Friday, August 30, 2013

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Lutheran Confessions

Free Will!  One of my favorites!  The notion of man’s “free will” is as common among the Christian church as any; it’s almost assumed.  And while the Reformers do speak of man having freedom to choose “civil righteousness” (like whether or not to obey the speed limit), the Lutheran confession is clear that there is no “free will” in spiritual matters.  That is to say, by our own reason or strength, our will is incapable of accepting anything of God.  Apart from the Holy Spirit working through the Gospel, we are bound to sin and darkness, and not free at all.  But through the Holy Spirit, who calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctified, do are made new, and receive a will that desires the things of God.  Enjoy what you find!

Collect of the Week (Proper 16-C)
O Lord, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Article XVII (Christ’s Return for Judgment)
1 Our churches teach that a person’s will has some freedom to choose civil righteousness and to do things subject to reason. 2 It has no power, without the Holy Spirit, to work the righteousness of God, that is, spiritual righteousness. For “the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:14). 3 This righteousness is worked in the heart when the Holy Spirit is received through the Word [Galatians 3:2–6].
4 This is what Augustine says in his Hypognosticon, Book III:
We grant that all people have a free will. It is free as far as it has the judgment of reason. This does not mean that it is able, without God, either to begin, or at least to complete, anything that has to do with God. It is free only in works of this life, whether good or evil. 5 Good I call those works that spring from the good in nature, such as willing to labor in the field, to eat and drink, to have a friend, to clothe oneself, to build a house, to marry a wife, to raise cattle, to learn various useful arts, or whatsoever good applies to this life. 6 For all of these things depend on the providence of God. They are from Him and exist through Him. 7 Works that are willing to worship an idol, to commit murder, and so forth, I call evil.
8 Our churches condemn the Pelagians and others who teach that without the Holy Spirit, by natural power alone, we are able to love God above all things and do God’s commandments according to the letter. 9 Although nature is able in a certain way to do the outward work (for it is able to keep the hands from theft and murder), yet it cannot produce the inward motions, such as the fear of God, trust in God, chastity, patience, and so on. (Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul Timothy McCain. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005, S. 40).
Note:
By the time of the Reformation, the Roman Church had fully developed a false and potentially damning doctrine, one that stated that a person is able, to some degree, to strive for and receive God’s mercy. Article XVIII asserts Scripture’s teaching that people, apart from God’s grace, are wholly incapable of perceiving spiritual things. The longest quote from a Church Father in the Augsburg Confession occurs here. It demonstrates Lutheranism’s continuity with the Church catholic—in contrast to Roman error on this doctrine. Augustine echoes the Bible’s teaching that while we humans can perform acts of civil righteousness, which may be called “good,” spiritually we are evil and enemies of God. However, in Christ, our loving God breaks down the wall of hostility separating us from Him. By His Spirit, through His Word, He gives us Christ’s perfect righteousness as a gift. In external, worldly matters we do have the freedom to make decisions according to human reason, but this does not mean, apart from God’s grace, that we have similar powers in matters of eternal life. (See also Ap XVIII; FC Ep II and SD II.) (Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul Timothy McCain. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005, S. 40).

Prayer
Almighty, everlasting God, for our many sins we justly deserve eternal condemnation. In Your mercy You sent Your dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who won for us forgiveness of sins and everlasting salvation. Grant us a true confession that, dead to sin, we may be raised up by Your life-giving absolution. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may be ever watchful and live true and godly lives in Your service; through Jesus Christ, our Lord (LSB, collect #153).

Daily Prayer (For Friday)
We pray…for the preaching of the holy cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the spread of His knowledge throughout the whole world; for the persecuted and oppressed; for the sick and dying.




Ap Apology of the Augsburg Confession
FC Ep Epitome of the Formula of Concord
SD Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Daily Devotional Thought--Thursday

Collect of the Week (Proper 16-C)
O Lord, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Genesis 39:6b-21 (From the Daily Bible Story Lectionary)
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.  7 And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, "Lie with me."  8 But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge.  9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"  10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.
11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house,  12 she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me." But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house.  13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house,  14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, "See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.  15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house."  16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home,  17 and she told him the same story, saying, "The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me.  18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house."
19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, "This is the way your servant treated me," his anger was kindled.  20 And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.  21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

Catechism: The Fifth & Sixth Commandments
What is the Fifth Commandment?
            You shall not murder.
What does this mean?
            We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

What is the sixth Commandment?
      You shall not commit adultery.
What does this mean?
      We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.

Devotion
In the name of T Jesus.

Even though Joseph lived about 1,900 years before the time of St. Paul, the wisdom that we see in both men is the same.  Paul would write the Corinthian Christians to “flee from sexual immorality” (1 Cor 6:18) and in Joseph we see what that looks like.  What Paul teaches, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we see Joseph carry out, also by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by whom we have the gift of repentance and the desire to keep God’s Word.  The Lord has given the Six Commandment for the protection of His institution of marriage, and where Paul would one day exhort Christians to live sexually pure lives, we see in Joseph, an example of how to do that.

Notice, that Joseph doesn’t even risk dabbling with this temptation.  There is no flirtation, no lingering of eyes, no flattery of speech so as to indicate a desire that he wished he could act on.  There is the threat of temptation, and Joseph fled.

Of course, like Joseph, our fleeing from temptation is no guarantee that the temptation will no longer continue.  Joseph was handsome in form and appearance, and Potiphar’s wife didn’t give up on her pursuits of him.  Though he fled temptation, temptation ran to him.  And so it goes for us.  The Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated was opted out of (Yes, SI does give that option, and will extend your subscription by one week of you take it!), internet history is monitored and filtered, even the choice of movie and television show is made with care to avoid sexual temptation, and to love and honor our spouse.  But temptation pursues us from all fronts.  Billboards, pop-up screens, waitresses trying to make an extra buck, or any number of unsolicited sources of sexual temptation pursue us, and tempt us to dishonor the gifts of sexuality, marriage, and more.

With Christ, there is forgiveness of sins.  And with Christ’s forgiveness comes a new creation—the old has gone, behold, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17).  Like Joseph, though we be tempted, we need not give in.  And even though the temptation persists, as we flee to Christ and the refuge of His Word we are reminded not only of the forgiveness that is ours, but of the beautiful and holy gift he has given in our sexuality, and in our spouses.  And there, we are reminded that these gifts aren’t worth forfeiting for a momentary whim of pleasure.

Of course, apart from the Holy Spirit, we would all give in.  But with Him there is repentance, and in repentance, a new man comes forth to live by faith, and to fight against the flesh.  With repentance and faith, we lead sexually pure and decent lives, and the state of marriage is held in high esteem.  In the name of T Jesus. Amen.

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, You were tempted in every way, just as we are, yet You were without sin (Heb 4:15). Be with us in our temptations, free us from the prison of sin, and by Your cross brign us to eternal life. Amen (TLSB, p. 77).

Daily Prayer (For Thursday)

We pray…for the Church and her pastors; for teachers, deaconesses, and other church workers; for missionaries and for all who serve the Church; for fruitful and salutary use of the blessed Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Daily Devotional Thought--Wednesday

Collect of the Week (Proper 16-C)
O Lord, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Mark 10:6-8a (Congregation at Prayer verse of the Week)
6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’

Catechism: The Fifth & Sixth Commandments
What is the Fifth Commandment?
            You shall not murder.
What does this mean?
            We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

What is the sixth Commandment?
      You shall not commit adultery.
What does this mean?
      We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.

Devotion
In the name of T Jesus.

The Lord has given the Sixth Commandment, for the sake of the Fifth Commandment.  Let me say that another way: The LORD establishes marriage and the family in order to protect the gift of life.  And to say it one last time: The gift of marriage is the institution given by the LORD for the giving and nurturing of life.  So by keeping the Sixth Commandment, we also keep the Fifth Commandment.

It also follows, therefore, that in abusing the gift of marriage, we fail to help and support our neighbor in his physical need.  How is this so?  Because where the family dissolves, so too, dissolves the honor given to life.  Where man and woman do not live together in holy matrimony, the life of our neighbor is also not honored, crime increases, and society declines.  Indeed, the failure to honor the institution of marriage results in a failure to honor and serve our neighbor in his/her body.

On the other hand, in Christ’s work of redemption, we see a picture of the love of husband and wife.  Where Christ gives Himself for His bride—the Church—so too, is the husband called to give his life for his own bride—the wife.  And likewise, as the Bride of Christ receives the gifts Christ freely gives to her, a wife receives the self-sacrificial gifts her Christian husband bestows on her.

But this even goes further.  Christ dies for his bride, loving her with his own self-sacrifice, and what is the result?  Life!  So too, in the marriage, when the husband loves his wife, and remains faithful to her, even giving himself in the most intimate of ways.  And what is the result?  Life!

So, you see, Christ has fulfilled both the Sixth Commandment and the Fifth Commandment.  In Christ we see the love of marriage personified, and through Christ, who dies for the bride, life is given and protected.  In Christ, we see that the Sixth Commandment is given for the sake of the Fifth.  Marriage is the gift by which the LORD gives and preserves life.  By His Spirit, may our own marriages do the same.  In the name of T Jesus.

Prayer
O Lord God, at the creation of Adam and Eve You instituted and blessed marriage as the union of a man and a woman and commanded that it be held in honor by all. Grant Your blessings to all married couples, that their life together may be blessed with wisdom, purity, self-sacrifice, and love; through Jesus Christ, our Lord (Collect #242).

Daily Prayer (For Wednesday)
We pray…for marriage and family, that husbands and wives, parents and children live in ordered harmony according to the Word of God; for parents who must raise children alone; for our communities and neighborhoods.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Daily Devotional Thought--Tuesday

Collect of the Week (Proper 16-C)
O Lord, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Luke 10:25-37 (From the Bible Story Lectionary)
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  26 He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?"  27 And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."  28 And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live."
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.  31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.  34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.  35 And the next day he took out two denarii1 and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'  36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"  37 He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise."

Catechism: The Fifth & Sixth Commandments
What is the Fifth Commandment?
            You shall not murder.
What does this mean?
            We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

What is the sixth Commandment?
      You shall not commit adultery.
What does this mean?
      We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.

Devotional Thoughts
In the name of T Jesus.

If yesterday’s story of Cain and Abel reminded us that the LORD’s desire is to protect life.  Today’s story, the well-known story known as the Good Samaritan—reminds us to protect every life.
Travel across the globe, and you will find that murder is illegal in every country and culture. However, as history has shown us repeatedly, if we can redefine the word neighbor, and limit those who we include in that category, then the LORD’s protection is also limited.  During WW2, for example, ethnic Jews, Gypsies, and the mentally disabled were not given the protection due our neighbors because they were allowed to be labeled as “less than human.”  Today, even in our own country, the value of a life is judged by some on the basis of a person’s ability to contribute.  No longer are secularists debating whether or not there is life in the womb, or in a seriously ill patient; not the question is one of “personhood.”  Is that life a “person?”

Of course, if a life is not considered as a person, it will surely not be given the protection due those who we easily see as neighbors.  And in this line of thinking, the LORD’s desire to protect life is disregarded, and we sin against him.

And so the story of the Good Samaritan reminds us that Jesus doesn’t allow us to limit the definition of “neighbor,”—or person, for that matter.  On the contrary, Jesus expands it, so that there would not be a single person to whom the people of God would deny the love and care due to our neighbors.

Of course, even the Good Samaritan would serve only as a glimpse into the will of God revealed in Christ.  For while the Samaritan surely stepped across ethnic and/or religious dividers to love and serve his neighbor, Jesus would step across any all barriers so that He might serve all men.  And all the men for whom Jesus would die were by nature His own enemies.  For while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly—or in these terms, the non-neighbors!  And so, Jesus teaches that everyone, maybe even especially our enemies, are to be considered our neighbors, and worthy of our love and care.

After all, if you struggle with this teaching, and find it difficult to look beyond the differences we have with our fellow man, ask yourself this question: “Is this a person for whom Christ died?”  And since Christ has died for the sins of all, then with your eyes on the cross, we might learn how to keep the Fifth Commandment, and to support all of our neighbors in every physical need.

In the name of T Jesus. Amen.

Prayer
Lord, make me more like You, that I grow in faith and love for my neighbor. May people see You in my actions as I reach out to them with Your love. Amen (TLSB, p. 1735).

Daily Prayer (For Tuesday)

We pray…for deliverance against temptation and evil; for the addicted and despairing, the tortured and oppressed; for those struggling with sin.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Daily Devotional Thought--Monday

Collect of the Week (Proper 16-C)
O Lord, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Genesis 4:1-15 (From the Bible Story Lectionary)
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten1 a man with the help of the LORD."  2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.  3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground,  4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,  5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.  6 The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?  7 If you do well, will you not be accepted?1 And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for2 you, but you must rule over it."  8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother.1 And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.  9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"  10 And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.  11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.  12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth."  13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear.1  14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."  15 Then the LORD said to him, "Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.

Catechism: The Fifth & Sixth Commandments
What is the Fifth Commandment?
            You shall not murder.
What does this mean?
            We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

What is the sixth Commandment?
      You shall not commit adultery.
What does this mean?
      We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.

Devotion
In the name of T Jesus.

In chapter three of Genesis, we have the curse, a judgment spoken by God on all creation because of the sin of Adam and Eve.  Nothing was exempt.  Rather than unending life, plants, animals, and even the crows of the LORD’s creation—mankind—would now suffer the wages of sin and die. The LORD gives life; it is the sin of mankind that brings death.  And it doesn’t take long for mankind to bring death.

The curse was in chapter three, and in the very next chapter we hear the story of Cain murdering Abel.  Selfishness, jealousy, covetous desire, anger, hatred:  all of these sinful desires are already in the heart of Cain and are what lead him to commit that first bloody murder.  And even though this is just one chapter after the fall, we learn from this that when man is born sinful, he is born completely sinful.

Like dogs giving birth to dogs, and cats giving birth to cats, sinful man gives birth to sinful men.  The offspring of Adam don’t need generations to become sinful; they are born sinful—completely sinful.  Cain’s heart was already full of all those sinful desires spoken of by Jesus in Matthew, chapter 15.  And so, where there are sinful hearts, there will be sinful desires; and these sinful desires, left unchecked, will result in the taking of life and the destruction of the LORD’s good creation.

This is why the LORD gives the Fifth Commandment.  The creator of life is also the protector of life.  He delights not in the death of anyone, and so he has given mankind his explicit will on the subject of life and death.  “You shall not murder.”  You are not to take life into your own hands, for life is not yours to give or to take.  Rather, you are to help and support your neighbor in all his physical needs.

We see this even in how the LORD gives His punishment to Cain, the murderer.  Rather than the LORD shedding the blood of Cain to pay for the blood of Abel, the LORD protects even the life of the guilty.  Sure, there was judgment on Cain, as he was made a fugitive and wanderer in the land.  But there was also protection for his life.  The LORD placed a mark on him, and warned anyone who might seek to harm him.  Because the LORD and giver of life, is also the protector of life.

You see, the blood of Cain cannot pay for the blood of Abel.  The death of any of our enemies does not satisfy our desire for vengeance.  Only the blood of Jesus can do that.  And it has done that.  The blood of Jesus was shed so that life might once again be the gift that is given by the LORD.  Through His blood, death is defeated, and eternal life is given.  So the LORD not only continues to give life, and through the Fifth Commandment protects life, but in Christ, the LORD still makes life to last forever.  In the name of T Jesus. Amen.

Prayer

Lord and giver of life, chase from us all the hatred, envy, jealousy, and covetous desires which lead us to mistreat our neighbors.  Bring us to repentance, and by faith in the forgiveness won for us by Christ, teach us how to love and serve our neighbor in all his physical needs; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Fatherly Discipline, Fatherly Love (Sermon preached August 25, Proper 16-C)


In the name of T Jesus.
            You and I have a Father who desperately wants to keep you, and all His children, for all eternity.  You and I are the Father’s sons and daughters.  By Holy Baptism we became coheirs, with His only-begotten Son, of all the Father’s blessings.  Your sin was crucified with Christ.  With Jesus, your eternal life has burst forth from His empty tomb.  Salvation belongs to the Lord, and he gives it freely to His sons and daughters.  The Father loves you, his children.  His desire is to keep you for all eternity.  This is why He must discipline you.
            Of course, like all children, we would rather not be disciplined, at least at first.  But this morning, God the Holy Spirit will bring us to maturity, and will teach us to welcome the Father’s discipline with thanksgiving.  By God’s Word we will see, that when the Father gives His Law, it is Good and Wise.  We will learn that the Father’s discipline brings with it the fruit of repentance and faith.  This is how he turns His children from their sin, so that they would flee to Jesus, who from the curse has set us free.  The Father’s discipline brings us to righteousness.
Consider first today’s Gospel reading.  It would be difficult to find a clearer passage in all of scripture to remind us of the importance of our Father’s discipline.  When asked if those who are saved will be few, Jesus’ answer should catch the attention of even the most faithful churchgoers.  Many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from.  Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ (Luke 12:24-27)  Talk about a narrow door.  So narrow, in fact, is the way of salvation, that many who live their lives thinking that they will inherit the kingdom, will be sent away from the Lord, and into that place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
            People who ate and drank with Jesus; folks who gathered to hear him teach in their streets; thrown out of His presence and into eternal death.  Haven’t we eaten with Jesus?  Haven’t we drank from the cup of His blood?  Haven’t we gathered together for confirmation classes, Bible classes, and haven’t we had devotional time to learn the Lord’s teaching?  How are we any different than those who Jesus calls workers of evil?  How are we to know if we will avoid our own weeping and gnashing of teeth?  How are we to know whether or not the door is too narrow for us?  Hear again verses 5 and 6 of the Epistle, from Hebrews, chapter 12:
            My son(s) (and daughters), do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son (and daughter) whom he receives.

So how do you receive the discipline of the Father?
            For many, the discipline of the Father is good, as long as it is applied to someone else.  When they hear the Law clearly preached, they respond by saying to their pastor: “You really got ‘em today.”  “They really needed to hear that.”  Or maybe this sort of person just sits in the pew thinking, “I know someone like that.”  The problem is, if the Father’s discipline is always intended for someone else, than the Father is not treating you as a son or daughter, for the one who He disciplines is the one He loves.
            Other folks are simply convinced that the Father’s discipline no longer applies.  It goes something like this: “the Old Testament was full of rules and regulations, but now we have the New Testament, which is all about love and peace.  Do you really think I could go to hell for dishonoring my parents, or for ripping off my employees, or for having premarital sex, or for hating that guy at church, or for harming my classmates reputation, or for scheming to get my brothers inheritance, or for encouraging my neighbor’s wife or workers to leave him, or turn away from him.  God loves me just the way I am.”
            Well, God the Father does love you, but He has no intention of leaving you in your sin, walking down the path that leads away from heaven.  He hates the sin that flows from your heart: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:19). And yes, this does apply to all of us, you and me.  There’s no denying it.
            In your own struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.  In other words, when temptation has come upon you, you have fallen.  You have not been able to stand up against the devil’s attacks and come out unscathed like Jesus Christ.  You have not been able to humble yourself to the point of death, rather than seek your own glory.  Unlike Jesus, you have fallen short of the glory of God, which is why the Father doesn’t simply leave you as you are.  No, the Father disciplines you because he loves you.  His desire is to keep you.
            And so, my friends, there is another response to the Father’s discipline—a faithful response.  This response is only taught by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.  And it enables the Father’s sons and daughters, sinners like you and me, to confess the absurd:
·         Oh how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. (Psalm 119:97)
·         My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws. (Psalm 119:20)
·          I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path. (Psalm 119:127-128)
·         I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law. (Psalm 119:163)

The faithful response, made possible only as the Holy Spirit gives faith in the Word, is to receive the Father’s discipline with thanksgiving.  With eyes of faith, the Holy Spirit teaches us to know that the Father’s discipline is always for our good, for by it he chases away the sin that so easily entangles, and produces in us the repentance that leads us to the cross, where our righteousness is found.
            We have all had earthly parents who disciplined us and we respected them. Listen to how Dr. Luther describes the respect we have for our earthly parents:
Every head of a household must punish and should not tolerate evil…A father does not punish his son in order to make him spiteful and ruin him in body and soul, but rather to ward off his vice; he wants to purify him and wipe away his faults.  He hates, not the person, but the vice.  This is a wrathful love which is kind and good toward the person; hence it cannot tolerate the nastiness in him.  So, too a woman cannot bear it when there is dirt on her child’s nose, but must wipe it away; she does not do this in order to hurt the child.  Magistrates, teachers, and parents must chastise, but this chastisement is fatherly and kind.[1]

So, if we can readily admit that our earthly parents’ discipline is good and wise, shall we not much more be subject to our perfect heavenly Father?  Our earthly parents disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, praying for help, and experimenting along the way, but God the Father’s discipline is always Good and Wise.  The Father disciplines us, his children, so that he might keep us as His children.  His discipline serves to keep us on that narrow way spoken of by Jesus, and for this reason, we receive the Father’s discipline with joy and thanksgiving, even though it isn’t fun or pleasant.  And according to the Scriptures, it won’t be fun or pleasant.
When the Law is preached or taught to us in such a way that it pierces through to our heart and causes us to see our sin in the mirror, it isn’t fun or pleasant.  It forces us to change our sinful ways, to flee from temptation, to put to an end certain behaviors, and to ultimately admit that our ways are often times not the ways of the Lord.  The Father’s discipline in the law humbles us, and while it isn’t pleasant at the time, in repentance and faith, we learn to receive it with joy and thanksgiving.  As sons and daughters who have been instructed and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, we know that the Law’s greater purpose is to drive us to repentance, where we are stripped of our self-righteousness, and by faith, find our refuge in the cross, and the blood of Jesus which flows from it.
            Even the Father’s only begotten Son, did not find the Father’s discipline to be pleasant at the time: "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me."  But the Father would not refrain from disciplining His own Son—and so, Jesus became the mediator of a new covenant, and His blood was sprinkled out so that it would speak a better word than the Law.
            You see, the Father’s wrath and final judgment has been carried out on His Son, so that you, His children, would not suffer the same fate, and be separated for all eternity.  You and I have a Father who desperately wants to keep you, and all His children, for all eternity.  You and I are the Father’s sons and daughters.  And so, He disciplines You, by His Word, he trains you through the crosses you bear, and he instructs you in the midst of your greatest burdens, to cling to Him.  So that you too would confess how you delight in His law, how you welcome His discipline, how you give thanks for His instruction—even when it isn’t fun or pleasant.
But how much joy there will be on that Day when the Son of God will appear and say: “Behold, I am your Savior and Deliverer…I have chastised you that your sin might be purged away and that you might acknowledge Me as your God and Savior”! [2]

You and I have a heavenly Father who disciplines us, His children, because He desperately wants to keep us for all of eternity.  Salvation belongs to the Lord, and he gives it by grace to His sons and daughters who in repentance and faith, flee for refuge to Jesus, who from the curse has set us free.  Disciplined by the Father, and repenting of our sin, we humbly worship at His throne, Saved by His grace through faith alone.  In the name of T Jesus. Amen.



[1] Luther, Martin: Pelikan, Jaroslav Jan (HRSG.); Oswald, Hilton C. (Hrsg.); Lehmann, Helmut T. (Hrsg.); Luther’s Works, Vol. 51: Sermons I. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999, c1959 (Luther’s Works 51), S. 51:298.
[2]Luther, Martin: Pelikan, Jaroslav Jan (Hrsg.) ; Oswald, Hilton C. (Hrsg.) ; Lehmann, Helmut T. (Hrsg.): Luther's Works, Vol. 8 : Lectures on Genesis: Chapters 45-50. Saint Louis : Concordia Publishing House, 1999, c1966 (Luther's Works 8), S. 8:12

Friday, August 23, 2013

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Lutheran Confessions

Today’s topic—Christ’s Return for Judgment—should be pretty straightforward…but it’s not.  In the first paragraph we see the simplicity of the Scripture’s teaching on the return of Christ, a teaching that is Good News for the Christian.  Then we see the false teachings that were already running rampant during the time of the Reformation: Annihilationism and Millennialism.  Enjoy!

Collect of the Week (Proper 15-C)
Merciful Lord, cleanse and defend Your Church by the sacrifice of Christ. United with Him in Holy Baptism, give us grace to receive with thanksgiving the fruits of His redeeming work and daily follow in His way; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Article XVII (Christ’s Return for Judgment)
1 Our churches teach that at the end of the world Christ will appear for judgment and will raise all the dead [1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:2]. 2 He will give the godly and elect eternal life and everlasting joys, 3 but He will condemn ungodly people and the devils to be tormented without end [Matthew 25:31–46].
4 Our churches condemn the Anabaptists, who think that there will be an end to the punishments of condemned men and devils.
5 Our churches also condemn those who are spreading certain Jewish opinions, that before the resurrection of the dead the godly shall take possession of the kingdom of the world, the ungodly being everywhere suppressed. (Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul Timothy McCain. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005, S. 40).

Note:
This article affirms the biblical view of the end times. It pointedly rejects any speculation or opinion about believers ruling the world before the final resurrection of the dead. It also rejects all theories about a “millennial” earthly rule of Christ as contrary to God’s Word. (See also Ap XVII.)(Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul Timothy McCain. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005, S. 40).

Prayer
Almighty, everlasting God, for our many sins we justly deserve eternal condemnation. In Your mercy You sent Your dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who won for us forgiveness of sins and everlasting salvation. Grant us a true confession that, dead to sin, we may be raised up by Your life-giving absolution. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may be ever watchful and live true and godly lives in Your service; through Jesus Christ, our Lord (LSB, collect #153).

Daily Prayer (For Friday)
We pray…for the preaching of the holy cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the spread of His knowledge throughout the whole world; for the persecuted and oppressed; for the sick and dying.




Ap Apology of the Augsburg Confession