Showing posts with label Apology of the Augsburg Confession. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apology of the Augsburg Confession. Show all posts
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Repent and Believe are the parts of Conversion
"In Mark 1:15 Christ says, 'Repent, and believe in the gospel.' In the first part he denounces our sins, in the latter part he consoles us and shows us the forgiveness of sins. For to believe in the Gospel is not to have the general faith that even the demons have (James 2:19), but, in the true sense, to believe that for Christ's sake the forgiveness of sins has been granted us; this is revealed in the gospel." - The Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 7. Penitence, pg. 187-188
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
We do not love as we ought therefore our assurance must be on better grounds
"It is surely amazing that our opponents are unmoved by the many passages in the Scriptures that clearly attribute justification to faith and specifically deny it to works. Do they suppose that this is repeated so often for no reason? Do they suppose that these words fell from the Holy Spirit unawares? But they have thought up a piece of sophistry to evade them. They should be interpreted, so they say, as referring to 'faith fashioned by love,' that is, they do not attribute justification to faith except on account of love. Indeed, they do not attribute justification to faith at all, but only to love, because they imagine that faith can exist with mortal sin. Where does this end but with the abolition of the promise and a return to the law? If faith receives the forgiveness of sins on account of love, the forgiveness of sins will always be unsure, for we never love as much as we should. In fact, we do not love at all unless our hearts are sure that the forgivness of sins has been granted to us. If our opponents require us to trust in our own love for the forgiviness of sins and justification, they completely abolish the Gospel of the free forgiveness of sins. For men can neither render nor understand this love unless they believe that the forgiveness of sins is received freely." - The Book of Concords, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 4. Justification, Pg. 122-123
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
On the Law and the Gospel distinction
"All Scripture should be divided into these two chief doctrines, the law and the promises. In some places it presents the law. In others it presents the promise of Christ; this it does either when it promises that the Messiah will come and promises forgiveness of sins, justification, and eternal life for his sake, or when, in the New Testament, the Christ who came promises forgiveness of sins, justification, and eternal life. By 'law' in this discussion we mean the commandments of the Decalogue, wherever they appear in the Scriptures. For the present we are saying nothing about the ceremonial and civil laws of Moses." - The Book of Concords, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 4 on Justification, Pg. 108. The version I have is edited by Theodore G. Tappert.
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