Concerning the Mass – part 32
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: Ecclesiastes 5:1
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
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From the Confessions: The Defense of the Augsburg Confession
Casting aside the pharisaic opinion of the opus operatum, we understand that spiritual worship and a daily sacrifice of the heart are intended. In the New Testament, we ought to seek the substance of good things: in other words, the Holy Spirit who kills and makes alive. It is sufficiently evident therefore, that the analogy of the daily sacrifice does not testify against us, but rather for us, because we insist upon all the things symbolized by the daily sacrifice. Our opponents falsely imagine that it means the ceremony alone, without the preaching of the gospel, being put to death, and being made alive.
Pulling It Together
We should not go through the motions of religious ceremony, for this is vanity and hypocrisy. Ritualism without understanding is foolishness. The Word must attend all ceremony, for without the Word, faith is not possible. And to eat and drink without faith is sin (Romans 14:23), and to do so without discernment is condemnation (1 Corinthians 11:29).
Prayer: Give me a heart for your Word, O Lord. Amen
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Author
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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