Three Kinds of Love

God makes distinctions between the different kinds of love, and shows that the love of a man and woman is (or should be) the greatest and purest of all loves. For He says, “A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife” [Gen. 2:24]. ... Now there are three kinds of love: false love, natural love, and married love. False love is that which seeks its own, as a man loves money, possessions, honor, and women taken outside of marriage and against God’s command. Natural love is that between father and child, brother and sister, friend and relative, and similar relationships. But over and above all these is married love, that is, a bride’s love, which glows like a fire and desires nothing but the husband. ... All other kinds of love seek something other than the loved one: this kind wants only to have the beloved’s own self completely.

Martin Luther
“A Sermon on the Estate of Marriage”
Luther’s Works, vol. 44, pp. 8-9

The Protection of Marriage: A Shared Commitment

On Monday, 6 December 2010, the following letter was released by religious leaders to promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. I am thankful that the President of my own church body, the LCMS, signed this letter. PDF versions for downloading and printing are available here.

Dear Friends,

Marriage is the permanent and faithful union of one man and one woman. As such, marriage is the natural basis of the family. Marriage is an institution fundamental to the well-being of all of society, not just religious communities.

As religious leaders across different faith communities, we join together and affirm our shared commitment to promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. We honor the unique love between husbands and wives; the indispensable place of fathers and mothers; and the corresponding rights and dignity of all children.

Marriage thus defined is a great good in itself, and it also serves the good of others and society in innumerable ways. The preservation of the unique meaning of marriage is not a special or limited interest but serves the good of all. Therefore, we invite and encourage all people, both within and beyond our faith communities, to stand with us in promoting and protecting marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Sincerely yours,

Leith Anderson
President
National Association of Evangelicals

Dr. Thomas E. Armiger
Dr. Jo Anne Lyon
Dr. Jerry G. Pence
The Board of General Superintendents
The Wesleyan Church

Dr. Gary M. Benedict
President
The Christian and Missionary Alliance

Glenn C. Burris Jr.
President
The Foursquare Church

Bishop H. David Burton
Presiding Bishop
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Dr. Ronald W. Carpenter, Sr.
Presiding Bishop
International Pentecostal Holiness Church Ministries

Nathan Diament
Director, Institute for Public Affairs
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America

Most Rev. Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of New York
President
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The Most Rev. Robert Duncan
Archbishop, Anglican Church in North America
Bishop, Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh

Rev. Jim Eschenbrenner
Executive Pastor
Christian Union

Rev. Dr. Stephen A. Gammon
Conference Minister
Conservative Congregational Conference

Rev. Matthew C. Harrison
President
The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod

John Hopler
Director
Great Commission Churches

Dr. Clyde M. Hughes
Bishop
International Pentecostal Church of Christ

Ken Hunn
Executive Director
The Brethren Church

Bishop Harry Jackson
Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bishop, Fellowship of International Churches

The Most Blessed Jonah
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada
Orthodox Church in America

Dr. Richard Land
President
Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

Rev. Frederick J. Moury Jr.
National Conference Chair
Evangelical Congregational Church

Dr. James Murray
Interim Executive Director
General Association of General Baptists

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez
President
National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

Manmohan Singh
Secretary General
World Sikh Council – America Region

The Rev. Paull E. Spring
Bishop
North American Lutheran Church

Dr. Joseph Tkach
President
Grace Communion International

Rev. Phil Whipple
Bishop
Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA

Dr. George O. Wood
General Superintendent
Assemblies of God

Man Has to Control Himself

The whole basis and essence of marriage is that each gives himself or herself to the other, and they promise to remain faithful to each other and not give themselves to any other. By binding themselves to each other, and surrendering themselves to each other, the way is barred to the body of anyone else, and they content themselves in the marriage bed with their one companion. In this way God sees to it that the flesh is subdued so as not to rage wherever and however it pleases, and, within this plighted troth, permits even more occasion than is necessary for the begetting of children. But, of course, a man has to control himself and not make a filthy sow’s sty of his marriage.

Martin Luther
“A Sermon on the Estate of Marriage”
Luther’s Works, vol. 44, pp. 10-11

A Season of Waiting

“Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” (Psalm 27:14).

One of the words that best captures the season of Advent is waiting. Now granted, waiting is not something we do very well. No child enjoys waiting until Christmas to open his presents. No adult enjoys waiting in long lines at the store to purchase that last minute gift. No driver enjoys waiting in bumper-to-bumper traffic as the winter snow slows everything down. But when it comes to faith, waiting is an integral part of who we are as children of the heavenly Father.

God’s people of old waited in patience and hope for the coming of the Messiah. Adam and Eve waited. Noah waited. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob waited. Moses waited. King David waited. In fact, every Old Testament saint died waiting for the Messiah. Thus, they died in faith and are even now with Christ in heaven. The One for whom they waited—Jesus, the Christ—was finally welcomed into this world by Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, and the wise men.

We, too, wait. But not for Christ’s first coming. That day has already come and gone. Instead we wait for His second coming. Although we know neither the day nor the hour of His return, we have His sure and certain promise that He is coming again (Matthew 25). Thus, we wait. We are watchful and ready. We wait in patience and hope for the Day when our Lord Jesus will come again in glory to take us bodily to our eternal home. Which is why the Apostle Paul writes:

“Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

And as we wait, we rejoice that Jesus comes to us even here and now. Every time we gather together in His name, He is here in our midst (Matthew 18:20). Every time we hear His Word, He is here in our midst (Romans 10:17). Every time we receive His true body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, He is here in our midst (John 6:56). In short, He is here in Word and Sacrament to forgive our sins, to strengthen our faith, and to enliven our hope in His second coming!

2000 years ago Jesus became our Emmanuel (“God with us”). Today He is still with us in Word and Sacrament. And someday, on the Last Day, we will bodily be with Him in heaven. Advent wraps up all of these mysteries and beckons us to wait, to anticipate, to prepare. Why? Because...

“Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him” (Hebrews 9:28).

Let that be your joy this Advent, this Christmas, and always!

America's Four Gods

Americans are fickle when it comes to God. In fact, there are countless views of who God is, what He thinks, and how He acts (or doesn’t act) in human history. A recent book by sociologists Paul Froese and Christopher Bader—America’s Four Gods: What We Say about God and What That Says about Us—boils down all these views and finds that Americans have four different assumptions about who God is:

1. The Authoritative God is engaged in history and hands out harsh punishment to those who do not follow him. This view of God is held by 28% of Americans.
2. The Benevolent God is engaged in our world and loves and supports us in caring for others. This view of God is held by 22% of Americans.
3. The Critical God keeps an eye on this world—the poor, the suffering, and the exploited—but delivers justice in the next. This view of God is held by 21% of Americans.
4. The Distant God booted up the universe, then left humanity alone. This view of God is held by 24% of Americans. [Note: The remaining 5% of Americans are atheists or agnostics.]

So, what do you think? Is God authoritative, benevolent, critical, or distant? The truth be told, the Triune God cannot be characterized by any of these categories in isolation. In fact, the Christian needs to define these words differently even to make sense of them. Consider the following. God is authoritative in that He is the author of life, governs all things, and everything happens according to His good and gracious will. God is benevolent in that He calls us to be stewards of His creation and to love and serve one another. He is critical in that He hates sin and punishes it with temporal punishments in this life and eternal punishment for those who do not repent and believe in Christ. And He is distant in that we cannot find Him on our own, but have to be called through the Gospel.

And yet, the biggest flaw in the four categories listed above is this: There is no category for The Incarnate God. We cannot know the true God apart from Jesus Christ, “true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary” (Luther’s Small Catechism). “Whoever has seen Me,” says Jesus, “has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus is made visible to us in His holy Word and blessed Sacraments, which reveal to us the heart of God, who loved the world in giving His only Son to die for us and win our salvation. Thus, through Christ, we see God as He truly is. Creator. Redeemer. Sanctifier. Gracious. Merciful. Forgiving. Loving.

Look closely. In Word and Sacrament you see Him, His heart, and His will for you. Isn’t it beautiful! The eyes of faith rejoice, for He “has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity” (Luther’s Small Catechism).

Simply put, apart from Christ no one can know who God is, what He thinks, and how He acts in human history.

One last word of advice. When it comes to politicians, pundits, and commentators, keep your guard up when they begin speaking about God. In almost every case, their view of God is characterized by one of the aforementioned categories and falls short of the Triune God in several ways. You, on the other hand, know that God has revealed Himself to you in His incarnate Son and now gives you His Word as the source of your life. He—and He alone—is the One True God!

What is man?

“A lawyer speaks of a man as an owner and master of property, and a physician speaks of a man as healthy or sick. But a theologian discusses man as a sinner.”

Martin Luther

AE 12:310

What Would Jesus Do?

Whenever a pastor is tempted to soft-peddle his preaching, he should ask, “What would Jesus do?” Jesus would insist on saying the unpopular thing if it were true. We need to insist that Jesus is the only way to heaven, that you get there only because God draws you, that faith in the flesh and blood is indispensable, that other religions don’t get you there. Jesus preached the theology of the cross, and He suffered for it. Thankfully, our Lord did not measure the effectiveness of His ministry by how many people stayed in His church or by how His messages were received. He was called to proclaim the truth. The result, for Him, was the cross. The result for us is the same.

Rev. Klemet Preus
The Fire and the Staff, p. 331