Freedom, not License

The following was printed in our church’s monthly newsletter. I republish it here for the purposes of discussion.

God’s Word speaks clearly on many doctrinal and practical issues. For example, we are not left to wonder who God is or what He has done to save us from our sins. According to Scripture, God is “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19-20). He created all things by means of His Word (Gen. 1-2) and has redeemed mankind from sin and everlasting death by His Son’s sacrifice on Calvary (Matthew 20:28).

Scripture is abundantly clear that Baptism saves sinners (Titus 3:5; Mark 16:16) and that the Lord’s Supper is truly the body and blood of Christ given to Christians for the forgiveness of their sins (Matt. 26:28). We also know from God’s Word that the Lord’s Supper is not to be given to just anyone (1 Cor. 11:27-29). Our practice of confessing sin to a pastor and receiving forgiveness from the pastor “as from God Himself” (Small Catechism, Fifth Chief Part) is also clearly taught in the Scriptures (John 20:22-23).

Understanding is a Gift

Pastors deal with divine mysteries, and seek always to teach, explain, and impress upon their hearers the meaning of these mysteries. It can be very frustrating for a pastor (or any educator for that matter) when the message doesn’t sink in, when it just seems like nothing we say is being heard or understood. We can say it in as clear a manner as possible, but it just doesn’t seem to register. The person goes away unconvinced, unpersuaded of the truth. Or, he or she cannot see the error that is being pointed out in their thinking.

It seems like this has been happening a lot lately. And, each time I shake my head in dismay, wondering if there is something wrong with the way I am explaining something, wondering why it just won’t sink in, why it won’t change a person’s mind. It’s not that I expect everyone to think like me, but I do expect Christians to obey the Word of God, to listen to it, and not argue with what is clearly revealed. As I was pondering this the other day, I recalled a lecture at the seminary by one of my professors, Dr. Weinrich, in which he described a similar feeling of futility and frustration over the fact that he could not convince his liberal-minded professors of their error (I am really paraphrasing this story, so there may be some gaps). It then occurred to him that for someone to change their mind, to think a different way, to understand was a gift.

In other words, when someone does understand, when the light comes on, when any of us come to a knowledge of the truth, it is a gift of God. The Holy Spirit “calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies…” Christ says to Peter: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” When a person does not understand, even after we have explained ourselves in the best possible way, it will do no good to get mad at the person, or to even get mad at ourselves, as if the problem lay with us preachers (assuming we are not just shooting from the hip all the time). The frustration can perhaps be less when we understand that it is always a gift to understand. All we can do is teach and explain things as best as we can, and pray that God would use our words to change someone’s mind, to give them spiritual enlightenment and understanding. It is surely up to the Lord to do this when and where it pleases Him.

Remarks for the Congregation regarding the Shooting

PASTORAL ADDRESS REGARDING THE SHOOTINGS IN CONNECTICUT

12/16/2012

I would like to offer some brief remarks regarding the recent shootings in Connecticut. An event such as this is always tragic, always a shock, always a horror not only to those involved but to the whole nation. The fact that young children were involved in this horrific event makes it even more so, as these young people were in the flower of their youth, and perished long before their time. Our entire nation mourns with those parents and brothers and sisters and grandparents, along with husbands and wives and children of faculty members who lost their lives in this terrible event.

Pelagius and Free Will

I’ve been reading through Martin Chemnitz’ Examination of the Council of Trent, vol. 1 for a long time now, a few pages a day, and am getting close to the end. It is so good. I can’t wait to get to the next volume. These were the books that I vowed to read for myself after I was ordained and gone from the seminary. 

I have been reading his discussion on Free Will, and it is so interesting to me how Pelagian modern evangelicals are (influenced by Arminius and other revivalists). Whenever a modern “evangelical” Christian accuses me, a Lutheran, of being too much like Rome because I show reverence for the Sacrament, etc., I want to point out to them how Roman they are in their view of Free Will. There’s very little difference. Pelagius taught that man had not completely lost free will in spiritual matters, and the Council of Trent refused to make a distinction between free will in external matters and free will in spiritual matters when they put down their decrees, and continued to the error of Pelagius. 

It is very Roman (i.e. Pelagian) to think that there is enough spiritual power left in the Old Man after the Fall into sin that we can cooperate with God’s grace by our own will in conversion. Choosing, accepting, or making a decision for Jesus is the usual way that it is put. But at the root of this language is the Arminian/Pelagian idea that man has not completely lost his natural powers in spiritual matters, but can choose, accept, or begin to prepare himself for receiving God’s grace in Christ. 

The other thing that I find so helpful in Chemnitz’ writing is that he is very clear on the fact that in external matters, that is, matters that do not involve spiritual things, we do have free will, though our reason and our other natural powers are greatly diminished by the Fall. Our Catechism does not allow for this at all. It equates free will solely with original righteousness, and says that free will has been completely lost. I wish it would make the distinction, as our Confessions do, between free will in external matters and free will in spiritual matters. 

Lastly, I also appreciate Chemnitz’ approach to the regenerate man. While upholding that man is purely passive in regeneration, he does not say that man remains completely passive in his will after conversion. Once one has been regenerated, so also has the will been regenerated. Man’s regenerate will begins (even if weakly) to cooperate with God’s will. New impulses are given to regenerate man so that he is no longer merely Old Man. Chemnitz writes:

They violently attack also Luther’s statement, that man is only passive with regard to regeneration, renewal, or conversion. And someone might well be offended by this phrase who is not accustomed to the ways of speaking which have been customary with the Scholastic writers, as if the sense were that the Holy Spirit works conversion in such a way that no new impulses whatever follow in the will which has begun to be renewed but that it is completely idle and inactive and is only propelled and thrust forward by brute force. This never entered Luther’s mind.

Pastor’s Wives: Servants of the Church

Fifty years ago, the “perfect” pastor’s wife was one who was involved in the Ladies’ Aid, taught Sunday School, was in charge of VBS, and accompanied her husband on hospital visits occasionally. Even now, sometimes it is assumed that a pastor’s wife should be active in the Church, serving on boards, showing up to funerals, and being “visible.” Those who don’t are sometimes seen as not being very supportive of the Church or their husbands’ ministry.

My feeling is that pastors’ wives serve the Church best by serving their husbands and their homes. A good pastor’s wife is one who is a Helper to her husband. Not saying that it is wrong or bad for pastor’s wives to get involved, if that is their choice. But our wives should not feel pressured to do all of the things that others do. Thankfully at Immanuel there is not a lot of pressure put on my wife. But still, it is hard to find one’s niche in a new place. I would encourage pastor’s wives to serve the Church by serving their husbands, by making a comfortable home for them, by “holding down the fort” while their husbands are ministering to others. It is a big sacrifice. It is hard work. Pastors are gone many an evening, and I know that my wife puts our kids to bed way more often by herself than together with me.

I am grateful for her willingness to do this. She is a servant of the church, but not in the way that people would expect, or used to expect of a pastor’s wife. She cares for me, and that is enough. If there is more that she wishes to do, then that is wonderful. I hope that other pastors and congregations feel the same way that I do. God bless our wives for all they do.

Two kinds of rest on Sunday

Sunday was a day of rest–in two different ways. First, rest for the soul in the Divine Service at Immanuel, preaching and administering the Sacrament. We just got back Friday from Higher Things in Maryville, MO, another excellent conference for the youth. This year we had 5 youth, myself, and two other adults. Sunday afternoon, we went with a few of the members of the church to the Prairie Moon Winery in Ames, IA where we enjoyed some Sangria, and some live Classic Rock. Very restful as well. The time went so fast, we got there at about 2:30 and suddenly it was 5:30. We met some others from the church there too. Gordy Lubbers, who helps run the winery, was celebrating his birthday, and so there were good snacks as well. Here are some pics from the event.

 

Hindsight is Overrated

It has become a rather common feature of men who have been in the Ministry for several years to be very apologetic for their first years in the Ministry. On blogs, Facebook, and in personal conversation, when the topic of pastoral approach and practice comes up, I frequently hear and read great public apologies being made, or deep regret and remorse being expressed regarding the decisions that were made, or the sermons that were preached, or the attitude that one had in that “first call.” I understand. I made mistakes too. I still do. And it is good to repent for the true mistakes that we made. It is good to repent of those things that truly were sinful. If we willfully neglected our work, if we preached false doctrine, if we despised our members in our hearts (or openly), these are sins that need to be confessed, and forgiven. And God, in the cross, says: “Apology accepted. I forgive you.”

It is not good, however, to be remorseful or regretful of the good things that were done, but were not perceived that way. Nor is it good, in my opinion, to continue to wallow in that guilt. We dare not insult the Lord by apologizing for being faithful. We’re all imperfect people. We all are wiser with experience. But that goes with the territory. Learning how properly to distinguish the law from the gospel is taught by the Holy Spirit in the school of experience.

Hindsight is always 20/20. That’s the problem with hindsight. It’s brutal in its accusation. “If only someone would have told me this 20 years ago when I first started as a pastor, then…” Well, duh. We all have situations that we would have handled differently given more experience. So, again, repent, and move on. Get over it. Get to work. Try to tackle it differently next time. You had rough edges. We all did and do! And I’m not so sure that is a bad thing. John the Baptist did too. He would have been characterized by our modern “polite” society as being “rough around the edges,” one of those “guys right out of the seminary.” “He’s a good pastor, but just needs to have his edges smoothed a little bit.” “Maybe it would help if he got married and had some children. Then he wouldn’t seem so out of the ordinary.”

Maybe it’s my rebellious nature, but it makes me think of that one Spongebob episode with “Normal” Spongebob. His edges become smooth, and he becomes “normal.” I resist this “normalizing” process in the Church and as a pastor. Not everything we did in our first years of Ministry was wrong. We preached. We fed. We baptized. We confronted people in their sins. We did what we could to get our people to appreciate the liturgy and the Sacraments as we had been taught. I will not be apologetic for that. I will not insult the Lord, who was all that time working through my lack of wisdom and experience, by acting as if my first eight or so years in the Ministry was something of which to be ashamed.

We have a Call as pastors, and we do the best we can at the time, given the circumstances and resources available to us. If we sin and make mistakes, then let us repent, and rejoice in the forgiveness of Christ. But let’s not wallow in false guilt. The Lord is with us, as he promised (Matthew 28), and He will not fail us. For those going out into the Ministry for your first Call, go out there and do the work you’ve been given to do. Go make your mistakes. Repent. And live under the grace of God. My advice: don’t be unnecessarily severe on yourselves. You’re only human. Don’t second-guess yourself. If you have guilt to confess, then confess it to your father confessor. But do not, and I repeat, do not be apologetic for being faithful, or for preaching God’s Holy Word. Beware of false guilt. And contrary to popular opinion, hind-sight is overrated. Cheers!