God Grant It
11/10/06 10:46
Here is a quotation
from the new devotional book from
CPH-God Grant It: Daily Devotions from CFW
Walther, which is quite important for the
Church today to remember;
"To expect that a time will come before the Last Day when the Church will have peace and rest from all enemies is a vain, groundless, and foolish hope. It is true that the holy prophets foretold a time when swords would be made into plowshares and spears into sickles. However, that time arrived long ago. It came when the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace" (Luke 2:14), ushering in the time of the New Testament, the Gospel that preaches and brings peace. This is not an earthly peace, but rather a peace that exceeds all human understanding, a spiritual and heavenly peace that stands firm even in the midst of war. It is the peace of the heart and conscience with God despite sin, law, death, judgment, and hell. Nevertheless, the Church of Christ on earth will remain a fighting Church until the end of days. It is God's army waging war on earth...In this battle, no one is neutral because the battle is for God's glory, for a person's own salvation, and for the salvation of the whole world. Here, neutrality is treason. Whoever does not join God's army and prepare to fight belongs to the enemy." (God Grant It, CPH, 2006 pgs 824-825)
What a reminder these words are that this matter of being the Church is no child's play. It reminds one of the words of Luther, as he admonishes those who bring a child to be baptized, that the child will from this moment on be engaged in a fierce battle. These words from Walther are certainly strong words which call us to take stock of the tendency of our sinful nature, that is to seek comfort, ease and pleasure. We get offended when life in the Church does not seem to go smoothly, without struggle. These are, as Dr Walther teaches, vain, foolish and groundless hopes, in this life. Rather, we stand on the peace which passes all understanding. The peace that Paul speaks about in Ephesians 6, where he exhorts us to be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. That is, that we Christians stand on the Gospel and the peace which the Lord gives to us in and through it, and so we are able to carry on without fear, for we are safe in and through Christ.
"To expect that a time will come before the Last Day when the Church will have peace and rest from all enemies is a vain, groundless, and foolish hope. It is true that the holy prophets foretold a time when swords would be made into plowshares and spears into sickles. However, that time arrived long ago. It came when the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace" (Luke 2:14), ushering in the time of the New Testament, the Gospel that preaches and brings peace. This is not an earthly peace, but rather a peace that exceeds all human understanding, a spiritual and heavenly peace that stands firm even in the midst of war. It is the peace of the heart and conscience with God despite sin, law, death, judgment, and hell. Nevertheless, the Church of Christ on earth will remain a fighting Church until the end of days. It is God's army waging war on earth...In this battle, no one is neutral because the battle is for God's glory, for a person's own salvation, and for the salvation of the whole world. Here, neutrality is treason. Whoever does not join God's army and prepare to fight belongs to the enemy." (God Grant It, CPH, 2006 pgs 824-825)
What a reminder these words are that this matter of being the Church is no child's play. It reminds one of the words of Luther, as he admonishes those who bring a child to be baptized, that the child will from this moment on be engaged in a fierce battle. These words from Walther are certainly strong words which call us to take stock of the tendency of our sinful nature, that is to seek comfort, ease and pleasure. We get offended when life in the Church does not seem to go smoothly, without struggle. These are, as Dr Walther teaches, vain, foolish and groundless hopes, in this life. Rather, we stand on the peace which passes all understanding. The peace that Paul speaks about in Ephesians 6, where he exhorts us to be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. That is, that we Christians stand on the Gospel and the peace which the Lord gives to us in and through it, and so we are able to carry on without fear, for we are safe in and through Christ.
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