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| "But Luther earned his doctorate at a Catholic university!" The anti-faithians at LutherQuest (sic) kept saying this until I pointed out how many of the Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne professors did the same thing. |
Poverty, Death, and Sin – A Spark in an Ocean
13. Therefore, if death be
present and I can no longer live, I must still know enough to say: Yet I live,
and will live; so that death, that is all about me, is like a spark of fire,
and life is as great as the sea. Now reason cannot grasp how this takes place.
But whoever believes, knows for a certainty that to him death will be like a spark
of fire in the midst of the ocean, that is extinguished in a moment. God is
almighty, he who believes is in God, therefore he is in life, and though he
were in the midst of death. So too a poor person who believes, thinks like this
one here in death: O! - poverty is a spark of fire, and wealth is as abundant
as water in the sea; now a moment only is needed for poverty to sink, and I
will be rich; for by faith God has entirely changed him who now has all things
in his power. So also with shame; when one’s good name and reputation go down,
people think they will never again be regained; if you believe and hold to God,
it is a matter only of a moment, and you are again in great honor. For our God
knows the art that from invincible poverty he can create great riches, from
great shame inexpressible honor. So it is also with sin, if you believe. Thus
sin compared with righteousness, is as a spark of fire compared with the whole
sea of water.
Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity
Two Sermons
24. Thus we have two sermons.
One lays the hand on the bier. This does not yet accomplish anything. But the
other, when the hand is laid on the coffin and the voice follows in the heart,
this accomplishes all. The first proclaims to us the works of Christ, how they
are done for us and given to us. But when the voice is heard in the heart, then
the one who was before dead begins to speak and to confess the faith with his
mouth which he believes and feels in his heart. That is, when the heart
believes, the work of love follows, namely, that you speak, that is, preach to
others and thank God for the blessing and faith he has shown and given unto
you.
Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity
The Gospel Is the Fountain
3.
And this is the Gospel, as I said, that must be preached and heard before there
can be faith. We must know that God is kindly disposed toward us and has sent
his Son from heaven to help us. This the conscience must hear and believe; for
if God were unfriendly and unmerciful toward us, it would avail little to know
that all his creatures sympathize with us. If God is satisfied with us, no
creature can do us any harm, as St. Paul says in Romans 8:31: “If God is for
us, who is against us?” Let death, devil, hell and all creation rage; we are
safe. Therefore it is the Gospel that must present to us the God-man as
merciful. This is the fountain from which our heart can draw faith and a
friendly confidence toward God that he will help both the dying and the living
in every distress.
Seventeenth
Sunday after Trinity
God’s Forgiveness Banishes All Wrath
But
it is quite a different thing when God forgives sins, than when one man
forgives another. One man forgives another his sins in a way that he thinks of
them again tomorrow, or casts them up to him. But when God forgives sins it is
quite a different thing than when man forgives. For God condemns no more, he
banishes all wrath from him, yea, he no more thinks of the sin, as he himself
says in the prophet Isaiah, 43:25. Now if this wrath is gone, then hell, the
devil, death and all misfortune that the devil may bring with him, must also
disappear; and instead of wrath God gives grace, comfort, salvation and
everything good that he himself is.
#12, Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity
Forgiveness Is Pure Happiness
13.
Sin is pure unhappiness, forgiveness pure happiness. The divine majesty is
great, great is also that which it forgives. As the man is, so is also his
forgiveness. But you must know in your heart how great these words are in which
you know how to trust, yea, for which you can cheerfully die. But only few
rightly receive these words, therefore there are but few true Christians.
Nineteenth
Sunday after Trinity
Infant
Baptism and Faith
27.
Yes, one might say: “How do we know whether children believe or not?” Neither
do we know who among adults believe or who do not. If I be baptized as an adult
and say: I believe; how can you know whether I believe or not? How do you know
it? How, if I were to lie? No one else can know it, to this everyone is brought
by his own heart and thoughts; if it is right, it is right. The child cannot
stand on my faith, I have scarcely enough faith for myself. Nor shall I lay it
into the lap of Christendom, but into the Word of Christ where he says: “Suffer
the little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 19:14. Luke 18:15. And thus I shall say: “Here, O Christ, I bring a
little child to thee, thou hast commanded me to bring it to thee.” Now I have
done my part, Christ will also certainly do his part. So I do not baptize the
child in my own faith or in the faith of Christendom. But my faith and
Christendom bring the child to baptism, in order that by rightly bringing it,
God may give it a faith of its own, that it may believe as I believe and be
preserved in the same Word that Christ has given me. And I do not baptize the
child on that it has no faith, as the Bohemians think, that when it grows up it
shall then first obtain faith, and speak the Word of God over the child: Thy
sins are forgiven thee; and yet it does not, as they hold, believe the words.
Is not this to charge the Word of God as being false? Now to sum up: I can of
course by my prayers and faith help another that he may also believe, but I
cannot believe for him.
Nineteenth
Sunday after Trinity
God’s Wrath
3.
But if on the other hand, man is unwilling to do this, he has ordained that the
sword, the gallows, the rack, fire, water, and the like be used, with which to
restrain and check those who will not be pious. Where such punishment is not
administered and the whole country becomes so utterly bad and perverted, that
the officers of the law can no longer restrain, God sends pestilence, famine,
war, or other terrible plagues, in order to subvert the land, and destroy the
wicked, as has happened to the Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, and others. From
this we may learn his will, namely, that such piety be exercised and
maintained; and know that he will provide what is necessary; but if such piety
is not practiced, he will in turn take away and destroy everything.
Nineteenth
Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon
God Binds His Precious Treasure to Common
Works
Our
foolishness consists in laying too much stress upon the show of works and when
these do not glitter as something extraordinary, we regard them as of no value;
and poor fools that we are, we do not see that God has attached and bound this
precious treasure, namely his Word, to such common works as filial obedience,
external, domestic, or civil affairs, so as to include them in his order and
command, which he wishes us to accept, the same as though he himself had
appeared from heaven. What would you do if Christ himself with all the angels
were visibly to descend, and command you in your home to sweep your house and
wash the pans and kettles? How happy you would feel, and would not know how to
act for joy, not for the work’s sake, but that you knew that thereby you were
serving him, who is greater than heaven and earth.
#6,
Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon
Let Every Man Examine His Own Heart
22.
Consider now what kind of a person a Christian is, who lords it over death and
the devil, and before whom all sin is as a withered leaf. Now examine yourself
and see how far you have learned this lesson, and whether it is such an
insignificant and easy matter as some inexperienced souls think. For if you
have learned and believed it, all misfortune, death, and the devil will be as
nothing. But since you are still so vexed with sin, and since you are still
frightened and in despair on account of death, hell and God’s judgment, humble
yourself, give honor to the Word and confess that you have never yet understood
this matter. In short let every man examine his own heart, and he will find a
false Christian who imagines that he knows all about this subject before he has
learned the first principles of it. The words are soon heard, read and
repeated, but to carry out the principle in practice and in character, so that
it may live within us, and our conscience may be founded upon it and rest in
it, is not in the art of man. Therefore I say and admonish, that those who wish
to be Christians may always keep it in mind, assimilate it, practice it, and
chastise themselves with it, that we may at least have a taste of it, and as
James 1:18, be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. For we shall never
advance so far in this life as to come to a perfect understanding of it; nor
did even the blessed Apostles, full of the Spirit and of faith, advance so far.
Nineteenth
Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon
Atonement, Preaching, and Faith
31.
Therefore I have always taught that the oral word must precede everything else,
must be comprehended with the ears, if the Holy Ghost is to enter the heart,
who through the Word enlightens it and works faith. Consequently, faith does
not come except through the hearing and oral preaching of the Gospel, in which
it has its beginning, growth and strength. For this reason, the Word must not
be despised, but held in honor. We must familiarize and acquaint ourselves with
it, and constantly practice it, so that it never ceases to bear fruit; for it
can never be understood and learned too well. Let every man beware of the
shameless fellows who have no more respect for the Word than if it were
unnecessary for faith; or of those who think they know it all, become tired of
it, eventually fall from it, and retain nothing of faith or of Christ.
32. Behold, here you have all that belongs to this article of the righteousness of Christ. It consists in the forgiveness of sins, offered to us through Christ, and received by faith in and through the Word, purely and simply without any works on our part.
Nineteenth
Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon
The Wedding Feast Parable
18.
Now since Christ is mine and I am his: if Satan rages, I have Christ who is my
life; does sin trouble me, I have Christ who is my righteousness; do hell and
perdition attack me, I have Christ, who is my salvation. Thus, there may rage
within whatever will, if I have Christ, to him I can look so that nothing can
harm me. And this union of the divine with the human is pointed out in the
picture here of the marriage feast, and the exalted love God has to us, in the
love of the bride.
19. Now the wedding garment is Christ himself, which is put on by faith, as the Apostle says in Romans 13:14: “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Then the garment gives forth a luster of itself, that is, faith in Christ bears fruit of itself, namely, love which works through faith in Christ. These are the good works, that also flash forth from faith, and entirely gratuitously do they go forth, they are done alone for the good of our neighbor; otherwise they are heathenish works, if they flow not out of faith; they will later come to naught and be condemned, and be cast into the outermost darkness.
Twentieth Sunday after Trinity
Young Milk Faith
9.
Therefore you should not imagine it is enough if you have commenced to believe;
but you must diligently watch that your faith continue firm, or it will vanish;
you are to see how you may retain this treasure you have embraced; for Satan
concentrates all his skill and strength on how to tear it out of your heart.
Therefore the growth of your faith is truly as necessary as its beginning, and
indeed more so; but all is the work of God. The young milk-faith is sweet and
weak; but when long marches are required and faith is attacked, then God must
strengthen it, or it will not hold the field of battle.
Twenty-First
Sunday after Trinity
Spiritual Warfare and Faith
1.
A beautiful example of faith is presented in this Gospel, exhibiting, as it
does, the nature and character of faith, namely, that it is to increase and
become perfect; and it portrays faith in a way as to show that it is not a
quiet and idle, but a living, restless thing, that either retrogrades or
advances, lives and moves; and where this does not occur, faith does not exist,
but only a lifeless notion of the heart concerning God. For true, living faith,
which the Holy Spirit pours into the heart, cannot be inactive. This I say for
the purpose that no one may be sure, even if he has attained faith, that he now
has everything; with this it shall not stop, for it is not sufficient to begin,
but one must constantly grow and increase, and continue learning to know God
better.
2. For, on the other hand, it is not the nature and custom of our enemy, the devil, to be idle, as 1 Peter, 5:8 says: “Be sober, be watchful; your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” If then the devil neither sleeps nor rests, it is not right for a Christian to be idle and fold his hands; but he is to consider how he may fortify himself against the power of the devil; for he is not called the prince of this world in vain, John 14:30, as today’s Epistle teaches, Ephesians 6:12: “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” This prince rules the world, howls and rages, is mad and foolish, cannot bear that a Christian progresses; nor is it to be wondered at, for thereby a rupture is made in his kingdom and his net broken. Hence, wherever possible, he hinders the growth and development of the Christian life.
3. When, therefore, the fire of faith is kindled and burns, and the devil feels it and becomes aware of it, he immediately grasps it with all his cunning, for he knows how his kingdom is endangered by it. Therefore he endeavors with great zeal to protect his kingdom, and exerts himself to retain all under his obedience. Certain it is, therefore, that, when a person begins to believe, temptation and persecution will be sure closely to follow him; and if this does not occur, it is a sign his faith is not true and he has not tightly apprehended the Gospel. For that rogue, the devil, has a sharp vision and easily becomes conscious of the presence of a true Christian. Therefore he exerts himself to entrap him, and surrounds and attacks him on all sides; for he cannot bear that anyone should desert his kingdom.
Twenty-First
Sunday after Trinity
Ashamed of the Word
32.
Thus we see, if we believe we are to open our mouths and confess the grace God
has shown us. This also is the greatest and best work of faith, namely, to
inform and teach others in the Word; for as Paul says, Romans 10:10, “With the
heart, man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made
unto salvation.” If one is ashamed of the Word and hides it, it is a sign of a
lax faith.
Twenty-First
Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon
Written for Our Consolation
8.
This is written for our consolation, in order that we who believe in Christ
should know that we have a wisdom that far surpasses all other wisdom; a
strength and righteousness, which are not to be compared with any human
strength or righteousness; for against the Holy Spirit no counsel can prevail. We
have the power through Christ to trample sin under our feet and to triumph over
death, also a wisdom that surpasses the wisdom of the whole world. If Christ
live in us by faith then we possess him who establishes this in us; but it is
not experienced except in times of temptation and opposition: therefore if I
make use of it then he comes and gives me the power vigorously to press through
all difficulties to victory.
9. In like manner we should not worry that our doctrine will fail and be put to shame. For let even all the wise and prudent of the world together rise up against the Word of God; they overlook the joke that they opposed it, that it took place for their sake. It may indeed happen that they may howl and bite and snap against it so that the people think the Gospel will fail; but when they set themselves against it and wish to overthrow it, then it is certain that they are weak, and by the same trick they wished to seize and take Christ, they themselves are finally caught.
9. In like manner we should not worry that our doctrine will fail and be put to shame. For let even all the wise and prudent of the world together rise up against the Word of God; they overlook the joke that they opposed it, that it took place for their sake. It may indeed happen that they may howl and bite and snap against it so that the people think the Gospel will fail; but when they set themselves against it and wish to overthrow it, then it is certain that they are weak, and by the same trick they wished to seize and take Christ, they themselves are finally caught.
Twenty-Third
Sunday after Trinity
Joyful Countenance and the Fountain of Grace
11. Therefore, whoever would have a joyful
conscience that does not fear sin, death, hell, nor the wrath of God, dare not
reject this Mediator, Christ. For he is the fountain that overflows with grace,
that gives temporal and eternal life. Only open thy heart and hold it forth and
you will receive all. He gushes and flows forth, and can do nothing else but
only give, flow and gush forth, if you can only believe it. You justly deserve
that people should call you a Christian, when you are called a Christian by virtue
of what you receive from Christ; if not, and you want to give him so much, you
are no Christian. This is the rich precious word which St. Paul praises so
highly, and can never sufficiently praise, that he so graciously gives us his
Son, to pour out his grace over all who receive it. Romans 3:24 and Romans
8:32; Galatians 3:25.
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity
Death in Christ Not Alarming
36.
Thus we should learn to view our death in the right light, so that we need not
become alarmed on account of it, as unbelief does; because in Christ it is
indeed not death, but a fine, sweet and brief sleep, which brings us release
from this vale of tears, from sin and from the fear and extremity of real death
and from all the misfortunes of this life, and we shall be secure and without
care, rest sweetly and gently for a brief moment, as on a sofa, until the time
when he shall call and awaken us together with all his dear children to his
eternal glory and joy. For since we call it a sleep, we know that we shall not
remain in it, but be again awakened and live, and that the time during which we
sleep, shall seem no longer than if we had just fallen asleep. Hence, we shall
censure ourselves that we were surprised or alarmed at such a sleep in the hour
of death, and suddenly come alive out of the grave and from decomposition, and
entirely well, fresh, with a pure, clear, glorified life, meet our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ in the clouds.
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity, Second
Sermon
Warning
for Germany
After
they had cast Jeremiah into the dungeon, the king came and led them all into
captivity. Thus I can
also see that God has spun a web over Germany as it is determined to be guilty
in the same manner of willful blindness, defiance, wickedness, contempt, and
ungratefulness in opposing the precious Gospel. It is determined to be guilty
of foolishness before God, for which it will have to pay dearly. May God
preserve us, and grant us and our little flock that we may escape this terrible
wrath, and be found among those who honor and serve our dear Christ, and await
the judgment at his right hand joyously and blissfully. Amen.
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity
