Christ Alone

Augsburg Confession Article XIV

Here is the link to Article XIV: https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/of-ecclesiastical-order/

This article is only one sentence long: “Of Ecclesiastical Order they teach that no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called.”

When the Roman theologians responded, they agreed with the article, but insisted that “regularly called” must be understood to mean a canonically valid ordination. In other words: a priest/pastor must be ordained by a Roman Catholic bishop who has valid apostolic succession.

In reply, Melanchthon observed that the Lutheran pastors would have gladly accepted canonical ordination: they had no wish to establish a new church. However, while church polity can be useful, this custom is not strictly necessary because it derives from human authority rather than scripture. The Catholic bishops refused to recognize the truth of the evangelical doctrine; instead of ordaining the Lutheran pastors, they condemned them. Hence, it was no longer possible to maintain the old procedures. (https://bookofconcord.org/defense/of-ecclesiastical-order/)

In later centuries, Article XIV would generate different kinds of controversy. At times, it has been used to keep laypersons from exercising their gifts. Some Lutheran churches interpret this quite strictly and insist that the pastor should even do all the scripture readings in the divine service. In the Lutheran Brethren, we have more of a history of lay involvement and even lay preaching.

I don’t claim to be an expert on this issue, but it appears to me that the article should not be read as an absolute prohibition on lay ministry. It is more of a recognition that there should be good order in the church, and that those who serve in a public teaching role should do so under authority. (This is Biblical: some relevant New Testament passages include Acts 14:23; Ephesians 4:11-12; James 3:1-4; 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4.)

However, if someone is particularly gifted in ministry, it seems to me that the congregation should affirm their gift and consider issuing them a “regular call” (a relevant case study might be Acts 18:18-28, where Priscilla and Aquila came alongside an itinerant evangelist and equipped him). Furthermore, while the pastor and elders are ultimately responsible for what is taught, it seems that in the New Testament, other people were sometimes given the opportunity to share during gatherings, within proper guidelines (see 1 Corinthians 14).

Additionally, we affirm the priesthood of all believers (see especially 1 Peter 2:5-9). Outside of the public worship service, every Christian has a responsibility to speak the word of God as they go about their ordinary vocation.

As for the sacraments:

  • For the sake of good order, baptism should normally be administered by the pastor. However, in an emergency (such as impending death), if there is no pastor available, any Christian can (and should) baptize.
  • In some other protestant traditions, it is fairly common for laypersons to baptize. Though we do not prefer this, so long as the baptism was performed with water and the words “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” we would recognize that it was valid. It’s the word of God that makes it so — not whether the baptizer was ordained or not. [There are some exceptions to this. For example, the Mormon church uses the correct words, but they have a false understanding of the Trinity and therefore mean something different by the words. Hence, Mormon baptism is invalid. Mormons are not Christian.]
  • For the sake of good order, holy communion should normally be administered by the pastor. In the Lutheran Brethren, elders are also ordained and have authority to administer communion. It’s not that a layperson can’t, but it would be presumptuous to do so without a calling.
  • In situations where there is no ordained pastor (for example, in a place where there are only a few Christians), my personal opinion is that the congregation has authority to delegate someone to read the words of institution. This would still be a “regular call.”
Christ Alone

Augsburg Confession Article XIII

Here’s the link to Article XIII: https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/use-of-the-sacraments/

Essentially, there are three points in this article:

1. When we receive the sacraments, it is indeed a public testimony of faith. However, the sacraments are much more than that. They are a gift of grace from God to us, and they have been given to us in order to awaken and confirm faith.

Baptism: When you are baptized, the world sees and knows that you are now a Christian. It’s a “mark of profession among men.” But beyond this, baptism is God’s gift to us. It unites us with Christ (Galatians 3:27; Romans 6:4), cleanses from sin (Acts 2:38-39), gives rebirth and renewal (John 3:3-5; Titus 3:4-7), and makes us part of the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).

Holy Communion: Every time you walk to the front of the church to receive the bread and wine, you declare to the church that you believe in Jesus. It’s a “mark of profession among men.” But it’s more than that. Holy Communion is a “participation” in Christ’s body and blood (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). The words “this is my body” and “this is my blood” (Mark 14:22-24) should be taken at face value. Jesus is really present in the sacrament.

2. The benefits bestowed in the sacraments are received by faith. A person can be baptized externally, but if they do not believe the gospel, they will be condemned (Mark 16:16). Likewise, a person who eats the Lord’s Supper “unworthily” does so to to their own harm (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).

3. Therefore, the outward act of receiving a sacrament does not in itself justify a person: faith in Christ is necessary. This reminds us of how important it is to continue instructing baptized people in the faith (see Matthew 28:19).

A few other comments:

– Some Christians raise the question: what if I didn’t believe at the time I got baptized, but I do believe now? Should I get rebaptized? The answer is no. God’s work in baptism was effective then and it’s still effective. Repent of your unbelief and trust in him.

– Private Confession and Absolution is another resource that’s available to us. In fact, Lutherans occasionally speak of Confession and Absolution as a third sacrament. Melanchthon does so in his defense of the Augsburg Confession (https://bookofconcord.org/defense/of-the-number-and-use-of-sacraments/). However, Confession and Absolution lacks an outward visible sign. Hence, we more often think of it as a personalized application of the gospel.

Christ Alone

Augsburg Confession Article XII

Here is the link to Article XII: https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/of-repentance/

In the first few centuries of the church, one of the questions that Christians wrestled with was the problem of post-baptismal sin. Since baptism is a one-time, unrepeatable event, what happens if you commit mortal sins after being baptized? Can you be forgiven?

In the New Testament, we find that people were normally baptized as soon as they heard and believed the good news about Christ. However, in later centuries, new believers began to delay baptism. Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 220 AD) suggested that, because young people are filled with passion and often give way to temptation, it might be better to wait and get baptized later in life when the passions of the flesh have been tempered.

In the centuries that followed, many people delayed baptism. It is said that the emperor Constantine spent most of his life as a catechumen. He waited to get baptized until he was on his death-bed, because he wanted to avoid the risk of polluting his soul by post-baptismal sin. This was a far cry from what Ananias had said to Paul: “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16 NIV).

This issue is closely related to the question of church discipline. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul instructs the church to excommunicate a brother who had fallen into sexual immorality. Although this is not stated, we can assume that he had been baptized at an earlier time.

Excommunication clearly had the intended effect of leading him to repentance, because in 2 Corinthians 2, Paul urges them to extend forgiveness and welcome him back. Note that there is no command to rebaptize the repentant sinner. He simply needs to be welcomed back into the fellowship and forgiven by the congregation.

When baptized believers fall into sin, they need to repent and believe the gospel. They will then be forgiven. In fact, the Christian life should be marked by daily repentance.

This article states that repentance involves 2 parts: contrition and faith. This directly contradicts Roman teaching; in the Roman Catholic Church, penitent sinners were expected to perform an act of contrition (often a token gesture such as praying a certain number of prayers) prior to receiving the absolution. The Lutheran church did away with this. You are forgiven whenever you repent. However, note that “good works are bound to follow.” A forgiven sinner will voluntarily seek to do good works that please God and neighbor.

This article condemns the idea that Christians can never fall away from the faith. To the contrary, through persistent unrepentance, it is possible to lose the Holy Ghost.

It is true that no one can snatch the elect from God’s hand (John 10:28). God doesn’t abandon you every time you do wrong. In fact, we don’t even know the full extent of our sinfulness: the Psalmist asks God to forgive even those hidden faults that he is not aware of (Psalm 19:12-14)! God is generous and ready to forgive even repeat offenders (see Ezekiel 18:23; Matthew 18:21-22).

However, through persistent rebellion and unrepentance, Christians can walk away from faith (see Hebrews 3:12; 1 Corinthians 10:12; 1 Timothy 1:19).

This article condemns the errors of Novatian. Novatian was a schismatic priest who taught that if a Christian denied the faith, they could never be readmitted into full communion with the church.

This article also condemns the idea that we need to do works to earn forgiveness. Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient.