The Council of Trent

Posted on December 27, 2010 by theoldadam

Council of Trent by Bonar History

 

CANON 9:  “If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema.” 

This idea still holds in Roman Catholic theology. The Council of Trent is still upheld by Rome.

This goes against the clear word of Scripture.

Move closer to Rome? 

No thanks.

 

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Thanks to Bonar-History and flickr for the photo.

Filed under: Council of Trent | 20 Comments »

Can God actually make one ‘alive’ in Baptism?

Posted on December 22, 2010 by theoldadam

Yes, He can.  A baby is baptized aboard USS Boxer. by Official U.S. Navy Gallery

It’s ALL OVER the Bible.

God uses water to kill. And God uses water to save. Is that not what St. Paul is describing in chapter 6 of Romans? Is it the water, only? Heck NO ! His Word is attached to that water!

God gives the Holy Spirit in Baptism. He forgives sin. He grants you salvation. He gives you His name. He gives you His very Life.

He also does this in His Supper. They (the Sacraments) are pure gospel. Coming to us from outside of ourselves, so that we can be His without having to jump through any religious hoops of our own making.

This just runs against our reason and the desires of The Old Adam and Old Eve to be our own little gods. There are so many that despise the Sacraments. They view them as “religion”. Then attempt to justify themselves by what they say, think, feel, and do. Talk about “religion”! Sheesh!

 

PS- God does NOT need to have someone be a certain age before His power and grace will kick in. He is, after all, a REAL GOD!

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Filed under: Baptism | 3 Comments »

Just a reminder…

Posted on December 18, 2010 by theoldadam

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 The gospel is 100% Jesus…and 0% of you.

 

No…not 99% and 1%.  No…not 98% and 2%.

 

100% Jesus…0% you.

 

It has nothing to do with how much, or how little you know about the church, about doctrine, or even how much you know or don’t know about Jesus.

 

It is not about what you say, feel, think… or what you do or don’t do.

 

It has nothing to do with your seriousness about God. (for you are not)

 

It is all about what Jesus has done for you…a real sinner… one of the ungodly. 

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‘Your sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake’…period.

 

 

That’s the gospel.

 

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Do we as Lutherans think too much about sin?

Posted on December 12, 2010 by theoldadam

  The short answer is “no”… unless we focus on it to the exclusion of sin’s remedy, the Gospel. Our battle with sin in this life is daily. The Al. Ringling Theatre - "Last Look" Mirror by Shevaun Kastl

As Christians, we have been delivered from the guilt of sin but we are not free from its presence and power until the day we die and are glorified.

 Some would argue that we should move on and can move on in our Christian walk and instead simply focus upon and glory in our new identity. They would say that our focus should be upon who we are in Christ and not on our ongoing battle with sin. There is some truth to that. It is good to affirm our new identity and be thankful everyday for our new standing with God because of the finished work of Christ. The good news of the Gospel trumps our battle with sin and we need to hear that daily! When the law has done its work of revealing our sin and driving us to despair we need to hear again and again the overwhelming good news of God’s amazing grace, forgiveness and mercy. We live there. Our focus upon the deadly nature of our sin and it’s power is NEVER to the exclusion of the Gospel.

Lutherans seeming preoccupation with continual confession of and repentence from sin, however, I believe comes from a biblical and practical understanding of the pathological nature of sin. If we reduce our understanding of sin to be merely overt acts of wrong and blatant omissions of good, we do a disservice to ourselves and others by ignoring the deadly power of sin, the sinful nature and Satan. The sins we battle in our daily lives and the effects of our sin nature are more subtle, diabolical, and sinister than what we popularly identify as sin. The person who appears to be outwardly pious and victorious in his or her Christian life may have a raging sin problem that is undetectable to others and maybe even to himself. A life of daily confession and repentance by the power of the Word and Holy Spirit, leads us to discover the deep, dark and cavernous mine of sin that lies beneath the surface. Shining the light of truth upon our thoughts and motives and secret desires, reveals to us more and more the hideous ways we trust in ourselves or something other than our creator. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves”. Coming to understand more and more the depth and extent of our sin problem, only makes the Good News sweeter still.

                                          – Rev. Patrick Thurmer

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Patrick Thurmer is pastor of Living Faith Church in Cape Coral, Florida.  http://www.livingfaithcapecoral.com/

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Thanks to Flickr and Shevaun Kastl for the photo.

 

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Filed under: Pastor Patrick Thurmer, Sin | 2 Comments »

Gerhard Forde on the Lord’s Supper

Posted on December 7, 2010 by theoldadam

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click here 

The-Lord’s-Supper-as-the-Testament-of-Jesus

Image008 by Digital Salad

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When we receive the Lord’s Supper, we are receiving the gift of Jesus’ last will and testament, according to Dr. Forde. We are receiving Christ Himself.

 

A lawyer hires someone to find an heir to someone’s estate. That person finds the man, a toothless, homeless bum, and brings him up to the lawyers office. His identity is verified and it is proven that this man is the nephew of the deceased, whom the deceased has named in his will to receive a sum of 5 million dollars.

The will is read to the man. It is done. The man will receive the 5 million dollars.

 The man does not have to say if he liked his uncle or not. The man does not have to show that he understands how it is possible for all of this to take place. The man does not have to explain what it is he is going to do with the money. The man just gets the money…period. He is the beneficiary of his uncle’s gift. That’s it.

I think this is what Forde is saying that the Lord is doing at His Supper. This is the Lord’s Testament. He gives to us everything that He desires to give to us in that meal… His very life. His very essence. All because of His good and gracious will for undeserving sinners.

Yes, the Sacrament IS the gospel! The pure, unmitigated grace of God, given to those that would take it for granted, abandon Him, and run to other gods almost every chance they get.

This is love! Love that is hard for us to believe (and quite often we refuse to believe it). But it is true. And it is true… for you. “For you”…the two most important words that accompany the bread and the wine.

 

That’s what I believe.

How about you?

 

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Filed under: Holy Communion | 15 Comments »