St. Mark’s Lutheran

That title was Luther at Worms. He would not recant (what he as being commanded to do) unless someone could show him from the Scriptures and simple reason why he was wrong or where he had made error.

The thought comes up as Reformation Day is coming up and I was reading something out of the normal way by C. S. Lewis from Christian Reflections.

The authority of many wise men in many different times and places forbids me to regard the spiritual world as an illusion. My reason, showing me the apparently isoluable difficulties of materialism and proving that the hypothesis of a spiritual world covers far more of the fact with far fewer assumptions, forbids me again. My experience even of such feeble attempts as I have meade to live the spiritual life…forbid me again.

A mid-20th century Oxford Don well schooled in logic and reason concludes that reason has shown him “the isoluable difficulties of materialism” and employs Occam’s Razor to rule in a spiritual world. How different than today!

His central argument is that our fight, the struggle of the Christian life, is not between faith and reason, but between faith and sight.

When once passion take part in the game, human reason, unassisted by Grace, has about as much chance of retaining its hold on truths already gains as a snowflake has of retaining its consistency in the mouth of a blast furnace.

Reason has its starting points. It is always a minister and never the master. The question moves to what do you see as real. Are the passions or dis-passions of this world what are real, or the revelation of Jesus Christ. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Heb 11:1) We do not get reasoned out of faith. We get scared by what it means if our religion is actually real – if we saw the reality in all its glory.

Tags: Hebrews by Parson Brown
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Text: Hebrews 4:12-13

We are studying the book of Hebrews for about 6 weeks on Sundays. Last Sunday we read Hebrews 3:1 – 4:13 which is one sermon or section of the book. The theological start by the writer of Hebrews was an assertion of the superiority of Jesus as the son and heir compared to Moses as a faithful servent in the entire house. The implication was that if disobeidience to Moses brought 40 years in the wilderness and eventual death of that generation, don’t ask what disobeidience to Jesus would bring. Today! if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.

The last line is that the Word of God is living and active. The question I left the class with was how is the Word of God living and active in your life? Maybe I’m wrong, but the more I pondered my own answer to that question that more I thought that this is the key problem of the modern American Church. Too much secondary theology. Too much talk about the Word, and not enough Word itself. The Reformation understanding of preaching and teaching and the interaction of disciples was right there (Today!) was the Word of God. The Desert Fathers sought to apply the Word directly to themsleves. We moderns talk about the Word. We talk detached from it and at a distance. We are comfortable talking about the Word, but we rarely read it ourselves. That Word is living and active. The Spirit asks us to do hard things. We don’t like hard things. In this world where trust has been drained from almost everything, that is the challenge. Open up the Word and don’t read it at a distance. Put yourself in the story. Let the Word read you. Today! Don’t hardern you hearts.

Tags: Hebrews, Meditation, Spirit, Word by Parson Brown
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Text: Hebrews 6:1-12

Hebrews is not a book for the lighthearted or the new Christian. Its argument is the centrality and sufficiency of Jesus Christ and it assumes a large background of knowledge about the OT and How God interacted with his people. The ultimate purpose as I’ve read it is to argue apathetic or stagnating Christians to a fuller living of the faith. Our text quickly reviews just what the writer takes as basics of the Christian faith: 1) Repentance, 2) Faith, 3) Baptism (i.e. ablutions), 4) Laying on of hands (ministry?), 5) resurrection of the dead and 6) eternal judgement. When you think about those things, they can all be intellectualized or made point in time events. A person can give assent to them (i.e. express belief in them) without attempting to live out that belief.

The background to the next portion is Israel on the verge of the promised land. They send out 12 spies. These are people who witnessed the Exodus and who stood at Mt. Sinai. They expressed belief in God and took part in the ritual life of the community, yet when they came back from spying out the land, they did not live out what God intended. (Numbers 13 – 14) And the punishment was death in the desert. Not a single person of that generation would enter the Promised land. The writer of the Hebrews says be careful that you do not receive the same fate. If you have been to the promised land, tasted the heavenly gift (forgiveness of sins), and turned away, there is no restoration.

This does not speak of sin and repentance, but the sin against the Holy Spirit – calling God a liar in his promises. Just how far can one go in apostasy before committing that sin? We don’t want to know. If you walk up to a cliff, do you want to find out where that tipping point is that throws you over it? Instead son’t be sluggish,”but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Press on in the faith. Live and grow in the faith. Don’t map out that cliff edge.

Tags: Hebrews, Meditation, Repentance, Spirit, Witness by Parson Brown
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Text: Hebrews 2:1-10

How is faith passed on? That is not the main point of this text, but the writer of Hebrews summarizes how faith came to him and to those he or she write to.

So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak? And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose. (Heb 2:3-4 NLT)

First this great salvation came by the Word of the Lord Jesus himself. We find this Word today in the sacraments – baptism and the Lords supper. We also find this consoling Word in the absolution offered by the fellow disciple of Jesus. These are direct experiences of the Lord’s proclamation. Second our great salvation was delivered to us by those who heard him speak. The writer of Hebrews is talking about the apostles. We have their accounts for us in the Gospels and in the Scriptures. We also find it in the prophets of the Old Testament – those who originally heard the Word of God. And God – the Father – confirms the Word – the testimony of Jesus and the apostels through the Work of the Holy Spirit, signs and wonders and gifts given whenever He chooses.

So, the transmission of Faith is an active thing. It requires being told. It requires someone to proclaim or present the claims of Jesus and the apostles. And it requires the confirmation of the Holy Spirit. Someone may hear the Word, but is the Holy Spirit does not deem it time, they are just words. But the opposite would also be the case. We might have a wonderful spiritual experiece, but if the Word is not present, it will not lead to correct faith. The Word calls and the Spirit testifies and confirms. The Son and the Spirit work together in the transmission of Faith. And we should not overlook either. What we who have accepted this great salvation can do is move others in the path of the Word and pray for the Spirit’s movement.

May the Lord grant you both the hearing of the Word and the confirmation by the Spirit.

Tags: Hebrews, Meditation, Witness by Parson Brown
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