Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

The Soteriological Approach To Christian Doctrine., F. E. Mayer

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Lutheran Confessions present all Christian doctrine from the soteriological standpoint, that is, from the meaning each has for our salvation. Each and every doctrine of Christian revelation must be viewed in actu, not only in statu; it must be within the focus of a real spiritual problem and be presented only in its soteriological significance.

How The Gospel Works, Richard R. Caemmerer Sr.

Concordia Theological Monthly

In the long plan of God we can imagine one good issue emerging from this debate. That is that the meaning of the Gospel becomes clearer and its preaching to the church and the world more apt and timely.

Open Letter To Charismatic Lutherans, Paul F. Hutchinson

Concordia Theological Monthly

The author is pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, St. Louis, Missouri, and has been actively involved in aspects of the charismatic movement.

Process Of Preparation - Genesis 22:1-14: From Text To Proclamation, Andrew M. Weyermann

Concordia Theological Monthly

This article is a paper also prepared for the symposium on "Abraham and Archaeology." On Sunday, February 27, 1972, the author preached a sermon on Gen. 22:1-14, the account of the sacrifice of Isaac. Later the author discussed his preparation for the preaching task with the conference.

The Just Shall Live By Faith, Otto W. Heick

Concordia Theological Monthly

When did Luther reach the reformation insight into the doctrine of Justification? The author reviews the literature on the question, and brings to the attention of American readers the work of Uuras Saarnivaara, which has received little scholarly attention since its publication.

Luther On Christ And The Old Testament, James S. Preus

Concordia Theological Monthly

Careful reading of this article will contribute to getting the hermeneutical debate in our Synod beyond the present impasse that has been created by a non-Lutheran posing of the alternatives by so many who are involved in the debate.

Masters In The Making, Alfred Von Rohr Sauer

Concordia Theological Monthly

How can we go about the task of improving our learning? That is the problem that confronts every educational institution, but especially the church-oriented college or seminary. The problem obviously involves both students and faculty members. The improvement of the learning process on the students' part is dependent on the improvement of the teaching process of the instructor. The teaching process, moreover, calls for a large measure of good counseling on the part of the instructor. The more personal attention a student is given by his instructor, the more stimulated and motivated the student will be to pursue bis studies …

Let's Be Lutheran, Lloyd H. Goetz

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Word of God is His self-revelation in the person of Jesus Christ. This is God's final, complete, and greatest communication to man for his salvation.

The Gospel Promise To Abraham, Norman C. Nagel

Concordia Theological Monthly

"How were the people in the Old Testament saved?" That question is raised by students of the Scriptures in many contexts. The wary teacher usually responds by asking for a definition of the word "saved." A related question is posed this way: ''What is the nature of the gospel in the Old Testament?" Such queries open the door to a flood of concerns about the relationship between the Testaments. That flood will not abate in the wake of this brief article. The ravens and doves of biblical theology will hardly be satisfied with anything less than a preservation of past …

The Gospel In The Medieval Church, Carl A. Volz

Concordia Theological Monthly

A curious phenomenon of Protestant and Lutheran historiography since the 17th century has been a studied neglect of the millennium labeled by Renaissance scholars as the "Middle Ages." One reason for this indifference lies in the popular notion that the Reformation was preceded by a thousand years of sub-Christian superstition during which the strong Pauline accent of justification by grace through faith on account of Christ was almost totally ignored. By coloring these centuries dark, the reformers tend to stand in bolder relief as heroic men of God who appeared to correct long-standing abuses in the church. The more sharply …

The Gospel And The Ecumenical Movement, Robert P. Scharlemann

Concordia Theological Monthly

The first conference on "Life and Work," held in Stockholm in 1925, appealed to Christians to repent the divisions among them and to make the gospel the decisive power in all areas of life. This conference - the "Nicea of ethics," as it came to be called-was not summoned to discuss the theological or dogmatic questions which divide the churches; it was called to address the churches' task of working together in the public life. The invitation declared the world situation to be so serious that Christians could not afford to await the reunion of churches before setting "hearts and …

Documentation: A Response To Some Critical Questions, Reuben C. Baerwald

Concordia Theological Monthly

Many critical questions have been raised about Synod’s New York resolution on fellowship with the American Lutheran Church(ALC). These questions challenge the reality of the doctrinal agreement and point to many problems and differences in church practice. The following material picks up many of these questions (some from a widely distributed essay, “To Join or Not to Join,” by Robert Preus), and provides a positive response.

Brief Studies, Marvin W. Anderson, Herbert T. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Professor Gordon Rupp: The Optimism of Grace

Toward Lutheran Unity

The Treasure Of The Church, Walter R. Bouman

Concordia Theological Monthly

If being on the cover of Time magazine is the status symbol of our age, then Martin Luther has it made. The issue of March 24, 1967, carried his picture, painted by Time cover artist Lucas Cranach the Elder. There's not much left in the status department, except perhaps being named "Man of the Year" or being belatedly canonized. The latter has been seriously suggested, but the former won't happen. This is 1967, not 1517. Religion could hardly be called decisive in national or international affairs. A protest against the sale of indulgences would be meaningless. Poor Tetzel couldn't give …

Luther On Justification, John F. Johnson

Concordia Theological Monthly

Once upon a time every student of theology identified in any way with the Lutheran Confessions was able to read, pronounce, and understand the expression articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae. More importantly, he was not only able to read it; he believed with all his heart that this designation referred to the doctrine of justification. Indeed, this has always been the distinguishing mark of evangelical Lutheranism.

Worship: The Divine Alchemy, Thomas Coates

Concordia Theological Monthly

In medieval lore, scientists sought to use the process of alchemy to transmute base metals into gold. Alchemy proved to be a pseudoscience, for men have devised no method to create the precious metal out of elements that are common and coarse. But in a higher sense, and in the spiritual realm, God achieves that which to man is impossible: He takes these base, ignoble elements, these earthen vessels - our stumbling words, our faltering prayers, our paltry gifts, our flawed works, our frail and sin-scarred lives - and transmutes them into gold, into offerings fit for the King.

The Continuing Significance Of Luther's Prefaces To The New Testament, Werner Georg Kuemmel

Concordia Theological Monthly

When Martin Luther published his first translation of the New Testament into the German language in 1522, he did not publish the Biblical texts alone. He provided his readers with some help by prefaces to the whole New Testament and to the individual books. These prefaces were reprinted in all the following editions of the New Testament and of the whole Bible until the 17th century, but Luther took one of them out and changed the text of a few of them in later editions.

Salvation By Grace: The Heart Of Job's Theology, Alfred Von Rohr Sauer

Concordia Theological Monthly

God desires that anyone who fears Him and serves Him should do that gratis, for nothing. Serving God for nothing, fearing God for nothing-that is the theme that runs through the Book of Job. In the prologue (Chs. 1-2) the author states that Job was a man who feared God and eschewed evil. The lord also told Satan in the prologue that His servant Job was a man who feared God and shunned wickedness. So Job was considered a pious, God-fearing man; there was no question about that, even Satan conceded that point. The question, however, was this: What was …

Able Ministers In The New Year, Lorenz Wunderlich

Concordia Theological Monthly

This Word of God through St. Paul the apostle is preeminently for those who are privileged to stand in the diaconate of our Lord and who perform diaconal functions for Him. To be sure, it does not offer the catena of one and one-half dozen qualifications which the same apostolic writer forges in his letters to Timothy and Titus.

Martin Luther And The Idea Of Monasticism, Heinz Bluhm

Concordia Theological Monthly

Monasticism was still a major issue in the first half of the 16th century in Europe. It played a definite role in the life of many men and women. Among the famous, Desiderius Erasmus and Ulrich von Hutten left the monastery easily, even eagerly; Martin Luther on the other hand only after immense inner difficulties. Inevitable as the final break was for Luther, it caused him great anguish of soul both before and after. Hence it is hardly surprising that throughout his numerous writings there are frequent references to what was surely one of the most stirring experiences in his …

Calvin's Doctrine Of Justification, Thomas Coates

Concordia Theological Monthly

Justification by faith was the great central doctrine of the Reformation, a doctrine which formed the foundation of the entire theological system of Luther and was bequeathed by him to the succeeding generations of Christendom as the great heritage of the Reformation. This doctrine, of course, did not originate with the reformers, but was restored by them to its rightful position as the pivot around which the entire Christian religion revolves - the doctrine which, in a preeminent sense, marks the great cleavage between Christianity and all heathen religions. The unique and distinctive character of Christianity, in contrast with all …

The Secret Of God's Plan, Harry G. Coiner

Concordia Theological Monthly

A restive search is going on today, and almost everyone is engaged in it. The search is for meaning in life, for significance, for purpose. Captured by a meaningless job and caged inside four walls with a TV set for companionship, modern man feels trapped. We need not extend the picture except to suggest that a disintegrating anguish takes possession of people when suddenly they realize that life is empty and sterile, completely lacking in meaning for them. One single devastating question keeps begging for an answer: Why live? The author of Ecclesiastes struggled with this question long ago and …

Luther's Christ, Paul M. Bretscher

Concordia Theological Monthly

For Luther, Christianity centered in the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, in Christ as the Son of God. For no one else, he says, can overcome the wrath of God, destroy the power of death and devil, and grant eternal life. Whoever, therefore, sells short anything of this article "will in course of time lose all of Christianity and ultimately become a Turk." One may nor, therefore, tamper with the divine Word.

The Theological Implications Of Confirmation, Arthur C. Repp

Concordia Theological Monthly

Since the Christian's whole life is a continuous spiritual Baptism, what is the relationship of the Word and the Lord's Supper in Baptism? Are they subordinate to it? Not at all. As Regin Prenter points out, it is just because the baptismal covenant, God's promise of man's salvation and man's faith in God's promise, implies the necessity of a lifelong exercise of man's faith in that covenant that there is a need for a continuous sanctifying activity of the living Word, not in competition with, but in consequence of the regenerating activity of the living Word in Baptism. ln this …

The Theological Implications Of Confirmation, Arthur C. Repp

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Lutheran practice of confirmation can hardly be described as uniform during its long history. The differences varied greatly both in number and in kind as many accretions attached themselves to this practice. Because there was no Biblical basis for confirmation, the Lutheran Church did not hesitate to warrant new emphases and directions with changing circumstances and needs. As confirmation is practiced today, especially in the United States, it is cluttered with the remnants of such additions, the origins of which are rarely recognized. Just as the Reformation Church thought it was restoring confirmation in accord with the tradition of …

Do We Need Another Reformation?, Lewis W. Spitz

Concordia Theological Monthly

In view of the tremendous progress of our age in all areas of human endeavor and the problems it has created, the question has been asked: "Do we need another Reformation?" After all, nearly four and a half centuries have passed since Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg.

Pauline Charis: A Philological, Exegetical, And Dogmatical Study (Concluded), Raymond F. Surburg

Concordia Theological Monthly

Francisco Zorell gives two definitions of grace that are not warranted by the context in which χάϱις, appears in the epistles of Paul.

Pauline Charis: A Philological, Exegetical, And Dogmatical Study, Raymond F. Surburg

Concordia Theological Monthly

No word is more characteristic of Christian faith than the word χάϱις, grace. It conveys the central and fundamental idea of the Christian religion.1 In Lambert's opinion χάϱις is the distinctive watchword of the New Testament; in fact, the words "grace reigns" might be placed over every page. The New Testament scholar Moffatt asserts that the New Testament is a religion of grace, or it is nothing.

The Significance Of Luther's Term Pure Passive As Quoted In Article Ii Of The Formula Of Concord, Robert D. Preus

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Lutheran doctrine of conversion, standing as it does between Calvinism and synergism, is always a difficult position to maintain and defend; for it is built on a paradox, a paradox of exclusive divine action and complete human participation. Faith is at the same time passive and active: passive in that man, blind and dead spiritually, in coming to faith only suffers God to work this change in his heart, active in that man himself believes and is in no way coerced in this nor divested of any of his faculties.

Justification By Faith In Modern Theology (Continued), Henry P. Hamann Jr.

Concordia Theological Monthly

The LXX does not afford us much help as we try to understand what St. Paul means by faith, except in one respect, which will be clear later. There is, of course, in the Old Testament the apostle's great example of faith, the patriarch Abraham. The Psalms, moreover, are replete with expressions which are the accents of faith. As Stewart has well said, "The thing itself can be traced everywhere from Genesis to Malachi," and the same writer quite correctly points to Heb. 11 and its many examples of faith drawn from the Old Testament. But the term itself is …