For Luther, the Christian church is, without detriment to it spiritual nature, a historical reality, which constantly existed all through the centuries from the time of the apostles till his own time. The Evangelicals are not another and a new church but "the true old church, one body with the entire holy Christian church, and one community of saints." [WA 51, 487] In spite of all his heartfelt criticism of the Roman Church, Luther remained certain that God had, in spite of everything, miraculously preserved the true church even in the midst of its Babylonian captivity. [WA 38, 220] . . .

Thus Luther thankfully received not only biblical substance in the direct sense of the term from the hands of the ancient and medieval church but also elements of ecclesiastical tradition . . . Luther asserts: The consensus of the entire church in a doctrine or a custom is binding insofar as it is not contrary to Scripture . . .

Luther did not, as is obvious, in any sense advocate an absolute biblicism. He did not absolutize the Bible in opposition to tradition. He limits neither Christian dogma nor the ethical implications of the gospel to what is expressly stated in Scripture. He does not demand that the truth of Christianity be reduced to biblical doctrine.

(The Theology of Martin Luther, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966; translated by Robert C. Schultz, pp. 333-335)

. . . Luther's otherwise evident churchly and historical feeling, and by many expressions like that in a letter to Albert of Prussia (A.D. 1532), where he declares the importance of tradition in matters of faith, as strongly even as any Catholic.

(The Life and Labours of St. Augustine, Oxford University: 1854, pp. 94-95)

This testimony of the universal holy Christian Church, even if we had nothing else, would be a sufficient warrant for holding this article [on the sacrament] and refusing to suffer or listen to a sectary, for it is dangerous and fearful to hear or believe anything against the unanimous testimony, belief, and teaching of the universal holy Christian churches, unanimously held in all the world from the beginning until now over fifteen hundred years.

(Studies on the Reformation, Boston: Beacon Press, 1963, p. 26; primary source: WA [Werke, Weimar edition in German], Vol. XXX, 552)

Moreover, this article has been unanimously believed and held from the beginning of the Christian Church to the present hour, as may be shown from the books and writings of the dear fathers, both in the Greek and Latin languages, -- which testimony of the entire holy Christian Church ought to be sufficient for us, even if we had nothing more. For it is dangerous and dreadful to hear or believe anything against the unanimous testimony, faith, and doctrine of the entire holy Christian Church, as it has been held unanimously in all the world up to this year 1500. Whoever now doubts of this, he does just as much as if he believed in no Christian Church, and condemns not only the entire holy Christian Church as a damnable heresy, but Christ Himself, and all the Apostles and Prophets, who founded this article, when we say, 'I believe in a holy Christian Church,' to which Christ bears powerful testimony in Matt. 28.20: 'Lo, I am with you alway, to the end of the world,' and Paul, in 1 Tim. 3.15: 'The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth.'

(cf. abridged [?] version in Preserved Smith, The Life and Letters of Martin Luther [Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1911], pp. 290-292; Johann Adam Mohler, Symbolism, 1844, p. 400)

Luther combined with the boldest independence a strong reverence for the historical faith. He derives from the unbroken tradition of the church an argument against the Zwinglians for the real presence in the Eucharist . . . A Roman controversialist could not lay more stress on tradition than Luther does in this passage.

The testimony of the entire holy Christian Church (even without any other proof) should be sufficient for us to abide by this article and to listen to no sectaries against it.

[p. 231] …Christ himself came upon the errors of scribes and Pharisees among the Jewish people, but he did not on that account reject everything they had and thought (Matt. 23[:3]). We on our part confess that there is much that is Christian and good under the papacy; indeed everything that is Christian and good is to be found there and has come to us from this source. For instance we confess that in the papal church there are the true holy Scriptures, true baptism, the true sacrament of the altar, the true keys to the forgiveness of sins, the true office of the ministry, the true catechism in the form of the Lord’s Prayer, [p. 232] the Ten Commandments, and the articles of the creed … I contend that in the papacy there is true Christianity, even the right kind of Christianity and many great and devoted saints. . . .


Listen to what St. Paul says to the Thessalonians [II Thess. 2:4]: “The Antichrist takes his seat in the temple of God.” If now the pope is (and I cannot believe otherwise) the veritable Antichrist, he will not sit or reign in the devil’s stall, but in the temple of God. No, he will not sit where there are only devils and unbelievers, or where no Christ or Christendom exist. For he is an Antichrist and must thus be among Christians. And since he is to sit and reign there it is necessary that there be Christians under him. God’s temple is not the description for a pile of stones, but for the holy Christendom (I Cor. 3[:17]), in which he is to reign. The Christendom that now is under the papacy is truly the body of Christ and a member of it. If it is his body, then it has the true spirit, gospel, faith, baptism, sacrament, keys, the office of the ministry, prayer, holy Scripture, and everything that pertains to Christendom. So we are all still under the papacy and therefrom have received our Christian treasures.


. . . We do not rave as do the rebellious spirits, so as to reject everything that is found in the papal church. For then we would east out even Christendom from the temple of God, and all that it contained of Christ. But when we oppose and reject the pope it is because he does not keep to these treasures of Christendom which he has inherited from the apostles. Instead he makes additions of the devil and does not use these treasures for the improvement of the temple. Rather he works [p. 233] toward its destruction, in setting his commandments and ordinances above the ordinance of Christ. But Christ preserves his Christendom even in the midst of such destruction, just as he rescued Lot at Sodom, as St. Peter recounts (I Pet. 2 [II Pet. 2:6]). In fact both remain, the Antichrist sits in the temple of God through the action of the devil, while the temple still is and remains the temple of God through the power of Christ . . .



. . . They take a severe stand against the pope, but they miss their mark and murder the more terribly the Christendom under the pope. For if they would permit baptism and the sacrament of the altar to stand as they are, Christians under the pope might yet escape with their souls and be saved, as has been the case hitherto. But now when the sacraments are taken from them, they will most likely be lost, since even Christ himself is thereby taken away.

Last edited on Wed Jan 16th, 2008 07:42 pm by Dave Armstrong

Last edited on Wed Mar 12th, 2008 07:18 pm by Dave Armstrong

The Volunteer Syndrome and the Call of God

At the root of our difficulty in "getting the laity involved in ministry" is our tendency to view our congregation as an assembly of volunteers. Volunteers have to be handled with a certain delicacy. They need to be stroked. They must never be offended. If you overwork them, they burn out. "Don't forget, pastor, I'm not getting a salary like you are. I have my job and my family. And I'm entitled to a little recreation. So if I skip the treasurer's report at council this month, don't get bent out of shape."

The successful pastor in this setup is one who knows how to motivate the volunteers and keep them happy. This pastor understands that these dear folks aren't getting paid to come to church or sing in the choir or serve on the evangelism committee. So you reward them for good behaviour. You make it worth their while. Megachurches have been built on this principle. But while numbers and money may flow toward the ministry of the pastor who knows how to organize and stroke the volunteers, the result is a thin caricature of the church which Jesus promised to build, the church which has the power to storm the gates of death.

Membership in the Body of Christ, not only for the pastor but for every believer, begins with the call of God. Surely when the pastor is clear about the call that rests upon his or her life, it becomes obvious that every member of the flock is under the same call to discipleship from the same Lord. Jesus did not call me to be a professional priest, ministering to a flock of volunteers. He called me to follow his example and begin washing the feet of my fellow disciples. He called me to acknowledge before his cross that these men and women he has sent me to serve are as much under the call as I am. I need to see these people as under a call, honour them as "called and ordained ministers of the Church of Christ" who are no less called and ordained than I am. True, they have not been "ordained" by a synod. But they have certainly been ordained by the Lord for ministry in his Body that is no less significant than mine.

"Well, my people sure don't act like called ministers. So how can I regard them as such?" Moses was under a call from the day of his birth. He tried the volunteer method when he killed the Egyptian, when he tried to settle an argument between two Hebrews, and when he rescued his wife-to-be from some rough shepherds. At last, at the age of eighty, Moses was lifted out of himself and set free to be what he was always meant to be -- a deliverer -- as he heard the call, took off his shoes, and answered it.

Our job is to be the burning bush through which our people hear the call which has been haunting them and hunting them through the barren years. They will hear the call of the living Lord through us, when we open our eyes and behold God's claim resting upon them, and, under the power of the cross, beckon them to follow the Master with all of their strength and the best of their resources.

Once they begin to hear that call -- and they will -- they will no longer function as volunteers. They will know that their lives are not their own, they belong to the God who called them. They (and we) will no longer be able to produce something half-baked and whimper, "This is the best I can do. I'm doing all I can, Lord," because the Spirit of excellence, the power to do it right, is in the call.

Every man and woman in our flock who has any faith in Jesus at all is under a call. They are not volunteers; they are called. And one day they are going to answer for that they did with that call. And we are going to answer for whether we allowed ourselves to be the burning bush through which they heard it.

Last edited on Fri Apr 4th, 2008 11:07 pm by swordswoman

Yep; if you are on a desert isle with no one around, and a Bible, I believe you could be saved. I also believe you could be saved without a Bible or ever hearing a word of it, if you seek truth; since God said His existence is evident from that which is made (Romans 1). This does not - again - disprove the need for a Church and an authoritative Tradition in normal circumstances. It's like saying "I could survive on a deserted, barren island with bread and water, no modern conveniences, no medicine, etc." Sure you could, but is this the best way to go through life? Do we not take advantage of those blessings which God has provided for us - among which is the Church, and the wise spiritual guides in it who help us better follow the path of discipleship?

* * *

One can often find things in the Bible by oneself, with adequate study aids, and (hopefully) some basic background as to hermeneutics and exegesis. I do this now, and have done it for years. This is, of course, the theme of my website, and my book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism. I've never been disappointed or "stumped" when studying Holy Scripture. It is always a glorious shining light, and unambiguous. The difference lies in the ultimate authority, or formal principle of authority. The Catholic, when completing such a study, will want to know if his conclusions are in line with those of the Church, and with what Christians have believed for 2000 years. In this way, doctrinal unity and historical continuity with the Apostles and the Church of the Ages can be maintained, and the relativism and sin-influenced individualism avoided . . .

To reiterate briefly, then, my thesis: it is not so much that Scripture is so unclear and esoteric that it is an utter mystery and an undecipherable "code" which only Holy Mother Church can break, and which no individual can possibly understand. Rather, the Church is required to speak authoritatively as to what Holy Scripture teaches, just as it spoke authoritatively with regard to what books were to be included in Scripture. In both instances, Holy Scripture is inherently what it is: God's inspired, inerrant, infallible written revelation, but human error, sin, and inability to achieve unity of belief on the basis of individualism made the teaching Church absolutely necessary. It is the principle of private judgment to the exclusion of a necessary, binding, ecclesiastical teaching authority which is radically unbiblical, blatantly contrary to the practice of the Church in the patristic period - all the way up to the Protestant Revolt, and obviously a failure in practice.

1. Luther (L): The Catholic Church is incorrect in beliefs a, b, c, and d.
2. Catholic (C): Why do you say that?
3. L: Because what you teach is unbiblical.
4. C: What gives you the authority to determine such a thing?
5. L: My authority is the Word of God, to which my conscience is captive.
6. C: We grant your sincerity, but not everyone agrees with your interpretation of Holy Scripture. Why should we believe you over against Church Tradition?
7. L: Because God has appointed me as the restorer of the gospel.
8. C: How do you know that? Why should we believe it?
9. L: God's Word will make it manifest.
10. C: But what happens when your fellow Protestants disagree with you (e.g., Calvin, Zwingli, the Anabaptists)?
11. L: One must determine which view is more biblical.
12. C: How does one go about that, since your movement has no one leader, but rather, increasing numbers of sects who oppose each other on one or more grounds?
13. L: From now on I shall no longer do you the honor of allowing you—or even an angel from heaven—to judge my teaching or to examine it . . . Instead, I shall let myself be heard and, as St. Peter teaches, give an explanation and defense of my teaching to all the world -- I Pet. 3:15. I shall not have it judged by any man, not even by any angel. For since I am certain of it, I shall be your judge and even the angels’ judge through this teaching (as St. Paul says [I Cor. 6:3]) so that whoever does not accept my teaching may not be saved — for it is God’s and not mine. Therefore, my judgment is also not mine but God’s.
[actual words of Luther: Against the Spiritual Estate of the Pope and the Bishops Falsely So-Called, July 1522]

14. C: But Martin, don't you see that when Calvin or Zwingli disagree with you, that they do so on the same grounds you claim for yourself, and that no one can figure out who is telling the truth unless there is a "court of final appeal"?
15. L: My truth is plain in the Bible.
16. C: That's what Zwingli says too.
17. L: He is damned and out of the Church because he denies what has always been taught by the Church: that the body and blood of Jesus are truly present after consecration.
18. C: Precisely. The truth is that which has always been held by the Church. Why, then, do you deny other Catholic doctrines that have an equally long history?
19. L: Because they are unbiblical.
20. C: According to whom?
21. L: According to the Bible.
22. C: As interpreted by you?
23. L: Yes, because, like I said already, whoever does not accept my teaching may not be saved — for it is God’s and not mine.
24. C: So we either accept your authority and word as the preeminent Bible expositor and deliverer of Christian truth of all time, or so much the worse for us?
25. L: Yes, because God would have it so. You are obviously wrong and I am obviously right, because my teaching lines up with Scripture.

Last edited on Fri Apr 11th, 2008 04:28 pm by swordswoman