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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Kleinig continually directs the reader's attention to Christ and his gifts.
"When God has his say, have confidence that his Word and sacraments bestow precisely what he says."
The gospel is best understood in terms of those two most important words: for you.
The gospel gives us faith, hope, and love, all of which proceed from Christ’s death and resurrection.
This is the second article in a special three-part Advent series on how Jesus is our prophet, priest, and king.
This is the first article in a special three-part Advent series on how Jesus is our prophet, priest, and king.
This is the basic argument of To Gaze upon God: that we who now see as if behind a veil will one day enjoy the unveiled splendor of God himself, who will dwell with us forever.
The Lord has an answer to your tears, your trouble, your weariness, your enemies, your grief, your shame, your sin.
Below is the Thinking Fellows Essential Reading List with contributions from each of the Thinking Fellows hosts.
“Praying the Bible” sounds odd to the ears of most believers today. That’s unfortunate.
This is an excerpt from Chapter 6 of Clothed with Christ written by Brian W. Thomas (1517 Publishing, 2024). Now available!
Symbols throw together a physical artifact we can see, hear, touch, taste, and/or smell, with a truth beyond the tangible.