Facebook isn’t normally the place for deep, meaningful conversation. I did have the privilege yesterday evening of chatting with someone with some seriously twisted theology. He held that:
- Martin Luther was a 33rd order Freemason.
- The Book of Concord is to be rejected because it came after Revelation.
- The sacraments were not instituted by God but were invented by Roman Catholics hundreds of years later, thus they, too, should be rejected.
- The Bible is true because he felt it was true.
- We don’t need religion.
- He has never doubted the faith nor ever felt that he wasn’t forgiven.
So, that was an interesting conversation. Among my better comments were:
The author of major portions of the Book of Concord, a Freemason? That seems highly unlikely.
[The Book of Concord came from the Bible, that is] The faith once for all delivered to the saints, of course.
The great thing about the Gospel is that you don’t have to feel it in order to be true.
We do not hold the Book of Concord to be scripture itself, but, like the Apostolic, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds, a summary and exposition of the Bible.
I seriously doubt, given Martin Luther’s confession of faith, that he was a Freemason. You have the burden of proof in showing how Martin Luther could be a member of a Scottish unionistic society.
[Reading the Book of Concord] would help because it would put the focus of your theology on Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died on the cross to pay for your, my, and the rest of the world’s sins.
The Book of Concord adds no new theology that isn’t drawn somewhere from the Bible. It was a group of writings written in part to refute the errors of Roman Catholicism and also in part to teach a summary of the faith to people, since most people do not have the time to memorize Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and to memorize the scriptures.
Scripture makes me feel different things. Sometimes it makes me mad, sometimes it makes me broken and contrite, sometimes it makes me relieved, and sometimes it makes me overjoyed. But it’s truth no matter what feelings it invokes in me.
Scripture makes me mad when I think about the Fall. It makes me broken and contrite when I find out how much of a sinner I really am. It makes me relieved when God promises me that I am not going to Hell.
Sometimes I don’t feel God. This is why he gives us his Word and Sacraments, very concrete things that I can hear, touch, even eat.
I think if you were to truly understand what the sacraments were, you would see that they were given for you, and that you would desire them.
Anything you believe about God is a religion. Whether you need a religion or not, you have one. The question is whether your religion matches that which is found in the Scriptures.
The Sacraments are promises of God. God has promised to forgive sins in baptism. The body of Christ is broken for us. The blood of Christ is shed for us, poured for us for the forgiveness of sins, so that even if we don’t feel forgiven, we have his forgiveness.
If the body of Christ is not broken for me and his blood is not shed for me, then I am rejecting his atonement on the cross, and I am going to Hell. I’ll take his gifts, thanks.
People don’t feel forgiven because they are human. They sin. Even the saved still sin. If you have never doubted, you’ve never been tested. Or, you’re in denial.
The God-given faith IN the death and resurrection of Christ saves us. And you can strengthen that faith by reading the Word, by hearing the Word preached, and by participating in the Sacraments. God is that good, that he gives us such things.
Could one, possibly, get into heaven without participation in the Lord’s Supper? Yes. But God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we need, and he has given it to us.
Of course, like most Facebook arguments, nobody won the other over. We do have to be ready to give an answer for our faith. Since our discussion concluded it has been evident that he hasn’t listened, but this hasn’t been a failure. A confession was made. I only hope that it hits him before it’s too late.
I really love this one… My Pastor brought this up in Bible study today… “The God-given faith IN the death and resurrection of Christ saves us. And you can strengthen that faith by reading the Word, by hearing the Word preached, and by participating in the Sacraments. God is that good, that he gives us such things.”
Thanks, Andrew. At that point in the conversation he was talking about trusting in his own faith for salvation. Pr. Matt Lorfield made a similar comment, that faith has to have an object, some concrete thing to be believed.