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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The only solution to free will is the announcement from a preacher that the Father forgives us for Christ's sake.
FLAME uses Scripture and church history to argue that baptism is a gospel gift, not our work.
This week, we are grateful to publish a series of sermons from our beloved late Chaplain, Ron Hodel. This is the fifth installment of that series.
There is comfort and joy that while one is now at rest from his labors, the Lord of the church continues to ensure that the good seed is sown, watered, and cared for.
This week, we are grateful to publish a series of sermons from our beloved late Chaplain, Ron Hodel. This is the fourth installment of that series.
God has a plan for this world that he put into place from eternity, a plan that is carried out in Jesus Christ and promises unimaginably great blessings for believers.
This week, we are grateful to publish a series of sermons from our beloved late Chaplain, Ron Hodel. This is the second installment of that series.
This week, we are grateful to publish a series of sermons from our beloved late Chaplain, Ron Hodel. This is the first installment of that series.
The Trinity is a handy shorthand for all that God has done to justify sinners.
Our God is the one who brings back the exile, who restores the outcast, he is the one who devises means to do so.
Our only hope in life and death is that God loves sinners, who fail and forget constantly, with a love that is just as constant.
As astounding as co-eternity and co-equality with the Father in majesty and glory is, this is not the most significant answer Jesus gave in this Gospel reading, not for us at least.