The inerrancy issue remains a problem for many Lutherans, particularly those who have been schooled in higher-criticism. While their sympathies may be with those who hold a high view of Scripture, the term “inerrancy” is a word that makes them uncomfortable. Ironically, inerrant is not nearly as strong a word as infallible. Inerrant just means the Scriptures contain no error. Infallible asserts that the Scriptures are incapable of error. Both terms are rightly used to describe the nature of the Holy Scriptures; however, they are not rightly understood unless they are understood in light of the reality that is Jesus Christ, the Word of God Incarnate. For that reason, I thought it would be interesting to share the Lutheran perspective on the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture. When we consider the Incarnation, and the reality that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, we can better understand the nature of the Scriptures as being truly human, though without error. Thanks to Pastor Jay Webber for this collection of quotes on this issue. Source.

The Holy Scripture is God’s Word, written and, so to speak, lettered and put into the form of letters (gebuchstabet und in Buchstaben gebildet), just as Christ, the eternal Word of God, is clothed in humanity. And men regard and treat the written Word of God in this world just as they do Christ. It is a worm and no book compared with other books. (Martin Luther, WA 48, 31 [1541]; quoted in What Luther Says [Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959], p. 71)

The Holy Scripture is God’s Word, written and, so to say, spelled out and pictured in alphabetic letters, just as Christ is the eternal Word of God veiled in humanity; and what happened to Christ in the world, happens to the written Word of God also: it is considered a worm and no book over against other books. (Martin Luther, WA 48, 31 [alternate translation]; quoted in Hermann Sasse, “On the Doctrine De Scriptura Sacra,” Scripture and the Church: Selected Essays of Hermann Sasse [Saint Louis: Concordia Seminary, 1995], p. 78)

The word of God is perfectly divine in its contents; but except where the divine form is as necessary as the divine fact, no book is more perfectly human in its form. It is inspired, for it comes from God; it is human, for it comes through man. But remember, we do not say that the human is without the divine. The Spirit is incarnate in the Word, as the Son was incarnate in Christ. There is deep significance in the fact, that the title of “the Word” is given both to Christ, the Revealer, and to the Bible, the revelation of God, so that in some passages great critics differ as to which is meant. As Christ without confusion of natures is truly human as well as divine, so is this Word. As the human in Christ, though distinct from the divine, was never separate from it, and his human acts were never those of a merely human being – his toils, his merits and his blood were those of God – so is the written word, though most human of books – as Christ, “the Son of Man,” was most human of men – truly divine. Its humanities are no accidents; they are divinely planned. It is essential to God’s conception of his Book, that it shall be written by these men and in this way. He created, reared, made and chose these men, and inspired them to do this thing in their way, because their way was his way.
Take up the Bible – read it impartially. You see in it the unity of truth, an agreement in facts, in doctrine and in spirit. It is one book, as “our God is one God.” Just as palpably, however, do you perceive difference in form. You have before you poetry and prose, history, biography, drama, proverb and prophecy. …
It is the great divine-human heart of the Bible, which has made it so varied in eternal freshness. How everything is permitted to shine out in its own light, and the men of all its eras permitted to make their utterances in the spirit of their own time! … These are the contents of the books of the Old Covenant, which their mere names recall.
And what is the New Testament but an unfolding of this same divine humanity? The New Testament is the life of God in human nature. … Through God in Christ, and Christ in man, we are led from the lineage of him in whom the blood royal of the realms of heaven and [of] earth met, to the closing book of broken seals and seals yet to be broken. But with whatever pulse your human heart may beat, God has placed in his book a heart as truly human as your own, to beat with it. …
The great Spirit who lives in the Universe gives it glory and unity; but it is the lower part of it – the material – which gives it variety. (Charles Porterfield Krauth, The Bible a Perfect Book [Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: Henry C. Neinstedt, 1857], pp. 10-13)

Read more…

Scripture Readings

Introit: Ps. 91:1–2, 9–10, 13; antiphon 15-16
Psalm of the Day: Ps. 32; antiphon v. 7
Old Testament Lesson: Genesis 32:22–32
Gradual: Ps. 91:11–12
Epistle Lesson: 1 Thessalonians 4:1–7
Verse: Ps. 91:1, 4a, 15a, 16
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 15:21–28

Lectionary Summary

Jacob wrestled with God; he would not let Him go until he received a blessing from Him (Gen. 32:22–32). So it was with the Canaanite woman. Though Jesus seemed to ignore and reject her, she continued to call upon His name and look to Him for help (Mt. 15:21–28). Even when the Lord called her a little dog, she held on to Him in faith and would not let Him wriggle out of His words: “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” This Gentile woman shows herself to be a true Israelite, who struggles with God and man in Christ and prevails. “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire” (Mt. 15:27–28). This is the sanctifying will of God (1 Thess. 4:1–7)–to test your faith in order that it may be refined and strengthened. For tribulation produces perseverance; perseverance, character; character, hope. And hope in Christ does not disappoint (Rom. 5:1–5).

Collect for the day:
O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

From Luther’s Sermon Notes on the Gospel

This is written for our comfort and instruction, that we may know how deeply God conceals his grace before our face, and that we may not estimate him according to our feelings and thinking, but strictly according to his Word. For here you see, though Christ appears to be even hardhearted, yet he gives no final decision by saying “No.” All his answers indeed sound like no, but they are not no, they remain undecided and pending. For he does not say: I will not hear thee; but is silent and passive, and says neither yes nor no. In like manner he does not say she is not of the house of Israel; but he is sent only to the house of Israel; he leaves it undecided and pending between yes and no. So he does not say, Thou art a dog, one should not give thee of the children’s bread; but it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs; leaving it undecided whether she is a dog or not. Yet all those trials of her faith sounded more like no than yes; but there was more yea in them than nay; aye, there is only yes in them, but it is very deep and very concealed, while there appears to be nothing but no.

By this is set forth the condition of our heart in times of temptation; Christ here represents how it feels. It thinks there is nothing but no and yet that is not true. Therefore it must turn from this feeling and lay hold of and retain the deep spiritual yes under and above the no with a firm faith in God’s Word, as this poor woman does, and say God is right in his judgment which he visits upon us; then we have triumphed and caught Christ in his own words. As for example when we feel in our conscience that God rebukes us as sinners and judges us unworthy of the kingdom of heaven, then we experience hell, and we think we are lost forever. Now whoever understands here the actions of this poor woman and catches God in his own judgment, and says: Lord, it is true, I am a sinner and not worthy of thy grace; but still thou hast promised sinners forgiveness, and thou art come not to call the righteous, but, as St. Paul says in I Tim 1, 15, “to save sinners.” Behold, then must God according to his own judgment have mercy upon us.

Fare thee well, my lovely Dinah,
A thousand times adieu.
For we’re going away from the Holy Ground
And the girls we all love true.
We will sail the salt seas over
And then return for shore
And still I live in hope to see
The Holy Ground once more.
[Fine Girl You Are]

You’re the girl that I adore,
And still I live in hope to see
the Holy Ground once more.
[Fine Girl You Are]

Now when we’re out a-sailing
And you are far behind
Fine letters will I write to you
With the secrets of my mind,
The secrets of my mind, my girl,
You’re the girl that I adore,
And still I live in hope to see
The Holy Ground once more.
[Fine Girl You Are]

Oh now the storm is raging
And we are far from shore;
The poor old ship she’s sinking fast
And the riggings they are tore.
The night is dark and dreary,
We can scarcely see the moon,
But still I live in hope to see
the Holy Ground once more.
[Fine Girl You Are]

And now the storm is over
And we are safe and well.
We will go into a public house
And we’ll sit and drink like hell.
We will drink strong ale and porter
And we’ll make the rafters roar,
And when our money is all spent
We will go to sea once more.

Chords: KEY C

verse/chorus:

Background: Irish lyrics to the tune of “Old Swansea Town Once More”. The “Holy Ground” is a quarter of Cobh (once known as Queenstown), which was inhabited mainly by fisherman. The tune is also refered to as The Cobh Sea Shanty. It was popular on the docks of Cork and Cobh as well as on the ships. The tune was originally a capstan shanty – a song sung as sailors turned the capstan to raise the achor.

“Good works are to be done because they are necessary on the basis of the command of God. . . . For the will and command of God is that believers should not be idle, but that they walk and exercise themselves in good works” (Blessed Martin Chemnitz, Enchiridion, p. 96).

I don’t know about you, but if you are like me, you have found it a tad frustrating at times trying to piece together the calendar dates on which fall the feasts, festivals and commemorations on The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Church Year calendar. My colleague, Rev. Scot Kinnaman, the MasterMind behind the Treasury of Daily Prayer and other various and sundry helpful Church Year and worship resources, shared with me a file he created to put everything all together in one place. And here you go:  in Word .docx, Word .doc, .txt, .rtf, and PDF. If you want in a different version, you are kindly invited to make it yourself! <g>

Feasts-Festival-Commemorations (Word .docx)

Feasts-Festival-Commemorations (Word .doc)

Feasts-Festival-Commemorations (.txt)

Feasts-Festival-Commemorations (.rtf)

Feasts-Festival-Commemorations (.pdf)

In the recent post on the question of antinomianism and the continuing aversion to conversation about the good works Christians are to be doing, Pastor Fast offered a fascinating quote that I think goes to the heart of a lot of the problems we face. What do you think?

“Stanley Hauerwas has said that modern Protestantism has been the only form of Christianity in history to suppose that one could be a Christian by virtue of things which happen entirely inside one’s head. This supposition is true of modern Protestantism’s conservative and liberal versions alike—here Friedrich Schleiermacher and Dwight L. Moody basically agree.”

David Yeago
Sacramental Lutheranism at the End of the Modern Age

Thanks for your continuing interest in The Lutheran Study Bible. I wanted to let you know that we are doing well in the preparation of digital editions of The Lutheran Study Bible. We anticipate that by the end of April/early May we will have several digital options for you. I do not have prices to announce at this point, but here is what I can tell you. TLSB will be released in digital formats allowing it to be used on all desktop and laptop computers, either Mac or PC, and on all iPhones, iTouch and iPads, Blackberries, or other mobile devices if they are able to read ePub or Mobipocket files. TLSB in digital format will be able to be used on the Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader and Barnes and Noble Nook or any other e-book reader that can read ePub or Mobipocket files. We will release a LOGOS edition as well, for use as a stand-alone resource, or as part of your larger LOGOS library, if you own more LOGOS resources. LOGOS is software available for PC or Mac computers. LOGOS has an iPhone app as well and no doubt will be releasing Android versions in the future.

The Lutheran Study Bible — Digital Format Chart of Options

For PC Desktop and Laptop Computers:
LOGOS
Amazon Kindle (.azw)
Adobe Digital Editions — e-Pub (.epub) or ePDF
Mobipocket (.prc)
Barnes and Noble e-Reader — e-Pub (.epub)

For Macintosh Desktop and Laptop Computers:
LOGOS edition
Adobe Digital Editions — e-Pub (.epub) or ePDF
Mobipocket (.prc)
Barnes and Noble e-Reader — ePub (.epub)

For E-Readers:
Amazon Kindle
Sony Reader
B&N Nook
Apple iPad
Any E-Reader device that accepts DRM protected e-Pub and/or ePDF files

For Mobile Devices:
LOGOS iPhone App for iPhone, iTouch, iPad
Amazon Kindle App for iPhone, iTouch, iPad
Amazon Kindle App for Blackberry
Barnes and Noble’s e-Reader for iPhone, iTouch, iPad
Barnes and Noble’s e-Reader for Blackberry
Or any mobile device/application that can read DRM protected e-Pub and/or ePDF files

Dr. Gene Edward Veith posted a remark on his blog site about the fact that his very popular book The Spirituality of the Cross: The Way of the First Evangelicals has been released in a new revised edition. A man, named Dan, posted a very poignant comment on Dr. Veith’s blog about how helpful the book has been to him. I asked Dan if he would be willing to elaborate and he did. He posted his remarks back up on Dr. Veith’s site. They are so good, Dr. Veith featured Dan’s remarks as a separate blog post. Here is what Dr. Veith posted on his blog site recently.

I am very grateful to Dan, who had said that he was influenced by my book The Spirituality of the Cross and, in answer to Paul McCain’s query, explained why. I am posting it here, even though it’s long, because you might have missed it. I offer it to you not because of the kind things he said about my book but because Dan gives some trenchant critiques, born of experience, to the emerging church and other cutting edge movements in American evangelicalism. It’s moving to hear his account of how he moved back into historic Christianity and how my book played a role in that (s.d.g.). It also demonstrates what I have long thought, that Lutheranism is the true emergent church, answering every one of its valid concerns and avoiding every one of its weaknesses. Here is what Dan said:

“I’m comfortable posting here. There are a few prevalent ideas that are very popular in the house church crowd, and I have fallen prey to them for quite some time. In many ways I am still coming out of all this. I’m going to answer your question about Veith’s book in a very round-a-bout way, stay with me.

“It is extremely couth to question authority and to doubt and challenge tradition in my generation. This comes as no surprise to most of you, but it is somehow embedded in my genes. In my personal observation (which may be very limited), it seems that most folks in my parents’ generation take the pastor’s word for it because they trust his authority. My generation doesn’t do that. You need to prove why I should trust you.

“After reading Frank Viola’s “Pagan Christianity,” I had a lot of questions and plenty of ammo. I went to several local pastors (a few of them LCMS) and none of them could give me an intelligible response to the book. One pastor had read the book and was questioning his own tradition as a result – we were practically in the same boat. The book really set me on a path of rejecting the institutional church for a couple of years, and it caused me to really study church history and how our Christian practices came to be. Unfortunately, it set me on the wrong path, but my studies in church history set me straight (largely due to the fact that my wife is earning an M.A. in Theology, so good church history books are abundant in our house). While Viola and Barna make profound points about some church practices, their church history leaves a lot to be desired. Their “analysis” is a mishmash of outdated secondary sources, out-of-context quotations, unsupported hypotheses, and personal prejudices. Even worse, on those occasions where legitimate experts on the field are cited (i.e., Dom Gregory Dix, Paul F. Bradshaw, Alexander Schmeman) their views are taken so out of context as to have them seemingly ally with the authors when in fact their views are quite the opposite. But no pastors were able to tell me that. I had to do my own research. Sadly, I don’t think most folks who read this book will do the same, nor do many know how.

“Despite having sorted through some of the faulty church history in “Pagan Christianity,” a lot of the ideology still stuck. Especially since it has been continually reinforced by books like “unChristian,” “Reimagining Church,” “Blue Like Jazz,” “Revolution,” “The Untold Story of the New Testament,” etc. In many ways, “Blue Like Jazz” got me started on this whole kick back when I attended Concordia Seward (prior to dropping out and leaving the church altogether). The book is still extremely popular in young adult circles, including in the LCMS.

“Only within the last year or so have I begun to deconstruct the deconstruction, so to speak. I began by reading “Why We’re Not Emergent” and “Why We Love the Church,” both by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. Those books helped me realize that “so much that passes for spirituality these days is nothing more than middle class, 20-something coffee culture. If you like jazz, soul patches, earth tone furniture, and lattes, that’s cool. But this culture is no holier than the McNugget, Hi-C, Value City, football culture that most people live in. Why does incarnational ministry usually mean hanging out at Starbucks instead of McDonalds?” (Kevin DeYoung, http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2009/01/29/jesus-came-to-save-grimace-and).

“But these books and all my research thus far still only brought me to a point where I essentially could respect the institutional church as a valid form of ministry, but I still thought it was the least effective approach and continued to hold most of my Viola/Barna-inspired prejudices.

“The two prevailing areas of cognitive dissonance that I still retained at that point were:
1. The clergy/laity distinction
2. The sacred/secular dichotomy

“These two areas are widely attacked by house church folks, and they make some pretty good arguments. Let me begin with the clergy/laity distinction. I blog frequently at prayeramedic.com, and you can actually watch my progression of thought on this issue. When first confronted with the idea that there is no hierarchy whatsoever in church leadership, and that church leaders have no authority over church members, I knew it was wrong. It went against Scripture. I immediately pointed this out: http://prayeramedic.com/2008/10/biblical-leadership/

“You’ll see that I used Scripture to demonstrate that church leaders had genuine authority and that this was God-given. But then I read Viola’s book and continued to listen to the house church crowd. I then wrote this post: http://prayeramedic.com/2008/10/secular-job/

“That’s a huge shift in a VERY short period of time. The subtle deception that I didn’t recognize at the time is co-mingling the two issues I listed above into being one and the same. In fact, I probably need to take down this blog post – but I’ll leave it up for now.

“In many ways, I was right. The things I have been griping about in the church are extremely prevalent in mainstream evangelical churches. The pastor is more of a CEO than a spiritual leader and so much of what is being passed off as spirituality is empty emotions, false hope, deception, manipulation, etc. It didn’t help that my wife and I were extremely jaded by the church. I was serving as a young adult minister in a Pentecostal church where things got out of hand and my wife was asked to leave (but I was not). To make a long story short, we left then got mixed up in a United Pentecostal cult (denies Trinity, requires baptism in Jesus’ name only), we left there and got into some wacky charismaniac groups, then we found “mainstream” churches that might as well have called their sermons “motivational speaking” or “lessons in morality.” It was all so shallow and insincere, and so fake. It’s no wonder that the house church message was so appealing.

“The postmodern mantra seems to be “authenticity,” “community,” “experiential,” “participatory,” etc. and that appeals to someone who has only seen fake, inauthentic expressions of faith that have more to do with making people feel good about themselves. I also was struggling with some major sin issues and so were many other folks I knew, but the church was not a place we felt free to confess these things. Nor was it a place where we felt welcome to be ourselves. To most folks Church is just a cultural thing, something they do, not something they are. The house church mantra cries out that the church is an organism, not an organization. This still appeals to me in many ways.

“And we can learn a lot from house church folks. But their fatal flaw is dismissing the institutional church, altogether. Both are valid ministry models that can coexist – and each has its unique strengths and weaknesses.

“Enter Veith’s book. I started looking for books on spirituality, and I found “Grace Upon Grace” by Kleinig. I started reading it and enjoyed it, but I found his writing style difficult to stick with for lengthy periods of time, kind of like reading Kierkegaard or ancient church literature. I then found “Spirituality of the Cross.” Remember that my main two issues were clergy/laity and sacred/secular.

“Veith’s writing style was so easy to read and approachable that I read the book in only a few sittings (similar to Viola/Barna books). Veith really threw me off guard by building a comprehensive model of spirituality and avoiding intellectual quibbles. The answer to the sacred/secular problem is the doctrine of the two kingdoms, and the answer to clergy/laity is the doctrine of the vocation. People had told me this before, but only in theological terms. Veith explained these doctrines in an authentic way, explaining them in a way that actually made me consider how I should live in light of these truths – not just how I should think.

“He immediately tore down the false approaches to God from Koberle: moral, intellectual and mystical. Even though I had heard Koberle’s ideas before, the way Veith explained it made me go “aha!” I got it. His talk about the presence and hiddenness of God was profound as well. I always viewed the Lutheran view of the Sacraments as being only slightly removed from Catholicism. I basically figured that Catholicism was so ingrained in Luther that he didn’t want to stray far in the means of grace doctrines. But Veith clearly explained the mystery and beauty of these means in a practical way.

“I was so confused after all of my experience with charismatic churches and the general teachings of the prosperity gospel and positive confession that are so prevalent in American Christianity. Veith really helped draw the big picture for me, what spirituality really looks like. It isn’t so much about “doing big things for God,” as it is about yielding to God in the small things and recognizing how many big things God IS DOING that we neglect, like what He accomplishes through His means of grace and regular worship.

“I felt as though I had been lied to and deceived by Christianity, as though I had fallen prey to a “bait and switch” tactic. But God had been working all along, I had simply been taught to seek Him according to my own will, not His.

“Also Veith, citing C.S. Lewis, helped me realize that by spending all my time in limbo I was missing out on true community. The entire time I thought that the traditions and customs were the culprit, but I came to realize that sin and human depravity was the real issue. I had been imposing impossible ideals on the people of God, looking for a perfect church in many ways. I didn’t think this was the case, I would claim I wanted an authentic church, not a perfect church. Veith showed me that as a child of God, I often don’t even want the right things. What I need most is often not what I desire. There’s far more authenticity in bad coffee, hard pews, and people of all generations who aren’t very cool and often aren’t very intellectual than there is in coffee shops, smartly-dressed people, and haughty lounges with only folks from one generation who think they know everything. When you think about it, the emergent church is really only a white, suburban, 18-35 yr old movement. That is very limited and is not cross-generational and interracial (issues the emergent church often critique mainstream evangelicals for). Jesus died for all people of all nations, races, and languages – not just for a select group of haughty young adults.

“All in all, Veith challenged me to think critically about my presuppositions. He showed me that I was simply chasing after another fad, setting myself up for another disappointment and further disillusionment. All the while I was seeking authenticity, truth, community, experiences with God, and to be used by God. Veith made it clear that I have been misdiagnosing the issue altogether. The problem isn’t a lack of these things, the problem is sin. The answer is the cross. This is the only true spirituality. This is the only true contentment. I must seek Christ, all these other things flow only from that. When we put the cart before the horse we end up with another man-made institution, even if it meets in homes.

“I still have unanswered questions, but these are not as important as the central issues: Jesus Christ, sin and forgiveness, the cross. I had been struggling a lot with daily prayer prior to reading Veith’s book. After reading it I came to see that in many ways, tradition keeps me safe. Tradition is not always bad. I traditionally wash every morning, and that keeps me from smelling like a farm animal. I now use “Treasury of Daily Prayer” to get in the Word and pray daily, and it works for me. Before I would have never done this, claiming it would be “quenching the Spirit” and binding me in traditions. But you know what? For all my complaints, I wasn’t praying. Now I am. The simple format makes it harder for my flesh to get distracted. I’m a lot weaker than I used to think I was. I am far more dependent on Christ than I realized. This is humbling. This is almost humiliating. But I was wrong. I NEED Jesus. I NEED His grace. I NEED structure. I NEED accountability. I NEED fellowship. And the house church movement made me doubt and mistrust the very things that could have brought me freedom. All relationships are guarded and preserved by structure. Try telling your wife after you’ve had an affair, “Come on, I thought our marriage was about the relationship, not all these do’s and don’ts.” I’ve learned to embrace the structure, rather than fight it and “deconstruct” it.

“So I am probably rambling now. The bottom line is that through reading Veith’s book, the Holy Spirit has taught me some important things (and He continues to do so). I have learned that Jesus Christ is the focal point of Christianity, not authenticity, community or anything else. This fact requires that we live differently, not simply pay lip service to this fact intellectually while practically pursuing other things. If Jesus Christ is at the center of our spirituality then a lot of things are different. I still agree with many of my gripes about mainstream churches, but the Lutheran faith offers something more stable than the changing winds of most of these groups (in most cases), it simply points me to Jesus.”

My colleague, Rev. Dr. Benjamin Mayes, preached in our chapel service today on St. Matthias and he has kindly sent me a digital copy so I can share it with you.

Unremarkable Matthias

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Dearly Beloved:

Matthias is unremarkable. We have his feast on our Evangelical-Lutheran church year calendar simply because of this passage from Acts 1. From church history we know next to nothing of where he preached or what he did later. In Christian art he is often pictured with an axe, which means that Christians in ancient times believed that he was put to death by beheading, no doubt as a result of his bold confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of the one, true God, and his refusal to acknowledge and worship false gods. But our text tells us very little. We don’t learn anything about Matthias beyond his name. We even know more about the guy who wasn’t elected, since he has three names—Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus—while Matthias has only one name. Of course, we also know that Matthias accompanied the Lord Jesus and the Twelve and was a witness to the Lord’s resurrection. Matthias’ only claim to fame is that God chose him to be an apostle and sent him out to preach and administer sacraments and shepherd the flock of God. What can we learn from this? Not all of the men whom God chooses to preach, administer sacraments, and shepherd the church are remarkable. Most are pretty ordinary. Don’t be disappointed if your pastor is not the most dynamic or charismatic leader. Don’t be disappointed if he doesn’t have the business sense to manage a small corporation. Hold him to the qualifications set forth by Scripture. For the call of Matthias, what was important was that he have been a companion of Jesus and the Twelve from beginning to end, and that he be a witness of the resurrected Lord Jesus. For pastors today, their qualifications and duties are set forth in sufficient detail in Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus. For that matter, we should learn from this to measure anyone in any God-given office by God’s standards in Scripture, not by whatever our emotions, eyes, or reason would require. Hold all church workers to the standards set forth in Scripture. Be satisfied with governmental leaders who are doing their duty. Fathers and mothers don’t have to be perfect, as long as they are doing what God sets forth in His Word.

Now, the treachery of Judas must have been a shock to the disciples. Here was one that the Lord Jesus had hand-chosen to be one of His inner circle. And yet he turned, betrayed the Lord, and ended his miserable life with an evil hanging of himself. It must have seemed like God’s plans were being thwarted by evil. But they were not. God knew what He was doing. In the same way, at the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, God already knew what He would do: send His Son to become a human being, to die and rise and redeem the world, winning them back for God. God’s plan was to create holy humanity to enjoy His blessings. Adam and Eve’s sin did not thwart God’s plan. He sent His Son to make it happen. So also here, at the treachery of Judas, God’s plan was not thwarted. The Lord’s plan was to have Twelve apostles, sent out to the twelve tribes of Israel, to be the foundation of the Church through their preaching of Christ. And even though Judas fell away, God’s plan was not thwarted. Peter and the other apostles studied the Old Testament Scripture, and they found a prophecy of Judas’ betrayal in Psalms 69 and 109. And the prophecy in Psalm 109 included the instruction, “let another take his office.” To us this seems obvious. If the pastor embezzels the congregation’s money or has an affair, he is removed from office and another pastor is called and installed. But it was probably not obvious to the apostles how they should deal with the fall of an apostle. What kind of an office was this? Was it like the Old Testament priesthood or kingship, in which the office could become vacant and passed on to others, or was it more like the Old Testament prophetic office, which God raised up when and where he pleased, and which did not automatically pass on to others, unless God said explicitly that the prophet’s student should become a prophet, too? (This happened with Elijah and Elisha.) Peter and the other apostles study Scripture, and they find this Scripture: “Let another take his office.” So it is an office, and it can be vacant, and someone else can take it. That may not have been obvious at first. We too, should search the Scriptures to find God’s will. Don’t look to your feelings and emotions, your fears and worries, or your reason and senses to determine God’s will for your life. If you want to know what God’s plan is, don’t look at success in the world, either. If doors seem to be opening to you, this might not be God’s will and plan. It might just be the path of least resistance. Instead, search the Scriptures. If you find it there, you know it is God’s will. If you don’t find it there, then don’t claim that it is God’s will and plan. Peter and the other apostles studied Scripture.

Finally, there’s something shocking about the “call committee” or “voters’ assembly” which was formed for the purpose of electing a new apostle. It’s not what we might expect. First, only men were present, or at least only they were being addressed by Peter (vv. 15–16). The Greek makes this clear, since Peter says not just “brothers,” but in the Greek, ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί, “men brothers.” Next, the qualifications for the new apostle were set forth by Peter, not by the congregation (vv. 21–22). The congregation did not go through a self-study process. They did not write up their own mission and ministry plan. They did not do a spiritual gifts inventory. Peter, as the leader, set forth the kind of man they were looking for, and clearly he was acting in accord with God’s will when he did so. Finally, nowhere does the text say that the congregation chose two out of many qualified candidates; in fact, Matthias and Joseph may have been the only two men qualified. It’s possible that this congregation of men did not nominate anyone. If they did, the text doesn’t make it clear. Finally, this congregation of men did not actually elect anyone either. The whole point of the passage is that the congregation did not choose, but God did.

Now, I’m not pointing out these differences from today’s LCMS call committees to say that our call committees or voters’ assemblies should be like this assembly of men around the apostles, in all respects. On the contrary, especially with the casting of lots, this is not something we should imitate. This is the only time in the New Testament where the casting of lots is used to select an apostle or pastor. The apostolic church afterwards abandoned this practice. After Pentecost it was never used again, and it is also not commanded to us that we practice it.

The reason I have pointed out these differences is to underline the main point of this Bible reading: that God chose Matthias to complete the Twelve and to be a witness of the resurrection. Matthias went forth and preached that Jesus conquered death for you, Jesus obtained forgiveness for you. God’s plan for your salvation is not thwarted by Judas, not by Adam and Eve, not even by your sins. Repent of your sins and believe in Christ, the same Christ whom unremarkable Matthias proclaimed. To Him be glory and honor, now and forever. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

After the Ascension of Our Lord, Jesus’ followers at Jerusalem chose Matthias to replace Judas: “And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:26)” Apart from the information given in the first chapter of Acts (vv. 12-26), we know nothing about him. One extra-biblical account says that Saint Matthias was slain by cannibals in Ethiopia; another traditions claims that he was stoned and then beheaded by Jews in Jerusalem. This account lends itself to his customary symbol in religious art: The sword from his beheading is superimposed over a book or scroll representing Holy Scripture.

Scripture Readings for Today

Psalm 134
Isaiah 66:1-2
Acts 1:15-26
Matthew 11:25-30

Prayer

Almighty God, You chose Your servant Matthias to be numbered among the Twelve. Grant that Your Church, ever preserved from false teachers, may be taught and guided by faithful and true pastors; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

My colleagues here at Concordia Publishing House, Rev. Dr. Benjamin Mayes and Rev. Charles Schaum, prepared a translation of several pages from the Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche, the critical edition of the Lutheran Confessions, which deal with the preparation and printing of the first edition of the Book of Concord. I thought you might enjoy reading it, assuming you are a BOC geek like us.

The Text History of the First Edition of the Book of Concord

Translated by Rev. Dr. Benjamin Mayes and Rev. Charles Schaum from the Introduction to the Formula of Concord in the BSLK

The German Book of Concord (Konkordienbuch; abbreviated Konk.) was typeset probably starting in the summer of 1578 in the Dresden printing works of Matthes Stöckel and Gimel Bergen in the extent determined by the introduction to the FC [Formula of Concord].[i] They began with the FC. Andreae had the chief supervision and committed the proof-reading to Master Peter Glaser and Caspar Fuger from the Ministerium of Holy Cross Church [in Dresden] (Kreuzkirche). Glaser also prepared the index.[ii] On April 12, 1579 the printing was completed except for the title page, Preface, Catalog of Testimonies, and the list of signatories. A copy was immediately furnished for Chemnitz. On August 19, Secretary Elias Vogel permitted three copies to be bound by Jakob Krause, probably for the Electors.

Andreae had pushed on May 22 for an expedited printing of the Preface[iii] together with the title page, but only after the Heidelberg Recess[iv] did [Chancellor] Haubold von Einsiedel give the command for them to be typeset (August 9) and order 140 copies from Vögelin,[v] i.e., in Leipzig (August 13). Presumably the order was adhered to, since on August 23 the Elector commanded the printing of twenty copies that were to be sent with the same number of manuscript copies for the purposes of subscribing to them. This was carried out on September 26.

The list of signatories was not yet completed toward the end of March 1580. “Through the mercy of God” Andreae pleaded for the submission of subscriptions from Wolfenbüttel.[vi] Already in April incomplete copies (according to Andreae) were brought to the book fair in Leipzig. According to others, they were without the title and perhaps sold in small quantity. They were then subsequently withdrawn from circulation, but a Magdeburg paper salesman, Thomas Frantz, had already initiated a private reprint at the beginning of May.

After Elector Ludwig of the Palatinate made his final decision to join (June 13, 1580), the title page (see below), Preface, and Catalog of Testimonies[vii] had to be reprinted. The same occurred during the printing of at least two other signatures[viii] at the instigation of Chemnitz and Andreae. Nevertheless the printer reintroduced in haphazard[ix] fashion the signatures that had been excluded, and even the old title page, which was first noticed by Elector Ludwig. Aside from other aberrations, even in the list of the signatories, this was also observed with embarrassment (and the printer was fined 200 Gulden) when the three originalia, that is, the “authentica,” [the authoritative copies] were set aside in the electoral chanceries according to a suggestion of Elector Ludwig on June 13, 1580.

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Matt Carver, Lutheran hymn translator-extraordinaire, posted on his blog site a fascinating translation of a hymn offering a paraphrase of the entire Augsburg Confession.

Here is my translation of Gott Vater, Sohn, und Geist (J. [Jakob] Fabricius, †1654) a paraphrase of the Augsburg Confession which Rev. B. Mayes found in said author’s Predigten über die Augspurgische Confession (Nur.: W. Endter, 1652) and kindly brought to my attention. The poetic quality is a bit more detectable in the German, though in that version as in this, the odd lines are not rhymed. Especially if the artful Verzage nicht, du Häuflein klein [O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe] is the work of the same author, you will see that it is not a lack of poetic feeling, but a commitment to deliver the confessional language accurately and succinctly, that has directed the tenor of this paraphrase. The lyric may be sung, as Rev. Mayes points out, to Nun danket alle Gott. Please advise of corrections to the sense, or improvements on the theological implications of my English translation where it deviates unhappily from the meaning of the German (or from the Augsburg Confession itself).

THREE PERSONS, yet one God,
Are Father, Son, and Spirit,
Who dwell in Light divine,
And as one Godhead share it,
Co-mighty, co-eterne,
Co-glorious, fully wise;
All teachings here opposed
Are heresies and lies.

2. By nature, we are born
Poor slaves to our transgression,
Since Adam’s grievous fall,
And we are death’s possession,
Till in baptismal floods
God gives us life again:
What lies Pelagius taught
On this we must disdain.

3. God, of true God begot,
And ever God remaining,
True Man of man was born,
Yet never thereby staining
His mother’s virgin state,
And by His death doth save
Us wretches from our sins,
From torment, and the grave.

4. No human since the fall,
Thus dead in sin unsightly,
Can trust his worthless works.
By faith he must cling tightly
To what Christ Jesus did,
Who reconciled our race
To God, and by His death
Earned us both life and grace.

5. God ever by His Word
To living faith doth win us,
And by His Sacraments
Sustains that faith within us.
By these to work in us
God’s Spirit is resigned;
The Anabaptists make
But idols of their mind.

6. As trees adorned with fruit,
And vines their clusters giving,
So are good works produced
By faith divine and living,
Such works are dear to God.
So see His pleasures through,
Yet be it all by grace,
And not by works we do.

7. One church there is alone,
yet many congregations,
One body, many limbs,
Throughout all generations,
As long as sun doth shine.
Though customs may abound,
Where the one truth is taught,
The church is ever found.

8. Not every soul is saved
Which in the church is sitting,
For often are her doors
Deceitful wolves admitting.
Nor are her Sacraments
Negated, in despite
Of what the priest believes,
Who fills his task aright.

9. The washing with the Word
Is needed to deliver
Salvation to the soul,
And join to God forever
By covenantal bond
All persons, young and old,
Both infant and adult,
In heaven’s holy fold.

10. Christ’s very Body_and Blood
Are in the Supper taken,
Which on the cross He gave
And shed, by God forsaken,
His Body with the bread,
And His Blood with the wine:
All doctrines otherwise
Deny the Word divine.

11. Confession of our sins
Is also kept among us,
Yet not that doubts and griefs
May burden, hound, or throng us.
But rather to release
Those sins that we feel most
For we can scarcely know
Nor number all their host.

12. If one who is baptized,
And, sin anew committing,
Yet afterwards repents,
His former sins regretting
With penitence and faith—
Then let him not despair
Of God’s free gift of grace,
But fruits of sorrow share.

13. The Sacraments are not
Mere tokens of profession,
But are the pledge whereby
God makes us His possession:
So let those who partake
This promise rightly own.
Salvation comes by faith,
And not by use alone.

14. None ever shall presume
To fill the pastor’s station
Unless he first be called
By orderly vocation,
He who would serve the church
Must rightly be ordained,
By Him who hath the right,
From Whom all rights are gained.

15. We justly do retain
Those feasts and observations
By which the ancient church
Enriches our traditions,
Those only we reject
Which hinder true belief,
Or load the conscience down
With human laws and grief.

16. All due authority
Should be respected ever;
From God it hath the pow’r,
Just verdicts to deliver,
And, waging righteous war,
To keep the common peace;
It is our earthly rule,
Until the earth shall cease.

17. When Jesus shall return
And this world meets destruction,
The dead shall all be raised
In one great resurrection:
One part to heav’nly joy,
And one to agony
No temp’ral reign of Christ
Shall earthly kingdoms see.

18. Although we grant mankind
Use of his free volition
For judgment in the things
Of reason and cognition,
Despite his fall in sin:
Yet that which serves the soul,
To save it, is not found
In nature as a whole.

19. All things in heav’n and earth
And everything created,
And which conceived can be,
In God originated:
The devil and man’s will
Are yet the cause of sin
(which is the lack of good)
And so it long hath been.

20. Although no merit can
To works be reckoned ever,
Yet neither is it good
That man pursue them never,
Yet not those works devised
By what man’s feeling saith,
But those from God’s own Word,—
These are the fruits of faith.

21. We honor all the saints,
Their deeds, and their confession,
Esteeming them as good,
Yet not for intercession:
No saints can we invoke
To help us in our need
For only God our Lord
True help and aid can speed.

22. Since Christ did so ordain,
And Paul this word defended,
That in the Sacrament
Both Kinds should be extended,—
Nor did the priests withhold
The Blood from laity,
In early Christendom—
So let it ever be.

23. God willed that men should be
From lust by marriage turning,
For in their weak’ning state,
They often heeds its burning.
So pastors, too, should use
This ordinance divine,
Since they no less belong
To Adam’s fallen line.

24. The Mass we have retained,
Yet one thing is not suffered:
That it be wrongly thought
Christ’s sacrifice re-offered,
In truth, and without blood,
And have that force within,
As that which once for all
Did blot out all our sin.

25. Who goes his sins to own
And to the priest confesses,
Receives God’s kindly Word,—
Forgiveness he possesses:
And Christ’s true body_and blood
Are given in the Meal,
Though he recount alone
Those sins which he doth feel.

26. To chasten our own flesh
By fast and self-demotion,
If for God’s glory done,
With heart of true devotion,—
Then it is done aright;
But if one seek aught else,
Self-merit, grace, or fame,
Then it is vain and false.

27. Monastic lives and vows
Are but a useless prison,
For in them great abuse
Has woefully arisen:
Men join their ranks by force,
Unthinking, and deceived,
To merit righteousness,
And work but villainy

28. The Spirit’s pow’r God gave
The priesthood of the Spirit,
Wherefore they must not seek
Earth’s kingdoms to inherit,
Or, like a prince, to rule
In judgment-seats mundane:
Not for the priest did God
The civil rule ordain.

(29.) Still many things there are
That need examination
Which, due to such abuse,
Cannot have validation:
Yet, let this do for now:
All those desiring more,
For their request shall find
Of answers, ample store.

Translation © Matthew Carver, 2010.

The German original follows in the extended entry.

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The governor wants Polycarp to deny Christ, and promises if he will, his life will be spared. But the faithful bishop answers, “For 86 years I have served Him, and He has never done me wrong; how then can I now blaspheme my King and Savior?”

Born around AD 69, Saint Polycarp was a central figure in the early church. Said to be disciple of the holy evangelist and apostle Saint John, he provides a link between the first generation of believers and later Christians, including Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, who later wrote of him. Saint Ignatius of Antioch also knew and wrote to him. His home town of Smryna (modern Izmir, Turkey) was one of the seven churches addressed in Revelation (see 2:8-11 for the details).

After serving for many years as bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp was caught up in a local persecution of Christians. While willing to be martyred, others encouraged him to flee. However, he was later arrested, tried, and executed for his faith on 23 February c. AD 156. An eyewitness narrative of his death, The Martyrdom of Polycarp, continues to encourage believers in times of persecution.

According to the ancient records, he was tried solely on the charge of being a Christian. When the proconsul urged him to save his life by cursing Christ, he replied: “Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” According the the customary reckoning of his birth and death, this means that he must have been baptized as an infant, raised as a Christian, and lived his entire life as in the Faith. His fidelity follows the encouragement given by the Lord to the church in Smyrna in Revelation 2:10, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. (ESV)”

The following prayer is recorded as his immediately prior to the fire being kindled for his martyrdom:

Lord God Almighty, Father of Your blessed and beloved Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received knowledge of You, God of angels and hosts and all creation, and of the whole race of the upright who live in Your presence: I bless You that You have thought me worthy of this day and hour, to be numbered among the martyrs and share in the cup of Christ, for resurrection to eternal life, for soul and body in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. Among them may I be accepted before You today, as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, just as You, the faithful and true God, have prepared and foreshown and brought about. For this reason and for all things I praise You, I bless You, I glorify You, through the eternal heavenly high priest Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, through whom be glory to You, with Him and the Holy Spirit, now and for the ages to come. Amen.

We pray:

O God, the maker of heaven and earth, who gave to Your venerable servant, the holy and gentle Polycarp, boldness to confess Jesus Christ as King and Savior, and steadfastness to die for the Faith, give us grace, following his example, to share the cup of Christ and rise to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

In the extended entry is a translation of the document The Martyrdom of Polycarp

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I have, over the years, talked to many Calvinists, in person and over the Internet. I always ask them, “Do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are among God’s elect and are saved?” There are generally two reactions to that question: (1) A long and rather painful pause after which they say, “I hope I am. I do believe in Christ.” or (2) A quick, “Yes, I believe in Christ.” Now, let’s be honest here and admit that many Lutherans would answer in somewhat the same way. But here is the problem.

If our confidence that we are saved is based on our feeling that we have faith, we will flounder. The answer we must always give to the question of “Do you know you are saved?” is not, “Yes, because I have faith” but rather, “Yes, because Christ Jesus died for me” and of course, in my opinion, the very best answer of all is simply to point people to Luther’s explanation of the Creed and say, “Here, this puts it very well.”

Never look to your subjective feeling that there is faith in your heart. Always, always, always, look to Christ and what He has done for you and the whole world. Do not confuse faith in faith, with trust in Christ. There is a key difference.

We are Christians, not Faith-ians.

Thoughts from Pastor Larry Peters.

When I became a man, I gave up childish ways – oh, did you think that was me talking?? If you knew me, you would laugh at the audacity of me saying “I’m all grown up.” My family would laugh, for sure. I wish I could say them with some shred of truth but St. Paul is the one who spoke these words in the midst of the familiar chapter on love. Me? I have not grown up. When I look in my heart and I see staring back at me a childish person – and that is not flattery. I am immature, immodest, self-centered, judgmental, and weak willed. Every day is a battle for control of my heart, reigning in those childish ways and attempting under the guidance of the Spirit to become the mature son of God our Lord desires of me… does that sound familiar to you, too??

St. Paul writes “when I became a man…” Now when was that? How old were you? But St. Paul is not speaking in the context of the maturity that manifests itself in worldly wisdom or the esteem of others. What Paul has in mind is becoming whole, complete, fully human… This is not the result of experience or lessons learned from the world. What St. Paul speaks about here is the maturing love of Christ who leads us from sin’s childish ways to becoming a true child of God.

The goal is not earthly maturity but becoming this whole and complete person in Jesus Christ. It was His incarnation into my flesh and blood that made it possible for me to become the son of God He has declared me to be. It is His incarnation that reveals to me what my humanity was supposed to be. From my Incarnate Lord I have been given the call to be made anew, made complete, in baptism. In baptism the rebellious, self-willed, self-centered, self-serving child of sin died with Christ, into His death, so that the new person might arise. A mature son in Christ.

This is no call from the Apostle to learn the wisdom of the world or to control yourself to maturity. What Paul is speaking about is the wisdom of faith and the maturity, the fruit of the love planted in us by the Holy Spirit, which gave birth and direction to a new person, a new child of God – no longer carried about by every wind of change but anchored in the cross of Christ and secure in the arms of His love enfolded around us.

This love planted within us teaches us not to seek our own way, but the way of Christ, the way of His love. This is a voice alien to our sinful natures and this is the love that must be taught to our rebellious hearts. In this still, more excellent way, we give up the clanging gong that shouts out ME for the still quiet voice of love and service, to God and neighbor. In this maturity, prophetic utterance and knowledge over all the mysteries of this life give way to Christ and His love. In this adulthood, He grants us the power to give up our captivity to the childishness of sin to become the true child born of the Father’s love for us in Christ and the power to renounce our old sinful, childish ways.

In this call to grow up, we leave behind all boasts of pride, possessions and accomplishment in order to live within the contented peace of Christ, where sins are forgiven, lives reborn, and love is the greatest of all. In this life from God, patience and kindness do not get in our way but become the pathway to live out our faith. In this humility of heart and life, arrogance and rudeness flow from weakness and insecurity but not from the strength and safety of being the Lord’s own child by baptism and faith. This love does not resent or resist the hand of God in Christ but rejoices in how He leads us to restrain what has become the natural way of our sinful lives. What was natural to us has been revealed as unnatural and now He grants us a new nature to live the fully human lives only our Incarnate Lord can impart.

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