Category: Catechesis

by Rev. Tim Lorenz

Do you remember the story of David and Bathsheba? David and Bathsheba sinned by committing adultery. The punishment for doing so was death—the man and the woman who were caught in adultery were to be stoned. In their sin, Bathsheba became pregnant by David, and they were about to be caught. Everyone would know what they had done—unless it was covered over. And so, in order to spare their lives, the king sent the righteous man, Uriah, to his death—the innocent husband being slaughtered so that his adulterous bride would live. The sin was covered over. Bathsheba would not die. No one would know about this sin—no one, that is, except God.

God then sent His prophet, Nathan, to confront David, and David confessed his sin, saying, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Having confessed his sin, David received forgiveness, but at what cost? “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan replied, ‘The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But… the son born to you will die.’” (2 Samuel 12:13-14). There is no mistaking what the prophet Nathan was saying. Because of David’s sin, his son will die. Because of Bathsheba’s sin, her righteous husband died. Sin leads to death.

Scripture firmly teaches that specific sins do not lead to specific punishment (Think Job or the blind man in John 9). How then do we fully explain the death of David’s son? How then do we explain the death of Bathsheba’s husband? David repented, his son dies for a sin he did not commit, and we say that this is not a punishment? There is something else going on in this text, and it comes to light when we sing the Lenten hymn, “Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted.” The following are a few verses from the hymn:

1. Stricken, smitten and afflicted
See Him dying on the tree!
‘Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes my soul, ‘tis He, ‘tis He!
‘Tis the long expected Prophet,
David’s Son, yet David’s Lord;
Proofs I see sufficient of it;
‘Tis the true and faithful word

3. Ye who think of sin but lightly
Nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the sacrifice appointed,
See who bears the awful load;
‘Tis the Word, the Lord’s anointed,
Son of Man and Son of God.

Look and see who Jesus is in this text—David’s son and David’s Lord! This sobering hymn reminds us of this: Because of sin, the Son of David died.

“You are not going to die. But… the son born to you will die.” These are the words spoken by Nathan to David, but they are not a judgment against David—they are a judgment a against David’s Son—Jesus. Because of David’s sin, Jesus would die. The words God speaks through Nathan the prophet are not words of judgment, but they are beautiful words of Gospel. David lives while his Son, God’s Son, dies for that sin.

The son born to David did indeed die, but his death served a prophetic purpose. Though He did not speak a single word in his short life, by his death, he pointed David forward to the Son who would be punished for his sins and the sins of all: Jesus. David lives. Jesus died.

In the same way, Bathsheba’s righteous husband died as a prophet. In order that Bathsheba would live, in order that his wife’s adultery would be covered over, the king of Israel put Uriah to death. Uriah’s innocent death covered the sin of his adulterous wife completely, and so Uriah died as a prophet—his life the silent testimony pointing forward to Jesus, who would die, so that His sinful bride would live.

When bad things happen to you, beware of thinking that they are a judgment resulting from a specific sin. Without a specific Word from God that says, “This is your punishment,” it is dangerous to think God is punishing you for a particular thing you have or have not done.

God’s punishment and wrath were poured out upon Jesus so that you would not die, but that you would live. When bad things happen, you are reminded to repent of your sin, but these bad things also point you to the death of Jesus on the cross, and are a reminder of God’s love for you in Christ Jesus. You are forgiven, now and forevermore, just as the two voiceless prophets preach. Amen.

Rev. Tim Lorenz joyfully serves the saints of Bethlehem Lutheran Church at Greenleaf, Kansas. He has been married to his wife, Kristin, for 6 years and is the father of 2 children. He can be reached at pastorlorenz@gmail.com

by Rev. Anthony R. Voltattorni

I would argue that those words make up the single greatest excuse why Christians are increasingly absent from church.

“It’s not interesting.”
“It doesn’t keep my attention.”
“The service isn’t my ‘style’ or ‘preference.’”
“The sermons are hard to listen to.” etc.
In the end, it basically boils down to: 
“Church is boring… so I don’t go.”

But that statement presupposes the belief that church is NOT supposed to be boring. Who said that? Who’s been going around telling everyone that church is not supposed to be boring, because so many seem to believe it. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting that church should be boring. It’s not as if the goal is to see just how boring a pastor can make the Divine Service! No, achieving a heightened level of boringness is not the aim here. Neither, however, is it to ensure that you are not bored.  If this were the goal, then I can imagine a hundred other venues that I would find more entertaining, more comfortable, more exciting, and more attention-grabbing than the Divine Service.

Yet, if we truly believe that God is present with us in the Divine Service, that Christ’s body and blood are actually there on the altar, that we’re actually standing before the Almighty, then why on earth should we seek to be comfortable and entertained?

I, for one, know how great and grievous the sins are which stain my hands, eyes, and mind. I can recall them at the drop of a hat, and I’m guessing you can, too. Then, of course, there are all of those sins that don’t come to mind or that we are unaware of but they are sins, nonetheless. Therefore, standing before God, the Almighty Judge, should make us shudder a bit. Moreover, this is what you see throughout Scripture. When God or an angel of God appears, there is often fear involved (e.g., Exodus 3:6; 1 Chronicles 21;30; Matthew 28:5; Luke 1:13, 30; 2:10; Revelation 1:17). It’s not a “comfortable” or “entertaining” experience.

Truly we can look to the cross and see that our judgment has already taken place. It’s accounted for in the blood of Christ, that we might not be afraid at the Resurrection, that we might not be condemned but embraced in the righteousness of the Son of God. However, this way of thinking about church as either “entertaining” or “boring,” ultimately distracts us from the reason why we attend the Divine Service.

Let me put it this way: Is the focus of your attendance the way you feel when the hymns are sung, how inspirational you find the sermon stories, or the level of energy you sense when you leave? These emphases are highly dependent upon where the service falls on the boring-o-meter. Rather, is the reason for your attendance simply, plainly, the forgiveness of your sins, spoken to you from the mouth of your Pastor, washed over you in the waters of Baptism, given to you in the body and blood of Christ, even if it’s boring?

Ultimately, the reason why church is boring is not because there aren’t enough illustrations in the sermon, neither is it because the pastor is too old, nor because there isn’t a praise band, a coffee shop, a state of the art AV system, or liturgical dancers. If the Divine Service is boring, it’s because we’re sinful human beings. We don’t need to be entertained—we need forgiveness. I’m not saying that church will never get any more exciting for you, but if you really want to not be bored in church, if you really want to fix that problem, fix your sin. Go ahead, try. Ah…but this you cannot do.

That is exactly the reason why the focus in the Divine Service is not on you or how entertained or bored you may feel, but on the immeasurable value of the forgiveness of your sins given to you there in words, water, body, and blood. The Divine Service may be exciting, it may be boring, but what matters is that we need it, and Jesus delivers!

Rev. Anthony R. Voltattorni is the Pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Standish, Michigan. He can be reached at pastorvoltattorni@gmail.com.

by Rev. Jeffery W. Grams

“Take, drink; this is the true blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, shed for the forgiveness of your sins.”

Week after week, this phrase is heard in Lutheran churches all around the world. The words have remained essentially the same for hundreds of years. They serve as a reminder of what we are truly receiving from the Lord Jesus Christ every time we celebrate His Supper.

Popular culture has a way of messing with the meaning of words, and in 21st century America our obsession with vampires, in movies and on television, can certainly cause confusion. Nevertheless, fiction has a way of imitating life, and sometimes we can find reminders of the truth in the strangest of places.

Did you ever notice that the mythology of vampires bears a strange similarity to the truth of God’s Word? Let us use this popular myth to take a look at God’s Word and recall the good news of our salvation.

It all begins with the blood. All vampire myths have one thing in common—a vampire must drink blood to survive. Without blood, especially human blood, a vampire will starve and become weak. The drinking of human blood is understood to be the source of true “strength” for the “living dead.”

What does God’s Word say about blood? The life is in the blood…

When Cain murdered Abel, it was his blood that cried out! And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10 ESV)

From the beginning, the biblical understanding was that the life of a creature was in its blood: “ Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.  But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” (Genesis 9:3-4 ESV)

If you search for the word “blood” in the ESV version of the bible, you will find it over 400 times! Why is blood used so often? Just as our life is in our blood, it is by the shedding of blood that we receive the forgiveness of sins. In the New Testament we have come to understand that all of the blood shed in the Old Testament was pointing us forward to our Lord Jesus Christ, who as the Lamb of God would shed his blood for our salvation. (See Hebrews 9:11-28 to read more about our redemption through the blood of Christ!)

Which brings us to the next interesting myth about vampires: 
If you drink their blood you will become immortal and live forever.

What is fascinating to me is that these myths have some similarities 
to the truth of God’s Word. After all, what does our Lord Jesus Christ say in John’s Gospel?

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” (John 6:53-56 ESV)

Clearly this sermon of Jesus is not recommending some form of vampirism or cannibalism! He is pointing us toward His own work of salvation. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one who would shed His blood on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. He is the one who would give us His flesh to eat and blood to drink in the Lord’s Supper so that we would receive everlasting life. Isn’t that far more comforting and amazing than any myth about blood-sucking undead?

Which raises the question: What do so many people find appealing in the myths about vampires? Some people imagine that becoming a vampire would mean living forever and being forever beautiful. They imagine that as a vampire they would be strong and powerful and fearless.

In reality, even the fantastic promises of this myth pale by comparison to the true joy offered by the Lord Jesus Christ in the True Blood of His Holy Supper. Eternal life will never be found in the blood of some undead monster—but is instead truly received in the Blood of our Savior. Eternal youth will not be received through a bite on the neck—but the new life we have received as we were born again in the waters of Holy Baptism will never end! Digging your way out of a shallow grave can hardly seem an appealing future—but we know that on the day of the Resurrection of all flesh we will all rise again in new and glorious bodies that are forever free from the touch of sin and death.

The glorious future that is given to us by the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is far more amazing than any vampire story found in movies or television. For in the end, by the grace of God, this is the vision of our glory:

“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every 
tear from their eyes.” – Revelation 7:14-17 ESV

Rev. Jeffery W. Grams is pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and can be reached at RevJGrams@live.com

by Rev. William M. Cwirla

Have you ever tried running new software on an old computer? I have. I have a seven year-old laptop—my trusty old road warrior. I’ve replaced the keyboard, the hard disk, and the logic board, three batteries and a few other spare parts from E-Bay. It’s not my primary computer, which is a desktop, but I try to make the old laptop as compatible as possible. However, I find that the new versions of software just don’t run well on old hardware.

That’s a picture of the Christian life. Luther called it being “simul iustus et peccator,” which is Latin for “simultaneously a righteous saint and a damned sinner.” We sometimes speak of our “old Adam” or “sinful nature” and our “new man” in Christ. Old You and New You. Old You is the sinner born of Adam, hopelessly infected with the virus called Sin. New You is the saint born of God, pure and holy. The Scriptures call Old You the “outer man” or the “flesh” and New You the “inner man” or the “spirit.”

The key to understanding the Christian life as it is lived by faith is that New You is hidden “in, with and under” Old You—a Christ-mind operating an Adam-body.

In Baptism, the Spirit has given you a new operating system, new software, New You. You have the mind and the will of Christ. You delight in the Law of God and you desire to do what is pleasing to God. The trouble is that New You is running on Old You’s hardware. As a result, there are the inevitable crashes and glitches.

This is how the apostle Paul describes it: “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members” (Romans 7:21-23). In other words, New Paul, his “inmost self,” really wants to do God’s will and delights in God’s law. But the hardware for Old Paul, his “members,” refuses to cooperate.

Old Paul has a terrible virus called Sin that causes him to crash every time he tries to do the will of God. Whenever he wants to do good, evil always lies close at hand. He can’t seem to get anything right. Everything he does is infected with sin, even his good works. And what is Paul’s analysis of the situation? “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24)

Martin Luther communicated an amazingly profound insight in a series of statements he drafted for a debate at Heidelberg, Germany in 1518. This was very early in the Reformation—only a year after Luther had nailed his 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg. In his Heidelberg Theses, Luther said that everything man does, even when God is working through man, is sin. That’s because the inner man, the new person in Christ, must always work through the outer man, the old person in Adam. In other words, New You must always use Old You’s hardware.

That explains a lot of things. It explains why our works can’t save us. They are always sinful, even when they are good! It explains why faith alone justifies us before God. Only Christ’s works are without sin. It explains why we always seem to mess up, especially in spiritual things, why we can’t seem to stick with prayer or God’s Word, why we’re not glad when they say, “Let’s go to the house of the Lord.” It’s because New You always has to work through Old You. The righteous saint must always work through the sinner. No wonder the apostle Paul cries out, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24)

It also explains why we can’t seem to fix ourselves. The Christian life is not about retraining old hardware to run new software. Old You is not fixable; it’s destined to die. Instead, Old You must be forced to go along with the program, at least for the moment. That’s where the Law comes in. The Law curbs, mirrors and instructs Old You to death. It curbs Old You’s behaviors, mirrors sin, and instructs with punishments and rewards, much the way you train an old dog new tricks. And you know how well that works.

Old You’s hardware is simply not suited for holiness. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven.” Until you come into new hardware in the resurrection, New You’s software is going to have to make the best of trying to control Old You’s hardware.

Does that mean we simply sin to our heart’s content and ask for forgiveness? No! It means that we say “no” to Old Adam, and we bring him under discipline. Even though our new man in Christ needs no Law, our New You uses the Law to threaten, bribe, coerce our old hardware to get with the holiness program. That’s why we set alarms on Sunday for church. The New Adam is glad when they say, “Let’s go to the house of the Lord,” but the Old Adam says, “I’d rather roll over and go to sleep.”

For now you live “simul” by grace through faith for Jesus’ sake as a New You in Christ stuck in an Adam’s Old You hardware. That may not be a pretty sight to those keeping score, but in Christ you are already justified, sanctified, and glorified (1 Corinthians 6:11). You’re just waiting to be rescued from this “body of death” to rise with new hardware to run that Christ-like software.

Rev. William M. Cwirla is the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California, and the President of Higher Things. He can be reached at wcwirla@gmail.com.

by Rev. Mark Buetow

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (NKJV)

Do you do drugs? Sleep around? Look at porn? Steal stuff? Gossip about others? Treat your parents like dirt? Blow off church? How can you be a Christian and do those things? Or maybe those aren’t your sins. You know people like that but it’s not you. Ah, so it’s pride then? Proud of how well behaved you are? Wonder why those other people can’t make the good choices you do?

So, either you’re in the first group—the hardcore sinners who just live like animals, with no common sense and even a little effort to stop doing stupid things, or else you’re in the second group—the self-righteous folks who look pretty good outwardly but whose hearts are full of pride and a self-satisfaction about how few sins they think they actually commit.

Big theological word alert! SANCTIFICATION. The work of being SANCTIFIED. To SANCTIFY. What’s it mean? The Latin word “sanctus” means “holy.” Okay, we’ll try that. HOLY-FICATION. The work of being HOLY. To HOLY-FY something. Still not getting it? “Holy” means “set apart.” When something is holy, it is set apart by God to be special. Are you special? Or do you just blend in with the worldly crowd that could not care less about what it does or how it looks to God or others? Or do you think you’re holy and special because you live a better life than others? Do you see something wrong yet in this article you’re reading? Here’s what’s wrong: We’re talking about everyone but Jesus!

You can’t have sanctification or be sanctified without and apart from Jesus. So watch out! When some people talk about sanctification, they want to make it about you. Usually sanctification is described as “how you live as a Christian” but that’s not it at all! Sanctification is about how Christ lives in you. A church member once accused his pastor and said, “Pastor you never seem to talk to us about good works and how we should be living a good life.” (Incidentally this guy thought he was doing a much better job than some in the congregation.) The pastor replied, “But we don’t do good works. Jesus does them in and through us. ‘For it is not I who live but Christ who lives in me.’ Galatians 2:20.” “But pastor,” he cried, “then you make it sound like Jesus is responsible for your sins, too!” “Exactly!” The pastor smiled, “Now you understand the Gospel and what it is that Jesus has actually done for you!”

The point of that little exchange is this: When we talk about the “Christian life” we can’t ever mean anything else by that than Jesus: Jesus who became man. Jesus who took our sins. Jesus who bore our sins to the cross of Calvary to face our punishment. Jesus who suffered, bled and died for our sins. Jesus who descended into hell, who rose from the dead, and left all your sins buried in His tomb forever and ascended to the right hand of the Father and sent the Holy Spirit through His Word. Jesus who washed you at the font, who absolves you week after week and who feeds you with His pure and perfect body and blood and so actually lives in you. The Jesus whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and, yes, our sanctification. Jesus is your “Christian life.”

Okay, well, so what does that look like? Well, first of all, it means you stop doing things to impress the Lord. So many Christians try to live a certain way because they think that it makes God happy. They are the ones who so easily judge others who don’t live such good lives as they do. Because of Jesus, God is already happy with you! Never doubt that! He smiles upon you every minute of your life, forgets your sins and counts whatever else you do as holy and precious. No need to impress God. Repent of ever thinking you can win God over by how you act! But don’t fall off the wagon on the other side! Just living however you want and doing whatever makes you feel good doesn’t help your neighbor. The problem with drugs or porn or anger or gossip or any of that other stuff is that it doesn’t do anyone else any good. In fact, it harms others. It’s selfishness. Repent of thinking only of yourself and treating others like dirt to get what you want!

And the key to this daily repentance is found in your Baptism. Remember the Catechism? “The Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires and daily the new man should arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” In other words, as we face temptation, and fall into sin, and struggle with trying to avoid sin, the “Christian life” is lived in Jesus, just as Jesus lives in you. It looks like this: You go and receive forgiveness for your sins over and over. Daily you make the sign of the holy cross and remember your Baptism into Christ. You hear your pastor tell you your sins are forgiven. You hear Christ’s Word and preaching about what He’s done for you. You feast upon His Body and Blood which forgive your sins and by which Jesus lives in you.

If you’ve done some nasty sins, Jesus died for those. If you think you’re okay because you haven’t pulled some of those nasties, Jesus died for that, too. And that’s the point of talking about sanctification. Christ is holy and He makes you holy. His holiness covers your sins and makes you look good to the Father. And He lives in you and through you, glorifying the Father and serving your neighbor, which means that you glorify God and serve your neighbor. You can’t not do those things because Jesus lives in you. Holy Jesus, Holy you. That’s what sanctification and the “Christian life” are all about.

Rev. Mark Buetow is pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in DuQuoin, Illinois and serves as Media Services Executive for Higher Things. He can be reached at buetowmt@gmail.com.

by Magdalena Teske

Until I started college, I went with my family to the Arkansas State Fair every year, if the weather allowed. One time, when I was about 13 or 14, my sister and I had gone on the Tilt-A-Whirl with my father and were rushing across the fair to meet the rest of my family. Amidst all the noise and voices of vendors, excited children and people on scary rides, one man who was advertising his church from behind a booth called after us, “What have you done for Jesus this week?”

My father, being a good Lutheran, turned around and said, “What’s more important is what Jesus did for me.” The man, probably surprised to have someone respond to him at all, said, “That’s true, Sir, but what have you done for Jesus this week?”

What followed was a brief, but interesting exchange in which the other man repeated his question and my father repeated his answer. When my father finally mentioned that he was a pastor, the other man seemed satisfied that my father was, in fact, a Christian. His next question was, “What about your daughters? Do they know Jesus?” My father said that we did, and the man gave us free “Smile, Jesus Loves You” pencils and we left, glad to hold to a faith in which we understand that Jesus loves us and has saved us because of His grace, not because of our works. At the time, I found it surprising that the man from the “What Have You Done for Jesus?” church needed to ask if my sister and I “knew” Jesus. I was baptized as an infant into the Lutheran faith, and the idea of not “knowing” Jesus, when my family was a Christian family, was unthinkable to me.

Since then, there have been many times when I have encountered the unbiblical view that faith must come to a person at some specific point of decision, and that they cannot already have it, especially by infant baptism. I specifically remember one incident in which I suddenly realized fairly late in a discussion that, while the people I was talking with agreed with many of the points I was making, we meant different things when we used the word “saved.” When I said saved, I meant saved, and when they said “saved”, they meant “having had a specific conversion experience at a precise point in one’s life.”

For this reason, I believe I should deny being a “born-again Christian.” When people talk about being born again, they usually mean that they had some sudden spiritual awakening and decided that they were a Christian. They may believe that in order to be a Christian, people must have a personal experience in their lives in which they officially became a Christian and God shows His presence in their lives. Oh, wait. That sounds familiar. That actually has happened to me. But I don’t call it a “conversion experience.” I call it “Baptism.” So I guess I am a born-again Christian after all. (Of course, in adults, the Spirit works through His Word to bring a person to faith and the baptismal font, but this, too, is still only God’s work.)

I find that there is a common objection to the second birth that I and many other saved Christians have had. You see, I was baptized when I was one month old. How could I have faith when I was one month old? How could I know Jesus when I was a baby?

No, I didn’t perfectly understand God and the Bible when I was baptized as an infant. Even now, I don’t understand absolutely everything about God and the Bible, because I am a sinner as well as a saint. But that doesn’t matter, because I am saved by grace through faith, which was given to me by grace. Faith is a gift. My salvation does not come through my own knowledge and understanding, and my salvation is not lost through a lack of knowledge and understanding. It is good to know a lot about theology, but that doesn’t mean that a baby or young child who has not had time to accumulate that knowledge doesn’t have real faith.

So I am a born-again Christian, and I do know Jesus. That is not because I sought out Jesus Christ. It is not because I went to the store and bought myself some Christianity. I know Him because He came to me and introduced Himself and told me that He was my savior, and He did this so long ago that I can’t remember a time when I didn’t “know” Jesus.

Magdalena Teske is a senior at Birmingham-Southern College and attends Hope Lutheran Church in Birmingham, Alabama. She can be reached at magdalenateske@yahoo.com.

Rev. Mark Buetow

You’re bound to hear it from your non-Lutheran friends. Perhaps a family member will say it or you’ll hear it spoken by campus “Christian” groups. Pastors (hopefully never yours) will even tell people. “Sure, we all have differences but what matters is that we all believe in Jesus.” It sounds good. It sounds nice. It sounds like one of those things you’d hear said to prevent people arguing over something like religion. Isn’t there enough to worry about in the world with all the non-Christians who make fun of or persecute Christians? Why should Christians argue? “It’s enough that we all believe in Jesus and know He’s Lord.”

Except that it’s not enough. Because there’s more than one Jesus out there. That was true even way back in St. Paul’s day. Even before that, back in the Old Testament too. When Aaron made the golden calf and Israel worshiped it, Aaron said it was a feast day to “Yahweh,” the true God. They said a false god was the true God. In Paul’s day, lots of Jesuses were being preached. He even got on the case of the Corinthian Christians about it: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted — you may well put up with it!” (1 Corinthians 11:4). The fact is, there is only one true Jesus and He doesn’t want you confused. After all, it’s Jesus Himself who says, “You will know the Truth and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:32) Not some of the Truth or a quarter or half. All of the Truth.

Here’s the irony: the less detailed we get about Jesus, the less He’s our Savior. Someone might argue that it’s not a big deal whether we agree that babies should be baptized or that the Lord’s Supper is the true body and blood of Jesus or just a symbol. But if you start chiseling away at the words and gifts of Jesus, you are whittling away His forgiveness and salvation. At that point, Jesus becomes just something you know, or just something you do or choose instead of the One who is true God and true man who did all the work of our salvation and who delivers that forgiveness and salvation to us with no strings attached.

The Catechism works this out as it simply and clearly teaches us that Jesus is true God and true man and that He redeemed you with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. The Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies you so that in Christ’s church you daily and richly have all your sins forgiven. In the church is where Jesus delivers to you the forgiveness He accomplished for you on the cross. When you are baptized, no matter what age, Jesus is forgiving your sins, rescuing you from death and the devil and giving you eternal salvation. When your pastor absolves you, it is just as valid and certain that your sins are forgiven as if Jesus Himself told you. When eat and drink Jesus’ true body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, Jesus Himself is giving you the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

If you take away baptism, or the Lord’s Supper or make Jesus into just an example of how you’re supposed to live, then what good is He? If Jesus didn’t die for you, with no conditions for you to fulfill, what kind of Savior does that make Him? Truth is: A Jesus who isn’t dead on the cross and risen from the dead, who doesn’t baptize you with real forgiveness, speak for real through your pastor, or come Himself to you in His body and blood, is no Jesus worth having. He may be a “great teacher” or even a “Savior” or “Lord,” but those words can mean anything and nothing all at the same time. They mean what people think they mean, which is usually something like, “Jesus died for me BUT, now I have to do this or that to make Him MY Savior.”

“Jesus” isn’t enough if by “Jesus” someone means, “Jesus far away who sounds nice but really leaves everything up to me and is whatever I think He is.” But Jesus is everything when it is the real and true Jesus who gives us His Word so we may never doubt but always be certain that He’s a real and true Savior: True God. True Man. Crucified. Risen. Word. Water. Body. Blood. THAT Jesus is not just enough, but more than enough. He’s everything for you and all that you need. When someone wants to talk about “Jesus,” tell them THAT Jesus is the only one that’s any good for either of you and for the whole world. Those fake Jesuses are out there. Yet the real Jesus is not the Waldo to be found among them but the true and shining light that scatters the darkness and illumines His church.

Rev. Mark Buetow

Death. It happens suddenly in a horrible wreck on the highway. It happens slowly over a long battle with cancer. It happens to children in an accident. It happens to someone at the end of a long life. It happens in many ways, but one thing is for sure: Death happens to everyone.

We try to avoid it. Live carefully. Live a healthy lifestyle. Avoid dangerous things. Fight against death with medicine and medical technology. Put death off as long as possible with potions and creams and drugs and surgeries that try to erase the signs of aging. But as hard as we fight, death always wins. At some point, the lotions and potions won’t help. The doctors and the drugs and the machines can’t do anything else to stop it. Death comes, sooner or later, one way or another.

Well, what about God? We could ask Him to do something about death. But wait! He DID do something about death. He died! Crucified. Like a sinner. He took the curse on Himself. And make no mistake, death is an enemy and a curse. But God did it. He died. Died as if death were His fate too. Except Jesus didn’t stay dead. Christ is risen! On the third day after He died, Jesus’ tomb was empty! Jesus was and is alive!

What does that mean for death? It means that death is no longer the worst thing ever. It is no longer the final enemy. It is no longer our fate and lot in life and then that’s it. Rather, Jesus has made sure that death is turned into a rest. A sleep. A nap. It’s no mistake that Jesus once says about a dead little girl that she is “sleeping.” It’s no mystery that in the early church people who died were said to have “fallen asleep.” And Jesus Himself says that He will come again and wake us up and give us eternal life!

The fact is, death has been overcome. Yes, we still die. This world and everything in it is passing away. But Jesus says His Word will never pass away and it’s that very Word which promises we shall rise from the dead when Jesus comes again. It’s Jesus’ very Word which promises that we have an everlasting life awaiting us because He died and then rose again.

This is the Easter season, the forty days starting with Easter in which we celebrate that Jesus is risen from the dead and what that means for us who are dogged by death all the time. It is the promise and hope of a life beyond this life which sometimes ends abruptly or else fades away slowly. When we are sick and suffering and death is close, and on our minds, and at our doorstep, we simply smile and remind death of what Jesus did and that it cannot harm us.

Science and medicine and makeup and exercise and diet and all that can’t stop death. Well who can do something about it, then? Jesus did. His own death on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter are the real, true, and lasting answers to the problem and curse of death. Jesus did something about death. He beat it. And His victory over death is for everyone. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Allelluia!

In this last article spotlight from our Spring Apologetics issue, we present a regular feature, an article looking at a portion of the Catechism. Pastor Cwirla takes a look at the meaning of the First Petition of the Lord’s Prayer and teaches us what it means that God’s name is holy and kept holy among us. It’s a great reminder of the regular content HT Magazine offers each and every issue!

Rev. William M. Cwirla

Hallowed. Now there’s a strange word! We don’t use it very much. We may occasionally refer to the “hallowed halls” of some historic old building or the “hallowed ground” of a former battlefield or cemetery. Most familiar of all is “Hallowe’en.” (Yes, the apostrophe belongs there!), All Hallows’ Eve, the evening before the Feast of All Hallows (Saints).

To hallow something is to hold it sacred and holy. Hallowed ground is holy ground. To hallow is to set something apart for holy, uncommon, godly use. So it is with God’s Name. God’s Name is holy in itself. We don’t make it holy; it simply is holy. Our prayer is that the Name of God may be holy among us.

God has a name. He went by many titles in the Old Testament, among them El, Elohim, El Shaddai, El Elyon, and Adonai. But those were not names of God but titles and confessions of God’s majesty and transcendence. When Moses stood before the Lord in the burning bush, he specifically asked for God’s Name. “Whom shall I say sent me? What is His Name?” And God revealed His name to Moses: YHWH. “I AM who I AM.”

Jesus puts human flesh on the Name. He is YHWH, “I AM” in the flesh. And so it is at the Name of Jesus, an ordinary human name, that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that this man named Jesus is the Christ and the Lord (YHWH). The second commandment lies behind this petition. “You shall not misuse the Name of the Lord your God.” What we say and do will bring either honor or dishonor to God’s Name. When we speak lies, engage in falsehood, deception and false theology or treat God’s Name superstitiously like some sort of lucky charm, we dishonor it. When we live lives that are contrary to God’s Word and will, we bring dishonor to God’s Name.

On the other hand, when we believe on God’s Name and call upon it in every trouble, when we pray, praise and give thanks, and when we lead holy lives of faith in Christ, trusting Him for our forgiveness and to help us love our neighbor with works of goodness and mercy, we bring honor to God’s Name.

Do you remember Isaiah, the prophet? When he saw God enthroned, he confessed, “I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips.” Do you recall what God did? He sent an angel to take a burning coal from the incense altar and touch it to the lips of the prophet.

Unless our lips are burnished by the Word, we will not honor God with our lips. Unless the Lord opens our lips, our mouths cannot declare His praise. The petition involves not only our lips but also our lives. God’s Word must have its way in our hearts, creating and enlivening faith. God’s Name is hallowed, holy among us, when we believe His Word and confess it, and when that Word bears the fruit of love for those around us in our lives of service.

“Hallowed be Thy Name” is the first of the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, and rightly so. It begins with 
our Baptism and our baptismal identity as the children of God. God has placed His Name on us in our Baptism (Matthew 28:19-20), and in Baptism we are permitted to lay claim to the Name of God as one of God’s family.

Name and family go together. Our last names tell something about where we came from and who our people are. My name “Cwirla” is a very unique Ukrainian surname. Anyone I meet in this country by the name of Cwirla is a near relative. My name identifies me as one of the family, linking me to everyone who bears the family name.

When we speak and act dishonorably, we bring shame and dishonor on our family name. Our fathers and mothers would be right in saying, “Remember who you are and the name that you bear.” When we speak and act honorably, we bring honor to our fathers and mothers and all who bear the family name. How much more can we say this in Baptism! In Baptism you are part of God’s family, calling upon your Father in heaven, through your brother Jesus, by the Holy Spirit.

Father in heaven, “May your name be holy. Hallowed be Thy Name.” Father, remind us of who we are as your children. Shape our words and our works by your Word. Put to death the lies of the Evil One and the works of the old Adam in us. Put your Word into our ears and upon our lips, that we may call upon you in every trouble, prayer, praise and given thanks. Grant that we would honor your Name in all that we say and do as your baptized children. Amen.

Rev. William M. Cwirla is the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California, and the President of Higher Things. He can be reached at wcwirla@gmail.com.