Confession and Life
Paul Kretzmann’s commentary on the whole Bible has been a dear resource for generations of Lutherans. The books are long out of print, though you can probably still find used copies floating around. An alternative, though is to search and read it online. Try it out. This brief commentary was widely published and used for good reason.
Many Christians are confused about God’s command to sanctify the day of rest. Does that mean we need to observe the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, as a day reserved from work and dedicated to worship? Does it mean we should do the same thing on Sunday? Or are we completely free from gathering with other believers for worship, now that we live in the time of the New Testament? Is it pleasing to God if we allow work and other scheduling concerns to dominate our days, so that there is no time left for rest, or for hearing God’s Word? May we do necessary work on the day of rest?
The answers to these questions are contained in the Large Catechism, where Martin Luther wrote about the Third Commandment. This extensive quote comes from the new “Reader’s Edition” of the Book of Concord from Concordia Publishing House, pages 367-370. You can find the edition upon which it was based online at the Book of Concord web site.
[79] The word holiday is used for the Hebrew word sabbath, which properly means “to rest,” that is, to cease from labor. Therefore, we usually say, “to stop working.” Or “Sanctify the Sabbath.” [80] Now, in the Old Testament, God set apart the seventh day and appointed it for rest [Genesis 2:3]. He commanded that it should be regarded as holy above all other days. This commandment was given only to the Jewish people for this outward obedience, that they should stop toilsome work and rest. In that way both man and beast might recover and not be weakened by endless labor [Exodus 20:8-11]. [81] Later, the Jewish people restricted the Sabbath too closely and greatly abused it. They defamed Christ and could not endure in Him the same works that they themselves would do on that day, as we read in the Gospel [Matthew 12:11]. They acted as though the commandment were fulfilled by doing no manual work whatsoever. This, however, was not the meaning. But, as we shall hear, they were supposed to sanctify the holy day or day of rest.
[82] This commandment, therefore, in its literal sense, does not apply to us Christians. It is entirely an outward matter, like other ordinances of the Old Testament. The ordinances were attached to particular customs, persons, times, and places, but now they have been made matters of freedom through Christ [Colossians 2:16-17].
[83] The simpleminded need to grasp a Christian meaning about what God requires in this commandment. Note that we don’t keep holy days for the sake of intelligent and learned Christians. (They have no need of holy days.) We keep them first of all for bodily causes and necessities, which nature teaches and requires. We keep them for the common people, manservants and maidservants, who have been attending to their work and trade the whole week. In this way they may withdraw in order to rest for a day and be refreshed.
[84] Second, and most especially, on this day of rest (since we can get no other chance), we have the freedom and time to attend divine service. We come together to hear and use God’s Word, and then to praise God, to sing and to pray [Colossians 3:16].
[85] However, this keeping of the Sabbath, I point out, is not restricted to a certain time, as with the Jewish people. It does not have to be just on this or that day. For in itself no one day is better than another [Romans 14:5-6]. Instead, this should be done daily. However, since the masses of people cannot attend every day, there must be at least one day in the week set apart. From ancient times Sunday ‹the Lord’s Day› has been appointed for this purpose. So we also should continue to do the same, in order that everything may be done in an orderly way [1 Corinthians 14:40] and no one may create disorder by starting unnecessary practices.
[86] This is the simple meaning of the commandment: People must have holidays. Therefore, such observances should be devoted to hearing God’s Word so that the special function of this day of rest should be the ministry of the Word for the young and the mass of poor people [Nehemiah 8:2-3, 8]. Yet the resting should not be strictly understood to forbid any work that comes up, which cannot be avoided.
[87] So when someone asks you, “What is meant by the commandment: You shall sanctify the holy day?” Answer like this, “To sanctify the holy day is the same as to keep it holy.” “But what is meant by keeping it holy?” “Nothing else than to be occupied with holy words, works, and life.” For the day needs no sanctification for itself. It has been created holy in itself. But God desires the day to be holy to you. Therefore, it becomes holy or unholy because of you, whether you are occupied on that day with things that are holy or unholy.
[88] How, then, does such sanctification take place? Not like this: sitting behind the stove and doing no rough work, or adorning ourselves with a wreath and putting on our best clothes. But as said above, we occupy ourselves with God’s Word and exercise ourselves in the Word.
[89] Indeed, we Christians ought always to keep such a holy day and be occupied with nothing but holy things. This means we should daily be engaged with God’s Word and carry it in our hearts and upon our lips [Psalm 119:11-13]. But as said above, since we do not always have free time, we must devote several hours a week for the sake of the young, or at least a day for the sake of the entire multitude, to being concerned about this alone. We must especially teach the use of the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer, and so direct our whole life and being according to God’s Word. [90] At whatever time, then, this is being observed and practiced, there a true holy day is being kept. Other things shall not be called a Christians’ holy day. For, indeed, non-Christians can also stop working and be idle, just as the entire swarm of our Church workers do. They stand daily in the churches, singing and ringing bells, but they do not keep a holy day in true holiness, because they do not preach or use God’s Word but teach and live contrary to it.
[91] God’s Word is the true “holy thing” [Heiligtum; relic] above all holy things. Yes, it is the only one we Christians know and have. Though we had the bones of all the saints or all holy and consecrated garments upon a heap, still that would not help us at all. All that stuff is a dead thing that can sanctify no one. But God’s Word is the treasure that sanctifies everything [1 Timothy 4:5]. By the Word even all the saints themselves were sanctified [1 Corinthians 6:11]. [92] Whenever God’s Word is taught, preached, heard, read, or meditated upon, then the person, day, and work are sanctified. This is not because of the outward work, but because of the Word, which makes saints of us all. Therefore, I constantly say that all our life and work must be guided by God’s Word, if it is to be God-pleasing or holy. Where this is done, this commandment is in force and being fulfilled.
[93] On the contrary, any observance or work that is practiced without God’s Word is unholy before God. This is true no matter how brilliantly a work may shine, even though it is covered with relics, such as the fictitious spiritual orders, which know nothing about God’s Word and seek holiness in their own works.
[94] Note, therefore, that the force and power of this commandment lies not in the resting, but in the sanctifying, so that a special holy exercise belongs to this day. For other works and occupations are not properly called holy exercises, unless the person is holy first. But here a work is to be done by which a person is himself made holy. This is done (as we have heard) only through God’s Word. For this reason, particular places, times, persons, and the entire outward order of worship have been created and appointed, so that there may be order in public practice [1 Corinthians 14:40].
[95] So much depends upon God’s Word. Without it, no holy day can be sanctified. Therefore, we must know that God insists upon a strict observance of this commandment and will punish all who despise His Word and are not willing to hear and learn it, especially at the time appointed for the purpose.
[96] It is not only the people who greatly misuse and desecrate the holy day who sin against this commandment (those who neglect to hear God’s Word because of their greed or frivolity or lie in taverns and are dead drunk like swine). But even that other crowd sins. They listen to God’s Word like it was any other trifle and only come to preaching because of custom. They go away again, and at the end of the year they know as little of God’s Word as at the beginning. [97] Up to this point the opinion prevailed that you had properly hallowed Sunday when you had heard a Mass or the Gospel read. But no one cared for God’s Word, and no one taught it. Now that we have God’s Word, we fail to correct the abuse. We allow ourselves to be preached to and admonished, but we do not listen seriously and carefully.
[98] Know, therefore, that you must be concerned not only about hearing, but also about learning and retaining God’s Word in memory. Do not think that this is optional for you or of no great importance. Think that it is God’s commandment, who will require an account from you [Romans 14:12] about how you have heard, learned, and honored His Word.
[99] Likewise, those fussy spirits are to be rebuked who, after they have heard a sermon or two, find hearing more sermons to be tedious and dull. They think that they know all that well enough and need no more instruction. For that is exactly the sin that was previously counted among mortal sins and is called akadia (i.e., apathy or satisfaction). This is a malignant, dangerous plague with which the devil bewitches and deceives the hearts of many so that he may surprise us and secretly take God’s Word from us [Matthew 13:19].
[100] Let me tell you this, even though you know God’s Word perfectly and are already a master in all things: you are daily in the devil’s kingdom [Colossians 1:13-14]. He ceases neither day nor night to sneak up on you and to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against these three commandments and all the commandments. Therefore, you must always have God’s Word in your heart, upon your lips, and in your ears. But where the heart is idle and the Word does not make a sound, the devil breaks in and has done the damage before we are aware [Matthew 13:24-30]. [101] On the other hand, the Word is so effective that whenever it is seriously contemplated, heard, and used, it is bound never to be without fruit [Isaiah 55:11; Mark 4:20]. It always awakens new understanding, pleasure, and devoutness and produces a pure heart and pure thoughts [Philippians 4:8]. For these words are not lazy or dead, but are creative, living words [Hebrews 4:12]. [102] And even though no other interest or necessity moves us, this truth ought to urge everyone to the Word, because thereby the devil is put to flight and driven away [James 4:7]. Besides, this commandment is fulfilled and this exercise in the Word is more pleasing to God than any work of hypocrisy, however brilliant.
In 1530, Lutherans had an opportunity to explain themselves in defense against a number of unfair accusations. It was said that they were abolishing the divine service (with the Lord’s Supper, then called “the Mass”), and getting rid of many long-standing church ceremonies. Here is part of their defense:
Our churches are falsely accused of abolishing the Mass. The Mass is held among us and celebrated with the highest reverence. Nearly all the usual ceremonies are also preserved, except that the parts sung in Latin are interspersed here and there with German hymns. These have been added to teach the people. For ceremonies are needed for this reason alone, that the uneducated be taught what they need to know about Christ. … All those able to do so partake of the Sacrament together. This also increases the reverence and devotion of public worship. No one is admitted to the Sacrament without first being examined. The people are also advised about the dignity and use of the Sacrament, about how it brings great consolation to anxious consciences, so that they too may learn to believe God and to expect and ask from Him all that is good. This worship pleases God. Such use of the Sacrament nourishes true devotion toward God. Therefore, it does not appear that the Mass is more devoutly celebrated among our adversaries than among us.
Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV. Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, p. 47-48
When the apostle Paul wrote his letters to the Corinthians, it’s clear that he had many problems to address. We sometimes hear about the problems in church organization and practice, but the more basic problems were personal. In 1 Cor. chapter 6, Paul began by explaining why Christians should not have to bring fellow Christians to court before a civil judge. We should rather accept wrongdoing from our fellow Christians, because we share the same Savior from our sins. It means we can joyfully forgive one another, and confidently rebuke those who are still caught up in sin, so that they might also repent and return to the same forgiveness.
You might wonder what happens after someone caught up in certains sins has repented and received God’s forgiveness. Is the forgiveness purely theoretical, affecting us only in some intangible way? Must that person continue repenting of the same sin for the rest of his life, enduring its shame while also suffering its worldly effects? Or is the forgiveness we receive from God powerful enough so that we never need to feel the shame of that transgression again? Are there certain sins which, even after we have received God’s forgiveness for them, somehow leave a lingering taint upon our status as Christians or our lives upon the earth?
In 1 Cor. 6, Paul urges his Christian readers to understand that their Christian faith in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ has changed them. Secular judges are important, but Christians should not need them to resolve their own differences, because unlike the secular world, we have received the most powerful gift: forgiveness.
But what about that particular sin, the one you suspect may leave a permanent smudge upon our character? You may be reminded of it in the way others look at you sometimes, or when you see the way other Christians worship, conduct themselves privately, or even serve God in some capacity at church. I’ve heard many times how some non-Christians think that the church is full of hypocrites, because they know the terrible sins that have been committed by the same people who find such joy and comfort when they attend church. In fact, they often know that some of those Christians continue to commit those sins, while seeming to pretend to be good people.
I can’t deny that there are hypocrites in the church, but it’s more likely that their favorite sins are the internal kind (envy, malice, anger, greed, pride, etc.) than the outward kind their neighbors would notice. Meanwhile, honest Christians must deal not only with internal vices, but also with frequent visible sins and temptations. Is it hypocrisy for such a person to come to church the following Sunday with a smiling heart and return home joyful and cheerful? Not at all. The forgiveness of sins makes the difference.
In fact, forgiveness not only creates a new status before God, but it creates and sustains a new character within us, willing and able to resist sin and to fight against temptation. Thus, St. Augustine, one of the most preeminent fathers of the Church, began his famous career as a pastor only after having broken off a marriage engagement, fathering a child out of wedlock with his first concubine, leaving her and a second concubine, and pursuing two of the prominent non-Christian religions in his day. As a bishop, Augustine later helped to lead the orthodox Christian church away from false doctrines, and he pointed generations to Jesus Christ alone as their certainty of forgiveness.
Paul wrote, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
Do you have a crucifix nearby? If so, look at it closely. See how it represents the body of Jesus hanging upon a cross? That is what He truly did for you, and for every sinner. When we repent, whether it be for some peccadillo, a white lie, for fratricide or for genocide, we are asking God to place our burden of guilt upon His Son, whose flesh was hanging by those nails from two pieces of blood-stained wood. We are confessing that we deserve His mercy no more than any other individual on earth. We are asking Him to accept the death of Jesus in place of the punishment we deserve, so that we might receive the status that Jesus obtained by His perfect life. God grants this to you, to me, and to every penitent Christian. The Church gathers every week for no greater purpose than to receive this forgiveness.
Is it possible for a person to start over? With Jesus, it is certainly possible, and more than once. He takes away our sins, and He creates us anew through the rebirth of water and His Word. This is not only some theoretical, abstract kind of rebirth, but a true spiritual regeneration, resulting in a new creature with a new nature and a new character. Unfortunately for us, the old nature still fights to survive, but when we consider ourselves and our fellows as Christians, remember that our identity is no longer found in the sinful flesh. As Paul wrote in Col. 3, “you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” It is this new self, created by the forgiveness of sins, that will live eternally.
In today’s sermon I mentioned two composers who wrote music and words on the basis of their faith, just as David did three thousand years ago. Now, I see that an example of Bach’s poetry and music was posted today at Cyberbrethren, which is the blog of Paul McCain, the publisher at Concordia Publishing house. You can go there and listen to it, while you read along in translation.
An Evangelical, millenialist pastor named John Hagee has written an article for the Jewish Daily Forward. In it, Hagee presents some reasons why Christian zionists support the present-day nation of Israel. He writes,
On May 23, pastors, ministers and priests at more than 1,500 churches in all 50 states and over 50 foreign countries will dedicate their Sunday services to teaching the importance of Christian support for Israel.
Some of our members, or our neighbors, may wonder if we will join with those churches, or whether we should. The answer to that stems from the theology of Christian zionism. Zion is the name for the hill where the Jebusites had established the city of Jerusalem, and which King David later captured and made his capital. It became symbolic of the entire city, and ultimately, for the nation of Israel. Zionism is quite different, though the word is related. It describes a movement in which people attach special historic and theological importance to the existence of an earthly nation of Jews. It goes further than respect for the Jewish people as the nation from which our Savior, the Messiah, was born. It goes further even than recognizing a spiritual significance to ancient Israel that is connected to our present-day faith in Jesus.
In the words of John Hagee: “As is the case for many Jews, our support for Israel starts with God’s promises in the Hebrew Bible, but it does not end there.” By the Hebrew Bible, Hagee means the Old Testament scriptures. I suppose that the promises he references are the ones that describe a future kingdom of peace, ruled by the Messiah, when all enemies will be vanquished. Orthodox Christianity considers those promises to be fulfilled spiritually by Jesus right now, though their fulfillment will be revealed to all on the Last Day, which will be the First Day of our bodily eternal life in paradise. Millenialists, however, look for an outward earthly kingdom in which the Messiah will subjugate all outward enemies and reign as a sovereign potentate. This is not a new teaching; many Jews have made the same error for thousands of years. Hagee and others have, knowingly or not, imported such ideas into their Christian worldview. They support this notion with forced explanations of Bible passages under the guise of a “literal” interpretation. Unfortunately, those explanations usually do not allow the text of the Bible to stand on its own.
Hagee continues:
Christian Zionists recognize that we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the Jewish people. As I have stressed to my Christian audiences for years: If you take away the Jewish contribution to Christianity, there would be no Christianity.
I beg to differ. It was not the Jewish people who provided the doctrine of holy scripture. That came from God Himself, in spite of those to whom He spoke. The Jewish people, as such, have their beginning in Babylon, after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first Temple in 586 B.C. They are called “Jewish” because the kingdom Nebuchadnezzar destroyed was Judah, named for one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Today’s Jewish traditions and worship are indeed very old, dating back to that 6th century before Christ. Yet we should not imagine that Jewish worship is the same as the worship of Israel. Jewish worship centers in synagogues, which became the organizational model for early Christian congregations. It was a tradition designed to preserve the precious doctrine among the generations of Jews, despite the absence of the most important element of Israelite worship: the Temple in Jerusalem, and before it, the Tabernacle.
Today’s Judaism is quite different from Israelite worship, say, during the reign of King Josiah, or during the period of the Judges. Judaism’s roots are found in Israelite worship and doctrine, but the two are different. More importantly, a major focus of both ancient Israelite worship and ancient Judaism has been lost in present-day Judaism. That focus is echoed today only among the “messianic Jews” (those who recognize that Jesus is the Messiah) and Christians. It is the redemptive, justifying atonement of the Messiah, who through His own suffering and death, would provide forgiveness and remission of sins for all Israelites and for Gentiles, to be received through faith alone. The significance of this is only understood when we know the deep depravity and guilt of original sin, which cannot be erased or mitigated by the efforts of mortal man. This is all taught throughout the Bible, in both Old and New Testaments, but it is lost to modern-day Judaism.
Hagee writes, “From the patriarchs to the prophets, from Jesus and his family to the men who wrote down the Bible, Jewish people have provided us with the fundamentals of our faith.” The patriarchs were not Jews, nor even Israelites. Jesus and the apostles were indeed Jews, of the kind disowned today by their unbelieving Jewish families. They all believed and taught that Jesus is the Messiah. For this, most of them were killed. I don’t hold that fact against modern day Jews, but mention it only because Hagee would have us thank present-day Jews for their contribution to our Christian faith. History shows this to be senseless.
Speaking for Christian Zionists, Hagee also writes something with which I heartily agree: “Israel is not the cause of militant Islam’s hatred of America, but an ally in the fight against militant Islam.” Islamofascists use Israel as a convenient excuse and a favorite punching bag, but their real target is personal freedom and the Christian worldview behind it.
Hagee writes that the focus of Christian zionists on May 23rd will include “God’s promise in Genesis 12:3 that He will bless those who bless Israel.” If you look up that verse, you will see that it does not mention Israel by name. It says “you,” meaning Abraham and the nation that would come from him. The promise in Genesis 12 does include Israel, but not in the way Christian zionists would have us believe. Israel was the beginning of the “great nation” descended from Abraham. The purpose of this nation was not to bless those who bless it, but that through it, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” That is fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah, who has provided salvation not only for Israelites, but for every nation. Other blessings of God upon the Israelites were fulfilled between the Exodus from Egypt and the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. After that, many believed in Jesus as the Messiah, and finally, the time of Temple worship came to a permanent end when the second Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.
If we want to be a genuine blessing to the present-day Jews, we will hand them a copy of the Letter to the Hebrews and repeat what the apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 3:7-9 (NKJV), “Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” The faith Paul mentions is faith in the true Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.
That brings me to the false identification of present-day Israel with ancient Israel. There are only two similarities between them: their citizens are primarily descendants of the patriarch Jacob, and they roughly occupy the same physical territory. In all other respects, they are different. The ancient nation of Israel does still exist, but it is hidden in this world. Its members include all those who belong to the Messiah, Jesus, by faith. Some are in heaven already, including such Israelites as Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Rahab, Ruth, David, Hezekiah, Elijah, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, John the Baptizer, the apostle Nathaniel, the pastor Titus, the evangelist Luke, the confessor Athanasius, and the reformer Luther. Others still live on the earth. The root of Israel is described in the Old Testament, but the wild branch of the Gentiles has been grafted in by faith (Romans 11:17), while many original branches have broken away because of unbelief. Yet unbelieving Jews may yet believe, and some are converted all the time (v. 23).
The true Israel is the Church. It is not a democracy, like the modern-day nation of Israel, but remains a monarchy. Our king is the Messiah, Jesus, who has fulfilled the prophecies of His victory and will return to end this world of sorrow and bring us into His everlasting kingdom of glory. Christians are Israelites, citizens of this world while also citizens of heaven. We live in the time of fulfillment, in the “millennium” that so many are awaiting. We pray weekly that God will open the hearts of Jewish people to believe in their Messiah. We would have them blessed with all that God promised to their forefathers, but as long as they reject their true God and Messiah, we shall not call them the true “Israel.”
In our catechism we talk about the three ways that God uses His moral Law by using three metaphors or comparisons. Most importantly, He uses His Law as a mirror, which shows us our sinfulness and need for a savior. Also of great importance, He uses His law as a curb upon the evil in the whole world, since it is written upon the hearts of everyone to a limited degree. Finally, God guides Christians with His Law in the ways we are to live as His redeemed children. This is necessary because Christians still have the sinful flesh as long as we live, which obscures and confuses our knowledge of God’s will.
Strictly speaking, the Ten Commandments as found in the Bible were given to the children of Israel, and not to us. However, Jesus confirmed that they describe the way God would have us live, with the exception that the Third Commandment no longer requires a specific day of the week as the Sabbath. Seventh-day Adventists object to this, wishing to retain the meaning of the Third Commandment as it applied to the Israelites. They fail to understand that this aspect of the Third Commandment is not part of God’s universal will for all people (moral law), but His instructions for the worship life of the Jews (ceremonial law), and as such it is fulfilled for us all by Jesus Christ and superceded by faith in Him (Colossians 2:16-17). That does not make it wrong to observe the Sabbath on Saturdays, but it is wrong to insist that every Christian do so.
So in the distinction between the ceremonial and moral law, we can see a difference between God’s will for the behavior of Israelites and for Gentiles. Still, a similar difference also exists in connection with the Ten Commandments. Since Jesus has fulfilled all of them in our place, our righteousness before God is found entirely in Him. Since He gave His life to suffering and death in payment for our disobedience, the Ten Commandments have no more power to condemn those who trust in the Gospel. So Jesus has not only separated us from the ceremonial law, but also from the moral law, though in a different way. It means that Christians can understand and use the Ten Commandments without fear of punishment or condemnation. In Jesus, we no longer have any guilt. He has freed us to live without the intolerable burden of God’s conditional favor: “If you obey My commandments, I will consider you to be righteous.” Now, we are already righteous, entirely through the obedience of Jesus.
With the freedom we have from the Law, we now have a different relationship to the Ten Commandments. They become more precious, because they describe the will of a gracious and loving God. We can approach them with a confidence that as long as we remain in our baptismal grace, they cannot condemn us. So when God says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” we can see more clearly, and more readily admit those times when our personal behavior has not met His righteous expectations.
In Jesus Christ, we can say, “Yes, I have taken God’s name in vain today. I have cursed another in my heart and used His name to decieve another person. Moreover, I have relied upon my own strength in time of trouble, failing to call upon His name, and I have thanklessly taken the credit for my deliverance from trouble. For these things I need God’s forgiveness.” Such an admission is what we call repentance. It’s possible for Christians only because we know that Jesus has obtained forgiveness for us, and God is ready to pronounce that forgiveness upon us at any time we need it.
Sometimes, we may feel the terror of God’s condemnation upon our guilt, but repentance is not necessarily like that. Often, the terror of our guilt is still far away because we still know that Jesus is our savior from sin and death, and the accusations of the devil cannot penetrate our faith in that fact. It may seem unnecessary, in that case, to acknowledge our faults and repent of them, but repentance is always necessary. Faith in Jesus exists only inasmuch as we trust that He is our savior from sin — from the guilt of our own sins. That’s the essence of the Gospel. So in order to have faith in Jesus, to be a Christian, we need to repent. In order to repent, we must have some guilt to acknowledge. God builds our faith with the Gospel, which can only be received through repentance, which in turn can only exist where there is guilt. Understanding this, we can be confident that Jesus has delivered us from God’s wrath, while simultaneously and freely repenting of our many sins that should have incurred that wrath.
When we fail to acknowledge our sins before God, claiming or thinking that we have actually kept one or more of God’s commandments, then we have not rightly understood the demands of His Law in relation to our thoughts, words, and deeds. In that case, we become self-righteous, and that excludes faith. We become unbelievers again, and are in peril of eternal punishment if we should die during that time. An important duty of a pastor is to remind his congregants of their sins, and even to confront those who may have become impenitent with the real danger of God’s punishment in hell. Naturally, we don’t enjoy hearing such a message, but only through that message can we recall our utter need for a Savior.
Beside the spiritual application of the Ten Commandments, Christians also find that they describe a blessed life on earth. Though we can’t keep any of the Commandments as perfectly as they demand, many people (even unbelievers) can live righteous lives outwardly to some degree. Those who do become a blessing to other people, and are themselves blessed in many ways. Those blessings do not equate to “the easy life,” because Christians always live under the shadow of Jesus’ cross, bearing crosses of their own. However, it becomes clear that those who disregard God’s commandments create much more trouble and suffering for themselves and others. So the Ten Commandments, as a summary of the way God would have people live, describe an excellent foundation for a civil society. One does not have to be a Christian or a Jew to see this, or to benefit from it, because God has hidden an echo of His Law in the heart of every human being.
To help you continue to grow in faith, I recommend that you read the Large Catechism on the Ten Commandments, where Dr. Luther explains in detail what each commandment means. You might read about only one commandment each day, and meditate upon Jesus’ fulfillment of that commandment for you, and the ways in which your life continues to make His work necessary for your salvation. You might also wish to think about the way each commandment might be a blessing upon civil society on earth when its members endeavor to live outwardly moral lives, according to God’s will.
Pastor Abrahamson has posted a couple “Words of the Week” that you should find edifying. Here’s the beginning of one on Marriage.
The first institution God made for His people was the institution of marriage. We are told in Genesis 1:27 that the image of God resides in the marriage of a man and a woman as God created them, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
From the time Adam and Eve fell into sin their marriage was under assault. God’s image in them was perverted. Before they fell into sin, God’s Word in Genesis 2:23–24 says: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Read more at diatheke.
In a discussion Tuesday night at Lutheran Family Fellowship, we talked about how the Ten Commandments were given to Israel. I said that I thought Moses was required to write the text of the commandments on the second set of stone tablets, but he wasn’t. God wrote on the second set, just as he wrote the first. (Update: It depends, however, upon how you take the subject “he” in v. 28.) The difference was that Moses had to make the second set of tablets himself, while God had provided the first set that Moses broke. So the overall sequence (with some time between steps for other things) was:
God spoke the Commandments out of the cloud to the entire assembly of the children of Israel at Mt. Horeb (Exodus 20),
God gave Moses the commandments in written form on two stone tablets (Exodus 31:18, 32:15-16), which Moses broke upon seeing the syncretism of Israel (Exodus 32:19),
God had Moses make new tablets, and He wrote upon them the same thing as on the first tablets (Exodus 34:1-2, 4, 28-29).
A former professor at Bethany Lutheran College, candidate for Minnesota governor, and long-time member of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod has publicly pointed out a strong anti-marriage bias in the health care legislation that’s been so much in the news lately. You can see the news article at WorldNetDaily.
