against the lust and license of the pardon-preachers, let him be blessed!

    73. The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art, contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons.

    74. But much more does he intend to thunder against those who use the pretext of pardons to contrive the injury of holy love and truth.

    75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God — this is madness.

    76. We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its guilt is concerned.

    77. It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter and against the pope.

    78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit, the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written in I. Corinthians xii.

    79. To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms, which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy.

    80. The bishops, curates and theologians who allow such talk to be spread among the people, will have an account to render.

    81. This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of the laity.

    82. To wit: — “Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial.”

    83. Again: — “Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?”

    84. Again: — “What is this new piety of God and the pope, that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul’s own need, free it for pure love’s sake?”

    85. Again: — “Why are the penitential canons long since in actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were still alive and in force?”

    86. Again: — “Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?”

    87. Again: — “What is it that the pope remits, and what participation does he grant to those who, by perfect contrition, have a right to full remission and participation?”

    88. Again: — “What greater blessing could come to the Church than if the pope were to do a hundred times a day what he now does once, and bestow on every believer these remissions and participations?”

    89. “Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls rather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons granted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?”

    90. To repress these arguments and scruples of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the Church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christians unhappy.

    91. If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved; nay, they would not exist.

    92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, “Peace, peace,” and there is no peace!

    93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, “Cross, cross,” and there is no cross!

    94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hell;

    95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven rather through many tribulations, than through the assurance of peace.

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Pentecost 21A: October 5, 2008 – "The Prize of Christ"

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God, our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this day comes from the Epistle, which was read earlier.

All too often in our lives, we like to think of ourselves as being more important than what we are. If we were not present, the world would fall apart; in short, the world needs me, the world needs you. During the life of Paul, it was no different. The practice of laying out ones credentials to attain a higher place in society was a common practice. When Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, he lays out his credentials and shows the Church who he is: “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal; a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless.” His life conformed to the law from his eighth day, when he was circumcised. He was from the high-ranking tribe of Benjamin. Both of his parents were Hebrews. Add to this privileged ancestry his religious achievements: faithful Pharisee, zealous persecutor of the church, above reproach as a keeper of the Law of Moses. If anyone had the credentials of the day, it was Paul. If you want to look at the people of the day, if Paul were not there, then the world could very well fall apart.

We share the same mentality of Paul, don’t we? We think that the more degrees we have, the more letters after our name, the more important and valuable we are. Through all of this, we further our careers, earn more money, and now have the right to look down our noses at those who are below us on the food chain.

That may be how some in the world may think, but that is not what Paul is writing to the Church at Philippi. He could have very easily laid out his credentials and demanded that he have a position of authority and power both in the church and the government, yet he did not. He had far outclassed even the best of the Judaizers. If salvation were by works, Paul would have been guaranteed clear entrance to heaven. And at one time Paul considered all that to his profit; they were all advantages that would have helped him gain an eternal reward. But since that blinding experience on the road to Damascus, Paul’s eyes of faith were opened, and he now realized that all those things were to his disadvantage. They stood in the way of his having a right relationship with the Lord and kept the gates of heaven shut up tight for him. They did not gain any righteousness for him but only led him away from the true righteousness in Christ. They were now all to his “loss.” Those old ideas needed to be abandoned as totally useless and worthless. Paul doesn’t hold his credentials as a bargaining chip. Instead, he makes a statement to the Philippians that is unexpected of the day: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

This is not the response that one would have expected to come from the mouth of Paul, nor is the response that one would have expected from many living in Philippi. Paul was not afraid to preach the Word of God to anyone at any time in any place. By these contrasts Paul shows the surpassing worth of Jesus Christ compared to his former life. None of his former credentials can compare with what Paul has found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in whom this former legalist has found a righteousness “that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ.” By comparison, all his former achievements he considers σκύβαλον, “rubbish, things that are worthless and detestable.” What he thought was the feast of God’s approval was nothing but the garbage left over after the feast. Note that Paul does not reject God’s Law, but he rejects the confidence that he had in himself because he kept the Law. Justification before God has come through God’s fulfillment of the Law in Christ. For Paul there can never again be “righteousness of my own that comes from the law.”

It is important to realize that some of the things that we as Christians often regard as a real advantage and to our “profit” can actually be to our disadvantage if we regard them as a meritorious work. Boasting over the fact that one has been baptized and confirmed, that one has received a Christian education through a Lutheran elementary or high school, taking pride in one’s church attendance and “all that I’ve done” for the church—this stands in the way of relying on Jesus Christ alone for salvation. While they can do much to benefit us, when they become objects of trust for righteousness before God, they need to be thrown out like garbage. Christ is the focus. Faith in Jesus Christ is far superior to anything we can give to the Lord.

The question we need to ask ourselves is “What is our focus?” Are we focused on the things that we do, the achievements that we have earned, our own personal recognition in the eyes of others? If that’s where our focus lies, then there is no need for Jesus, for all that we need, we can accomplish ourselves. If however, we have the mentality of Paul, then we can boldly confess, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

That was the problem that Paul found in many of the churches which he visited or which he wrote to: people were more about strutting their peacock feathers to others, indicating to others all the things that they have done to earn eternal life. There is nothing that we ever could, can, or will be able to do to earn eternal life. We deceive ourselves into thinking that salvation can come from inside of us. Salvation is external, coming from the work of Jesus Christ and Him alone. It is His life, death, and resurrection which is able to bring about forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

For Paul, he was looking forward to the resurrection, namely, his own resurrection from the dead and the life everlasting that is found in Jesus Christ. As Christians study their Scriptures and make regular use of the sacraments, the Holy Spirit brings the glories of Christ and the power of His resurrection into ever clearer focus. Through the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives, they begin to experience the power of Jesus’ resurrection as they rejoice more and more over their forgiveness, and as they, through repentance and faith, gain the daily victories over sin. As they put up with the ridicule and persecutions the world hurls their way and as they daily put to death their sinful nature with all its desires, they share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings and become more like Him in His death. The final goal is their own resurrection to glory.

My friends, this is what Paul strove for; this was his prize: resurrection and everlasting life. This too is our prize. It is a prize that is won by faith and faith alone, not by works. Relying on our works pushes us further away from the prize which was won for us by Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. We need to keep our eyes on the prize. Do not be distracted by the attractions of this world or by its distractions. Consider the example of Peter when he walked on the water. He was distracted by the storm and took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. When we take our eyes off of Jesus, we lose sight of the prize won for us by Jesus Christ. Growing in grace means learning more and more to live in the awareness that our guilt has been forgiven, that our future is secure in Christ, and that as a result we are truly free to live in the present. God will continue to do the work that He began in us when we came to Christ until we see Him face-to-face.

Paul rightly makes the point when he says, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Why is this important? The importance lies with the last eight words of this verse: “…because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” We do not make ourselves Christ’s own. We do not bring about our own salvation. It is Christ Jesus who makes us His own. It is Christ Jesus who gives to us salvation. Because of Jesus Christ, we “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” In the name of Jesus, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, amen.

Pentecost 21A 2008

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Pentecost 21A: October 5, 2008 – “The Prize of Christ”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God, our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this day comes from the Epistle, which was read earlier.

All too often in our lives, we like to think of ourselves as being more important than what we are. If we were not present, the world would fall apart; in short, the world needs me, the world needs you. During the life of Paul, it was no different. The practice of laying out ones credentials to attain a higher place in society was a common practice. When Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, he lays out his credentials and shows the Church who he is: “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal; a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless.” His life conformed to the law from his eighth day, when he was circumcised. He was from the high-ranking tribe of Benjamin. Both of his parents were Hebrews. Add to this privileged ancestry his religious achievements: faithful Pharisee, zealous persecutor of the church, above reproach as a keeper of the Law of Moses. If anyone had the credentials of the day, it was Paul. If you want to look at the people of the day, if Paul were not there, then the world could very well fall apart.

We share the same mentality of Paul, don’t we? We think that the more degrees we have, the more letters after our name, the more important and valuable we are. Through all of this, we further our careers, earn more money, and now have the right to look down our noses at those who are below us on the food chain.

That may be how some in the world may think, but that is not what Paul is writing to the Church at Philippi. He could have very easily laid out his credentials and demanded that he have a position of authority and power both in the church and the government, yet he did not. He had far outclassed even the best of the Judaizers. If salvation were by works, Paul would have been guaranteed clear entrance to heaven. And at one time Paul considered all that to his profit; they were all advantages that would have helped him gain an eternal reward. But since that blinding experience on the road to Damascus, Paul’s eyes of faith were opened, and he now realized that all those things were to his disadvantage. They stood in the way of his having a right relationship with the Lord and kept the gates of heaven shut up tight for him. They did not gain any righteousness for him but only led him away from the true righteousness in Christ. They were now all to his “loss.” Those old ideas needed to be abandoned as totally useless and worthless. Paul doesn’t hold his credentials as a bargaining chip. Instead, he makes a statement to the Philippians that is unexpected of the day: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

This is not the response that one would have expected to come from the mouth of Paul, nor is the response that one would have expected from many living in Philippi. Paul was not afraid to preach the Word of God to anyone at any time in any place. By these contrasts Paul shows the surpassing worth of Jesus Christ compared to his former life. None of his former credentials can compare with what Paul has found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in whom this former legalist has found a righteousness “that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ.” By comparison, all his former achievements he considers σκύβαλον, “rubbish, things that are worthless and detestable.” What he thought was the feast of God’s approval was nothing but the garbage left over after the feast. Note that Paul does not reject God’s Law, but he rejects the confidence that he had in himself because he kept the Law. Justification before God has come through God’s fulfillment of the Law in Christ. For Paul there can never again be “righteousness of my own that comes from the law.”

It is important to realize that some of the things that we as Christians often regard as a real advantage and to our “profit” can actually be to our disadvantage if we regard them as a meritorious work. Boasting over the fact that one has been baptized and confirmed, that one has received a Christian education through a Lutheran elementary or high school, taking pride in one’s church attendance and “all that I’ve done” for the church—this stands in the way of relying on Jesus Christ alone for salvation. While they can do much to benefit us, when they become objects of trust for righteousness before God, they need to be thrown out like garbage. Christ is the focus. Faith in Jesus Christ is far superior to anything we can give to the Lord.

The question we need to ask ourselves is “What is our focus?” Are we focused on the things that we do, the achievements that we have earned, our own personal recognition in the eyes of others? If that’s where our focus lies, then there is no need for Jesus, for all that we need, we can accomplish ourselves. If however, we have the mentality of Paul, then we can boldly confess, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

That was the problem that Paul found in many of the churches which he visited or which he wrote to: people were more about strutting their peacock feathers to others, indicating to others all the things that they have done to earn eternal life. There is nothing that we ever could, can, or will be able to do to earn eternal life. We deceive ourselves into thinking that salvation can come from inside of us. Salvation is external, coming from the work of Jesus Christ and Him alone. It is His life, death, and resurrection which is able to bring about forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

For Paul, he was looking forward to the resurrection, namely, his own resurrection from the dead and the life everlasting that is found in Jesus Christ. As Christians study their Scriptures and make regular use of the sacraments, the Holy Spirit brings the glories of Christ and the power of His resurrection into ever clearer focus. Through the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives, they begin to experience the power of Jesus’ resurrection as they rejoice more and more over their forgiveness, and as they, through repentance and faith, gain the daily victories over sin. As they put up with the ridicule and persecutions the world hurls their way and as they daily put to death their sinful nature with all its desires, they share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings and become more like Him in His death. The final goal is their own resurrection to glory.

My friends, this is what Paul strove for; this was his prize: resurrection and everlasting life. This too is our prize. It is a prize that is won by faith and faith alone, not by works. Relying on our works pushes us further away from the prize which was won for us by Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. We need to keep our eyes on the prize. Do not be distracted by the attractions of this world or by its distractions. Consider the example of Peter when he walked on the water. He was distracted by the storm and took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. When we take our eyes off of Jesus, we lose sight of the prize won for us by Jesus Christ. Growing in grace means learning more and more to live in the awareness that our guilt has been forgiven, that our future is secure in Christ, and that as a result we are truly free to live in the present. God will continue to do the work that He began in us when we came to Christ until we see Him face-to-face.

Paul rightly makes the point when he says, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Why is this important? The importance lies with the last eight words of this verse: “…because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” We do not make ourselves Christ’s own. We do not bring about our own salvation. It is Christ Jesus who makes us His own. It is Christ Jesus who gives to us salvation. Because of Jesus Christ, we “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” In the name of Jesus, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, amen.

Pentecost 21A 2008