Roundtable 35: The Smalcald Articles: Part II: Article III: Chapters and Cloisters

We tend to forget that Martin Luther spent many years as a monk, in the Augustinian cloister in Erfurt, Germany. He had his choice of several different orders he could have joined, but elected to join the "Black Friars," an order known for its particularly stringent ascetic practices. Leaving behind a promising career in the law, he entered the walls of the monastery on July 17, 1505. It was only in the mid-1520s that Luther finally set aside his monk's cowl.

He would later remark, "If anyone could have gained heaven as a monk, then I would indeed have been among them." Luther described this period of his life as one of deep spiritual despair. He said, "I lost touch with Christ the Savior and Comforter, and made of him the jailor and hangman of my poor soul." (See Kittelson, Luther the Reformer, pp. 53&79).

Reflecting on these years, thirty-two years later as he wrote the Smalcald Articles, Luther here acknowledges the original good intentions for the founding and maintenance of monastic communities: to educate men and women for the good of society and church. "They could produce pastors, preachers, and other ministers for the churches. They could also produce essential personnel for the secular government in cities and countries, as well as well-educate young women for mothers, housekeepers and such."

The last remark about young-women surely was written as Luther reflected on his beloved Katie, a product of the monastic system, where she had received precisely this kind of education, making her a particularly suitable helpmeet for the Reformer.

However, because the monastic institutions had lost sight of their primary and most important purpose, and had become "blasphemous" with all their "humanly invented services regarded as something better than the ordinary Christian life and the offices and callings ordained by God" they should be abandoned and torn down.

This is a key point to consider. Luther puts his finger on the chief evil associated with monastic communities: they had come to be regarded as "something better than the ordinary Christian life." This is what the unique Lutheran emphasis on vocation is all about: it is not in set-apart monasteries, or in liturgical finery, or in monastic rigor that one finds the true Christian life. No, quite the contrary. One serves God best and chiefly in the "ordinary Christian life."

There is a particularly moving and poignant letter by Martin Luther, composed during his time in hiding at the Wartburg Castle, in 1521, after he had been excommunicated and declared a public criminal. He wrote it as the dedication letter for his work Martin Luther's Judgment About Monastic Vows. It was a letter t0 his father, Hans. In the letter Luther describes the conflict between himself and his father when he became a monk over-against his father's wishes. He rejoices in their reconciliation and thanks his father for helping him to see the truly higher commands of God were not to be found in monastic life, but in the "ordinary life" as set forth in the Ten Commandments. He had come to realize that the only aspect of his monastic life that was God-pleasing was that through it God had called him into the ministry of the Word. He thanks God for reconciling him to his father and explains to his father how now, through the ministry of the Word, God is making many more sons for Himself. The letter concludes:

I am sending [you] this book, then, in which you may see by what signs and wonders Christ has absolved me from the monastic vow and granted me such great liberty. Although he has made me the servant of all men, I am, nevertheless, subject to no one except to him alone. He is himself (as they say) my immediate bishop, abbot, prior, lord, father, and teacher; I know no other. Thus I hope that he has taken from you one son in order that he may begin to help the sons of many others through me. You ought not only to endure this willingly, but you ought to rejoice with exceeding joy—and this I am sure is what you will do. What if the pope should slay me or condemn me to the depths of hell! Having once slain me, he will not raise me up again to slay me a second and third time, and now that I have been condemned I have no desire ever to be absolved. I trust that the day is at hand when that kingdom of abomination and perdition will be destroyed. Would that we were worthy to be burned or slain by him before that time, so that our blood might cry out against him all the more and hasten the day of his judgment! But if we are not worthy to bear testimony with our blood, then let us at least pray and implore mercy that we may testify with deed and word that Jesus Christ alone is the Lord our God, who is praised forever. Amen. Farewell in the Lord, my dearest Father, and greet in Christ my mother, your Margaret, and our whole family. (Luther's Works, Vol. 48:336).

Luther's remarks about the good that God brought out of monasticism, in his personal experience, applies as well to monasticism's history in general. Through the monastic orders God preserved the Sacred Scriptures and the Christian faith itself during the darkest days of Europe, when much of culture and learning had collapsed after the fall o the Roman Empire. Even as we must reject and condemn the errors born of monasticism, we must take care to thank God for the blessings and benefits that resulted from the existence of the monasteries, particularly the missionary work conducted throughout Europe in the first millennium.

Encouraging people to seek to live a "higher" Christian life in monastic communities, as Luther says in this article "conflicts with the chief article on redemption through Jesus Christ." How is that? When the Church teaches, or creates the impression, that by observing humanly devised services to God, one is in fact bringing oneself closer to God, making oneself more holy in God's eyes, then the merits of Christ are obscured, clouded and eventually set aside in favor of a focus on the "higher" calling invented by man. This is what monastic communities had become, and still are.

Even to this day in the Roman Church, those who pursue a vocation of full-time service to the Church are known as "religious" as opposed to the laity. Here, and elsewhere in the Lutheran Confessions, monasticism is soundly and roundly criticized and rejected, chiefly because of its threat to the "chief article" — the Gospel of Christ.

Though brief, this article contains a profound insight for the church today, and a challenge. Consider how it is possible to give people the impression that it is when they are doing things at their church that they are serving God in a higher way? There is always lurking about the danger of a "New Monasticism" by which people are made to feel that it is only when they are on the congregation's property, involved in a parish committee or project that the are truly serving God. Thankfully in recent yeas there has been a renewed emphasis on the doctrine of vocation, whereby we are able to see that the entire "ordinary life" of the Christian is service to God. And it is the "ordinary life" of our various callings and stations in life that we are the witnesses to Christ that we are called to be.

Indeed, perhaps the greatest use of this particular article today is to help us understand the high calling each of us has in Christ in our "ordinary life," made new in Christ.

Roundtable 34: The Smalcald Articles: Article II: The Mass

"The Mass in the papacy has to be the greatest and most horrible abomination, since it directly and powerfully conflicts with the chief article." Thus Luther launches into perhaps the second most important portion of the Smalcald Articles. For it is precisely in the way Rome regards the service of the Lord's Supper that one finds the most dramatic example of Roman Catholicism's misunderstanding and false teaching on the "chief article" — the doctrine of justification by grace along, through faith alone, on account of Christ, alone. When Luther refers to the "Mass"in this article, he is referring to the Roman Catholic version of it. Elsewhere in the Lutheran Confessions, the term "Mass" is used simply to refer to the service of Holy Communion. In this sense, Luther forcefully rejects and condemns the Mass:

First, a "purely human invention" and something that "has not been commanded by God."
Second, as something "unnecessary" that can be "omitted without sin and danger."
Third, the Sacrament "can be received in a better and more blessed way (indeed, the only blessed way), according to Christ's institution." (SA II.ii.2-4).
Fourth, the Mass "should be abandoned" because of all the abuses associated with it.
Fifth, "the Mass is and can be nothing more than a human work."

And Luther then returns to the main point, the Mass, for all these reasons, must be abandoned, rejected and condemned because it "conflicts with the chief article."

Luther's keen insight is that the public service of worship in the Church of his day has become the chief means by which the Gospel itself was obscured and contradicted. A council called to reform the Church should deal with this, the greatest of all abuses, first and foremost (SA II.ii.10).

Here Luther asserts, flatly, "In this, we remain eternally separated and opposed to one another." (SA II.ii.10). Why? Because if the Mass, as practiced by Rome, falls, then so falls the entire Papacy. In addition to the five points Luther lists, he identifies a series of "many vermin and a multitude of idolatries" that the Mass has produced in the Roman Catholic Church:

Purgatory: "purgatory, along with every service, rite, and commerce connected with it, should be regarded as nothing more than the devil's ghost. For it conflicts with the chief article: only Christ, and not human works are to be help souls." (SA II.ii.12).

Evil spirits and their wicked tricks: "unspeakable lies and tricks demanded Masses, vigils, pilgrimages, and other alms. . . Here to there is to be no yielding or surrendering." (SA II.ii.16).

Pilgrimages: "Here too, the forgiveness of sins and God's grace were sought, for the Mass controlled everything. Pilgrimages, without God's Word, have not been commanded." (SA II.ii.18-19).

Monastic societies: There had developed elaborate provision for the perpetual saying of Masses, to benefit both living and dead, and thus Luther rejects these as well, "nothing but a human trick, without God's Word . . . contrary to the chief article on redemption." (SA II.ii.21).


Relics: Bits and pieces of holy persons, things and places had become objects of devotion, even worship: "So many falsehoods and such foolishness are found in the bones of dogs and horses that even the devil has laughed at such swindles. . . . Since they are neither commanded nor counseled, relics are entirely unnecessary and useless. . . Worst of all, these relics have been imagined to cause indulgence and the forgiveness of sins." (SA II.ii.22-23).

Indulgences: Luther concludes his review of the various abuses and false practices that grew up around Masses with a scathing rejection of indulgences: "By indulgences, the miserable Judas, or pope, has sold Christ's merit, along with the extra merit of all saints, of the entire Church, and such things." (SA II.ii.24).

And he concludes, once more, driving home the point that all these things must be rejected as being contrary to the chief article: "For Christ's merit is obtained not by our works or pennies, but from grace through faith, without money and merit. . . not through the pope's power, but through the preaching of God's Word" (SA II.ii.24).

Luther launches into several more paragraphs rejecting the invocation of saints as "one of the Antichrist's abuses that conflicts with the chief article and destroys the knowledge of Christ." (SA II.ii.25). It is the most clear and concise explanations of why the Church should never invoke, or pray to, saints. The article concludes with Luther's firm rejection of the Mass:

"We cannot tolerate the Mass or anything that proceeds from it or is attached to it. We have to condemn the Mass in order to keep the Holy Sacrament pure and certain, according to Christ's institution, used and received through faith." (SA II.ii.29).

Questions that come to mind as reading this article include:

Does the Roman Catholic Mass today still warrant Luther's strong words of rejection and condemnation? Has Rome fundamentally changed in its understanding of the purpose and use of the Lord's Supper? Is it wise for Lutherans today to use the word "Mass" when describing the chief service of the Word and Sacrament? How can the Lutheran Divine Service become similarly misunderstood and abused by God's people? How does the "chief article" help us understand the purpose and meaning of the chief service of Christian worship: the Lord's Supper?

Roundtable 33: The Smalcald Articles: The Chief Article

It is appropriate that we have come the point in our conversation about the Book of Concord that we are treating in this post the very heart of the Book of Concord: a bold confession of the chief article: the Gospel. And we do so on Pentecost Sunday, May 11, 2008, most appropriately indeed!

Has the Gospel become cliche? The dictionary defines "cliche" as "something that has become overly familiar or commonplace." The way the word "Gospel" is used in much of modern Christendom has, indeed, turned it into a cliche. "Gospel" has come to mean anything but the true Gospel. The Gospel, as taught in Sacred Scripture, through Old and New Testaments, is the good news that Christ is the sacrifice for our sins, and that by His blood we are cleansed, pardoned and renewed, receiving the righteousness of Christ as a gift, through faith, alone, entirely by grace, alone. This is the Gospel; however, for much of Christendom the Gospel has been reduced to a cliche. Jesus: the kind man, philosopher, moral example, moral leader, friend of the downtrodden, model of humility, revolutionary, paragon of virtue, model of human kindness.

What makes all these "Jesus cliches" appealing is that there is truth to be found in each of them. But they all fall short and ultimately prove misleading. In the second part of the Smalcald Articles, Martin Luther sharply focuses on the "chief article." He is simply laying out the very heart and soul of what Christianity is all about and what sets it apart from any human religious opinions or systems. Because of its significance for understanding the Smalcald Articles, let's put the entire text on the table for discussion (italics added for emphasis):

The first and chief article is this:

1 Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins and was raised again for our justification (Romans 4:24–25).

2 He alone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), and God has laid upon Him the iniquities of us all (Isaiah 53:6).

3 All have sinned and are justified freely, without their own works or merits, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood (Romans 3:23–25).

4 This is necessary to believe. This cannot be otherwise acquired or grasped by any work, law, or merit. Therefore, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us. As St. Paul says:

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Romans 3:28)

That He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. [Romans 3:26]

5 Nothing of this article can be yielded or surrendered, even though heaven and earth and everything else falls [Mark 13:31].

For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

And with His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Upon this article everything that we teach and practice depends, in opposition to the pope, the devil, and the whole world. Therefore, we must be certain and not doubt this doctrine. Otherwise, all is lost, and the pope, the devil, and all adversaries win the victory and the right over us.

Looking through the rest of the Smalcald Articles, we see how Luther comes back to this point, over and over again. Consider Luther's statements:

The Mass in the papacy has to be the greatest and most horrible abomination, since it directly and powerfully conflicts with this chief article. (SA II.i.1; Concordia, p. 264)

If these institutions will not serve this purpose, it is better to abandon them or tear them down than have their blasphemous, humanly invented services regarded as something better than the ordinary Christian life and the offices and callings ordained by God. This too is contrary to the chief article on the redemption through Jesus Christ. (SA II.iii.2; Concordia, p. 267).

Since monastic vows directly conflict with the first chief article, they must be absolutely abolished. (SA III.xiv.1; Concordia, p. 283).

Luther's constant theme is one echoed throughout the Lutheran Confessions, note for instance:

It is necessary for the chief article of the Gospel to be preserved, namely that we obtain grace freely by faith in Christ, and not by certain observances or acts of worship devised by people. (AC XXVIII.52; Concordia, p. 61).

Melanchthon hammers the point home in the Apology [Defense] of the Augsburg Confession:

In this controversy, the chief topic of Christian doctrine is treated. When it is understood correctly, it illumines and amplifies Christ’s honor ‹which is especially useful for the clear, correct understanding of the entire Holy Scriptures, and alone shows the way to the unspeakable treasure and right knowledge of Christ, and alone opens the door to the entire Bible›. It brings necessary and most abundant consolation to devout consciences. Therefore, we ask His Imperial Majesty to hear us with patience in matters of such importance. For the adversaries do not understand what the forgiveness of sins or faith or grace or righteousness is. Therefore, they sadly corrupt this topic, hide Christ’s glory and benefits, and rob devout consciences of the consolation offered in Christ. (Ap IV.2-3; Concordia, p. 82).

And again:

It [the article on repentance] contains the chief topic of the Gospel, the true knowledge of Christ, and the true worship of God. (Ap. XII.2; Concordia, p. 158).

This is the chief article that we are debating with our adversaries and the knowledge we regard is necessary to all Christians. (Ap. XII.58; Concordia, p. 165).

And:

Among the people, whoever understood the doctrine of repentance as presented by the adversaries? Yet this is the chief topic of Christian doctrine. (Ap. XXIV.25; Concordia, p. 228).

The constant drumbeat of justification continues in the Formula of Concord. Note:

This article about justification by faith (as the Apology says) is the chief article [see Ap IV 2–3] in all Christian doctrine. Without this teaching no poor conscience can have any firm consolation or truly know the riches of Christ’s grace. Dr. Luther also has written about this: "If this one teaching stands in its purity, then Christendom will also remain pure and good, undivided and unseparated; for this alone, and nothing else, makes and maintains Christendom.… Where this falls, it is impossible to ward off any error or sectarian spirit." [LW 14:37] Paul says especially about this article, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” [1 Corinthians 5:6]. Therefore, in this article he zealously and earnestly urges the use of exclusive terms [particulas exclusivas], that is, words that exclude people’s works from justification (i.e., “apart from works of the law,” “apart from works,” “by grace” [Romans 3:28; 4:6; Ephesians 2:8–9]). These show how highly necessary it is that in this article, along with the pure doctrine, the antithesis (i.e., all contrary doctrine) be stated separately, exposed, and rejected by this method. (FC SD III.6; Concordia, p. 536)

These and similar errors, one and all, we unanimously reject as contrary to God’s clear Word. By God’s grace we abide firmly and constantly in the doctrine of the righteousness of faith before God, as it is embodied, expounded, and proved from God’s Word in the Augsburg Confession, and the Apology issued after it. Concerning what is needed further for the proper explanation of this profound and chief article of justification before God—upon which depends the salvation of our souls—we direct readers to another document. For the sake of brevity we refer everyone to Dr. Luther’s beautiful and glorious commentary on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians [1535]. [LW 26–27] (FC SD III.67; Concordia, p. 546).

It is only the Biblical Gospel that is Gospel—at all. Gospel, of course, meaning in the Greek, literally, "a message of good news." There any number of other religious philosophies and opinions that proclaim "good news" but the actual "good news" of Jesus Christ is what makes Christianity, Christianity, and it is what makes Lutheranism, Lutheranism.

It is a hard, but necessary, word to speak to fellow Christians when we declare that other confessions of the Gospel distract from, and obscure, the glory and merit of Christ, but they do and that is why we continue, to this day, and until the return of Christ, to hold high the banner of the Gospel, as it is so beautifully, clearly and powerfully confessed in the Book of Concord.

Why? Because we know that it is only the truth and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that comforts sinners. We are not interested in any other message. We preach Christ and Him crucified and risen because it is only Christ and the preaching of Christ that rescues people from the misery of their sin and an eternity of separation from God in hell. We know that it is only the Gospel of Jesus Christ that gives life meaning. It is the Gospel, alone, that gives us the peace that passes all understanding, and joy, even in the midst of sorrow and hardship. The Gospel not only gives, it is. The Gospel is love, hope, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control. The Holy Spirit gives these gifts as the gifts of the Gospel. The Gospel is what gives life meaning.

Only the good news is the power of God that saves. Therefore, we stand fast and proclaim this alone-saving truth: the Gospel of Christ, the chief article of the Christian faith. We can not do otherwise. God help us. Amen.

Roundtable 32: The Smalcald Articles: The First Part

"The Awe-Inspiring Articles on the Divine Majesty" is how the first part of the Smalcald Articles is described. Repeated here are the historic creedal formulas that confess the Holy Trinity, and the two natures in Christ. Luther saw no point in spending any time discussing these truths, since "both sides confess them" and concerning these articles "there is no argument or dispute." To this day, between classical Lutheranism and the Church of Rome, there is no dispute over the doctrine of the Trinity and the two natures in Christ. Unity in the Trinitarian Christian Faith is a blessing from God, for which we should always be deeply grateful. It is a fundamental starting point for our two confessions. Sadly, today we can no longer assume other Christian confessions do in fact insist on the historic confession of Trinitarian and Christological doctrine. For instance, the United Church of Christ, the most liberal of the various mainline protestant churches, includes in its clergy ranks individuals who are not Trinitarian in their confessions. What is the implication for us today that both then, and now, historic Lutheranism is one with Roman Catholicism in the confession of the Holy Trinity and the two natures in Christ? As we reflect on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, how, and why, does it inspire awe? What is the result of this awe? What implications does it have for the church's confession and practice? For your life?

Roundtable 31: Preface to the Smalcald Articles

"I have decided to publish these articles in plain print in case I should die before there would be a council (as I fully expect and hope)." (SA Preface, 3; Concordia, p. 259). This is the assumption of Martin Luther as he composed what we know today as the Smalcald Articles. His prince, Johann Frederick the Magnanimous, asked Luther to put together this statement of "non-negotiables" that the Lutherans would take with them when, and if, they attended a council called by Pope Paul III (see Roundtable 30 for more details). [Painting by Lucas Cranach of Luther in 1535, a year before he wrote the Smalcald Articles].

So, how does Luther proceed? The Smalcald Articles are a very personal statement for Luther. By this time the Reformation had been well underway, long enough for Luther's own writings and statements to be used against him, even by "false brothers who profess to be on our side" (Preface, 4). To counteract the claims of those who would come after Luther saying, "Dr. Luther would have agreed with this, or have said that" Luther was anxious to present these articles, particularly in light of his equally strong conviction that he was going to die.

"They want to dress up their poison with my labor. Under my name, they want t mislead the poor people. hat will happen, dear God, when I am dead?" (Preface, 4). Indeed! What has happened since Luther's death? Is it not sad reality that the greatest abusers of Martin Luther are the very people who often use his name in their church's body name?

Luther goes on at some length bitterly bemoaning the abuse of his writings, an inevitable reality that Satan is responsible for. And then he moves into the purpose of this document almost cheerily says, "I really would like to see a truly Christian council, so that many people and issues might be helped. Not what we need help. Our churches are now, through God's grace, enlightened and equipped with the pure Word and right use of the Sacraments, with knowledge of the various callings and right works. So, on our part, we ask for no council." (Preface, 10).

And so what is Luther's concern? All the parishes that have not been so blessed with the brilliant light of the Gospel once more, those languishing under the supposed pastoral care of Roman Catholic bishops who are more concerned about their fancy clothing and various rituals than for "how the poor people live or die. Christ has died for them and yet they are not allowed to hear Him speak as the true Shepherd with his sheep [John 10:11-18]." (Preface, 10).

Luther then launches into a condemnation of the problems in secular society: "high interest rates, greed, disrespect, lust, extravagance in dress, gluttony, gambling, pomp, and all kinds of bad habits and evil." (Preface 12). Much to think about for our own time! A council can hardly begin to address all these issues, but the church's leadership is more concerned about regulating things that are not pertinent to the much more important "commands of God" given us to observe "in the Church, the state, and the family"; so many in fact that we can never hope to fulfill them all. And then comes one of the several prayers found in the Book of Concord, and here Luther offers it before beginning the various points in the Smalcald Articles.

O Lord Jesus Christ, may You Yourself hold a council! Deliver Your servants by our glorious return! The pope and his followers are done for. They will have none of You. Help us who are poor and needy, who sigh to You,and who pray to You earnestly, according to the grace You have given us through Your Holy Spirit, who lives and reigns with You and the Father, blessed forever. Amen.

For consideration:
How do Luther's words apply today, to our times and to our churches? Where are our priorities?

Roundtable 30: Introduction to the Smalcald Articles

We have come to the conclusion of our roundtable discussions about the Augsburg Confession and will now turn our attention to the Smalcald Articles. You may read them on-line at bookofconcord.org. The purpose of this post is to offer an introduction to the historical context of the Smalcald Articles; in words and pictures, providing a brief overview of the events that led to the writing of these doctrinal articles and their eventual inclusion in the Book of Concord. [Note about the photos: the church pictured to the right is the town church in Smalcald. If you view the church from this angle, and then turn around and look down the street, you see the house where Luther stayed in 1537, as pictured later in the article. The other photo immediately below is of the court chapel in the town castle. Note the uniquely Lutheran architecture with pulpit over altar, in the style of the first, from the ground-up Lutheran church built in the Elector's Torgau Castle. This was, no doubt, an imitation of that design].

Smalcald, as it is commonly known in English, [Schmalkald in German] remains much as it was in the days of the Reformation, a small town nestled among rolling forested hills in Thuringia, accessible only by twisting and turning two lane roads on which one can become quite easily lost, particularly when it is foggy, raining and one has not figured out yet how to use the GPS system in the rental car (speaking from personal experience). It is about 89 km north-northwest of the Coburg Fortress, and about 70 km southwest of Erfurt, and some 270 km from Wittenberg.

This little town came to play a pivotal role in the Reformation because it was in Smalcald that a number of German rulers and leaders of free cities gathered to form the Smalcaldic League, a sort of "NATO" for the Evangelical German territories. The Schmalkaldischer Bund was formed as religious association of rulers and free cities, which soon recognized the need to marshal their forces politically, economically and, most significantly, militarily. It came to a tragic end on April 24, 1547 at the Battle of Mühlberg, which decisively concluded the Smalcaldic War.

The Smalcaldic League was formed in February of 1531, in the wake of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession the previous June. John Frederick the Magnanimous was the leading figure in the Smalcaldic League. A lifelong Lutheran, he had been tutored by one of Luther's oldest and best friends, George Spalatin, and regarded Luther as his spiritual father his whole life. He was a large man, in body body and soul, and, was, arguably, the single most important lay leader of the Lutheran Reformation. He demonstrated remarkable courage and self-sacrifice where many others failed when the moment of testing came. He asked Luther to prepare a series of doctrinal assertions to be used at what the Lutheran princes were told was the soon-to-be convened Roman Catholic council, which Pope Paul II had called for in 1536. It was supposed to have begun in the Italian city of Mantua on May 23, 1537, but did not materialize. In fact, it was not until after Luther's death that the first sessions of the Council of Trent finally took place.

The challenge given to Luther by John Frederick was to provide a set of articles that the Lutheran princes could use as their "non-negotiables." John Frederick particularly was in no way inclined to compromise, at all, with Rome. He had, no doubt, learned from his experience at the Diet of Augsburg that a compromising and irenic spirit did not get the Lutherans anywhere with either the Emperor or the Roman Curia, and so he asked Luther to set to work on the article they would take with them to the General Council. [Painting: Johann Frederick the Magnanimous, by Lucas Cranach, 1531].

Martin Luther himself had been calling for a free and open general council of the church since at least 1520, in his Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation. There was however considerable debate among the Lutheran nobility when Pope Paul II issued his call for a council in 1536. John Frederick flatly did not want to attend. He believed that the very act of attending would be an acknowledgment that the Pope was the head of Christendom. Luther encouraged him, and the other Lutheran princes, to attend because of the opportunity it presented to bear witness to their faith and to persuade others. In September 1536, John Frederick's concerns were heightened after the Pope indicated there was to be no debate, dialog or discussion about any of the points raised by the Lutherans in their Augsburg Confessions, but only, "the utter extirpation of the poisonous, pestilential Lutheran heresy" (see Bull Concerning the Reforms of the Roman Court, AE 16). [Painting of Pope Paul III].

Finally, John Frederick was persuaded to attend and on December 11, 1536, he formally directed Luther to prepare the confession of faith in the form of articles for a meeting of Lutheran theologians and lay leaders in Smalcald on February 7, 1537. He did so saying, "It will be necessary for Doctor Luther to prepare his foundation and opinion from the Holy Scriptures; namely, the articles as hitherto taught, preached, and written by him, and which he is determined to adhere to and abide by at the council, as well as upon his departure from this world and before judgment of Almighty God, and in which we cannot yield without becoming guilty of treason against God, even though property and life, peace or war, are at stake (Bente, 120). Indeed, this was very serious, even deadly, business. [Photo of house in Smalcald where Luther stayed and where the Lutherans met].

It is important therefore to read the Smalcald Articles in this light, and to recognize that they are very much Luther's theological "last will and testament." He knew precisely what he was doing when he wrote them, how significant they were and how seriously they would be regarded by friends and foes alike. Given Luther's health difficulties at this time, which he and his friends regarded as life-threatening, he did regard the Smalcald Articles to be his last chance in a public statement to testify to what he believed, taught and confessed. [Photo: The house where Luther stayed while in Smalcald].

After Luther had finished his first draft in December 1536, they were reviewed by fellow theologians in Wittenberg, who offered a few minor changes, which Luther accepted. He then signed his document and forwarded it to John Frederick, who in turn presented the theses to the meeting of the Smalcaldic League in February 1537. The Elector was sure that the articles would be simply accepted by the League. But things did not turn out the way he had planned. [Photo: Coat of arms of the members of the Smalcaldic League in the city museum in Smalcald, Germany].

Some of the League's members were concerned that Luther's statement was too strongly worded; a feeling encouraged by Philip Melanchthon who was there, with Luther, and who, unfortunately, worked behind Luther's back to discourage the Smalcaldic League from accepting them. The decision was made simply to present the Augsburg Confession and the Apology of the Augsburg Confession.

Ironically, this decision set in motion a series of problems created because of the fact that Melanchthon was tinkering constantly with both the Augsburg Confession and the Apology, a problem that came to a head when Melancthon's changes became quite substantial, resulting in Lutheran doctrinal assertions being changed, for instance concerning Free Will and the Lord's Supper, were seriously jeopardized because of Melanchthon's changes. This would be cleared up later when the Book of Concord was being edited. The decision was made to reject all of Melanchthon's second and later editions of the Augustana and the Apology and to stick with what were regarded to be the first and better editions from 1530 and 1531.

Ultimately, Luther was not able to be present personally for the meetings of the princes, but he lay in a house nearby the town castle, which was located just down the street from the city church in Smalcald, where Luther preached. The Lutheran leaders gathered also in the house in which Luther was staying to be able to seek his advice and input, though he lay suffering from what were apparently kidney stones. The ride back to Wittenberg jostled them free and he said he felt like a man "reborn."

And so, although the Smalcald Articles were not formally adopted by the Smalcaldic League in 1537, forty four of the Lutheran princes present did sign them. Five delegates from cities in Southern Germany, who were inclined to Zwingli's view of the Lord's Supper did not sign the articles. By the time the Formula of Concord was completed and adopted in 1577, Luther's articles were highly regarded and were included in the Lutheran Church' formal confession of faith. John Frederick so highly regarded them that in 1554 he ordered them to be printed as a part of his last will and testament when he recognized his death was drawing near. And so it was that the Formula states that the Smalcald Articles are "everywhere regarded as the common, unanimously accepted meaning of our churches" to be used to interpret and explain and understand the meaning of the Augsburg Confession.

The Smalcald Articles return, again and again, to the beating heart of the Gospel of Christ: the sinner's justification before God by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone. They consist of fifteen articles, prefaced by affirmations of historic Christian truth concerning God.

Roundtable 29: Church Authority

A dispute arose among the Apostles, on more than one occasion, over the question of power, authority and rights. The desire for power and control is an ancient evil temptation that plagues humanity; and so, it should come as no surprise that it also has been an ongoing subject of concern, debate, discussion and intense disagreement in the Church. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in Matthew 20, says, "It shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (vv. 26-28).

Article 28 offers an expansion of several points made about the nature of the ministry of the Church and the authority of the Church, in Articles 5 and 14. What power, precisely, do Christian pastors have? What authority do supervisors, or bishops, have in the Church? Over the course of the centuries, bishops had become powerful political as well as ecclesiastical leaders.

To be fair, this happened often through the force of circumstances. When the political and social structure of the Roman Empire was collapsing in the sixth and seventh centuries, it was the Church that was the only institution that had a structure that could provide societal order and control.

Roman bishops and popes soon were claiming, by divine right, the authority to govern and to rule both the Church and civil society. Lutheranism often refers to these two realms as the "kingdom of the right" and the "kingdom of the left." The Augsburg Confession offers in this article its assertion of proper Biblical teaching concerning the authority Christ has given to His Church and, by extension, to the Church's ministry and ministers.

The pastoral concern of this article is clear from the outset when Melanchthon writes, "All the while the popes, claiming the Power of the Keys, have instituted new services and burdened consciences with Church discipline and excommunication. But they have also tried to transfer the kingdoms of this world to the Church by taking the Empire away form the Emperor." (par. 2). No doubt this comment was made in an effort to persuade the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire to be more sympathetic toward the cause of the Lutheran princes and theologians. Charles V was no great fan of the Roman Papacy.

The Lutherans point out how these problems in the Roman Church had been the subject of many learned men's protests and concern (par. 3). This article makes very clear that the authority specifically given to the Church, referred to as the Keys, is the "power or commandment of God, to preach the Gospel, to forgive and retain sins, and to administer Sacraments." Why? Because Christ had sent His Apostles out with this very set of marching orders, as recorded in John 20:21-22.

"This authority is exercised only by teaching or preaching the Gospel and administer the Sacraments, either to many or to individuals, according to their calling." (par. 8). This is a key sentence in this article. "According to their calling" indicates that there are various offices in the Church by which the authority of the Keys is carried out, but in every, and any, case, the authority of ministerial offices in the Church is the authority that Christ has given to the Church to proclaim the good news of forgiveness. The focus and point of the Church's ministry are eternal things: eternal righteousness, the Holy Spirit and eternal life. "These things cannot reach us except by the ministry of the Word and the Sacraments." (par. 9).

Civil government is instituted by Christ to "deal with things other than the Gospel does. Civil rulers do not defend minds, but bodies and bodily things against obvious injuries. They restrain people with the sword and physical punishment in order to preserve civil justice and peace." (par. 11).

The confusion of the power and authority of the office of bishop had reached a point where there was great confusion between the different authority God entrusts to the Church and to the civil government; in addition, bishops assumed that because they had been given authority by God to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments, they also had authority to come up with new "ordinances, instituted as though they are necessary, or with the view that they merit grace" (par. 50). The Augsburg Confession rejects this claim. What is essential in the Church, and most necessary, is "for the chief article of the Gospel to be preserved, namely that we obtain grace freely by faith in Christ, and not by certain observances or acts of worship, devised by people" (par. 52).

But what then is the Church to do about ordering itself properly to provide for all things to be done decently, in order to facilitate the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments? Is it the case that it is in the Church's best interest for there to be a "free for all" when it comes to proper order and the institution of certain customs and practices? No, this was never the intention of this article, or any other in the Book of Concord concerning things termed later in the Book of Concord as "adiaphora." This point is one that is the source of considerable confusion in the Church today. The Augsburg Confession acknowledges that it is in fact perfectly "lawful for bishops, or pastors, to make ordinances so that things will be done orderly in the Church, but not to teach that we merit grace or make satisfaction for sins" (par. 53). But, the Augsburg Confession asserts "that it is proper that the churches keep such ordinances for the sake of love and tranquility, to avoid giving offense to another, so that all things be done in the churches in order, and without confusion (1 Corinthians 14:40; comp. Philippians 2:14).

Article 28 concludes on an irenic tone by indicating that the Lutherans would be willing to accept the leadership of Roman bishops just as long as they "allow the Gospel to be taught purely, and that they relax a few observances that they claim it is sinful to change." Allowing the Gospel to be taught purely was, and remains, a very tall order for an ecclesiastical system of thought, like Romanism, premised on certain key and fundamental theological positions that conflict with the very heart of the Gospel: justification by grace, alone, through faith, alone. Rome acknowledges salvation is by grace alone, but it is the continuing failure of Rome to acknowledge that grace is received through faith alone that remains the problem, resulting in the dangerous interjection of imperfect human works into the equation, thus throwing sinners continually back on their own devices, rather than exclusively, always, and only Christ and Him Crucified.

About the painting:

Albrecht Dürer
The Four Holy Men (John the Evangelist and Peter)
1526
Oil on panel

A Blessed New Year

A very blessed and holy Christmastide to you all, and a happy New Year in our Lord. You will notice a new header for our blog site, provided by "Orthodoxy Hunter." She did a really great job, incorporating elements from the Concordia edition of the Book of Concord, with some sharp graphics I sent her way, including on the left, a picture of the title page of the first edition of the Book of Concord, the Dresden edition from 1580, on the left, the symbol created for the motto of the Lutheran Reformation, "VDMA" which stands for the Latin words, "Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum" or "The Word of the Lord Endures Forever." She integrated page elements into the design from the Concordia edition and in the background she has an image of the words of the Nicene Creed. Many thanks for making us look so much better.

To our patient readers, we will be gearing this blog site up again in the New Year and resume a more regular posting habit, striving to maintain a once-a-week posting schedule. Thanks for your interest and your support. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

Roundtable 28: Monastic Vows

To appreciate the impact Article XXVII of the Augsburg Confession had, and how particularly upsetting it was to common understandings of the time, the reader has to realize how extensive monasticism was across Germany. By the way, the image here is of two Medieval monks the one giving the other the distinctive "tonsure" or shaving the top of the head, as a sign of having taken vows. Monasticism was regarded as the highest form of service to God and, for any other human reasons a person might enter a monastery we should be aware that many in the monasteries were profoundly sincere in their desire to serve God and their fellow man by devoting themselves to a life of ordered, structured prayer in various degrees of separation, even in some cases total seclusion, from the "secular" world around. To this day the "religous" in Roman Catholicism are those who take up vows and orders.

Making Article XXVII of particular interest is the fact that behind the words of the article are the actual experiences of men who had come out of the monasteries, Luther most notably. In spite of the good the monasteries did during the genuine dark ages in Europe after the fall of Rome and before the rise of more organized and centralized government with the formation of the Holy Roman Empire ca. 800, the fact remains that Medieval monasticism had, and still has, no foundation in Sacred Scripture.

The insight that Luther and his fellow Reformers brought to light once more is the teaching that all of life is an opportunity to serve God, in whatever a person's place/station and calling in life is. Modern Lutherans would do well not to think that monasticism is an issue that is of no immediate application, or relevance, to the church today. There has arisen a new kind of monasticism among us: the view that a person is really only engaged in "church work" if he, or she, is a member of a church committee or taking part in some church-sponsored activity. It would be tempting to regard Sundays as our time to be "religious" while the rest of our week is in the "secular" world, regarding Sunday as the time for sacred things, while the rest of the week we must live in the profane world. This article extols the Christian virtues lived out in all of callings and stations in life: mother, father, husband, wife, son, daughter, employer, employee. Specifically rejected and condemned in this article is the imposition of lifelong celibacy on a person who does who truly does not have the gift of chastity. Forcing chastity on those without the gift is a horrible sin against God's good creation and led many in Luther's time to think that their standing before God depended on the degree to which they could imitate the "holy life" of the monks and nuns.

Article XXVII concedes that perhaps there could be such institutions as monasteries as long as they are "free associations." (par. 2). It was only after discipline in these institutions became corrupt that vows were imposed, "as in a carefully planned prison." (par. 3). Regulations were piled on to regulations, and many children were put into monasteries well before they were old enough voluntarily to take vows of chastity, something that was contrary to the church's own canon laws. Obscured in monasticism were the truly important teachings about: "faith, the cross, hope, the dignity of secular affairs, and consolation for severely tested consciences." (par. 16).

Here we can not help but think of Luther, who in his first hymn written for congregational singing Dear Christians One and All Rejoice, wrote, "Fast bound in Satan's chains I lay, death brooded darkly over me. Sin was my torment, night and day."

Medieval theologians, such as Gerson, pointed out that monasticism's focus on disciplining the flesh and following regulations crowded out more important doctrinal teachings. Appeal is made by the Lutherans to such writings, as evidence that even within Romanism the most serious of concerns with monasticism were being expressed.

Melanchthon defends the Lutherans from the false charge that they had taken up their concerns with monasticism lightly and without due thought and attention. The drumbeat of the Gospel is heard in this article as well when Melanchthon writes, "The Gospel compels us to insist on the doctrine of grace and the righteousness of faith in the churches. This cannot be understood if people think they merit grace by observances of their own choice." (par. 20).

Paragraphs 22-29 are a defense of the Lutheran position that traditions instituted by the Church can not be made binding on people as if by their omission, one places one's eternal salvation at risk. "It is contrary to the Gospel to institute or do such works thinking that we merit grace through them, or as though Christianity could not exist without such service of God" (par. 29). This was precisely what Medieval Monasticism had become to be regarded as: necessary service to God. Monks and nuns were regarded as persons to whom the common folk could look as people pleasing God, whereas they could not, since they could not devote all their time to living in obedience to monastic vows.

The accusation was made that the reason the Lutherans opposed monasticism was simply because they wished to indulge the lusts of the flesh. No doubt Luther's marriage was in view here, along with all those who had forsaken their monastic vows and entered into the estate of marriage. Note that Lutherans today must take care that they not allow the proper doctrine of justification to become regarded as an excuse for not "discipline and the subduing of the flesh" (par. 30). What do we teach? Christians are to bear the cross by enduring affliction, and furthermore "every Christian ought to train and subdue himself with bodily restraints, or bodily exercises and labors. Then neither over-indulgence nor laziness may tempt him to sin." (par. 33). Do you think that Christians today regard gluttony and over indulgence in food as a real threat? How many commercials do you see on American TV for diet and weight loss?

The point however is that efforts to control the flesh and discipline it are never to be put forward as a way to "merit grace or make satisfaction for sin" (par. 33).

It is interesting to note what the Article assumes will, instead of monasticism, be the case in the Church. All people, at all times, will learn and receive instruction about godly discipline and spiritual exercises, bodily restraint, etc. Prayer and fasting are recommended by citing Matt. 17:21. This is perhaps one of the more neglected portions of the Lutheran Confessions. Lutherans are eager to reject monasticism but so doing tend to neglect what the article says about personal discipline. St. Paul is held up as a model to be imitated. He disciplined his flesh in order to keep it "prepared for spiritual things, for carrying out the duties of his calling." And, therefore, note this comment: we do not condemn fasting in itself, but making fasting a requirement on certain days and teaching that fasting were a necessary service of God. (par. 39).

Then, note carefully paragraphs 40-45. Somehow Lutherans today have assumed that the Lutheran Confessions would have in a view that basically anything goes in the church and between various congregations unless, and until, there is some explicit false doctrine. The value of good order is neglected. But the AC here explains that Lutherans keep many traditions that provide for good order. What are they? The lectionary, chief holy days, etc. People are warned that such things do not justify, but things done in service to good order in the church are not rejected.

As you can see, this article, while on the face having only to do with monasticism actually contains a great deal of important insights into the teachings and assumptions of Lutheranism over against personal self-discipline.

Some questions to ponder: Where and how can I be attentive to personal self-discipline? Do I over-indulge in food and drink? Do I regularly exercise my body to keep in good shape for service to God? When and how do I find myself being lazy, either bodily or spiritually? How does bodily discipline and self-control help me give glory to God and serve Him? How can I help people understand that self-discipline, prayer and fasting and other means of bodily control do not merit God's grace, but rather provide a structure and order by which I can give Him all thanks and praise? What are my various callings in life and how may I serve God in these callings?

Roundtable 27: The Distinction of Meats

It is difficult for 21st century Christians to appreciate fully the subject under discussion here probably because, both among Roman Catholics and non-Roman Catholics, the impact of canon laws governing what can, and can not, be eaten and at what times one must fast, and not fast, has become more of a historic relic of the past. Choosing not to eat a certain food, at a certain time, is a matter of Christian freedom, but by the 16th century, Roman Catholicism had created elaborate rules and regulations governing the practice of fasting. These regulations and rules and requirements misled people into thinking that the act of fasting was a means by which they could make themselves worthy of God's favor and earn merit in His eyes. Contrived laws governing what we eat have no basis in command, example of promise contained in the Sacred Scriptures. The confessors at Augsburg were careful in this article to make it clear that fasting is a fine practice, if done for the right reasons. The article asserts that Lutherans keep ancient traditions that contribute to proper piety and devotional meditation on the Word of God. This article actually offers a broader insight into the spirit of the Lutheran reformers than simply a statement about fasting. No observance chosen in Christian freedom for the sake of order, decorum, teaching, etc. can ever be regarded as something that merits justification before God. And it is never any sin to omit them. That every Christian "ought to train and subdue himself with bodily restraints, or bodily exercises and labors, so that neither over-indulgence nor laziness may tempt him to sin." (AC XXVI, par. 33; Concordia, p. 52).