When I was younger, I had fascination with Martin Luther. A man of mammoth aptitude and gifts. I found the "wandering planet" who was able to refute Indulgences and build the battle cry "Ad Fontes, back to sources, Scripture" to be a inspiration to me, especially in these times when the Church is desperately in need of a Reformation. Luther is titan in Church History, considered to be David to proverbial Roman Catholic Goliath. The Augustine Monk made Europe burn ablaze when he nailed his 95 Thesis on the doors of Wittenberg Church on October 31, 1517. From that point on it is popular to believe that Luther became ardent defender of Biblical Christian Faith based on the Holy Bible, but Martin's familiarity with Scripture really became more pronounced as student and then professor at Wittenberg College. There reading Scriptures Himself he found that the "Dark Ages" was not a period of time, but rather a system, a colossal church system called The Papacy and The Roman Catholic Church. I would like to say Luther's revelations only led to his publishing a German New Testament, and helping people come to a salvation by Grace through Faith Alone. Alas, the full picture of Martin Luther is far more complex than the award winning film with Joseph Fiennes, Claire Cox, and Peter Ustinov.
I have been known to say the phases of Luther's troubled life are the following: Devout Catholic Monk, Protestor of Indulgences, Professor of Theology, Reformer, Radical Reformer who burned 80 copies of Canon Law Books, Publisher of the New Testament in German, Disillusioned Lay Priest (after Peasant's Revolt), Supporter of the Barons, Dismayed Reformer (wishing the Roman Church had reformed not schism and splintered apart), and finally Deranged. The chapters of Luther's life we prefer to choose and pick, we want to see the zealous monk or professor taking on the church system that had become so corrupt and distant from intent of the Gospels and words of the Apostles. But the back side of Luther's Life has a paradoxical message.
The first quizzical practice Luther endorsed and that Lutherans wither Evangelical or Missouri Synod practice today is Transubstantiation. Transubstantiation is the belief and dogma that when the Priest prepares the Communion or Eucharist, Lord's Supper, the bread becomes the literal body of Christ and the wine becomes His actual blood. This doctrine was actually made official in Luther's life time at the lengthy Council of Trent in 1551 A.D. What is most bizarre is that Luther poured over the words of New Testament and made the statement "Solae Scriptura" and at Diet of Worms he said this, "Unless I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture or by clear reason (for I trust neither pope nor council alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have cited, for my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since to act against one’s conscience is neither safe nor right. I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand, may God help me." (Luther at the Diet of Worms, 1521 A.D.). And yet for some reason Luther decided to make the Roman Catholic dogma of Transubstantiation which was made official at Roman Catholic Council a doctrine of Lutherans?! I have already written on subject of Transubstantiation. and the Communion views, but most Catholics got the idea for Transubstantiation from Jesus' words, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him." (John 6:53-56). The problem is in context, Jesus reveals what He means about this extreme statement at the actual Last Supper, "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins," (Matthew 26:25-28) which is fully fulfilled when Jesus body is broken, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed," (Isaiah 53:5), "and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up," (Matthew 20:19), and "So then Pilate took Jesus and had Him scourged (flogged, whipped). 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe around Him; 3 and they kept coming up to Him, saying [mockingly], “Hail, King of the Jews [Good health! Peace! Long life to you, King of the Jews]!” And they slapped Him in the face," (John 19:1-4), and He bled for our sins on cross, "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came [flowing] out. 35 And he (John, the eyewitness) who has seen it has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also [who read this] may believe." (John 19:34-35), and "8But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore much more, having been justified now by His blood, we will be saved by Him from wrath!" (Romans 5:8-9). The body and blood Jesus was talking about was when He dies on cross and enacts the New Covenant of Grace through belief and confession of Him as Lord!Another issue is that Transubstantiation is a practice of Roman Catholic Canon Law, in which Priest is (Sacros) Sacrifice Priest, making a sacrifices for sinners and taking place of Jesus, when Jesus Himself paid it all for sins of world, " First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). 9 Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.
10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. 11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 13 There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. 14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,16 “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
17 Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices," (Hebrews 10:8-18), "For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him, When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God," (Romans 6:9-10), "Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit," (1 Peter 3:18), "And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him," (Hebrews 9:26-29), and if anyone sins they have advocate in heaven, "My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world," (.1 John 2:1-2), and there is one mediator between God and Man, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the Son of Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5, NLT and Aramaic Bible in Plain English). How Luther who read the New Testament in the Greek, and translated it into German could then follow a Roman Catholic misconception is quizzical and only first among the reasons I am not a Lutheran. The problem is that if you take issue as I do with Transubstantiation then you are going to have to skip Communion every Sunday at Lutheran Church. Every Sunday you will have to face a doctrine that was invented by Roman Catholic and was made official at the Roman Catholic Council of Trent.
The second quizzical practice Luther relapsed into was Confession and Absolution. Originally, Luther in his works declared there were only "two sacraments, baptism and Communion." A Christian was only required to be baptized by water and to partake of Communion. Then for some reason Luther changed his mind (something that starts happening more and more with time), and he decided to reenact confession and absolution because of a verse in James, "Therefore confess the sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man being made effective prevails much." (James 5:16), even though Luther for most of his life loathed the Apostle James, misinterpreting the apostle's Second Chapter (James 2:14-26) as Works Based salvation that props up the Catholic Church, when the Apostle James was simply trying to say fruit follows those who are saved, works are result of being saved, something Luther argued on his own. The problem with confession and absolution is this, according to the Missouri Synod Catechism, this is the process, "Are we poor, miserable sinners? Jesus 'parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9–14 confronts each of us with an important question: Am I a poor, miserable sinner? The Pharisee in the parable is not alone. We too are often unaware of our sinfulness, or don’t want to admit it. How easy it is for us self-righteously to compare ourselves with others. Thanks be to God, that the second man, the tax-collector, is not alone either! Jesus Christ is with him. When Jesus calls, sinners come.They receive His forgiveness, life and salvation. And thus, we too say,“Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner, "for Jesus is the friend of sinners. The precious gift of our Lord’s absolution is what confession is all about. In confession and absolution, Jesus Christ, who poured out his life-blood as the perfect and complete sacrifice for all sin, pours into our ears the life-giving promise of absolution, “My son, my daughter, go in peace, your sins are forgiven.” Trusting that promise, we say,“Amen. Yes, Lord, it is true.” Thanks be to God!
What is confession? Confession has two parts.First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.1 It is hard to say, "I was wrong. I am sorry. Forgive me.” God’s Word makes it clear that the “wages of sin is death” (Rom.6:23).In confession and absolution, God's Word is having its way with us, moving us to confess the truth about ourselves and our need for His forgiveness. Because of Jesus Christ, confession and absolution is a blessed, joyful, happy exchange! “For our sake He made Him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God”(2 Cor.5:21).When Jesus hung on the cross, He became sin—for us. He was the ransom for sin. God poured out His just wrath on Christ. Christ won peace between God and man. In confession, Christ takes the burden of our sin and gives us in exchange His complete forgiveness and love. Absolution is the ongoing work of Holy Baptism, in which our old, sinful nature in Adam is drowned and the new man in Christ arises. Through Holy Absolution we receive “the gift of God, "which is forgiveness of sins and “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”(Rom.6:23).believe that when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sins and want to do better,this is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself. Burdened and weighed down by sin, we are able to go to our pastor and confess our sins, knowing that by virtue of his office, he has been called to speak the word of Christ to us and in the stead of Christ to forgive our sins. Through the Christian congregation, Jesus Christ calls men to the office of the ministry He has given to His church, the office of the keys. Thus, our pastors carry out this office publicly, on behalf of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the Christian congregation. Also, all Christians extend the forgiveness of Christ to one another privately as they console fellow Christians sorrowing over sin. At times, our pastors, with considerable sorrow, may have to tell a person not to attend the Lord’s Supper until he or she has repented of sin. If the situation continues without repentance, the pastor may have to declare to the person, on behalf of the congregation that has made this decision, that he or she is excluded from the church until there is repentance. Excommunication is a last resort to help a person recognize the extremely dangerous situation he has placed himself in because he will not repent of his sin. It is a final attempt to win someone back from Satan’s influence." (The Lutheran Missouri Synod Confession and Absolution, http://steadfastlutherans.org/images/whatabout/wa_confession-absolution.pdf). This in my opinion is antiscriptrual. The idea of a priest or pastor standing in for Christ to forgive your sins in antithetical to what Scripture says, ""For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the Son of Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5), "My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins--and not only our sins but the sins of all the world," (1 John 2:1-2), and most importantly every Christian is filled with Christ not just pastors or priests, "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory," (Colossians 1:27), "You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness," (Romans 8:9-10), "If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness," (Ephesians 3:17-19), "Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?," (1 Corinthians 3:16), "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own," (1 Corinthians 6:19), and "But Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast." (Hebrews 3:6), "All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God," (1 John 4:15, and Jesus is God Colossians 2:19, Colossians 1:19, Titus 2:13, John 17:20-23, John 10:30); thus any Christian can forgive another Christian because Christ lives in them! This is what Apostle Peter means, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light, Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10).Each of us who believes, confesses, and knows Jesus Christ is saved and becomes priest of God (John 6:4, 2 Corinthians 5:20, John 17:3 and Romans 8:16-17). This is second reason I am not a Lutheran, I believe any Christian can confess to another Christian, no one need be seminary trained priest or pastor, whom Jesus denounces and says only He the Messiah should be our teacher (see Matthew 23:4-11). In end you need only confess to Jesus Christ Himself, and the only reason to tell another brother or sister in Christ is if you want accountability to "turn from your sin, i.e. repent."
The third quizzical practice of Lutheranism is the Hymnal. While I enjoy "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," "Be Thou My Vision," "Holy, Lord God Almighty," and many others are all worthy hymns. The problem is Luther actually created these hymns on at the time modern bard songs from the bar (pub). Why the Lutheran Churches today haven't followed in Martin's footsteps, creating new hymns with a new sound and beat just as their founder did is beyond me. I mean one major inhibitors to a younger generation joining the Lutheran Church, is that the music is hard to follow, many cannot read hymnal which unlike modern praise song books, does not follow lines straight down. Ideally, the Old Hymns should be re-written in a format this modern generation can follow, and newer hymns with a newer and less organ sounding beat would be added. This is third reason I am not a Lutheran, mastering hymnal is not easy.
The Fourth quizzical practice in Lutheranism is the Catechism. Luther had two books made to instruct people, one was Short Catechism and Long Catechism. Essentially, the issue of how to train lay people in faith became a issue, why not have them just learn the Scriptures? Because then they would realize they do not need catechism. The Shorter Catechism was to take home and was more of question and answer format that parents could ask their children, an example is "Of the Trinity who came in body to die for our sins?" to more complex questions like, "How are you confirmed in Christ?" The problem is that Catechism in Lutheran Church is as complex as in Roman Catholic Church, and if a child cannot understand it easily, then something is wrong, because Jesus said of children, "Jesus called a little child to stand among them.and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven," (Matthew 18:2-3). The Catechism is complex and has man made doctrines mingled in with God ordained ones. This is fourth and final reason I am not a Lutheran. To become member of Lutheran Church, one must finish Catechism class, and go through rigorous memorizing of the Catechism. The problem is the Holy Bible, the source Martin Luther purportedly said is all that matters does not mention membership or catechism, but rather brother and sister, and the Body of Christ (Hebrews 13:1, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Acts 2:42-47). To join the Church is simply to join Christ be believing in Him (John 6:40, John 3:16).
I believe The Reformation should have stayed at Ad Fontes (back to sources, The Scriptures) and Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), this was its gift to us, get back to what Jesus and Apostles say about the faith, theology, eschatology, and etc. But as fallible men often do, they add to words of Scripture, write other books, and let their brain fall out when thinking with an open mind. This happened to Luther and many of his contemporaries. They started so well, but became overthrown by doubts, "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth." (Galatians 5:7). This verse in nutshell is what I think the Apostle Paul would have said to Martin Luther, the Lutheran Church today, and to those who have verged off course from a simple and pure devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2-4).
I am thankful the LORD used Martin Luther to help get the Holy Bible back into the hands of common people so that we today can refute false doctrines and crazy cults, and know Christ better, and everything pertaining to His Kingdom and Christian Life. That being said, Martin Luther was divided man: Devout Catholic Monk, Protester of Indulgences Only, Reformer, Destroyer of Catholic Canon Law Books, Upset He didn't Reform the Catholic Church, Luther returns to Canon Law and accepts Catholic Dogmas and Doctrine of Transubstantiation made official at Council of Trent in 1551, and he approves Confession and Absolution. To me Martin Luther compromised, and He reminds me of Jahu who killed Jezebel (2 Kings 10:30-37), and who destroyed Baal Worship (2 Kings 9:18-27, but refused to finish getting rid of other gods, "So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29 However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan. The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” 31 Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit." (2 Kings 10:28-31), Jahu had destroyed Jezebel Queen of Israel and patron of Baal worship, and he destroyed the prophets of Baal, but He refused to turn from golden calf, which is like Martin Luther not leaving golden calf of Catholicism and turning back to appeasement of Rome, which led to Luke warmness that is Lutheranism. Maartin Luther did the same thing as Jahu, he started out well becoming protestor of Roman indulogences, then He became reformer and defender of Scriptures, but then he backslide to golden calf, feeling upset he did not reform the Roman Church, but that instead schism had taken place.
How you practice Lutheranism then depends on if you apply Law of Approbation (everything newer, the last, most recent overturns the earlier revelations or exceeds them in importance, i.e. The Old Testament gives way to New Testament; and in case of Luther's claims, his more recent claims overturn his earlier ones), or you choose and pick Lutheran doctrines which contradict each other depending where you decide to uphold Luther's claims. This is why Lutheranism fails to be a proper Reformed Church, it began well, but then deviates into paradoxical holes that are impossible to reconcile with each other. While I am thankful Luther helped loose the chains the Catholic Church had on the Gospel and the Scriptures, it seems the chains remained inside Luther and have coiled around Lutherans to this day.
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