Jesus is not a god that we can manipulate and mold. Christ is the true God, the one who is.
Yahweh tells his people that they “shall have no other gods before me,” he’s speaking into a culture whose very fabric is made up of the worship of other gods.
Auden understands Luther’s doctrine of justification by faith not as a mere theological platitude, a trick of biblical grammar, or a catchphrase for men to rally around.

All Articles

We would expect Jesus to be delighted people have responded to the master’s invitation. Instead, Jesus asks these people to reconsider whether they should be following Him or not.
The question that this text poses for us today is “What does it mean to believe in the resurrection?”
Christ’s death is sufficient for all, even Christians.
Jesus doesn’t talk about God’s love for us; he embodies it.
Luke does not tell us who asked it. But it’s a good question. “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”
Mere confrontation in the form of, “What you’re doing is wrong—you need to change yourself,” can never solve the root of our problem.
Martin Luther is not–or, at least should not–be the object of our affection.
Indeed, baptism is life because resurrection is life. Nothing short of regeneration—renewal of life—is accomplished by God through sheer grace because of Christ Jesus.
Jesus names what life does not consist of, and in doing so he gets to something near and dear to our hearts as Americans—our possessions.
Believers are reminded—and the preacher is to remind them—baptism marks the forgiveness of sins, the end of legal demands, justification and regeneration, and the ultimate triumph over rulers and powers.
In truth, forgetting transgressions has little to do with forgiving others who wrong us.
“I love you” is great, as long as whatever commitment I may or may not be intimating is mutually beneficial and causes the least amount of emotional strain to me.