tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post2992927565886135112..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Lent the nagging killjoy...Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-49126722996584766182012-04-28T18:07:50.652-05:002012-04-28T18:07:50.652-05:00Dear Rev. Peters:
Having raised the matter of the ...Dear Rev. Peters:<br />Having raised the matter of the nature of repentance on your blog, I feel compelled to write a few words about what it is the children of God should confess and repent of. I hope you will not think I am taking advantage of the hospitality of your blog.<br /><br />Much of our concern revolves about the sins involved with such grave matters as homosexuality, abortion, closed communion, not believing in the real presence, the ordination of women, church attendance, and maybe a few others. But I think you get the idea.<br /><br />Meanwhile we sin every day when we exceed the speed limit, when we do not stop for a stop sign, when we are discourteous to someone, when our patience is tried at airport security and many such minor matters which we don’t even think about as we commit hundreds of them each day. Our Lord reminded us that these sins are just as bad as the really serious ones, when He said, “If you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.”<br /><br />All of this points out the difficulty of repentance, because we cannot possibly remember all but the most recent, gross sins, and we sometimes wonder whether those sins which we cannot even remember are included in our repentance. I know that the Church of England has such beautiful, all inclusive language in their prayers that hardly anything can get by. It is in this context that I always remember the words our Lord chose in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. The Publican could not possibly repent of each one of his sins, so he said, “Have mercy on me, a sinner.” The realization that we are sinners and that God in His mercy relieved us of our burden, that, I believe is the essence of repentance. No wailing, despairing, or being crushed by our sins is either needed or desirable. We can trust the Holy Spirit to see to it that our repentance and contrition are adequate to keep us from becoming too proud, together with the Church’s ministry of Word and Sacrament.<br /><br />Finally, there are the sins of omission. We worship in expensive buildings located on expensive real estate, we must have organs of some quality to make sure we worship God properly, we pay huge maintenance and utility bills, and we buy things like filters for our windows, so the sun will not make it difficult to see. Meanwhile, every minute, somewhere in the world 10 children die of hunger, and the vast majority of us are not even aware of that. I continue to remember that His sheep, whom the Father will welcome into His Kingdom, fed, gave drink to, clothed, welcomed, visited and cared for the least of His sisters and brethren. They do not earn their inheritance, but they do what they have to do, because that is their nature, and hopefully the Church strengthens them in these endeavors.<br /><br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. MarquartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-80517364402271283012012-04-28T11:21:28.320-05:002012-04-28T11:21:28.320-05:00Dear Rev. Peters:
Answer to the first question: W...Dear Rev. Peters:<br />Answer to the first question: We call it repentance or contrition.<br />Answer to the second question: Yes. <br />Answer to the third question: I call it repentance. The English version of the Augsburg Confession calls it “conversion.” The story of the Prodigal is about Repentance in the sense of μετάνοια that takes place at conversion. There is no mention in this parable of any subsequent repentance. I am certainly not saying that there is no room for continuing repentance in the life of the Christian. What I object to is what an LCMS pastor wrote in a sermon some years ago: “Repentance is despairing of our sins, being crushed, lying in the proverbial dust and ashes, saying words like ‘Lord have mercy on me, a sinner,’ and truly meaning it from the heart. To live in repentance is to live with a crushed spirit, and casting your only hope for salvation on the mercy of God in His Son Christ.” No, sin is not a good thing, but our Lord has transported us into His Kingdom of Light where we do not despair, are crushed or lie in the proverbial dust and ashes. All that we did in μετάνοια. The Prodigal does not do that after his Father has kissed him, dressed him and put a ring on his finger. Besides, that qualification, “and meaning it from the heart” always allows the Tempter to ask, “Did you mean it enough to be forgiven?”<br />Answer to the fourth question: Yes<br />Answer to the fifth question: I do not know whether the anonymous poster distinguished between the two kinds of repentance. Luther, as shown in the explanation of Baptism, did not always.<br /><br />As we use the word “repentance” it can mean μετάνοια or it can mean the contrition of the member of God’s Kingdom. Since Scripture and the Confessions use the noun and it verb forms almost exclusively in the sense of μετάνοια, what applies only to μετάνοια is often preached as being part of contrition. That is what I object to, and I suspect that aside from anything else the writer had wrong in his article, that is what he objected to as well.<br /><br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. MarquartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-52406619792583032192012-04-28T08:39:27.499-05:002012-04-28T08:39:27.499-05:00So George, what do we call it when the baptized si...So George, what do we call it when the baptized sin, when the Spirit works to afflict their conscience, when they express sorrow over their sin and when they come for absolution? Is this not the repentance that follows us our whole lives in Christ (at least in this mortal flesh where temptation and sin still entice us)? What do you call it when Christians baptized and confessing faith fall into error or fall away and then return having heard the call of the Gospel and the Spirit working in them as surely the Spirit did for the prodigal? Are these not repentance? Is this not the repentance that the anonymous poster above is referring to and Luther intends? I do not think we so much disagree as use terms somewhat differently. I am asking what you call the first instances I point to above -- that regularly happen in the life of the believer and in the life of the congregation?Pastor Petershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-24979006192044496952012-04-28T08:18:50.884-05:002012-04-28T08:18:50.884-05:00It is my practice not to respond to anonymous post...It is my practice not to respond to anonymous posts, but in this case, because the errors being promoted are so wide spread in the Lutheran Church, and because others reading this post may be misled, I feel obligated to respond.<br /><br />As I am sure you know, the 95 Thesis are not part of the Book of Concord, and this for a good reason: they contain error. Luther wrote them before his “Tower Experience”, when he first began to acquire a real understanding of the Gospel. It should not be incumbent on me to disprove someone’s assertions based on any source they choose. If you show me where Scripture or our Confessions say what Luther says about repentance in the first of the 95 Theses or in his explanation, then you will convince me. Both in the Large and in the Small Catechism, when Luther explains the Petition, “And forgive us our trespasses,” repentance or anything related to it are not mentioned.<br /><br />How does daily repentance affect simul justus et peccator. Do we cease to be justus if we do not repent daily? Actually, Luther implies this in Part 4 of his explanation of Baptism in the Small Catechism when he writes, “What does such baptizing with water signify?--Answer.<br />It signifies that the old Adam in us should, by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts, and, again, a new man daily come forth and arise; who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever.<br />Were is this written?--Answer.<br />St. Paul says Romans, chapter 6: We are buried with Christ by Baptism into death, that, like as He was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Unfortunately, Romans 6 says nothing about “a new man coming daily forth” “by daily contrition and repentance.” Romans 6 speaks about the one time renewal when a person is reborn as a new creature by water and the Spirit. Obviously, to be peccator, repentance is not necessary.<br /><br />As to the fruits of the Spirit, Scripture mentions these: (Rom. 14: 17) “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” And (Gal. 5:22) “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.” Nowhere in Scripture is repentance mentioned as a work of the Spirit, except for that Repentance, μετάνοια, that takes place at conversion. That is not to say that when a Christian shows repentance for daily sins this is not a work of the Holy Spirit; Scripture simply takes this for granted, because the Holy Spirit lives in the Christian. It is a matter of emphasis; Scripture knows nothing about, “Living in this cycle of confession and absolution is exactly what this daily life of repentance looks like.” <br /><br />When you write, “Wherever justification and sanctification are separated from each other with this kind of temporal understanding, Lutheran theology is brought to ruin,” I cannot help but wonder what the Reformers meant when they wrote: <br /><br />The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord<br />III. The Righteousness of Faith<br /><br />35] Hence, even though the converted and believing [in Christ] have incipient renewal, sanctification, love, virtue, and good works, yet these neither can nor should be drawn into, or mingled with, the article of justification before God, in order that the honor due Him may remain with Christ the Redeemer, and tempted consciences may have a sure consolation, since our new obedience is incomplete and impure.<br /><br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. MarquartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-42766944453793748442012-04-27T20:19:08.644-05:002012-04-27T20:19:08.644-05:00Luther says in the 95 Theses:
When our Lord and M...Luther says in the 95 Theses:<br /><br />When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent" [Matt. 4:17], he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance..1<br /><br />In his Explanation of the 95 Theses Luther writes:<br />We pray throughout our whole life and we must pray "forgive us our debts" [Matt. 6:12]; therefore, we repent throughout our whole life and are displeased with ourselves, unless anyone may be so foolish as to think he must only pretend to pray for the forgiveness of debts. For the debts for which we are commanded to pray are real and not to be treated lightly; and even if they were venial, we could not be saved unless they were remitted.<br /><br />It seems that Luther uses repentance not a condition for the Gospel but the living fruit of the Spirit at work and the Gospel finding a home in the heart of the hearer. Luther also speaks of repentance as the life of grace, revolving around confession and absolution. Living in this cycle of confession and absolution is exactly what this daily life of repentance looks like.<br /><br />This dialectic and contradiction is a necessary theological conclusion from the Lutheran doctrine of justification. Luther's concept of simul justus et<br />peccator is fundamental for a Lutheran understanding no only of justification but also of sanctification. Before God the person is totally justified and the<br />same person is in himself and sees himself as a sinner. What is important in this understanding is the Latin word simul, at the same time, and not in a sequential sense as if one followed the other in point of time. Historically this<br />distinction was lost in Lutheranism, as in the case of Pietism, where man is first justified and rescued from sin and then the work of sanctification begins.<br /><br />The end result is perfectionism or at least a mild form of it. The matter is viewed in this way: After a person is justified by faith, the new life of<br />obedience sets in and progresses. Justification is seen as a past event in the Christian life and sanctification as a temporal result, separate and distinct<br />from justification as the cause. Wherever justification and sanctification are separated from each other with this kind of temporal understanding,<br />Lutheran theology is brought to ruin.Lutheran Pastornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-15713836424814053892012-04-27T18:41:17.006-05:002012-04-27T18:41:17.006-05:00Dear Rev. Peters: First, please be assured that wh...Dear Rev. Peters: First, please be assured that whatever follows is neither a criticism or even critique of you nor a defense of the ELCA. My concern is with what we Lutherans (I am a member in good standing of an LCMS congregation) believe abut repentance.<br /><br />As I look through the New Testament, I find that the words “repentance”, “repent”, “repents”, “repented”, and “repenting” (i.e. their Greek equivalents) refer almost exclusively to what takes place when a person experiences conversion and enters the Kingdom of God. This is equally true of our Confessions; specifically the sections about “Repentance” in the Augsburg Confession, the Apologia, and the Smalcald Articles. <br /><br />I don’t want to imply that repentance or contrition should not be practiced by those who are already members of God’s Kingdom (the Church), but I cannot find the emphasis that we Lutherans, particularly those in America, make on “a life of repentance” or “contrition” in either the Scriptures or the Confessions.<br /><br />It has always struck me that in the Prayer our Lord taught us, “…and forgive us our trespasses …”, comes without any kind of preparation, seeming to rank lower on a scale of importance than “give us this day our daily bread.” At least you would think we should not say this petition unless we have done some sincere confessing before that?<br /><br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. MarquartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-33038192039850494342012-04-27T12:34:06.623-05:002012-04-27T12:34:06.623-05:00Yeah, well a self image that is too positive is ra...Yeah, well a self image that is too positive is rather dangerous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-34917422598538735892012-04-27T07:41:57.846-05:002012-04-27T07:41:57.846-05:00some of them didsome of them didAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-45690809481020754252012-04-27T06:41:22.689-05:002012-04-27T06:41:22.689-05:00Expecting the ELCA to say anything theologically w...Expecting the ELCA to say anything theologically worthy of Lent-or anything else, for that matter-is akin to expecting that the Pope kisses his wife every night before retiring for the evening.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com