Godly Faith and Human
Faith
From Luther’s
Works, Volume 52, pp. 32-34. A section from one of Luther’s Christmas dawn
sermons on Luke 2:15-20 (the annunciation to the shepherds by the angels)
This Gospel can be understood quite easily from the
interpretation of the preceding one; for it contains an example and carrying
out of the teaching which is contained in the previous lesson in that the
shepherds did and found what the angels had told them. So the content of the
present lesson deals with the consequences and fruits of the word of God and the
signs by which we recognize whether the word of God is in us and has been
effective.
The first and chief item is faith. If these shepherds had
not believed the angel, they would not have gone to Bethlehem nor would they
have done any of the things which are related of them in the Gospel. But if
anybody should say. Of course, I, too, surely would believe if the message were
brought to me by an angel from heaven, then such a person deceives himself. For
whoever does not accept the word on its own account, is never inclined to
accept it on account of any preacher, even if all the angels were preaching to
him. And whoever accepts it on account of a preacher, he believes neither the
word, nor in God through the word, but believes the preacher and in the
preacher. If such is the case, faith does not last long. But whoever believes
the word pays no attention to the one who proclaims it. He does not honor the
word because of him who preaches it, but, on the contrary, he honors him who
preaches because of the word; he never elevates the preacher above the word,
and even if the preacher should perish or, as a renegade, preach a different
message, he rather gives up the person preaching than the word. He abides with
what he has heard—no matter who the preacher might be, no matter whether he is
coming or going, and no matter what happens.
This is also the real difference between godly faith and
human faith: human faith clings to a person; it believes, trusts and honors the
word on account of him who speaks it. But godly faith clings to the word, which
is God himself; it believes, trusts and honors the word not on account of him
who has spoken it, but feels that here is such a certainty of truth that nobody
can ever tear it away from it, even if the very same preacher should try it.
The Samaritans prove this, John 4[:42]: initially they heard of Christ from the
pagan woman, having left town and come to Christ on her word. Now, having heard
him with their own ears, they said to the woman: “We do not believe any longer
on account of what you have said; for now we recognize that this is the Savior
of the world.” Again. all those who believed Christ on account of his person
and his miracles deserted him when he was crucified. That is the way it is now
and has always been. The word itself, disregarding the person, must satisfy the
heart, must embrace and capture the man so that he, like one who is imprisoned
in it, feels how true and right it is, even if all the world, all angels, all
the princes of hell had a different message, indeed, even if God himself had a
different message. For God at times tests his elect and pretends to want
something other than he previously indicated, as happened to Abraham when he
was ordered to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and to Jacob, when he struggled with
the angel, and to David when he was driven away by Absalom, his son, etc.
This faith persists, in both life and death, even as in
hell and heaven, and nothing can overthrow it; for it rests on the word alone,
without regard to any person. These shepherds also had such a faith; for they
agree and they adhere to the word so much that they forget the angels who told
it to them. They do not say: “Let us go and see the story which the angels have
told us,” but “which the Lord has told us.” The angels are quickly forgotten,
and only the word of God remains. Likewise Luke says that Mary kept and
pondered the words in her heart and that, without a doubt, she was not troubled
by the lowly estate of the shepherds, but considered everything the word of
God. She was not the only one who did this; all the others who heard the
account from the shepherds and were filled with wonder also did the same, as
the text says. All clung only to the word. Although it is a peculiarity of the
Hebrew language that, when talking about an action it expresses it by referring
to the word as Luke does here (because the action is comprehended in words and
thus made known), yet God also arranged that there be described the faith which
clings to the word and acquiesces in the word which expresses the action. For
if Christ’s life and suffering were not comprehended in the word to which faith
might cling, they would have availed nothing, for all those who were
eyewitnesses received no benefit from their experience, or only very little.
Stewardship Ministry Newsletter Article
It’s a new year. It’s a time when we take stock of
the year past in order to improve the year to come. It’s a time when we sit
down to plan and implement what we want to accomplish and even change. Part of
that is planning our stewardship for the coming year.
Often we find this difficult and daunting and even
joyless. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it is really quite simple and full
of joy. So here are some tips to make that planning less stressful. You begin
by answering these three questions: Who are you? To whom do I give? And how
much?
So, who are you? The Table of Duties in the Small
Catechism informs us. Are you a hearer of God’s Word? Are you a citizen of
society? Are you a member of a family? Stewardship covers these three estates:
church, society, family. We don’t particularly struggle to give to society or
family. Our struggles, our difficulties and our questions arise in giving to
the church.
So, what is our duty as members of the church with
regard to giving? The Table of Duties, again, gives us a guide. If you are a
hearer, a member of the church who receives instruction, St. Paul taught:
“Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with
his instructor” (Gal. 6:6). This means the local congregation is primary.
Your pastor is the one called to preach the Gospel
to you and administer the Lord’s blessed sacraments to you. Your congregation
is the place where those things happen. Thus, when God calls us to give to the
church, He has the local congregation in mind. For “the Lord has commanded that
those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel” (1
Cor. 9:14).
How much do we give to the local congregation? Our
only instructions are these: to give regularly (1 Cor. 6:1–2), proportionally
(1 Cor. 16:1–2; 2 Cor. 8:12), and generously (2 Cor. 8:20) of our first fruits
(Gen. 4:4; Prov. 3:9; Lev. 27:30) with a spirit of eagerness (2 Cor. 9:2),
earnestness (2 Cor. 8:7), cheerfulness (2 Cor. 9:7), and love (2 Cor. 8:23).
In other words, giving to the church is not to be an
afterthought, given after everything else is spent. In this way, it is
deliberate. We give regularly – weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or
yearly – keeping in mind our own strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. We set
it aside beforehand – before anything else is spent.
From those first fruits, we set aside a
proportionate and generous amount. Ten percent was the standard for the
Israelites. This was a command for the ancient Israelites. We can give as much
as we want, but ask yourself: do we really want to be less generous than was
commanded of the Israelites? Is the job of the New Testament Church bigger or
smaller than the job given to Israel?
And how are we to give it? We give it with eagerness
and earnestness. We give it cheerfully and with love, not out of compulsion.
For through the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the
sacraments, God has made us His children, forgiven us all our sins, given us
grace upon grace, promised us life everlasting with Him in His kingdom, and
filled us with His own Spirit, the Holy Spirit. This makes giving a joy, as
Jesus said, “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
It’s that easy. And it is joyful. For in
stewardship, our gracious and giving Lord invites us to take part in the work
that He accomplishes here on earth, providing for the ongoing preaching of the
gospel as well as those who are in need. Taking part in that makes all our work
holy – work that is done in service to the Lord as priestly members of His
kingdom.
Council Meeting Minutes
Trinity’s
council did not meet in December. There will be a voters assembly meeting at 8
PM on January 18th. Please plan on attending if you are able. If you
are serving on council, there will be an installation during Divine Service on
the 14th.
LWML NEWS
LWML will meet on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at 7 PM. There
will be Bible Study followed by a Business meeting, reading of by-laws, and
preparing Valentine packages for college students.
DATES TO REMEMBER FOR JANUARY
January 1 Jon Warnke Baptismal Date
January 1 Julie Alkire
Baptismal Date
January 13 Christine
Humphrey Baptismal Date
January 18 Debra
Schneider Baptismal Date
January 26 Burke
Schneider Baptismal Date
An Update on St. James
Committee members from St. James in
Scottsbluff and Mount Calvary in Bayard have met twice now to discuss matters
concerning their dual parish arrangement. At present, it is anticipated that
this will be completed sometime around this coming Easter (April 1, 2018).
Please keep your brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers as they move
forward.
