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A person who is not enlightened by God’s Holy Spirit — an “unspiritual” or “natural” person — does not, by natural reasoning or abilities, perceive or receive anything pertaining to God’s will and divine gifts.
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But when one comes to the understanding that he is a sinner, through and through, always has been, and always will be, that person may then have the hope of finally pleasing God.
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Without the Spirit, people walk along the natural course of the world. This is the path of sin and death. We cannot do otherwise; we cannot move toward God on our own.
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Without having ever taken a confirmation class, everybody knows that they should honor their parents. Do we need to understand that it is the sixth commandment in order to know we ought to be faithful to our spouses?
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Lutherans reject the Pelagians and others who teach that we are able to love God above all things and keep his commandments by the power of human nature alone, without the grace of the Holy Spirit.
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Because Jesus rose again from the dead, we confess that on the last day of the world, he will bring with him all who have died in the Lord to be with him forever.
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As God has established all civil authorities, he would have us pray for them—whether we like them or not. Christian love demands that we hold them before God in prayer.
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Because Jesus said, “Do not take an oath at all,” we may feel guilty when we do make contractual promises. The issue here is not what we sometimes think it is.
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It is dangerous to souls for us to concede that anything people do produces perfection. We are only made perfect by God through faith in Christ.
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It is God who makes us perfect. There is nothing we can do or not do, possess or not possess, that makes us perfect or complete in the eyes of God.
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If someone wrongs you, are you to take matters into your own hands, taking vengeance on the one who has wronged you? No; vengeance is the Lord’s.
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When the Lord says that vengeance is his, one way his retribution is felt is through our governments, the political kingdoms in which we live.
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The gospel does not give us new laws, nor does it call us to replace existing laws with the old Jewish law code. Instead, we are to obey the laws of the land while also living according to the rule of a higher kingdom, a spiritual kingdom.
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God is the final authority; all authority comes from him. Every governing power exists because of God. This is why Christians may serve in public office or be otherwise employed by governments.
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I was declined in a congregation’s consideration as a new pastor once, in part, because the church I was serving at the time did not use the Nicene Creed as much as the church in deliberation.
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What difference does it make if you eat so-called unclean foods? Will you go to hell because you ate some rabbit stew? Will God withhold his forgiveness because you had a pork chop?
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Start to read through the Bible in a year, and you will probably get behind at some point. Guilt will likely set in, especially if you do not catch up right away.
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It serves us well to discipline these human wills, bringing them in line with the will of God. This the very thing we ask so often, praying, “Thy will be done.”
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Paul exhorts the young pastor to devote himself to three practices in his ministry: being sure that the Scriptures are read in services of worship, and preaching and teaching the Word of God.
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The gospel of God’s grace through Christ was snubbed as something “Lutheran” in the 16th century. In the 21st century, other gospels persist in churches.
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Holy Communion is not a ritual that is to be performed as though it were a good work done by us. Communion is a means of grace, something done by God for us and for Christ’s sake.
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Toward the end of my pastorate in her church, I visited Lucy on a day when she seemed a little upset about something that she could not put into words.
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Jesus says, “Hear and understand.” This is important. A person’s righteousness is not earned in the keeping of traditions or rituals or doing good works.
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Do you have hope? If so, what is the reason for your hope? The Apostle Peter says that we should be ready to give a reliable reason for the hope that is in us.
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Christ alone has the authority to institute rites in the Church that justify, reconcile, and forgive. Why is it though, that the Church or its bishops cannot establish these ceremonies?
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If we are going to follow a command of God, let us keep this one: believe in his Son, Jesus Christ. For “this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.”
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When one takes time for study of the Scripture, it is easily discovered that no one merits God’s favor, forgiveness, et cetera through these human traditions in the Church.
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How can there be a secure and sincere hope of glory when that hope is based in one’s own ability to perform? That would be to despair of glory. Our hope is based on a truer self than self.
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There is no need to enter a religious order to be righteous or lead a holy life. Christ makes husbands, wives, and parents as holy as priests.
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Human righteousness tends to look down its nose at those not religious in the same way. It is always watching to see what others are not doing so that it can compare all it does.
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