God’s law and holiness demands perfect holiness from us. Sadly, we do not act so devoutly. The just punishment for our failure is death. Happily, God sent Christ to become our substitute.
The rest that Jesus gives is rest despite the work, and further, regardless of the troubles of life. Jesus provides something more than physical rest; he gives spiritual rest, comfort, and peace.
Jesus is teaching us to have confidence in God each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, saying “Our Father.” Who else addresses the Father than his children?
More than 80 times in the Old and New Testaments, the prophets, apostles, and others indicate the importance of what has been written in the Bible as a test of truth.
What we are really discussing here is God’s ability to keep his promises. Does he forgive and justify those who have faith in Christ? Or not? We confess that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and does so for Christ’s sake
It is no accident that solus Christus (through Christ alone) was as central a slogan of the Reformation as sola fide (by faith alone). We have bold access to God through Christ alone.
“The prayer of faith” is an important dimension in Lutheran Christianity. But like too many other Christians we may have developed a misunderstanding of the prayer of faith.
One cannot invoke the saints of heaven with confident faith because the practice is based on human tradition instead of Scripture. It is based on the word of man, not upon the Word of God.
If we teach as command, promise, or an example to be followed that which is not found in Scripture, we run the risk of heresy and worse, pulling others down with us.
Why is there so much confusion about this matter, other than that Scripture is ignored, in favor of human traditions? The prayers of saints and angels do not compare to the prayers of Jesus.
We have already noted two honors that we ought to give to the saints: thanksgiving and the strengthening of faith. Let us be clear what we mean by honor. The honor that we give to “sleeping” saints is not the veneration of their images or praying to them.
Who could be more guilty of sin toward Christ and his Church than Saul of Tarsus, who would become better know as the Apostle Paul? Because of his persecution of Christians, Paul eventually considered himself to be the greatest of all sinners.
To be sure, the Confession is not referring to the invocation of saints. Rather, like Paul, the Lutheran Reformers taught the churches to honor those who have been made holy and called saints because of their faith in Christ.
Let us clarify our terms again. Saints are those who have been made holy by God’s grace; they are not those whom we have declared holy. Indeed, they are those whom God has declared holy for Christ’s sake.
We receive salvation, forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit because of God’s grace—not because we deserve these gifts or have earned them. There is no merit in keeping the law, since it cannot save us, even if we could keep it, which we cannot do at any rate.
We do good works for three principal reasons. One, we are to bear good fruit so that God is glorified, and two, to prove that we are real disciples of Jesus. Doing good in Christ’s name not only shows others whom we follow, it also shows us that we are his disciples.