A Highway in the Heart
Three jokes (no more, no less)
1/ A Heart Highway (Psalm 84:5)
Blessed are those whose strength is in You,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
2/ A joke with two punchlines
Keri: “How do you spell ‘consistent’”?
Me: “The same way every time.”
I’m still laughing (and Keri is groaning) a week later.
If anyone’s keeping track, this is the third joke I’ve written. Here are the other two:
Knock-knock.
Who’s there?
Nobody.
Nobody who?
Eve found Adam after she stitched together her fig-leaf outfit, and asked, “How do I look? … These are my fall colors.”
3/ A Theological Preface
Also thinking about this introductory passage from the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. Here’s the story…
In 1530, Emperor Charles V was feeling the pressure of the threat of the Turks from the east, and the theological break-up resulting from the Wittenberg Preaching. He held an official meeting (a “Diet”) in Augsburg, and asked the Lutherans to present their teaching.
The official document presented at the Diet of Augsburg is the Augsburg Confession (AC). (It was read on June 25, 1530.)
Article IV of the AC is about justification, the heart of the Reformation debate because it is the heart of the Gospel, indeed, the heart of God. It reads:
It is also taught among us that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God by our own merits, works, or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith, when we believe that Christ suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us. For God will regard and reckon this faith as righteousness, as Paul says in Romans 3:21–26 and 4:5.
A refutation of the Augsburg Confession was attempted by some of the Papal teachers. It was a pretty embarrassing document. (You can read it here, and the history of it here.) The Papal representatives wouldn’t give a copy to the Lutherans (at least not at first), so Phillip Melanchthon wrote his defense (called the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, often abbreviated “Apology” or “Ap”) from notes they wrote when the Confutation was read.
The defense of the article on Justification, Apology IV, is one of the most important pieces of theology in the history of the church. Every Christian should read and study it. It is long, but profound. (You can find it here.)
Anyhow, my attention is on Melanchthon’s introduction to this article. He takes a step back and sets the theological stage for Charles V.
He talks about:
the source of truth: the Scriptures.
the distinction to be made: Law and Gospel.
the two-fold goal of all theology, which is honoring Jesus and comforting the sinner.
Here it is (I’ve added bold and italics for emphasis):
In this controversy the main doctrine of Christianity is involved; when it is properly understood, it (1) illumines and magnifies the honor of Christ and (2) brings to pious consciences the abundant consolation that they need. We therefore ask His Imperial Majesty kindly to hear us out on this important issue. For since they understand neither the forgiveness of sins nor faith nor grace nor righteousness, our opponents confuse this doctrine miserably, (1) they obscure the glory and the blessings of Christ, and (2) they rob pious consciences of the consolation offered them in Christ. To substantiate our Confession and to refute the objections of our opponents, we shall have to say a few things by way of preface so that the sources of both kinds of doctrine, the opponents’ and our own, might be recognized.
All Scripture should be divided into these two chief doctrines, (1) the law and (2) the promises. In some places it presents the law. In others it presents the promise of Christ; this it does either when it promises that the Messiah will come and promises forgiveness of sins, justification, and eternal life for his sake, or when, in the New Testament, the Christ who came promises forgiveness of sins, justification, and eternal life.
Notice, also, that Melanchthon talks about the Gospel in both the Old and New Testaments.
4/ Luther Study Days Notes
I’m headed to Denmark for the Luther Study Days. If you’re hanging around Herning on Saturday, you should come!
I found a few great Luther Quotations to talk about.
Luther Explains the Distinction between Law and Gospel in his explanation of the Ninety-Five Theses
So it seems to me, and I declare: When God begins to justify a man, he first of all condemns him; him whom he wishes to raise up, he destroys; him whom he wishes to heal, he smites; and the one to whom he wishes to give life, he kills, as he says in 1 Kings 2 [1 Sam. 2:6], and Deut. 32[:39], “I kill and I make alive, etc.” He does this, however, when he destroys man and when he humbles and terrifies him into the knowledge of himself and of his sins, in order that the wretched sinner may say, “There is no health in my bones because of my sins; there is no soundness in my flesh because of thy indignation” [Ps. 38:3].
For thus do the mountains fall away before the face of the Lord. Thus does he send his arrows and scatter them, “at thy rebuke, O Lord, and at the breath of the spirit of thy wrath” [Ps. 18:15]. Thus sinners are turned to hell and their faces are filled with shame. David often experienced such consternation and trembling, as he confesses with groans in many different psalms. However, in this consternation is the beginning of salvation, for the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” [Ps. 111:10]. Nahum says that when the Lord cleanses, he makes no one innocent: “His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet” [Nah. 1:3]. Here his lightnings flash, the earth sees it and is moved; here his arrows fly and stick fast, the voice of his thunder rolls, that is, rolls all around, the waters see and tremble; here, in short, God works a strange work in order that he may work his own work. This is true contrition of heart and humility of spirit, the sacrifice most pleasing to God. Here is the sacrificial victim cut into pieces and the skin drawn and kindled for the burnt offering. And here (as they say) grace is infused, as Isa. 41[:3] says, “He pursues them and passes on safely.” And in Isa. 66[:2]: “My spirit rests upon him, but only upon that one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” And in Isa. 38[:16] Hezekiah says, “O Lord, if in such things is the life of my spirit, restore me to health and make me live.” (AE 31.99-100)
Luther preaches about the different vocations of the Law and the Gospel in a New Year’s Eve Sermon in 1532.
He fainted from exhaustion after the sermon, and was home resting for two months.
“The Law presses us to do what we are supposed to to do; it demands that we do our duty towards God and our neighbor. In the Gospel, on the other hand, we are summoned to a gift of alms, to a rich distribution of charity, where we are to receive and accept God's favor and eternal salvation.”
“For God gave us these two different words, the Law and the Gospel – the one as well as the other. Each of these two bears His command. The Law is to demand perfect righteousness from everyone. The Gospel is to give the righteousness demanded by the Law to those who have not done it (i.e., to all people) by grace, as a gift. Whoever then has failed to satisfy the Law and is in captivity in sin and death, let him turn from the Law to the Gospel. Let him believe the preaching of Christ: that He is truly the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; that He has reconciled His heavenly Father; that, as a totally free gift and by grace, He grants eternal righteousness, life, and salvation to all who believe it. Let him hold fast to this preaching.”
(Martin Luther, “The Distinction Between the Law and the Gospel: A Sermon by Martin Luther, January 1, 1532,” trans. Willard L. Bruce, Concordia Journal 18, no. 2 (April 1992): 153-163. For the German original of this sermon see WA 38:8-42 or StL 9:799-811.)
The Light Burden of Christ, from Luther’s last sermon (February 15, 1546 in Eisleben)
Christ says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden” [Matt. 11:28], and it is as though he were saying: Just stick to me, hold on to my Word and let everything else go. If you are burned and beheaded for it, then have patience, I will make it so sweet for you that you easily would be able to bear it. It has also been written of St. Agnes that when she was led to prison to be killed, it was to her as if she were going to a dance. Where did she get this? Ah, only from this Christ, from believing this saying, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” That is to say: If things go badly, I will give you the courage even to laugh about it; and if even though you walk on fiery coals, the torment shall nevertheless not be so severe and the devil shall nevertheless not be so bad, and you will rather feel that you are walking on roses. I will give you the heart to laugh even though Turk, pope, emperor, and everybody else be filled with horrible wrath and rage. Only come to me; and if you are facing oppression, death, or torture, because the pope, the Turk, and emperor are attacking you, do not be afraid; it will not be heavy for you, but light and easy to bear, for I give you the Spirit, so that the burden, which for the world would be unbearable, becomes for you a light burden. For when you suffer for my sake, it is my yoke and my burden, which I lay upon you in grace, that you may know that this your suffering is well pleasing to God and to me and that I myself am helping you to carry it and giving you power and strength to do so. So also say Ps. 31 [:24] and Ps. 27 [:14]: “Let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord,” i.e., all you who suffer for his sake. Let misfortune, sin, death, and whatever the devil and the world loads upon you assail and assault you, if only you remain confident and undismayed, waiting upon the Lord in faith, you have already won, you have already escaped death and far surpassed the devil and the world. (AE 51:391-392)
5/ Metaverse Warning
Here’s a new section for the Wednesday What-Not: The Metaverse Warning
I really think this thing (or better: anti-thing) is going to be a powerful drug, a mental heroine, to be avoided at all costs.
Remember to go to your pastor's Bible Class this week and, read old theology books. (If you don't have a pastor or congregation, click here. If you don't have old theology books, click here.)
If you find this helpful, forward it to a friend. If this was forwarded to you, click here to sign-up for yourself.
Thank you, again, for your time and attention, and for your prayers. Please keep in touch.
Lord's Blessings, Pastor Wolfmueller
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
From the website:
Books | Everbook | YouTube | website | certificates | Devotions | Logos Software
The Gottesdienst Crowd #161 was an interview with Larry Beane and discussed the Metaverse and church. Check it out!