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| Has anything changed? Our congregation's member own a copy of the book, and we have worked through Galatians and Romans in the adult class. |
When I know a long wait is ahead at the doctor's office, I take a book along, either Luther's Sermons, Galatians, or something to memorize about gardening, birds, or insects.
My caution was rewarded when we waited for the best doctor in the system. That gave me a chance to work on Chapter 3 of Galatians in Luther's Commentary (also called the Lectures on Galatians).
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| We saw Jaroslav Pelikan every week at Bethesda Lutheran Church, where baby Ichabod was a big hit, as all the babies were. I met Pelikan's brother and father in Cleveland. His scholarship was honored world-wide and he was one of the greats at Yale. |
Luther's Works, Lectures on Galatians, 1535, vol. 26. Translated by J. Pelikan
But the doctrine of justification is this, that we are pronounced righteous and are saved solely by faith in Christ, and without works.
LW, 26, p. 223.
And so all who do not believe lack this blessing and this victory. For this, as John says, is our victory, faith. (1 John 5:4). This is the Chief Doctrine of the Christian faith. The sophists have completely obliterated it, and today the fanatics are obscuring it once more.
LW, 26, p. 282.
The question is - where do we start? Luther began and ended with the Scriptures, so one can view his works: as
- As sermonic, proclaiming the Gospel,
- As confessional, defining sound doctrine and rejecting error,
- As Biblical exposition, clear explanations of the Word, interpreted by the Word - not man.
The opportunists begin with Synodical Conference tradition, which is far more mixed than they admit, as I have shown with their forgotten and still existing catechisms.
If CFW Walther, BA, is accepted as the final authority on all things Lutheran, then we are guided in all our thoughts by someone who covered up for his promiscuous, sex addict bishop, who taught him Objective Justification and "saved his life."
If the only way to get a position in WELS, ELS, or LCMS is to proclaim Justification without Faith, then that motivation will pack the luxury boxes at the Lutheran stadiums.
Why should we read the collected works of Walther or Marquart when we have not read, as Lutherans, the best book on Justification by Faith - Luther on Galatians? That makes no sense, except to say we are repeating the era of Crypto-Calvinism where Luther's books were shoved into the backroom at Wittenberg and Calvinist works were featured. That was a time when the government persecuted and arrested genuine Lutherans while promoting and protecting the Crypto-Calvinists. But an accident woke up the Elector and the tables were reversed.
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| Jay Webber's latest school, the online ILT, trains and ordained women pastors. |
