Unaltered Augsburg Confession

Q: What do the letters “UAC” on the cornerstone of my church mean?

A: U. A. C. stands for “Unaltered Augsburg Confession.” Written in 1530 as a concise statement of belief of the Evangelicals (Gospel people) led by Martin Luther, the Augsburg Confession separated Evangelical (Lutheran) theology from Roman Catholicism. Its theology also divided the Lutherans from other reformers’ teachings — including those of John Calvin — and from heresies condemned by the Church in bygone days. The confession was written by Philipp Melanchthon (with much input from Luther) and signed by various noblemen and city councils. These German secular leaders (not religious spokesmen) presented it to Emperor Charles V on 25 June 1530 as their own confession of faith. It was later incorporated into Concordia, the Lutheran Book of Concord. To this day, even many non-Lutherans herald it as a blow for religious freedom.

“Unaltered” separates the original from any later variation, especially Melanchthon’s Variata of 1540. These later rewrites, by Melanchthon and others, were done to make sections of the confession more palatable to other reformers who disagreed on certain points of doctrine. Thus, while the Lutherans and the Calvinists held significant differences in teaching, John Calvin himself was able to sign the Variata in good conscience.

UAC on a cornerstone means that a particular congregation has declared that the original document is a true exposition of Holy Scripture and that any Variata is incorrect or imprecise and to be rejected. In the U. S., you’ll see UAC especially on churches that grew out of the Lutheran confessional movement of the mid-1800s, including many who left Germany to avoid a government-imposed union with Protestant churches. It was (and remains) a sign of refusal to compromise Scripture and our confession of faith.

Because Melanchthon and like-minded conciliatory theologians made flexible what most of the original signers deemed a solid and unchanging confession, confusion grew as to whom should be considered a Lutheran. This became one of the strong influences upon later Lutheran theologians to draft the Formula of Concord and join it with previous foundational documents — including the UAC — in the Book of Concord.

Addendum: For more on the history of this seminal Lutheran document, please see a later post, The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Whose Prayers Does God Hear?

Q: I’m a Southern Baptist. I’ve been told by some that God doesn’t hear the prayer of sinners. I assume this means God doesn’t answer prayers of sinners. Some of the Scriptures given to support this are as follows: Proverbs 28:9; Proverbs 15:29; John 9:31; Isaiah 56:6-7.

A: This is hardly a Southern Baptist-only understanding of the Bible. Many passages of Scripture speak of God choosing not to hear the prayers (or receive the offerings and sacrifices) of unbelievers. Your understanding of God’s “hearing” of prayers is Biblical: When God “hears,” He listens with intent to answer. Only the prayers of the righteous are guaranteed to be heard and answered. The Father hears because of a relationship with His children.

We might use the earthly illustration of opening the mail box and sorting it into different piles. We choose to read and respond to those senders with whom we have a relationship, whether they be family, friends, creditors, brokers, or whomever. Those we don’t know are likely to have their messages dropped in the trash.

We must be careful to not exclude all “sinners” because we also know from Scripture that “all have sinned” and “there is no one who is righteous, no, not one.” It would be better if we said that “God does not answer the prayers of unbelievers.”

Christians — sinners though we may be — still pray, trusting that God will hear and answer out of love. That is because we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness. God hears us for Jesus’ sake when we pray “in Jesus’ Name.” This doesn’t mean that we close each prayer with the words, “in Jesus Name”; the prayer He taught us doesn’t even mention His Name! The Lord’s Prayer is prayer in Jesus’ Name when believing, baptized Christians pray in confidence that their sins are forgiven and that they are adopted as the Father’s children for the sake of Christ.

When we come in Jesus’ Name, we are confident that the Father knows us, since He knows all his children. It’s as if the “return address” of what we’ve sent God bears not our own names (and the stain of our sins) but rather the holy and perfect Name of Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s Prayer also reminds us that much of what we call “prayer” may not be such, even if we do end it “in Jesus’ Name,” if the content is not what we are told to pray about or if we attempt to impose our human desires and will upon the will of the Father.

The Christian can safely “demand” forgiveness and eternal life from God and can also pray unconditionally for the spiritual well-being of other Christians and Christ’s whole church. He or she may, without reservation, praise God according to His Word and say those things about God that God says about Himself. As for earthly (temporal) blessings, the Christian must submit to the will of God and ask knowing that God may have different plans, since He knows what is best for us here in time as well as in all eternity.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Athanasian Creed: Trinity, Good Works, and Salvation

I’ve received some questions about the Triune (Three-in-One) God, as well as a few who essentially ask, “How can you say that only those who do good works will go to heaven when you also say that it is only by grace that people are saved?”

I’ll touch on both, starting with the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Both will involve a look at the Athanasian Creed. (Follow this link for a copier-ready 21k PDF file of the Athanasian Creed formatted for responsive reading with introductory notes.)

Christianity has constantly struggled to keep the Faith free from false philosophies.

In the fourth-century Greek culture of Alexandria, Egypt, a persuasive preacher with a logical mind used a philosophy foreign to the Scriptures in order to explain the connection between Jesus and His Father. Arius borrowed from the popular Greek concept that a “god,” by nature, had to be high, distant and almighty; and that humans, consequently, had to be low, spacial and inferior.

Arius taught that only the Father was really a proper God. Because Jesus was human, He was therefore only a creature (created by God) and therefore did not really possess any divine qualities. The problem was basic: When Arius denied the divinity of Christ, he destroyed God’s role in accomplishing our salvation. If Jesus were not really God, then He could not possibly have saved us from our sins.

Orthodox (“right-teaching”) Christianity declared the Scriptural teaching of the two natures in Christ — that He was both “true God,” and “true man.” The Athanasian Creed proclaims over and over that Jesus is “equal with the Father.” Affirming Jesus’ divinity, this creed confesses that God was the originator of our salvation — He did it for us.

Affirming His humanity, it confesses that Jesus died for every part of us — He was a Savior who was completely human. Excerpts from this creed, named for Saint Athanasius, show how the Church has traditionally expressed the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity.

“The catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Three Persons and Three Persons in one God, neither confusing the Persons nor dividing the substance. For there is One Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.”

Still, while there is one God, the Persons of the Trinity are not to be confused: “The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten but proceeding.”

The Athanasian Creed goes on to clearly confess the divine and human natures of Christ, concluding by saying of Him, “At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies and will give an account of their own works. And they that have done good will go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the catholic faith which, except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.” This mention of works and salvation often bothers those who understand from Scriptures such as Ephesians 2 that we are saved by grace, not by works. This passage from the Athanasian Creed echoes Christ’s Judgment Day prophecies in Matthew, especially 25:31-46.

The key to understanding is that it is not the works themselves that save. Rather, works testify to saving faith; that is, they indicate that the deeds that are called “good” by God are done only by Christians who believe in Jesus Christ as their crucified and risen Savior and who trust in Him alone. Returning to Ephesians 2, we note that after the explicit and total foundation of salvation by grace alone, Paul also states that ours is not an idle salvation, but one dedicated to the service of the One who saved us: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10)” Many who think that they have done good will be horribly dismayed on the Last Day (Matthew 25:44-46).

As an aside, the “catholic faith” spoken of in the creeds doesn’t mean “Roman Catholic.” Rather, it means the faith of the entire Christian Church as it is rightly believed, taught, and confessed around the world and throughout the ages.

ADDENDUM: Related posts include He Descended into Hell and Creeds and Confessions.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Goofing Away the Gospel

Aardvark Alley provides us with a transcript of his August newsletter article addressing lazy worship habits, especially during the “Dog Days” of Summer.

A Picture of the Christ

Q: It is the norm to portray Jesus as fair skinned and usually good looking by western standards. Isn’t it correct to think that Jesus most likely had dark skin similar to those who live in the Middle East today?

More important, I have a recollection of a verse somewhere that while it doesn’t say Jesus was ugly it says something that indicates that there was nothing about His appearance that would cause us to be drawn to Him.

Can you tell me where the verse is and are there other verses that provide any information about His appearance?

A: Jesus being “blonde and blue” is a popular idea among northern Europeans and in some parts of Italy and elsewhere where such features are the norms. Most cultures who practice Christian religious art tend to make the Savior look somewhat like their own people. Yet, as you indicate, Jesus probably was darker featured than most Western art depicts Him. This is not only because of his Israelite human ancestry (and remember, some from Palestine are quite fair-skinned) but because He spent so much of his time outdoors in preaching and teaching and traveling from one place to another.

As a corresponding thought, He probably also was in better physical shape than most of our art shows him. The years of nonstop travel under often rugged conditions would have most likely resulted in a man who was lean but well-muscled, weathered and somewhat rugged looking.

Isaiah 53:2-3 indicates that Messiah would not be particularly good looking by human standards: “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

When we look back earlier in this passage of the Suffering Servant, we get the idea that while He may have begun as an “ordinary Joe” in appearance, His natural features did not cause men to “hide their faces” from Him. Any physical ugliness came through his torture, for, “he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)”

An even greater — a spiritual — ugliness also clung to Him: In Jesus, the Father saw all the grotesqueries of our sins, since God “made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)”

Isaiah summed up Christ’s entire life, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, preaching of His Gospel, and return in glory in chapter 52:13-15: “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you — his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind — so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.”

All of chapter 53 then expounds upon these verses, both as the Servant is punished for our sins and as He is raised in glory because of his faithfully carrying out the will of the Lord. Amazingly, we have more of a physical description of Jesus from Isaiah, who lived around seven hundred years before the Christ was born, than we do from all the books of the New Testament, including the four Gospels.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

A Picture of Zion

Q: Can you give me a physical description of Zion?

A: Zion is the mountain upon which Jerusalem is built. As a mountain, it isn’t much, not more than a good-sized hill. Hosting the royal city of ancient Israel and the place of the Temple made it figuratively tall among earth’s mountains. This center of ancient Israel’s religion and monarchy was used by God in later prophetic and apocalyptic writings to stand for the new, heavenly kingdom.

If you want a description of the earthly Zion, the best thing would be to use an encyclopedia or Bible dictionary. Look for “Jerusalem” as well as “Zion.”

If you desire a description of the heavenly Zion, no one can do it justice. The inspired writers who glimpse it or who utter God’s descriptions of it speak in high-flying, poetic language that conceals more than it reveals. We will never have a true description of Zion’s glories until we are called home by Christ to live there forever.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

J. S. Bach

Was J. S. Bach an orthodox Lutheran theologian?


Today marks the 255th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s translation into glory. In his honor, I commend to you a paper I wrote for an historical theology course I took at Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis.

The paper examines Bach’s theology through his own compositions and other writings as well as through the observations of others. It studies the claims of some who would place him within either the Pietist or Rationalist camps, concluding that Bach was “quite Orthodox — but not one-dimensionally so. In him we see a true balance found by few. Without sacrificing any area, Bach excelled in Piety, Rationality and Orthodoxy. Each shaped the others, and all were normed by his love of making music, and his love of Jesus Christ.”

More on the Temptation of Christ

Q: I’m extremely confused; Jesus couldn’t sin, yet what he was tempted to do was sin. How can you be tempted to do something you’re incapable of doing? I mean, I’m not tempted, say, to turn my jug of water into wine even though it would save me a few dollars. Because I can’t do it. [Question comes as a comment to the previous post.]


A: Part of our problem is that we understand temptation only as people who have succumbed to it. We view it as sinful humans, not as our Father or as the sinless Son of God. Note that Hebrews 4:15 confesses, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

We also must fully understand the Greek word πειράζω (peirazo) translated as as “tempt” in most English Bibles’ accounts of Jesus in the Wilderness. However, peirazo has a fuller definition including “to make proof of, to attempt, test, tempt.” The English Standard Version I normally quote in the column renders it “examine” in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “test” (with the intent of entrapment) in Matthew 16:1 and John 8:6, “tempt” in the Wilderness accounts and elsewhere, and “attempt” in Acts 9:26. If you compare these to other versions, you might see different renderings chosen by different translators.

In looking at the full meaning of the original text, we see that what Jesus experienced was a true testing, an attempt by Satan to trap Him. The possibility of failure doesn’t need to be factored in, however, to our understanding. By means of a (feeble) earthly comparison, imagine a sadistic yet talented high school math teacher testing his class by composing the most difficult examination he can. By sheer intellectual ability, he could cause all his class to fail the test. However, if the principal wants the class to pass, suppose that he says one person can take the test on behalf of all the students. He then goes so far as to choose the substitute, a brilliant mathematician who sits on the faculty of a world-class university. The substitute not only answers all the questions perfectly, he also corrects errors made by the tester. In a way, this is what we see in Scripture, especially in the Matthean and Lukan accounts of Christ’s temptation.

Of course our analogy breaks down in several areas. For instance, we’ve already failed many tests. We’re undisciplined, unruly, and unworthy of any mercy. We deserve failure and the accompanying consequences. Also, the difference between the Devil and our Lord Jesus is vastly greater than that between the tester and the test-taker mentioned above.

To sum things up, whether by Satanic means or Fatherly abandonment, Christ was fully (if not, by our standards, “fairly”) tested, tempted, and tried throughout His earthly life. Whether through early peer pressure during the years not recorded, by the misunderstanding and desertion of His followers, with betrayal and denial, or by any other means, Jesus faced every possible hurdle to perfectly fulfilling the Law and doing His Father’s bidding. He withstood temptation; He passed all the tests; He was proven to be the genuine and perfect Substitute. Truly, He was “tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Could Jesus Sin?

Q: When Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, was He capable of sinning? I think not, because of His divine nature. He could not sin and at the same time be God. I think He felt and suffered through the temptation (according to His human nature), but ultimately could not have sinned(because of His divine nature). I have heard other people say that this takes something away from His keeping the law perfectly. What do you think?

A: I agree with you — Jesus is true God and cannot sin. However, He still felt the full effect of keeping God’s Law perfectly. His sufferings were profound; as any believer might some time suffer for the faith, even more so Jesus’ perfect obedience led to the suffering He felt in the Wilderness and the incredible pains of His crucifixion.

Your comment about some others dismissing His perfect obedience because of His inability to sin is telling. This is akin to blaming God for not “playing fair” with Satan, even though the way God “played” was to win the victory for us. Such people sound like they don’t appreciate God trying so hard on our behalf.

NB: A previous post deals specifically with the events of Jesus’ time in the Wilderness. (See Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; and Luke 4:1-13 for the Biblical record.)

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Dianetics

Q: I would like to know about “Dianetics”: Is it a sect, a science, or something else?

A: Dianetics is a philosophy of life (or a religion) based on the writings of science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. A book of the same title illustrates its major points. Dianetics (the book) is a mixture of various philosophies and religions with a bit of outer space thrown in. Superior beings play a role in the whole thing. Dianetics (the religious philosophy) is more of the same and remains the central teaching of the organization known as the Church of Scientology.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Action Prophecy

Q: Jesus’ actions in the story of the fig tree (cf. Matthew 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-25) seem to be in the tradition of some of the Old Testament prophets. Could you please give me an example of how one of them uses a symbolic, dramatic action to illustrate his teachings?

A: One example would be in the life of Hosea. His actions were quite dramatic, including marrying a prostitute to show how God bound Himself to an unfaithful, idol-chasing Israel. When she abandoned him to return to her former lifestyle, he sought her out and took her back again, showing how the Lord also sought out sinners — even wilfully disobedient members of His Church — and brought them back to Himself. Hosea also gave his children names reflecting God’s judgment yet the Lord used them also to show His mercy.

If we were to crown a “king” of action prophecy in the Old Testament, two candidates step to the front of the line. One would be Moses, the agent of God’s plagues against Egypt. A convincing case can be made that the plagues targeted specific gods of Egypt, attacking or perverting their sacred creatures and places and turning their “blessings” into woes.


The other strongly action-oriented prophet is Ezekiel, who did all manner of things to illustrate the message of the Lord. For example, in Ezekiel 4, he used a brick as a model of Jerusalem and laid siege to it. Continuing the siege, he then lay bound by the Lord on his sides to show the times of sin and judgment on Israel and Judah. Such prophetic actions continue throughout the first part of the book.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Confessional and Orthodox Lutheranism

Q: Can’t I say that a confessional Lutheran is the same as an orthodox Lutheran? I believe them to be the same.

A: A previous post briefly discussed the meaning of a confessional Lutheranism. This question comes as a comment to that essay.

In most circumstances you can say that a confessional Lutheran is an orthodox Lutheran, although the words have different meanings. As previously noted, confessional means an adherence to the Lutheran Confessions. Orthodox, meanwhile, comes from Greek and means “correct teaching (doctrine).” Perhaps the best thing to do is define each carefully and use both wisely. Call yourself an orthodox, confessional Lutheran and when people ask, be prepared to tell them why. Understand why the Lutheran Confessions are the “right teaching” concerning Holy Scripture and make your confession accordingly.

When we define and use the terms correctly, we can speak of true Lutheranism as being confessional (holding fast to and professing nothing but the pure doctrine of Scripture), orthodox (right teaching), evangelical (centered and grounded completely in the Gospel), charismatic (partakers in the Holy Spirit and His gifts), and catholic (in time and eternity part and parcel of the entirety of Christendom).

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Lutheran and Baptist Compared (Briefly)

Q: Could you compare Lutheran beliefs to Baptist beliefs?

A: This is something that I can only do in part. It is not only because I am more familiar with Lutheran teaching than with Baptist, but also because there are many varieties of teaching which are included under the heading of Baptist. Without going into great detail, these generally fall into one of two camps. One follows the general teachings of Arminius and is essentially “freewill” Baptist. The other party echoes the teachings of Calvin and is generally double-predestinarian. However, since Baptist affiliation is so strongly voluntary, what might be a generality for a group is not always specific for an individual congregation or Baptist churchgoer.

There are also factions and differences among many Lutherans. With both Lutherans and Baptists, the differences within the two groups may be almost as numerous as are the differences between the two groups. Since I’m in The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, my answers are from our understanding of the Church and Christian doctrine.

A few differences are quite pronounced. Lutherans are sacramental. Thus, we believe in baptismal regeneration and practice infant baptism, rather than the “believer’s baptism” normally used by Baptists. We believe that the forgiveness of sins (absolution) pronounced by our pastors in Christ’s stead is as valid and certain as if Christ himself stood speaking the words. We also believe that the very body and blood of Christ are really present under bread and wine in Holy Communion.

As a rule, we are liturgical. We tend to follow the ancient liturgies (orders of service) of the Christian Church, shaped from its earliest days and rooted even in Old Testament worship.

We preach (and try to practice) the freedom of the Gospel, rather than emphasizing rules. We believe it is not possible without faith to truly obey God, and that no works, no matter how good, have any impact upon our salvation. Thus, we tend to not say, “Thou shalt not,” do something unless the Bible says, “Thou shalt not,” and unless we can see clearly that the prohibition is valid under the New Testament and not only part of the Old Covenant.

We do not teach any form of “once saved, always saved.” Instead, we heed the warnings in Scripture that speak of the risk of losing our faith and being lost eternally.

Our pastors are trained and certified by our church and are normally called to “full time” positions. We are not usually involved in other work in order to feed ourselves and our families but are free for whatever spiritual needs our members have that need our attention. We believe that God calls pastors through action of his church in order to forgive sins and that when they speak God’s Word of forgiveness to penitent sinners, it is as valid and certain as if Christ himself were speaking.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Non-Proverbial Proverbs

Q: What Bible verse says “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”?

A: This is a “folk proverb,” not a Biblical proverb. While cleanliness and Godliness both occur throughout the pages of Scripture, they are never closely paired. God does command certain ritual cleansings in Old Testament Law, but the cleanliness He truly desires is spiritual, which only He can effect in us. I think the old cleanliness saw may have been invented by someone’s mother, trying to get her children to stop wallowing in the mud.

There are other examples of folk proverbs being thought of as part of Scripture. Probably the most common is the thinking of many people that, “God helps those who help themselves.” This is not only non-Biblical, it is anti-Biblical in its fullest expression. Scripture instead tells us that God helps the helpless. Those who think that they are able to help themselves in matters of faith and salvation are speaking the same language as did many of the Pharisees in Jesus’ time.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

The Book of Life

Q: I’d like to know what names are written in the “Book of Life.” Are all names written and then the sinner is blotted out or is a person’s name only added after he is saved?

A: Since God is spirit, the “Book of Life” (cf. Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; et al.) quite likely is symbolic of those whom God knows to be his own through faith in Jesus Christ, not an actual scroll or bound volume. Those who are in it are the believers. If you wanted to investigate the means by which God keeps a “running tally,” then you could look to our being called “from eternity” and say that we start there; thus, our names would be written from eternity.

However, taking the Scriptural testimony that we are born sinful, children of wrath, and dead in our trespasses, you could figure from time of baptism and conversion and say that God adds the names as we are brought to faith. If we must decide, this seems a better way to look at it.

Either way, to fall from faith would remove oneself from the book. Being brought back (as in the Good Shepherd finding the lost sheep) would return one to the book.

Addendum: Please see Recorded in the Book of Life for a more complete treatment of this subject.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Binding Demons

Q: I hear much from some Christian authors and broadcasters about “binding demons.” Are there Scriptures that give us the power through Jesus Christ to do this? I tried to find references to “binding” and like-meaning words using the Bible, but only Matthew 16:18-19 seemed to get close to the issue.

A: There are some mentions of the demons being placed under the authority of the disciples, such as when Jesus sends out the seventy, but we don’t know the duration of that promise — it may have been just for that time. Individual pastors may be called upon by their own flocks for help in specific cases where, perhaps, an exorcism must take place. We do know that Satan himself is “bound” by the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ — although he is still a dangerous foe.

Matthew 16, however, does not talk about the binding of demons. Here, instead, we have part of the Office of the Ministry, which Christ was at that time forming and instituting among the Twelve. The binding and loosing is that of sins, according to whether or not they are confessed and forgiven.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Resurrection, not Reincarnation

Q: Would you point me in the right direction and give me some Scriptures regarding past lives and reincarnation?

A: There are several Scriptures that let us know that we only live this one life, that there is no cycle of reincarnation. Included are Jesus’ promise to the repentant malefactor on the cross (Luke 23:43): “Today you will be with me in paradise.” As he was being martyred, Stephen prayed (Acts 7:59), “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” For those who are unbelievers, the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) shows the believer in heaven and the unbeliever in hell following death. And in Hebrews 9:27, the Lord says, “Just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” These and other passages clearly remind us that there is no “second chance” in another life. Thus, “past lives” are lies, tricks of our imaginations, or else inventions of demonic origin.

These verses are just the beginning of an exploration of places we might turn. The entirety of Scripture leads away from the possibility of reincarnation. That is why Jesus — and the evangelists and apostles — focus so much on the Church’s message of forgiveness, for if people die in their sinfulness, not believing in Christ, they are lost forever. There isn’t another chance to get things right.

The book of Revelation, which is so often dismissed or misinterpreted, clearly focuses in several places on the importance of proclaiming and living this saving word of Christ during our (one) life on earth. The life which follows this one is either the eternal, living death of hell or the blessed and unending life in the presence of the Lord which is ours in the Resurrection.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Satan Cast from Heaven

Q: Where in the Scriptures can we find the account of when Lucifer was cast out of Heaven?

A: Jesus said (Luke 10:18), “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven,” when the large band of disciples returned with their accounts of the demons’ submitting. It seems that this is anticipation of what would happen as a result of his death, resurrection, and ascension (Revelation 12), where the “lady” (Mary/the Church) bears the Child (Christ) who then ascends and precipitates Satan’s being finally driven out from heaven.

A new commentary on Revelation by Dr. Louis Brighton argues rather convincingly that until this time, Satan had the same access to the heavenly presence of God as he did at the time of Job, but that since that time, and because of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, he can no longer accuse (which is what “Satan” means) the saints of any guilt before God.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

The Unforgivable Sin

Q: Is there an “unforgivable sin”? If so, where is it mentioned in the Bible and can Christians commit this sin? Why or why not?

A: This is known as “the sin against the Holy Spirit.” What sin is unforgivable, then? Only that which pushes the Spirit away, that is, outright rejection of our salvation through the merits of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 4:30 warns, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

Judas did this when he despaired of forgiveness and hanged himself. Pharaoh did this as he hardened his heart against the Lord until the Lord finally and completely hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

On the other hand, David committed adultery and murder, yet believed in God’s mercy, repented and was saved. So also Peter, who denied Jesus, and Paul, who persecuted the Church and who gave assent by his witness to the stoning of Stephen, were restored by Spirit-created repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

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Logos

Q: What does L.O.G.O.S. stand for? I mean, what does each initial stand for?

A: These are not initials. Logos is the Greek word for “word.” In a broader sense, it can also mean knowledge, the study of a specific subject, reckoning or accounting, explanation or reason, statement or discourse. Thus, it is used in English words such as psychoLOGY (the study of the mind), bioLOGY (the study of living things), and theoLOGY (the study of God).

Scripture has a special use for Logos, as shown in John 1: “In the beginning was the Word (Logos) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... And the Word (Logos) became flesh and tented among us. (vv. 1, 14; my translation)” In other words, this Word is the Son of God, Jesus Christ. See also passages such as Revelation 19:13, where Christ wears this name as part of His garment. Also, it is good to keep this underlying meaning in the back of our minds whenever Scripture speaks of preaching or hearing the Word: When we truly preach or hear God’s Word, we are truly preaching or hearing Jesus (e.g., 2 Timothy 4:2 and 1 John 1:1).

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Contemporary Application of Revelation’s Church Letters

Q: How do the letters to the seven churches in Revelation relate to churches today?


A: Since seven is often used as a number of completion, holiness, perfection, and judgment as well as of the fullness of God’s interaction with his creation, with mankind, and with the Church, we can look at the seven letters to the seven churches as summing up all God sees when he looks at Christian congregations. Thus, we see the good, the bad, and the ugly.

That the letters are not just intended each for the individual church that is addressed is evident first of all because all are preserved in the context of the Revelation. Even more so, notice how Christ refers back in each letter to the vision John had just had of Him, yet each church only gets a “part” of the vision. You have to read all seven to “reassemble” the total vision of the Lord as revealed to John.

Notice how each letter then ends with a warning to heed what the Spirit says “to the churches.” Thus, each letter to a church is also a letter to all churches. Indeed, these do apply to all of us. Some may not at a certain time, but all Christendom finds itself included, at least in part, in the totality of the seven letters. Maybe the Nicolaitans are no longer the problem, but heresy in one form or another is a chronic problem in the Church. So also all the other sins and sinners mentioned — in one form or another, these all continue to plague us.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

The Sons of God and the Nephilim

Q: In Genesis 6,who are the “sons of God” and what are the “Nephilim”?

A: Some say that the “sons of God” were spirit beings. Others think they were the righteous people living at that time, who fell into sin, intermarried with the heathen, and whose offspring then departed from the way of the Lord. Throughout history, pagan kings have often staked claim upon their thrones based upon claims that they are descended from such creatures.

Whichever they were, their offspring were the Nephilim (the Fallen Ones). Evidently, men often revered them as heroes but God viewed them as spiritually unjust. Their heirs (spiritually and by size, if not biologically) are seen even to the time of the Exodus (cf. Numbers 13:31-33). They were of giant stature and seemingly possessed great might in battle. Of the latter Nephilim, Goliath may have been a final vestige.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Repentance and Baptism

Q: I’m a Lutheran. I’ve been studying Baptism and one question that keeps occurring when I’m talking to other Christians comes from Peter saying in Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you.” How do you witness to them without sounding like you are contradicting yourself and mixing Law and Gospel? How do you explain this passage to the person who believes he must repent with the mouth in order to be baptized?

A: Here, Peter has already proclaimed the Law. To “repent” is much more than saying “I’m sorry” to God. It is a “turning away” from sin and a “turning toward” God. As such, it is only accomplished by the Holy Spirit working in someone’s life. Repentance is an act of faith, not an act of one on his way to faith. Therefore, it is not a good work. Instead, it is both acknowledging the sin of which we are accused and acknowledging the Savior who rescues us from that sin. Peter is saying, in effect, “Act like one who believes that this Jesus, whom you crucified, is risen and is your Savior.” One of the first acts the believer would then initiate is to ask to be baptized, that he might share in the fullness of God’s blessings in Christ Jesus.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

The Image and the Cross

How interesting that as I was commenting on making the sign of the cross, Beggars All was inviting comments another controverted part of Christian practice, displaying the crucifix. This followed Tim's essay about his own changing attitudes toward using this icon of Christ.

Raising Godly Children

Q: Is there a passage in the Bible that discusses whether or not parents are responsible for their child’s spiritual life after the age of twelve?

A: There’s no absolute age where parents are no longer accountable. God gives children with the desire that parents will use good judgment in raising them. What conscientious parents would “judge” that their children are, at age 12, ready to be cast loose for their own spiritual journeys? These are the types of journeys that, left to themselves, often end up in hell The parents should then think of their responsibility in allowing this to happen by ceasing to be involved in their children’s spiritual lives.

Sin is not only a problem with children, but also with parents. Before learning how to raise our children, we should be constantly reminded from Scripture that our children are a blessing from God. All too often, parents instead think of their offspring as burdens or even as curses. We who are given this responsibility by God need to stay in His Word and let Him guide our steps.

Christ-like parents (see previous discussion) will remain actively involved in raising Christ-like children: To raise our children “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, (Eph 6:4)” we must be nurtured and admonished by Him. We need to know, confess, and receive forgiveness for our own sins before we are ready to deal with our children’s sinfulness. The more we realize God’s patience and care for us as we daily sin against him, the more we are able to patiently and lovingly deal with our children.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

On Being Christ-Like

Q: To be a Christian, do you have to be Christ-like?

A: You are “Christ-like” when you are remade by God in Jesus’ image. Thus, to be a Christian is to be Christ-like. This happens when the Holy Spirit comes in Word and water, forgiving you and leading you to believe and trust in God; for at the same time, God works in you, enabling you to “put on Christ. (Romans 13:14, Galatians 3:27)” You cannot make yourself this way; it is the work of your loving God. The Holy Spirit nurtures, sustains, and grows a Christ-like person through the Gospel; specifically, preaching of forgiveness, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper.

If your life of thought, word, and deed is contrary to the Christian faith, then you should take note — and, perhaps, beware. While you won’t be able to fix this crisis, you can turn in repentance and confidence to the One who can. Immerse yourself ever more in His Word, especially his forgiving Gospel and cling to a Church that teaches God’s love and Jesus’ works on our behalf instead of focusing on human actions or obligations. You will find even more that God is making you a “new creation” while at the same time always making more and better of you.

The strange paradox is that as we grow in the Faith, we also grow in knowledge of our own sinfulness. Thus, the more Christ-like we become, the less Christ-like we often feel.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Making the Sign of the Cross

Q: My friend and I were having a discussion about the practice of crossing yourself in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. He said that the only Christians to do this are Catholics. I thought other Christian religions also practiced this. Can you let us know?

A: Anglican-Episcopalians, the Eastern Orthodox, and Lutherans are among others aside from Roman Catholics who make the sign of the cross and speak God’s Triune Name. Martin Luther is specific in his instructions in the Small Catechism that the one praying should “make the sign of the Holy Cross” and say, “In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

The cross is not only a sign of Jesus’ crucifixion, but also of its application for us, especially in Baptism. The cross reminds us that “we buried therefore with [Christ] by baptism into death (Rom 6:4).” With the sign of the cross, we speak the Name of God — that into which we were baptized, by whom we were adopted, and without whom we have neither life nor hope.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Dating the New Testament

Q: When was the King James Bible completed as opposed to the New Jerusalem (Catholic) Bible? I’d always thought that the Old and New Testaments were complete by 96 AD. Later I was told it wasn’t done until around 350-400 AD. Is this correct?

A: The King James and the New Jerusalem Bibles both have the same New Testament books, so if we are talking about the original documents, then they are the same age. However, translators often pick and choose among available manuscripts in deciding which to translate. Normally, this is not a major problem, since the differences among these hand-copied manuscripts are, by-and-large, minor. If we are talking translation, then the KJV is from the early 1600s and the NJB from the late 1900s.

Now for the real question: Was the New Testament written by the people that the books claim to be written by? If so, then the early 100s is the latest that Apostolic authorship could take place. Those who doubt that Scripture is the Word of God or see it as a human reaction to divine action consider the Scriptures as evolving inventions of the early Church and argue for later dating.

Some deny predictive prophecy and question texts where Jesus warns of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. They won’t admit that Jesus could prophesy the destruction of Jerusalem and the fall of Judea before they happened (circa AD 70). Tied to almost all the various reasons for rejecting early authorship of the texts is a doubt that God verbally inspired individual authors to create the texts according to his Word.

However, many of the earliest Christian writers were already quoting from different parts of Scripture before AD 200. By the late 200s, we have evidence of everything now included in the canon. The other numbers are merely tossed out by people who won’t let God be God, Jesus be Savior, or the Bible be God’s Spirit-inspired Word. Thus, I opt for an early completion date.

This still leaves one date up in the air: When was the New Testament compiled and accepted in its current form? After all the books listed in the Bible (and many others) were written, debate went on for some time about which were truly divinely inspired and of apostolic origin. The Council of Nicea seemingly accepted all the books now in the New Testament while excluding those not contained in in. In AD 367, Bishop Athanasius issued his Easter letter. It included a list of the books of Holy Scripture, noting the New Testament as we have it today. He did not develop a new list; he used his authority as bishop to endorse long-standing practice. In some areas, some people still object to Revelation because they feel it could be used by heretics such as those condemned at Nicea.

Only a few years later, in AD 382, a Church council in Rome affirmed Athanasius’ list and vindicated Revelation as part of Scripture. All later Church actions agreed with this ruling. Thus we see that both your date and the one used by your daughter are correct, depending upon how you ask the question.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

The Origin of the Races

Q: My daughter asked me, “If we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, how did the different races develop?” Not a biggie, but I can’t answer it. Any thoughts?

A: The races likely originated from several factors. The Flood brought catastrophic changes in climate and overall environment. The “fountains of the deep” opening up likely brought many mutation-causing substances to the surface, while the loss of the cloud canopy implied in Genesis 2:6 may have allowed harmful radiation to pass to the earth’s surface and create further changes.

The post-Babel scattering of people across the earth followed by the division of the land masses at the time of Peleg (Gen 10:25) kept certain genetic factors together while favoring the development of traits suitable for different environments. Finally, we cannot overlook the possibility of the “hands-on” involvement of God, who might have directly and intentionally furthered the separation begun at Babel and continued in Peleg’s day by making us different from each other and thus, because of our sinful minds, making us feared by each other.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Jesus in the Wilderness

Q: Why did Jesus go into the Wilderness?

A: While the Bible doesn’t spell things out, it is likely that God had several reasons to do this: First, the Son came in the flesh to face temptation. Remember that the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the Wilderness immediately after His baptism (see Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; and Luke 4:1-13). Jesus had just associated and identified Himself with our sins and was now exposed to temptation such as we face. This was also an opportunity for Him to reject His Father's will, to shortcut the path laid out by the Father, and to establish His kingdom through might and glory instead of through service and suffering.

Second, this time shows him as “Israel reduced to One”; that is, He embodied all that Israel was and was supposed to be. He kept perfectly the Law that Israel and its people kept only in part or not at all. As such, His time parallels the 40 years Israel wandered in the Wilderness.

Also, 40 is often a number associated with judgment and divine wrath (again Israel in the Wilderness, the Flood, Jonah’s message to Nineveh, and others). So even as Jesus faced temptation because of His association with us, so He also was in the first stage of experiencing the full consequences of divine justice and wrath over man’s sins.

ADDENDUM: See also the subsequent post, The Number Forty, and its comments.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

The Bible and the Trinity

Q: What passages in the Bible do Christians rely on to support the Trinity theory? My confusion comes mainly from Christ praying and talking to Heavenly Father while on earth. If they are one, then who was he talking to?

A: Your phrase “Heavenly Father” leads me to think that you might be Mormon (LDS), since this is standard terminology among Latter Day Saints. Thus, I understand that you write from a theological position which denies the Holy Trinity.

The Bible doesn’t deal with theory, whether of the Trinity or anything else. Scripture warns us: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (Col 2:8)” Rather, the Bible proclaims divine truth. God reveals Himself throughout His Word, so let’s speak of the doctrine — or teaching — of the Trinity.

We cannot understand the Trinity any more than we can understand the Incarnation and Virgin Birth of Christ, the Atonement, or any of the other mysteries of God. Christians hold the words of Scripture to be true and do not attempt to resolve paradoxes for which God has not given us answers.

The Persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) of the Trinity communicate with each other, even as they are also one God. The problem is not with God’s nature; the problem is summed up in the Scripture, “Who has known the mind of the Lord? (Rom 11:34)” — reminding us that our finite reason cannot comprehend God’s infinite essence. While countless books could carry forth a discussion of the Triune God, it is best to focus on a few words in which He reveals himself as either Three or One, and to use the Creeds as correct expositions of these Biblical statements.

Among the Scriptures speaking of God’s oneness are Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4; 1 Timothy 2:5. Passages dealing with His Triune nature include Matthew 28:19-20 and 2 Corinthians 13:14.

Christians often speak of the Father as the Creator, the Son as the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit as the Sanctifier. Yet you can see the other Persons interacting in Creation (John 1:1-3; Genesis 1:2), Redemption (John 4:34; 1 Corinthians 12:3), and Sanctification (John 15:26; Acts 1:4-5). The interrelationship of the three Persons is an incomprehensible mystery, thus the Creeds confess the Faith, they do not attempt to explain it.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

Mixed-Race Marriages

Q: What does the Bible say about mixed-race marriages?

A: According to the Bible, this is a non-issue. Scripture focuses on mixed-faith, not mixed-race marriage. This latter God completely forbade to Israel in the Old Testament and He doesn’t encourage it among Jewish or Gentile Christians in the New Testament.

Indeed, we’re hard-pressed to find Scripture dealing with any aspect of race. The Bible speaks of tribes, nations, and peoples.

Dividing people into racial categories rarely happens in a social vacuum. Special interests either take advantage of existing distinctions in order to enhance or marginalize of specific groups or else invent new distinctions to support existing prejudices. One such example is the Nordic theory developed by Joseph Deniker and popularized by William Z. Ripley. Based upon speculation rather than either Scripture or hard science, Nordic theory mutated into to Nordicism. This form of racism greatly informed Adolph Hitler’s early thinking through The Passing of the Great Race, or the Racial Basis of European History, a book by the eugenicist Madison Grant.

Holy Scripture doesn’t know racism, and doesn’t allow us to stereotype and subjugate based upon “race” or “ethnicity.” Perhaps that’s why Hitler wrote Grant and told him that The Passing of the Great Race was the German Führer’s “Bible.” Indeed, race theory and racial divisions are much more a part of secularist, evolutionary theorizing than of the Christian Faith. Through its connection with eugenics, such flawed thinking has more in common with the atheistic “pro-choice” movement than it does with Biblical Christianity.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

140th Anniversary Hymn

I wrote this for the 140th Anniversary celebration of Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, U.A.C..

O Lord, Our God, in Bygone Days
87 87 887

Text by Walter P. Snyder, 1957-

Suggested tune: Es ist das heil
“Etlich Christlich lider,” Wittenberg, 1524

O Lord, our God, in bygone days
Thou pour’dst a holy shower
Upon the founding of this church,
And blessed her natal hour.
In faith our fathers built this place
And firmly trusted in Thy grace,
Thy mercy, and Thy power.

From birth that followed bloody strife
Of nation’s civil warfare,
Through plagues and droughts and harvests poor,
Thou kept us safe in Thy care.
That home of youth, our school, Thou blest
That Christ might ever be confessed.
In love Thou answered prayer.

The holy cross of Christ gives name
Unto our congregation.
And to that blessed cross we cling —
The hope of our salvation.
Thy pure and pow’rful Word is preached
That list’ners’ burdened hearts be reached
And heaven be their portion.

The body of Thy Son and blood
Thy shepherds still bestow us;
They baptize into Thine own name,
Thy blessings washing o’er us.
Thine Absolution sets us free —
A holy people unto Thee —
Our cup still overfloweth.

O Lord, our God, these latter days
Sustain the blessed shower
Of grace and peace upon the flock
Which gathers in this hour.
Preserve Thine heritage, we pray,
That we, in joy, might see the Day
Of Resurrection flower.

All blessing, honor, thanks, and praise
To Father, Son, and Spirit,
The God who saved us by His grace;
All glory to His merit.
O Triune God in heav’n above,
Thou hast revealed Thy saving love;
Thy blessed Name we hallow.

—© 2005 by W. P. Snyder
May not be used or reproduced without permission

Euthanasia: The Only Good Death is Jesus’ Death

Q: I am a non-traditional student. In my English class I am working on an argument paper on euthanasia. I am having a very difficult time trying to view this highly controversial subject objectively.

My husband, a liver transplant patient, was thirty-nine years old when he died four years ago. He lived for eighteen months, by the grace of God, because of a donor liver. After his surgery, he contracted hepatitis C and needed another transplant. Before this could happen, he had a massive, internal hemorrhage. He was put on a ventilator; his kidneys shut down, his heart showed signs of damage, he was in a coma, and the only way his blood pressure stayed viable was through transfusions and almost lethal doses of blood pressure medications. The doctors told us there was no hope. Even with a donor liver, his other organs were damaged beyond repair. They advised my children and me to stop the blood pressure medications and let him die. To resuscitate him, if his heart stopped, would just prolong death. After a day of thinking about it and seeing how horrible my husband looked, we withdrew the medication and he died twenty minutes later.

Pastor Snyder, I am a nurse. I no longer practice because I broke my back. I never considered what we did euthanasia. Now that I am researching for my paper, I find that what we did is considered passive euthanasia.

What have I done? Did I kill my husband? I do need to know. I had come to terms with Wayne’s death up until I started working on this paper. It's like he died yesterday, all over again. He was my best friend. I truly loved the man. He had put up a courageous fight. He was so worn out. It was as if Jesus was in the room waiting to take him by the hand and take him away.

A: What have you done? In my opinion, you did the right thing. Did you kill your husband? No. Blame hepatitis, hemorrhage, or the effects of a fallen Creation, but do not blame yourself. Logic even will say that you did all that you could, and that you didn’t kill him, but our fallen natures coupled with Satan’s assaults twist and mangle logic even as they do the Scriptures, and you may not be able to listen to this logic.

He was dying. All the medications, the ventilator, and the other efforts of the hospital and doctors were an ultimately futile rebellion against our enemy death. Nothing you’ve said makes me think that you acted selfishly or irresponsibly, let alone evilly. You recognized reality: Death was going to take your husband and there was nothing you or anyone else could do to stop it. You didn’t end his breathing, his eating, or his drinking. You ended a medicine that was bringing harm even as it tried to heal.

As for calling what happened “passive euthanasia,” I say that’s a crock. Such a definition isn’t far removed from calling a miscarriage a “spontaneous abortion.” It clouds the issue and heaps guilt on those involved.

Those who advocate actively working to end “poor quality” lives advocate euthanasia, a truly misnamed word. While euthanasia means “good death,” death is never, of itself, good. It is the cessation of life, God’s first gift to mankind. Even death viewed as a release from earthly suffering is a shallow, empty hope. The Christian sees it in starker terms, for the Bible speaks of being dead in our trespasses even as we live and breathe. Indeed, we are born spiritually dead, destined not only for the grave, but for the eternal death of hell.

Yet one death overthrew death. Christ’s all-atoning sacrifice on the cross appeased the Father’s wrath. As a Christian, you and your husband had the certainty that while death would come, it would come for him as the portal to life eternal. Regarding His presence in the room, there is no “as if” for us — Jesus is there with and for each of His saints who die in the faith. Therefore, we don’t celebrate the cessation of your husband’s pain, rather the culmination of his life in Christ. Even in his final distress, your believing husband had a good quality of life, for his life was Christ living in him (see Galatians 2:20).

That same Jesus will continue to be your support. He went through agonizing death, as fluid filled his lungs and pain wracked his body. He took all of our evil upon Himself — “knowing no sin, he became sin.(2 Cor 5:21)” Thus, God’s divine Law demanded his death. His “life support” was withdrawn by His own Father and He cried out in his abandonment, “My God, why have you forsaken me? (Mt 27:46)” Yet “by his stripes we are healed. (Is 53:5)” In your baptism, you — and your husband — died to sin and eternal death and were raised to life in Christ.

If guilt still plagues you, trust not only in knowing that you did the best you could with the information available. Trust even more that if you erred — even in love — there is full forgiveness in the blood of the Lamb of God. Perhaps you might also benefit from private confession and Holy Absolution, speaking your feelings of guilt to a pastor, then hearing him speak Christ’s forgiveness. This is a medicine too precious to ignore.

God bless you during this time in the valley of the shadow of death. May He soon lift you to the heights on eagle’s wings.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

What Is a Confessional Lutheran?

Q: Your blog says that you are a “confessional Lutheran pastor.” What does “confessional” mean?

A: We’re familiar with “conservatism.” In Christianity, it means those unwilling or unlikely to make hasty change, who are connected to their past, and who interpret the Bible assuming that it is God’s revealed, true Word. We officially reject those who call the Bible a human invention, or a mixture of the divine and the human.

The word “confessional” is not so commonly used. Normally, we think of a confession as an admission of guilt. “Confess” has a root meaning of “acknowledge together.” In matters of error, we state that we have, indeed, done what’s wrong — we “fess up.” But confession also has positive application: It can be used to declare faith. Thus, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” is a confession.

Christians have always made such confessions. Lutherans emphasize the place of formalized confession of Scriptural teaching. We officially accept three of the early Creeds (statements of belief) of the Christian Church. These are the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. Each of these is a summary of Christian, Biblical teaching (doctrine).

During the time of the Reformation, in the mid-1500s, various interpretations of the Bible were being used by the parties involved. The reformers went to Scripture to assemble statements of faith which were topically arranged. For example, how many places in the Bible speak of Jesus’ return in judgment on the Last Day? A formal confession pulls all these references together into a unified article with which all can agree.

Many confessions were produced. Six were drawn together with the Creeds into The Book of Concord (Agreement). All who claimed the title Lutheran (or “Evangelical”) were asked to subscribe to, or agree with, the Holy Scriptures as the source and norm of all Christian teaching and these confessions as being correct expositions of Scripture. Pastors, other church workers, and congregations of The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod are asked to do the same if they wish to join themselves to our body. Most Lutheran bodies demand some form of confessional subscription. Some insist that it be done absolutely without reservation, while others allow conditional subscription. For a discussion of the differences between the two (technically termed quia and quatenus), see Aardvark Alley’s entry, “Who You Calling Quia?”

Confession is finally and ultimately done in the lives of individual Christians. Our confession of faith involves all we say, think, or do. It includes our confession of sins, since this acknowledges our guilt before God. It involves doing everything in life under the cross of Christ, directed ourselves toward a heavenly end. Confession’s goal is to give all praise, honor, and glory to God.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

And Speaking of Interpretation

Original sin and Baptism are not the only areas where people disagree on Christian teaching.

Two significantly different interpretations of the hymn “When Seed Falls on Good Soil” have been posted by two staunch Confessional Lutheran bloggers, Intolerant Elle and the Aardvark. Why not read them both, ponder for yourself, and comment as you see fit?

Infant Baptism, Baptismal Regeneration, and Original Sin

The last column drew comments ranging from, “Thanks for showing that your church teaches the same as ours about sin,” to “he does not know, does not understand, or does not believe what the Bible teaches.” Some asked why I quoted theologians as well as Scripture. That’s because people look at the same verses and come away with different answers. Writers ancient, medieval, and modern can show that an idea is not new, but is what the majority of Christendom, based upon the clear word of Scripture, has always taught. Now the discussion of original sin ties us to a related subject, Infant Baptism.

Q: Why do some churches baptize babies while others insist that people wait until they’re older?

A: As I said last time, baptismal practice is based in large part upon our understanding of sin and who is held responsible by God. It also deals with God’s commands and promises. Those who deny original (birth) sin, who say that at most the young are weak or only inclined toward sinfulness, or who claim that there is no accountability until some age of reason is reached will normally baptize older children and adults. Those who believe that sin is in the youngest child, that by Adam’s fall we have all fallen, will practice infant baptism.

Some say that baptism is an outward sign of one’s choice to follow Jesus and His words. Others teach that baptism is God actively seeking out lost and condemned sinners and restoring them to life. If baptism is only a sign of God’s love or the ratification of our choice, it does not have the immediate importance it does for those who believe that baptism is nothing less than the Gospel Word of God with all its saving power poured out in liquid form.

Some arguments against infant baptism parallel those against original sin. If babies aren’t born outside of the perfect relationship God demands in His Law, they need no salvation. Others will say that baptism signifies the choice one makes to follow God; until a person reaches an age of accountability — until he can think rationally — baptism is useless.

The Bible never sets an age. We read of “households” being baptized. Christ, in Matthew 28:19, speaks of “all nations.” Peter told the Jews that the promise of Baptism was “for you and your children. (Acts 2:38-39)” The earliest Christian writings after Bible times already mention the baptism of infants. Infant baptism has been the practice of the majority of the Christian Church since early times. Most people who are from Christian families were themselves baptized as infants. That’s because Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican-Episcopalian, Lutheran, and other churches all teach and practice infant baptism, and these bodies hold the vast number of those claiming the title of Christian.

What it comes down to is — again — the question, “How do you interpret the words of Scripture?” Do you accept or deny that all are born spiritually blind and dead — enemies of God and focused on self? Does God seek and find us, or do we seek and find Him? Does God create faith in us, or is faith something that we have intrinsically? Is baptism God actively forgiving, or is it merely a sign of something that already exists? Is it God promising Himself to us or us promising ourselves to God? If you believe that the Scripture says the first part of each of these questions is correct, then infant baptism is clearly what should be practiced. If you believe that the second part of each is correct, then baptism can, and probably should, be delayed.

In light of these questions, consider 1 Peter 3:21, “Baptism ... now saves you ... through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” The Bible has much inclusive language when it speaks of who sinners are. Check John 3:36, Romans 3:9, Isaiah 53:6, Ephesians 2:3, Psalm 51:5, and Genesis 8:21. Everyone ever born needs to be saved! No Scripture establishes a bottom age limit or an “age of accountability” for Baptism. The Bible never says, “Wait!” All of us need what Titus 3:5 calls “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”

Those who worry that baptism should be delayed until children can believe should check Christ’s words in Matthew 18:6, where He warned about causing sinful offense against “one of these little ones who believe in Me.” The word translated as “little one” is used in Greek (the language of the New Testament) to mean children under three years of age! Jesus seemed to think that tykes two and under were capable of receiving and exercising the gift of faith. I think that I’ll follow Jesus’ lead in this.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.