By Jeffrey R. Basch, WebMeister
Earlier in this newsletter, Pastor Terjesen showed
the errors of the Crypto-Calvinists.In
this article, I would like to build on Pastor’s article by discussing the
truth of the orthodox doctrine of the Real Presence — and some practical
implications of that doctrine.
Think about this: if I told you that I could pour
a gallon of water into a 7 ounce cup, you would probably say that I am
crazy.
Yet, every Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ — the infinite God became incarnate in a baby at Bethlehem.
In the Sacrament of Holy Communion, Jesus Christ is
incarnate in the bread and wine.
Just as the baby at Bethlehem had two natures (human and Divine) without changing either of them, so does the Sacrament of Holy Communion have two natures: because God (specifically, Jesus Christ) is incarnate in the bread and wine.
This is in perfect agreement with the Lutheran confessions
which teach that, in Holy Communion, Christ is present in, with, and underthe
untransformed bread and wine.
How is this possible? Only God knows, but I do know this: that I take comfort in knowing that God is greater than me.
Christianity is a religion of revelation: we believe what God reveals about himself through the Holy Scriptures, and the Holy Ghost gives us the faith with which to receive this revelation.
So, just as we believe that Christ became incarnate
in Bethlehem as the Scriptures teach, it is just as easy for us to believe
that Christ becomes incarnate in Holy Communion — which is known as the
Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament.
Faith and Logic
These Crypto-Calvinists have a false religion that is based upon logic — and they reject anything that the human mind cannot rationally understand.
I cannot use logic to understand how people act, so how can these Crypto-Calvinists presume to understand God with human logic?
Does this mean that logic is wrong?By no means!Using an old proverb, I like to say that “logic” is the “cart” which must never come before the “horse” of “faith.”
That is, logic must always follow — and be the servant of — faith; we must always accept God’s Word by faith, and if we can understand certain things by logic, that is fine.
However, logic must never precede — and be the master of — faith.Such is the error of the Crypto-Calvinists.
We must always point out the errors of the Crypto-Calvinists by using God’s Word — not for the purpose of ridiculing them, but so that God may work through His Word to bring them into the true orthodox faith.
Crypto-Calvinists Deny Christ
These Crypto-Calvinists have a false religion that
is based upon logic and works.
Consequently, when these Crypto-Calvinists reject the Real Presence of Christ theyalso rejecting the incarnation of Christ!!!
They will not say that they reject Christ, and they
may not even be aware of the fact that their practiceimplies
a rejection of Christ because they reject what cannot be explained by logic,
and there is no logical way to explain how an God (specifically, Christ)
became incarnate in a human baby body.
Unionism — Leading People to Judgment
One of the criticisms against confessional Lutherans is that we are “unloving” by not letting everyone receive the Holy Supper; well, that simply is not true.
If I let you drink something harmful, would that be loving?If we let people receive the Holy Supper unworthily to their judgment, would that be loving?
NO!ABSOLUTELY NOT!! The loving response is to exclude those who might be harmed by receiving the Sacrament unworthily; as an expression of this love, we confessional Lutherans have the practice of Closed Communion.
Let us set the record straight: the “unloving” people
are really those unionistic people who permit anyone to receive the Sacrament
unworthily.
The Reformation Continues
The reformation began because people were deviating from God’s Word with respect to doctrine — just as they are now doing!
We must never rest until all people confess Christ as Lord and confess orthodox doctrine; the Holy Scripture is clear that such will not occur, so our never-ending work is cut out for us.We must never rest until we are in the Church Triumphant, because there are a lot of people who need to hear the Gospel that Christ died so that they might live.
Some people are reluctant to witness because they
believe that such is “the Pastor’s job.”What
is the job of Pastor and us laity?
The Pastors
Simply and briefly put, the pastor is the ambassador
of Christ.Just as an ambassador
speaks for the country he represents, Pastor speaks for Christ when he
brings the grace of God to His church [e.g. preaching the Word, administering
the sacraments, and forgiving (or retaining) sins] .
The Laity
Although we cannot say “I forgive you all your sins”
as can Pastor, because we are not God’ s ambassadors, we can still tell
others of what God has done because we are God’s witnesses.
In other words, we can say “God has forgiven you your
sins.”We are not speaking on God’s
behalf, but are simply telling what He has done — that He gave His only
begotten Son that Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have
everlasting life.
We are like witnesses at the scene of an accident
— faithfully telling what we have seen; likewise, we can tell other people
was God has done, because we are His witnesses.
The Gospel is synonymous with the forgiveness of sins;
therefore, whoever can speak of God’s forgiveness of sins can also speak
of the Gospel..
Summary of Pastors and Laity
Pastors, as servants and ambassadors of God, bring
the grace of God down to the Church — Word and Sacrament.
The Laity, empowered by the grace of God, then goes
into the world as witnesses of God, telling everyone what He has done —
Word and Deed.