Christ Alone

Augsburg Confession Article XXIV

Here is the link to this week’s article: https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/of-the-mass/

This article speaks to the church’s worship. While the Roman church had erred in many ways, there was nothing intrinsically wrong with the traditional order of service.

The early Lutherans were careful to preserve the traditional Mass, reforming only what was necessary. Perhaps the biggest change was that they began singing hymns in the vernacular. Luther and his colleagues wrote hymns in German, publishing the first hymnal in 1524. Over time, the Lutheran church would become renowned for its music. Lutheran composers, such as Michael Praetorius and J.S. Bach would have a major impact on the development of western musical forms.

The other major issue dealt with in this article is abuses of the Mass. At the time of the reformation, it was common for priests to say Mass for a fee: it was thought that just by celebrating Mass, the priest could vicariously remove sins. Further, although Mass was said daily, most laypersons received communion infrequently, if at all.

Because of the abuses associated with daily Communion, the Lutheran reformers returned to an earlier practice of having Holy Communion only on holy days (Sundays and Festival days), or it could be served on request (for example, when an individual is unable to attend the Sunday service). This is probably similar to the practice of the early church.

Much later (probably in the 19th century), many Lutherans moved from weekly to monthly or even quarterly communion. There were a number of reasons for this. Many congregations in North America lacked ordained pastors, so they only celebrated communion when a pastor could visit. Among pietistic Lutherans, there was a strong emphasis on receiving worthily; many feared receiving the Lord’s Supper without a period of personal preparation. Additionally, Lutherans have been influenced by other Protestant groups who place less emphasis on the Lord’s Supper.

At this point, monthly communion is a long-standing tradition, but perhaps it is worth re-examining our reasons.

If you’re interested in studying this issue further, here’s a helpful primer (and the source of some info in this post): https://steadfastlutherans.org/blog/2015/01/communion-every-sunday-surprise-surprise/#:~:text=But%20suddenly%2C%20in%20the%2019th,only%20four%20times%20a%20year.

Christ Alone

Augsburg Confession Article XVI

Here’s the link to Article XVI: https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/of-civil-affairs/

This article was necessary because some of the radical reformers (particularly among the Anabaptists) were teaching that Christians must be entirely separate from the world: in their view, it was immoral for Christians to hold civil offices. On the basis of verses such as Matthew 5:37 and James 5:12, some taught that a Christian must never take an oath.

However, the Lutheran confessors recognized that civil governments have a God-given authority to restrain evil and punish evildoers. Let me explore a few examples.

While it is always a sin for a private citizen to take life, a lawfully-installed magistrate has the right and responsibility to sentence criminals to imprisonment (or, where there is a legal basis for it, even death for severe crimes). This authority goes back to Genesis 9:6. Likewise, a soldier who serves under lawful authority is not guilty of murder when fighting in a war (this presupposes that the authorities are engaged in just war– a topic too complex to cover here).

In daily life, it is inappropriate and unnecessary for Christians to take oaths. A simple “yes” or “no” will suffice. However, when required to take an oath by the proper authorities, we may do so with a clear conscience, provided we are sincere and honest (see Deuteronomy 6:13).

Furthermore, Christians may hold office in secular governments. In the Old Testament, we have examples of saints such as Joseph, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, who held high positions within the governments of pagan rulers. In Romans 16:23, Paul delivers greetings from Erastus, “the city’s director of public works” (NIV).

Romans 13 is crystal clear that Christians are to respect those in authority and submit to them as far as possible. The only exception is when the authorities command something that is contrary to God’s law. In such cases, Acts 5:29 applies.

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

This Day in History

On June 25, 1530, the Augsburg Confession was presented to the Emperor Charles V.

It became one of the most significant documents of the Reformation, containing a clear and concise exposition of what Lutherans believe, teach, and confess.

The Augsburg Confession contains 21 articles under the heading “Chief Articles of Faith” and another 7 articles highlighting abuses in the church that the reformers had corrected.

Our church adheres to the unaltered Augsburg Confession because we believe it is a faithful summary of Biblical doctrine.

Over the next several months, I’ll encourage you to read through the Augsburg Confession. Each week, I’ll provide a brief post with some introductory remarks and and a link to the relevant article of faith. Most of the articles are brief and will only take a few minutes to read.

This week, let’s start with the Preface. You can find the text here:

https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/preface/

You may also wish to do some further reading on the history of the Augsburg Confession and how it came to be written:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Augsburg-Confession

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburg_Confession