Faithful Christians will always have a dividing line that distinguishes between those who can and cannot commune at a given congregation. The issue is not whether or not there will be a dividing line but (1) where will it be drawn and (2) on what basis will it be drawn.
So today’s question is, “Why do we invite some people but not others to commune.” Justin Martyr, writing in the 2nd century AD, summarizes it well, “This food we call Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except [a] one who believes that the things we teach are true; [b] and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins for rebirth, [c] and who lives as Christ handed down to us. [d] for we receive these things not as common bread or common drink…[but it is] the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus.”
Justin rightly understood that the Lord’s Supper was a true heavenly food and so he recognized that there were certain things needed for Communion fellowship namely: unity of doctrine, baptism preceding Communion, and the expectation that one repents of his/her sins.
Let’s focus on the topic of unity of doctrine since, I assume, it is evident that Baptism and repentance are both important prerequisites for receiving the Lord’s Supper. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LC-MS) believes that it is particularly important that church bodies confess the Gospel and all its articles in order to enter into altar fellowship.
There are specific Bible passages that apply to this topic. For instance, Paul tells us to avoid false teachers (Romans 16:17). He tells us that those who do not recognize the body and blood of the Lord in the Sacrament sin against Christ if they partake of the bread and the cup (I Corinthians 11:23-34). Hebrews tells us that we have an altar where only God’s people can partake thereof (Hebrews 13:10).
The LC-MS stresses that unity in the Gospel and all its articles is necessary for enjoying Communion fellowship. It is the Gospel that creates the church and it must be on the basis of the Gospel that church bodies have fellowship. C.F.W. Walther (our first synodical president) puts it this way, “We are poor sinners.” Note that there is no room for pride. Pride is not why the LC-MS practices closed Communion. He goes on to write, “But we regard the pure Word of God as more precious than heaven and earth and therefore would rather lose everyone’s friendship than lose this.”
If a church body initiates fellowship without unity of doctrine, it will not be able to keep the purity of the Gospel. We do not have the right to discard any element of the Gospel.
Unity of the Gospel needs to be fleshed out a little more, so next week I will continue asking, “Why do we invite some people but not others to commune.”
My Profile
- David Oberdieck
- Lebanon, Missouri
- I am Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church (LC-MS). I also serve in the Army Reserve as a Chaplain (Major) at Ft. Campbell, KY
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Rightly Administering the Lord's Supper: Who?
(The following is the first of a four part series on closed Communion. These are written as bulletin inserts)
Dear believers in Christ, since the Lord’s Supper is the New Testament in Christ’s body and blood it is important that we confess what Jesus and the Apostles have taught us about this Sacrament. It is also vital that the congregation, working through the pastor, administers the sacrament rightly in the name of the Lord.
In this light, I am writing a few short notes on closed Communion under the heading of who, why, what, and how. Today’s question is, “who should be invited to partake of the Sacrament?” Consider the various answers that people will give:
1. any person whether or not he/she is a Christian
2. family members
3. former members of a congregation irrespective of their current denomination or confession of faith
4. any repentant Christian who also believes in the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in, with, and under the bread and the wine
5. members of those church bodies that hold a true confession of the Gospel and all its articles
Please take time to reflect on this question during the week and consider the biblical basis for your answer. Why do you believe what you believe about closed Communion? I will ask a similar question next Sunday asking, “Why do we invite some people but not others to commune.”
The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LC-MS) and her congregations have altar and pulpit fellowship with only one church body in the USA, one in Canada, and several others around the world. This having been said, the LC-MS does not have as its goal to keep people away from the Lord’s Table. On the contrary, the LC-MS would join in pulpit and altar fellowship with as many denominations as is possible on a biblical basis. What is that proper basis? We shall see next Sunday.
The Lord's Prayer:
Learning the Heart & Mind of the Father
Part VII of VII
A teacher in the early church was amazed at how so much of what the prophets, apostles, and Jesus Himself taught is wrapped up in the few words of the Lord’s Prayer.
He writes, “We honor God in ‘Father,’ witness to the faith in ‘name,’ offer obedience in ‘will,’ remember our hope in ‘kingdom,’ seek life in ‘bread,’ confess our debts in ‘pardon,’ show concern for temptation in the request for safekeeping.”
He concludes, “Why wonder at this? God alone could teach us the manner in which He would have us pray” (Popular Patristics Series, Tertullian, Cyprian, and Origen On the Lord’s Prayer, p.49).
In teaching us this prayer, Jesus is not only encompassing much of the Holy Scripture, but He is also revealing to us the heart and mind of the heavenly Father. This series wraps up with the sixth and seventh petitions, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One.”
We cannot pray this final petition with any hope of God answering it if we have not already grasped by faith the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer.
Luther is correct when he teaches us, “If we are to be preserved and delivered from all evil, God’s name must first be hallowed in us, His kingdom must be with us, and His will must be done in us” (Paul McCain, Concordia, Readers Edition, Large Catechism, p. 448.118).
If anyone will not hallow God, does not desire the kingdom, nor love God’s will, then that person is already overcome by the Evil One. This does not describe you dear believer, for you are the child of God and do not despise God’s name, His kingdom, nor His will.
You have already been delivered from the Evil One through the crucifixion of Christ. God will continue to keep you as the Holy Spirit does His work in you by means of the Word and Sacrament. Let’s plunge into the last petitions.
In the previous petition we prayed, “Forgive us our trespass as we forgive those who trespass against us.” There were two thoughts that went together, “forgive us” and “as we forgive others.”
So also the sixth and seventh petitions belong together. Though they are two petitions they make one unit, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the Evil One.”
Some Christians might feel uncomfortable with that first part, “lead us not into temptation.” The Christian may ask, “What does that mean?” “Why would we pray that God not lead us into temptation?” “Do I have to fear God might tempt me?” God is not tempted by evil, James tells us, nor does He tempt anyone (James 1:13).
Let me flesh out what this petition is doing by looking at Psalm 51:11-12. King David wrote this penitential Psalm after Nathan convicted him over the Bathsheba incident.
In verse 11, David pleads to God saying, “Do not cast me away…nor take your Holy Spirit from me.” That’s the negative. On the positive side David cries out in verse 12, “Restore to me the joy of my salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”
David is simply saying, “Don’t curse me God but please do restore me.” The negative statement is what God could do and what He indeed will do if He were to “act in judgment according to the Law” (Concordia Commentary, Matthew Vol 1, Gibbs, p.340).
David did not deserve forgiveness for he sinned grievously and could not atone for his sin. God’s justice could cast David away into eternal fire, but God didn’t do that because God does not cast off His children who truly believe and repent of their sins.
So the emphasis on these verses is on the positive, that God would restore him to salvation. The negative “do not cast me away” serves to highlight the positive “restore to me the joy of my salvation.”
Now, let’s apply this to the Lord’s Prayer. We have the negative statement, “Lead us not into temptation.” And then the positive statement, “But deliver us from the Evil One.”
God does not tempt anyone, but he could very well lead the sinner to temptation. He could pick us up and drop us in front of temptation. You see God judge’s sin with more sin. So God says to those who love promiscuity, for instance, “I give you into it all the more that your sin would utterly condemn you.”
In Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul is warning about what will happen before the advent of Christ. He tells us that people will reject the truth. Instead of being saved they will cling to deception.
Listen to how God replies, “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false” (II Thessalonians 2:11 NASB). The ungodly rejected the truth. They wanted a lie, and so God sends them delusion. It is as if God is saying, “If you want a lie then I give you over to an even greater lie.”
God does not tempt anyone, but if God were going to treat us according to the Law that condemns us He could give us over to temptation and all sorts of depravity. Yet, God won’t do that to those who call upon Him in faith saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven.”
God loves you. He doesn’t want you to be overcome by the evil but rather rescued you from the Evil One. The negative statement in the prayer serves all the more to emphasize the positive plea, “deliver us oh Lord!”
The sixth and seventh petitions reveal to us the heart and mind of the heavenly Father. I conclude with these two thoughts that flow out of these petitions.
First, God teaches us that temptation is nothing to be toyed with. Temptation is a beautiful thing. After all, if temptation revealed itself as something overtly dangerous and devilish, it wouldn’t be temptation to most people.
Temptation is so beautiful, pleasing, and it promises great reward. The world sees temptation as a wonderful invitation to satiate whatever the flesh hungers after.
Brethren this is plain foolishness. If we give ourselves over to temptation then we give ourselves to the Evil One and destroy our relationship with God. If we choose to love temptation the “Our Father” will be on our lips but not in our hearts.
Perhaps some of you have been to the Grand Canyon. You will know then that there are plenty of places where there is no wall or fence separating a person from the edge of chasm. In some places, it is a long drop if you were to fall over the edge.
There are a lot of people that don’t like being near the edge, instead they will make sure they are a comfortable distance away from it. Our heavenly Father so loves us that He doesn’t want us to get close to the edge of temptation that leads down to the pit of Hell.
The second point is this, Luther tells us that, “every hour that we are in this vile life, we are attacked on all sides” (Op. cit. McCain, p. 447.105)
We feel temptation constantly. For one person it is simple lust. For another it is greed. For yet another, envy is the burden. The temptations from the world, our flesh, and the Evil One, are not only constant but quite varied. Yet, just as surely as our sins beset us, God’s grace is more pervasive. God will not lead you into temptation. He delivers you from the Evil One.
Several years ago there was a mom and a dad who was devastated because of one of their three sons fell into drug abuse and other illegal activity. The parents not only hurt for their son, but the issue was public and embarrassing.
You can imagine that going to church on Sunday morning was so very difficult. How hard it must be at times to raise your head when you are so hurt. The difficulty was only compounded when one the pillars of the church told them, “Well, I guess you only have two sons now.”
A mentally handicapped child ran up to the parents before they left. He called out, “Is it true? Is it true what I heard?” What parent would want to answer that question? It would be so much easier to get in the car, drive away, and never come back. But then the child opened up his shirt, took off his cross and gave it to them saying, “Here give this to your son and tell him Jesus loves him and so do I.”
I hope that young man turned back to God in repentance. You see, it is never God’s first will to judge our sin with sin. God is the great deliverer. In love He reaches out with His Son to all people. God hands us the cross of forgiveness. And He doesn’t do it just once, but again and again.
That forgiveness is constantly with us in the Gospel and given to us as we receive the Lord’s Body and blood in faith. It is through the Gospel, that is through the grace of Christ, that God delivers us from the Evil One.
He writes, “We honor God in ‘Father,’ witness to the faith in ‘name,’ offer obedience in ‘will,’ remember our hope in ‘kingdom,’ seek life in ‘bread,’ confess our debts in ‘pardon,’ show concern for temptation in the request for safekeeping.”
He concludes, “Why wonder at this? God alone could teach us the manner in which He would have us pray” (Popular Patristics Series, Tertullian, Cyprian, and Origen On the Lord’s Prayer, p.49).
In teaching us this prayer, Jesus is not only encompassing much of the Holy Scripture, but He is also revealing to us the heart and mind of the heavenly Father. This series wraps up with the sixth and seventh petitions, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One.”
We cannot pray this final petition with any hope of God answering it if we have not already grasped by faith the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer.
Luther is correct when he teaches us, “If we are to be preserved and delivered from all evil, God’s name must first be hallowed in us, His kingdom must be with us, and His will must be done in us” (Paul McCain, Concordia, Readers Edition, Large Catechism, p. 448.118).
If anyone will not hallow God, does not desire the kingdom, nor love God’s will, then that person is already overcome by the Evil One. This does not describe you dear believer, for you are the child of God and do not despise God’s name, His kingdom, nor His will.
You have already been delivered from the Evil One through the crucifixion of Christ. God will continue to keep you as the Holy Spirit does His work in you by means of the Word and Sacrament. Let’s plunge into the last petitions.
In the previous petition we prayed, “Forgive us our trespass as we forgive those who trespass against us.” There were two thoughts that went together, “forgive us” and “as we forgive others.”
So also the sixth and seventh petitions belong together. Though they are two petitions they make one unit, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the Evil One.”
Some Christians might feel uncomfortable with that first part, “lead us not into temptation.” The Christian may ask, “What does that mean?” “Why would we pray that God not lead us into temptation?” “Do I have to fear God might tempt me?” God is not tempted by evil, James tells us, nor does He tempt anyone (James 1:13).
Let me flesh out what this petition is doing by looking at Psalm 51:11-12. King David wrote this penitential Psalm after Nathan convicted him over the Bathsheba incident.
In verse 11, David pleads to God saying, “Do not cast me away…nor take your Holy Spirit from me.” That’s the negative. On the positive side David cries out in verse 12, “Restore to me the joy of my salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”
David is simply saying, “Don’t curse me God but please do restore me.” The negative statement is what God could do and what He indeed will do if He were to “act in judgment according to the Law” (Concordia Commentary, Matthew Vol 1, Gibbs, p.340).
David did not deserve forgiveness for he sinned grievously and could not atone for his sin. God’s justice could cast David away into eternal fire, but God didn’t do that because God does not cast off His children who truly believe and repent of their sins.
So the emphasis on these verses is on the positive, that God would restore him to salvation. The negative “do not cast me away” serves to highlight the positive “restore to me the joy of my salvation.”
Now, let’s apply this to the Lord’s Prayer. We have the negative statement, “Lead us not into temptation.” And then the positive statement, “But deliver us from the Evil One.”
God does not tempt anyone, but he could very well lead the sinner to temptation. He could pick us up and drop us in front of temptation. You see God judge’s sin with more sin. So God says to those who love promiscuity, for instance, “I give you into it all the more that your sin would utterly condemn you.”
In Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul is warning about what will happen before the advent of Christ. He tells us that people will reject the truth. Instead of being saved they will cling to deception.
Listen to how God replies, “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false” (II Thessalonians 2:11 NASB). The ungodly rejected the truth. They wanted a lie, and so God sends them delusion. It is as if God is saying, “If you want a lie then I give you over to an even greater lie.”
God does not tempt anyone, but if God were going to treat us according to the Law that condemns us He could give us over to temptation and all sorts of depravity. Yet, God won’t do that to those who call upon Him in faith saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven.”
God loves you. He doesn’t want you to be overcome by the evil but rather rescued you from the Evil One. The negative statement in the prayer serves all the more to emphasize the positive plea, “deliver us oh Lord!”
The sixth and seventh petitions reveal to us the heart and mind of the heavenly Father. I conclude with these two thoughts that flow out of these petitions.
First, God teaches us that temptation is nothing to be toyed with. Temptation is a beautiful thing. After all, if temptation revealed itself as something overtly dangerous and devilish, it wouldn’t be temptation to most people.
Temptation is so beautiful, pleasing, and it promises great reward. The world sees temptation as a wonderful invitation to satiate whatever the flesh hungers after.
Brethren this is plain foolishness. If we give ourselves over to temptation then we give ourselves to the Evil One and destroy our relationship with God. If we choose to love temptation the “Our Father” will be on our lips but not in our hearts.
Perhaps some of you have been to the Grand Canyon. You will know then that there are plenty of places where there is no wall or fence separating a person from the edge of chasm. In some places, it is a long drop if you were to fall over the edge.
There are a lot of people that don’t like being near the edge, instead they will make sure they are a comfortable distance away from it. Our heavenly Father so loves us that He doesn’t want us to get close to the edge of temptation that leads down to the pit of Hell.
The second point is this, Luther tells us that, “every hour that we are in this vile life, we are attacked on all sides” (Op. cit. McCain, p. 447.105)
We feel temptation constantly. For one person it is simple lust. For another it is greed. For yet another, envy is the burden. The temptations from the world, our flesh, and the Evil One, are not only constant but quite varied. Yet, just as surely as our sins beset us, God’s grace is more pervasive. God will not lead you into temptation. He delivers you from the Evil One.
Several years ago there was a mom and a dad who was devastated because of one of their three sons fell into drug abuse and other illegal activity. The parents not only hurt for their son, but the issue was public and embarrassing.
You can imagine that going to church on Sunday morning was so very difficult. How hard it must be at times to raise your head when you are so hurt. The difficulty was only compounded when one the pillars of the church told them, “Well, I guess you only have two sons now.”
A mentally handicapped child ran up to the parents before they left. He called out, “Is it true? Is it true what I heard?” What parent would want to answer that question? It would be so much easier to get in the car, drive away, and never come back. But then the child opened up his shirt, took off his cross and gave it to them saying, “Here give this to your son and tell him Jesus loves him and so do I.”
I hope that young man turned back to God in repentance. You see, it is never God’s first will to judge our sin with sin. God is the great deliverer. In love He reaches out with His Son to all people. God hands us the cross of forgiveness. And He doesn’t do it just once, but again and again.
That forgiveness is constantly with us in the Gospel and given to us as we receive the Lord’s Body and blood in faith. It is through the Gospel, that is through the grace of Christ, that God delivers us from the Evil One.
Monday, May 18, 2009
The Lord’s Prayer:
Learning the Heart and Mind of the Father, Part VI of VII
By David Oberdieck, pastor
In the book of Revelation Jesus is described as the One who “searches the hearts and minds of His people” (Revelation 2:23). We see this played out in the Old Testament with a devote woman named Hannah.
You will recall that Hannah was crushed in her spirit because she so wanted to have a child.
She went to the Temple in Shiloh. First Samuel reads this way, “Now it came about, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli was watching her mouth. As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard (I Samuel 1:12-15 NASB).
Because she was not praying audibly, Eli assumed she as drunk, so he said to her, "How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you." But Hannah replied, "No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.” The God who knows the heart could hear Hannah though her mouth did not speak.
It was Cyprian who said, “God is a hearer not of the voice but of the heart” (John Behr, Tertullian, Cyprian, and Origen on the Lord’s Prayer, p. 67). God who is the hearer of the heart also knows our thoughts when we pray, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).
God can see past our words to the core of who we are. As God knows the inner man, so also Jesus reveals to us the heart and mind of the Heavenly Father in the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Since Jesus has revealed this to us it is crucial that we do not misconstrue this petition. Note how the Lord’s Prayer is recorded by St. Matthew. A literal reading goes this way, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgave our debtors.”
It is really easy to misinterpret this passage so that a person understands it to mean something like this, “Lord you will forgive me because I have first forgiven others and thereby merited your mercy toward me.” Do you catch the misunderstanding? It is this thinking that our forgiveness comes first and it then earns God’s forgiveness.
God forgave us long before we ever forgave anyone else. Keep in mind that we only pray this prayer aright because God brought us into the church through His grace in Christ. Even more, God forgave the entire world on the cross objectively speaking.
We have received pardon personally when we first believed in Christ. For many of us that happened when we were baptized as mere infants. God did indeed forgive us long before we ever forgave anyone ourselves.
The Lord’s Prayer does not teach us that we merit God’s forgiveness or even that our forgiveness comes prior to His forgiving us. Rather, it teaches us the logical and spiritual connection between God’s forgiveness and ours. We pour out to others because God has first poured out to us. We are merciful to others because God has first been merciful to us.
Jesus illustrates this with the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21 – 35). You remember it was the King who forgave the huge debt of one of his servants. That servant turned around and refused to forgive his fellow servant a paltry amount of money in comparison.
Note Luther’s insightful comments on the phrase, “as we forgive others.” He writes, “This is a remarkable addition, but a very precious one. Someone may well wonder why [Jesus] should append this addition to this particular petition: ‘Forgive us our debts.’
He could just as well have appended some such item to one of the others, and He could have said: “Give us our daily bread, as we give it to our children”; or, “Lead us not into temptation, as we do not tempt anyone”;
or, “Deliver us from evil, as we save and deliver our neighbors.” (Jaroslav Pelikan, Luther’s Works, The Sermon on the Mount and the Magnificat, 21:148).
Jesus is certainly putting special emphasis when he attaches the words, “as we forgave others” to our request for God’s forgiveness. Again, there is a logical and spiritual connection between God’s forgiveness and ours.
Jesus sets up forgiveness as a “chief obligation” among Christians (Ibid, p.149).
The chief of the chief doctrines of the Gospel is justification. Thus, among the chief doctrines of the Law must be that we also forgive our debtors.
There is another element of this prayer of which we need to be aware. When we pray this petition in true faith, we cannot be “self-satisfied” (John Behr, Tertullian, Cyprian, and Origen On the Lord’s Prayer, p.81). Every time we pray we are reminded of our sins. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us that our sin really is significant. This really isn’t so bad. As a matter of fact, it is essential we hear this word from God.
Yet, when we are reminded of our sin it is not like an unforgiving spouse who will never let the other partner forget what he/she did wrong. This petition keeps us from pride, but it also shows us the heart and mind of the heavenly Father who would bestow on us abundant grace not an abundance of wrath.
Luther put it this way, “if God does not forgive without stopping, we are lost” (Paul McCain, Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, Large Catechism p.445.90). The church has never stopped sinning, but neither has the church ceased praying “forgive us our debts” precisely because the Father Himself has not stopped forgiving.
We dare not toss out the fifth petition as if this was all too spiritual for the average Christian. It isn’t for the super saint, but it is at the heart of the Christian faith and life. Jesus reveals to us the heart and mind of the heavenly Father in this petition.
When we forgive we have the opportunity to appreciate the Father’s heart all the more. Think of it. When we forgive, even though we are so imperfect in our forgiveness, we know that there is One who forgives perfectly. If we who are sinful know to forgive, then we should realize that there is the Father in heaven whose forgiveness is even greater than ours (adaptation of Matthew 7:11).
Learning the Heart and Mind of the Father, Part VI of VII
By David Oberdieck, pastor
In the book of Revelation Jesus is described as the One who “searches the hearts and minds of His people” (Revelation 2:23). We see this played out in the Old Testament with a devote woman named Hannah.
You will recall that Hannah was crushed in her spirit because she so wanted to have a child.
She went to the Temple in Shiloh. First Samuel reads this way, “Now it came about, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli was watching her mouth. As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard (I Samuel 1:12-15 NASB).
Because she was not praying audibly, Eli assumed she as drunk, so he said to her, "How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you." But Hannah replied, "No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.” The God who knows the heart could hear Hannah though her mouth did not speak.
It was Cyprian who said, “God is a hearer not of the voice but of the heart” (John Behr, Tertullian, Cyprian, and Origen on the Lord’s Prayer, p. 67). God who is the hearer of the heart also knows our thoughts when we pray, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).
God can see past our words to the core of who we are. As God knows the inner man, so also Jesus reveals to us the heart and mind of the Heavenly Father in the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Since Jesus has revealed this to us it is crucial that we do not misconstrue this petition. Note how the Lord’s Prayer is recorded by St. Matthew. A literal reading goes this way, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgave our debtors.”
It is really easy to misinterpret this passage so that a person understands it to mean something like this, “Lord you will forgive me because I have first forgiven others and thereby merited your mercy toward me.” Do you catch the misunderstanding? It is this thinking that our forgiveness comes first and it then earns God’s forgiveness.
God forgave us long before we ever forgave anyone else. Keep in mind that we only pray this prayer aright because God brought us into the church through His grace in Christ. Even more, God forgave the entire world on the cross objectively speaking.
We have received pardon personally when we first believed in Christ. For many of us that happened when we were baptized as mere infants. God did indeed forgive us long before we ever forgave anyone ourselves.
The Lord’s Prayer does not teach us that we merit God’s forgiveness or even that our forgiveness comes prior to His forgiving us. Rather, it teaches us the logical and spiritual connection between God’s forgiveness and ours. We pour out to others because God has first poured out to us. We are merciful to others because God has first been merciful to us.
Jesus illustrates this with the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21 – 35). You remember it was the King who forgave the huge debt of one of his servants. That servant turned around and refused to forgive his fellow servant a paltry amount of money in comparison.
Note Luther’s insightful comments on the phrase, “as we forgive others.” He writes, “This is a remarkable addition, but a very precious one. Someone may well wonder why [Jesus] should append this addition to this particular petition: ‘Forgive us our debts.’
He could just as well have appended some such item to one of the others, and He could have said: “Give us our daily bread, as we give it to our children”; or, “Lead us not into temptation, as we do not tempt anyone”;
or, “Deliver us from evil, as we save and deliver our neighbors.” (Jaroslav Pelikan, Luther’s Works, The Sermon on the Mount and the Magnificat, 21:148).
Jesus is certainly putting special emphasis when he attaches the words, “as we forgave others” to our request for God’s forgiveness. Again, there is a logical and spiritual connection between God’s forgiveness and ours.
Jesus sets up forgiveness as a “chief obligation” among Christians (Ibid, p.149).
The chief of the chief doctrines of the Gospel is justification. Thus, among the chief doctrines of the Law must be that we also forgive our debtors.
There is another element of this prayer of which we need to be aware. When we pray this petition in true faith, we cannot be “self-satisfied” (John Behr, Tertullian, Cyprian, and Origen On the Lord’s Prayer, p.81). Every time we pray we are reminded of our sins. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us that our sin really is significant. This really isn’t so bad. As a matter of fact, it is essential we hear this word from God.
Yet, when we are reminded of our sin it is not like an unforgiving spouse who will never let the other partner forget what he/she did wrong. This petition keeps us from pride, but it also shows us the heart and mind of the heavenly Father who would bestow on us abundant grace not an abundance of wrath.
Luther put it this way, “if God does not forgive without stopping, we are lost” (Paul McCain, Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, Large Catechism p.445.90). The church has never stopped sinning, but neither has the church ceased praying “forgive us our debts” precisely because the Father Himself has not stopped forgiving.
We dare not toss out the fifth petition as if this was all too spiritual for the average Christian. It isn’t for the super saint, but it is at the heart of the Christian faith and life. Jesus reveals to us the heart and mind of the heavenly Father in this petition.
When we forgive we have the opportunity to appreciate the Father’s heart all the more. Think of it. When we forgive, even though we are so imperfect in our forgiveness, we know that there is One who forgives perfectly. If we who are sinful know to forgive, then we should realize that there is the Father in heaven whose forgiveness is even greater than ours (adaptation of Matthew 7:11).
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Martin Luther on John 15:4
Martin Luther decried the doctrine of doubt in his day saying, "It is intolerable to declare in Christendom that we cannot and must not know whether God is gracious to us."
Instead, Luther points us to the firm assurance found in Christ alone when he writes, "He who wants to be saved and go to heaven when he dies must think and say: 'Have mercy on me, gracious God. I am a poor, sinful being who has merited nothing but wrath. But whether my life was good or evil, I know that I need not doubt that I was baptized and named a Christian for the remission of sins; that Christ my Lord was born, suffered, died, and was raised from the dead for me; that He gave me His holy body and blood as food for the strengthening of my faith; and that I have been absolved and relieved of my sin in the name and by the power of Christ.' Such a heart and such a faith cannot fare adversely or be lost any more than God’s Word can fail or be false. This I can guarantee you, since God Himself guarantees it to you through His Word" (Luther's Works, Vol 24, p.222).
We will find nothing but doubt, darkness, and doom when we look to our own goodness and works in order to obtain salvation. When we are focused on God's mercy in Christ, then the confidence of our salvation is as firm as Christ is gracious.
Instead, Luther points us to the firm assurance found in Christ alone when he writes, "He who wants to be saved and go to heaven when he dies must think and say: 'Have mercy on me, gracious God. I am a poor, sinful being who has merited nothing but wrath. But whether my life was good or evil, I know that I need not doubt that I was baptized and named a Christian for the remission of sins; that Christ my Lord was born, suffered, died, and was raised from the dead for me; that He gave me His holy body and blood as food for the strengthening of my faith; and that I have been absolved and relieved of my sin in the name and by the power of Christ.' Such a heart and such a faith cannot fare adversely or be lost any more than God’s Word can fail or be false. This I can guarantee you, since God Himself guarantees it to you through His Word" (Luther's Works, Vol 24, p.222).
We will find nothing but doubt, darkness, and doom when we look to our own goodness and works in order to obtain salvation. When we are focused on God's mercy in Christ, then the confidence of our salvation is as firm as Christ is gracious.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
