“But every person must have experienced something of the bitterness of penitence, or he will never even begin to relish the sweetness of the Gospel…Unless the rocky subsoil in their hearts has been pulverized by the Law, the sweet Gospel is of no benefit to them.
It is indeed a common observation that all those who have passed through great and profound sorrow at the beginning have become the best and most stalwart Christians.”
– The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel – C.F.W. Walther
“Only the Forgiven can forgive.”
-Pastor Bill Cwirla on Issues, Etc. on June 16, 2011, discussing the Fifth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
The quote of the week comes from the interview by Issues, Etc. on January 14, 2011, of Dr. Dan Gard of Concordia Theological Seminary-Ft. Wayne, IN, a military chaplain.
“God called me as a pastor. My job, regardless of whether I’m in uniform or out of uniform, is to proclaim the Gospel to any human being that will listen to me. I’ll go to hell itself to proclaim Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.”
Now THAT’S dedication to the Mission!
Using “Quote of the Day” last week was a little misleading, or a least inaccurate, as not every day has a quote on this blog. So, instead, on with the “Quote of the Week”:
This quote is an interesting thought I ran across in Pieper. There’s been quite a bit of discussion as of late about confirmation at my church, and I think Pieper has a quote which certainly brings perspective to the matter.
“We must beware of supplanting Baptism with confirmation. There is a trend in our day, also among Lutherans, to exalt confirmation at the expense of Baptism. Dr. Walther (Pastorale, p.266) issues this caution: ‘The pastor must guard against representing confirmation as a complement or supplement of Baptism received in infancy, as though, e.g., the confirmand now for the first time makes the confession and pledge given by his sponsors his own. Rather the rite of confirmation should primarily serve vividly to recall to the confirmands, as well as to the entire confgregation present, the glory of their Baptism, received in infancy. To invest confirmation with a sacramental character is one of the aberrations so prevalent today, particularly among those who want to be regarded, above others, as strictly Lutheran and churchly.'” – F. Pieper – Christian Dogmatics: Volume III
Wait…confirmation isn’t a sacrament?! :0)
Would the DCE like to weight in?
“…the spirit of Luther and of the entire genuine Lutheran Church is the spirit of childlike simplicity, the spirit of faith, the spirit that submits to the Word of God and takes human reason captive under the wisdom from on high…The characteristic mark of our Church is unquestioned submission to the divine Word, while our sectarian teachers are continually tossed about like the waves of the sea and betray the fact that they are not founded upon the rock of the Word of God.”
– The Proper Distinction Between LAW AND GOSPEL – Dr. C.F.W. Walther
“My friends, Jesus comes only for sinners.”
Dear Christian Friends 