Soteriology – Page 2 – What Does This Mean?

Lazarus, Come Out!

Encore Post: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were close friends of Jesus. When Jesus came to Jerusalem, He often stayed with them in their home in Bethany, a little town two miles away. So, when Lazarus fell ill, it was personal, even more so because Jesus knew his friend would die. Jesus had raised some people from the dead. Yet the resurrection of Lazarus would be one of his greatest miracles and would set in motion the events leading to his suffering, death, and resurrection.

So, two weeks before his own resurrection, Jesus went to comfort his friends. He said the words that touch a chord in our hearts even today: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26) Still, he grieved for his friend. Then, even though Lazarus had been dead for four days, Jesus ordered the tomb opened and called Lazarus back from the grave.

Previously, Jesus had raised several people from the dead. The resurrection of Lazarus was different because it occurred in close proximity to the priests’ homes. The Sadducees could ignore stories about Jesus as just fairy tales when they happened in Galilee. When their neighbors actually witnessed Lazarus coming back from the dead, they could not dismiss it.

When Caiaphas, the High Priest, heard about this miracle, he said, “It is better that one man die than the people.” He was right, even though he did not know why. From this moment on, the priests and the Pharisees planned to kill Jesus and Lazarus. A week later, Jesus would ride into Jerusalem amid lambs destined for sacrifice. With his death, he destroyed death, its angel passing over us forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Baptized into Christ’s Body

Encore Post: Fifty-Fifth in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism]

Baptism connects us with Christ. We are united with him in his death, and when he rose from the dead, we rose with him. That is about as personal a relationship as we can get. Yet there is more. When we are united with Christ, we are also made a part of his body, the Church. We now have brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we will live forever.

When Jesus gave his final instructions to his apostles, he commanded them to make disciples from all peoples, baptizing them and teaching them. (Matthew 28:18-20) When we were baptized, we were put into Christ’s body, one of many members. God knew we would need each other and so bound us together. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) In this one body, we are united by the Holy Spirit. We have one Lord, one hope, one faith, and one God and Father of us all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

For this reason, the church ordinarily baptizes new Christians, young and old, during Sunday morning worship services or the Vigil of Easter. In this way, the new Christians’ spiritual family can welcome them and rejoice with God that his child, who was once lost, has now been found and brought home to be with him and them forever.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Stay Calm and Remember Your Baptism

Encore Post:

[Fifty-Fourth in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism]

While Baptism is a one-time event, its blessings last a lifetime. Baptism is an event outside of us, observed by witnesses and recorded in books. Especially when we are baptized as children, there is no question that God loves us, that he adopted us as his children, and that we will live with him forever. When we are baptized, we realize that we are not seekers, but that God sought us and found us. We can be sure that we are saved and that we will live with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit forever.

In our sin-filled world, where we are at war with the world, the devil, and our flesh, life can get confusing very fast. As we are confronted with our sinful nature, we may wonder how God can love us, whether we please him, or can ever measure up to his standards. At times like these, we can remember our baptism. No matter what happens, this is the central fact of our lives. I am baptized.

St. Paul reminds us that in baptism, we are united to Christ in his death. (Romans 6:3-11) Christ bore our sins on the cross, suffered, and died to pay the full penalty we deserved for them. Because we are baptized, when he died, we died. When He rose from the dead, we rose to new life. Now we can face anything that comes our way.

Each day, we can prepare ourselves in prayer. We can make the sign of the cross, remembering that we are baptized, thank God for his mercies, and remember that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Church has Always Baptized Infants

Encore Post:

[Fifty-Third in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism]

From the early days of the Church, she has baptized the infants and young children of believers. When the first Christians were baptized, their children, families, and whole households were included. (Acts 2:37-40, Acts 16:15, Acts 16:33, Acts 18:8, 1 Corinthians 1:16) Beginning at the latest, in the 4th Century (300-400 AD), the majority of Christians were baptized shortly after they were born. Even today, most Christians are baptized during their childhood.

The Anabaptist movement of the 16th Century (1500-1600 AD) was the first Christian tradition to challenge infant baptism. Martin Luther pointed out that the first point to make when defending baptizing children begins here. Jesus promised that he would build his Church and the gates of hell would not defeat it. (Matthew 16:18) If infant baptism was not valid, he argued, the Church would not exist in their day, and Jesus would be a false prophet. Since the Church does exist, has prospered and done the will of God to preach the Gospel, infant baptism must be valid.

As previous posts have covered, there is much more to the challenge to infant baptism by Evangelicals. Mostly it has to do with a completely different way of viewing the sacrament. There are many more arguments for infant baptism. If you wish to explore the topic further, visit the LCMS FAQ on baptism (https://www.lcms.org/about/beliefs/faqs/doctrine#baptism) and podcasts on infant baptism at Issues, Etc. (https://issuesetc.org/?ss=Infant+baptism)

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Is Baptism Necessary?

Encore Post:

[Fifty-First in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism]

At first, it seems like a strange question to ask — even the wrong question to ask. Since Baptism is God’s work to save us, why wouldn’t we want to be baptized? There are several reasons this issue comes up. The first arose during the Reformation. The Anabaptist movement believed that children are innocent and that God does not hold them accountable until a later age. The Augsburg Confession (Article Nine) and the Apology of the Augsburg Confession (Article Nine) firmly reject this argument (more in a later post on infant baptism).

The other reason is that in this sinful world, sometimes people die without being baptized. Lutheran theologians answer the question by saying Baptism is necessary but not absolutely necessary for salvation. Baptism is necessary because God commands us to baptize and to be baptized. (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 2:37-38) Jesus tells us that you cannot enter the kingdom of God if you are not born of water and the Spirit. (John 3:5) Yet the Scripture is very clear that the preaching of the Gospel also is a means of grace, which creates faith (Romans 10:14-17), forgives sins, and brings everlasting life. (Romans 1:16)

So, God’s word can save, even when the opportunity for a Christian to be baptized has not come. But God is so rich in his mercy that he gives his grace over and over again, in the form of the preaching of the Gospel, the baptizing of his children, and in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and in Absolution. Each means brings forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation in its own way, providing us with certainty that we are God’s own and will live with him forever. We refuse them at our own peril, for God gives them to us for our good and strengthening in the face of the assaults of the world, devil, and our sinful desires. While God requires us to do so, so they are necessary, it is more that we get to enjoy these blessings.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Baptism Saves You

Encore Post:

[Fiftieth in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism]

Perhaps the point of greatest conflict between Lutherans and the Evangelical movement is our confidence that the Bible teaches that baptism saves you. As I noted in another post, most Protestants think of Baptism as a simple ceremony in which a Christian declares that he puts his faith in Jesus as his personal savior. They think of baptism as something we do, and so think that to say that baptism saves us, that it is the same thing as saying salvation is something we earn by what we do. Yet the Bible clearly says, “Baptism saves you” (1 Peter 3:21-22) and “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5)

If Lutherans believed that baptism was something we do, we also would reject the teaching that it saves. After all, the heart and center of the Lutheran confession is that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone for the sake of Christ alone. But we believe what the Scriptures teach, that salvation is God’s work, not ours. God the Father saved us, not by what we have done, but by washing us and renewing us in baptism by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:4-7) Jesus gave himself for the church, cleansing us by the water and the word. (Ephesians 5:25-27) In Christ, through faith, God has buried us with Jesus in baptism and made us alive with Christ, forgiving our sins. (Colossians 2:11-14) So, when we say we are saved by baptism, we are saying that God saves us by baptism.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

What is Baptism?

Encore Post: [Forty-Ninth in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism]

You may have discovered that Christians place a lot of value on Baptism. Yet there are few subjects on which the various Christian traditions disagree more. Catholics believe baptism is a means of grace that removes original sin and forgives all actual sins committed before baptism. It does not forgive sins committed after that — for that you need to go to confession, be absolved, and do penance. For many Protestants, it is a work you do in obedience to God’s command, showing you’ve accepted Jesus as your personal savior. For others, it is just a meaningful symbol of salvation.

Lutherans believe that baptism is a means of grace, one of the ways instituted by Jesus himself in which God uses to save us. (Matthew 28:19) It combines the Gospel of Christ’s saving obedience, suffering, death, and resurrection with water to wash away our sins. (Ephesians 5:25-27, Titus 3:4-7) It is God himself who does the baptizing, using human hands.

Like the other means of grace, Baptism creates faith in hearts where there is none and strengthens faith where it exists. Baptism also marks us with the name of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It makes us his children and heirs — heirs with Christ.

Finally, it is an undeniable declaration that we are saved. Why? Because we had nothing to do with it. In most cases, it is recorded in the books we can see, and in all cases, it is recorded in the Book of Life. When Satan tries to cause us to doubt our salvation, we can tell him: “Get lost! I am baptized.” Nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And where he is, we will be as well.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Forgiveness of Sins

Encore Post:

[Thirty-Seventh in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism]

King David was a prime example of someone who needed forgiveness. In one episode, he managed to shirk his duty as a commander, lust after his neighbor’s wife, use his power to rape or commit adultery with her, lie to her husband, send him on a suicide mission to murder him, then marry Bathsheba to cover it up. He sinned against everyone, it seems. Yet it is to God he goes for forgiveness. In the end, all sins are rebellion against God. (2 Samuel 11:1-12:25 and Psalm 51)

Forgiveness is hard to come by in this world. When we are hurt, we want to return that hurt in kind. Eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism have no forgiveness — you pay back the bad karma you give with suffering in this life or nearly endless reincarnations. Mormons must cease sinning to pay for forgiveness and progress towards godhood. Pagan religions require a suitable sacrifice to an appropriate spirit.

Christianity is different. We have a loving and merciful God, who, in Jesus, died to pay for our forgiveness and, through the Holy Spirit, gives faith, the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. The Spirit uses his Church to bring this forgiveness to all. In the Church, the Gospel is preached, God adopts his children through baptism, Jesus gives his body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, and he hears our confessions and absolves us of our sins through pastors he sends to do so.

So, then, the Church is not a country club, a place where only good people need apply. It is a hospital, where we who are sick can get well, taking the only medicine that can make us well. We are, after all, beggars telling other beggars where they can find bread.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Marks of the Church

Encore Post:

[Thirty-Sixth in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism]

The word “Church” is used in many ways by Christians. We call our buildings churches. We name our local gatherings of Christian churches. We talk about national organizations of Christian believers, congregations, colleges, seminaries, and churches. We even call worship services church — in a way. Strictly speaking, the Church is all those who have faith in Christ. Even though only God knows for sure who is a Christian or who is not, the public confession of Christians and their good works reveal them to us and to the world. The same thing is true for the Church as a whole. When the Gospel is preached and the sacraments are offered, there you will find the visible Church. So, these things are called the marks of the Church.

The Means of Grace are the instruments that the Holy Spirit uses to call people to faith in Christ and to strengthen and maintain that faith. He places these gifts into the hands of the church and the pastors he calls to shepherd them. They are the masks God wears to seek and to save the lost. He calls them together to receive these gifts, encourage one another, and thank and praise him. This divine service is what we often call worship.

The church in this sense is also called the church militant — the fighting church — because it is at war with the World, the devil and his forces, and our sinful desires. These earthly organizations formed by members of the Church are plagued by the same things individual Christians are. Because its members are sinful, the congregations also sin, are persecuted by the world, tempted by the devil, and suffer along with the Christians who form them. Unbelievers may also belong to them, all the while deceiving themselves and others, behaving like any other Christian.

Yet, as flawed as they are, God loves his people and chooses to use them to proclaim his Gospel, to create faith, to forgive sins, and to bring the lost home. After all, the Lord of the Church, her Good Shepherd, laid down his life for them. And the day will come when he will return to bring his bride, the church, home to enjoy the marriage feast, which has no end.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Kept in the True Faith

Encore Post:

[Thirty-Fifth in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism]

Military planners labor long hours to plan every detail of a campaign before the first soldier or sailor even receives their orders. They consider carefully all the strengths and weaknesses of their enemy and their own troops. They weigh every possible variation and the effects that unforeseen weather might have on the battle. Yet the moment the battle begins, all of that goes away. “The fog of war” sets in. You can’t see clearly. Sometimes you mistake enemies for friends. The battle might be won everywhere but where you are.

In this sin-filled world, you are at war and in the middle of a battle. The old and new man compete for control of your life. The world and the devil try to bend you to their will. Sin, sickness, grief, and death explode all around you. In the middle of this chaos, the Holy Spirit fights to keep you in the true faith. The good news is that he will. Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:38-39) The Holy Spirit, who began a good work in you, will complete it on the day Christ returns. (Philippians 1:6)

We can be sure we will be with Jesus when we die because he promises it. (John 12:26) It does not depend on how many good works we do, whether we confessed and repented of all our sins, whether we really accepted Jesus as our Lord. It all depends on God, who does it all for us and promised we would be with him forever. He guarantees it. After all, he gave us the Holy Spirit.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana