Not until the letters of Paul, the great apostle to the world and to the Gentiles, do we see the clear continuation of that holy doctrine of the Lord Jesus which is set before us in John 15-17. What is here pictured in the image of the Vine and explained in unspeakably beautiful and profound [...]
The Church is the congregation of true believers in Christ. Faith, though primarily an inner attitude of the heart, cannot remain hidden in the heart, but must express itself outwardly in word and action. This is true of the faith of the congregation no less than of that of the individual. The faith of the congregation [...]
Accordingly, Jacob received his brother’s clothing, because he excelled the elder in wisdom [cf. Gen. 27:15]. Thus the younger brother took the clothing of the elder because he was conspicuous in the merit of his faith. Rebecca presented this clothing as a symbol of the Church; she gave to the younger son the clothing of [...]
SON, all the books of Scripture, both Old Testament and New, are inspired by God and useful for instruction[2 Tim 3:16], as it is written; but to those who really study it the Psalter yields especial treasure. Each book of the Bible has, of course, its own particular message: the Pentateuch, for example, tells of the [...]
Would to God that we could gradually train our hearts to believe that the preacher’s words are God’s Word and that the man addressing us is a scholar and a king… If someone announced: “I know of a place in the world where God speaks and anyone can hear God there”; if I had gone there [...]
Taken from Dr. Ludwig Fuerbringer’s articles in Der Lutheraner , Vol.87, pp. 330-331. Translated from the German by an Australian pastor in 1999: Our last meeting remains especially in my memory. We had again also spoken on one of my visits with him about church and theological matters. I had suggested to him if perhaps [...]
The words “ecumenical” and “ecumenism” come from a Greek word meaning “the whole inhabitable world.” The “Ecumenical Movement” means to unite into one worldwide church all the scattered bits and pieces of Christendom. In itself, that is a noble aim. Everything depends on understanding the problem of Christian unity and division realistically. Otherwise, we are [...]
It is obvious to everyone, even at first glance, that this letter breathes an indignant spirit. But I must explain the cause of Paul’s anger against his disciples. It could not be something small and unimportant or he would not have used such intensity. Only small-minded, gloomy, and bad-tempered people are annoyed by ordinary matters, [...]
Thesis V We should, therefore, regard membership in the orthodox Church not only as our duty, but also as the greatest privilege and highest honor, even when tile orthodox Church outwardly bears a very humble form. This thesis is a simple conclusion from the foregoing. If God has commanded fellowship with the orthodox Church — [...]
