Concerning the Mass – part 2
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: Acts 8:30
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
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From the Confessions: The Defense of the Augsburg Confession
Our opponents offer a lengthy diatribe about the use of the Latin language in the Mass, in which they absurdly amuse themselves about how it profits someone who knows nothing of the faith of the Church to hear a Mass which he does not understand. They must imagine that the mere act of hearing is a service of worship that benefits people without it being understood. We are unwilling to belabor this point, but leave it to the judgment of the reader. We mention it in passing for the purpose of stating that our churches also also retain the Latin lessons and prayers.
Pulling It Together: More than one person has proclaimed to me, as though to unsettle me, I suppose, that going to church does not make one a Christian. Well, amen to that. God creates faith through the working of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Now that very often happens in churches, but it may just as well happen in a house, a prison, a field, or anywhere else because it always happens by the same agency: hearing the word of Christ. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Thank God for those like Wycliffe, Luther, and Tyndale who translated the Scriptures into their own languages, so that God may give us understanding.
Prayer: Help me, Lord, to be engrossed by your Word. 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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