REFORMATION SERMON NOTES/THOUGHTS 2010

At our textual study this week I shared my thought of contrasting what our lives would be like without the Reformation.  Working with this in light of the Epistle lesson (Romans 3:19-28) and the Gospel lesson (John 8:31-36), I gathered the following by contrasting of the reality of our condition, abilities, achievements and results under sin and the reality of God’s condition, abilities, achievements, and results in Christ for us.

Without the return to the Scriptures and the proper doctrine of justification that came out of the Reformation, we would be no better off than what is described in Romans 3:9-18, a people having the appearance of godliness, but denying its (His) power as we trust in our own.

Just my thoughts for your thoughts! 

- PL

Our reality – UNDER SIN – Romans 3:9-18

•         No one is righteous in the eyes of God and therefore in the eyes of men
•         No one understands,
•         No one seeks after the true God
•         All have turned aside
•         All are worthless
•         No one does good, not even one
•         Everyone’s throat is an open grave;
•         Everyone uses their tongues to deceive
•         The poison of the asps is under everyone’s lips
•         Everyone mouth is full of curses and bitterness
•         Everyone’s feet are swift to shed blood
•         Everyone’s path or way of life is ruin and misery/
•         No one knows the way of peace
•         No one is affected in their living by a fear or dread of God’s judgment.

In these verses, the Lord reveals

•         our nature or condition under sin (unrighteousness v.10),
•         our corrupted abilities under sin (no one understands, seeks God, no one does good, ignorance of the way of peace) and
•         the most we are able accomplish under sin (deception, curses, bitterness, shed blood, ruin, misery, and way)
•         with the result that the fear or dread of God’s wrath against sin and sinner alike, has no effect on them or us.

The Law can repeated say to fallen man, “do this or that” and “do not do this or that” but inasmuch as these verses (9-18) speak of our fallen condition, fallen man will never be able to do the “do’s” and “do not’s” the Law demands.

Jesus describes our fallen reality succinctly in the Gospel lesson:  “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits a sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34). 

Romans 3:19 – “Now” introduces an “over and against” this reality of our condition, abilities, achievements and results under sin, God has Paul reveal the reality of:  

•         God’s condition (righteousness),
•         God’s abilities (redemption in Christ by grace, to be just and justifier of the one who has faith),
•         what God can accomplish (to make propitiation by his blood),
•         with the result for all (justified by faith apart from works of the law).

Jesus describes our reality in Him as a result of the reality of God in the Gospel lesson:  “if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

God allows us to perish as if He had forgotten His...

God allows us to perish as if He had forgotten His promise

Who wrote that? Martin Luther. In his Genesis commentary.
Reading Luther's commentaries on Genesis is an amazing, fearful treat. Luther is brutal, honest and radically centered on the Gospel, radically focused on what it means, what it feels like, to live by faith.
Living by faith is no platitude for him. Some of the passages are breathtaking in their ferocity and Gospel centered-ness. Luther hones in on what it means to live by faith, that is, with no assurance for God or for his goodness, save a promise.
In this passage Luther writes of :
God pretending to exercise no care for us
God creeping into a corner
hiding behind a curtain
seeming to not know us at all
He allows us to perish as if He had forgotten his promise
He regards us as being rejected
Christians must "endure" the plans of God
Luther notes how we often feel as if:
God not only sleeps He snores
that it seems as if there is no God at all to care for us
Luther goes on :
God allows us to be tried to led down to hell, to be mortified
He sends no angel but opens the window for Satan to rage
Luther's answer to such a God who allows and perpetrates such things is alarmingly simple. There is no theologizing to get around it, no hop, skip and jumping around the Scriptures to try to build an apologia for God. He doesn't try to construct a system where it makes rational sense.
His answer is: the promises of God, the promises and sacramental proclamations. To all the evil and all the suffering, all the doubt and all the silence of God we experience, Luther says, we must stand on the Word of God. This is no rationalistic, Biblicistic stand; it is a life or death, Satan tearing at my flesh full of despair desperation cry to God, "I have your promise."
In fact Luther does not shy away from attributing all the action, all the doing of the affliction, doubt and despair directly to God. God drives us there on purpose. He abandons us, on purpose. He opens the window for Satan. All to mortify us, to kill us, to leave with us with nothing, absolutely nothing, but the promise. "I am baptized," is the cry of one who has nothing else to grasp.
One of Luther's favorite examples of this is death itself where the saint finally is literally killed and can do nothing but trust for he has no other abilities left.
In the next post I will post this passage of Luther's Commentary to illustrate what I am writing about.

incarnatus est: God allows us to perish as if He had forgotten His...: "Who wrote that? Martin Luther. In his Genesis commentary. Reading Luther's commentaries on Genesis is an amazing, fearful treat. Luther is..."

THREE THINGS THAT PLEASE GOD MOST

St. Brendan once asked Ita what were the three works most pleasing to God, and the three works that were most displeasing to Him.  Ita answered, "Three things that please God most are -  true faith in God with a pure heart, a simple life with a grateful spirit, and generosity inspired by His charity.  The three things that most displease God are a mouth that hates people, a heart harbouring resentments, and a confidence in earthly riches and possessions. 
St. Brendan and all who were there, hearing that opinion, glorified God in His Chosen One.

from Celtic Daily Prayer
Prayers and Readings from the Northumbria Community.

THE LORD'S PRAYER - Loehe

OUR FATHER

  insuperable in creation,

  sweet in love,

  rich in every heritage!

WHO ART IN HEAVEN

  a mirror of eternity,

  the crown of joy,

  the treasure of eternal salvation!

HALLOWED BE THY NAME

  that it be like honey upon the tongue,

  a harp unto our ears,

  a devotion in our hearts!

THY KINGDOM COME,

  joyfully, without perversion;

  quietly, without sorrow;

  safely, beyond possibility to lose it!

THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN,

  that we hate whatever displeases Thee;

  love what Thou lovest;

 and fulfill all things that are pleasing to Thee!

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DIALY BREAD,

  the bread of

 -           knowledge,

-            penitence,

-            pardon

-        And every need of bodies.

FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES, AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US;

   forgive us our trespasses against Thee,

       against our fellow-men and against ourselves,

       which we have multiplied either through the commission of wrongs or 

       the omission to do the good we ought to do,

   As we forgive all who have despised or offended us –

-                   by word or deed,

-                   by giving or taking away from us,

-                   spiritually or temporally.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION,

   of the world,

   the flesh,

   or the devil:

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL,

   both temporal and spiritual,

   and from all sorrows in time and eternity.

AMEN.

Seed-Grains of Prayer

A Manual For Evangelical Christians

by Wilhelm Loehe

CHRIST ALONE BUILDS THE CHURCH

For the church growth experts in how to build the church and for the pastors and people who struggle under the cross in faithfulness  to what Christ has given them to use that He might build His church.  - PL

It is not we who build. [Christ] builds the church. No man builds the church but Christ alone.
Whoever is minded to build the church is surely well on the way to destroying it; for he will build a temple to idols without wishing or knowing it.
We must confess – he builds.
We must proclaim – he builds.
We must pray to him – that he may build.
We do not know his plan.
We cannot see whether he is building or pulling down.
It may be that the times which by human standards are times of collapse are for him the great times of construction.
It may be that the times which from a human point of view are great times for the church are times when it is pulled down.
It is a great comfort which Christ gives to his church: you confess, you preach, bear witness to me and I alone will build where it pleases me.
Do not meddle in what is my province.
Do what is given to you to do well and you have done enough. But do it well.
Pay no heed to views and opinions.
Don’t ask for judgments.
Don’t always be calculating what will happen.
Don’t always be on the lookout another refuge!
Church, stay a church!
But church, confess, confess, confess!
Christ alone is your Lord; from his grace alone can live as you are.
Christ builds.

–Dietrich Bonhoeffer
As found in Treasury of Daily Prayer - Oct 23, 2010.
CPH 2008

CHRISTIAN RULES OF PRAYER - As Laid Down by Metthesius

To true, Christian and beneficial prayer it is required –

1. That a man life up holy hands (2 Tim. 2) and offer his devotions with a good conscience; for God hears not sinners who are not repentant. (John 9).

2. That a man pray in every time of trial and need; for, the greater our need the stronger is our prayer.  Therefore also God, in the 50^th Psalm, says: “Call upon me in the day of trouble.” (Always and everywhere is sufficient provocation to prayer if one will but realize it).

3. That a man pray, cry and sigh from out of the depths of his heart, without hypocrisy, anger, complaint or doubt, even as Moses prayed upon the shore of the Red Sea.  Lip-service and mouth-work in which the heart does not participate, is a vain service to God. (Matt. 15).

4. That a man call upon the one, true and only God as He has revealed Himself at the Jordan River, as Christ teachers in the Gospel (John 16), and in the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6; Luke 11).

5. That a man plead the name, merit, blood, death and intercession of Christ for help, and the support of the Holy Spirit. (John 4, and 15).

6. That a man pray with all boldness as Abraham prayed, Gen. 18; with a mighty faith, as the centurion prayed; without murmuring or impatience, continuing instant, as did the Canaanite woman; and with humility, as did Daniel. (Dan 9).

7. That a man persevere, as Sirach teaches, and set no limit or goal for God, as is said in Chapter 8 of the Book of Judith.

8. He that will thus pray needs first of all to believe, that he is reconciled to God through His Son, and must base his pleas upon baptism and the blood of Christ as well as upon God’s command and promise.  He must embrace the promise of Christ and the example of all the saints; and remember that God has frequently helped others before us. (Ps 22:34).

If prayer is to be rightly offered all these things must be well observed and kept:

1. Holy hands and a good conscience.

2. Our need.

3. From the heart, without hypocrisy.

4. Calling upon the name of the One, Only God.

5. In the name of Jesus Christ, who is the soul of all prayer.

6. Boldly.

7. Preservingly.

8. In faith.

Such prayer pervades heaven, as Sirach says; and makes our joy perfect as Christ witnesses, John 16. 

It attains help, gives comfort, joy, and a sure defense against all devils and evil men.  

Seed-Grains of Prayer - A Manual For Evangelical Christians

by Wilhelm Loehe

Kyrie eleison

EXCELLENT TO LISTEN TO WHEN READING THE PSALM OR MEDITATIVE PRAYER.

Where the heart stands idle and the Word is not heard, the devil breaks in and does his damage

Since so much depends on God’s Word … that nothing is made holy without it, we must realize that God insists upon a strict observance of this commandment and will punish all who despise his Word and refuse to hear and learn it, especially at the times appointed.

Therefore this commandment is violated not only by those who grossly misuse and desecrate the holy day, like those who in their greed or frivolity neglect to hear God’s Word …. but also by that multitude of others who listen to God’s Word as they would to any other entertainment, who only from force of habit go to hear preaching and depart again with as little knowledge of the Word at the end of the year as at the beginning.

Remember, then, that you must be concerned not only about hearing the Word but also about learning and retaining it. Do not regard it as an optional or unimportant matter. It is the commandment of God, and he will require of you an accounting of how you have heard and learned and honored his Word.

In the same way those conceited fellows should be chastised who, after hearing a sermon or two, become sick and tired of it and feel that they know it all and need no more instruction. This is precisely the sin of indolence or satiety — a malignant, pernicious plague with which the devil bewitches and befuddles the hearts of many so that he may take us by surprise and stealthily take the Word of God away from us.
Let me tell you this. Even though you know the Word perfectly and have already mastered everything, still you are daily under the dominion of the devil, who neither day nor night relaxes his effort to steal upon you unawares and to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against all these commandments.

Therefore you must continually keep God’s Word in your heart, on your lips, and in your ears. For where the heart stands idle and the Word is not heard, the devil breaks in and does his damage before we realize it.
On the other hand, when we seriously ponder the Word, hear it, and put it to use, such is its power that it never departs without fruit. It always awakens new understanding, new pleasure, and a new spirit of devotion, and it constantly cleanses the heart and its meditations. For these words are not idle or dead, but effective and living.

Even if no other interest or need drove us to the Word, yet everyone should be spurred on by the realization that in this way the devil is cast out and put to flight, this commandment is fulfilled, and God is more pleased than by any work of hypocrisy, however brilliant.
 
Excerpts from THE THIRD COMMANDMENT – Luther's Large Catechism

Memorial Moment: True Joy

Memorial Moment: True Joy#fblike


John Chrysostom was preaching to a world very much like our own. While preaching to the people of Antioch (he only later became bishop of Constantinople), he chided them for allowing the luxury of their community to crowd out concern for the gifts God bestowed on them in the mystery of Christ's body and blood. He exhorted them not to be absorbed by worldly concerns to the detriment of their faith, the Christian life, and the needs of other persons. He pleaded with them not to walk away from the feast of the body of Christ only to fall into the vices which are characteristic of affluent societies: drunkenness, undisciplined feasting, and carelessness about the needs of the poor. The Christians who have been nourished on the body and blood of Christ, cannot just fall back into the self-centered life of pleasure seeking.The church receives at the hand of Christ such great riches in the divine service. She has been married again to the bridegroom in the consummation of the altar. By partaking of His body we are united with Him so that His becomes ours and ours His. She has feasted at the altar set with royal care for the children of the King. She has sung honor to the Thrice Holy. She has received heavenly food under earthly means. A joy above all sadness has been bestowed upon her in this royal feast. But her children sometimes seek to prolong that joy using the means of this world to manufacture the prolongation of it. True joy is to be sought (Ps 4:6-7), but is not to be found in the luxuries of this world.This is not to say that luxury or riches per se are evil. On the contrary, if we have them we should live as if we did not. If we do not, as if we did (1Co 7:29-31). They must not be the guarantors of joy in our lives. Only Christ is the treasure in whom true joys are to be found (Mt 6:21). We must walk away from the altar with the fullness of joy that Christ gives. Only then will we no longer be enticed by the light and fleeting joys of this world.When you compare the joys of the feast of the Lord to those which are offered by the enticing world, the joys of the feast far outweigh those of the world. Thus the self discipline required of the Christian life is no burden to us or a thief of true joy. For our joy has been made full and complete in the Supper, which conveys the very body and blood of Christ to us. No one who partakes of this can ever walk away from it unchanged. It is the true luxury to feast at the royal banqueting table of Christ the King.

John Chrysostom
"Have you heard holy hymns? Have you seen a spiritual marriage? Have you enjoyed a royal table? Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Have you joined in the choir of the Seraphim? Have you become partaker of the powers above? Do not cast away so great a joy, waste not the treasure. Do not bring in drunkenness, the mother of dejection, the joy of the devil, the parent of ten thousand evils. For it is a sleep like unto death, and heaviness of head, and disease, and obliviousness, and an image of dead men's condition. Furthermore, if you would not choose to meet with a friend when intoxicated, can you tell me, if, when you have Christ within, would you thrust upon Christ Himself so great an excess?"Do you love enjoyment? Then, on this very account stop being drunken. For I too would have you enjoy yourself, but with the real enjoyment, which never fades. What then is the real enjoyment, ever blooming? Invite Christ to dine (Rev 2:20) with you. Give Him to partake of yours, or rather of His own. This brings pleasure without limit, and ultimately everlastingly. But the things of sense do not bring everlasting pleasure; rather as soon as they appear they vanish away. Whoever has enjoyed them will be in no better condition than he who has not, or rather in a worse condition. For the one is settled as it were in a harbor, but the other exposes himself to a kind of torrent, a besieging army of madnesses, and hasn't even power to endure the first swell of the sea."Let us follow after moderation, that these things do not happen to us. For thus we shall both be in a good state of body, and possessing our souls in security, shall be delivered from evils both present and future. From these may we all be delivered, and attain unto the kingdom, through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and honor, now and forever. Amen."
John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 Corinthians, 27.7

LORD have mercy, Christ have mercy

An Excellent Exposure of Modern American Idolatry

Thanks to my dear brother Michael Walther for this insight!!!

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2010

Eat Pray Love

Ross Douthat wrote a great review of the movie Eat Pray Love in the September 20, 2010 issue of National Review. Here is a brief summary:

Eat Pray Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, is a memoir about her travels to Rome, India, and Bali in search of personal fulfillment. The movie version now stars Julia Roberts. Is this just another chick-flick/travelogue? Not at all. This book and film captures what is perhaps the most popular religion in America today, the religion of self. Suffering in an unhappy marriage because her husband is not as successful as he should be and won't accompany her on her journalist travel tours, Elizabeth falls on her knees and prays for deliverance.

What does God want her to do to be happy? First He wants her to divorce her husband. Then God wants her to have an affair that gets messy. Then God wants her to travel around the world eating, meditating and forgiving herself. Then God wants her to fall in love with a handsome, divorced Brazilian.

It is amazing how everything God "wants her to do" is the same thing a spoiled, self-indulgent woman with too much money would want to do. She finally arrives at this astounding theological conclusion: "God dwells within me, as me." One hundred years ago G.K. Chesterton spoke to this kind of religion: "Of all the horrible religions the most horrible is the worship of the god within."