Luther neither removed the Apocrypha from the Bible nor discouraged its use. Rather, he received and preserved the ancient distinction inherited from the fathers: the Apocrypha is valuable, edifying, and worthy of reading, but it is not Holy Scripture and therefore cannot serve as the foundation of Christian doctrine.
The confessors at Augsburg remind us that every generation of Christians is called to bear witness to the gospel amid the challenges and pressures of its own age. As they confessed Christ before emperors and kingdoms, so the Church continues to confess Him before the world today.
When Jesus washes you with baptismal water, you can rest assured that the Lion of Judah is on the move.

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Christ’s saving work is finished, but his love is not locked away in the past.
The resurrection means your ultimate problem is no longer ahead of you. The grave is not waiting for you. It is behind you.
On Maundy Thursday, Christ explicitly gave his disciples the new command from which the day takes its name, for the Latin words novum mandatum are the Vulgate’s translation of “new command.”
The Church’s unity is not uniformity in every matter of her well-being. It is faithfulness in what constitutes her being.
Baptism does not promise us chocolates or flowers, but something far greater: life in Christ.
Ultimately, Scripture does not confront fear with commands. It confronts fear with a promise.
This is the third in a series meant to let the Christian tradition speak for itself, the way it has carried Christians through long winters, confusion, and joy for centuries.
Confession isn’t a detour in the liturgy. It’s the doorway.
What God perceives is not what our eyes see; he is focused on righteousness because his love creates what is righteous.
Christianity doesn’t start with our speculation about God. It starts with God’s self-revelation.
Christ did not merely urge humanity to be kind. He embodied perfect kindness by giving his life for those who neither earned nor expected such a gift.
Illness is not romantic. It is not a test, a metaphor, nor a blessing in disguise.