Jesus' Autobiography: A Brief History of the Church Year

 

You can click here to read a teaser of the article I wrote for the September issue of the Lutheran Witness, with the aforementioned title. The entire article will be made available online in a few months according to the LW website.

Also, you can go to Issues Etc. and listen to a brief radio interview I gave on the article a week or so ago. Wednesday, September 7, 2011

One of these afternoons I'll get around to writing a director's commentary edition. Because, as you may very well guess, it's infinitely difficult to approach the history of the church year in 7-800 words. And yet, that challenge also led to a theme capable of encapsulating so much history in such a short time yet leaving room for more to write. But for now, enjoy the article and more importantly, the blessings of Jesus' autobiography, a living history, found each and every Sunday in the liturgy, the Word and the Eucharist - the very living presence of Christ himself for the life of the Church. That's really what - or rather, who - the Church year is all about.

The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church

In preparing for this Sunday's sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 - the laborers in the vineyard - I immediately thought of something C.S. Lewis once said: "There will be a lot of surprises on the last day." The reason that quotation has been so engrained in my head is because of a seminal presentation given by Rod Rosenbladt, The Gospel for Those Broken by the Church.

And now, thanks to the excellent work and graciousness of New Reformation Press, this presentation can be made public to you without restriction. Free. Unconditional. Just like the Gospel in Matthew. Just like the Gospel given by Dr. Rod Rosenbladt in the following post.

Go to New Reformation Press and get it yourself on a PDF in essay or booklet form or you can watch it here as well thanks to Faith Lutheran Church, Capistrano Beach, CA. By the way, New Reformation Press is a fantastic resource and a trustworthy arrow in your apologetics quiver. Thanks to NRP for all they do to declare and defend the Gospel.


Without further adieu, here's a brief intro from the website. Enjoy hearing the Good News delivered once and for all for the saints (Jude 3).



This MP3 of the recording of Dr. Rosenbladt’s presentation is tailor-made for all those folks who are “mad” at and “sad” about Christianity BECAUSE they have been “baited and switched” by the church.

If the Ten Commandments were not impossible enough, the preaching of Christian behavior, of Christian ethics, of Christian living, can drive a Christian into despairing unbelief. Not happy unbelief. Tragic, despairing, sad unbelief. (It is not unlike the [unhappy] Christian equivalent of “Jack Mormons” – those who finally admit to themselves and others that they can’t live up to the demands of this non-Christian cult’s laws, and excuse themselves from the whole sheebang.) A diet of this stuff from pulpit, from curriculum, from a Christian reading list, can do a work on a Christian that is (at least over the long haul) “faith destroying.”

In this staggeringly potent presentation, Dr. Rosenbladt tackles what plagues many ‘recovering Christians’. Sticking to his unchanging theme of 200-proof Gospel, using his own history as an agnostic “outsider” to Christianity, Dr. Rosenbladt delivers the grace of the cross with all its potency, undiluted.
If you’ve struggled with your faith in your church because of what you’re seeing and hearing (and maybe don’t even go to church anymore), you don’t want to miss this powerful address – an unabashed analysis of the church today and what it is doing to many believers – from one who has experienced it himself.

Are we Christians saved the same way we were when we were baptized into Christ, or when we came to acknowledge Christ’s shed blood and His righteousness as all we had in the face of God’s holy law? That all of our supposed “virtue” – Christian or pagan – is just like so many old menstrual garments (to use the Bible phrase)? But that God imputes to those who trust Christ’s cross the true righteousness of Christ Himself? We are pretty sure that unbelievers who come to believe this are instantly justified in God’s sight, declared as if innocent, adopted as sons or daughters, forgiven of all sin, given eternal life, etc. But are Christians still saved that freely? Or are we not? We are pretty clear that imputed righteousness saves sinners. But can the imputed righteousness of Christ save a Christian? And can it save him or her all by itself? Or no?

For all of you who have been given morality lessons instead of the Gospel, hear how Dr. Rod Rosenbladt succinctly presents Christianity as first and foremost a genuine truth claim about Christ as our righteous substitute, instead of a never ending list of popular religious recipes for personal success.
This MP3 of the recording of Dr. Rosenbladt’s presentation is tailor-made for all those folks who are “mad” at and “sad” about Christianity BECAUSE they have been “baited and switched” by the church.

If the Ten Commandments were not impossible enough, the preaching of Christian behavior, of Christian ethics, of Christian living, can drive a Christian into despairing unbelief. Not happy unbelief. Tragic, despairing, sad unbelief. (It is not unlike the [unhappy] Christian equivalent of “Jack Mormons” – those who finally admit to themselves and others that they can’t live up to the demands of this non-Christian cult’s laws, and excuse themselves from the whole sheebang.) A diet of this stuff from pulpit, from curriculum, from a Christian reading list, can do a work on a Christian that is (at least over the long haul) “faith destroying.”

In this staggeringly potent presentation, Dr. Rosenbladt tackles what plagues many ‘recovering Christians’. Sticking to his unchanging theme of 200-proof Gospel, using his own history as an agnostic “outsider” to Christianity, Dr. Rosenbladt delivers the grace of the cross with all its potency, undiluted.
If you’ve struggled with your faith in your church because of what you’re seeing and hearing (and maybe don’t even go to church anymore), you don’t want to miss this powerful address – an unabashed analysis of the church today and what it is doing to many believers – from one who has experienced it himself.

Are we Christians saved the same way we were when we were baptized into Christ, or when we came to acknowledge Christ’s shed blood and His righteousness as all we had in the face of God’s holy law? That all of our supposed “virtue” – Christian or pagan – is just like so many old menstrual garments (to use the Bible phrase)? But that God imputes to those who trust Christ’s cross the true righteousness of Christ Himself? We are pretty sure that unbelievers who come to believe this are instantly justified in God’s sight, declared as if innocent, adopted as sons or daughters, forgiven of all sin, given eternal life, etc. But are Christians still saved that freely? Or are we not? We are pretty clear that imputed righteousness saves sinners. But can the imputed righteousness of Christ save a Christian? And can it save him or her all by itself? Or no?

For all of you who have been given morality lessons instead of the Gospel, hear how Dr. Rod Rosenbladt succinctly presents Christianity as first and foremost a genuine truth claim about Christ as our righteous substitute, instead of a never ending list of popular religious recipes for personal success.

This MP3 of the recording of Dr. Rosenbladt’s presentation is tailor-made for all those folks who are “mad” at and “sad” about Christianity BECAUSE they have been “baited and switched” by the church.

If the Ten Commandments were not impossible enough, the preaching of Christian behavior, of Christian ethics, of Christian living, can drive a Christian into despairing unbelief. Not happy unbelief. Tragic, despairing, sad unbelief. (It is not unlike the [unhappy] Christian equivalent of “Jack Mormons” – those who finally admit to themselves and others that they can’t live up to the demands of this non-Christian cult’s laws, and excuse themselves from the whole sheebang.) A diet of this stuff from pulpit, from curriculum, from a Christian reading list, can do a work on a Christian that is (at least over the long haul) “faith destroying.”

In this staggeringly potent presentation, Dr. Rosenbladt tackles what plagues many ‘recovering Christians’. Sticking to his unchanging theme of 200-proof Gospel, using his own history as an agnostic “outsider” to Christianity, Dr. Rosenbladt delivers the grace of the cross with all its potency, undiluted.

If you’ve struggled with your faith in your church because of what you’re seeing and hearing (and maybe don’t even go to church anymore), you don’t want to miss this powerful address – an unabashed analysis of the church today and what it is doing to many believers – from one who has experienced it himself.

Are we Christians saved the same way we were when we were baptized into Christ, or when we came to acknowledge Christ’s shed blood and His righteousness as all we had in the face of God’s holy law? That all of our supposed “virtue” – Christian or pagan – is just like so many old menstrual garments (to use the Bible phrase)? But that God imputes to those who trust Christ’s cross the true righteousness of Christ Himself? We are pretty sure that unbelievers who come to believe this are instantly justified in God’s sight, declared as if innocent, adopted as sons or daughters, forgiven of all sin, given eternal life, etc. But are Christians still saved that freely? Or are we not? We are pretty clear that imputed righteousness saves sinners. But can the imputed righteousness of Christ save a Christian? And can it save him or her all by itself? Or no?

For all of you who have been given morality lessons instead of the Gospel, hear how Dr. Rod Rosenbladt succinctly presents Christianity as first and foremost a genuine truth claim about Christ as our righteous substitute, instead of a never ending list of popular religious recipes for personal success.

Dr. Rod Rosenbladt on "The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church" from Faith Lutheran Church on Vimeo.

The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church

The Myth of Religious Harmony

"There is in fact no subject upon which so much difference of opinion exists, not only among the unlearned but also among educated men; and the views entertained are so various and so discrepant, that, while it is no doubt a possible alternative that none of them is true, it is certainly impossible that more than one should be so" -Cicer0 (De natura deorum).

Unwittingly (and unintentionally as well), Cicero has given Christians a reasonable, sound way of debunking a popular, yet doggedly old myth: all religions lead to the same god. I hear this a lot with students I talk to on college campuses and people around town I meet. You know them by their catch phrases: "I'm not religious; I'm spiritual." Whatever that means. After all, I can be religious about watching Detroit Red Wing's hockey and going to Joe Louis Arena may indeed feel like a spiritual experience. But that's just the problem; their are as many (contradictory) definitions of "religious" and "spiritual"  as there are people who offer them up. That's right, contradictory. That's the truth behind the fantastic lie that goes around masked by the worldly superficial beauty of ecumenical relations (read: interfaith and syncretistic). Just take one example: contrary to popular opinion (yes, the majority of popular opinion can be wrong even when it sounds appealing), Muslim, Jews and Christians do not believe in the same God, not even close, not by a mile. And for all the seemingly harmonious similarities in the world's religions (and there are myriads of myriads) these similarities are superficial, barely skin deep. A mere facade of truth and commonality. The myth that all religions lead to the same god is not a harmony at all; it's a religious cacophony and it's an inadequate, not to mention illogical, way of thinking about religious truth claims. Of which all religious people (or spiritual, if you prefer) and world religions make. They could all be false, logically speaking. But it is impossible for them all to be true.

And so, with gratitude and immense appreciation, I bring you the following post from a good friend, Ed Killian, host of Mad Gnesio, an online group for the defense of the Christian faith. He is also the proprietor of the Iowa Christian Apologetics Society. He summarizes the argument well and succinctly outlines the absolute absurdity of this common myth as an objection to the Christian faith so that we can get on with the the good stuff: the central event in all human history, namely, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As we encounter the unbelieving world, we are called to proclaim the Gospel of Christ and Him crucified for the forgiveness of sins. As we have said, this is the only way a heart lost in unbelief can be converted to a believing Christian heart.

To the world, however, your Christian faith is one possible option of many. Two common ways the world often views religion. First that all religions are the same: untrue. Second that all religions are the same: all equally true.

Since Christianity is a faith that rests on exclusive claims (e.g. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" etc.), we must make efforts to move people away from the belief that all religions are the same so that we can proclaim God's exclusive truth, and they might be saved.

We do not refute the "all religions are the same" argument by an appeal to emotions or personal experience. We will instead appeal to simple logic. If that scares you, don't let it. Listen carefully: it is true that the Bible says that natural man cannot understand godly things; God never said he cannot understand simple facts.

"The characteristic most fully shared by the religions of the world is their incompatibility with each other" (John Warwick Montgomery, Tractatus Logico Theologicus, 13).

Saying that all religions are the same is a nonsensical statement. By definition, each one of them is different. Each says different things about who God is. Each says different things about how the earth was created. Each says different things about who man is, how he is supposed live, and what happens to him when he dies. Each says different things about the meaning of life. All of the world's religions make conflicting claims and statements. Thus they are not all the same, and cannot all be true. Simple logic: something cannot be simultaneously A and not A.

If I told you that a square and a triangle were identical, you would think I was nuts. Why? By definition they aren't One is defined by four equal sides, and one by three sides. I can say they are both shapes, but I cannot say they are both the same.

And so it is for engaging the unbelieving mind in regards to all religions being the same. We display in a simple way that it is nonsensical to say so. This will usually move them to the next question: "How do we know which one of them is true?"

We'll address that in the next post. (Posted with permission by Ed Killian of Mad Gnesio).

Notice that nothing has been said about Christianity up to this point. At times this is a fine place to start an argument (i.e. reasoned discussion). Now of course there are many, who for a variety of reasons, will claim to be logical and prove the opposite by their words and deeds. Yet, humanly speaking, logic is a useful tool and something we all (at least ought to) have in common with the unbelieving world. 

This is the goal of Christian apologetics. Clearing off one obstacle at a time so the real scandal of the cross can be heard and seen for what it is: foolishness in the eyes of men, wisdom in the eyes of God and salvation for all who believe.

 

Forgiveness Without Limit

T 12^th Sunday after Pentecost – September 4^th, 2011 T

In the Name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit T Amen.

“If your brother sins against you . . .”
            “If you brother sins against you . . .” - you go and tell everyone about it.  At the ball game.  At the coffee shop.  On your cell phone, Facebook status or twitter messages. You text it.  Email it. Breaking News!  “Did you hear what that jerk did to me?  You didn’t?  Oh, wait till you hear this… It’s absolutely shameful.” 

            Well, actually. That’s shameful. What does Jesus say? Will you listen to him again? You might not like what he has to say. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. “If your brother sins against you go and tell him – reprove his fault. Go and talk to him and no one else.”  Don’t let it fester like a ghastly wound. Don’t treat your grudge like a proud little pet and walk it around everywhere you go. Talk to them.

You see, in this life, sin is inevitable.  Wherever two or three sinners are gathered, someone, somehow, some way will say the wrong thing, at the wrong time, do the wrong thing, look at you the wrong way.  Sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally.  We sin in thought, word, and deed.  What we have done; what we have left undone. We will sin against each other, and the closer we live and work together, the more likely that will be.

            In a way, the popular atheist insult is right: “the church is nothing but a bunch of hypocrites.” Amen. Yes, Lord, I am a sinner. That’s precisely what the church is for: me a sinner. Here the Name of God is placed into sinner’s ears; His body and blood are placed on sinner’s tongues; His water and word drown and raise sinners to life. Here we poor miserable sinners receive forgiveness. We receive Jesus.

            But, if you want to avoid sinning against your neighbor, don't have neighbors.  Live by yourself.  Then you'll just have the 1st table of the Law to worry about.  3 commandments instead of 10. Only problem is, you'll still be a sinner in need of forgiveness. And a lonely one at that. And there’s nothing worse than a lonely sinner. That is hell – unforgiveness. Loneliness. Forever. That’s how seriously Ezekiel takes it. “If I say to the wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to him to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that person’s blood is on your hands. Ezekiel would’ve made a good Marine: Never leave a man behind.

            This works the other way around too. When the shoe is on the other foot – or rather, forgiveness is from the other mouth. When you’re the one in need of forgiveness, wouldn’t you want your brother to speak that to you? I know I would. We need forgiveness. That’s our life together in Christ. That’s how people and pastors in the church live together under the cross. That’s how our relationship works. Deny ourselves repent of sin. Deny ourselves. Forgive the sin.

            Go to the brother sinner who sinned against you.  Tell him the sin.  But that’s not the most important part.  The reason you go to the sinner is to speak an additional word.  What’s that?  “I’m here to forgive you for your sin.” 

            And if your brother sinner receives your forgiveness you’ve won your brother.  That’s the point.  That’s why you go to him personally. Relationship restored. A new life together in the freedom of forgiveness.

            That is the freedom won for you by Christ. The free man becomes the slave of death to release his captive Israel. One greater than Moses releases you from sin by binding Himself to your death on the cross. A new exodus as He parts his flesh to save you through blood and water.  The Shepherd finds the lost sheep by laying down His life as a sacrificial lamb. The King cancels your debt by taking it on Himself, paid for in blood. Here’s the only transaction that matters: He who knew no sin against the neighbor became sin – yours and your neighbors – so that we might become the righteousness of God.

            There’s no fine print on that promise. No ifs, ands, or buts. You are forgiven. Whatever sins you’ve committed against God and your neighbor – they’re swallowed up by Jesus’ death. Yours or your neighbor’s. Forgiveness without limit.

            To forgive means to let go of the offense.  To drop dead to whatever someone has done to you.  Like the farmer with the weedy wheat field who said, "Leave it all be.  Forgive it."  Like the prodigal son returning to a feast. All is forgiven. My son who is lost is found. 

            Forgiveness is not a bargaining chip:  "I'll forgive you if you promise not to do it again." Forgiveness has no ifs, ands, or buts. It’s is not like a coupon for a free taco that says in fine print: “buy one get one free.” That’s not free.  To forgive is to drop dead to the whole thing.  To forgive is to step into freedom, the freedom that is yours as a blood-bought, baptized child of God.

            And to receive the forgiveness means to admit that you’ve sinned.  So you may have to try numerous times with your brother.  But if you get nowhere all by yourself with your brother who refuses to listen to your forgiveness, then take 1 or 2 others with you.  They are witnesses to the sin.  But more importantly, they are witnesses to forgiveness.  “Dear brother you have nothing to fear.  We’re all beggars.  Please receive my forgiveness and all will be set right.  We can live together in peace.”

            Who wouldn’t want that?  Your brother might not.  So if the one on one fails.  And the 2 or 3 witnesses fail after repeated attempt.  Enlist the whole congregation of forgiven sinners.  “Tell it to the church,” Jesus says.  Let everyone in the congregation beg him to receive the word of forgiveness. Week after week.  Month after month.  Year after year.

            Who would dare to not listen to such begging?  Tragically, some would dare to hold their sin outside of Christ’s forgiveness.  And “if he refuses to listen even to the church,” Jesus says, “then treat him the way he wants to be treated – like an unbeliever.”                Don’t want forgiveness?  The Lord won’t force it on you.  Neither will the church.  Want to be bound in your sin, then bound you are.  Not only on earth but also in heaven.  And believe me, that’s not good. 

            That’s why Matthew 18 isn’t some list of guidelines you have to check off  and finish. It’s how you live daily in the freedom of forgiveness won for us by Christ. Forgiveness with limits is no forgiveness at all. That’s how the world works: Get out your score-card and No. 2 pencils, start an Excel spread-sheet. Have you fulfilled your forgiveness quota?

            Dear children, Christ’s forgiveness has no limits, no bounds, no mathematics, balanced budget.  Forgiveness is lavish, reckless, outrageous and crazy.  "I tell you, not seven, but seventy times seven." And just about the time you begin to lose count, you're on your way to learning what it means to live under the Gospel instead of the Law.

            That’s Jesus’ forgiveness: reckless, prodigal, more than we could ask for. Outrageous forgiveness for undeserving sinners. Christ died for you. Debt paid. The books are closed. Jesus tomb is open and He lives. He lives to announce His forgiveness to you. Jesus dies so you walk off free and clear. Forgiven. Restored. Reconciled. On earth as it is in heaven. And that is the best news there is.

            Free to receive forgiveness in the absolution from your pastor here in church or in private confession– it’s all Jesus’ good news in your ears; Free to receive forgiveness as you inwardly digest that Word. Free to wash yourselves daily in your Baptism: dying and rising in forgiveness of sins. Free to eat and drink His flesh and blood to forgive your flesh and blood.

            And you are free to live for others. Free to forgive the neighbor when they sin against you. Christ has forgiven our sins as we have sinned against him. And so we pray, “Lord, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

            That’s the truly remarkable thing about Jesus’ forgiveness. The One who holds all authority in heaven and on earth, gives this authority to His church, He gives the authority of the forgiveness of sins to sinners. You are forgiven.

In the Name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit T Amen.

Who Is Christian

Here's a brief little video from part of a lecture Rod Rosenbladt gave entitled, "The Gospel for Those Broken by the Church." More on that for another day. The clip speaks for itself: Jesus' blood shed for me. This, my friends, is what the Good News is all about. Enjoy my favorite professor ever.