The Secret Wireless

  Some reactions to Matthew Bates’ Salvation by Allegiance Alone & Gospel Allegiance . Matthew Bates, associate professor of theology at Quincy University, has written two books ( Salvation by Allegiance Alone and Gospel Allegiance) that argue for a change in the way Christians, especially Protestants, talk about faith, the Gospel, justification, and salvation. This is not a book review, but more of a theological reaction to Bates’ arguments. These are just short observations. Obviously, to do justice to these arguments would take an entire book or two, and that is just not going to happen. First, the good.   In both Salvation and Gospel Allegiance Bates lays out what he believes should be the actual content of the Church’s Gospel. His summary looks a great deal like Saint Paul’s summary in First Corinthians 15 and the second article of the Apostles’ Creed. This is a needed reminder that a preacher is not called merely to talk about the Gospel, but is actually to ...

#shoutyourabortion Go ahead.  You can shout.  Scream until your lungs give out.  But it won't work, because it is not the silence that is your problem.  It is the whisper. The case against abortion is becoming more solid.   The videos are piling up.  It is clear that abortionists are not only killing babies, they are harvesting their organs and selling them, padding their bottom line.   And that means you have been dead wrong about abortion. If you have been privately scandalized by the fleecing of the unborn but have not spoken publicly, or even failed to share your views and convictions with your close friends, then these videos leave you without defense.  You should have been speaking out long ago.  You should have stood up for the defenseless.  You should have shown compassion for hurting and confused mothers.  And shouting now will not silence the whisper. If you have supported abortion rights, if you have been pro...

Amen!   That is the word of the day.   Jesus has taught us, in the Lord’s Prayer, to pray as sons.   Not as slaves.   Not as beggars.   Not as strangers.   But as sons, “ Our Father in heaven.”                 In the Lord’s Prayer we ask for some rather lofty things.   These are no mere trifles and trinkets.   This is the stuff of necessity.   And it is costly, worth a king’s ransom and more.                  We pray that God’s name would be kept holy, that we would live according to His Word.   We pray that His kingdom would come, that the Church would grow in faith and love and that Christ would return to raise the dead.   We pray that God’s will would be done, that His gracious desires would be fulfilled for our good.       ...

  Jesus teaches us to pray, finally, “Our Father…deliver us from evil.”                    What is the evil from which we are to pray to be delivered?   We have already prayed for deliverance from evils that plague and attack the body.   This happens when we pray for daily bread.   So that is included here.   We pray that God would take away all sickness, poverty, and hardship that harms our human flesh.                  Theft, war, bad leaders, angry neighbors, hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, heat, and more.   There are so many bodily dangers in this world that it is impossible to name them all.   That is why Jesus summarizes them under the heading of daily bread.   These are evils from which we need to be delivered.        ...

             “ Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. ”   Jesus has graciously invited us to see God as our Father, and to pray to Him with the confidence of sons.   But what is a son to ask of His almighty, heavenly Father?                 We begin by praying that God’s name would be hallowed, or kept holy.   Luther’s explanation in the Small Catechism says:   “God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it.   Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven!   But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God’s Word profanes the name of God among us.   Protect us from this, heavenly Father!” That’s interesting isn’t it?   The petition taught by Jesus is about the name of God being kept h...