Luther’s Advice for the Christian Life

What do the sovereignty of God, salvation by grace, justification by faith, and new life in union with Christ mean for the living of the Christian life?

For Luther, they carry four implications:  The first implication is the knowledge that the Christian believer is simul iustus et peccator,1 at one and the same time justified and yet a sinner. This principle, to which Luther may have been stimulated by John Tauler’s Theologia Germanica, was a hugely stabilizing principle: in and of myself, all I see is a sinner; but when I see myself in Christ, I see a man counted righteous with His perfect righteousness. Such a man is therefore able to stand before God as righteous as Jesus Christ—because he is righteous only in the righteousness that is Christ’s. Here we stand secure.

The second implication is the discovery that God has become our Father in Christ. We are accepted. One of the most beautiful accounts found in Luther’s Table Talk was, perhaps significantly, recorded by the somewhat mel- ancholic, yet much loved, John Schlaginhaufen:  God must be much friendlier to me and speak to me in friendlier fashion than my Katy to little Martin. Neither Katy nor I could intentionally gouge out the eye or tear off the head of our child. Nor could God. God must have patience with us. He has given evidence of it, and therefore he sent his Son into our flesh in order that we may look to him for the best.2

Third, Luther emphasizes that life in Christ is necessarily life under the cross.3 If we are united to Christ, our lives will be patterned after His. The way for both the true church and the true Christian is not via the theology of glory (theologia gloriae) but via the theology of the cross (theologia crucis). This impacts us inwardly as we die to self and outwardly as we share in the sufferings of the church. The medieval theology of glory must be overcome by the theology of the cross. For all their differences in understanding the precise nature of the sacraments, Luther and Calvin are at one here.

The First 18 Months: Reviewing the Expository Pulpit of Lake Country Bible Church

The First 18 Months:  Reviewing the Expository Pulpit of Lake Country Bible Church

“You guys have been in Revelation for a long time.”  Well, yes and no. Between Pastor Sal and the new guy it has taken us quite a while to exposit and digest twenty chapters and nearly four hundred verses of what is often called “Scripture’s greatest prophecy.”  Since the end of the story (Revelation 6-22) is Divinely intended to impact the here and now we have been in no hurry to move on to something else; (note Dr. Vlach’s insightful article- “7 Reasons Your Church Should Take Eschatology Seriously”). 

Having said that, in the past year and a half we have considered many different themes, subjects, and biblical books during our corporate worship service. My first message as the new Senior Pastor of Lake Country Bible Church was on “Satan’s Strategy Against Christ’s Church” from 1 Corinthians 3:1-7; Philippians 4:2-3.

Next, we reminded ourselves what a robustly Biblical Philosophy of Ministry looks like.  During this expository study we took four weeks to carefully examine Paul’s inspired mission statement from Colossians 1:28-29.  For two decades this text, along with Ephesians 4:11-16 and Matthew 28:18-20, have shaped the ministry of LCBC.  Lord willing, these passages will continue to define our mission for a long time to come.

Along the way I’ve preached a few standalone sermons from both the Old and New Testaments (Hosea 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 2:15; Jude 22-23) as well as a few holiday themed messages for Easter and Christmas (1 Corinthians 15:1-10; Isaiah 7:1-16).  I have also preached a few big picture messages such as “The Three Key Words of Biblical Prophecy.”

During a miniseries in 2017 we spent many weeks trying to get our arms around how the ancient covenant promises of God are related to the Church (Gal. 3:13-29; Heb. 6:11-19), to Israel, and to the prophesied end times (Revelation).  During this study, we studied Genesis 12; Genesis 15; and 2 Samuel 7; while Dan R. provided an overview message on the New Covenant during a Wednesday evening service.  We then considered how these grand covenant promises provide the basis of Messianic and future hope for the people of God in Luke 1:5-56.  One cannot fully appreciate the joy of Christmas or the details of Revelation without understanding the grand covenants of Scripture.

Loving God With All Your Mind

Reason & Revelation- Reason is indispensable for the Christian life because without understanding spiritual growth is impossible. God designed us to be converted and conformed to Christ through mind renewal.

Romans 12:1-2 lays out the importance of the this process: I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

As God’s truth permeates our minds, it imparts objective facts and it impacts our subjective thought process. In other words, God’s truth forms the basis for what we think and fashions how we think. Scripture provides us with the truth we need to inform our thinking and to shape our wisdom. For this reason, and many more, an unreasoned Christian life is a deficient Christian life—the mind must be engaged.

That being said, we must never allow our reasoning to rise to the level of authority. What does this mean? J.I. Packer incisively explains: But all its many varieties spring from a single principle, namely, that the final authority for my faith and life is the verdict of my reason, conscience, or religious sentiment as I examine Scripture “with an open mind,” and measure it by what I have learned from other sources, historical, philosophical, religious and scientific. What under these circumstances reason and conscience say, what I find that “I feel,” that God says (Packer, Fundamentalism and the Word of God, 50).

The Hidden Epidemic: Dangers of anti-anxiety medications

Those who struggle with fear, worry, and anxiety need to be lovingly cared for.  In a perfect world a mature biblical counselor would work in tandem with a top notch Christian physician to offer proper care for a believer who is hurting (we are after all body/soul creatures).

A secular news organization recently ran an article titled the "

The Hidden Epidemic: Dangers of anti-anxiety medications."  This story encourages its readers to understand the side effects and long term addictions that can arise from various 

psychotropic drugs....

 As reported by (KATV) Little Rock — Scott Graves was a man who seemingly had it all: a good job, a loving family. That was until he was handed a prescription for Xanax in 1994 after being diagnosed with a mental health disorder.

"For a long time, I kept it together," he said. "I took it as prescribed. And then it became where I couldn’t do anything without them."

For nearly 15 years, Scott was addicted saying, “I woke up with the pills. I spent the whole day with the pills. I went to bed with the pills. It was my life.”

It took one relapse and two suicide attempts for him to realize he had a problem. He was able to finally break free in 2016. “I was going to die. I didn’t want to, but I was going to," he said.

Scott isn't alone either. The struggle of addition to Xanax or other benzodiazepines, like Klonopin or Ativan, is all too real for more people than you might think.

“Benzos are in fact one of the most addictive prescription drugs that we have in the field today," said Tucker Martin, director of marketing for Recovery Centers of Arkansas.

A Word to the Older Men in the Church

"In Titus 2:2-6, Paul unpacks practically what it means for men and women to live in accordance with sound doctrine. And he starts with the older men of the congregation.  “Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.” Titus 2:2

“Sober-minded” translates a term that describes moderation in the drinking of an alcoholic beverage. Its figurative extension in this verse means to be free from every form of mental and spiritual drunkenness—to be free from excess, passion, rashness, or confusion. It’s a call to be “restrained in conduct, self-controlled, level-headed” (BDAG).

“Dignified” describes a person who is worthy of respect and honor. It is a person who is noble, dignified, and serious (BDAG). The dignified person is so self-possessed and in control of his temper and fears that he elicits admiration from those who know him.

“Self-controlled” indicates someone who is thoughtful and in control of their passions. In Aristotle’s ethics, the term describes someone who avoids extremes and who gives careful consideration for responsible action (Aristot., EN 3, 15; BDAG). For Aristotle, the “self-controlled” person “is intent on the what, the how, and the when of doing what should be done.”

“Sound” literally means to be “healthy” or free from sickness. The extension of that meaning here means to be free from error. So “sound” in faith, love, and endurance means that older men have to believe in the right way, love in the right way, and endure in the right way.

Why the Church Needs to Stop Trying to Be Trendy and Hip: Raw Insights from a Young Widow

Why the Church doesn't need any more come as you are, causal everything, "lights, fog machines, couches on the platform" worship services.

Young widow, Kimberli Lira, explains how her husband's death has made her view church initiatives in a new way.  My social media feeds are full of churches boasting about the trendy new initiatives they have begun. I see pictures of Starbucks style coffee bars. I hear about lighting sequences that resemble a Broadway show. I read catchy sermon titles that incorporate movies and popular culture.

On 14th February 2017, my life changed. My husband passed away after a two year battle with cancer.

To say he battled cancer is an understatement. Over the first year he was hospitalized 18 times, for two weeks out of every month. He was rushed to the emergency room eight times and spent hundreds of days separated from our two children. Eventually the chemo, the treatment designed to get rid of the cancer, caused paralysis. For the last four months of his life he was paralyzed and confined to a bed.

But throughout the cycles of chemo, throughout the separation from his children night after night, throughout listening to doctors telling him bad news after bad news, he never once said how much he appreciated the coffee bar at church.

Not once did he say that he loved the lighting in the sanctuary.

He never told me how cool it was that they put a couch on the platform.

He didn’t boast about the use of graphics and props.

A Word to the Older Women of the Church

After giving instructions about older men in the congregation, Paul now turns to the older women:  “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good.” Titus 2:3.  Cross-generational relationships are Jesus' design for the Body of Christ (see Titus 2).

Notice that Paul says “likewise.” That means that these older women are to be godly exemplars just like the older men are. And Paul specifies particular attributes:  “Reverent in behavior” means behavior that is worthy of a holy person (Montanari). There is a verbal link to what Paul says in verse one about that which is “fitting with sound doctrine.” This term calls for behavior that is “fitting with holiness.” Paul zeroes in on two very specific besetting sins that are not in accord with holy behavior.

“Not slanderers.” To slander someone means to assassinate someone’s character with your words. The NASB translates the term as “malicious gossips.” The malevolent attempt to destroy someone’s reputation and character with your words is not in keeping with holiness. In fact, this term is one of the names that the Bible gives to the Devil—Diabolos. He is a slanderer. Slander is the devil’s work and is completely at odds with holy behavior.