Lutheranism 101- Part 22 - The Second Article of the Creed

Just who is Jesus Christ anyway? That is the question that has been the subject of one book after another, one movie after another and one TV show after another. Everyone seems to have an opinion as to who Jesus was and what he means for us today. While people may have many opinions about who Jesus is the only one that really counts, the only one we can really trust is the opinion of Scripture. I say that because it is the only place that we know for sure where God has revealed himself. All other opinions are just uninformed ideas. So what does the Bible itself say about Jesus? Well since we know that the Creed is a summary of Scripture let look at what it says.
"I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead."

Let's take this part by part. First of all lets look at the name Jesus. Jesus means the Lord saves. Now there were tons of other people running around the countryside with the name of Jesus. It was a common name. So it wasn't as if when they heard his name was Jesus that they immediately knew he was the Savior because of his name. People didn't pass by Jesus and go see there is the Savior of the world, really how do you know, well because his name is Jesus, so obviously he is the one. No there were lots of people with that name. The importance of the name comes in the fact that an angel told Joseph to give him that name and that he actually lived out that name by saving his people.
The name Christ also has great meaning. Now when I was a kid I thought Christ was Jesus' last name. You know there was Joseph Christ, Mary Christ and little Jesus Christ. It took me awhile to figure out that Christ was not a last name but a title. Christ means, "the Anointed" in Greek. In Hebrew the word is Messiah. So to say that Jesus is the Christ is to say that he is the anointed one. He is the chosen one sent down to rescue us. There are also other titles for Jesus such as Redeemer, Immanuel, Son of the living God, the Word, Lord, Angel of God. So Jesus has many titles that tell us about him.

So now that we know what Jesus' name is and what his role is in saving us lets look a little closer at his being, in other words his two natures. Scripture tells us that Jesus is both God and man, that he has both a divine and human nature. That seems to us to be impossible. How can he be both God and man at the same time? Well that is not something that we can fully understand with our finite minds, but Scripture very clearly points out that it is true. We see that Jesus is God from eternity. And that two thousand years ago he took on flesh through the Virgin Mary. Therefore although there was never a time when Jesus wasn't God, there was a time when he was not man. Only for the past two thousand years has the Son of God had a human nature and a body. We also know that he did not get his human nature the natural way. Instead his mother Mary was a virgin and the Holy Spirit overshadowed her. That does not mean that God had sex with Mary, but that the Holy Spirit through his miraculous power gave the Son of God a true human body and soul in her womb.
Therefore we teach that Jesus has two natures united in his one person. That does not mean that Jesus has a split personality. There is not one part of him saying do this and another part of him saying do that. The two natures are united and work together in one personality.
Now some may ask why did he needed both a divine and human nature to save us? Like I said they work together but they do have different functions. Jesus had to be man so that he could be like us and live under the law and keep it perfectly in our place. He also had to be able to suffer and die in our place. Only a man could do that, not God. But he also had to be God so that he could die for everyone on the earth. He also had to be God so that he could overcome death and the devil for us. So you could say it was a one two punch. He had to be man so that could identify with us and take our place and suffer for our sins. And he had to be God so that he could overcome death and save all of us. The two go together. Again I know that is all impossible to fully grasp, it is beyond the ability of the human mind, but Scripture says its true.

Here is some Scripture for you to explain what I have said above: Matthew 1:21; Acts 4:12; Psalm 45:7; Acts 10:38; John 3:36; John 20:28; Romans 9:5; 1 Timothy 2:5; Luke 24:39; Hebrews 4:14-16; John 1:14; 1 Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Galatians 4:4-5; Hebrews 2:14; Galatians 3:13;
Next time we will continue with the Second Article

Pastor Fred

Lets Read Thru Scripture Together

I think this would be a good time to start preparing to read through Scripture again together. But this time we will read through the entire Bible and take a year to do it. So it should average about three chapters a day. That is not too bad. You can also listen to it on Biblegateway.com like I do or on CD or if you have cassettes you can do that. Does anyone own a cassette player anymore? Believe it or not I still have records, you know the big black round things you used to put on a turntable. I don't have anything to play them on, but I have them. Anyway we will not start this next week because it is fall break. We will start on Monday the 15th. I will provide some commentary along the way and we will find some verses to meditate on. So get your Bibles dusted off or your cassette player out and we will start in a little over a week

Pastor Fred

Lutheranism 101-Part 21 - The First Article of the Creed II

Last week we ended our talk with the discussion of angels. This week we move on to human beings. What we know from Scripture is this. Human beings did not evolve from something else but were created directly by God himself. Humans are also not just another creature on earth. We are the most important creatures that God created. In fact Scripture says that man was created in the image of God and was given a spirit or soul, which the other creatures were not given. God also gave man authority over all the earth. It is man's job to manage it. So we have the right to use its resources, but we do not have the right to abuse its resources. We are God's managers of the planet. So in other words God put us in charge of the earth and said take care of it, use it and protect it. Therefore man can eat other animals, he can wear fur coats and he can mine and cut down trees. On the other hand he also has the responsibility to see that it is done so that the earth continues to thrive and that other creatures are not abused. That is why we have agencies like the Forest Service, the Fish and Game Department and the Department of the Interior.
As I said before man was created in the image of God. So does that mean that we look physically like God? No. Remember God does not have a body. Being created in the image of God means that we thought like him and had the same wishes and desires as God. We were righteous and holy. Unfortunately that image was lost after the fall into sin. In Christians God has begun to rebuild His image, but only in the heaven will we again be perfect.

In the first article we also hold to the truth that God still takes care of us today. In other words God still provides us food and clothing and health and everything that we need for this life. Now he doesn't just drop down food and money to us from heaven, although he did do that in the past for the children of Israel. Instead he gives us talents and abilities so that we can get jobs so that we can pay for all that stuff. He provides doctors and other medical personnel to heal us. He takes care of us most time through what we would consider natural means. But we know that our intelligence and abilities are given to us by God, and that he works out everything for our good.
Many times that information leads to the question of, "Well if God is supposed to be so good to us, why is there is all this suffering in the world?" That is a very complex question with some incomplete complex answers that we really don't have the time to answer right now. But in the end no matter how much you write or talk about the problem of evil in the world it all boils down to this. Evil and suffering are in the world because of man's sin. Man brought evil and suffering into the world and God allowing man free will let it happen. So yes bad things happen all the time to all of us, sometimes it is because of something that we have done, other times we are innocent bystanders on the sidelines that get taken out because of someone elses sin. Then there are those times we have no idea why the bad thing happened. Sometimes it is just the result of sin in general being in the world. Sin exists in this life and so bad things just happen without no real explanation. That is the answer in a nutshell. But we also know this Christ came and suffered for all that sin and through his resurrection from the dead he has shown that he has power over sin and evil and that one day through our faith in Christ we will be delivered from it. Maybe not in this life, but we will in the next. God does not promise to remove us from suffering while in this life. What he does promise is that he will be with us in the midst of it. He has promised that he will guide us through it and ultimately bring us home with him where there is no more suffering. Again that is the simple answer in a nutshell and I know that simple answers are not satisfying when you are suffering, but if you want to talk about it more give me a call.
Next time we will begin the Second Article of the Creed.

Here are some Scriptures for you: Genesis 2:7; Genesis 1:26-28; Mark 10:6; Psalm 139:13; Jeremiah 1:5; Colossians 3:10; Genesis 3:8-10; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Psalm 36:6; Psalm 147:4; Romans 6:23; Psalm 145:15-16; Matthew 10:29-30; Genesis 2:15

Pastor Fred

Lutheranism 101- Part 20 - The First Article of the Creed

I know it has been a long time since the last update. Hopefully we will be more consistent in the future. Today we start talking about the First Article of the Apostle's Creed. Simply stated it says, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth." This is the article having to do with creation. The first article also concentrates on the first person of the Trinity, the Father. He is called Father because he is the Father of the Son of God and he is also our Father through our faith in Jesus Christ. We also believe that he is the father of all human beings because he created them. Therefore there is really only one human race because we all come from the same Father and are all children of Adam and Eve and we are also all redeemed by Christ.

We also believe that he created the world in six literal days. Not to start everything off with controversy but that is what Scripture says. The Hebrew word Yom is used here and it means a twenty-four hour period. It is the not the same word for day that is used in other parts of Scripture where a day could be a longer period of time. So we do not believe that it took billions of years to create the world. It only took six days. Evolution is merely a theory that has not been proved. Now many times people think of evolution as pure science like the science it takes to make the space shuttle or designed computers or bridges, but it is not. That is observable science. In other words you can see it and test it over and over again. Evolution is not that type of science, it is historical science. No one was around when the world was created, no one saw how humans and mountains were first created. When evolutionists say that a rock formation is a million years old there is no way to prove that. No one has ever actually measured a million years before. Now they have chemical tests that are supposed to be able to date things like that, but do they actually work? The only way that could be proven is if someone were around a million years ago and saw it happen, and then the chemical test showed the same thing. Plus when you start investigating these things you will find that the age of mountains and rivers keeps changing as new tests are developed.
Then there is the more important point that in Scripture there is no death until the sin of Adam and Eve. But according to evolution whole species of living organisms died out before man even came on the scene. That is impossible according to both the Old and New Testaments. So you either believe in evolution or you believe in God, you can't believe in both. If you believe in Evolution then you might as well throw the Bible out because it is a book of lies. Ken Ham who created the Creation Museum in Ohio is a good source of information on this. Answers in Genesis' website is a good place to look. You can find it at www.answersingenesis.org

I am sure that you have lots of questions about what I just said and I would be glad to respond to any comments. But for now lets move on to another topic, angels. What are angels? Years ago there was a popular TV series out called Touched by an Angel. It was a top rated show because people are interested in angels. Well lets start off by destroying some myths. Angels are not people who have died and gone to heaven. So grandpa and grandma are not up there with wings on looking down on you. They are enjoying heaven, they have better things to do. Angels are creatures that God created to work for him and to watch out for us. The word angel itself means messenger. God used them throughout Scripture to deliver messages to people. Angels are spirit beings, they do not have bodies, although they have been known to take on bodies for awhile. We also know that some of the angels rebelled against God and were thrown out of heaven. Satan was one of those angels and now he and his demons do everything they can to destroy God's plans and his people. We know that there are many good and powerful angels that protect us and carry out Gods desires. We also know that angels are strong and mighty, they are not like the little girls we always pick to play them in the Christmas plays. They are more like military special forces guys that kick in doors and take out people. Thankfully they are on our side. Next time we will talk about humanity and how God continues to take care of us.
Here is some Scripture for you: Galatians 3:26; Malachi 2:10; Acts 17:26; Psalm 33:6,9; Hebrews 11:3; Colossians 1:16; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 24:4-7; 2 Peter 2:4; Daniel 7:10; Psalm 103:20-21; Hebrews 1:14; 2 Kings 19:35;; Ephesians 6:12;John 8:44;

Pastor Fred

Lutheranism 101 - Part 19 - The Apostle's Creed - Intro

THE APOSTLES' CREED
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

What is a creed? Well yes it is the name of a rock band, but it is more than just that. You could say that we all have creeds about certain things. We have creeds about who should be President. We have creeds about gun control and immigration. We have creeds about sports. We all have many different creeds in different areas of our lives. A creed is simply a statement of what we believe, teach and confess. If you are a Republican you probably have a different creed than a Democrat when it comes to taxes and social spending. It is the same with our faith. We all have creeds about what we believe about God. As Christians we also subscribe to the historic Christian Creeds. These would be the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed. These three creeds are pretty much accepted as the truth by all Christians around the world even if they do not use them in their worship services. We will be looking at the Apostles' Creed because it offers the most concise explanation of Christian doctrine.
Now the Apostles' Creed is not called that because it was written by the apostles. It is called that because it briefly states the doctrine that God gave through the apostles in the Bible. You will also notice that the Apostles' Creed is Trinitarian. It has three parts to it. The first part deals with God the Father, the second part deals with God the Son and the third part deals with God the Holy Spirit. You will also notice that the creed begins with the word I. It starts that way because it is a statement of faith and we cannot believe for each other as a group. You must believe for yourself.
Traditionally in the church we have used the Apostles' Creed for baptisms because it started out as a baptismal creed. We also use it for non-communion services. We use the Nicene Creed for communion services. This is just tradition and doesn't need to be done that way.

Here are some Scripture verses for you: Romans 10:10; Psalm 31:14; Psalm 37:5; Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:1; Habakkuk 2:4; Luke 7:50; Matthew 28:19; Ephesians 4:4-6; John 15:26; Galatians 4:6

Pastor Fred

TEST OVER THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Well sharpen your pencils here it is. This is a very easy test over the Ten Commandments.

1. What does the close of the commandments tell us about the job of parents?

2. What is the difference between simply wanting something and coveting it?

3. What other commandment is the Eighth Commandment connected to?

4. What are some ways that we steal?

5. What are the only reasons for divorce?

6. What are some ways that we keep the Sixth Commandment?

7. What is and what is not Euthanasia?

8. Where in Scripture do we learn that the unborn are people too?

9. What do we have to prove before we can Scripturally disobey authority?

10. Who are the authorties in your life?

11. What are the two main parts of the church year called?

12. When do we use the color purple?

13. What are some things that are required in worship?

14. What part of the Third Commandment is Ceremonial Law and what part is Moral Law?

15. Why do we worship on Sundays?

16. What is God's name?

17. What other commandment is the Second Commandment tied to?

18. What Petition of the Lord's Prayer is it connected to?

19. How do we worship other gods?

20 How many tables of the law are there and what do they mean?

Pastor Fred

Lutheranism 101 - Part 18 - The Close of the Commandments

Well we finally made it! This is the last lesson on the Ten Commandments. Today we are talking about what we call the close of the commandments. Actually it comes between the First and Second Commandments in the book of Exodus. After God gives them the First Commandment he tells them what he is going to do if they keep or don't keep all the commandments. He says, "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thouand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Notice God says he is a jealous God. Now most of the time we say jealousy is a bad thing, but that is not always true. Jealousy can be bad if it is over stupid things or if it is because of evil motives. Jealousy can be a be a good thing though. There is nothing wrong with a jealous husband or father. A person has a right to be possessive of their spouse and family they belong to him; he wants the best for them. A person should not be willing to share their spouse with another person. A person should not let their family be taken from them by another person. It is the same with God.
First of all God hates sin, he wants perfection and he knows that sin separates us from him. He does not want things or other gods getting between us and him anymore than a husband wants another man between him and his wife.
He says if that happens then he will punish those people. He is not going to put up with one of his disciples sinning with other gods. That person will no longer be his disciple.
Probably the most distrubing part of God's statement here is that he will punish the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate him. At first glance that just seems unfair and God himself says that he will not punish the son for the sins of the father in Ezekiel chapter 18. What God means here though is that if the children of unbelievers continue to sin like their ancestors he will punish them on earth for the sins of their ancestors as well as their own. We also see that many times people do suffer because of the sins of their parents. For instance children of alcoholics have a much greater chance of being alcoholics themselves. Children that grew up in abusive homes tend to be abusive as well. Children of unbelievers also usually end up being unbelievers as well. So sin tends to be passed down through the generations.
The good news is that God promises to bless a thousand generations of those who love him. This command reminds us of the fact that God has called us to pass our faith down to the next generation, that if we train a child in the way that he should go those lessons will stay with him through life.
God has a reason for threatening this punishment. He wants us to fear his anger and to live according to his commandments. He want us to come to faith in his Son and to receive his mercy and forgiveness.
The number one thing we have to remember about all of this is that we cannot keep any of these commandments perfectly. We are all sinners. We cannot be saved by obeying the law. Therefore we come to God in confession and ask for his forgiveness and trust that Jesus' death on the cross paid for all of our sins. Through our faith in Christ we have complete forgiveness and total salvation.

Here are some verses for you: Psalm 5:4-5; Isaiah 42:8; Ezekiel 6:9; James 4:12; Leviticus 26:18; Romans 6:23; Galatians 3:10-11; Ezekiel 18:20; 2 Kings 9:7-8; 10:11; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Matthew 10:28; 1 Timothy 4:8; Job 42:10-17; Leviticus 19:2; James 2:10; John 3:16; Romans 1:16; Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:13; Colossians 1:13-14

Later this week there will be a test over the 10 Commandments, so study up.

Pastor Fred