The Large Catechism – part 122
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 3:10–11
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
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From the Confessions: The Large Catechism, The Ten Commandments
The Fourth Commandment
Honor your father and your mother, (that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.)
Oh, what a high price would all the Carthusians, monks, and nuns pay, if in all their religious observances they could bring into God’s presence a single work done by obeying this commandment. They would then be able to face him and say with joyful hearts: “Now I know that this work is well pleasing to you.” Where will these poor, wretched persons hide when, in the sight of God and all the world, they must blush with shame before a young child who has lived according to this commandment, when they have to confess that with their whole life they are not worthy to give that child a drink of water? And it serves them right for their devilish distortion of God’s commandment, treading it under foot as they vainly afflict themselves with works of their own design. Moreover, they have only scorn and defeat for their reward.
Pulling It Together: “I will give up heating this year for God! He will respect me for that sacrifice and grant me entrance at heaven’s gates.” As some old friends of mine used to say mockingly, “Let me know how that works out for you.” When we invent religious schemes that have nothing to do with God’s will and command, we are, in fact, mocking him. Is not his word enough for us? Do we refuse to believe his promises? Is Christ an insufficient Savior? Let our life of faith begin with what the Lord commands and wills, and may we build upon it with more of the same. This is precisely what we should be doing in the home, starting our children off on the right foot by teaching them the commandments. If we do not, they are likely to invent some novel enthusiasm that is nothing more than the old bowing down to their own images.
Prayer: Lift our eyes to you, Lord, and save us from ourselves. Amen.
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Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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