Posts tagged “original sin”

Corrupt nature shuns marriage

Posted on March 14th, 2012

So savage and corrupt is human nature. Marriage is necessary as a remedy for lust, and through marriage God permits sexual intercourse. Not only does He cover the sin from which we are unable to abstain, but He also blesses the union of the male and the female. And yet the whole world shuns this legitimate, divinely instituted union and prefers to indulge in promiscuous relations, which are harmful in more than one way. Property is squandered, bodies are damaged by serious diseases, God is provoked to inflict horrible punishments, and, worst of all, states and households are destroyed. Why do we not avoid these great evils? Why do we not prefer to seek the blessing of God through a legitimate union? Obviously because…

Categories: Theology

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Circumcision and Name of Jesus 2012

Posted on January 17th, 2012

Luke 2:21 January 1, 2012 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Among the so-called New Atheists, there is a breed that relies not on rational argument but biting rhetoric. By way of example, an article in the New Statesman condemns belief in a god or gods like this: Christian beliefs come from a book (the Bible), which is stupid because, after all, there are seven books claiming Harry Potter is a wizard, and everybody recognizes that is fiction. The conclusion? Since Harry Potter comes from a book, nothing that comes from a book can be believed. The man who advances this argument is a university professor, which makes me wonder how well he would do in…

Categories: Sermons

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Irenaeus on the Incarnation, sin and death

Posted on March 16th, 2011

I am rereading On the Apostolic Preaching, this time very slowly (I read it in haste back, I think, in 1999). The first time I read it I was disappointed by its simplicity. I see now how much I missed; the work is brilliant in packing so much into so few words. I now give this work my highest recommendation. Here’s a great bit on the incarnation, original sin, the passion, and the overcoming of death: So He united man with God and wrought a communion of God and man, we being unable to have any participation in incorruptibility if it were not for His coming to us, for incorruptibility, whilst being invisible, benefitted us nothing: so He became visible, that we might, in…

Categories: Theology

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Christmas Eve: Three Meditations on the Hymn, "O Savior of Our Fallen Race"

Posted on December 24th, 2009

O Savior of our fallen race, O Brightness of the Father’s face, O Son who shared the Father’s might Before the world knew day or night, O Jesus, very Light of Light, Our constant star in sin’s deep night: Now hear the prayers Your people pray Throughout the world this holy day. “He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good, for goodness’ sake!” I’m not sure how Santa determines goodness, but when God reviews our year, our life, and the collective life of all humanity, He says, “None has been good, no, not one” (cf. Rom. 3.10). Technology is improving; our collective knowledge in science and medicine continues to grow; but mankind is not improving. We are deteriorating.

Categories: Sermons

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The League of Faithful Masks

Posted on December 15th, 2009

We were privileged to have Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto speak at Immanuel last Sunday. He is the director of The League of Faithful Masks: Center for Lutheran Theology and Public Life. The idea behind the phrase “faithful masks” comes from Luther’s terminology of God working through us in our various callings. I’m not sure of the citation, but he quoted Luther as saying, “If you are not God’s mask, you are the devil’s. There is no middle ground.” The principal purpose of the League is to attack “The ‘Me’ Culture,” which emphasizes personal desire uber alles. Dr. Siemon-Netto made the profound point that desire (concupiscence) is one of the two main elements of original sin. The “Me” culture thus glorifies precisely what is wrong with…

Categories: Theology

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Ash Wednesday

Posted on February 25th, 2009

Propers from the Lutheran Lectionary: Joel 2.12-19; 2 Peter 1.2-11; Mattew 6.16-21 The ashes stain my thumb such that I have to scrub harshly with soap to remove it. The stain reminds me of the pictures you probably have seen, photos of Iraqis who, after voting, have purple thumbs dipped in ink. But the comparison is more than coincidental. As the colored ink on an Iraqi thumb indicates participation in the electoral process, so the stain of the ashes on our bodies indicates our participation in the fall of man. The whole human race sinned in Adam’s fall; the human race sinned, for Adam and his wife were the human race. In a broad sense all of us members of the human race participated…

Categories: Sermons

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Trinity 25 sermon

Posted on November 17th, 2008

  “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.” Job is not only talking about himself in those words; he is talking about us. Our days are numbered, yet in our folly we don’t count them correctly. Your days are determined; the number of your months is with God; He has appointed limits for you that you cannot pass. And so the fear of death that every man experiences is not a fear of pain in dying, but pain in life escaping, slipping away. Like a flower, man blooms, then withers and decays. Like the leaves of an autumn tree, so beautiful in vibrant color, only to fall to the earth, destined to be carried away and…

Categories: Sermons

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FC I: Original Sin

Posted on July 12th, 2008

We’re studying the Formula of Concord in our Sunday morning Scripture Study. Here’s the study sheet for those who are interested: fc-1-original-sin

Categories: Theology

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Our Combat and Struggle

Posted on February 13th, 2008

I think this passage from the Formula of Concord is good for consideration during Lent, and could give shape to our prayers: We receive in this life only the firstfruits of the Spirit. The new birth is not complete, but only begun in us. The combat and struggle of the flesh against the spirit remains even in the elect and truly regenerate people. For a great difference can be seen among Christians. Not only is it true that one is weak and another strong in the spirit, but each Christian also experiences differences in himself. At one time he is joyful in spirit, and at another fearful and alarmed. At one time he is intense in love, strong in faith and hope, and at…

Categories: Theology

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