Christ Alone

Augsburg Confession: Conclusion

At the end of the Augsburg Confession, there is a brief summary statement and a list of the signatories: https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/conclusion/

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the Augsburg Confession with me. This will be my last blog post for a time. However, if you are interested in going deeper, here is my suggestion:

After this confession was submitted to Emperor Charles V, Roman theologians led by John Eck, responded. You can read their response here: https://bookofconcord.org/other-resources/sources-and-context/roman-confutation/.

Melanchthon was then tasked with writing a response to the Confutation, known as the “Apology to the Augsburg Confession.” You can read it here: https://bookofconcord.org/defense/

In my opinion, the best way to read these documents is to take them one article at a time. Read an article of the Augsburg Confession. Then read the corresponding article in the Roman Confutation. Then read the corresponding article in the Apology. Prayerfully look up the scriptures cited in support of each article. The Book of Concord website makes this easy to do.

Blessings,

Pastor Tim

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Augsburg Confession Article XXVI

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

In the early centuries of the church, all kinds of traditions developed, many of which continue to this day. These traditions include the church calendar, seasons of fasting and seasons of feasting, the order of scripture lessons for use in public worship, the use of vestments, fixed prayers for use on special days, and other similar customs.

At the time of the Reformation, the church placed a great deal of emphasis on observing such traditions, but many people lacked an understanding of the meaning behind them. For example, there is a long-standing traditions of abstaining from meat during the forty days of Lent. This tradition does not come from Scripture. It is simply a custom that developed as a way to prepare for Easter. This can be a very meaningful practice. Yet at the time of the reformation, many people believed that their salvation depended on keeping such observances. This contradicts the clear teaching of scripture that salvation is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). Paul warns in the book of Galatians that those who rely on works for salvation have fallen away from grace (Gal. 5:2-4).

So the reformers emphasized that such traditions are not necessary. You are free to fast or not to fast. You are free to commemorate the feast days or not to do so. You are free to use pre-written prayers or to pray in a freer fashion. (Personally, I do both!)

At the same time, the reformers saw value in a lot of traditions. For the most part, Lutherans retained the order of the mass. They also kept the liturgical calendar. However, they noticed that there were so many festivals and saints days that it was burdensome to follow, that it distracted people from their vocations, and that people were often abusing the sacrament. So, instead of celebrating Mass every day, the Lutherans held public Communion only on Sundays and festivals such as Christmas and Easter. They removed a number of saints days from the calendar, and emphasized the fact that it is no sin to have simpler rites and ceremonies.

Tradition is a bit of a double-edged sword. It can serve a useful, didactic purpose, but it can also become burdensome or meaningless. When not understood properly, traditions can even become a harmful distraction from the free gift of grace offered in Christ Jesus.

Most Lutheran churches are very traditional. However, the Lutheran Brethren as a denomination is typically not, because of our unique history. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Lutheran state church in Norway had become bound by traditionalism — emphasizing liturgy and ceremony more than a living faith in Jesus. Many people were baptized, attended church, and got confirmed without ever understanding the gospel or coming to saving faith. Lay preachers such as Hans Nielson Hauge began to hold Bible studies and prayer meetings in homes and to call people to repentance and faith.

The founders of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren were heavily influenced by this revival movement, and as a result, the LB historically has been less liturgical than other Lutherans. Our pastors don’t wear vestments, and many of our churches do not follow the lectionary. Yet this also should not be understood as a law.

The challenge of the church in every generation is to communicate the gospel of Christ in language that will communicate to people. In our own day, many younger Christians (including myself) are deeply interested in historic church traditions and liturgy, as they find it beautiful and moving.

In our congregation, I have attempted to ground our worship in historic practice, while at the same time utilizing the best of contemporary forms.

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.

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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

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