Have you ever been accused of being a “legalist”? Or, perhaps, you have accused someone else of this. Calling someone a legalist is the supreme Lutheran insult. It’s the accusation that shuts down all conversation, because no Lutheran wants to be a legalist. As you might be able to guess from the word itself, “legalism”… Read More ›
When you disagree with someone, it is often a good idea to take a step back and ask yourself, “What is the strongest part of their argument?” It’s easy enough to engage the weakest part of an opposing argument, even if you’re wrong and they’re right. But if you can engage the strongest part of… Read More ›
Why do we sin? We do things that we know are wrong. Many times, we even know the risks or dangers that accompany our sins. We can do the moral math, but we do a thing anyway. For example, maybe you insult a person. You know it’s hurtful and wrong. You know there’s nothing to… Read More ›
Do we have free will? Philosophers debate this. Is everything in the world predetermined, or do we determine our own destinies? And if everything is determined by God, would we even be able to figure it out? Let’s leave the speculation to the philosophers. Such questions are impossible to answer by philosophy. But we’re Christians…. Read More ›
For a little over a year now, I’ve been using these newsletter articles to go through the Augsburg Confession. This is one of the documents that, according to our church constitution, we receive and adhere to. And since we subscribe to it in our constitution, it’s valuable for us to know what it says. Of… Read More ›
The issue isn’t going away. Christians can and should be engaged in civil government. There are always some who say that Christians should just stay out of it. But the whole world belongs to our God, and it is right for us to be engaged. During the Reformation, there were separatists within Christianity who argued… Read More ›
One of the Sundays I was on vacation in July, my family and I attended an AFLC service. The other Sunday we attended one outside of the AFLC. Both services were good. The sermons were good. The liturgy was good. They were different, but also similar in many ways. There are some traditions we keep… Read More ›
On June 12-15 I attended the Annual Conference for our Association of Free Lutheran Congregations on the campus of the Free Lutheran Bible College and Seminary in Plymouth, MN. The whole family went. It was the first time all five of us have gone. We also went a day early so we could watch the… Read More ›
For about the last year, I’ve used this space to walk through the Augsburg Confession article by article. The Augsburg Confession is the confession of our congregation. Our primary source of doctrine is, of course, the Holy Scriptures. But where disagreements arise, it is often necessary to have documents that clarify our position. The point… Read More ›
In the Lutheran Church we consider two things to be Sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And they are great gifts to us. We treasure them because God promises to create faith, strengthen faith, and forgive sins through them. Many churches today teach that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are merely symbols. They might consider… Read More ›