Where to start - God

ARTICLES OF FAITH AND DOCTRINE

I. God

            The nature of God is one of the central questions of Christianity. In fact, it was one of the most important issues that the first Christians dealt with in their attempts to define Christianity. This makes it all the more astounding and frustrating that so many Christian are sloppy, to say the least, with what they say about God. From the very beginning Christians have insisted that the one thing that sets us apart is our understanding of God. An understanding not only informed or shaped by Scripture, but one that is revealed to us by God himself and given to us in Scripture.

            Contrary to what some people say these days, the Reformers did not change Scripture or redefine what the Bible says. Just the opposite, they wanted to show that they were not breaking with a traditional Christian understanding of God. To do this they began their statement of faith by referencing ancient and accepted statements about God.

“We unanimously hold and teach, in accordance with the decree of the Council of Nicaea.”

Preface to the Augsburg Confession, Part 2

            The German leaders who supported Luther went to Augsburg and brought several of their best theologians along to speak for them. Chief among them was Philipp Melanchthon, Luther’s right hand man and having earned his Master’s Degree at the age of 15 generally considered one of the smartest people you could ever hope to meet. Luther could not attend because there was a warrant for his arrest. So during the Diet, as they called meetings in German at that time, Melanchthon would send a message to Luther outlining what happened that day and by morning he would have Luther’s response and advice.

            The tone of the Augsburg Confession is set in the Preface. The reformers wanted peace, but not at the expense of truth. They emphasized their agreements with Rome on key issues.

            The Augsburg Confession is not Philipp Melanchthon or Martin Luther’s personal beliefs. The German political leaders who signed the Confession wrote, “We offer and present a confession of our pastors’ and preachers’ teaching and of our own faith, setting forth how and in what manner, on the basis of the Holy Scriptures, these things are preached, taught, communicated, and embraced in our lands, principalities, dominions, cities and territories.” This is the common confession of all who would later become known as Lutherans.

            While the political leaders and theologians who supported Luther at Augsburg wanted peace the end of the Preface states in no uncertain terms that they would never forsake the truth for the sake of peace. “To these we declare our continuing adherence, and we shall not be turned aside from our position by these or any following negotiations.”

The Preface to the Augsburg Confession, Part 1

            The preface of the Augsburg Confession is addressed to Emperor Charles V who ruled the Holy Roman Empire. While the Holy Roman Empire was not particularly holy or even remotely Roman it consisted of parts or most of the following modern countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, San Marino, Slovenia, and Switzerland. It also included small parts of Croatia, France, Italy, and Poland. While this sounds impressive, in reality Charles V could only rule if the majority of local nobility supported him. This is where the Augsburg Confession comes in. The Holy Roman Empire was engaged in a long running on again off again war with the Muslim rulers of Turkey. In order to carry on this war Charles V needed the support of all his local rulers. The problem was a sizable number of people in his empire had joined with or were at least sympathetic to Martin Luther in his protest against the abuses of the Roman church.
            In hopes of putting aside what he saw as petty differences and getting on with the really important work of killing the Turks, Charles called a meeting to be held in the City of Augsburg during the summer of 1530. At this meeting the supporters of Luther and the supporters of Rome were each to present their theological positions and find a way to restore the unity of the empire. In reality it turned into a trial of Luther’s teachings.

The Three Chief Symbols, Part 2

           The Apostle’s Creed was not actually written by the Apostle’s. It was given this name because what it teaches is traced back to the teachings of the Apostle’s and was used in one form or another from the very beginnings of Christianity.

            Over time, places developed creeds for local use, while most these creeds expressed the same faith they differed in how that faith was expressed and some contained things that were contrary to Scripture. In the year 325 to address these issues and especially the question of who and what Jesus Christ is theologians gathered in a place called Nicaea. The result was the Nicene Creed.

The Athanasian Creed isn’t as well known as the other two in part because it is rather awkward to read. This creed was named for, but most likely not written by, a man named Athanasius. Athanasius was all about the Trinity and so is this creed. It lays out for us our basic understanding of the nature of God as God has revealed himself to us in the form of the Holy Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

So the Apostle’s Creed offers us a simple overview of the basics of what we believe. The Nicene Creed expands this with a special focus on the nature of Christ. And the Athanasian Creed makes sure we stay firmly grounded in a Trinitarian understanding of God.

The Three Chief Symbols, Part 1

The first part of the Book of Concord has the title "The Three Chief Symbols." These symbols are the three ancient creeds of the church - the Apostle's Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. There are tons of great books written about these creeds so I'm not going to go into a great deal of detail about them. However there uses by the Lutheran Reformers is very important.

The Lutheran reformers went to great lengths to demonstrate that they were not breaking with the traditional faith of the church, only its excesses in structure, power, and tradition. In fact, Luther and the other reformers saw themselves as stripping away 1500 years of accumulated human tradition and returning to a more authentic Biblical faith. Think of it like striping off all that ugly paint people put on their beautiful oak woodwork during the ‘70s. (Lime green and orange! What were we thinking?) This stripping away of accumulated baggage is a never ending task and why some people like to say the reformation is never over because the Church is in constant need of reforming.

By including these three Creeds the Reformers were stating that the very foundations of Christianity are contained in them. If a person rejects these creeds and what they say they are rejecting the accepted and universal definition of what Christianity is. When this happens we do not even have a common place to begin our conversations about what differences we might have.

Preface to the Book of Concord, Part 2

In the past, as it is today, people tended to attack those they disagreed with by calumny. That’s a two-dollar word that simply means they seek to discredit their opponents by misrepresenting them and their position. Because of this the Preface warns us not “to argue from some other basis, but with ingenuous faith . . . stay with the plain words of Christ.” The most ingenious philosophical and theological arguments are no match for the plain truth of Scripture.

The compliers close the Preface with two warnings and an admonition.

False “teachings are contrary to the expressed Word of God and cannot coexist with it.” A church that is of two minds on central issues is no church at all. Central issues are issues that are clearly taught in Scripture and impact our eternal salvation. Church and congregational organization is not a central issue, how our sins are forgiven is.

The second warning is about our lives together as Christians. The “Word of his that alone brings salvation . . . tranquility and peace.” If we want peace there is only one place to find it - Scripture.

Their closing admonition states what they hope will be the effect of publishing the Lutheran Confessional documents contained in the Book of Concord. “If the current controversies about our Christian religion should continue or new ones arise, we shall see to it that they are settled and composed in timely fashion before they become dangerously widespread in order that all kinds of scandal might be obviated.” The way to avoid and settle these controversies is adherence to Scripture and interpreting Scripture through the teachings of the Lutheran Confessions.

The Preface to the Book of Concord, Part 1

In the preface to the Book of Concord the compilers stated that all the writings contained in “this Christian confession, based as it is on the witness of the unalterable truth of the divine Word.” In other words, what follows is a clear and proper understanding of Scriptures and not their opinions.

While the Book of Concord was intended to bring the splintered Lutherans back to unity, Concord means agreement by the way, it had the further goal of protecting against such fracturing in the future. They wished “to warn and, as far as we might, to secure our posterity in the future against doctrine that is impure, false, and contrary to the Word of God.” And later, “that a pure declaration of the truth might be transmitted to our posterity.” They believed that this common confession would help guard against conflict.

The following statement shows that the Book of Concord was not the opinion of one or two people. “Therefore this Christian agreement is called and also is the unanimous and concordant confession not only of a few of our theologians but generally of each and every minister and schoolmaster in our lands and territories.” In other words, this book defines what it means to be Lutheran. If you agree with what it says you're Lutheran, if you don’t you’re not. Every Lutheran denomination since this was written has at least given lip service to this idea.