Lex Lutheranism

STEVE SAID:
THEOLDADAM SAID:

“It's all a matter of emphasis.”

Really? Edward Reiss seems to think it’s a matter of principle.

“But since there is no such a thing as ‘a Christian good work’, no one will be able to tell the works of a Christian apart from those of an unbeliever.”

Which fails to draw an elementary distinction between what we can know about ourselves and what we can know about a second party.

“And since no one knows the heart (and therefore the motive), no one but God Himself really can know.”

So Lutheranism denies the assurance of salvation. No Christian can really know whether he’s bound for heaven or bound for hell.

“To place an emphasis on works, or feelings, is to play into the hands of the devil.”

God is Lord over works and feelings. You suffer from a Manichaean dualism.

“(St. paul reminds us that the devil can come ‘all dressed up as an angel of light’ - did he not?).”

So it’s possible that Luther was a personification of the devil. Is that your point?

“That is why Lutherans rely on nothing other than the works that God does (has done, is doing) ...for us.”

Regeneration and sanctification are works of the Spirit. Or do Lutherans deny the deity of the Holy Spirit?

“The Holy Spirit is the one who inspires good works.”

Therefore, we’d be examining the evidence of God’s own handiwork.

“No goading of the law will do that, and filthy rags will be the fruit of any such efforts on our part.”

You’re schizophrenic. You lurch back and forth between works as “filthy rags” and works as good deeds inspired by the Holy Spirit. Which is it?

“There is never assurance when you are left to examining yourself.”

But you just attributed good works to the inspiration of the Spirit. Are you capable of thinking straight from one sentence to the next?

“This IS my body.”

So you worship the Pillsbury Doughboy?

“This IS my blood, I AM Baptized. This is where I receive my comfort and my assurance...because it comes from outside of me. To me. From God.”

Circumcision also came from the outside. From God. Did St. Paul therefore urge the Judaizers to find assurance in their circumcision?

“And that is somethimg that I can trust in...absolutely.”

But according to you, hell is full of baptized communicants.


STEVE SAID:
THEOLDADAM SAID:

“There is no such a thing as a ‘nominal Christian’. One is either in Christ..or he is not.”

I take it that you’re ignorant of standard terminology. A nominal Christian is a professing Christian who is not, however, a true believer.

Do Lutherans think that every professing Christian, however perfunctory his faith, is a true believer?

“And who are we to say who the strong Christians are, since ‘all our righteous deeds are as filty rags’?”

Since St. Paul admonished the strong brethren to be gentle to the weak brethren, Christians would be unable to obey his directive if it were impossible to distinguish one from the other.

“Dis not Christ HImself turn many away who were doing works in His name? (‘depart from Me, I never knew you’)”

There are multiple grounds for assurance in Scripture.

“Baptism isn't a sure fore way to Heaven because we can abandon our Baptisms.”

So by your own admission, you can’t ground the assurance of salvation in baptism.

“But St. paul clearly tells us that those who have been Baptized, have put on Christ.’ That is clear enough to me. So is Romans 6.”

What’s clear is your selective, one-sided prooftexting.

“The Calvinist answer is to look to yourself. To work harder.”

What Reformed preachers or theologians have you actually read, anyway? Your attempt to describe Calvinism resembles Richard Dawkins attempt to describe Christianity. You sound as though you got all your information filtered through hostile thirdhand sources. Lutheran caricatures of Calvinism.

If, in fact, you hand any firsthand acquaintance with Reformed theology, then it’s obvious that you didn’t grasp what you read or heard.

“To strive more and to examine yourself for that inner...whatever (works, feelings, etc.).”

i) To begin with, Scripture itself treats introspection as a legitimate spiritual exercise.

ii) Moreover, there’s nothing wrong with “doing” certain things–like prayer, Christian fellowship, Bible reading, and other means of grace–to foster the assurance of salvation in case that’s lacking in one’s life.

“The Lutheran way is to look OUTSIDE of yourself and to God's promises.”

Sorry to disillusion you, but Lutherans don’t own the copyright to God’s promises. Calvinists also look to God’s promises in Scripture.

“That is exactly why I believe our Lord commanded that we do the Sacraments (He really is the One who 'does them'...to us).”

Sorry to disillusion you, but Lutherans don’t own the patent to the sacraments. Calvinists also celebrate baptism and communion.

“Luther told us to ‘return to our Baptisms...daily.’”

And whatever Luther says, God says. Who needs the Bible when we’ve got Luther? He’s the seal of the prophets.

“No lucky charms there. Just a return (a repentance) and a re-trusting of what God has done for us on the cross, in His Supper, and in our Baptisms.”

To the contrary, you have the same superstitious veneration of the sacraments as idolatrous Israelites abode in the ark of the covenant (1 Sam 4) and the Nehushtan (2 Kgs 18:4).

Indeed, you’re no different than a Catholic clutching his crucifix and prayer beads.


STEVE SAID:
THEOLDADAM SAID:

“And Calvinists do not have the same regard for the Sacraments.”

True. I don’t subscribe to the Real Rabbit’s Foot or baptismal Rabbit’s-footsie.

“’Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father, so how could He be present in the bread and the wine?’ Does that sound familiar? It makes God into a puny god.”

I see. So you don’t actually subscribe to the real presence of the True Body & Blood.

Instead, you subscribe to the presence of Jesus’ divinity in the bread in wine. Why bother with an Incarnation at all?

“Good luck with your spiritual navel gazing, Steve.”

Good luck with your spiritual Rabbit’s-foot, Theoldadam.

“Those of us who actually trust in Christ do not have to go there.”

But you don’t trust in Christ. You really put your trust in a wafer.