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 ...

What did you do last Sunday? We...           ...watched an old man drown in a puddle of water.           ...witnessed a fresh man's resurrection.           ...heard the Almighty Voice.           ...experienced the power of the Divine.           ...received healing for our souls.           ...petitioned the Ultimate Power.           ...sang with the archangels.           ...feasted on the flesh and blood of God. If your church did anything less it's time to think about trading up.

In his most recent Issues Etc Journal Todd Wilken has this to say about our Sunday morning worship services: What if, when that Sunday morning visitor wandered into church, we made it clear to him that this is the Lord's Day and the Lord's house because the Lord Himself-Jesus-is there?  What if everything we said and did while he was visiting our church-every word, gesture, action, song and prayer-clearly confessed this?  What if, instead of reengineering the day to fit his expectations, we taught him to expect nothing less than Jesus, in person, forgiving sins? Wilken's line of questioning is right on the money.  What is missing from Christian worship is not the right style of music or the right kind of decorations.  What is often missing is Jesus.  Many churches fail to preach anything resembling the Gospel, and settle for self-help instructions for better living. Yet even among those churches where Christ is proclaimed regularly and the Lord's Supper...

The Lutheran Confessions at times speak of the Sacraments as "signs".  Philip Melanchthon writes in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, " The sacraments are not only signs among men, but signs of God's will toward us; so it is correct to define the New Testament sacraments as signs of grace.  There are two parts to a sacrament the sign and the Word. " (Apol. XXIV) I think Melanchthon is saying that in a sacrament we must distinguish between two things: the sign and the Word.  So what is the sign, and what is the Word? In baptism water is the sign.  In the Lord's Supper the sign is the bread and wine.  What does it mean to say that the water in baptism is a "sign"?  In what way can we call the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper a sign? This is difficult and fraught with danger since in the United States of America the most popular view of the sacraments comes out of the Reformed tradition of the Church.  Especially prevalent in ...

Christian, your good deeds are not filthy rags or polluted garments in the sight of God. Yes, I know, this is every Lutheran pastor's favorite verse to quote when proclaiming the Law: We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. (Isaiah 64:6a) And to an extent this is true.  It is true for the person is is without faith, for the one who is apart from Christ.  The context of Isaiah 64 suggests not a faithful people redeemed by their God, but a stiff-necked people wantonly wallowing in their sin: "Behold, you were angry and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?" (Isaiah 64:5b) Men and women who have been baptized into Christ, however, are not in this state.  Christians are redeemed by the blood of Jesus and all their sin has been covered.  Their good deeds, therefore, do please God, despite their sin. Saint Paul declares in Romans 14:23, "Whatever does not proceeds f...

“I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey.   And I will judge between sheep and sheep.   And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.   And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them.   I am the Lord; I have spoken.” Our problem as American Christians is not that we do not expect God’s goodness.   We do.   We expect that God will do good things for us.   He will bless us, prosper us.   He will heal our diseases, find us a job, keep our blessed ducks in a row.                 Our problem, our sin, is that we expect far too little from God.   We are satisfied with far less than God would give us.   We are contented with the minor blessing of this world, rather than the major blessings of the world to come.  ...

  I don’t believe there is much need for Law today.   I don’t need to yell at you or condemn you or remind you that you have broken the commandments.   On All Saints Day, similar to a funeral, we have a built-in reminder of the Law.                    Death is the great reminder.   The grave screams to us not only of our own limited time here on this earth, but of our lackluster performance in this life.   When we remember those who have died, whether it be in a funeral, a memorial service, or on All Saints Day, we see clearly what we already fear in our hearts: we are mortal…and we deserve it.                 If we had no sin, we would not die.   If we were free from all transgression then the grave would hold nothing against us.   The fact of death holds up for us all a stone-...

You spend your whole life banging on the door of heaven, beating your head against the iron bars, begging for one little strip of recognition from God.  And it never seems to come.  Why is that?                 To understand we need one of the gifts of the Reformation.  We need Law and Gospel.  Today we will apply this beautiful distinction to Romans 3, and see what God is saying, how we can stop banging on the gates of heaven, and watch them open before our eyes.                  The Law is completely inclusive .  It applies to all people at all times and in all places.  This is why Paul states that every mouth will be stopped and the whole world will be held accountable.                 Earlier in this same lett...