Part III Article VI

You can read this week's article here.

Perhaps you get the sense that Luther was having a bad day when he wrote this article. It does seem kind of harsh in the language that is used. Again, what we are seeing  here is simply a difference between his culture and ours. So if you can get past the language, there is some good stuff here. 

When it comes down to communion there is no need to make things complicated. That is the gist of this article. For in Luther's day there were some practices and ideas that are simply not in line with the Scriptures. Not only are they not in line with the Scriptures, but they contradict them. 

Again, there is no need to make things any more complicated than what we find in the Scriptures. Jesus says, "This is my body...This is my blood." These things are given and shed for you. Now how that works and what it all looks like, is beyond our ability to understand. It is, in a word, a mystery. But it is a mystery that is ultimately good for us.

In this mystery we receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. It is a way that God has chosen to pour out his grace into our lives. It is not something that we earn or deserve, but it is a gift that is given because that is how good our God is. Plain and simple. 

This article focuses more on misuses or misunderstandings/false practices that are happening around communion in Luther's day. 

For us we remember that this is ultimately a gift that God gives to us. Through this gift we are blessed and experience our God and his grace in a very real and intimate kind of a way. I pray that God's presence in this way is a blessing to you in your life.

Pastor CJ

Part III Article V

You can find today's article here. 

Today's article is about baptism and what we believe about baptism. And when it comes down to it, it is quite simple. It is God's Word in the water. It is a washing in the word. This baptism joins us to the death and resurrection of Jesus. This baptism saves us. It cleans us and makes us God's own dearly loved sons and daughters. 

This article then goes on to reject some other ideas about baptism that make it less than it actually is. The point is that baptism is a good and gracious gift given to us by our God. It is not dependent on us. It is not dependent on the person who administers the baptism. God is the main actor in baptism. He is the one giving out his gift. He is the one working through the water and the word and it is a mystery to us. 

Now, that is pretty simple. And simple is not bad. We need to be careful that we do not end up at one of two extremes. One the one hand we can make baptism only about us. It is something that requires that we have a certain level of understanding. It is something that requires that we be at a certain point in our lives and have the ability to do certain things. But that kind of view makes baptism about us. It makes baptism dependent on us, and that is simply false. The other place we do not want to go with baptism is to say, that since God gives us forgiveness in baptism, then we can live however we want without any kind of accountability. 

That is not the kind of life that our God calls us to live. That is not why he forgives us; so that we can go and do whatever we want. He forgives us so that we do not have to live in slavery to our sins. He forgives us so that our sins will not keep us separated from him. That is why. 

So, when we are talking about baptism, we want to keep it simple. It is God's good gift, given to us so that we can live our life with him and serve him with everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness. 

This is a good and gracious gift. It is one that is a source of comfort and strength. I pray that it be that for you too. 

Sincerely,

Pastor CJ

Part III Article IV

This week's article can be found here. 

The gospel. What wonderful and joyous good news. It is God's gift to us. Which is not limited to just one way of helping us in our struggle and battle with sin. The gospel works through spoken word. It is working and powerful in our lives as we hear that our sins are forgiven, and as this forgiveness is preached in the world. The power of the gospel is seen in baptism. It is seen in communion. It's power is seen in the power of the keys (whatever is bound on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever is forgiven on earth will be forgiven in heaven). If this were it, that would certainly be more than enough, but God's love grace and faithfulness are inexhaustible. We also see the Gospel working through the lives and relationships that we have with our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith.

Our God is awesome. His love and grace and mercy are richly poured out into our lives. We do not have this because we have done anything to earn it or deserve it. Rather, we have it because we have a gracious God. We have it for the sake of Jesus and his life, death and resurrection. It means that we get to live our lives not ruled and controlled by the powers of sin death and the devil, but instead we get to live life in relationship with our God. 

For in the gospel there is life and salvation. It is a blessing that is beyond words. It is a blessing that can not be exhausted. It is better than anything else in all of creation. John 3:16 has often been described as the gospel in a nutshell. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have life everlasting.

What a good and gracious gift from our God. May that gospel be for you a source of strength, comfort, peace and joy; now and always. 

Sincerely,

Pastor CJ

Article III Part III

Today's article can be read here. 

Today's article follows right along with last week's article. Today we talk about repentance. When we think of repentance, I think an image that easily comes to mind is the one of a person who is standing on the street corner, or maybe even in a pulpit, and they are yelling, or screaming, and telling everyone that we need to repent. Then we either feel guilty, or we get angry and the whole thing is a mess. The problem is that when someone is telling us that we need to repent, they are right. Because we do. We are sinners. We have broken God's law and we need the repentance. That is the truth. However, the yelling and screaming, especially by people we may not know all that well tends to make it a negative thing. And yet repentance is a wonderful thing. 

It was never meant to be a tool that someone would beat us up with. It was never intended to be a source of control and manipulation. Rather, repentance, which we can define as changing the way that we think and act about something, holds with it the promise of God's forgiveness. When we repent of our sins, when we ask for God's forgiveness. We receive it in full. Not because we have done anything to earn it or deserve it. We are not forgiven because our our repentance. We are forgiven for the sake of Jesus. And when we repent, God forgives us. It is a wonderful and precious gift. It is good news. It is very good news.

Some of you know that this past Lent I began of practice of private confession and absolution for myself. I found a person I trust and meet with him ever month. It has been one of the most beautiful and awesome experiences of my life. I would strongly recommend it. I know that it can be scary. And our sinful nature will tell us all kinds of reasons why we can not and should not go through with it. But let me tell you from my own experience; this is one of the best things that I have ever done. I would encourage you to give it a try sometime.

When we repent. Our God forgives. He always forgives. So repentance can be see now, not as something that is done to appease an angry God, but as a way to receive his forgiveness. Because he is gracious and good.

I pray that the grace of God would be a source of strength and blessing in your life. Now and always.

Pastor CJ