The Eternal Blessings Received In Holy Baptism

"Therefore every Christian has enough in baptism to learn and to practise all his life. For he has always enough to do to believe firmly what baptism promises and brings, viz. victory over death and the devil, forgiveness of sin, the grace of God, the entire Christ and the Holy Ghost with his gifts. In short, it is so transcendent that if timid nature consider it, it might well doubt whether it could be true. For only consider, if there were somewhere a physician who understood the art of saving men from dying, or, if they died, of restoring them to life, so that they would live for ever, how the world would pour in money like snow and rain, so that because of the throng of the rich no one could find access! But here in baptism there is brought free to every one's door such a treasure and such medicine as utterly destroys death and preserves all men alive." Luther's Large Catechism.

This is the doctrine of the Apostolic Lutheran Church of America, and is received by those who are in the Truth. Those who reject the blessings which God brings to the sinner in the sacrament of Holy Baptism, must necessarily hold instead to some work which they bring to God in order to win His favor. This is a self-righteous condition, and such, after offering their chiefest work to God, must go to their house unjustified and damned, while the sinner who can but plead for mercy goes to his house justified.

The Doctrine Of Election And Predestination

The following quote from the Book of Concord (Formula of Concord, Part II) is the doctrine of the Apostolic Lutheran Church of America. This truth is in stark contrast to the common current doctrine of Universalism, which is a deadly heresy.

"8. That those whom he has elected, called and justified, he would eternally save and glorify in life eternal.

      And that in his counsel, purpose and ordination he prepared salvation not only in general, but in grace considered and chose to salvation each and every person of the elect, who shall be saved through Christ, and ordained that in the way just mentioned he would by his grace, gifts and efficacy bring them thereto [make them participants of eternal salvation], and aid, promote, strengthen and preserve them."

Luther On Baptism And Original Sin

"In all Christian earnestness I would ask all those who administer baptism, who hold the children, or witness it, to take this wonderful work to heart in all its seriousness. For here, in the words of these prayers, you hear how meekly and earnestly the Christian church concerns itself about the lilttle child and how it confesses before God in plain undoubting words that he is possessed by the devil and is a child of sin and wrath, and prays very diligently for aid and grace through baptism that he may become a child of God." Luther's Baptism Liturgy, AE Vol. 53 p. 101.

The Philadelphia edition of Luther's Works translates the above paragraph in part: "For here in the words of this prayer you hear how plaintively, pitifully, and earnestly the Christian Church concerns itself about the little child, etc." This gives a better picture of the creature before the Creator.

If more were aware of man's sinful nature and subsequent condemnation, there would be a far greater urgency to hear the gospel and partake of the sacraments, the gospel would be received as something wonderful, and there would yet be rejoicing among us.

The lack of this is due to rampant  Antinomianism in the ALC as many reject the right preaching of the holy Law of God. Some don't mind hearing of surface sins preached, but will not hear the truth of the spiritually dead condition of man by natural birth. This is the worst form of Antinomianism by which men call God a liar and deny Christ.

Concerning Confession Of Sin

There is today much stress placed upon auricular confession of sin; that is, the confession one makes into the ear of another person. It is also called private confession. This has been fomenting for decades, until it is now to the point where other words have wrongly become synonymous with confession, such as repentance, putting away sin, and laying sin aside. The term "forgiveness of sins" is tied almost exclusively to private confession. Also many places in Scripture are misunderstood to speak of auricular confession, and are taught in such a way as to require such confession. Luther teaches, however, that this confession is nowhere demanded by Scripture, but is of human rite, and is beneficial in the church as a comfort for troubled consciences. Not that one can breath a sigh of relief that they finally met the requirement of confession, but that they are able to hear the gospel, or absolution, preached. Herein is our comfort, that we are reassured and strengthened to believe that by faith in the blood of Christ we are in a state of forgiveness wherein God does not impute our sin unto us. Private confession is but one of the many ways by which God pours out abundant absolution upon His church. He desires that we be confident of His good will toward us through Christ.

Many who today demand private confession use the very same arguments as did the Roman Catholic church against Luther. I'm afraid many are far from Reformation doctrine and are rather in bed with the Pope in this matter.

One of the passages often used to teach private confession as a scriptural requirement is I John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Let us look briefly at what Luther writes in his commentary on this passage, taken from the American Edition of Luther's Works:

"God is faithful because He keeps His promises. He is just when He gives righteousness to him who confesses that He is just. It is as if God were saying: 'Because you say that I am just, which I am, for this reason I shall show you My justice and justify you.' Therefore if you can say: 'We have no righteousness,' you should persuade yourself with certainty that God is faithful, cling to His promises that He wants to forgive sins because of Christ, and is just, since He gives to everyone that which belongs to him, presents the righteousness acquired through the death of Christ to him who confesses his sins and believes, and in this way also makes him righteous. David confesses his sin, but Saul excuses his sin before Samuel and could not say: 'I have sinned' in the way David did (I Sam. 15). All he wanted was to be honored before the people. This is what we do when we defend our sins in order that we may not be shamed before men. It was Saul's wish that the prophet pray for him before the elders of Israel. For he certainly did not want to seem to have sinned against the Lord. But for this reason he, together with all our hypocrites, was shamed before God. Furthermore, this statement cannot be understood as referring to auricular confession, although I do not reject that confession either. No, this statement must be understood as referring to confession before God by which we ourselves confess our sins as well as our faith. Thus God finally forgives sin and grants grace and a pacified conscience by taking away the sting and the bite of conscience." End quote.

Notice that Luther says this cannot be understood as referring to auricular confession. He instead speaks of much deeper matters which pertain to the condition of the heart, of the knowledge of sin and of grace; the knowledge of self and of God.

Drastic Changes

"This dumb, deaf, blind, and demon-possessed man represents all the children of Adam, who through the flesh are possessed of Satan in original sin, so that they must be his slaves and do according to his will."

"Here he shows us both heaven and hell, death and life, wrath and grace, and reveals unto us our sins and ruined condition, so that we may be awakened on account of it, because we hear that a man as soon as he is born, naturally belongs to the devil and is condemned. This is part of this constraint, by which one is terrified at the wrath of God and desires grace and help from him."

I know many reject Luther, but there might be a few elect souls whom God will yet lead to the knowledge of the truth. I therefore quoted from two of his sermons as he preached concerning Original Sin. Truly there was rejoicing in Heaven when such sinners were given the grace to hear and believe the gospel! Many ask where the rejoicing has gone from among us. I assert and assure you that it is gone with the right preaching of the Law.

The teaching of Original Sin was very clearly taught in the Reformation and Awakening times, and was accepted as a common and ordinary saying. Today, however, people rise up angrily against this teaching. I fear it is because they are unawakened, and the judgment of damnation by God against them has never been experienced. Revelation of sin goes no deeper for them than actual sin, do's and don'ts. When they clean up their act they are converted, and if they fall into a sin on their conviction list they simply confess it to 'put it away'. They teach that all are born saved and if we lead a good life and make confession of our sins we will stay saved. God's judgment is always pending, and if we toe the line we will escape it.

The truth is, God's judgment has already been pronounced against the sinful race of Adam, and this judgment applies to all, youngest to oldest. This is because of our inward corruption which we cannot change or confess away. We need to be delivered from this state, born again, thoroughly washed and purged. This comes when one hears and believes the gospel; that Christ has died for your sins and by faith in His blood you are completely cleansed and justified. You are now by the operation of the Holy Spirit dead to sin and alive unto righteousness. This is God's promise, a blood Covenant in which He sees and remembers your sins no more, but sees you as holy and righteous, without spot or blemish. This applies to all sinners, youngest to oldest, upon whom God now, by this Gospel, shows favor and promises to pour out blessings upon them even unto eternal life.

On Confession And Absolution

Luther On Confession Of Sin

This is an apt and timely addition to our present study of Luther when we consider today how the Apostolic Lutheran Church has come to the point where the sacrament of Holy Baptism is greatly diminished, and in reality is rejected as it is performed basically as a tradition, and the blessing of private confession has been unscripturally elevated to a sacrament and is commanded as necessary for salvation. This is to turn Christian doctrine upside down, for we reject the very command and promise of Christ concerning Baptism, and we erringly draw from Scripture non-existent commands and promises with regard to private confession.

The scriptural doctrine of the Apostolic Lutheran Church as explained in the Augsburg Confession is taken from Article 25 which reads in part:

But of Confession, they teach, that an enumeration of sins is not necessary, and that consciences be not burdened with anxiety to enumerate all sins, for it is impossible to recount all sins, as the Psalm testifies [19:13]: "Who can understand his errors?" Also Jeremiah [17:9]: "The heart is deceitful, who can know it?" But if no sins were forgiven, except those that are recounted, consciences could never find peace; for very many sins they neither see, nor can remember.

The ancient writers also testify that an enumeration is not necessary. For, in the Decrees, Chrysostom is quoted, who thus says: "I say not to thee, that thou shouldest disclose thyself in public, nor that thou accuse thyself before others, but I would have thee obey the prophet who says: 'Disclose thy way before God.' Therefore confess thy sins before God, the true Judge, with prayer. Tell thine errors, not with the tongue, but with the memory of thy conscience." And the Gloss ("Of Repentance," Distinct. v, Cap. Consideret) admits that Confession of human right only. Nevertheless, on account of the great benefit of absolution, and because it is otherwise useful to the conscience, Confession is retained among us.

We see that confession is retained not for the sake of telling our sins, but rather for hearing the absolution. It is wrongly taught today that confession and absolution is effective opus operatum, that is if the work is performed and sins are recounted, they are then forgiven. I've heard expressions concerning confession such as sin is thereby "pulled up by the roots," and that in confession sin is "put away." What of the condition of heart? What of faith? What of true penitence? These are rather what are necessary and essential unto salvation, and when these are present, sins are forgiven even before they are auricularly (spoken into the ear) confessed, for believers abide under a complete and eternal forgiveness in the New Covenant which is sealed by the blood of Christ. It is absolutely impossible for man to put away the guilt of his sin. "Put" is a verb, and man has no power over sin. But Christ does, and this is what we hear in the gospel.

The scriptural usage of the term "put away sin" means to put it out of your life and do not live in it. Make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. It is only Jesus Christ who can put away the guilt of sin. This is taught in both the Old and New Testaments. Nathan told David, "And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die" II Sam. 12:13. We read in Hebrews, "For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" Heb. 9:26. This wonderful freedom from the guilt of sin is received only by the hearing of faith; when the word of the gospel sheds abroad in the sinner's heart the love and forgiveness of Christ. This hearing brings a confidence against sin, death and hell, and we are encouraged to keep this confidence steadfast unto the end (Heb. 3:14, 10:35). May we never be moved from the hope brought unto us by the hearing of faith, that, when we find that we are sinners we would begin to doubt our salvation and seek to add something unto faith, for we know that we are justified by faith alone. That gospel which we heard at the beginning is in full force yet today.

I will include also part of a sermon of Luther from his Church Postil, also known as the Wartburg Postil.

The other aspect is the fact that they are virtually in control of confession; the pope has granted them this privilege too, by virtue of the same authority by which he permitted them to make their way through the houses. This is truly the devil's game and the women fall for it, especially those who are secretly tormented by serious and grievous sins, or, as St. Paul says, are burdened with sins [II Tim. 3:6]. For as soon as their consciences plague them and they do not know where to seek help and advice, these foolish women run and disgorge their troubles into a cowl (garment worn by a priest) and think they have succeeded in getting rid of them. But they become really enmeshed and keep on bringing and donating whatever they can and own. The holy fathers then arise and preach about the need to confess sins and cite many examples of women who were eternally damned and appeared after death and stated that they were damned because they had failed to confess something. Thus the greatest of popish lies so surround us, that the stones might well tremble and sweat.

Observe the examples cited in their sermons and you will notice that usually it is only women, not men, who were damned because of failure to confess something, so we might clearly realize that it was an archrogue who invented these examples. For he was curious to know the innermost heart and the secrets of women. Noticing that womenfolk are by nature fainthearted and bashful, more so than men, he thought: I will give them good advice and extort the innermost secrets from their hearts through the terrors of confession. With the help of the devil he succeeded in this. But in this manner he also bound and condemned the consciences of many who had failed to confess because of sheer unconquerable bashfulness and timidity, and so they sinned against their consciences because they believed it was necessary to confess and yet did not do so. God will judge you according to your faith; if you believe that it is your duty to do a thing and you fail to do it, it is a sin. In my judgment this rogue who by such examples binds consciences in a false faith and condemns them, deserves to have not only his body but also his soul torn apart by all devils and pulverized into a hundred thousand pieces. What a horrible murder of souls is perpetrated throughout the world by these hellish traitors and popish liars! Oh weep, whoever can weep, over such lamentable destruction of poor souls!

When poor, fainthearted women who are naive and credulous by nature and want to be pious and devout, hear such preaching, they fall for it and are caught and seek advice and help from their spiritual father. But this course ass and blind leader of the blind knows nothing of faith or of Christ and proceeds to teach them to do penance for their sins by works and satisfactions. And so the martyrdom begins of which St. Paul speaks here when he says that they always learn and never arrive at the knowledge of the truth. But this is not the way to pacify women's consciences. Their sins burden and torment them and they would gladly be rid of them, but do not know how, and so they reach the next stage about which St. Paul speaks here when he says that they are swayed by various impulses. They then begin to fast with bread and water, to go on pilgrimages in bare feet, want to visit the saints. Some whip themselves until they bleed, some make gifts to the church, others donate a chalice. There is no end or limit to the various impulses that sway them. They fall on anything they hear as being good for the expiation of sins, and with utter seriousness they are anxious to emulate it and yet they cannot find peace. Meanwhile the spiritual, holy father sits tight, for he has trapped the poor animal and its value for him far surpasses the possession of so many cows that can be milked. Once the women are trapped, their men are soon caught too and must accommodate themselves to the extortions of secret confession. But where the true royal road to freedom is preached, they will say: Dear women, if anyone among you is burdened by sin, let her confess it, if she so desires. But whether she confesses or not, let her have the firm faith that Christ forgives her sins, and let her secretly confess to him with a full and hearty trust in his grace which he has promised to all who seek it and do not doubt it, and so her sins are most certainly forgiven. Let her thereafter avoid such sins and practice good works towards her neighbors who are in need of them; let her invite the poor, wash their feet, and humbly serve them. Behold, that would be the right way to restore a sinful woman, and all of it would be done with joy and good will, without burdening the conscience, and so would be will pleasing in the sight of God.

Luther writes again on confession in a March 16, 1522 sermon preached at Wittenberg. In it he writes of three types of confession: two of which are commanded by Scripture and one which is not commanded. He writes concerning the latter:

Thirdly, there is also the kind of confession in which one takes another aside and tells him what troubles one, so that one may hear from him a word of comfort; and this confession is commanded by the pope. It is this urging and forcing which I condemned when I wrote concerning confession, and I refuse to go to confession simply because the pope has commanded it and insists upon it. For I wish him to keep his hands off the confession and not make of it a compulsion or command, which he has not the power to do. Nevertheless I will allow no man to take private confession away from me, and I would not give it up for all the treasures in the world, since I know what comfort and strength it has given me. No one knows what it can do for him except one who has struggled often and long with the devil. Yea, the devil would have slain me long ago, if the confession had not sustained me. For there are many doubtful matters which a man cannot resolve or find the answer to by himself, and so he takes his brother aside and tells him his trouble. What harm is there if he humbles himself a little before his neighbor, puts himself to shame, looks for a word of comfort from him, accepts it, and believes it, as if he were hearing it from God himself, as we read in Matt. 18 [:19], "If two of you agree about anything they ask, it will be done for them."

Moreover, we must have many absolutions, so that we may strengthen our timid consciences and despairing hearts against the devil and against God. Therefore, no man shall forbid the confession or keep or draw any one away from it. And if any one is wrestling with his sins and wants to be rid of them and desires a sure word on the matter, let him go and confess to another in secret, and accept what he says to him as if God himself had spoken it through the mouth of this person. However, one who has a strong, firm faith that his sins are forgiven may let this confession go and confess to God alone. But how many have such a strong faith? Therefore, as I have said, I will not let this private confession be taken from me. But I will not have anybody forced to it, but left to each one's free will.

For our God, the God we have, is not so stingy that he has left us with only one comfort or strengthening for our conscience, or only one absolution, but we have many absolutions in the gospel and we are richly showered with many absolutions. For instance, we have this in the gospel: "If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you" [Matt. 6:14]. Another comfort we have in the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses," etc. [Matt. 6:12]. A third is our baptism, when I reason thus: See, my Lord, I have been baptized in thy name so that I may be assured of thy grace and mercy. Then we have private confession, when I go and receive a sure absolution as if God himself spoke it, so that I may be assured that my sins are forgiven. Finally, I take to myself the blessed sacrament, when I eat his body and drink his blood as a sign that I am rid of my sins and God has freed me from all my frailties; and in order to make sure of this, he gives me his body to eat and his blood to drink, so that I shall not and cannot doubt that I have a gracious God.

Thus you see that confession must not be despised, but that it is a comforting thing. And since we need many absolutions and assurances, because we must fight against the devil, death, hell, and sin, we must not allow any of our weapons to be taken away, but keep intact the whole armor and equipment which God has given us to use against our enemies. For you do not yet know what labor it costs to fight with the devil and overcome him. But I know it well, for I have eaten a bit of salt or two with him. I know him will, and he knows me well, too. If you had known him, you would not have rejected confession in this way.

I commend you to God. Amen.

We see that believers are justified by faith, and are in a Covenant of grace and forgiveness in which God showers us with absolution. We are a forgiven people. "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin" Heb. 10: 17, 18. Private confession is used to reassure us of our blessed condition when our conscience is burdened. It is not commanded by Scripture, neither is it used as a means of receiving forgiveness of particular sins. Furthermore, consciences must not be trained to be burdened and under pain of judgment should there be a sin on the conscience. Rather we must teach that faith in the blood of Christ brings complete and eternal forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation unto us, and the conscience must be ruled by this grace, and not by a law of confession.

Steven E. Anderson
7/4/2011

Against the Heresy of Universalism

It is being taught today that all people ever born in the entire world are born children of God, sanctified and believing in Christ. This is, as the Scripture says, a Damnable Heresy. How dare we think even for a moment that the Church of Christ, wherein are the Word and Sacraments, is not essential unto salvation!

The following is the doctrine of the Apostolic Lutheran Church of America:

"As we condemn most other errors of the Anabaptists, we condemn this also, that they dispute that the baptism of little children is unprofitable. For it is very certain that the promise of salvation pertains also to little children. Neither indeed does it pertain to those who are outside of Christ's Church, where there is neither Word nor sacraments, because the kingdom of Christ exists only with the Word and sacraments." Apology to Augsburn Confession.

"That we may obtain this faith, the Office of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who worketh faith where and when it pleaseth God in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ's sake, justified those who believe that they are received into favor for Christ's sake. They condemn the Anabaptists and others, who think that the Holy Ghost cometh to men without the external Word, through their own preparations and works." Augsburg Confession.

"On the other hand, the enthusiasts should be rebuked with great severity and zeal, and should in no way be tolerated in the Church of God, who fabricate that God, without any means, without the hearing of the divine Word, and without the use of the holy Sacraments, draws man to himself, and enlightens, justifies and saves him." Formula of Concord.

Let it never again be said among us that the oral proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ is not essential unto salvation. Whatever questions this might bring to our human reason must be left to God's wisdom. We must stick to the revealed Word, and let the secret things belong unto the Lord.

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" Mt 27:19.

"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" Rom 10:14.

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" v 17.

"This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Gal 3:2.

"Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance" I Thes 1:4,5.

Scripture also testifies that little children can hear the gospel, believe, and receive the Holy Spirit even while in their mother's womb.

Luther on Antinomianism

 "My best friends want to grind me under foot and throw the gospel into confusion. On that account I shall arrange a disputation to challenge my adversaries. Perhaps they'll put on humility, but I won't be content with this appearance of theirs. I'll call them by name so that they answer to their positions publicly. The matter isn't to be treated in a frivolous manner. At stake is the glory of Christ, not our reputation."

Thereupon he [Martin Luther] said with a deep sob, "How painful it is to lose a good friend, one who is cherished with a great love! I've had him [John Agricola] at my table, he has laughed with me, and yet he opposes me behind my back. I won't stand for it. Nor can he maintain his position, for it's the crassest error to reject the law. It would be more tolerable if only it were other errors and offenses that were at issue. But to reject the law, without which neither church nor civil authority nor home nor any individual can exist, is to kick the bottom out of the barrel. It's time to resist. I can't and I won't stand for it."

Then he [Martin Luther] related with what gentleness he had rebuked him and with what cunning he [Agricola] responded.
    
AE LW v54 p248

Christian Monthly, 1949

THE WORK OF GOD

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9).

 

Our salvation is alone in the redemption of Christ. He is the author of eternal life. His is the atonement, and the work and fulfillment of salvation belong only to him. “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” The gift of God is full and free, without money and without price, “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” To this salvation which is wrought in Christ, none can add unto it, and nothing can be taken away from it. For the salvation of God has been settled, established, and sealed in heaven with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

The work of salvation is so completely God’s in Christ, that from the first awakening, unto the receiving of grace, and a crown of life, God is the author, the sustainer, and the finisher of the work of grace within man. Christ speaks of this in John 6:44, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” God has called and chosen, elected and predestinated unto salvation those who are saved (Eph. 1:4-5, and 1:11-12, Acts 13:48, Romans 8:29, and II Timothy 1:9). God calls through His word in “the foolishness of preaching,” and chooses through Christ in the forgiveness of sins. Of itself the will and the mind of man is bound, being the servant of sin, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). The will of God comes with a new mind and life in Christ, which new life is God’s work. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). As Jesus also makes known in the parable of the vine and the branches, saying, “Without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

If the work therefore be of God, then it cannot be of man. We cannot draw men to Christ and salvation by the human agents of fanfare and new things. For God calls and draws. It is His Work. As God calls by His grace, so likewise, whether we be young or old, we are kept in faith alone by the grace of God; and not by man’s dreams and labors. This is the promise of Christ, “Those that thou gavest I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition” (John 17:12); who also prays, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil” (John 17:15). Paul testifies to this same end, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

To deny that the grace of God is sufficient unto all our needs (“My grace is sufficient for thee” II Cor. 12:9) is to make the will of man free, to destroy the doctrine of salvation by faith alone, and to bring ourselves into the bondage of work’s righteousness and self-righteousness. May God preserve us from the wrath to come, and grant to one and all “blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

In God’s Peace!

Carl Kulla

May, 1949 CM

A Case For Self Examination

Luther on I Timothy 4.

2. Through the pretensions. This hypocrisy, nevertheless, presents an attractive appearance. Unless the spirit is certain and pure in the righteousness of faith, one cannot understand or judge Paul. What Paul calls “of error” must appear as the Spirit of truth. “To depart from faith” must mean to defend faith. In this way the apostates of faith have the name that they are the true church, that they are defending the faith against heresy. Thus the pope has this title; he rules the church and battles against heresy. We who are true Christians are the apostates. Therefore we must look at these words carefully with the apostle himself bearing witness, because he says, “through pretensions.” Where hypocrisy exists, there is so good an appearance that the whole world is deceived, except those who have the Spirit. There is nothing which looks better than hypocrisy. It carries the title of God, Christ, righteousness, truth, church. It has the applause of the whole world. The papists have these titles. When they read them, they thought that they had to fight for the faith. Of liars. This deceives the world, the attractive appearance, the pomp of titles, works, and praises, because they tell their lies. Nevertheless, they have the power of error. This, we read in Thessalonians (2 Thess. 2:10), is hypocrisy. To them it is effectiveness, for hypocrisy is the effectiveness of error. If such a person were to say, “I am the devil, the father of lies,” who would accept him? He would be without effectiveness. But he says, “I am truth, the Holy Spirit, God, Christ, Scripture. Here is the Word of God, the Gospel.” There it becomes an effectiveness. Also, good works must be added. Now he will have the power to be able to be very effective in telling his lies, as if he were speaking words of exceptional truth. This is what hypocrisy does. We are called hypocrites, liars.

Saint Augustine on Election

 It is being taught that God in eternity knew who would open themselves to the gospel and who would refuse, and based on this "foreknowledge" He predestinated to life those who would so receive Christ. This is a great error as Augustine here explains, teaching from Scripture that the Elect are chosen not based on any foreknown self-merit, but only upon the will of God Who both has mercy and hardens whom He will based only upon His own inscrutable will. St. Augustine wrote:

"First I shall try to grasp the apostle's purpose which runs through the whole Epistle, and I shall seek guidance from it. It is that no man should glory in meritorious works, in which the Israelites dared to glory, alleging that they had served the law that had been given to them, and that for that reason they had received evangelical grace as due to their merits. The Jews did not understand that evangelical grace, just because of its very nature, is not given as a due reward for good works. Otherwise grace is not grace. In many passages the apostle frequently bears witness to this, putting the grace of faith before works; not indeed that he wants to put an end to good works, but to show that works do not precede grace but follow from it.

"This is the truth the apostle wanted to urge; just as in another passage he says, "By the grace of God we are saved, and that not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. It is not of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:8,9). And so he gave a proof from the case of those who had not yet been born. That means that those are to belong to the lot of the saints in Christ who know that they are the sons of promise; who do not wax proud of their merits, but account themselves co-heirs with Christ by the grace of their calling. When the promise was made that they should be this they did not as yet exist and so could have merited nothing. 'Rebecca also having conceived by one, even by our father Isaac...' He is most careful to note that it was by one act of coition that twins were conceived so that nothing could be attributed to the merits of the father, as if someone might say the son was born such as he was because his father had such or such a disposition when he lay with his wife; or that his mother was disposed in such a way when she conceived a son. Both were begotten and conceived at one and the same time. 'For the children being not yet born and having done nothing either good or evil, not of works but of him that calleth, it was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger.' Grace is therefore of him who calls, and the consequent good works are of him who received grace. Good works do not produce grace but are produced by grace.

"Clearly it was not of works but of him that calleth. But here we must inquire why he says, 'That the purpose of God according to election might stand.' How can election be just, indeed how can there be any kind of election, where there is no difference? if Jacob was elected before he was born and before he had done anything at all, for no merit of his own, he could not have been elected at all, there being nothing to distinguish him for election. If Esau was rejected for no fault of his own because he too was not born and had done nothing when it was said, 'The elder shall serve the younger,' how can his rejection be said to be just? How are we to understand what follows if we judge according to the standards of equity? 'Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.' But how could there be election, or what kind of election could there be, if there was no distinction of merits because they were not yet born and had done nothing?  Possibly there was some distinction in their natures? Who could support such a conclusion, seeing that they sprang from one father, and one mother, one act of intercourse, one creator?

"Could it be 'according to election' because God has foreknowledge of all things, and foresaw the faith that was to be in Jacob even before he was born? No one merits justification by his good works, since unless he is justified he cannot do good works. If election is by foreknowledge, and God foreknew Jacob's faith, how do you prove that he did not elect him for his works? If the reason for its not being of works was that they were not yet born, that applies also to faith; for before they were born they had neither faith nor works. The apostle, therefore, did not want us to understand that it was because of God's foreknowledge that the younger was elected to be served by the elder. We have still to inquire why that election was made. What, then, was the reason for it?


"Are we to say that there could have been no election unless there had been, even when they were in their mother's womb, some difference of faith or works, or merit of some kind? But the apostle says, 'That the purpose of God according to election might stand.' That is why we have to ask the question. There could be no election on account of good works, according to which the purpose of God might stand. So, 'not of works but of him that calleth,' that is, of God who justifies the ungodly by grace calling him to faith, 'it was said to her, The elder shall serve the younger.' So that the purpose of God does not stand according to election, but election is the result of the purpose of God. It is written that 'God elected us before the foundation of the world.' (Eph. 1:4). I do not see how that could be except by the way of foreknowledge. But here, when he says 'Not of works but of him that calleth,' he wants us to understand that it is not by election through merits, but by the free gift of God, so that no man may exult in his good works. 'By the grace of God are we saved; and that not of ourselves; for it is the gift of God, not of works that no man should glory' (Eph. 2:8).


"But the question is whether faith merits a man's justification, whether the merits of faith do not precede the mercy of God; or whether, in fact, faith itself is to be numbered among the gifts of grace. Notice that in this passage when he said, 'Not of works,' he did not say, 'but of faith it was said to her, The elder shall serve the younger.' No, he said, 'but of him that calleth.' No one believes who is not called. God calls in his mercy, and not as rewarding the merits of faith. The merits of faith follow his calling rather than precede it. So grace comes before all merits. Christ died for the ungodly. The younger received the promise that the elder should serve him from him that calleth and not from any meritorious works of his own. So the Scripture 'Jacob have I loved' is true, but it was of God who called and not of Jacob's righteous works.

"What then of Esau, of whom it is written that 'he shall serve the younger,' and 'Esau have I hated.' How could he have merited this by evil deeds of his own doing, since these things were spoken before he was born, and before he had done aught of good or evil? Possibly, just as Jacob received the promise without any meritorious acts of his own, so Esau was hated though he had done no evil to merit hatred. If God predestined Esau to serve his younger brother because he foreknew the evil works that he was to do, he must also have predestined Jacob to be served by his elder brother because he foreknow his future good works. In that case it would be false to say that it was not of works. If it is true that it was not of works - and that is proved by the fact that it was said before they were born and before they had done any works at all - or of faith - for again, similarly, there could be no faith in children not yet born - how did Esau deserve to be hated before he was born?

"The apostle saw the questions that might arise in the mind of the hearer or reader of these words, and so he immediately added, 'What shall we say, then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.' And as if to teach us how there is no unrighteousness, he goes on, 'For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will show compassion to him on whom I will have compassion.' Does he solve the question in these words or at least narrow it down? If God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy and show compassion to whom he will show compassion, our chief difficulty remains, which is, why did his mercy fail in Esau's case? Why was not Esau too made good by God's mercy as Jacob was made good? Perhaps the real import of the words is this. If God will have mercy on a man so as to call him, he will also have mercy on him so that he may believe; and on him on whom he in mercy bestows faith he will show compassion, i.e., will make him compassionate, so that he may also perform good works. So we are admonished that no one ought to glory or exult in his works of mercy as if he had propitiated God by meritorious works of his own. If anyone boasts that he has merited compassion by his faith, let him know that God gave him faith. "What hast thou that thou didst not receive? But if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it (I Cor. 4:7)?

"This is all right, but why was this mercy withheld from Esau, so that he was not called and had not faith inspired in him when called, and was not by faith made compassionate so that he might do good works? Was it because he was unwilling? If Jacob had faith because he willed it, then God did not give him faith as a free gift, but Jacob gave it to himself, and so had something which he did not receive. But Esau was not yet born and consequently could be neither willing nor unwilling in all these matters. Why was he rejected when he was still in the womb?

"If you pay close attention to these words, 'Therefore it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy,' you will see that the apostle said that, not only because we attain what we wish by the help of God, but also with the meaning which he expresses in another passage, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure' (Phil. 2:12,13). There he clearly shows that the good will itself is wrought in us by the working of God. If he said, 'It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy,' simply because a man's will is not sufficient for us to live justly and righteously unless we are aided by the mercy of God, he could have put it the other way round and said, 'It is not of God that hath mercy, but of the man that willeth,' because it is equally true that the mercy of God is not sufficient of itself, unless there be in addition the consent of our will. Clearly it is vain for us to will unless God have mercy. But I do not know how it could be said that it is vain for God to have mercy unless we willingly consent.


"But if that calling is the effectual cause of the good will so that every one who is called follows it, how will it be true that 'Many are called but few are chosen'? If this is true, and consequently not everyone who is called obeys the call, but has it in the power of his will not to obey, it could be said correctly that it is not of God who hath mercy, but of the man who willeth and runneth, for the mercy of him that calleth is not sufficient unless the obedience of him who is called follows. The call comes also to others but because it is such that they cannot be moved by it and are not fitted to receive it, they can be said to be called but not chosen. For the effectiveness of God's mercy cannot be in the power of man to frustrate, if he will have none of it. If God wills to have mercy on men, he can call them in a way that is suited to them, so that they will be moved to understand and to follow. It is true, therefore, that many are called but few chosen. Those are chosen who are effectually [congruenter] called. Those who are not effectually called and do not obey their calling are not chosen, for although they were called they did not follow. Again it is true that 'it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy.' for, although he calls many, he has mercy on those whom he calls in a way suited to them so that they may follow. But it is false to say that 'it is not of God who hath mercy but of man who willeth and runneth,' because God has mercy on no man in vain. He calls the man on whom he has mercy in the way he knows will suit him, so that he will not refuse the call.


"Here someone will say, why was not Esau called in such a way that he would be willing to obey? But if the obstinacy of the will can be such that the mind's aversion from all modes of calling becomes hardened, the question is whether that very hardening does not come from some divine penalty, as if God abandons a man by not calling him in the way in which he might be moved to faith. Who would dare to affirm that the Ominpotent lacked a method of persuading even Esau to believe?


"But why do we ask such a question? The apostle himself goes on. 'The Scripture saith unto Pharoah, For this very purpose did I raise thee up, that I might show in thee my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth.' The apostle adds this as an example to prove what he had said above, that 'it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy.' Thus he shows that it is not of him that willeth but of God that hath mercy. And he concludes with these words: 'So then he hath mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardeneth.'

"The apostle said a little before, 'What shall we say, then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.' Let this truth, then, be fixed and unmovable in a mind soberly pious and stable in faith, that there is no unrighteousness with God. Let us also believe most firmly and tenaciously that God has mercy on whom he will and that whom he will he hardeneth, that is, he has or has not mercy on whom he will. Let us believe that this belongs to a certain hidden equity that cannot be searched out by any human standard of measurement, though its effects are to be observed in human affairs and earthly arrangements. Unless we had stamped upon these human affairs certain traces of supernal justice our weak minds would never look up to or long for the holy and pure ground and source of spiritual precepts. 'Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.' No one can be charged with unrighteousness who exacts what is owing to him. Nor certainly can he be charged with unrighteousness who is prepared to give up what is owing to him. This decision does not lie with those who are debtors but with the creditor. Now all men are a mass of sin, since, as the apostle says, 'In Adam all die' (I Cor. 15:22), and to Adam the entire human race traces the origin of its sin against God. Sinful humanity must pay a debt of punishment to the supreme divine justice. Whether that debt is exacted or remitted there is no unrighteousness. So the apostle represses the impudent questioner. 'O man, who art thou that repliest against God?' A man so speaks back to God when he is displeased that God finds fault with sinners, as if God compelled any man to sin when he simply does not bestow his justifying mercy on some sinners, and for that reason is said to harden some sinners; not because he drives them to sin but because he does not have mercy upon them. He decides who are not to be offered mercy by a standard of equity which is most secret and far removed from human powers of understanding. 'Inscrutable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out' (Rom. 11:33).

"To be sure, no one resists his will. He aids whom he will and he leaves whom he will. Both he who is aided and he who is left belong to the same mass of sin. Both deserve the punishment which is exacted from the one and remitted to the other. So the apostle continues in our present passage. 'O man who art thou that repliest against God? Does the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour?'

"From Adam has sprung one mass of sinners and godless men, in which both Jews and Gentiles belong to one lump, apart from the grace of God. If the potter out of one lump of clay makes one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour, it is manifest that God has made of the Jews some vessels unto honour and others unto dishonour, and similarly of the Gentiles. It follows that all must be understood to belong to one lump. 'If,' he says, 'the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved.' The multitude of the others are vessels fitted for destruction. 'Even so then at this present time a remnant is saved by the election of grace. But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. What then? That which Israel sought he did not obtain; but the election obtained it, and the rest were blinded' (Rom. 11:5 ff.). The vessels of mercy obtained it and the vessels of wrath were blinded. Yet all were of the same lump as in the fulness of the Gentiles.

The apostle, therefore, and all those who have been justified and have demonstrated for us the understanding of grace, have no other intention than to show that he that glories should glory in the Lord. Who will call in question the works of the Lord who out of one lump damns one and justifies another? We are bidden to ask that we may receive, to seek that we may find, and to knock that it may be opened unto us. Is not our prayer sometimes tepid or rather cold? Does it not sometimes cease altogether, so that we are not even grieved to notice this condition in us. For if we are grieved that it should be so, that is already a prayer. What does this prove except that he who commands us to ask, seek and knock, himself gives us the will to obey? 'It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy.' We could neither will nor run unless he stirred us and put the motive-power in us.

If by the words 'a remnant according to thet election of grace' we are to understand not election of the justified to eternal life, but election of those who are to be justified, that kind of election is verily hidden, and cannot be known by us who must regard all men as parts of one lump. Only let us believe if we cannot grasp it, that he who made and fashioned the whole creation, spiritual and corporeal, disposes of all things by number, weight and measure. But his judgments are inscrutable and his ways past finding out. Let us say Halleluia and praise him together in song; and let us not say, What is this? or, Why is that? All things have been created each in its own time."

Why I Write Against the Free-Will Heresy

It seems people perceive my stand against free-will from various angles, but a general reaction is to claim that I am rather singlemindedly focused on the doctrine of Election. I could accept this if these same people also charged those who preach a free-will doctrine with being singleminded in their own bent. However I do understand this reaction, because for decades there has been a strong underlying free-will tone within the Apostolic Lutheran Church, and now recently that which was underlying is being openly proclaimed, and people are comfortable with it. Consequently, when a voice is raised against free-will, and teaches salvation by grace alone, justification by faith alone, all beginning and ending with Christ alone, this message contrasts sharply with the common teaching of the day which has led people to believe they themselves play a role in their salvation.

To explain what is meant by "playing a role" in salvation, I will briefly explain free-will. The free-will doctrine teaches that unregenerated man is able to hear, comprehend, and assent to the things of the kingdom of God. To play an active role in salvation, man has simply to do the above: accept and believe the gospel, and God will, on this basis, favor him and  predestinate him unto eternal life. When I teach according to Scripture that this is impossible, people feel their false foundation shaking, and I am accused of focusing only on a certain doctrine while ignoring Christ, when in fact the true doctrine of Predestination rather glorifies and manifests the power of Christ to save.

It is the above free-will doctrine which I hate and against which I write because I have concern not only for my children and grand children in the church, but I am concerned for all the children. I will take from the writings of our true Elders, Luther and Laestadius, to show why I have such great concern. Remember that it is not I who propose these ideas; I am only presenting the teachings of our Elders.

Laestadius was in concord with Luther and his doctrine, as it answered to his own heart. Laestadius called Luther "one angel who cried from the ascending of the dawn." This is in sharp contrast to how many of our people today consider Luther. When Laestadius in "The Voice Of One Crying In The Wilderness" began to address doctrine, his first course of action was to attack the doctrine of free-will. Of the many arguments he made against free-will, I will quote two. "Furthermore, with regard to the doctrine of man's will, the pastor should explain as best he can to the confirmation children that the will has no power called liberum arbitrium (freedom to judge) in spiritual matters, and in conversion conducts itself pure passive; that is, it has no power to make itself good, that man's will can not of its own power ever become good. And if before conversion someone imagines that he has a good will, this is self-deception" [p. 138]. Again, "the doctrine of Martensen (free-will) concerning man's will absolutely turns the entire Lutheran doctrine upside down" [p. 138]. What if Laestadius is right (and I know he is)? How can we expect to ignore the plainly written doctrines of old, teach an opposite doctrine and hope for the same kind of awakening and spiritual revival which God performed under his teaching? Is it not clear that we have departed from the faith and have given heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils? [I Tim. 4:1]. It is manifestly clear that we have departed from the old doctrines.

More to the point, I will quote Luther and his judgment on the free-will doctrine. Luther wrote, "I wish the defenders of free choice would take warning at this point, and realize that when they assert free choice they are denying Christ" [Luther's Works, Am. Ed. Vol. 33 p. 279]. (Other translations use "free will" instead of "free choice.") Do we not hear this admonition? And do we think the warnings of Scripture don't pertain to us? Let us not be so ignorant. It is becoming clear that the matter written of in II Thessalonians is this free-will doctrine. "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming..." [2:7,8]. The word "let" means to hinder and prevent. All throughout Church history the doctrine of free-will has tried to assert itself, but was not able, until now, to gain a large foothold, for God established a bound and limit to its increase and power. However, Scripture says that that hinderance shall be taken out of the way, and that Wicked shall come to be openly taught and accepted. God used, among others, Augustine, Luther and Laestadius to resist the free-will doctrine, and so kept it in check. But in this last time it seems this false doctrine has over-flooded outward Christiandom, and many are being deceived by it and led away from Christ. However there is still a sure hope for the child of God, for Scripture says, "For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect" [Mk 13: 22]. Even as the doctrine of the ALC states that God's election "procures, works, helps and promotes what pertains" to the salvation of the Elect, so He will also preserve His own from being deceived by this error. This statement alone ought to shut the mouth of free-will, for it says not that our believing procures our election, but rather our election procures our faith, or believing.

I wish to freely and openly write concerning Luther's above statement, that those who assert free-will, deny Christ. Remember, these ideas did not originate with me, but with our church Elders. What if our Elder Luther, with Augustine and Laestadius, is also right? Does it not mean the ALC is in a dire and dangerous state? Therefore, above all, I openly resist the heresy of free-will because it is an anti-Christ doctrine. Are we astounded? Taken aback, that I would suggest that the ALC, wherein the Spirit of God once moved powerfully, would preach an anti-Christ doctrine? Should we not consider Scripture which says that only those churches which once held to the truth, wherein the candlestick burned brightly, are warned against falling into error? Satan cares nothing for the world or the non-Christians. Rather he has set his sights upon those churches where once the truth was taught and received with power. That includes the Laestadian awakening, and the Apostolic Lutheran Church. Therefore let us take an open look at what Luther has said, and recognize that as much as the ALC supports the free-will doctrine, it denies Christ. This means that there is preached an anti-Christ doctrine, and instead of leading our children to Christ, they are instead lead away from Christ. This means that instead of teaching our children the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, they are taught the error of the devil so that Christ will remain hidden. This means that instead of a word which shuts the gates of hell and opens the gates of heaven, our children are taught a doctrine which shuts heaven and opens the gaping gates of hell to receive them for all eternity. This means that the shepherds which were entrusted to guide the lambs into the sheepfold, are instead thrusting them into the maw of Satan.

I believe our Elders held right doctrine. For this reason I write against the heresy of free-will.

Steven E. Anderson

Saint Augustine: Limits of God's Plan for Human Salvation

The following is a quote from St. Augustine's Enchiridion, which exemplifies the doctrine of our Church Fathers. Many free-will heretics today support their false position by saying that God does not will that any should perish. However, St.  Augustine, the father of Lutheranism, teaches something quite different. How does it fit your own heart?

"Accordingly, when we hear and read in sacred Scripture that God "willeth that all men should be saved," although we know well enough that not all men are saved, we are not on that account to underrate that fully omnipotent will of God. Rather, we must understand the Scripture, "Who will have all men to be saved," as meaning that no man is saved unless God willeth his salvation: not that there is no man whose salvation he doth not will, but that no one is saved unless He willeth it. Moreover, his will should be sought in prayer, because if he willeth, then what he willeth must necessarily be. And, indeed, it was of prayer to God that the apostle was speaking when he made that statement. Thus, we are also to understand what is written in the Gospel about Him "who enlighteneth every man." This means that there is no man who is enlightened except by God.

"In any case, the word concerning God, "who will have all men to be saved," does not mean that there is no one whose salvation he doth not will - he who was unwilling to work miracles among those who, he said, would have repented if he had wrought them - but by "all men" we are to understand the whole of mankind, in every single group into which it can be divided: kings and subjects; nobility and plebeians; the high and the low; the learned and unlearned; the healthy and the sick; the bright, the dull, and the stupid; the rich, the poor, and the middle class; males, females, infants, children, the adolescent, young adults and middle-aged and very old; of every tongue and fashion, of all the arts, of all professions, with the countless variety of wills and minds and all the other things that differentiate people. For from which of these groups doth not God will that some men from every nation should be saved through his only-begotten Son our Lord? Therefore, he doth save them since the Omnipotent cannot will in vain, whatsoever he willeth.

"Now, the apostle had enjoined that prayers should be offered "for all men" and especially "for kings and all those of exalted station," whose worldly pomp and pride could be supposed to be a sufficient cause for them to despise the humility of the Christian faith. Then, continuing his arugment, "for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour" - that is, to pray even for such as these [kings] - the apostle, to remove any warrant for despair, added, "Who willeth that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." Truly, then, God hath judged it good that through the prayers of the lowly he would deign to grant salvation to the exalted - a paradox we have already seen exemplified. Our Lord also useth the same manner of speech in the Gospel, where he saith to the Pharisees, "You tithe mint and rue and every herb." Obviously, the Pharisees did not tithe what belonged to others, nor all the herbs of all the people of other lands. Therefore, just as we should interpret "every herb" to mean "every kind of men." We could interpret it in any other fashion, as long as we are not compelled to believe that the Omnipotent hath willed anything to be done which was not done. "He hath done all things in heaven and earth, whatsoever he willed," as Truth sings of him, and surely he hath not willed to do anything that he hath not done. There must be no equivocation on this point."

Rosenius: The Forgivenes of Sins

 "But here someone could still question if any man can ever really know that he's a child of God, or if such assurance ever can or should be sought. This is one of the stubborn excuses usually brought forth by such who still get along best in darkness and uncertainty. But answer: The entire Scripture witnesses, that all the faithful of old have received the testimony that they pleased God by faith (Heb. 11), and only by such faith was it possible for them to suffer the martyr's death in joy. And the apostles plainly say, 'The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.' They say, 'He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself,' That he shall 'know that he has eternal life.' That 'he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar,' etc. (Rom. 8:16, I John 5:10, 13). Note this last one! When the Lord explicitly says: 'He that thristeth,' 'comes,' and he that wants, takes of the 'water of life freely', he that believeth has 'eternal life'; even if his sins should be 'red like crimson,' they shall however be 'white as snow,' etc. But if I am still always uncertain about the forgiveness of my sins, what is that other than to make God a liar?' It's like saying: 'I don't know if what the Lord says can be relied upon; I know not for certain, if God is truthful?' What a beautiful confession this would be for a Christian!

"Therefore, says Luther in the explanation of Galatians 4:6, 'We should from day to day aspire to go from doubt to assurance. And we should take pains to pull up, by the roots and all, the very injurious delusion by which all the world has been seduced, namely, the thought that man cannot know for sure if he is in the state of grace or not. Because if we doubt the grace of God twoard us, and do not think it certain that God has pleasure in us for the sake of Christ, then we deny that God has redeemed us; then we overthrow all His works and benefits He has ever shown us.' Truly, the one, who is satisfied without assurance of the treasure, sets no great value upon it! It is quite another matter, that one should seek assurance in the Word and not in feelings."

Concerning the Foreknowledge and Predestination of God

I am hearing a developing and common erroneous theme among preachers concerning the Foreknowledge of God as it pertains to Predestination. This is a critical and central doctrine of Christ in which the church cannot err without losing completely the knowledge of Christ and living faith. We will here, by the grace of God, consider what is the truth of Scripture in this matter in the light of what our Elders taught.

This is a very necessary and wholesome doctrine to study, for all of God’s word is given for our spiritual and eternal benefit. Luther writes in his Commentary on Romans that this doctrine “is not as deep a subject as is commonly thought, but rather is a wonderfully sweet thing for those who have the Spirit, but a bitter thing and harsh above all things for the prudence of the flesh.”

The error now taught is that God, in His omniscience, foreknew (had prior knowledge of) who would believe the gospel and who would not, and based on this foreknowledge God moved to predestinate unto eternal life those who would believe. This necessarily leads to a free-will doctrine, for it is presupposed that natural man is able to see, hear, and comprehend the things of God’s kingdom and to choose whether or not to receive and believe it. Scripture dispels this notion: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” [I Cor. 2:14]. It is absolutely necessary that a person first be born of the Holy Spirit before it is possible to comprehend the word of God. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” [v. 12]. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God“ [Jn 3:5]. I say in the strongest terms that the doctrine of free-will is a doctrine of the devil. Luther wrote, “I would admonish those who assert free-will, that they are deniers of Christ.“

Let’s take a brief look at Romans 8: 28,30: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”  God’s foreknowledge in this passage pertains to those whom He has predestinated unto eternal life, for Paul begins writing of God’s working purpose toward those who are the called according to His purpose, the end of which is their glorification. The call of the gospel goes out into all the world, even as Jesus commanded that it be preached to every creature, but “Many are called, but few are chosen” [Mt. 22:14].

The doctrine of the Apostolic Lutheran Church, according to our By-Laws, is here taken from the Jacobs edition of the Book of Concord, Chapter XI. This will also dispel another false teaching concerning election: that election deals not with individual persons but only with the means of salvation, as some say this doctrine means nothing more than that God elected to save sinners by means of Christ. “But the eternal election of God not only foresees and foreknows the salvation of the elect, but is also, from the gracious will and pleasure of God in Christ Jesus, a cause which procures, works, helps and promotes what pertains thereto; upon this [divine predestination] also our salvation is so founded that “the gates of hell cannot prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). For it is written (John 10:28): “Neither shall any man pluck my sheep out of my hand.” And again (Acts 13:48) “And as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed.“ It does not say that as many as believed were ordained unto eternal life, but it is manifestly clear that predestination, or the ordination unto eternal life, must precede faith. We are not predestinated because we believe, but rather we believe because we are first predestinated. The election of God does not foresee the choice, or works, of a person, but rather foresees and is a cause of their salvation.

Concerning the foreknowledge of God, we read from the Book of Concord, Chapter XI: “First, the distinction between the eternal foreknowledge of God, and the eternal election of his children to eternal salvation, is to be accurately observed. For foreknowledge or prevision, i.e. that God sees and knows everything before it happens, which is called God’s foreknowledge [prescience], extends to all creatures, good and bad, since before God all things, whether they be past or future, are manifest and present. Thus it is written (Matt. 10:29)” “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.”

Concerning the election or predestination of God we read, “But the eternal election of God, or predestination, i.e. God’s appointment to salvation, pertains not at the same time to the godly and the wicked, but only to the children of God, who were elected and appointed to eternal life before the foundation of the world was laid, as Paul says (Eph. 1:4,5) “He hath chosen us in him, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ.”

It must be noted, as is taught in the Book of Concord, that God did not simply hold a muster of all people and then arbitrarily choose some for salvation and others for damnation. Rather, God looked upon the race of Adam, of which all were justly damned because of sin, and chose some unto salvation. All who perish do so justly as a consequence of God’s justice, and all who are saved are saved as a result of God’s mercy. Against this doctrine human reason will rise up in a rage, as Apostle Paul anticipated in his letter to the Romans. But what was Paul’s answer? “Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?” Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? [9:20, 21]. Some people try to sidestep this doctrine by saying the vessels signify the new man and the old man. This, however, is an impossible gloss, for the new man is not made of the same lump as the old. Luther in his commentary on Romans quotes Augustine, “God shows mercy out of His great goodness and hardens with no injustice, so that he who is freed may not boast of his own merits and he who is damned has been overcome by nothing but his own deserts. For grace alone distinguishes the redeemed from the condemned, all having been mingled in one mass of perdition by the common cause of their common origin.”

What then is the cause of God’s election? The closest answer I can give is love. “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” [Rom. 9:11-14]. The elect, according to the gracious purpose of God, receive by inheritance a participation in Christ, to Whom they are also brought, and not without means. For all who come to living faith, to hear and believe that by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ all their sins are forgiven, and to rejoice that they are washed pure and spotless in the blood of His cross, are brought to awakening, conversion and new birth by the operation of the word and Spirit. We love Him because He first loved us [I Jn. 4:19].

The doctrine of election must be properly viewed and considered in order that it might be edifying. The following is an excellent explanation of how to consider this doctrine, taken from Luther‘s Preface to the Romans:

“The apostle's teaching in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters is concerning the eternal predestination of God, whence it originally flows, whether a person is to believe it or not, become rid of his sins or not, in order that our becoming godly may be taken entirely out of our own hands and placed in the hands of God. And this is of the very highest importance. For we are so feeble and full of uncertainty that, if it depended on us, not a single person would be saved; the devil would surely overpower all. But God being reliable so that His predestination does not fail, and no one can defeat His purpose, we have still reason for hope over against sin.

“However, at this point a limit has to be staked off against presumptuous and arrogant spirits, who lead their reason to this point first, start from the top, undertake to explore before everything else the abyss of divine predestination, and worry to no purpose over the question whether they are predestinated. These people become the cause of their own downfall; they either despair of their salvation or abandon themselves to recklessness.

“As to yourself, I say: Follow the order of this epistle. Occupy your mind with Christ and His Gospel in order that you may know your sin and His grace, and then wrestle with your sin, as chaps. 1,2,3,4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 have taught you to do. After you have arrived at the eighth chapter and are subjected to crosses and sufferings, you will be rightly taught how comforting predestination is, as explained in chaps. 9, 10, and 11. For outside of a condition of suffering, cross-bearing, and mortal anguish, a person cannot contemplate predestination without injury to himself and without harbouring a secret grudge against God. Therefore Adam must be quite dead before a person can bear to listen to this teaching and drink of this strong wine. Beware, then, of drinking wine while you are still a suckling infant. There is a proper limit, time, and age for every doctrine.”

We will consider also how our Elder Laestadius taught in the matter of man’s will. It is interesting to note that Laestadius upheld Lutheran doctrine and the Symbolical Books, and by them judged doctrine. He also taught that all, including children, must be born again, and that the law is to be preached not only for awakening, but is to be preached also to the graced ones for their sanctification. But more on that another time.

In Laestadius’ The Voice Of One Crying In The Wilderness we read, “It is verily true that man by nature is a child of wrath. But precisely then, when this truth is set before the eyes of a sinner through the preaching of the law, or when the spirit of the law incites all manner of lust in the hearer’s heart, so that the sinner comes into true recognition of sin and to more clearly understand his deep debasement and unfortunate condition - then comes the virtuous intellectual, the civilized man of the world, and says that this type of law-preaching, which leads to awakening, is “dog’s barking” [p. 32].

He writes also, “Furthermore, with regard to the doctrine of man’s will, the pastor should explain as best he can to the confirmation children that the will has no power called liberum arbitruim (freedom to judge) in spiritual matters, and in conversion conducts itself pure passiv; that is, it has no power to make itself good, that man’s will can not of its own power ever become good. And if before conversion someone imagines that he has a good will, this is self-deception [p. 138]. Laestadius writes on this same page that the free-will doctrine “absolutely turns the entire Lutheran doctrine upside down.”

The awakened soul has come to know the bondage and power of sin and their complete helplessness in the matter of salvation. Such a one, who has suffered torment of conscience in the knowledge of their damned state, finds much comfort in contemplating the sufferings of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross of Calvary. What sure hope springs forth when Christ is heard to cry out, “It is finished.” They contemplate also the empty tomb, and know that death itself has been destroyed by our Saviour. This work of Christ is eternally sure, and is for every penitent sinner who cries to God for mercy. These are they of whom Jesus speaks, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father, which gave them me is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” [Jn. 10:27-29]. These sheep truly are the joy set before Him as He, our eternal High Priest, prayed before his suffering and death, “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify they Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” [Jn. 17:1-3].

Luther writes in his Commentary on Romans:

“Although this matter is very hard for the “prudence of the flesh,” which is made even more indignant by it and brought even to the point of blasphemy, because here it is strangled to death and reduced to absolutely nothing, it understands that salvation comes in no way from something working in itself but only from outside itself, namely, from God, who elects. But those who have the ‘’prudence of the spirit’’ delight in this subject with an ineffable pleasure, as the apostle makes clear here and as is seen in the case of Hannah, the mother of Samuel in I Sam. 2. Among these are those people in the middle who have begun to turn away from the “prudence of the flesh” or are coming close to the “prudence of the spirit,” people who gladly want to do the will of God, but they are pusillanimous and tremble when they hear these teachings. Thus even though these words of the most perfect and nourishing food are still not entirely pleasant to them, yet by the process of antiperistasis, that is, through the fact that opposites attract, they find these words soothing and consoling. Thus, for example, no words are more effective than these for terrifying, humbling, and destroying our arrogant presumptuousness regarding merits. But those who are fearful and become pale before them have here the best and happiest sign, for the Scripture says: “Upon whom does my Spirit rest except on him who is humble and trembles at My Word?” (Is. 11:2: 66:2). To these people Christ also says: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s pleasure to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32). And Is. 35:4: “Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come.’” For if He had not seen that they were thinking the opposite, namely, fear and despair of the Kingdom, He would not have said, “You who are of fearful heart, ‘Be strong! Behold, your God will come.’” And again: “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord” (Ps. 112:1). And everywhere in the Scriptures, people of this kind who fear the Word of God are commended and comforted. For they despair of themselves, and the Word of God accomplishes its work in them, that is, creating the fear of God in them. For just as those who are hardened toward the Word of God and trust in themselves have a very bad sign, so they who tremble before it and are frightened have the very best sign; as it is written in Ps. 144:6: “Send out Thy arrows and rout them.”

“Therefore he who is overly fearful that he is not elect or is tested concerning his election, let him give thanks for this kind of fear and rejoice that he is afraid, for he knows with confidence that God, who cannot lie, has said: “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken,” that is, a despairing “spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Ps. 51:17). Moreover, he himself knows what “broken” means. Therefore he should boldly lay hold on the truthfulness of the God who promises and thus free himself from his former idea of a terrifying God and be saved and elect.

“It is surely not a characteristic of reprobate men, at least in this life, that they fear the hidden judgment of God, but rather it is a quality of the elect. For the reprobate despise it and pay it no attention, or in desperation they become presumptuous, saying: “If I am damned, I will be damned.”

May God allow us to know Christ not as a co-Saviour, but as the One who died for us and called us His own while we were yet dead in trespasses and sins. We who have been drawn to Christ have also this sure word of promise, that in spite of all our doubts, failures and shortcomings, we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation [I Peter 1:5]. And what is this faith but that which brings to us all the benefits of Christ crucified.　

God’s peace,
Steven E. Anderson

Original Principles of the Doctrine of the Apostolic Lutheran Church

A BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DOCTRINE
OF THE APOSTOLIC LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AMERICA

This, including the above title, is an exact rendering of the original, unaltered document, first published in 1989, which does not contain the errors of the present “Principles” which was published in 1996. So serious and numerous are the doctrinal errors in the latest edition, that it must be set aside in favor of the original “Principles” presented here. The following is a word for word rendition of the original. S.E.A. End comment.
  
There can be found no better or more direct instructions in reference to the principles and doctrine of Christ than the Bible; the Holy Word of God, as is recorded in Hebrews 6:1, and 2:

“Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God. Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of the laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

 CONVERSION AND JUSTIFICATION
 
 An unbeliever is brought to grace through repentance and faith in the Gospel. The baptized person who has fallen from grace has the same condition of heart as an unbeliever, and can be restored to grace only by repentance and faith in the Gospel. Conversion is the work of God in sinful man who in himself is entirely helpless. This person first must be awakened by the righteous and holy Law of God: the Ten Commandments, to see the horror of sin and know that he is condemned under the curse of the Law.

This applies to a careless sinner as well as to a self-righteous person. He is under the curse of the Law and cannot find peace for his soul. Thus, this person is awakened to seek a means of reconciliation. He is now awakened from his dead condition. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1)

Now the gospel of Christ will lead him to the cross of Calvary where the pains of the new birth begin, as he beholds that he has nailed the Son of God to the cross with his sins. “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.” (Galatians 4:19)

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:14, 15)

“A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” (John 16:21, 22)

At the cross he will hear the cry of Jesus, “It is finished.” The righteous Law has now received all that it demanded by the suffering and death of Jesus.

 We believe that the Ten Commandments, or the moral Law, has been given so that unruly men may be governed by it and punishment meted out to those that break it. We also believe that the Law convicts a person of his sins and his corrupt nature, as St. Paul states in Romans 3:20: “For by the law is the knowledge of sin.” This Law of God was given “that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” (Romans 3:19) But St. Paul also states in 1 Timothy 1:9: “Knowing this, that the law is not made for the righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane,” etc. Therefore he concludes: “Wherefore the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” (Galatians 3:24, 25)

 Now the Holy Ghost becomes the Teacher and begins to lead this person into all truth. He takes up his bed of sin and walks; that is, he makes restitution of the wrongs he has done in the past, as Jesus says: “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” (John 3:21) This person has now come to the narrow road of life and the Holy Spirit is his Guide. He has entered inside the living church of Jesus, Christ being the cornerstone of that building which is not made with hands.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH

We believe in the inspired Word of God, as Peter says: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:20, 21) And Paul says: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

We believe in the unity and trinity of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7)

We believe in the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ Name and blood as the means of redemption and reconciliation with God, through repentance and faith, as the Bible records: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:15) And in Colossians 1:14: “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Then in Hebrews 9:14: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” And in 1 Peter 1:19: “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Also in Luke 24:47: “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” And in John 20:23: “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”

The fruits of living faith will now appear. “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17) This will lead a person to follow Jesus in doctrine and life and in suffering, as Jesus says: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) And St. Paul says: “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)

We believe that a person asks when in need. He seeks when he wants to find and he knocks when he wants to come in, as Jesus says: “Ask, and it shall be given; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7, 8)

BAPTISMS

Water Baptism


We believe in the Doctrine of Baptisms. (Hebrews 6:2)


Water baptism, which was instituted by God, is a means of grace. Even though God changed the outward token of grace from circumcision to baptism, we do not believe that He changed the Covenant. The essence of the Covenant that God made with Abraham of old was this: “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee.” (Genesis 17:7)

This Covenant, being everlasting, remains the same even though God Who ended the Old Testament and began the New, in place of circumcision, instituted baptism, and in the place of the Passover Lamb instituted the Lord’s Supper. Thus the same wording is needed: “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” (Hebrews 8:10; Ezekiel 37:27)　

The requirement of the Old Covenant commanded those who were circumcised to keep, or fulfill, the Law of God. This they were unable to do, “because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.” (Hebrews 8:9)

The New Covenant also has its own requirements, for the Lord says: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16) Thus, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6) no matter what else we may do.


We believe that infants have capacity for faith, for it is God who instills faith in the heart. God-given faith is not a faith of the mind but of the heart. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” (Romans 10:10) They who insist that an infant’s mind is not sufficiently developed to believe, ignore the Words of our Saviour Who said: “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe on Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:3-6)




If Jesus, the All-Knowing, says they believe on Him, who are we to argue against Him? We believe that Jesus meant infants also, for in Luke 18:15, 16, we read: “And they brought unto Him also infants that He should touch them: but when His disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto Him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”




We believe that God has not instituted a single sacrament for unbelievers, neither has He made a covenant with them. His sacraments and covenants are for believers only. The argument that He made His covenants with adults only does not prove that children were to be excluded, for it is written: “and to thy seed after thee.” (Genesis 17:7) “Therefore infants, at the age of eight days were circumcised.” (Genesis 17:12)

Of the Holy Spirit

We believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire, as John the Baptist witnesses of Jesus, saying: “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11)


We believe that Jesus refers to this Baptism as He said: “I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?” (Luke 12:49) We believe that St. Paul also refers to the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire, as he writes: “And hope maketh not shamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:5) Likewise St. John writes: “and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of Him.” (1 John 5:1)


We believe that this divine love binds the children of God together by the Holy Spirit which is in them. This “is the bond of perfectness,” (Col. 3:14) and that all who are born of the Holy Spirit are the children of God. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” (Romans 8:16)



The Baptism of Blood

We believe this to be the Baptism that Jesus refers to as He states: “But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished.” (Luke 12:50) And again: “Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? (Matt. 20:22)


We believe that those persons who are following Jesus “in the way of regeneration” (Matthew 19:28) are not regenerated until they have experienced this which Jesus states: “Ye shall drink indeed of my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with…” (Matthew 20:23)


Men who have sinned must taste the bitterness of their sin and the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus in order　
that they be regenerated. Then they have drunk of the cup that Jesus drank of and are baptized with His baptism. They then have experienced “godly sorrow which worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of.” (2 Corinthians 7:10) And “the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24) occurs in the spoken words of the forgiveness of sins in the Name of Jesus and His atoning blood.

THE LAYING ON OF HANDS

We believe in the laying on of hands as Ananias did to Paul (Acts 9:12): “And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.”

And as Peter and John did to the Samaritans, (Acts 8:17): “Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.”

As Paul did to the disciples at Ephesus, (Acts 19:6): “And when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”

And as Christ did to the children. Laying on of hands belongs to the principles of the doctrine of Christ.

We also believe that if a Christian falls into sin after he has been blessed with the forgiveness of sins, receiving peace and joy in his heart, the Holy Spirit will guide him, and urge him to put away that sin and ask for the forgiveness of his sin, that the gospel of forgiveness will be extended to him in Jesus’ Name and blood. Thus he regains the peace of heart and soul. But if this person continues in sin and does not obey the guidance of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit will flee from him. “And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh:” (Genesis 6:3) Then he falls again under the condemnation of the Law.

THE DOCTRINE OF CONFESSION

We believe as stated in the Small Catechism that we should confess before God that we are guilty of all kinds of sins, even of those which we do not know. But to the confessor we should confess those sins which we know and feel in our heart, and which burden our consciences. The confession of sins to a trusted Christian brother (confessor) is a good gift of God and a privilege which every Christian should use according to his needs and the demands of his conscience.

Confession should never be taught in an exacting spirit, as if it were a command; neither should it be taught as a condition for salvation, for the only condition for salvation is Scriptural faith in Jesus. Jesus says: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38) “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.” (John 6:48)

If a believer is burdened in his conscience with some sins which he has committed and which he has never confessed to anybody except God, and these sins are a hindrance to his faith and he feels an inner need and urge to confess them to a trusted Christian brother, this is the voice of the Holy Spirit to which he should be obedient. Confession of sins to a confessor is no meritorious work and the believer is not justified by that, for he is already righteous in Christ. He confesses his sins in order to restore peace of conscience through absolution, and in order that he may be able to appropriate the Gospel, he is not to think that only those sins which he confessed are forgiven, (for absolution means that all his sins are forgiven, even the sins which he does not know).

If such sins which he already has confessed and which are forgiven, again begin to trouble him, or if doubt assails him as to whether his sins were truly forgiven through the absolution, then that voice is his own corruption and the voice of the devil, which he should reject. He should remember the promise of Christ that his sins which are forgiven by a Christian brother on earth are truly forgiven before God in heaven.

“DEEPENING” IN FAITH, “CIRCUMCISION OF HEART”

Every Christian admits and knows that he has not as yet reached perfection in faith and the knowledge of Christ, or in righteousness, peace, joy, or in sanctification. Therefore, every Christian continues to pray that God will increase in him the grace and light of the Holy Spirit in order that he may know Christ and His redemptive sacrifice better and also grow in love and in the fruits of faith.

“That I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:10, 12)

Such a deepening and growth do not justify a Christian, for through faith he is already justified before God through Christ and His merits, and is wholly His own without spot or blemish. But he wants to grow in the knowledge of this redemption and justification through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. This growth and deepening do not, however, mean that the Christian himself feels that he is becoming better and better, but only that he realizes more and more his sinfulness, and at the same time, wholly relies on the grace of God in Christ. Thus he himself decreases, but Christ increases in him.

All this is not an achievement of his own but the work and gift of God, as the Apostle says: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to work, for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12, 13)

This is what the Apostle means when he says: “Let us go on to perfection.” We are to leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ alone. We are not to change them, to add or to detract from them. Therefore we are warned in Revelation 22:18, 19: “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

If the repentance or conversion of a person has been only an “outward repentance,” that is, if he has confessed his sinfulness and accepted forgiveness, without any real change of heart or comprehension of the redemptive work of Christ within his heart, it is necessary that he experience a real awakening of his conscience and that he comes to know in a personal way, in his heart, the redemptive grace and pardon of God, which is “the circumcision of the heart in the Spirit.”

All Christians have received the Holy Spirit to dwell in their hearts when they were converted, and born again, and have become believers. But not all Christians are “filled with the Spirit” in the same measure; that is, not all are fully controlled by the Spirit. A Christian who once was “fervent in Spirit” may grow cold in his faith and spiritual life, losing the living knowledge of Christ and the power to bear witness for Him. Such may and should pray for a new blessing or “filling” of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), in order that he may grasp, in a living way, the significance of the redemptive grace of God and the forgiveness of sins, in Jesus’ Name and blood, that he may be able to live for Christ with his whole heart and be His witness. It is not the will of God that any of His children should be lukewarm. (Revelation 3:16)

The Apostolic Lutheran Christians, in general, yearn and pray for “new showers of blessings” from God, a new pouring out of His Spirit, a “latter rain.” They crave for this in order that they may be refreshed and quickened in their faith and be endued with power from on high. This “latter rain” is also prayed for in order that the children of Christian parents and other unbelievers would again, in multitudes, be awakened, both at home and in foreign lands, and return from the ways of the world to the kingdom of God.

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