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The Significance Of Luther's Hermeneutics For The Protestant Reformation, Raymond P. Surburg

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Protestant Reformation, called by Roman Catholics the Protestant Revolt, is generally conceded to have been one of the most significant movements in the last two thousand years of world history. Historians who have treated the Reformation have interpreted it from at least four distinct points of view: the religious-political, the rationalist, the liberal-romantic, and the economic-evolutionary. A current scholar, Rosenstock-Huessy, lists the Protestant Reformation as the first of four political revolutions occurring between 1517 and 1918.

The World Council Of Churches: A Theological Appraisal, F. E. Mayer, Richard Z. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Throughout the history of the divided Church there have been earnest efforts to reunite the separated communions. The impetus for such a reunion usually was strongest in a period either of prosperity or of opposition. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Church experienced an era of revivalism and expansion, and shortly the former confessional boundaries were ignored, and in spite of divergent doctrinal views denominations united in organizing the several national Bible Societies and large Missionary Associations. When shortly afterwards a wave of secularism swept over the world, the various communions again set aside their confessional differences and …

The Grace Of God Gives Us Christ For Justification, Gerhard Schulze-Kadelbach

Concordia Theological Monthly

Our theme is a confessional statement. The statement as a whole as well as each of its terms makes sense only as a confession. We must consider this for a moment at the very outset. In doing so, our thoughts tend in two directions. The realization that we are dealing with a confessional statement implies above all that the assertion of our theme is possible only within the Church. The little word "us" points unmistakably to this fact: "The grace of God gives us Christ for justification."

Keep Yourselves In The Love Of God, William J. Hassold

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Letter of Jude is one of the most polemical portions of the New Testament. The purpose of Jude, the brother of the Lord, in writing this letter was to appeal to his readers "to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (v.3).

Three Aspects Of The Way Of Christ And The Church, Martin H. Franzmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

In 1 Cor. 1:9 St. Paul characterizes the members of the Church as those who have been called by God into fellowship (communion) with His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. This fellowship is a total participation in the whole Christ, a participation which takes a peculiarly vivid and experiential form in Holy Communion (1 Cor.10:16 ff.).

Sola Gratia, J. W. Behnken

Concordia Theological Monthly

To speak on the very important topic "Sola Gratia” within a period of fifteen minutes, and to do this within the framework of the highly significant general theme: "The Gospel establishes and maintains our Lutheran Church," is an assignment to which I cannot even remotely do justice. At best I can refer only to a few major points. We are concerned here with the chief principle of the Reformation. Dr. Luther declared: "The word of grace and forgiveness of sin teaches us that we are justified and saved solely through Christ, without our merit; this is the principal article from …

Our Life Of Faith, W. F. Beck

Concordia Theological Monthly

But a man is no statue. He, not God, does the believing. Like the sensory process of seeing or of hearing, believing is active as well as passive. It is not a pressed flower in a book, but a living plant which receives nourishment only to grow and produce fruit.

A Study Of The Subordinate Moods Of Pisteuō In The New Testament, E. A. Mills

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Growth Of Our Faith, W. F. Beck

Concordia Theological Monthly

Contrast a righteous but weak Lot with Abraham, the father of all believers. Lot is materialistic, timid, helpless; Abraham is unselfish, bold, royal. Lot has to run for his life; Abraham, alone, pleads with God for Sodom. Lot escapes from the burning city with the loss of everything, while Abraham lives peacefully with the Lord who made heaven and earth. Lot wants to hide in a cave, while Abraham rises like a lonely mountain peak, touching the clouds.

The Basis Of Our Faith, W. F. Beck

Concordia Theological Monthly

A careful person insists on evidence. He is critical. He will be interested in the proofs for the existence of God and other apologetic evidence for the Christian faith. He is delighted to see that Christianity has met human needs better than any other religion (the pragmatic evidence) and finds such practical values a potent demonstration of its truth. But we do not reach our Savior along the lines of logic, of premises and inferences. We do not find God at the end of a philosophical search - He is standing on our doorstep. He simply appears in our midst …

The United Testimony On Faith And Life, F. E. Mayer

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Lutheran Church bodies making up the American Lutheran Conference have now walked and worked together for a period of more than twenty years. They have learned to know one another both as to doctrine and as to manner of life. They have been associated as brethren serving the Lord. Coming out of varying backgrounds as to national origin and as to distinctive trends in church life and practice, they have learned to cherish one another's contributions to the fulness of the Church's life in Christ. Through closer acquaintance and deepening fellowship they have found that the common roots of …

The Universal Priesthood Of Believers With Luther's Comments, L. W. Spitz

Concordia Theological Monthly

The universal priesthood of believers is the Christian Church on earth, the Communion of Saints, which Jesus Christ has redeemed, purchased, and won from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that it may be His own, live under Him, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, and which the Holy Ghost has called by the Gospel, enlightened with His gifts, sanctified and kept in the true faith. Thus Luther has taught us. Each Christian confesses …

Chalcedon After Fifteen Centuries, Jaroslav Pelikan

Concordia Theological Monthly

This year marks the fifteen hundredth anniversary of one of the most important councils of the ancient Church, the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Chalcedon is generally regarded as the conclusion of almost a century and a half of theological discussion centering in the doctrine of the person of Christ. This discussion came to a focus at the first four ecumenical councils-Nicaea in 325, Constantinople in 381, Ephesus in 431, and Chalcedon in 451. Out of these four councils and the theological work that went into them there emerged the dogmas of the Trinity and of the person of Christ …

Human Will In Bondage And Freedom, A Study In Luther's Distinction Of Law And Gospel. (Part Ii.), F. E. Mayer

Concordia Theological Monthly

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" ( Gal. 5 :1 ). That is the sum and substance of St. Paul's letter to the Galatians. Christian liberty is Paul's one and only theme: the glorious liberty which has freed us from the tyrannical bondage under the Law, sin, death, the devil, and the wrath of God. This was also the heart and core of Luther's theology set forth in his Commentary on Galatians and especially in his treatise The Liberty of a Christian Man. The occasion for writing this tract is highly significant. The papal …

The Essentials Of Effective Pastoral Counseling, Otto E. Sohn

Concordia Theological Monthly

Pastoral counseling is an age-old art. When impenitent King David all but succumbed under the impact of a terrific sin, his divinely sent pastoral adviser, the prophet Nathan, deftly aided him to find a solution to his problem. By means of a well-chosen parable he first led him to recognize the enormity of his sin, and from there it was but a short step to confession, absolution, and a new lease on life. Scriptural examples of this blessed soul healing function could be greatly multiplied, especially from the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles.

The Problen Of The Apparent Conflict Between Paul And James, Paul Ph Spitz

Bachelor of Divinity

The problem of the exposition of justification is not, however, the only point on which the Epistle of James and the works of Paul are said to vary. Other difficulties that have been cited include the apostles' supposedly varying concepts of sin, their description of God, and the lack of emphasis regarding Christ in the epistle James wrote as compared to the Christ-centered exposition of doctrine penned by Paul.

On these points, as we shall find in this thesis, the difference lies not so much in the words that are expressed by the apostles, but rather in the scope of …

The Psychology Of Prayer, David Preisinger

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This thesis proposes to present a brief description of the kind of prayer that possesses the three characteristics named above. The discussion is arranged according to the following outline: prayer according to the New Testament, prayer and religious experience. and God, as the impulse; for prayer.

New Testament Fellowship: A Study In Semantics, R. T. Du Brau

Concordia Theological Monthly

In the seventeen passages of the New Testament which employ χοινωνία the associative idea is uppermost. One readily distinguishes three chief usages of the term: 1) a common sharing in all spiritual-and sometimes material-gifts; logically followed by 2) mutual help and assistance by association in contributory aid, all of which affects, and is effected by, 3) the existing intimate fellowship in the association as a divinely created and established communion of all believers in Christ.

De Ministerio Ecclesiastico, Augustana V, F. E. Mayer

Concordia Theological Monthly

There is room for differences of opinion where the doctrine of the means of grace may be best discussed in a textbook on dogmatics, whether under the Prolegomena, under the Prophetic Office of Christ, in the article on the Church, or as a separate locus. But it is essential that the indissoluble connection between the doctrines of justification and the means of grace be preserved. The order established by the Augustana must be maintained, for grace and faith are correlative terms. Article IV presents justification by faith, and Article V very properly continues: "That we may obtain this faith [described …

Brunner And Luther On Scriptural Authority, H. Armin Moellering

Concordia Theological Monthly

In its struggle with Roman Catholicism the Reformation made its appeal from tradition and an authoritatively interpreting Church to the Scriptures. This basic approach of the Reformers is obvious and universally recognized. Some writers, nonetheless, have failed to note the complete cleavage between Romanism and the Reformers at this point. Emil Brunner sees clearly that whatever the token deference of Rome to the authority of Scripture may be, in point of fact Rome forsakes Scripture and rests her authority in the interpretive and teaching office of the Church. Rome operates with "die massgebende Autoritaet der kirchlichen Schriftauslegung."

Lnstructions To The Weak And The Strong According To Romans 14, C. A. Gaertner

Concordia Theological Monthly

Eternal vigilance is the price of Christian liberty which was restored to Christendom through the Lutheran Reformation. Legalism and license always have been and still are the implacable foes of Christian liberty and ultimately of the Gospel itself. Since the Apostolic days church history is replete with instances where entire church bodies fell victim to one or the other. And the pity is that only too frequently matters of indifference, so-called adiaphora, served as the starting point from which either legalism or license sabotaged the priceless boon of Christian liberty. The Lutheran Church must therefore guard with especial care its …

Study On 1 Timothy 1:3-11, Otto E. Sohn

Concordia Theological Monthly

Late in his career, in the early sixties, the Apostle Paul was able to carry out his projected visit to Asia and Macedonia (Philem. 22 and Phil. 1:25; 2:24), at which time he doubtless visited Crete, leaving Titus behind to supply the churches with pastors (Titus 1:5). Likewise he met with Timothy in Ephesus, upon whom he also prevailed not to accompany him to Macedonia, since evil forces were threatening to wreak havoc in the church (1 Cor. 16:9; Eph. 5:16; Acts 19:23 f.). Furthermore, the matter of staffing the churches with pastors and deacons needed attention (1 Tim. 3:1-10, …

The Relationship Of Faith And Knowledge In The Lutheran Confessions, Jaroslav Pelikan

Concordia Theological Monthly

The proper understanding of the nature of faith is a matter of central importance in Christian theology. For this reason the Christian Church has sought for terminology by which to describe faith in a manner that will do justice to all the affirmations of Holy Scripture concerning it. The origin and development of some of this terminology was the topic of a recent essay in the pages of this journal. There it was indicated that the distinction between the believing (knowing) subject and the believed (known) object was intended to safeguard an integral element in the Christian definition of faith …

The Nature Of Knowledge And The Role Of Faith In Greek Thought From Thales To Aristotle, Barton Fletcher

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Neo-Thomism, Paul M. Bretscher

Concordia Theological Monthly

When Pope John XXII canonized Thomas Aquinas ( 1225 to 1274) in 1323, he declared "doctrina eius non potuit esse sine miraculo" and that Thomas had done more to enlighten the Church with his gifts than all other teachers of the Church before his day. In 1279 and 1286 the Dominican Order chose Thomas Aquinas for its Doctor. In 1346 Clement VI enjoined on this Order to adhere strictly to the doctrines of St. Thomas. In 1368 Urban V instructed the university of Toulouse "to follow the teaching of the sainted Thomas as the true doctrine and to make every …

Walter Arthur Maier, 1893-1950, Wm. Arndt

Concordia Theological Monthly

On January 11, 1950, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, like all other sections of our Church, was thrown into a state of deepest mourning by the news that one of its professors, Dr. Walter A. Maier, shortly after midnight had departed this life. While since 1944 he had been on leave of absence, devoting his energies almost exclusively to the work of the Lutheran Hour, he was living on the campus, had contact with other professors and with students, and sent out his Sunday broadcasts from Station KFUO, located on the campus of Concordia Seminary. It was known that on December …

God's Grace The Preacher's Tool. A Homiletical Study Of Titus 2:11-14, Richard R. Caemmerer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Most pastors read the Christmas Epistle during the holidays. Many preached on it as a text for a Christmas message. As they prepared that sermon, they probably realized that this text speaks only secondarily to congregations. Primarily it is addressed to a pastor, a pastor who is training other pastors. It does not speak specifically of Christmas, but of the redemption of Jesus Christ in general; not specifically of the moods and joys of Christmas, but of the objective of good works in Christian people. Hence the text speaks to pastors about their own ministry to people, especially the ministry …

The Origins Of The Object-Subject Antithesis In Lutheran Dogmatics. A Study In Terminology, Jaroslav Pelikan

Concordia Theological Monthly

One of the tasks with which both Christian preaching and Christian dogmatics are confronted is the attempt to express Biblical testimony in non-Biblical terminology. Such an attempt is as difficult as it is necessary. In order to perform its responsibility, the proclamation of the Christian message in preaching must resort to ways of speaking that are not found in the Scriptures. Similarly, theologians have always found it necessary to collect into one expression what is said in several different parts of the Scriptures. But the difficulty in any such expression is that a word taken over from extra-Christian sources may …

Brief Studies, C. A. Hardt

Concordia Theological Monthly

In spite of many fine Bible translations the pastor will constantly turn to his Greek New Testament, for no translation can reproduce fully the many fine shades of meaning in the original. A careful study of the original will frequently bring the exact meaning of a text or a word into sharper focus, change wholly or in part the meaning conveyed in the translation, or may even correct a misleading and inadequate translation. A few samples chosen at random will illustrate this.

Notes On Luther's Interpretation Of John 6:47-58, John Theodore Mueller

Concordia Theological Monthly

Christ's discourse in John 6: 47-58 is no doubt one· of the most striking and challenging appeals from the lips of our Savior that are recorded in the Four Gospels.

It constitutes the climax in a long and earnest address delivered by our Lord when His Jewish followers, impressed by the amazing miracle of the feeding of more than five thousand in the wilderness with five loaves and two fishes, came to Capernaum to take Him by force and make Him their King, not indeed because they believed in Him as the promised Messiah, but, as Jesus frankly told them, …