Part III Article II

Today's article can be found here. If you thought that last week's post was a bummer, wait to you check out the one for this week. Actually it is really not that bad. More than anything else, we are talking about a good dose of reality here. It has to do with the Law. Now this is not the law-of-the land kind of law. Rather what we are talking about here is the law of God. Specifically, how that law works in and through our lives. 

So why might it be important to understand the law? Because we can not be saved, or earn salvation, or merit God's favor through the works of the law. It is not possible because of the sin that is in us. So do not get caught up in thinking that we can please God through keeping the law, because it is something that we are unable to keep. However, this does not mean that the law is itself a bad thing. That is not at all the case. The law is good. It tells us how to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God. Problems only begin to come into the picture when we start to see the law as a way to earn something from God.

An open and honest look at the law can really only leave us in one place. And that is seeing that we are sinners. So the order of the articles here makes a lot of sense. The third part begins with sin, and then moves to the law to show how the two are related. They remind us that no one of us is above or beyond this, and ultimately this leaves us in a state that is not a good place to be. In other words the law shows us our sin. You can not get around it.

If you are a sinner, then that can mean only one thing... You need a savior. And that is where the good news of the Gospel comes in. Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins, and through his death and resurrection reconciled us to God. That is the good news. But we will have to wait until next week to go there. 

May God's peace and blessings abound in your life this week and always.

Pastor CJ

Part III Article I

Today's article can be found here.

The article for today is one that we talk about with much humility. The article for today talks about sin. My hunch is that it is easy for us to talk about sin in other people. Yet, any conversation on sin, correctly begins with ourselves. In fact, it is necessary that we begin at this point. It is not popular, it is not fun, and yet the reality of the situation is that we are sinners. So why talk about it? Why bring it up? Why spend time seemingly splitting theological hairs? If you don’t sin, then you don’t need a savior. It is as simple as that. Why would Jesus have needed to die, if we were able to earn salvation on our own? And that is the point. When we lessen our sin, or our understanding of sin, we are lessening our need for our savior or the great price that he actually paid. So it is a good idea to get this one right, and that is what today’s article is all about.

Now, lest we be accused of being all gloom and doom; the good news here is that Jesus paid the price for our sins. His death paid the price. His resurrection guarantees that that price has been paid in full, and so we live in that. We glory in it. We rest in it. May this knowledge be a great source of comfort and strength for you this week and always.

 

Sincerely,

Pastor CJ

Part Two: Article Four

You can find the article for this week here. 

Easter blessings to you. I pray that the joy and hope and the promise of the resurrection would be a constant blessing in your life. 

And what better topic to cover on Easter than why the pope is bad. OK, perhaps that is a bit too sarcastic. But you get the point. I did not plan things to work out this, it just kind of worked out. So what do we do? This is a real difficult topic, especially if you have loved ones that are catholic. An article like this does not bode well with them. And yet at the same time we can't simply ignore it. So what do we do? We talk about it. 

If you have not read it, I would really encourage you to do so. Keep in mind where this article occurs. It is in the section that is all about Christ. It is in this section because the way the papacy acts and is treated gets in the way of Christ. This is because, the pope is saying that salvation comes with his approval. But that is not true. Salvation comes through and for the sake of Jesus Christ. It is given freely because of the grace of God. That is it. Plain and simple.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind as you read this. First, in Luther's day everyone pretty much spoke harshly. It was just the way it was back then. Second, it is helpful to make a distinction between an office and the person who fills that office. I would take this more as Luther's problem with the office of the pope, than with any particular man in that office. Of course, Luther didn't get along all to well with the specific man that was in the office at that time, but that is a another issue for another time.

So what do we do with this? Well we should always speak the truth in love without sacrificing truth or love. So just because Luther spoke with a certain harshness, does not mean that we should speak with the same kind of harshness. Also it is good to look in all areas of our lives for those things that we try to put in the place of Christ or to put over Christ and not allow them to have such a place.

It is a good call to do a gut check, and not to just get caught up in the trap of pointing fingers self-righteously. Finally, pray. Pray that the Spirit would bring about true unity of the church on earth. Not a false unity, not a lowest-common-denominator unity. But real and true unity where the body of Christ lives together in love and service under the gospel. 

I look forward to your thoughts and comments.

Pastor CJ

Holy Cow, It's Holy Week!

Usually I try to have the blog post up by Tuesday every week. Sometimes it doesn't always work out that way. This is one of those times. There has been a lot going on around here as we are gearing up for Holy Week. So I'm going to cover two weeks with this post, and will do the next one after Easter. In the mean time Holy Week is awesome.

Holy week is a time to remember the story of the passion of our Lord and of the life and salvation that we have in him and for his sake. We see in this the great love that God has for the entire world. It is for you and me. 

It can be easy to see Holy week as a time where we are supposed to feel bad, but see it more as  time to experience awe. God's love for you is so great that this is what happened. You mean so much to him, you are so valuable, so important that there is nothing he wouldn't do in order to bring you back to himself.

Holy week is a celebration of what God has done in Jesus, in order to make us holy. So, when you think about it, and you consider all these things, it really does make you want to exclaim, "Holy Cow!"

I pray that this holy time is a blessing to you. I will be back on this the week after Easter.  

Pastor CJ