Talks with Dad Rod

Ted asks about how our fear and doubt affects our salvation. Rod talks about the theme the reformers dealt with, "incurvatus in se", or "curved in on self", and how the 'self' is the enemy, and their answer: Christ. Christ, His person and His work, redeeming the world.

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Ted asks about how our fear and doubt affects our salvation. Rod talks about, when it comes to assurance, we know from 1 John that the intent of Scripture is that we KNOW we are saved, and not be in doubt. And what our pastors are called to do—what they are called to give to us and bring to us.

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Ted asks about how you can have certainty that you're saved as a Christian. Rod talks about, from the Lutheran perspective, what do the Scriptures say about baptism and the sacraments, and how it can help to know the culture into which we're born—our present culture is a 'therapeutic' one which puts great weight on our feelings, but for centuries prior, the generations instead looked to the written Scriptures and the promises of God with questions like these.

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Ted asks about Dad's long-used email signature and what it means. Rod talks about the history of how the Catholic church spoke of justification in the 16th century, and what Luther and Melanchthon began to focus on at the beginning of the Reformation—imputed righteousness—and how it's the only righteousness that saves, and that it is enough for us sinners.

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Ted asks about the similarities between God's grace in Jesus Christ and presents we receive under the Christmas tree. Rod talks about Ezekiel in the valley of the dry bones and how it's a perfect picture of how dead we are in our sin, and how it reveals how much we need the Gospel preached to us constantly, both for conversion, and for repentance and consolation in our faith.

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Ted asks about what it means when Christians repeat sins that they've already repented of. Rod talks about the concept of repentance in the passive voice, in which case our repentance is a gift as well, and how sinners can discover the real depth of their sin through the law and the true extent of God's forgiveness for sinners, in part through absolution, over and over and over. The Gospel is for Christians, too.

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Ted asks about struggling with how often and how frequently he sins. Rod talks about how sinners are truly 'stuck' in their sinful condition, and that we are truly condemnable under the law. But also, how God is SO gracious that—through His Son Who was sent to die to save sinners—He has no limitation on how repetitively He forgives us of our sin, even as Christians, even ones committed consciously and willfully, and for our whole lives long.

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Ted asks about the possibility of Lutherans delivering hard-hitting sermons. Rod talks about what Lutheran pastors are called to do, contrasts that with what can be preached in other churches, and discusses the differences between the law and the Gospel and what Scripture calls preachers to deliver to Christian believers.

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Ted asks about the struggle with the effects of sin in our lives, even though we have been forgiven of those sins in and through Christ. Rod talks about how hard the struggle can be, in part because it's not the same concern as receiving God's forgiveness. Rod also again tells us the story of his car accident and his dad when he was young, and how sometimes we can have miraculous grace modeled for us in this kingdom.

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Ted asks about the idea of reaping rewards for our good works in this life. Rod talks about holding to Solus Christus (Christ Alone), and not adding to that, recognizing that Christ's dying does the saving, and nothing from the sinner, and how the book of Galatians addresses those who are tempted to add to Christ's death and resurrection as though they weren't sufficient.

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