religion

I almost didn’t do Colossians 4 as the Bible reading for today’s Time Out. There’s not much of the “red meat,” Jesus dying on the cross for you, type of Gospel in it. Dr. Paul E. Kretzmann takes this seemingly backwater passage and produces several practical points that share the Gospel without diluting the message. This comes in our bonus commentary on Time Out Episode 157.
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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 33^rd 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:
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You walk into a restaurant.

You’re seated. The manager comes out and starts telling you how awesome this restaurant is that you so often frequent. He tells you that the kids not only enjoy the food but have a hand in making it. He brags on the fact that the portions are so large–not only are you fed but that they give food to people who don’t have any.  And, not only is there so much food, he tells you, but the food is of a quality beyond comparison with everyone else’s. You are doing yourselves right just by coming here. He goes on to talk about the food itself, how it will satisfy you, how it will build you up and make you strong, and how you are going to enjoy it. Finishing his speech, he announces the service is concluded.

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Recently I witnessed a online discussion where someone argued quite heatedly for a purely symbolic view of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper — on a Lutheran pastor’s Facebook page, of all places. For this person, “IN REMEMBRANCE. TAKE THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME” was the source and norm for all his reasoning. Unfortunately for his argument but fortunately for the rest of us, there are another 31,000 verses in the Bible, give or take.

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper aren’t mere ordinances, and this is a good thing. When we are honest with ourselves, we recognize that there is nothing inside us that assures us we are headed for any salvation. We can have faith, but even that is given to us.

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