From One We Can Judge The Rest

I actually learned something of value this semester in college. You see, I learned about physics, a subject about which I had only a passing knowledge of, however it is a subject key to my area of study: Engineering. When I learned some of the "meat and potatoes" of physics I was invigorated. Sometimes I would walk out of class with a quickened pulse. I'd sit in my car afterword, and for the whole ride home I listened to nothing but the excited thoughts in my head. Radio off, car kinetically moving, and my head in the clouds (or was it in the movement of particles). In any case, I really like the knowledge I gained this semester, and the feeling of satisfaction that went along with it. Yet, physics wasn't the thing of value I learned (although it's a part of it), it was something far greater.

So one of the times I was floating home a thought occurred to me. How many times in my life had I this, "quickening of the pulse" only to find the flame quenched later upon recalling it? Why wasn't this feeling, a feeling I enjoyed mind you, attached with me every time I reflected back on a particular profound thought, subject, or idea, what have you? What was this feeling anyway?

In relation to my Christian life up till now, I've had similar experiences with theology. I remember reading C.S. Lewis', Mere Christianity, (and I believe it was in this book, however, I might be wrong) where he stated that theology was not the thing itself, i.e. Christ and His cross, but merely a road map, a place to guide you in times of spiritual weirdness.

At the time I was attending a PCUSA church that was bitten by the bug of "American Evangelicalism." Everything was about mission, and not only the mission of evangelism (although that is what they considered it all to be), or assisting the poor (although that was apart of their mission budget), but this was something different altogether. Their mission was about getting people in the door by whatever means possible. One could think this a good thing, especially if the pastor ministered the Law and Gospel from the pulpit, but that never seemed to happen. What's funny, is that I am now reminded of Walther's words from his great book, Law and Gospel, where he says:

Almost all the sermons were about becoming a better person, with a little Gospel thrown in the mix for good measure. Mentioning sin with too much emphasis, or lingering on the real problem (i.e. original sin) for too long was considered something of a bad idea, because it would drive people out the door you see. Something about this way of practicing Christianity seemed suspicious, underhanded even, for when I compared what was going at the pulpit, to that which was going on in my Bible, two different pictures emerged.

It was around that time I began reading Lewis, especially Mere Christianity, and saw that the problem I was having regarding the different representations of Christianity, and everyone's apparent blindness to the problem, had to do with the knowledge (or lack thereof) regarding ancient theology and scripture in the modern Church. I became of the opinion that many mainstream Protestant Churches had drifted terribly off course, and were far from their father's theology. So, at that point I began devouring everything "theological" in sight. I was reading materials by Calvinists, Baptists, Lutherans, Anglicans, Episcopalians, and Catholics even, because I wanted something deep, not the surface mumbo-jumbo I was being fed from the pulpit each Sunday.

My father had, at that time, been going through some theological exploration of his own. He was raised a Presbyterian, and in the years to come became overtly Calvinistic in his theology. However, his Calvinism was causing him some issues of his own, mainly with double predestination and the assurance of salvation. By a fortuitous trip to England he and I had taken, where he scored some "out of print" Luther's Works, and also by a friend at his work who suggested he go to a LCMS Church, things began to change for him. It was then he began mining the riches of Lutheran theology, which was a great challenge to his Calvinism, yet Lutheranism won out in the end. I'm happy to say that he's been assured of his salvation ever since, praise God!

Likewise, he kept feeding me Lutheran materials he had printed from the internet. Three-ring binders full of material, one after another he gave me, along with a copy of Luther's Small Catechism which I began to read daily. This flow of material from many different streams of theological sources were beginning to do my head in due to the apparent contradictions between them, but yet, I pressed on.

Also, around this time I had been going through a lot personal turmoil and soul searching due to the circumstances of my life. One day, when everything felt like it was lost, I read an issue of Modern Reformation (a magazine which claims to be an ecumenical journal for all churches born of the reformation, but whose center of gravity, nevertheless, is thoroughly pitted in Geneva), and the subject was about suffering in the world, and God's role in it. This was about a year or so after 9-11, so it seemed an appropriate subject still fresh on everyone's mind.

This issue was pretty good because it appeared every theological discipline whose roots where from the reformation were represented. Also, I'd be remiss in not mentioning that up until this time, there were some aspects of Lutheranism I couldn't quite get through my thick skull, such as: the Lord's Supper, Baptismal Regeneration, were they (that is, Lutherans) Arminian or Calvinistic in their attitude towards a sinners role in salvation (as if these were the only two options), etc.

However, one article (it's a good article, you should give it read) in particular caught my attention, written by Pastor Bill Cwirla, a Lutheran pastor of the LCMS Church, and it was about suffering and the "hiddenness" of God in suffering (i.e. theology of the cross). Also around this time I had read Luther's, The Heidelberg Disputation, something which left my head spinning. Yet, this article seemed to make sense of it all.

I can't explain to you what it was like, because I can't explain it to myself even, but everything seemed to fall into place with the cross of Christ and His suffering at the center; the Lord's Supper, Baptismal Regeneration, the bondage of the will to sin, etc. It was a like a torrent of understanding mysteriously aligned everything in my head regarding Christianity in general, and Lutheranism in particular, and there were no more loose ends. It was from that moment forward I knew I was home, I knew I was Lutheran.

Now, my experiences this semester weren't quite on par with that one, but the feelings which sprung up from within were definitely from the same well. However, it is seven years later, and do I still have the same intensity of feeling in regards to Lutheran theology? No. Don't get me wrong, I love Lutheranism because it delivers me the Gospel better than any other denomination I've been to, but the intensity of that original feeling is definitely not there. And so, I suspect also that the intensity of my feelings for physics at this time will dissipate as well.

What is this feeling?

Passion would be the only way I could describe it. Not passion in the sense that we sacrifice some things for other things we love (we all do that everyday to a certain degree), no, what I'm talking about is a feeling so strong for something, that you would withhold sleep to take it in more completely because there isn't enough hours in the day to satisfy yourself. It is your waking thought, and  it is in the last flutterings of your mind before you sleep.

Some might think it extreme to talk like this, and it is in certain sense, but our passions are extreme. Look at a drug addict, a young couple in love, a mother or father's love for their child, an over-devoted employee, an obsessed care-taker, an over-acheiving student, what have you, all of these different walks of life have something in common, they are all passionate to the point of personal detriment. Now granted, some of these walks of life are more productive than others, I don't mean to judge them in such a manner, I only wish to point out that their feeling of passion is relative to each other.

Well then, who is it really hurting?

Interesting choice of words, because passion has been know to cause pain. Heck, the root of the word passion is "passio", which in Latin means "to suffer." So, when I speak of passion, I also speak of suffering. But what am I suffering if I obsess my thoughts upon physics, theology, or the pursuit of knowledge in general? Here follows my profundity (tongue firmly implanted in cheek).

In the beginning of a thing I feel intense passion, for instance; when I met my wife (then girlfriend), I couldn't keep my mind off of her. Yet, as time wore on, the passion that was once there, unfortunately, is not as strong as either of us would hope for now. However, why would we hope for such a passion after these few years? After all, I love my family, you could say I am compassionate for them, and the love is still there even if the intense passion is gone. Well, I'll tell you why we search for such passionate intensity, because it feels good. It motivates us, it brings our hearts to life, it quickens our pulse.

One might ask, "what's wrong with that?" I would answer, where is that intensity after a lengthy period of time?

You see, in physics there is something called entropy, and according to the free internet dictionary it defines it as being:

So, entropy is the subtraction of heat (i.e. what is caused by the electromagnetic force of friction as it effects molecules in motion) from an isolated system. The perfect example is something like a cup of coffee left in a moderately temperate room, eventually the heat will dissipate from the water because the intense motion of the water molecules will be slowed down by the cooler temperature of the room. Hotter things dissipate because of colder things because colder things invade and slow down hotter things. This will happen until there is an equilibrium between the coffee in the cup and the atmospheric temperature outside of it. In a grander sense, this is a fate that will meet us all, because the universe is cooling rapidly (at least rapidly in an astronomical sense) and all of the elements in the universe will end in a state similar to iron (iron is the measurement of equilibrium for the universe). You might call this a "heat-death" of the universe.

This is similar to the passion in us all. Initially it is intense and moving furiously within us, compelling us to do things we wouldn't normally do, then, it dissipates with time, usurped with other passions later on in life. Our passions are dying a "heat death" all there own.

Why? What is killing them?

Well, as St. Augustine said, "Thou hast created us for Thyself [i.e. God] and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee." In us all there is a God shaped void. We are restless until it is filled, thus, we fill it with these passions, with idols of our own creation, and, for a time they suffice. But they do not suffice in any everlasting sense.

Why?

St. Paul in the book of Romans, 7th chapter, says:

What does he mean here when he speaks of the Law?

The whole of the Law can be summed up in these two things: love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, body, soul, and strength; and love thy neighbor as thyself. One is the first table of the Law, and the other the second. The first table addresses mans relation to God, and the second addresses mans relation to his fellow man. However, both tables lead to the same source, you might even say the most supreme commandment of them all, namely:

All of the Law leads to this, whether it is known by anyone or unknown. This Law was woven into the very fabric of creation, and the only reason anyone's ignorant to it is because of the curse of original sin. However, the motivations of our hearts are unto this end continually, and, as St. Augustine says, "our hearts will not rest until they rest in thee."

Besides, ignorance of the Law is no excuse, for if anyone operates as under the Law, yet does not fulfill it, they too are under its curse. If we do not "fear, love, and trust in God above all things," we are ruined since all things are unto this end. This is why our passions are dying a heat death as it were, for the things we are passionate for, even if we are faithful Christians, are never for the "fear, love, and trust in God above all things." So by our passions, by our lusts in the material things, or in wisdom, or in strength, whatever it maybe, it is always rooted in ourselves and never in God, and thus it kills us.

Does this make God's Law evil?

The answer is an emphatic no! Here is why:

Yet, why would God want to make us exceedingly sinful, wouldn't he be causing evil so that good may come?

I would say from a human perspective that would be correct, however, what we should be concerned with is not a human perspective, but a divine one (or at least as much as we are capable in a human sense). You see, what we consider good for us, and what God considers good for us are two different things.

For example, what if a patient who has a cancer, that is on the verge of becoming terminal, that is unless the patient is treated right away, whose doctor told them that everything is okay, go on, drink and be merry; would that be a good thing for the doctor to do? No. They should tell the patient as it is.

So it is with God, except that the patient (us) is terminal with original sin and is completely convinced, regardless of everything he feels, that he's fine, that he doesn't need to take God's direction.

Does a family member tell a drug addicted sibling that their behavior is alright, go on, keep doing drugs? No, they pull the bottom out by doing an intervention so that the drug addicted family member can finally see how artificial and empty their lives have become.

So it is with God, by letting us know that we are "addicted" to sin, so to speak.

And, in many cases He lets us come to the utter end of ourselves to show us that we are not infinite and in control, but that He is God and we are not. That we are completely out of control and defective to the core of our being by our sinful depravities. But in all this, He only does it for our own good. He only does this to bring us to the foot of the cross to learn from our Savior how depraved we actually are. It is there on Christ's cross where the fruit of our labors is on display for everyone to see. It is there were Jesus payed an infinite debt to his father in our place, a debt we could never pay. And, in the end it is at the throne of the slain Lamb in judgment that ALL shall see what their sinful works, good, bad or indifferent, which they have rendered.

However, none of this should frighten us too long, for all of Christs works are now ours. God in his mercy and long-suffering gave us the perfect life Christ lived (and still lives) out of His love for people who by nature hate Him

Go in peace, but know that your passions also wound Christ, even passions that lead to good things. Only good people can do good things, and evil people evil things. No one is good, not one, and all our deeds, the good, the bad, the ugly are evil. However, our Father has made us good by the deeds of Christ. It is in Him, By Him, and through Him that any good is done in the world. Thanks be to God!

No one knows for sure, but I will say God cannot be mocked, and this "zombie-like" economy we have - a false economy - cannot continue to go on forever, because God, very much so is being openly and fearlessly mocked. It seems, no one fears Him! One could fairly and accurately say that no society in all the world's history fears him, and they're correct in saying so, but considering the wickedness of our generation, if it ever where met by the judgment of Christ as he descended from Heaven, I venture to say we would see people try to justify themselves right before His face (if such a thing were possible).

Namely, we have become irrespective in practice of the second table of God's law, and in effect, irrespective of God himself, for the second table necessarily corresponds with the first table (God's law is not dichotomous). And, when that happens as history shows, nations will lead themselves to the open grave of "fallen-nations-past" to mock their predecessors demise, only to feel God now kicking them over the edge. Now, I say God must not be mocked because everything we have is a gift from Him. Therefore, we should be faithful stewards with these material gifts. And, yes that means all of us, both Christian and anti-Christian, for the rain falls on both the just and unjust alike, does it not? And furthermore, where does that rain come from?, who gives it power to fall from the sky?

However, I ask you, can anybody detect at least a majority of leaders or citizens running the government, the financial sector, or the household, after the pattern of how we should run our homes? There are many who do, I'm certain, but for the most part, do we not see gross corruption in government, finance, and consumers at all levels, the likes of which are only found in decadent nations before they implode? This is because we hate God's law. And, as we are irrespective of God's law, it only naturally leads to us becoming over litigious, lovers of self, power, and mammon, desperately hoarding what will be consumed by fire.

It is evidenced in Scripture (for example; just read the prophecies of Daniel), and in the annals of mankind that decadent nations fall, and usually the fall is quick, certain and irrevocable. What is most insidious about this death is that it is a willfully unforeseen suicide. Yes!; that's right, we willingly kill ourselves in ignorance! And, it's unforeseeable because nations, at this stage are willfully ignorant, purposefully blind, cognitively dissonant, or in our case "irrationally exuberant" to the realities of the world around them. Future and current nations can always look back with 20/20 hindsight, just as we do now, and say, "How could the world allow itself to become so financially dependent on the economy of American?" Or, "Why would anyone in America ever think that switching from the gold standard to a fiat money system (i.e. money backed by aether) was a good idea?" Yet we are unable (or unwilling) to see the fate which is about to meet us. Furthermore, an accumulated analysis of all the various fallen systems of either government, economy, or household, due mainly to arrogance and decadence, could never give us any definitive insight, or render a predictive formula so that we could see the ends coming from far away due to the "problems" overwhelming complexity. We can barely predict the next days weather correctly let alone predict something with so many variables as is encompassed by an intertwined world economy.

Even if someone can see the the fate of their nation or their future from a long way off, they might not be able to see any hope if the vision is rather dismal. Some of us are already experiencing the reality of a collapsed economy, and upon looking at the fundamentals of everything in the markets, the outlook is nothing but dreadfully dismal for the world. And, in my own Christian walk, I can't even begin to count how many arrows of outrageous fortune I have received in the past six months. I constantly fight, and ask God in prayer to keep me faithful in spite of everything I see, in spite of myself! So many times in the past six months I have given in to the feeling that God has been judging me, that I must not be doing something right. It hurts me to no end! I mean, God hates me! right?

But His Word tells me something else! His word tells me to look at my Savior on the cross; He is the one being judged, He is the one who God pours His wrath upon, He is the one that God hates, and not for anything He has done, but on account of what I have done on His behalf. His Word tells me I must accept the reality at present; that I am as righteous as God is, that I am in effect His Son, that I possess the entire Universe, that the Angels are at my beckon command, and that God enjoys my company and I His, and not for anything I have done, but on account of believing what He has done on my behalf! His Word also tells me this world is perishing, and that I shouldn't store up for myself treasures here, which moth and rust destroy, but to keep my hope in Kingdom come, to keep my hope in Christ who is the way to the Kingdom and my true Treasure, to trust in His Word of Truth which the Holy Spirit works eternal life through, to glory in suffering just as Jesus was glorified as "the Son of Man". And to believe all this in spite of what I see, in spite of what I think I know, in spite of the fact that I do not see the glory that is with me in Christ, that I do not experience being present in His Kingdom, and nor do I feel His Holy Spirit interceding on my behalf. With all that said, God wants me stop trying to feel Him and ultimately resign my entire self, body and soul, to the fact that God loves me even when I'm convinced He hates me.

Just as the rain falls on the just and unjust alike, so does misery. Be comforted in heart that God knows our sufferings, He has counted every tear, He has consumed the cup of wrath to the dregs and has died in the damnation reserved for people with a wicked and evil conscience all for the sake of those that don't love Him, for people who, in spite of knowing about salvation in Christ, still hate Him. We, who are utterly incapable of loving Him without a spiritual regeneration by the Holy Spirit, who still wrestle with the flesh because of faulty senses and our natural love for whispering, malcontented devils, also love Him, although we in our flesh still hate Him. This is the essence of the biblical maxim "Simul Iustus et Peccator" (both saint and sinner at the saint time), and yet, God still loves us. Let us give thanks for this amazing blessing in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What follows are two very well done Gospel sermons addressing the odd phenomenon of Lutheran Pastors abandoning, and in many cases bewildering, their congregation, let alone abandoning the pure doctrine of the Lutheran Confessions to head east. These sermons are a great explanation of what being a theologian of the cross is all about.

In recent years a number of prominent Lutherans have left behind the Lutheran confession for either Rome or Constantinople. Many are well acquainted with Richard Neuhaus’ journey to Roman Catholicism, and with Jaroslav Pelican’s pilgrimage to the Orthodox. Recently we have heard of the “brain” drain from the Lutheran tradition; how the best minds are going elsewhere. If one holds that the Lutheran confession is true, as I do, one wonders if these are really the best minds, for if they were, would they be leaving? Occasionally, one hears of individual Lutheran pastors swimming across the Tiber or the Bosphorus River. Although these pastors receive at least a moderate amount of notice, little is said of those congregations who are confused, hurt, and feel betrayed. Some of these congregations even wonder if they are still church. When the pastor leaves for Rome or Constantinople, some of the congregation follows,causing even more divisions and strife.

The following sermon and essay were delivered to Epiphany Lutheran Church in Dorr, MI, on August 28, 2005 after their pastor left for the Antiochian Orthodox Church. It is offered in the hope that it may be helpful to others.

-- ABC3+


Matthew 16:21-26

What image comes to mind when you hear the word “traitor”? If you are an American, the word “traitor” and “Benedict Arnold” are nearly synonymous. Arnold was a man who worked his way up to the top of the Colonial military establishment. He began as an enlisted man, eventually becoming a general in the continental army. He fought bravely and won many victories against the British. He also had a number of set backs in his personal life and career which made him a bitter man. Eventually, this once trusted hero of the American cause switched his loyalties. His former friends became his enemies, while his former enemy became his friend. General Arnold petitioned to become the commander of West Point. Because of the trust General Washington had for Arnold, he was given this command. Only Arnold’s intentions were not pure; for he planned to surrender the fort to the British, dealing his former friends a blow that might have changed the outcome of the war. His treachery was discovered before the damage done. Benedict Arnold lived out his days embittered with remorse and as long as the United States remains his name will be associated with “traitor.”

The world has had its share of “traitors”, men and women who have betrayed each other for some cause, for some gain, or for love. The thing about traitors is that they oftentimes were heroes and even considered great or the best of the best before changing sides. Perhaps, you have suffered at the hand of a “Benedict Arnold” in your lifetime. Perhaps, you have felt betrayed by a person, a friend, or an institution. A secret shared was revealed – betraying your trust. A common cause was forsaken. It hurts to be betrayed. Perhaps you have even betrayed another person yourself and had to live with regret and remorse.

In the Gospel lesson for today, we hear of something worse than betrayal. Peter becomes worse than a traitor. Peter does anti-Christ. He opposes Christ and joins forces with Satan. What a dramatic change from last week’s Gospel lesson when Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ.

In last week’s Gospel lesson, Jesus asked Peter what the crowds were saying about Jesus. He seemed at the top of his game being compared to famous prophets and men of God from the past. Jesus seemed destined for success. When Jesus asked the question, Peter got the answer right. He said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Peter was commended for his confession. Jesus also promised to build his church on the rock, that is, the confession that he is the Christ.

In the reading for today, which may have happened only moments after Peter made the confession that Jesus is the Christ, we see something different. Jesus tells his disciples what is about to take place. The future Jesus describes does not match up with Peter’s vision. Jesus told his disciples that he would go to Jerusalem to suffer many things. He told his disciples that he would be rejected by all the power-brokers of the day. He told his disciples that he would die and then rise again on the third day. Peter could not stand to hear what was about to happen to Jesus. His visions of grandeur, of Jesus ruling majestically in Jerusalem – no doubt with the twelve disciples seated next to him – was shattered. Peter had no use for a Jesus who would be rejected,suffer, and die. So Peter did anti-Christ; he joined forces with Satan to oppose Jesus.

The future Jesus described for himself was one of humility, suffering, rejection, betrayal,and death. Jesus told of a future any person would try to avoid at all costs. Who would knowingly walk to death when death could be avoided simply by taking a different path? Who would willingly face public humiliation when it could easily be avoided? Who would submit to terrible suffering? Who would follow a leader that told his disciples that grief, suffering, and death awaited? Not Peter. He had much grander plans for Jesus. And so it is often with us. We do anti-Christ when we go against how Jesus would be Lord to us and to his church, when we go against being transformed into his image, into the image of the cross.

The Lord’s church, the Lord’s people, are made and formed in his image. The church takes on the image of her Savior Jesus. In this life, the image of Jesus that we see is of him suffering and dying on the cross. This is not a pretty picture. The world does not want to see a suffering Jesus. This is why St. Paul wrote, “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:17) The cross of Jesus never makes sense to the world. It does not make sense to us at times either. By nature we desire to see a glorious, powerful Jesus who does away with his enemies, who comes down from the cross, so to speak, to take care of those who mock and jeer him, a Jesus who uses his power and might to make his church strong and respected.

To put it another way, do you feel better when the church has ten people or one hundred in worship? Most people and pastors, if they are honest, will say they feel better when more people are present for worship. Oftentimes the counting of people is equated with the success of a congregation. When problems arise in congregations, when attendance drops, when programs don’t seem to get off the ground, often times we feel as if Jesus is not helping and supporting us. We may feel as if Jesus has failed us. Yet no matter what problems a congregation may face – whether attendance is soaring or dropping, whether there is heartache and strife, whether there is troubles with the pastor or the congregation – Jesus never fails his church. Jesus never fails his people. No matter what difficulties and sufferings a congregation goes through Jesus is still giving out his forgiveness through his Word and forgiving gifts. Jesus still gives out his true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and the nourishment of your soul.

The church on this earth has her beauty hidden – hidden behind the scars, blows, and wounds inflicted upon her by the devil and world. There is no ideal congregation; all have their warts and blemishes. Quite frankly, the Lord’s church here on earth is nothing to look at. Yet Jesus sees beauty in his bride and he transforms her through his suffering and death on the cross into his holy, pure, and virgin bride. He sees beauty where all we see are problems, hurts, pain, and suffering. Yet the church remains because he has promised that the church will remain wherever he is. Jesus has promised to be where his Word is preached purely and his forgiving gifts are given out according to his institution.

So it also goes in our lives. Is it any surprise that the lives of the Lord’s people would parallel the life of his church? We, also, face sufferings, hardships, and trials in our lives. We get sick, have disappointments in our job, career, family, and relationships, and face the attacks of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. We struggle with temptation. At times we may be tempted to think that Jesus has failed us. We may be tempted to do anti-Christ, to seek the message of prosperity, success, and positive thinking – to avoid the cross that Jesus has laid in our lives.

Jesus tells his disciples to take up their cross and follow him. No one wants to bear a cross. Even Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that his Father take the cup of suffering, that he take the cross away. Yet bearing the cross for Jesus is not something we decide to do, or something we take upon ourselves. We have enough sorrow in our lives without having to go out and look for more. The stuff we face in our lives, the crosses that we bear, comes to us because we are being transformed into the image of Jesus. We belong to him and he gives us these crosses, these sufferings, so that we learn to trust him all the more, so that we cling to his Word and promises. He gives us these crosses and sufferings so that our sinful nature is put to death. Death is a painful thing and our sinful nature does not like being put to death. Yet it has been drowned in the waters of Holy Baptism and every day a new person emerges from the font. Every day our sinful nature is put to death and every day we face the struggles and crosses of this life as the devil and world wage battle against us. Yet no matter what we face as individuals or as a congregation, Jesus never fails us.

Look how Jesus treated Peter. Jesus exorcised Peter. He cast Satan out when he said, “Get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you do not setting your mind on the things of God but the things of men.” Jesus also cast Satan out of you at your Baptism. There in his Name with the water Jesus delivered you from Satan’s kingdom. There Jesus turned your mind away from the things of men to be focused on the things of God. In your Baptism, Jesus transformed you into his image. From that moment on your life in Christ takes on his imagine,including the image of his suffering and death. Therefore, our lives here on earth are often full of suffering and grief.

You might ask, “How is my suffering as a Christian different from a person who is not?” Although your hardships and sufferings may look like other people’s, the Lord has given you a cross to bear that is uniquely yours. He places crosses in your life so that you trust in him and his promises rather than yourself. He has given you his promise that he will never leave or forsake you. He has promised you that he will not give you more than you can endure. He has given you his promise that the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.

If Satan had his way with us, we would all become traitors to our Lord. If Satan had his way, all of us would do anti-Christ. Just as Jesus exorcised Peter and kept him on the rock, on the confession that Jesus is the Christ, so too, Jesus has exorcised you in Holy Baptism. He has delivered you from all your sins and has transformed you into his image. In this life we are transformed into the image of our crucified Savior, who bears the lashes of affliction, grief,suffering and death. In the life to come, we will be transformed into the image of our resurrected Savior, shining in his glory. When our Lord returns on the clouds in his glory and his people see him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the Lord’s church will be presented to him as the pure, beautiful, virgin bride redeemed in his blood. On that day, she will no longer bear the marks of suffering or indignity. Her warts and blemishes will be gone. Then the Lord’s church and his people will be in harmony as they celebrate at the marriage banquet,which our Lord Jesus gives us a foretaste in Holy Communion.

When the Lord gave you his Name, when he exorcised you in Holy Baptism, you were made in his image – in his image under the cross and his image in glory. Remember that Jesus never fails you. What a Lord we have.

Go in peace. Amen.



“This article also affords a glorious testimony that the Church of God will exist and abide in opposition to all the gates of hell, and likewise teaches which is the true Church of God, lest we be offended by the great authority and majestic appearance of the false Church, Rom. 9, 24. 25.”(FC SD XI, 50.)

One evening when I was tied up in meetings at church, my wife went to a funeral visitation for a co-worker. Being unable to procure a baby-sitter, she took our then four year-old son with her. As they drove to the place of the visitation, my wife explained to my son what had happened, what he would see, and why they were going. The funeral home was directly across from a large Roman Catholic church that nearly took up an entire city block. The architecture was impressive and gothic. The stained glass was magnificent. Large wooden doors provided entry into this majestic church. When my son saw this church, he could hardly contain his awe. He blurted out, “Look, mommy, a castle for Jesus.”

This story is the kind of memory parents will cherish about their children all their days. But it is more than simply a cute story; it illustrates an important theological point. One might be minimally impressed that a pastor’s four-year-old son recognized that this building belonged to Jesus. He knew it was a church. To be able to recognize the church at four years old seems slightly better than the Augsburg Confession’s expectation of children when it says, “a seven year old child knows what the church is.” (AC XII, 2) You might be wondering why we can sometimes be so confused about the church, if a four year old and a seven year old can recognize the church. Before you feel badly about your own church recognizing abilities notice what the four-year-old saw? He saw a majestic and glorious building as the church. He saw the splendor, the awesome architecture, and the authority as the church. He saw a castle for Jesus.

Now castles were not designed primarily for comfort or luxury. Castles were designed as strongholds and fortresses. Castles were designed to display power, majesty, and authority. Castles were for kings who displayed their power and might in the act of war. Castles were for conquerors. The phrase “a castle for Jesus” contains a lot of theology. Out of the mouths of babes, we see the kind of portrait we would like to paint of Jesus and of his church. In the words “a castle for Jesus,” we see that our natural desire is for Jesus to rule over the world in his castle, that is, his church, by displaying his great power, majesty, and authority. Naturally, a powerful, mighty king needs to have a glorious, majestic, and authoritative castle from which to reign. Thus, the church we desire by nature is a church that is outwardly impressive, successful, and majestic. We want people to gaze at the church with awe. From a little boy who found a castle for Jesus, we see that from as early as we can speak we are all theologians of glory at heart.

You may not be inclined to consider yourself a theologian but you are. As Gerhard Forde explains, “Being a theologian just means thinking and speaking about God.” (1) Every person thinks and speaks of God during his lifetime. Tragic events such as sickness and death, as well as momentous occasions such as the birth of a child often make people think of God. People think of God by cursing and swearing in his name. People also chose not to think of God. The thinking and speaking of God makes a theologian, which is part of the reason there are so many different religions in the world. Without the true knowledge of God, people will invent their own gods. All people are theologians in that everyone thinks and speaks of God.

Just as all people are theologians, all people have a theology. In one sense, there are as many theologies as there are people in this world, and for us to try to catalog all the various theologies would be an exercise in futility. But as with most things a multitude of variation can be summarized into a few broad categories. Dr. Martin Luther in the Heidelberg Disputation of 1518 (2) placed all theology into two categories. He described theology as either being a theology of glory, or being a theology of the cross. A theologian of glory does not know God hidden in suffering. (3) Such a person prefers “works to suffering, glory to the cross, strength to weakness, wisdom to folly, and, in general good to evil.” (4) He seeks the biggest, the best, the most impressive, the most successful, the most alive, and the most ancient as marks of the true church. In summary, the theologian of glory seeks to find, or if he cannot find it to build a castle for Jesus.

Those who are seeking a castle for Jesus find that castle by comparison and measurement. Anytime we compare or measure something we are in the realm of the Law, which sizes up things to see if they met the goal or requirement. In the case of a church, one might measure whether the attendance is at a certain level, or compare the age of its traditions, liturgy, and practices, or size up how alive a congregation or church body is in comparison to another. Such comparisons are similar to how a first down is determined in football. The referee gets out the measuring stick to see if the tackled player crossed the line or not. In the case of the church such measuring results in determinations of whether or not that congregation is the church or not. The Law knows no exceptions – close does not cut it. One problem with using measurements and comparisons as the security of the church is that in a fallen and sinful world nothing will measure up perfectly. Doubt is never totally removed. Attendance has dropped for three months in a row perhaps there is something wrong with the congregation; perhaps it has ceased to be church. Giving is down and now the congregation is spilling red ink, perhaps the Lord has taken away his favor. The pastor doesn’t speak well and his sermons don’t seem to connect with the people, perhaps he is not really from the Lord. Add your own test of a successful church. How many faults can a congregation have and still be church? How many aberrations and flaws? What if there is a 50/50 mix? Is it still at church? How do you decide?

Ultimately the question comes down to what guarantees the church. If the way to discern the church is wrapped up in the measuring and comparing of a congregation to some benchmark be it history, tradition, apostolic succession, success, size, majesty, or glory the church was presented in the Scriptures fails the test. The Scriptures tell us of Noah a preacher of righteousness. The Lord gave him one of the most difficult calls imaginable for a pastor to have. The Lord called Noah to preach repentance and forgiveness for 120 years. What a lousy preacher Noah must have been by any reasonable standard. His sermons were boring and irrelevant to a world unable to see the approaching danger and destruction. Where were Noah’s converts? When the Lord sealed up the ark, all Noah had to show for his 120 years of preaching was eight people. Imagine that, over the course of 120 years only eight people believed Noah’s preaching. If you recall what happened after the flood was over, you might wonder how effective Noah’s preaching was – one of Noah’s sons didn’t turn out too good. What of the church? At the time of the flood, the church consisted of eight people sealed in a wooden ark, full of two of every kind of animal. Hardly an impressive sight as the ark bobbed helplessly over the surface of the water.

Throughout the Scriptures the church appears rather unimpressive, rather helpless, and quite frankly like it is about to die. The church at the time of Elijah was so weak and unimpressive that Elijah thought he was the only person left on earth who believed. He prayed that the Lord kill him so he did not have to endure being the only one. The Lord responded by showing Elijah fire and an earthquake, yet in all that power and might Elijah did not find the Lord. Elijah finally found the Lord in a quiet and unimpressive whisper. The Lord told Elijah that he had not been left behind, for there were still 7,000 left. Imagine that there were only 7,000 and 1 people in the Lord’s church in the entire world. There isn’t time to go through all the other pathetic examples of church in the Old Testament such as the church in captivity, which prevented it from even doing the liturgy correctly. No temple, no sacrifices, no church one would logically conclude – yet the Lord preserved for himself a people; he preserved his church.

To take an example from the New Testament consider the congregation in Corinth. The congregation had been founded by St. Paul, or had it? The congregation was fighting among themselves who really was the leader. Some said St. Paul, others said Apollos, and others said Peter, and still others Christ. Another way to put it is that some wanted to go West to Rome, others East to Constantinople, some to Wittenberg to follow Luther, and others just simply wanted to be called Christians. The congregation refused to discipline people who lived in open and manifest sin that was so shameful even the pagans would not consider living that way. There were divisions and great strife among members. Congregational members even took each other to court in lawsuits. To make matters worse they couldn’t agree on doctrine. Some even denied the Resurrection of the dead, not only of the dead but also of Christ himself. Some of the congregation thought Christ had already returned and that they had been left behind. Then there were the worship problems. The Corinthians had women preachers. They couldn’t follow the rubrics in the hymnal. They had charismatic and contemporary worship – you can’t get more contemporary than making it up on the spot. They even managed to mess up the Lord’s Supper’s liturgy.

One would be hard pressed to find a congregation or church body today with as many problems as the congregation in Corinth. Yet notice how St. Paul addresses this messed up congregation. He writes, “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:2 – ESV) St. Paul calls this messed up congregation the “church of God.” It was the church of God because Jesus was there. What makes a group of people into the church is Jesus, not tradition, glory, or majesty. Jesus can even make a group of people as troubled as the Corinthians into his church.

Where Jesus is, there is his church. The only guarantee of the church is Jesus. No matter what a person would like to see in the church; no matter what should be present in a healthy congregation, ultimately in the end what makes that group of people a church is Jesus. St. Paul can even call the troubled group of people at Corinth the church because Jesus was there among those people calling, gathering, and sanctifying them as his holy people, as his church.

The only question that really needs to be answered is how does one find Jesus? The Scriptures tell us to “Seek the Lord while he may be found.” Yet our Lord is so gracious that he doesn’t leave us to wander around in search of him. He tells us exactly where to find him. When Jesus instituted both Holy Baptism and the Holy Ministry he promised his church, “And behold, I am with you always until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 – ESV) When Jesus instituted Holy Absolution he promised his church, “For where two or three are gathered in my Name, there I am in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20 – ESV) When Jesus instituted Holy Communion, he told his church, “This is my body… This is my blood.”

In the things the Lutheran Confessions call the Sacraments, or the means of grace, Jesus has promised to be located at for his people. Where the means of grace are going on, where Baptisms are done in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, where sins are forgiven in Jesus’ name, where the Lord’s true body and blood are given out according to his institution and mandate, where his Word is preached, there is Jesus and there is his church. The Augsburg Confession confesses that the holy church is “the assembly of all believers among who the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel.” (AC VII) So if you want to find the church, you find Jesus. To find Jesus you go to where there is baptism, absolution, the Lord’s Supper, and the preaching of the Gospel.

Our problem is that Jesus does not seem to do a very good job preserving his church. The means of grace do not seem like very effective tools to build a castle for Jesus. People can be baptized and then turn around and act as if the Name of God was never inscribed on their forehead. People can hear that they are forgiven and not live as if they were. The swine can even trample the Lord’s body and blood under foot. People can tune out the preaching of the Word and pastors can preach poorly, stumbling over their words. Congregations, pastors, and even church bodies can fail to discipline those who have erred – just as the church in Corinth failed to expel the sinner from their midst. Historic and ancient practices can be discarded in favor of innovations that have no standing in the historic church. The historic liturgy can be replaced. Pastors may be less than faithful, even to the point of forsaking the vows they took at their ordination. No matter how wrong, tragic, or sad all this is, no matter how these things blemish the church and hurt people – so long as Jesus remains in his Word and forgiving gifts there his church is also. The church’s future and foundation does not depend on our faithfulness, rather it depends on Jesus’ faithfulness to his word and promises. When we are faithless, Jesus remains faithful.

To the church at Corinth St. Paul wrote, “The Word of the cross is folly.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) The cross is foolishness because it is an instrument of suffering, shame, and humiliation. The cross was such a horrible symbol the church did not widely adopt its use in art and decoration until the 3rd or 4th century. The cross caused Peter to do anti-Christ when he forbad (sic) Jesus from going to Jerusalem to suffer and die. Jesus responded by exorcising him and by telling the disciples to pick up their cross and follow him. Discipleship is following Jesus to the cross, that is to say, following Jesus involves being transformed into the image of the crucified Jesus. Just as Jesus appeared beaten, bloody, and in anguish when he suffered on the cross, so too the lives of individual Christians and of the Lord’s church on earth appear to the world. In the second letter to the Corinthian congregation, St. Paul tells them that he is always “carrying in the body the death of Jesus.” (2 Corinthians 4:10 – ESV) Literally, this passage speaks of carrying around the corpse of Jesus with the accompanying stench of death. To the world, Christians and the church reek of rotting flesh; they smell to the world like a dead body. This is what it means to live under the cross.

In the Heidelberg Disputation Luther wrote, “Therefore, in the crucified Christ is true theology and the recognition of God.” (5) The true words about God are related to the crucified Christ. It is only in Christ crucified that we see God. The purpose of the Gospel of St. Mark is to show you that Jesus is the Son of God. Read through Mark and note when Jesus is called the Son of God. First, at his Baptism, the Father identifies Jesus as his Son. The demons call him the Son of God, but Jesus always silences them. On occasion the crowd will call him the Son of God after he performs a miracle or displays his power, yet once again Jesus silences the crowd. He does not want to be known as the Son of God for displaying his power. The only time that Jesus allows himself to be called the Son of God is when the centurion exclaims, “Truly, this man was the Son of God.” (Mark 15:39) Jesus wants you to see that he is most your Savior, most the Son of God for you when he hangs dead on the cross. We see Jesus as our Lord when he is crucified. When Jesus seems most helpless and lest able to help you and me, then he is most our Savior; then we see him as the Son of God. This is the theology of the cross.

We as Christians, we who are called to be the church of God, live in the shadow of Jesus’ cross. The church at times is rather unchurchly. The church is full of problems and strife. The church has blemishes, bruises, and scars from being abused in this world by the devil. The church bears wounds inflicted by the sinners who dwell within her walls. And yet the church remains, endures, and thrives because Jesus is there. Jesus doesn’t build for himself a glorious palace, or a mighty castle that he can reign with power and glory. Rather Jesus builds his church with living stones. You with all your hurts, blemishes, flaws, sufferings, and trials are the living stones that Jesus uses to build a spiritual house. (1 Peter 2:5) When the world looks at the church and sees it built on the living stone the builders rejected, that is, on Christ, with all of us being stacked on Jesus as living stones, the world sees nothing attractive.

At times, we as members of this church see nothing attractive. At these times Satan tempts us to become theologians of glory. He tempts us to leave the shadow of the cross and to seek the glory and splendor the world has to offer. He tempts us to seek a church built on something other than Jesus and his means of grace. He tempts us to seek the security of tradition, the majesty of bishops, the impressiveness of numbers, and the power of success. He tempts us to leave behind the crucified Jesus. He tempts us to leave behind suffering and the cross.

Yet through the eyes of faith we see the church for what she is – the holy bride of Christ, founded on his Word and forgiving gifts. Through the eyes of faith we confess with C.F.W. Walther, “So what a miraculous building is the church! – She appears so weak and yet she stands so unshakably firm; she appears to be so poor and yet she possesses such an immeasurable wealth; she appears so small and yet she encompasses such a great uncountable host!”6 The true glory of the church is hidden in the shadow of the cross. Be not ashamed of the cross, nor of the sufferings and trials you face as the Lord’s people, as his church. “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God.” (1 Peter 2:10) You were made into the people of God, into the Lord’s church, through Holy Baptism. And now the Lord continues to preserve you as his people, as his church, through his Word and gifts of forgiveness. Although people within the church can and will fail you, even if your pastor fails you, your Lord Jesus will never fail you. He will always be faithful to his promises to you. Through his Word and forgiveness the gates of hell will never prevail against you, his beloved people, his holy church.

Jesus does not need a castle, for he reigns from the tree of the cross. May we all become theologians of the cross.

1 Gerhard O. Forde, On Being a Theologian of the Cross: Reflections on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation, 1518,(Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, MI, 1997), 10.

2 Martin Luther, “The Heidelberg Disputation, 1518.” AE 31, 39-70; Studienausgabe (SA) 1, 186-218.

3 Martin Luther, “Heidelberg Disputation,” Thesis 21. AE 31, 53.

4 Ibid.

5 SA 1, 208:17. “Ergo in Christo crucifixo est uera Theologia (et) cognitio Dei.” (Also compare my translation with that of AE 31, 53.)

6 C.F.W. Walther, “Sermon for the Dedication of a Church – Psalm 87, 1865,” translated by Rev. Joel Basely

H/T - Reformation Today
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(nah, not really)

Today we will examine thesis 3 of the Heidelberg Disputation:

Thesis 3 states that:

Although the works of man always appear attractive and good, they are nevertheless likely to be mortal sins.

Alright, at this moment I believe I've heard a "ker-plunk" in the reasoning portion of the blogosphere's collective mind. I can imagine people (even Christians mind you) saying that, "This isn't true, what could Luther possibly mean by this? Surely he's a fool!"

Well, Luther did refer to himself as "God's fool" many times, but he did so within the context of 1 Cor. 1:25 where it says:

"...the foolishness of God is wiser than men, ..."

So, as to the foolishness of God, let us all pray that we partake of God's unique and very different wisdom, trusting in nothing but what His Word tells us about us, Himself, and our relation to Him wholeheartedly, even if it's in spite of our reason.

Now, regarding what exactly Luther is saying here, it's very important to keep perspective. And, what's most important is that we, as much as humanly possible, try to lose our perspective and attempt to see things through God's eyes.

Mankind has made for himself a system of justice based almost in whole part upon a conglomeration of different philosophies and sciences from throughout the ages. This system is hardly a settled issue in any sense, for the pock-marked surface of human laws are hammered out each day in courts all over the world. Nor do mans laws agree in every land, and subsequently, confrontations have naturally occur based on what one tribe considers legal and what another one doesn't. Yet, man indeed does have a moral intuition given him by God (i.e. conscience), and from this moral intuition he sees the necessity in deeming certain acts good and other acts evil.

For example, when we saw the firemen that ran into burning buildings to save lives on the morning of 9/11, while recognizing that many of them payed the ultimate price in doing so, we easily understand this as a good, morally upright, and heroic act. And also, in another instance a little closer to home, a co-worker of mine recently received a badly needed kidney from his brother. Now, the owner of the company I work for-a Roman Catholic-has called my co-worker's brother, based solely upon his good work, a saint. Believe me, I'm not exaggerating in the least bit by saying that my boss believes his action has earned this man heaven itself. Although, I as a Lutheran do not agree with my boss or believe God's knighted him in sainthood based on his deed, I still do nevertheless naturally see virtue in his selfless act.

However, this is the very problem. I'm trusting in my nature and in the judgment of what I see, and if I were to let that carry me away beyond the safe harbors of sound Lutheran doctrine, then there's no doubt I'd stand in solidarity with my boss by thinking these great deeds have indeed earned all the men who performed them God's salvation.

You see, this is man's natural religion; if you do good deeds then you get rewarded, you do bad deeds you get punished, plain and simple! Anybody who questions this common sense notion is perceived to be silly, foolish, or even perhaps evil. However, and unfortunately, we don't see things as they really are.

This is how Luther describes our works in his proof for thesis 4, he states:

Human works appear attractive outwardly, but within they are filthy, as Christ says concerning the Pharisees in Matt. 23[:27]. For they appear to the doer and others good and beautiful, yet God does not judge according to appearances but searches "the minds and hearts" [Ps. 7:9]. For without grace and faith it is impossible to have a pure heart. Acts 15[:9]: "He cleansed their hearts by faith." The thesis is proven in the following way: If the works of righteous men are sins, as Thesis 7 of this disputation states, this is much more the case concerning the works of those who are not righteous. But the just speak in behalf of their works in the following way: "Do not enter into judgment with thy servant, Lord, for no man living is righteous before thee" [Ps. 143:2].

The Apostle speaks likewise in Gal. 3 [:10], "All who rely on the works of the law are under the curse." But the works of men are the works of the law, and the curse will not be placed upon venial sins. Therefore they are mortal sins.

In the third place, Rom. 2[:21] states, "You who teach others not to steal, do you steal?" St. Augustine interprets this to mean that men are thieves according to their guilty consciences even if they publicly judge or reprimand other thieves.

You see, since the time our first parents fell, we are by nature bound unto sin, and we can do nothing other. So, even when we do something we would otherwise judge as good, in God's eyes it is nothing but sin, for, that's all we're capable of doing. Yet, when we receive Christ's righteousness, when his virtuous works done here during his time on earth are applied to us, we are thus covered by it in everything we do, yes, even our sins, and this is what causes us to be righteous in the sight of God. And so, it basically boils down to this: if there is any good that comes about by the works we do, then God be praised; if there is any evil, whether great or small, intentional or unintentional, then we in whole part solely possess it.

Now, on earth we may act as judge and deliver sentences upon our fellow brothers to the very best of our ability, but we are unable to judge the hearts and minds of the defendants before us. This task solely belongs to God, and to God alone. He has given us the very scale upon which he has weighed what we consider our righteousness, namely by His Law, and He has found us severely wanting. Yes, even the firemen of 9/11 and my co-workers brother's works are nothing but wretched and vile sins, and yes, to make it abundantly clear, even these most heroic and life saving acts are but rubbish before God's eyes. However, the only reason they'd be rubbish, is when and if these men ever wore their works as feathers in a fancy cap, flouting them before God and thinking He was impressed by their pious attire.

You see, unless we fear that even our best works are mortal sins, salvation can never be granted us by God. Whatever good we believe we do, the praise really belongs to the one who has hidden our sin, by covering us in His righteousness. For, without God there is no good, and without Jesus we share no communion in God's goodness. He is what makes us good; we, left to ourselves, really have nothing to do with it at all. It's Christ who is our righteousness, and for God and His perfect judgment no other supposed pseudo, self-assured "righteousness" will suffice. We can now rest in the fact that all is done in Christ, and that we no longer need to labor under the torture of the Law. Jesus' sinless life has been imputed to us for all eternity, and not even Satan can take that away from us. Let us now steadfastly cling to out great Savior, our only assurance in this perishing world, and stand with confidence before God our Father, pointing to nothing but Christ and His cross.

Okay, in reference to the Heidelberg Disputation, if there's a wrong way to do theology, then what is the right way? Well, to answer that question one would have to refer back to the theologian of glory as being just but one path a theologian can take, the incorrect path mind you. Yet, before we can supply any answer about the right path some more things must first be explored a little more deeply, and there is no better example than in examining the life of the one whom God chose to bring about the Reformation: Dr. Martin Luther.

We must start with the educational climate of Luther's day. God's Word, as it is plainly written is in fact contrary in nature to human reason. One can easily find it filled with paradox and "bad" reasoning, at least by the Aristotelian/Thomistic Scholasticism of Luther's day (hang in there with me folks, my intent isn't to disparage the Bible, I promise!). Yet, of course, the sophists of Medieval and early Renaissance Christianity made every attempt to avoid the paradoxes of scripture, for in their thinking they presupposed that our minds and God's mind must be governed by the same laws. Therefore, our logic, as of necessity, must really be God's logic and was to a certain extent pure. Such is the nature of Aristotelian philosophy, one must always reason upwards-from the ground up-so to say. If our minds are governed by logic, then the cause of all minds, the Creator's mind, must govern affairs in the same manner, and, logically expects us to do the same as well. So, it stands to reason that their can be NO paradoxes or il-logic in the Bible whatsoever, at least by any scholastic standards.

Luther had a problem with this. He was educated in the scholastic tradition as well, and he was equally versed in Aristotle's Organon. When he applied the classical rules of logic to scripture he was perplexed, for some scriptures spoke to the fact that all men are saved by Christ's work on the cross, and yet other scriptures spoke to the fact that all men were dead in their trespasses in sin. Regarding the Bible and it's contrary nature, this was only the tip of the iceberg as far Luther was concerned. However, this very issue is what troubled the conscience of Luther the most, for the Bible, at least according to his reason, offered no assurance of salvation due to these inherent paradoxes. If he was to cling purely to his reason, then he knew he was lost. With his reason God's Word was and remained a closed book to him. At times, as he confessed, he hated God for the psychological terror regarding the salvation/damnation dilemma that God's paradoxical Word caused him. These episodes of despair were legendary. Unfortunately for him at that time, God's word, the very words of life, were nothing but words of despair.

Also, prior to Luther becoming a monk of the Augustinian Order he was trained in the university as a lawyer. He was well aware that if God was perfect, just, and omniscient, then no human action is hidden or immune from His righteous judgment. Therefore, we all stand naked before the eyes of our Lord. And so, Luther took Socrates maxim "know thyself" to a new degree by applying God's perfect Law to his inward motivations. What he found was that no matter how hard he tried to do a good work according to the Law, the work was always tainted by some selfish and evil motivation. Here's the reason, the Law is only truly performed when it is done with a pure heart moved by perfect love for God and neighbor. If the motivation to do the Law comes from a desire to please God, then the individual acting has already failed. For, if a heart is pure and sinless it does not worry whether God will be pleased or not, it will do what is natural to it, which is to love God and his neighbor perfectly. If there is a want of conformity to, or a desire for performing the Law for God's pleasure or appeasement, then, by necessity, it presupposes an impurity in ones heart, for if a heart were pure it would not desire such things, it would, by nature do them.

Here was another charge for Luther to bring against God, adding just that much more to his hatred of Him; why would a good God command him to do something that he was completely incapable of doing? Was it a joke? Was God sadistic? Fortunately, for us all and for Luther, he would eventually get his answer. Yet, before we get to that, we must address mens actions as Luther understood them after his realization of the biblical doctrine regarding total human depravity.

What he came to find, as far as the works of men were concerned, that when man acts to please or appease God he does not and cannot do it in the spirit of the Law. Mankind deep down knows this, yet, out of his guilty conscience he waters down God's Law to mere outward performances, and does not desire for his heart to be pure. All this he does so as to ease his conscience, which is merely the Law written on his heart accusing him. In so doing, he only artificially quenches his thirst for righteousness. However, God still requires perfect righteousness, and in the act of diminishing the Law he destroys his conscience, which depends on the clarity and absolute up-right nature of the Law, and ultimately makes shipwreck of his faith in doing so. In his depravity and defiance he turns to make an idol unto himself fashioned in the ways of the world. If he can obey this worldly wisdom and fool his brethren and subsequently himself into thinking he is righteous by his pious works, then so shall he be in the eyes of the world. From there he extrapolates that if the world thinks a work to be righteous, then God must think it is too, that he must use the same grading curve as us, so to say. However, what he fails to realize is that he has fully turned from God and acts as the heathen does, for there is no difference between the mentalities of both at this point.

Now, he may fashion the idol into intellectual abilities, worldly understandings of justice, physical stamina, etc., etc., yet ultimately it doesn't matter what it is, for in his mind he believes if he can maintain these man-oriented works then he is righteous in the eyes of his lord. However, his lord is not the Lord of lords; it is, in comparison, but a pale phantom of his own design.

And here was where Luther found himself, in a cloister of men performing man-made works of penance not prescribed by the Law in any fashion, realizing that he was but a pharisee, which were the very people Christ ridiculed and railed against in his own lifetime. He, yet once again, found himself on the wrong side of God.

However, God early on gave Luther a blessing in his father confessor Johann von Staupitz, who pointed Luther, during his periods of spiritual despair, towards the scriptures message of God not only being wrathful, but also of the message to know and trust God in his mercy. The Bible spoke both of these truths, but Luther's reason always gravitated to the God in his righteousness. God's mercy as found in Christ was foreign to him. His interpretation of God's Son in his holiness, at the time, was one of unapproachability. Luther could only see Christ as stated in the first half of Psalms 2:12 "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little.", but he didn't very easily see the second part, "Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him." (NKJV)

Nevertheless Luther was a diligent disciple as well as an ardent student of Scripture. He was particularly taken with the Epistles of Paul, for he longed to understand them as Augustine had. Then one day there came a great awakening in him regarding scripture, here is Luther describing it in his own words:

I had indeed been captivated with an extraordinary ardor for understanding Paul in the Epistle to the Romans. But up till then it was not the cold blood around the heart, but a single word in Chapter 1 [verse 17], “in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed,” that had stood in my way. For I hated that word “righteousness of God,” which, according to the use and custom of all the teachers, I had been taught to understand philosophically regarding the formal or active righteousness, as they called it, with which God is righteous and punishes the unrighteous sinner. Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God, and said, “As if, indeed, it is not enough, that miserable sinners, eternally lost through original sin, are crushed by every kind of calamity by the law of the decalogue [Ten Commandments], without having God add pain to pain by the gospel and also by the gospel threatening us with his righteousness and wrath!” Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience. Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul at that place, most ardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted. At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, “In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’” There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, “He who through faith is righteous shall live.” Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally other face of the entire Scripture showed itself to me.