Alive Lutheran

Josh and Scott wrap up a series on the Law / Gospel distinction as we discuss Luther's Heidelberg Disputation.

Josh and Scott continue a  series on the Law / Gospel distinction so critical to understanding Lutheranism. This week we discuss Walther's first five theses on Law and Gospel.

Josh and Scott begin a two-part series on the Law / Gospel distinction so critical to understanding Lutheranism.

Why Losing Is Winning Life can deal us a difficult hand at times. Financial difficulties, health issues emotional setbacks, accidents, flood, storms...the list goes on and on. None of us are immune from life’s difficulties. As a believer in the Gospel, however, we can take comfort in the fact that, while we often feel like we are losing, in fact we are winning. Let me explain. When we are in the midst of extreme hardship and difficulty, and we feel we have lost everything, we are in a great place. And that is because we are free to lose. We are free to not win every fight. We are free to ignore the inner voice that tells us we’re worthless, or it is all our fault, or it is our punishment. While we cannot know God’s hidden reasons for allowing us to be inflicted, we take solace in the fact that Jesus died for our iniquities, freeing us to not win every fight, argument, or even every tragic life event. The Gospel frees us because we don’t have to have it all together. In fact, if we do, something is wrong. Then, our dependence is no longer on God, but on ourselves. We then remain bound to our own ways, methods, and ideas. It is the most difficult issues in life that show us that, no matter what we want to tell ourselves, we are vulnerable people. We live in a sinful world. And we cannot escape eventual difficulty and pain. But we can take comfort in Jesus, who endured excruciating pain and difficulty so that we might have life. And when we received Word and Sacrament, we are nourished. So feel free to lose, because that’s when we gain the win. 

We Don’t Need to Know Everything There Is to Know About God I love studying theology. It is a good thing to know more about our God, who He is, and what He has done on our behalf. But there comes a time when we must remember that He doesn’t love us based on our desire to study theology. He loves us because He loves us. Period. And he desires to save all. So the next time you think: “this person knows nothing about the faith”, keep in mind that all a person needs is the faith of a mustard seed. We don’t need to be “super Christians.” There isn’t such a thing. We ned Jesus, given to us in Word and Sacrament. If you love studying, that’s great. But don’t judge those that can’t, don’t, or won’t. There may be a reason that you aren’t aware of.

Being Defeated Helps Us In many ways, Christianity is directly opposite of life here on earth. Up is down, down is up, left is right, and right is left. When we think of God as mighty and powerful, he comes to us as a defenseless infant. When we think of living for God and impressing him, we eventually find out that it is impossible. Which takes me to defeat. This is such a word that carries with it so much anathema from the world, especially here in America. We cheer on sports teams as if our lives depended on it. We push for our political will to be so that the one we want to win, actually wins. We cringe at the thought of being defeated. But how about we think of defeat as normal, or even, desirable? A radical thought, to be sure. But Jesus himself allowed Himself to be defeated by His enemies who sought to kill him. He gave Himself for us so that we may not pay for our sins. So the next time you experience a defeat - whether financial, relational, or other - embrace it, rather than fight it. Our value system is not God’s. We are free to be defeated. God doesn’t judge us on a sliding scale of merit. And because of this, we can be defeated and not fear. Jesus paid it all so that we might live. And when this life is over, we will no longer experience defeat. Because he has bought the victory for us. Amen.

Don’t Overthink Christianity When I was training for a job back in my native RI, the person training me got annoyed with some of my questions. So one day she blurted out: “don’t overthink this.” We can also be guilty of this as Christians. We obsess about what God might want us to do, how to do it, and often ask ourselves: “what if I’m wrong?”. We must keep in mind that God gave us reason. But reason is a gift from God. We ought to use it as best as we can.We don’t want to force the Christian faith to pass our “reason” test.  But we must also not “overthink” when it comes to our faith. Especially doctrine and practice. This doesn’t mean I think that we should never study or think about our doctrine. But I also think we ought to defer, inasmuch as possible, to our Christian forefathers (who, incidentally, forgot more than we will ever know about the faith, in many cases). So we need to exercise a certain amount of trust in them, rather than become skeptical about what the church has thought about matters for generations. When we overthink, we can cause ourselves many difficulties. I think, specifically, of Ps. 131:1: “A Song of Ascents. Of David. O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.” This is particularly directed to those theologically-minded individuals (like myself). Relax a bit. Know that the Gospel is primary and rest in it.

Is a Focus On Sanctification More Roman Catholic than Lutheran? Often, a problem may be solved by looking at what something looks like in its whole, rather than by the sum of its various (and often moving) parts. With that in mind, I would like to issue a gentle challenge to my Lutheran brothers and sisters who are riding the sanctification bandwagon. Ask yourself: what does this look most like? Does this approach look more Roman Catholic, or Lutheran? You may recall that Rome believes that we are justified by faith plus works set in motion by love. We’re all clear on that. But what of the zeitgeist of a focus on sanctification? Doesn’t that make the Lutheran look more Roman Catholic, in that it promotes looking within to see how much progress I’ve made? Or how much better I am than those OTHER Christians who don’t exercise spiritual discipline like I do? I think you get the point. I could go on and on. When we stress sanctification, we fail every time. When we stress justification, sanctification does indeed follow by His grace alone. But not by my increased focus or effort. If you want to look like a Lutheran, that is.

New Year’s Resolutions and Realism People love a fresh start. That’s why, I think, that New Years and its corresponding resolutions are so popular. It’s as if some magic counter has been reset back to “00000″, much like an odometer on a car dashboard. The problem with this type of thinking is that it is completely removed from reality. The bare fact is...our sin nature has not hit a reset button. In fact, we may very well sin more in our efforts to get the fresh start we think we deserve. For me, this past year hasn’t been great. At all. I have been kicked out of a church and denied a new pastorate all in the same month. I have also suffered severe financial setbacks. Will 2016 be different? Maybe. But maybe not. We as Lutherans are nothing if not realists. We live in the real world of disappointments, sicknesses, injury, surprise trials, and a myriad of sinful inclinations and proclivities. We do not live in the land of Oz, where good things always triumph over evil things, and where the bad guy gets theirs. I’m not making a “new law” against New Year’s resolutions. But many Christians are very Pollyannish about life. Let’s not join them. We will only receive permanent rest when we are with Jesus.

Lutheranism Is Not For the Curious We Christians can be a curious lot, especially regarding theology. Whether it is books, or other theological traditions, our need to know more can be a good thing. But, often, it can lead to some issues. Take, for example, those that become curious about Lutheranism. Many, especially of the Reformed persuasion, become curious about our tradition. This is not alone a bad thing. But often, I think, the reason is not Gospel-oriented, but puzzle oriented.  In other words, “how can I unravel this Lutheran puzzle and seeming contradictions between God’s sovereignty, Christ dying for all, and its related paradoxes.” That is not the reason for coming to Lutheranism, however. The reason to come to Lutheranism is a deeper appreciation for the Gospel, and a desire for the Gospel to be the center. Not a phony center on paper, put a TRUE, central theme in all that you think and do. You know the old adage: “curiosity killed the cat.” But while curiosity about Lutheranism won’t kill anyone, that alone won’t help anyone looking at Lutheranism. Only a desire for THE denomination/theology that is most reflective of the Gospel will reap rewards.

Excessive Study Often Makes Someone Leave Their Tradition I have been a big fan of studying theology over the years. Purchasing books, reading web articles, and talking about it took up a lot of my time. Helping my neighbor..not so much. I studied a lot and have changed traditions often. Don’t get me wrong..I’m glad I did! However, this makes me wonder if some Lutheran laymen are overdoing it. Do they not believe their theology is correct? Do they not know that the Gospel is best expressed here? Often, I have found that Lutherans, somehow not content with where they are, study to the point of going to Eastern Orthodoxy. So my advice to these well-meaning study maniacs? Use care! You won’t find a better Christian tradition that has the Gospel at its center. And take a break from your studying and enjoy the Gospel as expressed in Word and Sacrament! I wouldn’t want to see you move to EO just because you found some shiny object in your home office or study!

Lower Your Standards...Really When I was evangelicalism, and in particular, fundamentalism, one thing that was a constant drumbeat was the need for “high standards.” Whether it was clothing, music, or work, the necessity for high standards was accepted across the board as Gospel truth. Certainly, we should desire good, solid, theology, and having a high standard in that category is a good thing. But the whole idea of “high standards” is borrowed from the kingdom of the left. The business world has this as a constant mantra, pushing ourselves more and more to become better and faster. For that to happen, our standards would be necessarily higher. But it is problematic when we take a business mantra and place it firmly in the kingdom of the right where the Gospel is. When we walk around placing high standards on people, places, and things that have to dow ith church and Christians, we are residing in a place where the law should not predominate. And high standards is certainly law. What would happen if we actually LOWERED our standards? Relationships would become much less strained, our expectations less apt to being shattered. Disappointment in others would fade into the background, because, after all, we can’t be disappointed when we have low expectations and low standards. This will certainly sound shocking to an American Christianity weaned on “getting better at all costs.” But that approach has little to do with the Gospel. All this is not to say that we should embrace sinful approaches. But it would go a long way to recognizing the truth of the Fall; that people can and do let us down; that we need to give people a lot of leeway. In a word, we apply Gospel rather than Law. Does this sound dangerous? Perhaps. But it is realistic and the closest thing to a Lutheran approach that I know of.

Santa Claus Is Not God...and Vice Versa When I was Reformed, I poo-poo’d Christmas as an “unnecessary ritual not in Scripture.” Or something. Now, as a Lutheran, I see Christmas as something that should be viewed as a fun time (thanks, Two Kingdoms!). Of course, it is the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  But the issue of Santa Claus can cause some problems. Because Santa is touted as someone who “sees everything, knows everything, and can be everywhere at once”, a child can be unwittingly be made to think that Santa is God. Of course, catechization of your children at a young age will likely inoculate them against this. Now, I don’t think that Santa is some satanic plot to send kids to hell. But I do agree that, if children are not taught well early on, that they may be susceptible to this false belief about Santa. So, at the risk of being called a radical fundamentalist or a loosey-goosey Christian, Merry Christmas, pass the wine, and (for those of us who know better), ho ho ho!

Worry Is Law One thing that almost everyone does (it’s hard NOT to do it) is to worry, at least to some degree. There have been many techniques to help someone stop worrying, and I have no quarrel with them. When a person worries, most of the time, it is over something that hasn’t even occurred yet. And they do say that most things we worry about never occur. However, it can be instructive to understand that, when it all boils down, worry is a type of LAW. Law tells us “you must.” Our fallen heart tells us “you must worry,” which we often dutifully follow. But newsflash: the Bible tells us that we need not worry. It is law. That doesn’t mean that bad things won’t happen. They will. But, the vast majority of the time, worrying has never helped prevent any of it. Don't confuse worrying with careful planning, though. We ought and must plan ahead to some extent. But that is a far cry from worrying. Some of have more proclivity to give in to worry than others, and this post is in now way intended to condemn what is sometimes compulsive worrying. But it does help to know it isn’t needed and discouraged as we trust God, whether we have plenty or little.

Evangelicals, in their well-meaning zealousness for God, seem to all too often view forgiveness as something that took place 2000 years ago and has little relevance with today. Juxtapose this view with the Lutheran view, which places forgiveness as the very center of theology. It is not a mere “entry point” to the faith, but is the very faith. Could it be that they really, deep-down don’t believe they really need it? “After all”, they reason, “I am getting better and sinning less. Therefore, it must mean I need forgiveness less.” This is an unfortunate over-estimation of sanctification as if you move closer to sanctification....thus, further away from justification. (I believe this also plays into the sanctification debate currently going on in Lutheran circles, but that is another article for another time). To answer the question posited in this article, yes, forgiveness is really all we need. Godliness is not becoming better, but realizing our great need for forgiveness and Christ. And forgiveness is at the very center of Lutheran liturgy and worship. This position may not be particularly exciting on the ground, but it is nonetheless true anyway. Jesus never promised that Christianity is supposed to be exciting anyway. Carry on.

Don’t Try To Be Above It All In my time as a believer, I have heard folks say things like “I’m neither Republican or Democrat”, “I don’t believe in denominations,” “I don’t like to judge”, and so forth. In a lot of ways, I think this is a desire to be “above the fray”, and so much “better than those who fight.” Someone needs to tell these well-meaning people (who often are Christians) that labels are good. They help identify what is inside something. Certainly they don’t apply that logic to buying olives! Without a label on the olives, how will they know what is inside? It isn’t mean or hateful to self-identify with a certain group, denomination, or political affiliation. It helps define what you believe. This is one of the pet peeves I have with liberals. To them, everything is gray, and there is no black and white (except when it comes to agreeing with them!). It is like nailing Jello to the wall. But specifics we must know, believe, and adhere to. Labels have served us well in all areas of life, including religion and politics. So put down your pride. You’re no better than the rest of us.