Concerning the Church – part 30
Scripture Text: Galatians 2:4-5
The truth of the gospel is that righteousness and salvation come through faith in Christ. This is the word that sets us free.
Concerning the Church – part 29
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
We may well suppose that if two Lutheran churches in the same county celebrated Easter on different Sundays that people would have something to say.
Concerning the Church – part 28
Scripture Text: 1 Timothy 4:1-5
There is nothing wrong with celibacy or fasting or many other disciplines. Even in marriage, abstinence can be a good thing, if the couple agrees together to abstain for some spiritual purpose.
Concerning the Church – part 27
Scripture Text: Romans 14:5-6
If others wish to abstain from certain foods on certain days, that is between those people and the Lord. Do not let them convince you that abstinence is a matter of righteousness.
Concerning the Church – part 26
Scripture Text: Revelation 1:1-3
“It is written.” This was a favorite saying of the prophets, the evangelists, the apostles, and Jesus. Sometimes it is phrased as a questions: “What is written?”
Concerning the Church – part 25
Scripture Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:16-18
External is not eternal. These outward things will never secure everlasting life. Furthermore, they will never give us peace. The heart must be changed by God for these things to be ours.
Concerning the Church – part 24
Scripture Text: Colossians 2:16-23
How heartbreaking it would be to run in a race, and to run so swiftly that you won the race, only to find out that you had been disqualified because of a false start or a lane violation.
Concerning the Church – part 23
Scripture Text: Galatians 5:1-6
I have convictions but if I dare to make those things qualifications for your righteousness and salvation, please take me to task.
Concerning the Church – part 22
Scripture Text: John 20:24–26
The Church is that gathering of saints where the Gospel is correctly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.
Concerning the Church – part 21
Scripture Text: Mark 7:5-8
We are not big on excommunication these days. But we still do a pretty fair job of driving people out of our churches.
Concerning the Church – part 20
Scripture Text: Ephesians 4:4-6
If you believe these things, we agree that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God”—no matter the particular manner of our ceremonies.
Concerning the Church – part 19
Scripture Text: Mark 16:15-16
The effectiveness of the sacraments depends upon Christ. Were you baptized in a stream or at a font, at the hands of a priest or a pastor, by a saint or a sinner?
Concerning the Church – part 18
Scripture Text: Galatians 4:13-14
Every pastor who presides over Holy Communion is a sinner. Some are worse sinners than others. Some do not even believe in Christ or the Word of God.
Concerning the Church – part 17
Scripture Text: Romans 1:15-17
It is the duty of pastors to preach the gospel. It is each church’s obligation to make sure that they do. Yet, it is more than a duty; it is a joyful compulsion.
Concerning the Church – part 16
Scripture Text: Acts 2:32-36
The prophet Daniel presented the Antichrist along similar lines as this sarcastic paragraph from the Confessions. There is no ruler of rulers but Christ.
Concerning the Church – part 15
Scripture Text: Matthew 10:16-18
We should not expect everyone in a collar or alb to represent the kingdom of God. Every preacher in a pulpit does not necessarily proclaim the Word of God.
Concerning the Church – part 14
Scripture Text: John 6:28-29
We must not replace Christ with works, offices, masses, or anything else. These things do not save; Christ alone saves and justifies.
Concerning the Church – part 13
Scripture Text: Ephesians 2:19-21
You will find the church wherever two or more are gathered in the name of Jesus, that is, with faith in him, teaching the gospel, and administering the sacraments.
Concerning the Church – part 12
Scripture Text: Matthew 13:47-50
Many kinds of people are drawn to the Church, but not all are members of the Church. Some have an outward appearance of of belonging, yet that does not make them true members of the spiritual kingdom of Christ.
Concerning the Church – part 11
Scripture Text: John 18:33-37
Jesus was clear on this matter when he was brought before Pilate. His kingdom is not of this world. It is not temporal but instead, spiritual.
Concerning the Church – part 10
Scripture Text: 1 John 3:2-7
As worshipers come forward for Holy Communion, many pause at the baptismal font, place their fingers in the water, and make the sign of the cross on their forehead.
Concerning the Church – part 9
Scripture Text: Galatians 3:24-29
All those who by nature were born Jews, or Abraham’s seed, were given the law so that they might be an example to the nations of how God would have people live.
Concerning the Church – part 8
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
The Body of Christ is not an organization that merely goes through the motions of ceremonies. The Church has gifts in the heart, namely, the Holy Spirit and faith.
Concerning the Church – part 7
Scripture Text: Proverbs 12:5-7
The “house of the righteous,” the church, is infiltrated by the wicked. Sometimes, they seem petty, though they are aggravating and ungodly.
Concerning the Church – part 6
Scripture Text: Ephesians 5:25–27
When we perceive the threat to the Church—a threat that exists both from within and without—we can be led to despair of her continued existence.