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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God’s justification of us does not happen secretly in our spirits. God justifies you and me in His absolving Word
Luther contends that even our best spiritual, theological, and moral efforts are insufficient to save us.
As I came to read the Reformers, I found their words comforting. I started to hope again.
This book tells of my long and brutal journey. From married to divorced. From a seminary professor and pastor to a disgraced, bitter truck driver in the oil fields of Texas. From a man at war with God to a child redeemed by grace.
Rather than presenting Christ’s words as a rule or a threat, Luther reveals it to be the promise of God.
The Christian who understands Gospel-based love recognizes the false promises and rewards of the Playboy Mansion.
Recovery helps us see beauty in the ordinary; the miracle and wonder of creation in the oak leaf or the evergreen needle.
Satan cannot stand the Gospel, and so he goes to work to undermine and render God’s Word an impotent and absurd message.
While Lynch might not be everyone’s cup of tea, he certainly paints a world that many of our neighbors can relate to: a strange place governed by inexplicable entities, causes and forces.
I hear voices in my head accusing me, telling me these sins will be there on the Day of Judgment unless I make atonement.
If this opening verse offers to us both door and doorkeeper, then the doorkeeper stands with the door held securely shut.
Standing before Jesus is one of the cultural groups that the Lord sought fit to eradicate for their wickedness to preserve the line that would eventually birth Jesus.