The truth of the gospel is that righteousness and salvation come through faith in Christ. This is the word that sets us free.
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We may well suppose that if two Lutheran churches in the same county celebrated Easter on different Sundays that people would have something to say.
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There is nothing wrong with celibacy or fasting or many other disciplines. Even in marriage, abstinence can be a good thing, if the couple agrees together to abstain for some spiritual purpose.
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If others wish to abstain from certain foods on certain days, that is between those people and the Lord. Do not let them convince you that abstinence is a matter of righteousness.
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“It is written.” This was a favorite saying of the prophets, the evangelists, the apostles, and Jesus. Sometimes it is phrased as a questions: “What is written?”
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External is not eternal. These outward things will never secure everlasting life. Furthermore, they will never give us peace. The heart must be changed by God for these things to be ours.
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How heartbreaking it would be to run in a race, and to run so swiftly that you won the race, only to find out that you had been disqualified because of a false start or a lane violation.
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I have convictions but if I dare to make those things qualifications for your righteousness and salvation, please take me to task.
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The Church is that gathering of saints where the Gospel is correctly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.
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We are not big on excommunication these days. But we still do a pretty fair job of driving people out of our churches.
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If you believe these things, we agree that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God”—no matter the particular manner of our ceremonies.
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The effectiveness of the sacraments depends upon Christ. Were you baptized in a stream or at a font, at the hands of a priest or a pastor, by a saint or a sinner?
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Every pastor who presides over Holy Communion is a sinner. Some are worse sinners than others. Some do not even believe in Christ or the Word of God.
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It is the duty of pastors to preach the gospel. It is each church’s obligation to make sure that they do. Yet, it is more than a duty; it is a joyful compulsion.
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The prophet Daniel presented the Antichrist along similar lines as this sarcastic paragraph from the Confessions. There is no ruler of rulers but Christ.
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We should not expect everyone in a collar or alb to represent the kingdom of God. Every preacher in a pulpit does not necessarily proclaim the Word of God.
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We must not replace Christ with works, offices, masses, or anything else. These things do not save; Christ alone saves and justifies.
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You will find the church wherever two or more are gathered in the name of Jesus, that is, with faith in him, teaching the gospel, and administering the sacraments.
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Many kinds of people are drawn to the Church, but not all are members of the Church. Some have an outward appearance of of belonging, yet that does not make them true members of the spiritual kingdom of Christ.
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Jesus was clear on this matter when he was brought before Pilate. His kingdom is not of this world. It is not temporal but instead, spiritual.
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As worshipers come forward for Holy Communion, many pause at the baptismal font, place their fingers in the water, and make the sign of the cross on their forehead.
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All those who by nature were born Jews, or Abraham’s seed, were given the law so that they might be an example to the nations of how God would have people live.
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The Body of Christ is not an organization that merely goes through the motions of ceremonies. The Church has gifts in the heart, namely, the Holy Spirit and faith.
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The “house of the righteous,” the church, is infiltrated by the wicked. Sometimes, they seem petty, though they are aggravating and ungodly.
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When we perceive the threat to the Church—a threat that exists both from within and without—we can be led to despair of her continued existence.
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We believe in the Church. This is the congregation of those who believe in Christ. They are spread throughout the ages—past, present, and future.
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So we must be careful to confess that sinful people, such as ourselves, become righteous and holy only through the grace of God.
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We deplore the condition of some church bodies, that they have abandoned the Word of God for culturally correct beliefs. Yet, we should not complain overly much.
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Some people attend church because they were raised to do so. They give no thought to faith; it is simply the right thing to do.
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Nearly 40 years ago, a half dozen people from a local cult attended my church, trying to get people to follow their false god.
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Jesus did not come into the world to teach sinners how to save themselves. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
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