A "Church" Wedding

Ran across this story from BBC about a Japanese developer who built an English-style church on the 21st floor of a high-rise. He did this because it's quite popular for Japanese couples to be married in English-style church buildings.

We've had it happen before - someone calls us up at church and wants go get married here.
"Oh, are you a member?"
"No."
"Have you ever been here?"
"No. But your building looks pretty from the outside."
"Are you a Lutheran?"
"What's that?"

Where does this desire come from - for church weddings among the non-church going, or even non-Christian types?

But the problem is deeper. I suspect many people want a God on their own terms, who will smile when they want him to, but then fade away for the most part. A God like a family member you see only at - yes - weddings and funerals! A generic and pretty God that makes them feel good. Not a crucified and bloody sacrifice for their sin.

"Aunt Tilly, it's been forever! Isn't it a shame that we only see each other at weddings and funerals!"

I know of pastors who will marry anybody, anytime, anywhere - all in the name of "outreach". But how effective is this? And a better question - how does it maintain the integrity of our confession, when we reinforce people's conceptions of a fair-weather God?

In contrast, a Christian wedding centers on Christ - the true Bridegroom - and offers the couple and all attending an enduring word of promise with a message much bigger than "have a nice marriage you nice kids". This is our Savior, who gives meaning to marriage - and to all of life. And his house isn't just for show.

Task Force Proposals: Part 2

There are a number of Appendices to this document. Take Appendix 5, "Funding the Mission Reflections"

The gist this of this Appendix is this: "The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Funding the Mission" (BRTFFTM) came up with some suggestions for the 2007 Convention, and though that convention didn't do much with them, the suggestions dovetail nicely with the proposals of the BRTFSSG.

One BRTF helps another BRTF!

Buried in this Appendix 5 is the following paragraph:

It is time to grow this church. As a natural outcome of the goals of Ablaze! and the investment of Fan into Flame dollars, this Synod needs to organize a strategy to increase our membership by the 400,000 souls we lost in the last 20 years and stop the bleeding of those for whom our Lord bled and died. It is a disgrace to our faith and practice that we are losing membership.

I have to say this is one of the most straightforward admissions of Church Growth ideology I have seen. Usually the un-scriptural preoccupation with numerical growth is at least thinly veiled behind verbiage like "contacts" and "critical events" and "opportunities" or "life-cycle of a church".

Quite to the contrary, it is a disgrace to our faith and practice that we think WE can grow the church, and not the Lord alone.

Thanksgiving As Privilege

Thanksgiving as a privilege
(November Newsletter Article)

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 118:1

I think most of us know we should be more thankful to God for his blessings. We know it's a good thing to celebrate a day set aside for giving Him thanks. But we all know we should do more thanking, and be more thankful. This is a recognition of the law, that Thanksgiving is an obligation. God deserves our thanks, and is due much gratitude. We SHOULD, we MUST thank him. But oh, how we fail.

There's another way of looking at thanks-giving, and that is as a privilege. We GET to thank God. Think about it. We Christians have the privilege and honor of knowing God's name – so we know who to thank! I'm always struck by a popular song on the radio that says, “at the end of the day, we should give thanks and pray to the one....” The one what? The song never says. But we know who to thank, for He gives us His Name – the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Giver of all good things.

And we have the confidence to call upon him. He actually wants to hear our prayers, and is receptive to them through Jesus Christ. We are not only commanded to pray in thanksgiving, but we are also blessed to be able to do so. If God were deaf to our prayers of thanks, if He didn't hear our words of appreciation, there wouldn't be a relationship between us. But through Jesus Christ, there is a relationship – we are his children forever. As his dear children, God gives us all good things, and in return he receives our thanks. He delights in our prayers and our thanksgiving – and receives them.

And don't forget, thanks-giving is good for us, too! It teaches us to recognize our blessings, to understand rightly that we don't deserve these gifts. It teaches us that God is the one to approach for every physical and spiritual blessing. And it helps us not to worry about tomorrow, to be greedy or wasteful, but to appreciate fully the present gifts we enjoy. We can also give thanks for the promises of many more gifts to come.

So give thanks for your body and soul, eyes, ears and all your members, your reason and all your senses, your house and home, clothing and shoes, food and drink, spouse, children, land, animals and all that you have! Give thanks for Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, and that His holy precious blood redeems you, an otherwise lost and condemned person. And give thanks that His Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies us in the one true faith, and keeps us with Christ forever.

There is so much for which to be thankful! May all your days be spent in the privilege of thanks-giving to the Giver of all good things. Amen.

Observations on the Task Force Proposals, Part 1: "Exclusive"

The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance (BRTFSSG, or TF) has released its final recommendations for changes to the LC-MS in the summer of 2010.

As many of us pore over the 148 page document, I expect much discussion. I'll post some of my observations here.

One of the first things I noticed was a proposed change in what is required of membership:
_____________
Old Wording:
"Conditions of Membership"
4. Exclusive use of doctrinally pure agenda, hymnbooks and catechisms in church and school.

New (proposed) Wording:
"Requirements of Membership"
B.2. Use of worship and catechetical resources that are in harmony with the confessional basis of the Synod.
_____________

NOTICE WHAT'S MISSING? "Exclusive". No longer will we require, on paper anyway, that all our resources be doctrinally sound. Instead, we must use doctrinally sound resources, but not exclusively.

The new language permits what is, admittedly, already widespread: the use of unsound, impure, and doctrinally lacking resources for church and school: Baptist church-transformational programs. Non-denominational VBS curriculum. And of course, all manner of "contemporary" music from whatever hymnal or resource is popular and "reaches people".

This is one of the major divides in the LCMS today - between those who like to "borrow and baptize" and those who prefer to simply use the excellent resources we already have. I used to be the former, and have become a strong advocate of the latter. There are tremendous advantages to using sound, throughly and carefully reviewed LUTHERAN materials.

There are serious dangers to using resources that come from other denominations and traditions - whose contents and perspectives are unknown to us and different from us, both in what they teach and fail to teach.

So no thanks, Task Force. Let's keep the old wording on this one. Put me down as an excluder.

Great New Issues Etc. Youtube

Every Bad Argument - ELCA Gay Clergy

This article from the Wasau Daily Herald (online - and previously in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) is a one-stop-shop for just about every bad argument rhetorical tactic that is and has been made to defend the ELCA's recent gay-clergy decisions. I don't know if the professor is affiliated with the ELCA or not (he teaches Sociology). But he's well acquainted with the rhetoric.

http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20091014/WDH06/910140381

The bad arguments/tactics include:

- Labeling the conservatives as "dissidents"

- Asserting that everyone chooses to emphasize certain parts of Scripture

(an easy way for him to marginalize the "dissidents" AND Scripture - which he compares to a Rorshack test!)

- Comparing the conservatives to snake handlers

- If you believe what the Bible teaches on this, you must be over-fixated on someone else's sexual orientation (an attempt to turn blame around, change focus of the issue)

- Misunderstanding/misapplication of Leviticus and the distinction between moral, civil, and ceremonial laws

- Marginalizing Scripture as "Bronze Age Morality". We're much more enlightened today!

- Misunderstanding of the role of polygamy in Scripture (hint - God never says to DO it)

Yes, we've heard all these before in one form or another - and any of these arguments or attacks is easily parried if our opponents were willing to listen. But it strikes me that these sort of rants are not meant to inform, debate, or persuade as much as they are to shame and silence opposition.

LCMS President at South Wisconsin District (Video)

President Kieschnick came to the South Wisconsin District and held a Q& A at the district office on October 5th, 2009. The district website has posted video here:

http://swd.lcms.org/portals/0/html/player/index.html

*note: there are two videos, the DP's devotion/introduction is first, then the Q&A.

After some opening comments, President Kieschnick answered questions from those gathered on the following topics:

1. Cost of upcoming extended-length convention

Synopsis of PK's answer: He made the call, based on lots of input from others.

2. Recent actions of the ELCA regarding gay clergy

Synopsis: He has thought of "pulling the plug" but doesn't believe he has the authority to do so. However, if something "egregious" happens before the convention acts, we may dissolve specific relationships with agencies.

3. How do you respond when media outlets, etc, lump us in with the ELCA?

Synopsis: It's a pain. We answer as best we can. Better to explain who we are, rather than what others are doing.

4. A question on District pre-seminary interview committees, and the future of the seminaries.

Synopsis: A variety of benchmarks for a student to enter seminary - sometimes unqualified applicants make it through the screening process for various reasons, and even become pastors.

November 4-5 the Board for Pastor Ed and others are meeting to discuss the future of the seminaries - including the sustainability/stewardship of having 2 seminaries. Both seminaries have financial challenges.

5. What is it you do to encourage us to be healthy, missional, confessional parishes?

Synopsis: I try to help provide a sense of wholeness and health in biblical and practical guidance. Figure out how to meet the needs of your community's demographic, in a way that gets their attention. Get outside comfort zone, leadership of pastor. Schools, particularly preschools are a good way (and even profitable!). Pastors need to balance work and family.

6. Question on 2004 Convention resolution 8-01A on Ecclesiastical Supervision

Synopsis: CCM opinion which said if you get counsel from your ES, and act on it, then you are defended or supported, even if your action goes against scripture and confessions. CCM also opined, later (in a little known opinion), that if that counsel of the ES is incorrect, then he is held to correct that counsel. PK is asking the CCM to take another look at those opinions, pull them together, or somehow fix it.

7. Is the Nov 4-5 meeting, mentioned earlier, the first of its kind? Who will be there?

Synopsis: No, he called for a summit on pastoral formation 3-4 years ago, with representatives from many perspectives. At that time, SMP was conceived. Who will be there: BPE, Boards of Regents, responsible people.

8. Can we get something prepared to put in local papers, etc., that defines us as "not THAT Lutheran church body" in an evangelical way?

Synopsis: Yes, in a way which is winsome and positive. We have a plan on the table to do a nationwide campaign largely through USA Today - but it's very expensive. Send me an email to remind me of that suggestion.

9. As LCMS churches see refugees from ELCA, how are we instructing these people, and do you share concerns that we need to?

Synopsis: This is so fresh, he hasn't heard much input, but suggests parish pastors deal with people from ELCA same way you deal with non-Lutherans (i.e. via a membership class). We have other disagreements with ELCA beyond homosexual issue (ecumenical issues, authority of scripture, etc). LCMS parishes should welcome them to the regular class they offer.

He concluded with a story about a pastor who declined a unionistic prayer service and gave the impression he didn't care about the drought (the issue about which they gathered to pray). He believes we have to take opportunities to speak the truth in love, like he tried to do at the ELCA convention. Appealed to J.A.O. Prues (via paraphrase) that we need to re-think how to relate to other church bodies, to reach out etc..

Preaching at St. James

This Sunday, October 18th, I will be preaching at the congregation of my youth - St. James Lutheran in Baltimore (Overlea), Maryland. We will be observing the commemoration of St. Luke the Evangelist.

Sermon - Pentecost 19 - Mark 10:17-22

Pentecost 19 – October 11th, 2009
Mark 10:17-22
“You Know”

The Rich young man makes a big show about falling on his knees and asking Jesus, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answers, “You know the commandments....” and then lists some off.

You know. You know what you need to do – keep the law.

You know the law – the law God. The rules and regulations he sets forth in Holy Scripture, and has even written in the hearts of all mankind. You know it, right? That little voice we call the conscience, that tells you when you are doing something wrong.

Oh, but many people don't. Willful ignorance, perhaps. How many have hardened hearts that obscure that natural law? How many consciences are numb and dead to sin?

And how many people could recite all 10 commandments (much less what they mean)? Do you know the law even as well as that rich young man who came to Jesus? Oh, but pastor, I know the basic gist.... Is that how seriously God wants us to know his law? He wants us to know the gist of it? Or does he say, “Talk about these laws when you sit down and stand up; write them on your doorposts; teach them to your children”?

But what you know and the rich young man didn't know, is that you can't keep the law. He tried to fool himself (and Jesus too). “All these laws I have kept since I was a boy!”. Was it arrogance? Self-delusion? Or a false understanding of just what the law requires – which leads to a false sense of security and righteousness before God? What he didn't know was his sin – at least he didn't take it seriously.

Jesus pointed him to the law, not so that he would be self assured of his righteous state. Jesus was holding up the mirror – so he could see his own shortcomings and failures. Take a look. Do you keep all these laws? Are you kind and loving and respectful and generous? Do you watch your tongue and defend your neighbor? Do you obey the authorities, or do you cut corners here and there? Do you think you can get away with it? No one is good but God alone, Jesus reminds us. Not the rich young man, not you or me.

You know, don't you, that you can't keep the law?
You try, of course, we all do... but not as hard as we should. We try, but we make excuses. We try, but fail in deeds, words and thoughts. Sometimes we fail in little ways, sometimes in spectacular ways. But failure it is, for God demands perfection.

Or maybe you know the law well. And you know your sin well. Maybe there's that one sin that troubles you, that one dark deed from your past, or that one vice or habit you just can't shake – you know it oh so well. But maybe it drives you to despair. You fear God can't or won't forgive the burden of guilt you know so well. Or maybe you just don't know.

You need to know the law, and to know your sin. The rich young man may have fallen on his knees, but he wasn't there in confession. He knew the law, but only a thin outward veneer. He didn't know – didn't want to know – the depth and reality of his sin.

The first thing you need to know is your sin. But if that's all you know, you will only know despair. You know the bad news. And if you truly know the bad news, then you need to know the good news!

Know he Gospel – and know it well! Not in a book knowledge sort of way, but in faith and trust – to know the Lord. To know Jesus Christ, your Savior. To believe that God forgives your sins for Jesus' sake.

You know he is the “good teacher”. No one is good but God alone – it's true. But God Alone he is! Jesus Christ, Son of God in human flesh. He knew the law, and he knew how to keep it. Though he was like us in every way – he was without sin. And we know that he was good FOR us. He kept the law that we can't and don't keep. He earned the inheritance that was out of our reach.

Still he knows what it is like to be tempted, to thirst and hunger, to grieve at the grave of a loved one. He knows us – better than we know ourselves.

We know who he is – for he tells us and shows us. He is the one who came from the Father, and he is the only way to the Father. He is the one who lays down his life, and he takes it back again. He knew he would die. He knew he would be buried. He knew he would rise again!

We know he sits at the right hand of God, ruling all things for us. And we know he will come again to judge the living and the dead. We know his kingdom will never end.

We know him, by his word. But even better, he knows us. He calls us, he seals us, feeds us and leads us. “I know my sheep” he promises. And again, it's not an intellectual exercise. His knowledge of us means care and love – it means a relationship in which we belong to him, and he belongs to us. It's a blessed assurance that he will not forget you or forsake you. He knows you. And that's good to know!

Knowing the Gospel of Jesus Christ means knowing where true treasure is found. It's not in your wallet or you bank account. It's not even in the people you know and love. True treasure is in heaven – it is the eternal life that Jesus delivers to us by his perfect life, death, and resurrection. Knowing him is the true and lasting wealth. You can't take earthly riches with you, but Jesus takes you with him to eternity.

In the Christian faith, there's always more to know. We grow and learn and expand our horizons through study and devotion to his Word. The faith is incredibly deep and profound. But it's also very simple. There's really only one thing to know – one person to know – the Savior, the Christ, and him crucified for you.

You know the law. But you also know the Gospel. You know the Lord, Jesus Christ, and you know what he has done for you. Know it, believe it, and live it, for his sake! Amen.

Tork on KFUO Sale

Fellow South Wisconsin LCMS pastor from my district, Rev. Dan Torkelson, has posted the following insightful thoughts regarding the sale of KFUO-FM radio station in St. Louis. (posted with his permission)

-----
Today, word is out that my beloved church body, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, has finalized the sale of its historic radio station, KFUO-FM, in St. Louis.

KFUO-FM was sold by a church body which is, for all intents and purposes, bankrupt, and this in more ways than one. It is one of a growing list of symptoms of a cancer in my beloved church body which needs serious treatment. The leadership of the LCMS needs to feel "the burn" of what it takes to kill a cancer.

The symptoms of the LCMS' remarkable decline can be seen in the legacy of the past 35 years. Quite famously (some have said infamously), Missouri won a "battle for the Bible" in the 1970s when it ousted liberal professors at the St. Louis Seminary who were teaching higher criticism and denying fundamental teachings of the Bible. Pres. J.A.O. Preus, acting on initiative from the congregations of the Synod, handed down an ultimatum which effectively reclaimed the SL Seminary for the Bible and, thus, for a faithful church body.

Pres. Preus's action was indeed necessary, even if it was a political, authority-driven, action. Sadly, the legacy of his action has been that an entire generation of leadership has led the LCMS in a political, authority-driven manner. The bureaucracy of the LCMS expanded precipitously as a result. Contentious issues were settled by presidential fiat and not the earnest goodwill and input of the congregations.

And now, the LCMS is facing a $17 million dollar financial shortfall. Bankrupt. Hence, the sale of KFUO.

In recent years, the LCMS has become a pale shadow of its former greatness. The leadership complains about "incessant internal purification" by faithful members of Synod who only wish to see our confession rise to prominence once again. The truth is actually quite the opposite. The LCMS suffers from a generation which has engaged in "incessant political purification" and the legacy of this politicization of the church is the bankruptcy we now see.

Our current leadership is responsible for the pulling of the most missionaries from the field we have seen since the debacle of the 1970s.

To cover for this anamoly, the leadership forced a "mission movement" called "Ablaze!" down the Synod's throat at the 2004 Convention. Despite Ablaze's high and lofty rhetoric, five years later it has only managed to accomplish the goal of only talking a good game about missions. If has failed to actually do any significant missions.

Now, in a move which seems more and more like hubris every day, the same generation of leadership which has created this sad state of affairs is proposing to fix it through a set of restructuring proposals which seeks to disenfranchise the vote of the local congregation, pit large congregations against small congregations (the majority of the Synod in numbers and finances to this day), disenfranchise the lay voice at legislative conventions. The force of these proposals is that the congregations need to change. Meanwhile, there is little given in the way of specifics in these proposals for the changing of the bureaucracy itself.

In other words, the leadership of the LCMS clearly seems to be saying one thing: "It's the congregation's fault. They are not giving enough to keep the ship afloat. They are ones who do not engage the mission."

Never mind that the Synod cannot specifically account for how many cents on the dollar actually gets to a real mission and/or missionary. If congregations aren't giving, it's because the Synod has not given them a good reason to do so.

The sale of KFUO will offer only short term relief of the financial problems which beset the LCMS, but long term success will require a new generation of leadership. Once again we see the short-sightedness of our leaders. We have the best trained pastors and church workers in American Christianity, but our Synodical leadership has not yet trusted them enough to involve them significantly in re-righting the ship.

The only good long-term solution ahead of us is to clear the decks of our leadership and start over.

IT'S TIME for a change.

God bless this mess.

Rev. Dan Torkelson, Pastor
Zion Ev. Lutheran Church, Clyman, WI

Sermon - Pentecost 18 - Mark 10:1-16

Pentecost 18 – October 4th, 2009
Mark 10:1-16
“What God Joins Together”

It's no secret that we've had a lot of discussion around here lately about marriage and divorce. I want to remind you first of all that we pastors don't select the readings for today based on our preferences, but on a pre-determined system called a lectionary. These readings, and this Gospel reading about marriage and divorce – are the appointed readings for today.

It's also no secret that we live in a culture that increasingly accepts divorce as a part of life. Hardly anyone promotes it as a good thing, but many have become as accepting of it as they have so many other sins. Can you remember the time when it was socially unacceptable? Can you remember when it was something to whisper about? “They're getting a divorce”. It used to be that way.

But today, many sins which were once kept secret are no longer so. We've become numb to the outrage and disgust over sin that God still knows. Sin's not a big deal to us, but it still is to God.

Sure divorce is legal, according to the civil law. It was the same in Jesus' time. A certificate could be written, the deed was done, it was all neat and clean – and Moses approved of it. Well, not really, Jesus said. He said Moses was accommodating to hardness of heart. He didn't want women to be abandoned and victimized by husbands who would leave them informally. At least with a formal decree, or certificate, the woman who was divorced would be free to remarry, and a new husband might provide for her.

But that's never how it was meant to be. Jesus appeals to a higher authority, a deeper order – the order of God's creation. And no matter what the pharisees thought about divorce, and no matter how legal or socially acceptable it is today, Jesus taught the truth that God never intended it. And he still doesn't. “What God has joined together, let man not separate”

Sometimes we do separate – from God, and from each other. But that's always the result of sin. When a marriage fails, it's because of sin. And sin is never God's will.

Interesting that God creates us male and female. That he takes great pains to show that we are “of the same stuff”, the woman is taken out of the man's rib. And when united again in the one-flesh union of marriage, what was separated is back together again. God tells us to be fruitful and multiply, and the one-flesh union finds a special expression in our offspring. Children bring husband and wife together, literally, in the flesh. They are part mom and part dad.

And all these deep mysteries of marriage have much to teach us about the eternal marriage of Christ, and of his church. Each of us is part of that entity – the body of Christ, his eternal bride.

We sing about it in our hymnody - “The Church's One Foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord” “From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride” “With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died”.

It's a marriage not made in heaven, but created in paradise – when God and his people were perfectly united. But the bride was unfaithful. We fell for another. And when Adam and Eve chose to adulterate their perfect relationship with God, they ran off with the devil and into sin and death.

Throughout history God would call his wayward people to repentance. He would call his bride to return. And at times they would. He went to great lengths to save them from slavery, from disaster, and from their foes. But time and again would they also turn away – adulterating themselves with false Gods like Baal and Asherah and Moloch. God even had a prophet, Hosea, take a prostitute as a wife to demonstrate in person the promiscuity of the Israelites. Sometimes they listened, sometimes they didn't. Sometimes there was repentance and mercy, other times, judgment.

But this ongoing cycle of repentance and grace was driving toward something, leading up to someone. It all found fulfillment in the joining in the flesh of God and man, in Jesus Christ, the Savior. He came to finally re-unite what man had put assunder in the Garden, and put assunder by his sin so many times since. Jesus came to reconcile us to himself, and to his Father. He came as the Bridegroom, preaching repentance and forgiveness. And he loved his beloved with a love that even faced death, but could not be conquered by death.

Maybe your marriage is happy and secure. Give thanks to God for such a gift. Maybe your marriage is troubled and suffering. Turn to God for help (and the resources he gives you) that it would not be torn assunder! Maybe you are single or a widow or a person too young to marry – no matter. You are still part of the bride, the object of Christ's eternal dying and undying love. And he calls you to be faithful as he is faithful to you.

His ultimate sacrifice is the basis for our self-sacrificing love of our spouse and of our neighbor. His forgiveness of all our adulterous ways gives us a reason to forgive each other for the many wrongs we do.

He joins us together – husband to wife in holy marriage until death do they part. He joins us together – sinners to himself in an eternal marriage which not even death can tear apart. And he joins us together with each other as a body – his people – in a mystic sweet communion of saints, eating together at his table, sealed as his children – members of one family - in our baptism.

As Christians, therefore we are our brother's and sister's keeper. We care about them, body and soul. We help them when and how we can, loving them as Christ loves us. Sometimes it's a word of encouragement, sometimes a word of warning. Sometimes we lend our ear and our shoulder to cry on. Always we pray.

One with God, One with one another. Let no one separate what God has joined together in Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

The Golden Tablet

My friend and classmate, Rev. Kevin Golden, has starting blogging.

He's a real smarty-pants and an all around good guy, and I've really been enjoying his blog lately. Check it out, "The Golden Tablet".

As someone quipped, "A much better name than the Golden Calf".

Sermon - Pentecost 16 - Mark 9:30-37

Pentecost 16 – September 20th, 2009
Mark 9:30-37
“It's for the Children”

And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them,“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

The Christian faith is full of surprises. God does things and says things that are exactly opposite of how we would do - or say they should be.

Our reading from James today is full of these contrasts – between the wisdom of the world, and the “wisdom from heaven”. Jesus knew such wisdom well. And it's perhaps one of the most striking aspects of his teaching. He honestly shocked people when he said, “turn the other cheek”, and “wash each other's feet” and “the first shall be last – whoever would be great among you must be slave of all”.

Today our reading from Mark unfolds these surprises even more. In a great reversal, Jesus takes these disciples who were increasingly impressed with their own rock-star status and he teaches them a lesson in humility. That true greatness is found in lowliness, and last-ness.

Remember, these disciples were witness to many amazing things. The fame and glory Jesus was generating must have rubbed off on them, at least in their own minds. They themselves had been given authority to heal and cast out demons. They saw the crowds thronging around Jesus, and surely felt a little puffed up themselves by all the attention. So one day on the road they began to discuss their own greatness – and even argue which of them was the greatest. “I'm better than you are. I'm the most important. I'm the best”

Sounds pretty childish, doesn't it? And when Jesus asks what they were arguing about, he surely knew. But they kept silent. No one wanted to admit to what they were doing – they too must have known it was wrong.

Yes, the guilty silence. It reminds me of the way a child acts when they are caught being naughty. “What were you doing that was naughty?” The parent asks. “I don't want to say” the child replies. The disciples were acting like children.... rebellious and bickering children who were caught in the act of sin.

We are no better. We are just the same. We argue amongst ourselves. We get puffed up with pride in ourselves. We set ourselves against each other. We are selfish and willful and petulant and full of all the same sins that made the disciples act like children.

Funny then, that Jesus takes a child to teach the disciples a lesson in humility. Receiving children – regarding them, acknowledging them, well it wasn't considered a top priority for adults. Especially for self-important disciples of the great rabbai! But Jesus shows special care and concern for children. He says, “let them come to me and do not hinder them”. He touches them. He blesses them. He commends their faith.

Perhaps this is a key – there's a difference between being childish and child-like. In sin, our actions are childish. Everything that we adults try to correct in our children – all that misbehavior that comes naturally to them – is also in us. The childishness, selfishness, and obstinate rebellion – all the worst things we see in them, God could say the same and worse of us.

But Jesus commends those whose faith is child-like. All the best characteristics of children, like trustfulness, humility, openness to being taught. Through Jesus we become children – children of God and heirs of eternal life.

To receive a child, we must stoop down from our pedestal of pride. And only in such humility can we receive Christ. Only confessing our sins do we receive his forgiveness. Only in denying our own powers do we rely on his power, his Spirit. Only in lowliness are we exalted.

And now another surprise, another reversal, another opposite-of-how-we-think-it-should-be. The disciples were too caught up in their petty squabbling and childish pride to hear and digest what Jesus had just said – that he would be betrayed, die, and rise again.

This is the second time Mark records Jesus telling what his future holds. The first time, Peter tried to rebuke Jesus for all that suffering and dying talk. Jesus called him Satan. Well now Jesus is bringing it up again and rather than rebuke him they just ignore it all. They've got better things to talk about, like which of them is best.

But there is no better thing to talk about than the work Jesus does for us. His suffering, death and resurrection. There is no more childlike faith than the one who says, “Jesus died for me, to forgive my sins, and rose from the dead for me, so that I get to go to heaven”.

Such child-like faith receives the Christ joyfully. And in receiving Christ, we receive the Father. And if we receive the Father, that makes us his children.

And we express our faith in God by serving our neighbor, yes, even children. Our own children, first of all – those whom God has placed in our care. We bring them to the font to receive their Savior in the Water and the Word of promise. We bring them to His huse to hear his word, and learn and grow.

And we care for all God's children – young and old – as we show our love in acts of mercy and kindness. And whatsoever we do to the least of these, even for the children, we do it for Christ.

“It's for the children”. Jesus could have said that on his way to the cross. It's for the children – the children of God's creation who had become children of destruction in their sin. What a great reversal – what a great surprise. That by his lowly suffering and humble service, even his death on the cross – he makes us children of God once again – restored, renewed, and one day resurrected to eternity.

Issues Etc. Roundtable - Free Will

I participated, yesterday, in a "Pastors' Roundtable" on Issues Etc. You can listen to the entire hour for free here: http://www.issuesetc.org/podcast/314091009H1p.mp3

Sermon - Pentecost 14 - Mark 7:37

Sermon – Pentecost 14
September 6th, 2009
Mark 7:37
“Well Done”

Today we see crowds of people becoming more and more impressed with Jesus. His travels in the northern region of the holy land, and the healings and miracles done there attract and amaze many people. They earn him praise and glory. “He has done all things well” they say. Let's use that phrase as our focus today.

Ask my wife about my home improvement and repair skills, and she will tell you what kind of job I do. “Good enough” is good enough for me, but usually not to her standards. It's not perfect, but hey I'm a pastor not a carpenter. I can't do all things well.

And lots of things in life are like that. We do something in life, whether it's a job or a project, or whether it's living up to a moral standard or law. We think we do a pretty good job. I don't gossip too much. I'm not THAT materialistic. I don't lose control of my temper very often. I'm pretty good. I'm certainly better than that guy over there. We may not do all things well, but we do most pretty well, don't we?

When God looks at me he probably sees I'm a little rough around the edges, but let's face it, I should get pretty good marks. After all, I come to church and give my offering. I go to work and pay my taxes. I take care of my family. What more can God want from me?

The conversations we have in our heads are really amazing. The things we tell ourselves, even when we know better. Even when Scripture clearly teaches otherwise. James knocks down our delusions of grandeur today, “whoever breaks even one law is guilty of breaking it all”. There is no “pretty good” when it comes to righteousness. God does not grade on a sliding scale. It's pass or fail, and if you sin, you fail. Even if we think we're “good enough”, it's a lie – a wicked, evil lie that leads us to a false sense of security.

Pretty good is not good enough for God. His standard is always perfection, and the only one every to meet it was Jesus. The people were right when they said, “he has done all things well”. More right than they knew. They likely meant to compliment him for his wonders and signs. And surely he deserves our praise for all that too. But he has done ALL things well.

God would agree. He said so much about his own Son at Jesus' baptism. “This is my son, with whom I am well pleased”. Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness – not because he needed it himself. He already was righteous. He was fulfilling it for us. He was beginning his public work of doing all things well, for you and me.

And his healings and miracles, astounding as they were, served as signs. They fulfilled the prophecies. Amazing how Jesus took great care to cross every t and dot every i from the prophets – even to the words he spoke on the cross. He did all things well.

Then the cross. What looked to many like a failure. What Peter and the disciples tried to talk him out of – what ancient Jews considered a cursed way to die – the shame, the humility, the agony, the defeat of Calvary. He did it all well. He did not lash out in anger, but called for his tormentors' forgiveness. He did not answer the mocking and jeering, he did not come down from the cross as he surely could. He didn't deaden the pain appointed for himself by drinking the anesthetic they offered. He didn't think of himself, but of his mother and his friend and the thief beside him. He did the cross well. And there he even suffered the wrath of God – he was forsaken by his Father – the ultimate anguish of the soul – he endured it in our place.

Jesus doing all this, and doing it well is not simply as an example for us to follow. As we've already seen, we aren't so good at following. But his work IS work done for us – perfect righteousness that makes us righteous, and a perfect death which pays the price of our ransom. Even his resurrection is not for his own sake, but for ours – to show us God's approval of his sacrifice, to promise us a resurrection like his own, and the prove his words and vindicate his actions as THE messiah for all people of all time.

Jesus has done all things well. His good work fixes our bad work. His good work purifies our tainted work. His good work wins us the blessings of salvation, and the power of his Spirit moves us to – good works!

Yes, the Christian does good works. We don't do them to earn our salvation. We do them because we're already saved. We don't do good works to merit blessings, we do them because we've been blessed. And even though our good works are never good enough on our own, Christ's forgiveness makes them complete and perfect and righteous. After all, they're not really our good works, but his. Works that he has prepared beforehand for us to do.

Works that we may not even know we do! “When did we feed you, clothe you, Lord. When did we visit you in prison?” The sheep don't know what good we do, because our focus is not on ourselves. We look to Christ, the one who has done all things well for us and our salvation. Our hand is always on the plow, but our eye is on the horizon – and the fulfillment of his promises to us.

We sinners don't really do anything all that well. But Jesus has done all things well, and he has done them for us. In the strength and faith that he gives, we strive to do our best in service to others and to his glory. Empowered by His Spirit, emboldened by our faith, and always focused on Him. In his holy name, amen.

Harrison on Marriage

Rev. Matt Harrison has some excellent thoughts on marriage. (Click for the whole article)

Three key points from this piece:

The first secret of joy in marriage is that it is God’s own act.

The second secret of a joyful marriage is that marriage is an act of the will.

The third secret to joy in marriage is that with the deep conviction that God has put a couple together, and that couple wills to be together– come hell or high water – the feelings of love and joy, over time, will emerge in a way more powerful and surprising than any words can

possibly express.

Sermon - Pentecost 11 - Proverbs 9:1-10

Sermon – Pentecost 11
August 16th, 2009
Proverbs 9:1-10

"Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
mreprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and qthe knowledge of the Holy One is insight." (vv. 7-10)

God's wisdom, is, of course, unlike the wisdom of this world. God's wisdom is higher and deeper. It is pure and undefiled. The Old Testament book of Proverbs focuses intently on godly wisdom, as the pursuit of every man of God. It depicts two characters, Wisdom and Folly, both women, and it describes their works and words.

In the first 6 verses of our reading, Wisdom builds a house and throws a feast. It is an invitation for all to hear and learn the wisdom of God. And especially in the context of our readings from John 6 over the last several weeks, we think of the bread Wisdom provides... and ponder the Bread of Life himself, Jesus Christ. What can be wiser than knowing and believing in him? What could be better than being fed by him – in His word and sacraments? True wisdom, the key to understanding the proverbs, is found in Jesus Christ.

But our reading also shows, especially in verses 7-10, that sometimes the wisdom of God is a word of correction or reproof. In other words, true wisdom takes seriously the law of God, in all its severity. And a truly wise Christian will heed the law. That doesn't mean we will follow and do what it says, oh no. For we are sinners all, rotten to the core. But the law shows us our sin and drives us to a despair. A recognition that we are lost and dead and blind and needy. The law slashes our paper walls of self-righteousness, burns down our flimsy house of excuses, exposes us as frauds, and drives us to our knees.

It is then that the Gospel does its work. Only when we are still stinging from the Law does the balm of the Gospel sooth and heal. Only when we've tasted the bitterness of our own sins, does is the Gospel's sweetness savored.

The by the death and resurrection of God's own Son, we are snatched from the jaws of the devil, rescued from the fires of Hell, and carried in the wings of his mercy to the clouds of heaven forever. What could be better than to learn this good news, this message of salvation in Christ?

The Gospel, too is the wisdom of God, and it begins with faith in Christ, or as Proverbs puts it, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight”. True wisdom is to fear the Lord, true wisdom is to know the Holy One. This is faith talk, and it's talking about Jesus Christ.

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus had spoken some hard words to a crowd of increasingly skeptical followers. So hard, in fact, that they deserted him and went back home. (Which by the way, is a great comfort to faithful pastors and church leaders – knowing that even Jesus couldn't convince or convert everyone. Today as well, people can choose to reject His wisdom).

Jesus asks if his own disciples wish to leave him too, and Peter confesses his faith, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (words we still sing today when we hear the Gospel). And Peter goes on to say, “we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God”. The Holy One of God is the same title mentioned in Proverbs, it is the designation that Jesus is the ONE set apart by God to do the work of our salvation.

And wisdom starts with him, and in him. You want to be truly wise, wise unto salvation? Then fear, love and trust in the Holy One of God, Jesus Christ. He whose own wisdom flew in the face of common sense, and still does: Love your neighbor? Turn the other cheek? Forgive my brother when he sins against me? Even 70 times? Wash my neighbor's feet? Take and eat and drink what? Take up my own cross and follow.... wait a minute Jesus, let's not talk foolish.

Ah but that's what Peter did when Jesus started talking about the cross. He rebuked Jesus and tried to talk him out of all that suffering and dying. But Jesus rebuked Peter, even called him Satan. For the wisdom of this world that says avoid suffering at all costs – that is the talk of Hell. Jesus and his followers bear crosses. He finished all the work at his, and won for us all of heaven's blessings... but we still bear our own cross – as I said last week, “who ever said being a Christian was easy?”

And part of what's so hard about it, is hearing those wise words of correction, without ourselves becoming a scoffer. Hearing the reproof of God's Word, without hating the message or the messenger. But this is true wisdom. To accept the discipline of God's word, applied to our lives, and humbly confess and try to do better. This is wisdom, to know the Holy One who took our punishment and guilt and shame, and now gives us the new life of a child of God.

Such wisdom and instruction can only be found in God's Word. We will, of course, be tempted to look elsewhere for wisdom. We'll make all sorts of appeals to all sorts of other things. We will rationalize and excuse, we will equivocate and shrink from its certainty. We'll listen to the advice of learned men, or give ear to the tune the world around us is singing.

One of the most dangerous words to say after God's clear word is, “but”.
As someone has said, “The gray areas are the Devil's playground”. We'll tell ourselves, “I know God's word says thus and so... but....” And so the Devil's lies gain a foothold, climbs in and sows his seeds of doubt and destruction.

God warns us for good reason. It's all too easy to take the easy way. Hearing the reproof and correction of God's Word and knowing true wisdom is hard. It's all too tempting to do what we want, what our sinful flesh wants, and not what God's word requires and commands. It's no fun to turn from your sins, put off your old self, believe in Jesus for your forgiveness, and live a life worthy of our calling. But God's Spirit calls us and empowers us to do so. And there is great blessing in it.

The blessings of a clear conscience – knowing our forgiveness is secure in Christ. The blessing of God's smiling face, showing you approval not for your own sake, but because Jesus says, “This one's with me”. The blessing of knowing God's promises that while life is short and full of misery, we have a mansion waiting in heaven, with our name on it. The blessings of serving our neighbor and so expressing our faith with kindness. The blessings of receiving his gifts for assurance and peace.

And the greatest blessing of knowing the wisdom, the true wisdom of God in Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God, who gives us the words of eternal life.
Remain in him and with him always. Amen.

Sermon - Pentecost 10 - Ephesians 4:17-5:2

Sermon – Pentecost 10
August 9th, 2009
Ephesians 4:17ff

Whoever said being a Christian was easy? The truth is there is a great struggle going on inside of every believer in Jesus. There is daily battle between two natures, two men, two selves... each one vying for control of our thoughts, words and deeds.

Paul encourages the Ephesians, and us, in this battle. “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

You see, the Ephesians were not always Christians. Many, perhaps all in that young church had grown up under pagan religion. Paul describes what that life looked like for them as godless gentiles – using strong terms such as “callous, sensual, impure, corrupt, deceitful” and having a “continual lust for more”. Not a pretty picture of the life without and before Christ.

And you were there, once, too, Christians. Maybe it wasn't very long – if you were baptized into the faith as an infant. Maybe most of your life was lived like a pagan from Ephesus. Or maybe you were raised in the faith, and at some point fell away, coming back later. Anyway, it doesn't matter where you've been or what you did, you're a Christian now and past all that impurity and sin, right? Wrong.

The Ephesians had been pagans, and were now Christians. But Paul still tells them to put off their old self and put on the new self. So it's not quite so simple as, “once you're a Christian your problems are over”. The Old Self doesn't go away so easily. In fact, until we die, our old sinful self is a constant weight dragging on us, a constant festering wound, which needs continual tending. Only when this physical flesh dies is our old self no more. Until then, we struggle.

There is the New Self, which scripture also calls the New Man or the New Creation or the New Adam. It's the spiritual reality that even though we sin, we are saints. Even though we are fallen, we are holy. Even though we are broken and dead and hopeless, we are whole and alive and well. In Jesus Christ.

Jesus gave himself up as a fragrant offering to God. Yes the blood and sweat and agony and shame of the cross were pleasing to God – because there his Son's sacrifice made atonement for us and our sins. There Jesus, the Second Adam paid for the sins of the First Adam, and all Adam's children, to make us God's children forever. There, Jesus put away our old selves, nailed our old nature to the cross in his own flesh – and won for us a new self.

It happened there on Calvary. And it comes to us today – through the word. Or as Paul says, “you learned Christ”. The Gospel, the good news, the message of Jesus Christ – it is the power of God for salvation.

The New Self also comes to us through baptism – where elsewhere Paul talks about being buried and raised with Christ in those waters. And Luther says the Old Adam is drowned daily in repentance, as the New Man arises. Baptism means the daily conversion or renovation of the heart – a daily return to our knees in confession and a daily assurance that the waters of forgiveness flow deep and strong in Jesus Christ.

Or we call it the robe of righteousness that is ours in Christ. “Put on Christ” scripture encourages us. Let him and his righteousness cover you, so that God sees only Christ in you, and on you. And so too, the world, when it sees us, may see Christ.

So put off the Old Self. Put on the New. Turn away from, repent of all that is sinful and wicked in your life. Turn toward God in faith, through Christ, by the power of the Spirit. And live the new life he has called you to.

And don't give the Devil an opportunities (as if he needs any). He's already trying to prop up the corpse of our old self, that we must drag around. He'd like to convince us that is who we truly are, and not who God says we are in Christ! He'd like to have us live according to the flesh, not the spirit. He wants to rob us of the assurance and blessings that come from putting on the new self. Not so fast, Satan!

The Christian strives, with the power of the Spirit, to live a life worthy of our calling. In faith, we do what Paul says – we put away anger, malice, falsehood, corrupting talk. That's old self stuff. Instead, by God's grace we speak kindly and are tenderhearted and forgiving, even as Christ forgave us.
The New Self, it's clear, is an imitator of God.

I'm sure you've seen the WWJD bracelets, “What would Jesus do?” And you've probably also heard me and other Lutheran pastors say, We should really be asking what DID Jesus do. And that's still the most important question. But there is a place for imitating Christ, for being Christ-like. There is a place for good works in the life of a Christian.

That place, of course, is after the Gospel. Because of it. We imitate Christ's love because we know it. We imitate his forgiveness because we have received it. We do what Jesus would do, because we have Christ in us, by his Spirit who empowers us. We can't boast about our justification, nor can we boast of our good works. If we do anything good at all, it is God who works in us. But God does work in us – in our New Self.

So put off the old self – repent of your sins daily, and put on the new self – trusting in Christ for forgiveness and strength to be an imitator of God. In his holy name, Amen.

Sermon - Pentecost 9 - Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon – Pentecost 9
August 2nd, 2009
Ephesians 4:1-16

Unity, Truth and Love. Three key ideas in Paul's letter to the church of Ephesus. Three Christian virtues we sinners struggle to uphold. Three important words with meaning and application for each of us individually and as a congregation. What does God say to us, through St. Paul, about Unity, Truth and Love?

Unity – Paul prays that we would be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

There is a unity, a one-ness to the church. The first thing to note is that this unity is a gift of God, not a human achievement. Paul simply prays that we would be able to maintain this gift, in the bond of peace. We sinners aren't always so good at that. But we would join in Paul's prayer that God's church may be united.

There is unity in the church, even while there is division. We look around and see Christians of other denominations with different and confusing teachings which don't line up with Scripture. There are many divisions.

And yet there is a unity to the extent that they believe in the one Lord Jesus Christ, through the one Spirit. We also share one baptism. We Lutherans have distinguished between the many church confessions, which show great fracture and disagreement, and the “universal church” which includes all who hold saving faith, even if they also believe some wrong things.

One day, we will be perfectly united, not only in saving faith but in all things – when we attain to the fullness of Christ. But until that day when Jesus comes to bring his Church home, we struggle to maintain what unity we can on earth – always giving God thanks for the blessing when it is found.

But unity doesn't just mean we all “get along” or like each other. It's not an emotional or sentimental state. For Christians, unity is a oneness that is based on something – the truth. A common faith – and a common confession of it. That we hold Jesus Christ as True God and True Man. That we believe he died for sinners and rose victorious to give us life. That we believe in the doctrine taught in his word. That we practice and apply his word of both Law and Gospel faithfully. Unity in the truth means calling sinners to repentance and freely bestowing his grace through Absolution, Proclamation, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.

Paul says we should not be, “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes' but rather, “speak the truth in love”

The truth is, there are a lot of lies out there. And such deceits and winds of false doctrine work against our unity. And don't think you're not susceptible to these falsehoods! We live in an atmosphere thick with the winds of false teaching – telling us that truth is relative, that biblical morality is outdated, that all religions lead to heaven, that each should choose for himself what is right or wrong, and that just about the only sin left is telling someone else they are wrong.

And these winds can toss us about like children in an inflatable raft on the sea in the midst of a hurricane. We would be defenseless against the devil's bag of wind were it not for our anchor of Truth, in Jesus Christ. Were it not for the chart and course laid out for us in Holy Scripture, and delivered to us by the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers.

We pray, as Paul prayed, for the Truth to win the day. That our unity would be kept and maintained, even as we continue to speak and believe the Truth, in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Finally, Paul instructs that Christians speak the truth in love. And here, too, we may have a definition problem. For many caught in the winds of false teaching, the word “love” has all kinds of baggage. What does it mean, for the Christian, to be truly loving? What does it mean to speak the truth in love?

Does it mean always being nice and polite and sweet-as-pie? Certainly not. For Jesus and the Apostles, the Prophets and the saints before us show by example that sometimes a harsh word is in order. And this word, this “no” is usually not received as love. It may mean saying no to your child for their own good. It may mean saying no to a friend who wants you to join them in some sin. It may mean saying no when you are asked to sign on to something apart from the Truth. Speaking the truth in love, sometimes means “tough love”, a harsh word of law that is as tough to say as it is to hear.

We should all know that love, because we need to hear that law, too. We need to have our noses rubbed in our sin. We need someone to knock off our armor of self-righteousness and expose the rot within us. We are poor miserable sinners, and facing that fact hurts. It doesn't feel loving when someone tells us so. But it is.

Speaking the truth in love also means speaking the truth Of love. Of God's love. Speaking and telling, rehearsing and proclaiming the awesome and wonderful message of the Gospel – the good news of Jesus. He who said, “greater love has no one than this – that he lay down his life for his friends”. He who said it, did it. He laid down his life for us all to make us his friends. He who is the Way and the Truth and the Life. He who brings us Unity with God, and Unity with each other through the cross.

One final thought, that in this Church, we maintain our Unity by speaking the Truth in Love, and through serving each other as God has equipped us to do. Thus the body is built up, and grows toward our fullness in Christ.

And so we, the body of Christ, the church, hold these things dear: Unity, Truth and Love. All are gifts from the Lord. All are ours through Christ our Lord. When we fail – when we are divided, when we are caught in falsehood, and when we fail to love each other – we come in humility again to the cross, and are reunited with God and each other in the truth and love of Christ. So we hear, and so we speak. So we believe and live. In Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Willfully persisting in sin... rejoicing in forgiveness?

Pastor Weedon, a well-known Lutheran blogger, has a post worth reading: "Correcting a Misperception":

_______________

Some former Lutherans persist in slandering our faith by saying that it is spiritually damaging - pointing especially to the teaching that we are simultaneously just and sinner. Thus, to their way of thinking, Lutherans teach that one may intentionally and willfully persist in sin and rejoice in forgiveness. But this is a complete falsification of our teaching.
Lutherans state unequivocally:

Nor indeed is this faith idle knowledge, nor can it coexist with mortal sin. Ap. IV.115

For through one's entire life, repentance contends with the sin remaining in the flesh. Paul testifies that he wars with the law in his members, not by his own powers, but by the gift of the Holy Spirit that follows the forgiveness of sins. This gift daily cleanses and sweeps out the remaining sins and works to make a person truly pure and holy...The Holy Spirit does not permit sin to have dominion, to gain the upper hand so that it is carried out, but represses and restrains it from doing what it wants. If sin does what it wants, the Holy Spirit and faith are not present. SA III, 3, 40, 44.

The person who dares to say "God loves to forgive; I love to sin; what a deal!" is no Lutheran and no Christian.

What simul justus et peccator is rather seeking to confess is that to be a Christian is to be in a life-long struggle against the flesh and its lusts. You will never advance to a point where the struggle is ended. It goes on to the very end. The fact of the struggle doesn't mean one isn't a Christian (the absence of the struggle does!). As St. Paul wrote of himself to the Romans: "I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh, for I have the desire to do what it right, but not the ability to carry it out." (7:18)

Such is the sad experience of every Christian: we can and do make progress in following our Savior, and yet we find that there is inside of us a wretched fountain of corruption that continues to pollute us. It drives us to the joy of grace. The joy of simul justus et peccator is that we are not condemned before God for this fountain of corruption in our flesh; we fight it with every weapon of the Spirit and resist it to the grave, and we rejoice that it will finally be extinguished and removed from us on the day of our death, when our Baptism into Christ is completed, and we put off this body of death. When we are resurrected, this fountain of corruption will not be resurrected within us. And for that all glory to God!

To confess simul justus et peccator is thus the exact opposite of saying "don't worry; do what you want; you're forgiven." It's rather saying: "Since you are forgiven, you have the Spirit to fight tooth and nail to the bitter end against this sin which inheres in your flesh and to be assured as you battle that you will win the final victory if only you remain under the forgiving blood of the Lamb of God."

Such a teaching is anything but spiritually damaging; it is in fact the only comfort and source of peace you can find when confronted with the ongoing wretched flood of filth from the flesh. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."


(read the original post and comments at "Weedon's Blog": http://weedon.blogspot.com/2009/07/correcting-misperception.html )