Concerning Human Traditions in the Church – part 9
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: 1 Timothy 2:5–6
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
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From the Confessions: The Defense of the Augsburg Confession
If people are allowed to institute religious rites with the purpose of meriting grace, then the religious rites of all the heathen will have to be approved. The rites instituted by Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:26) and by others, outside of the law, will have to be approved. For what difference does it make?
Pulling It Together
“You can’t make this stuff up,” people sometimes say when they hear something incredible—like the guy who called 911 because he was locked in his car. You can’t make this stuff up. Or can you?
God has determined to give us his grace freely because of Jesus and the cross. There are to be no ceremonies or any works added to faith in what Christ has done for us. There is no way but God’s way, and his way is Christ—Christ alone. Yet, instead of having the faith to trust him for his promised grace in forgiveness, justification, and eternal life, people invent things that need to be done to supposedly earn God’s grace. They would rather work for grace than receive it freely. You just can’t make this stuff up.
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for giving your life as a ransom for mine and for all people. Amen
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Author
Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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