1517 Blogcast

The Bible and church confess Jesus as king. But, what does this mean? Jesus doesn't come to conquer like other kings. There's no brutality. There are no weapons and armor. There's no show of strength. Instead, as the Bible portrays Him, Jesus comes to show us kindness.

Are there any more wonderful words in this life than, “for you?” Martin Luther writes in his Small Catechism, “That person is truly worthy and well prepared (for the Lord’s Supper) who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”   

In many churches, the pastor wears clothing referred to as “clerical vestments.” This may seem odd, particularly if you’ve never attended a church where this is practiced. Clerical vestments are the adaptation of ordinary clothing to set clergy apart from regular church members.

We're rebel children and children of God the Father. For the Baptized, this is how it goes. We're baptized into Christ. We're forgiven, but we're still sinners. We are sinners in the flesh, but at peace with God through faith in Christ. That's how it goes for us.

And so the shape of our life with God through Jesus is unlike American myths and stories of conquest. In the first place, Jesus’ victory is not born of ambition, grit, and determination, but of humility, weakness, and even death. Yet that miserable death lead three days later to the victory celebration of Easter itself and the news that sin, death, and the devil have all been licked. We don’t repeat that through our own lives, but rather live in light of it. We don’t seek to match or outdo what Jesus has achieved, but we are baptized fully into Him, His life, and His gifts (Romans 6).  

The following is an excerpt from “A Year of Grace: Collected Sermons of Advent through Pentecost” written by Bo Giertz and translated by Bror Erickson (1517 Publishing, 2019).

Luther’s letters of spiritual counsel have long been a favorite resource of mine. I often use them before turning in at night as a devotion. Luther’s letters and table talk comments, most of which were written in his later years, are full of down-to-earth advice and Gospel insights that are often surprisingly still relevant to the troubles of our day.

Many a pastor has turned to Revelation 3 in attempts to incite zeal for witnessing the faith we confess or to preach that we cannot rely on Word and Sacraments, but instead must have a separate indwelling of the Spirit to be saved.

You’ve likely seen some of these stories on your social media feed: “Union Seminary President Denies Resurrection!”, or “Ex-Evangelicals reaching new audiences with edgy podcast,” or “Mega Church Pastor claims Old Testament is true ‘like Star Wars’ is true.” While some of this might be clickbait, there is a trend in a certain brand of self-conscious, center-left, modern evangelicalism. 

What if everyone adored us no matter how selfish we were? What if, no matter what we said, people didn't hold it against us? What if everybody forgave us no matter what we did, but God judged us? What if God kept a record of everything we said and did, and judged it all?