Living Savior Lutheran Church - LCMS

DR. MARTIN LUTHER’S EXPOSITION OF THEs
The Book Of Galatians

CHAPTER ONE 1. Paul an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead— 2. and all the brethren who are with me.
By the proclamation of this doctrine, moreover, the devil is overthrown, and his kingdom is cast down. From his hands are torn the Law, sin, and death; through these powerful and invincible tyrants he has subjugated the whole human race. In short, his prisoners are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and liberty (Col. 1:13). Is the devil supposed to stand for this? Is it not to be expected that the father of lies (John 8:44) will use all his wiles and power to obscure, corrupt, and eradicate this doctrine of salvation and eternal life? In fact, St. Paul complains in this and in all his other epistles that even in his day Satan was displaying his skill at this business through his apostles. In our day, too, we complain and lament that Satan has done more damage to our Gospel by his servants, the fanatical spirits, than by all the tyrants, kings, princes, and bishops who have ever persecuted it and who go on persecuting it by force. If we had not been on our guard here in Wittenberg and worked so diligently to plant and teach this doctrine of faith, we would not have remained in harmony for so long; but sects would have arisen even in our midst long ago. But because we continue in this doctrine and never stop stressing it, it preserves us in the most complete unity and peace. Others, however, who either neglect it or seek to teach what they suppose is something more sublime, fall into various vicious errors and endless sects, and so they perish. It seemed good to us to show here in passing why the devil and the world are so spiteful against the Gospel, even though it is the Word of life and eternal salvation.

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 26: Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 14.

DR. MARTIN LUTHER’S EXPOSITION OF THEs
SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH CHAPTERS
OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHNs
CHAPTER SIX
45. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46. Not that anyone has Christ says: “Do not murmur among yourselves because I claim to be the bread of life. You make bold to bring your reason into play here. You presume to be wiser than I am as you say: ‘Do we not know His father and His mother?’ But hear this: The message I bring to you is one by which the Father draws you; it will not be mastered by our reason and mind. Now when you hear about the drawing of the Father, array this against the drawing of reason. He who would understand this message must close his eyes. He must bar reason and permit himself to be guided like a blind man. That is what God demands. Whoever refuses to be led thus but persists in the use of his reason will be offended by the message. He will resent it and forever murmur against it.”
Thus Münzer, too, claimed that God communicated directly with him and numbered him among the prophets. These people all pretend that they are in touch with heaven without the divine Word. They despise it and treat this text as though the Father were a being entirely different from Christ, who is speaking here. But in this matter one must deal wisely and cautiously. For Solomon says: “He that is a searcher of the Divine Majesty shall be overwhelmed by glory” (Prov. 25:27). He will inevitably break his neck. Therefore beware of speculating. Do not wait for God to send you a word from heaven which you can grasp with your own reason. Do not climb into heaven in search of God’s will or of true understanding, or try to master this with your reason! Furthermore, if you sit back and wait without the Word of God, you will break your neck; for God has spoken solely through the Son. Look at our fanatics. They have heard God’s Word about the Sacraments, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16); “This is My body given for you” (Luke 22:19); and “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 22:20). But they go and exalt themselves, strip the Sacraments of the Word, disregard the words pertaining to Baptism, listen only to the voice of reason, and say: “Water is water.” Pursuing their speculation further, they declare: “Since God is a spirit and the soul is also spirit, how can water baptize, purge, and cleanse the soul?” Therefore they go and clamber into God’s lap. Of course, it is not God’s will and purpose simply to baptize with water; the Spirit must also be present. But they have fallen and broken their necks with their conclusion that Baptism is mere water, or is only an external sign, as when one marks a cow or a sheep with red chalk. Therefore we should flee and shun those who are given to speculation and who abandon God’s Word.

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 23: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 6-8, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 91–92.

DR. MARTIN LUTHER’S EXPOSITION OF THEs
SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH CHAPTERS
OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHNs
CHAPTER SIX
45. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46. Not that anyone has Christ says: “Do not murmur among yourselves because I claim to be the bread of life. You make bold to bring your reason into play here. You presume to be wiser than I am as you say: ‘Do we not know His father and His mother?’ But hear this: The message I bring to you is one by which the Father draws you; it will not be mastered by our reason and mind. Now when you hear about the drawing of the Father, array this against the drawing of reason. He who would understand this message must close his eyes. He must bar reason and permit himself to be guided like a blind man. That is what God demands. Whoever refuses to be led thus but persists in the use of his reason will be offended by the message. He will resent it and forever murmur against it.”
Now when the fanatics hear this said: “If the Father does not draw you, you cannot come to Me,” they object. They disparage the external Word. They would dismiss it and drop it; they bring into disesteem the Word which Christ uttered with His own lips. They would go into seclusion, prop up their heads with their hands, speculate, and reflect on God. They want to be drawn before and without the Word and to attain salvation before the Father hears them. That is wrong, for here reason is the problem. But reason is elusive. It will not submit to anything but its own ability to bridge and build the way to God. It wants to hear a spirit from heaven without the agency of the divine Word.

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 23: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 6-8, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 91.

Reminders regarding Holy Week at Living Savior:

- There will be no Maundy Thursday service; we pray pastor's surgery goes well.

- Good Friday service is at 6:30PM.

- Easter Sunday service is at 10AM with a potluck brunch and an egg hunt afterwards.

We hope to see you Friday and Sunday!
Have a blessed Holy Week!