Enthusiasm

We tend to think about enthusiasm as a good thing. For Martin Luther, however, an enthusiast was someone who looked to himself as the source of his religious devotion. That may sound like Luther was referring to those who say things like, "God is within." One might also think of fanatics, or of "Holy Rollers." Luther's use of the word enthusiasm had a much broader meaning than that:

In a word, enthusiasm dwells in Adam and his children from the beginning to the end of the world. Its venom has been implanted and infused into them by the old serpent. It is the origin, power, and strength of all heresy....

Pretty strong words. All heresy? But they get even stronger:

God does not want to deal with us in any other way than through the spoken Word and the Sacraments. Whatever is praised as from the Spirit-without the Word and Sacraments-is the devil himself.

The devil himself? Wait a minute. I felt that God told me that I was going to have boy when I was pregnant, and I had a boy. That must have been God! I felt like God told me to drive down that street, and I saw someone in need. That had to have been God!

The truth is, it might have been God, it might not. You do have a 50/50 chance of being right if you think you know if you are going to have a boy or girl (assuming you didn't peek). And, there are a lot of people in need, on a lot of streets. But it is the devil himself if we think that we have an exclusive line of communication to God, even in the little things. Why? Doesn't my hearing from God show my trust in the Lord, my growing relationship with him? Luther points out:

God wanted to appear even to Moses through the burning bush and spoken Word [Exodus 3:2-15]. No prophet, neither Elijah nor Elisha, received the Spirit without the Ten Commandments or the spoken Word. John the Baptist was not conceived without the word of Gabriel coming first, nor did he leap in his mother's womb without Mary's voice [Luke 1:11-20, 41]. Peter says, "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" [2 Peter 1:21]. Without the outward Word, however, they were not holy. Much less would the Holy Spirit have moved them to speak when they were still unholy. They were holy, says he, since the Holy Spirit spoke through them.

The outward Word is not an inferior Word. It is the only Word that we can cling to as true, and it is the Word that gives to us the forgiveness of sins. Jesus said, "Already you are clean because of the Word spoken to you." John 15:3. It doesn't get any better than that! Am I saying that God does not lead us in our daily lives? On the contrary, relying only on the external, written, objective Word of God frees us from fear so that we can respond to Him in love, and serve our neighbor. If I am stuck at Wal-mart praying about what kind of toothpaste to buy, afraid that God will be mad at me if I don't hear him correctly, I am not trusting him and there is not much energy or time left to love my neighbor (I am not saying that we can't pray about toothpaste, but if Crest and Colgate cost the same, pick one! God will guide and care for you no matter which one you choose!). I realize that is an extreme example, but the dynamics are the same if we look to our own devotion, or our own inner "hearing and movements" as the Holy Spirit Himself. This type of enthusiasm certainly leads us away from Christ and ironically, back to focusing on ourselves, where we began. This is deadly, and as Luther said, is the devil himself. I thank God that Christ died for the sins we commit when we are trying to be religious. And it is His Word, not ours, that makes us holy.

Luther quotes taken from "Smalcald Articles", Article IIX, 9-12, from Concordia, The Lutheran Confessions, Reader's Edition, Paul McCain, General Ed., 2006.

The Lord's Supper

This is an interesting discussion on Issues, Etc. about the Lord's Supper, in which several pastors contrast the Lutheran and Reformed views of it. If you are interested in hearing the differences, or if you are only familiar with the symbolic view of modern evangelicalism and/or the transubstantiation view of the Roman Catholic church, this would be a great program for you to listen to. Why all this theology? I will quote my husband:
Know what you believe and why you believe it.

Hidden in Suffering

Many people are familiar with John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." One could think of this believing as something that "I have to do myself" to prove love for God. Yet if you read on in that passage, in verse 21 it explains that "Whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." The key phrase is carried out in God. Martin Luther talks about how God works in our lives:

A theology of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theology of the cross calls the thing what it actually is.
This is clear: he who does not know Christ does not know God hidden in suffering. Therefore he prefers works to suffering, glory to the cross, strength to weakness, wisdom to folly, and, in general, good to evil. These are the people whom the apostle calls "enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phil. 3:18), for they hate the cross and suffering and love works and the glory of works. Thus they call the good of the cross evil and the evil of a deed good. God can be found only in suffering and the cross, as has already been said. Therefore the friends of the cross say that the cross is good and works are evil, for through the cross works are destroyed and the old Adam, who is especially edified by works, is crucified. It is impossible for a person not to be puffed up by his good works unless he has first been deflated and destroyed by suffering and evil until he knows that he is worthless and that his works are not his but God's.

65th Wedding Anniversary

We recently had the privilege of celebrating my grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary. I am so blessed to still have them in such good health and spirits. Grandma still has her wedding dress, which she put on for the happy occasion. Happy Anniversary, Grandpa and Grandma!

Good News for the New Year

Commitments, resolutions, goals. Is that all we have to look forward to in the New Year? Perhaps you have been asked the big question by a well-meaning Christian (maybe even a pastor):

"Have you fully committed your life to Jesus Christ?"

Whether you have or haven't, I can answer the question for you:

"No."

None of us have, can, or ever will (See Ephesians 2, Romans 3:23)

But here is the good news:

Jesus Christ has committed himself fully to you, by keeping God's law for you, dying on the cross to pay for your sins, and giving you His Word and Sacraments to sustain you. He longs to impart His grace to each of us, and it is not conditional on us. Romans 6 talks about Baptism, and encourages us to rely on it as the time when we were baptized into His death, and raised to walk in newness of life. Verse 17 says that when Christ gives a person a new heart that trusts in Him, He also commits us to His teaching! Note that He is doing the committing, not us. We are the receivers of His grace through His Word in baptism. We are comforted on an ongoing basis by His commitment to our forgiveness, and freed from the treadmill of looking to our works for comfort. This in turn frees us to do good works on behalf of our neighbor, not on behalf of on our own supposed moral progress, which always falls short. He has done it all! That is something that we can rejoice in during 2011, and all eternity.

The Scewtape Letters

One of the books that I have recently read is The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Although it is quite an in-depth book, it I found it very intriguing and definitely recommend it. Basically, the book is about a senior devil, Screwtape, who is corresponding via letter with his nephew, Wormwood. The purpose of Screwtape's letters is to instruct Wormwood on how to make the young devil's patient lose his salvation and ultimately end up in hell. Screwtape is extremely wise in the ways of tempting, and his suggested plots are sharp and diabolical. What creeped me out the most was that some of Screwtape's plots were ones that do not have the appearance of being evil. Take this excerpt from Chapter 4 for instance (emphasis mine):

"Keep them watching their own minds and trying to produce feelings there by the action of their own wills. When they meant to ask Him for charity, let them, instead, start trying to manufacture charitable feelings for themselves and not notice that this is what they are doing."

The above paragraph reminds me of the many problems people experience today. Many modern Christian mentalities encourage the focus on yourself: what you think about yourself, what you need to do to get salvation, how you should become a better Christian. Here is another excerpt from Chapter 9 (emphasis mine):

"Let him [Wormwood's patient] assume that the first ardours of his conversion might have been expected to last, and ought to have lasted, forever, and that his present dryness is an equally permanent condition...It all depends on whether your man can be tempted to despair, or...can be assured that all is well. The former type is getting rare among humans. If your patient should happen to belong to it...keep him out of the way of experienced Christians (an easy task nowadays)."

The two main things that may result if a person gives in to temptation are either despair (feeling pounded by the Law) or pride (feeling that he is a better Christian than others, which can happen as a result of no or not enough Law being taught.) Either way is hazardous and can lead to the loss of salvation. This is why the Law and Gospel must be properly distinguished and taught.
While devils exist and do, indeed, tempt us, we need fear not, because we know that Jesus has triumphed over all and forgives us all our sins.

Though devils all the world should fill,
All eager to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill;
They shall not overpow'r us.
This world's prince may still
Scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none.
He's judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.

-A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, LSB 656, vs. 3

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you on this 5th day of Christmas! No, Christmas isn't over at our house, yet. We observe it until Epiphany, which is on January 6. So, the tree stays up until Epiphany (Jan. 6). Let the carols ring, as in my new favorite verse (2) of "Now Sing We, Now Rejoice":

"Come from high to me; I cannot rise to Thee.
Cheer my wearied spirit, O pure and holy Child;
Thro' Thy grace and merit, Blest Jesus, Lord most mild,
Draw me unto Thee! Draw me unto Thee!" LSB #386

What a beautiful picture of what Christmas is all about. Not about my heart, or my spirit rising to God in worship, but first and foremost about Christ coming to us. We have nothing to offer Him, but He gave up everything and appeared to us. Through His grace and merit can we have fellowship with the Triune God. Indeed, oh come, let us worship Him!

[4] But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
(Titus 3:4-7 ESV)