Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: Proverbs 12:5-7
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Proverbs 12:5-7
From the Confessions: The Defense of the Augsburg Confession
Concerning the Church
It says “the Church catholic” so that we will not understand the Church to be an outward government of certain nations, but rather, people scattered throughout the whole world who agree concerning the gospel, and have the same Christ, the same Holy Spirit, and the same Sacraments, whether or not they have the same human traditions. The gloss in the Decrees says, “The Church in its wide sense includes both the godly and the wicked, yet the wicked are in the Church only in name, not in fact. But the godly are in the Church both in fact and in name.” The Fathers write to this effect in many passages.
Pulling It Together
The “house of the righteous,” the Church, is infiltrated by the wicked. Sometimes, they seem petty, though they are aggravating and ungodly. They bring their counsel, imagining that they are dropping pearls of wisdom on the Council table. Their intentions may be fine, but their counsel is far from the Word of God. Others hope to ensnare the righteous in evil schemes. Everyone involved in their congregation has known such people. We wonder why they really come to church. God’s will is that such people may be among us for the time being so that it will become plain who demonstrates genuine faith (1 Cor 11:19). The time is coming, however, when the ungodly will no longer stand with the faithful. Only the house of the righteous will stand before God on that glorious Day.
Prayer: Purify my thoughts, Lord, and cleanse my deeds with your righteousness. Amen.
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Author
Rev. Mark E. Ryman serves as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC. Previously, Pastor Ryman has served other congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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