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It is not in our nature to love God or do good. That old nature must die, so that a new nature may be formed in us — a righteous nature given to us, that may love God. Working at it will not make us God fearing or good people.
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We may do some good on our own. For example, our own free will may be at work in civil matters. You may determine whether or not you will pay your taxes or stop when the light is red or if you will provide some service to your country.
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You will recall that we are dealing with theological errors that were refuted in Luther’s “Smalcald Articles.” We have seen that these errors were largely due to being in conflict with the chief article.
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We have already seen how human nature is not equal to the task. But even if some person is able to live a perfectly sinless life, that person was born into sin (original sin), and so, remains a sinner.
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People are able to choose to do some good but they are incapable of being good. Likewise, they are able to leave off from doing some evil, while remaining incapable of being sinners.
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Though this passage in Isaiah depicts the coming Messiah, it may also be seen as a model for the godly life. Within it, we see that human beings have the capacity to learn and to think.
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The kingdom of God cannot be stormed by reason. Human reason is strong but it cannot bring itself to believe in the unseen, the unprovable.
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Near the beginning, Adam and Eve paid no attention to what God spoke. He told them that they may eat of all manner of things in the garden of Eden, but that they must not eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
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The prime sin, which brought all sin into the world, is a hereditary sin, making us all sinners, persons with a built-in desire to sin.
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What can you do with those who cannot or will not hear? If they will not listen, as reasonable people make a point to do, how will they be able to obey God’s Word?
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Luther knew well where these charges came from, praying the Lord’s censure of Satan. This simply means Luther recognized that, though the devil was behind it, the Lord was in control.
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There is no teaching more false, no heresy more despicable, than for a representative of the Church to teach that salvation comes in any other manner than by God’s grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ.
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If we are looking for things to go our way in a public election, in the choice of a church leader, or in an assembly’s vote, we should not get our hopes up. Despite the outcome, our hope remains the same.
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Sola Christus (Christ alone) was a predominant teaching of the Reformation. It should still be the foremost teaching of the Church today, as Christ is the central teaching of Scripture.
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The priesthood of believers leaves no room for airs, for the pretense of one Christian being greater than another. When this happens, the Church will squabble, as any family would in such circumstances, and be of no use to God.
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Salvation does not come by attending a particular church or belonging to a certain denomination. It does not happen because you follow a particular teacher or go along with a particular church leadership.
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We cannot have it both ways. Either Christ is head of his Church, or the pope is. It was claimed that the pope was supreme in the Church.
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It is one thing to have a leader in the Church. It is another thing altogether to have that leader make claims that supersede Scripture, create new doctrines for the Church, and have power over others whom God himself has called to leadership.
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Things are bound to get worse. That was Jesus’ message too. Yet, within his message was a word of hope and assurance: “the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
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Oh, that Christ were head of the Church. We have no need of another. Christ has given his churches pastors, who are bishops or overseers of those congregations.
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In The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien describes 20 rings of power that were forged to rule the inhabitants of Middle Earth. One ring and its wearer was to rule over the other 19 and their wearers.
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The “great red dragon” of Revelation 12 is depicted as a beast that has situated itself in such a way that it may easily devour the child about to be born into the world.
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The real issue was, and will always be, in regards to redemption. How is one forgiven and saved? Does this happen because of our good works, religious services, the works of others, declarations of indulgence?
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This is not a matter of being unwilling to grovel. Rather, we should not address brothers and sisters in the Lord as though they were anyone but family.
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There is only one who is the head of the Church. Jesus Christ must be given this honor, for the Father has conferred that authority and power on him alone.
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Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for well-meaning people to be caught up in religious practices, thinking they are doing right, while acting unrighteously. Add to this that they are deceiving themselves.
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Monasteries and convents had become, by Luther’s time, places to earn one’s salvation. In other words, the sacrifice of living such a life was a merit of one’s virtue, imagined as deserving salvation.
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Habemus ad Dominum. This is part of the Preface prayer, just before we sing “Holy, Holy, Holy” in the liturgy. In English, we sing, “We lift them to the Lord.”
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Jesus’ disciples had just seen him walking on the sea, did not recognize him, and were terrified. Yet the people of Gennesaret “immediately recognized him” and were overjoyed at his presence.
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Only Jesus Christ is our mediator. If he intercedes for us (and he does), we need no other. He requires no assistance; he is up to the task. So, give him the honor of calling upon him in your time of need.
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Lutherans commend honoring the saints by remembering them, and emulating godly lives. We disapprove of praying to saints and angels. Scripture does not in any way teach us to do so.
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God determines the payment for sin. The Church does not do so, nor does a pope. We know this because this is what the Bible teaches. God’s Word does not teach us to trust in the goodness of either religion or religious people.
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