by T. R. Halvorson Note: This article may be downloaded as a PDF file. Summary This article briefly sketches the orthodox Christian doctrine of Christ’s redemption by vicarious satisfaction; briefly sketches heretical denial of vicarious satisfaction by popular Lutheran theologians; and exhibits how the Lutheran church has taught the truth of vicarious satisfaction across synods and […]
Foreword from A Year of Law & Gospel Preaching:Postil of Sermons on the One-Year Lectionaryby Rev. Rolf D. Preus Being called to write this foreword is among the highest honors of my life. The call came to me because I am a parishioner of Pastor Preus. The Holy Spirit preaches Law and Gospel to me […]
Dr. Kloha’s Plastic Text of Scripture:Synodical Convention Controversy By T. R. Halvorson NOTE: This article may be downloaded as a PDF Document Introduction The Convention Workbook 2016 of the Lutheran Church – Missouri synod contains these two overtures: 4-23 To Settle Prof. Jeffery Kloha Controversy 4-24 To Request Public Clarification of Kloha Paper In preparation […]
The Will in Conversion:Protestant Rationalism versus Lutheran Adherence to Scripture By T. R. Halvorson NOTE: This article may be downloaded as a PDF Document A recurring issue in Christian conversations is: What is the role of man’s will in conversion. Some say this is no better than arguing about how many angels can dance on the […]
Copyright (c) 2023 Dennis E. McFadden. Used by Permission. Rev. McFadden is a Pastor ordained in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. The meaning of “atonement” has been a topic of much debate in recent decades. A large number of theologians have dismissed the Reformation view as misguided and even barbaric. This book adds the […]
How did the Christian faith come from my grandparents to my grandchildren? It came by mission, but not by missionalism. If this mission were given a slogan, it would be, “Start true to reach true.” Truth was the first thing. Then mission followed. Instead of “Start new to reach new,” instead of “sacramental entrepreneurs,” instead […]
Properly explained in accord with Scripture and the Lutheran confessions, the phrase “faith journey” possibly could have a good meaning, and in that sense, I would be willing to say that I am on a faith journey. For example, Scripture speaks of our “walk” as a Christian and of the “way” of the Christian faith. […]
Synoptic Text Information Services, Inc. has released its next new title, Atonement in Confessional Lutheran Theology: Franz Pieper. Presented in English are three of Franz Pieper’s writings about the atonement: Pieper shows that the confessional Lutheran doctrine of vicarious satisfaction is the teaching of Scripture, the Lutheran confessions, and Lutheran Orthodoxy. It is the only […]
Published originally on Brothers of John the Steadfast in five partsPart 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 Note: The entire series has been combined into a single PDFwhich may be accessed here. Introduction Previously I presented “Gospel Determinism: A Preview.” Now we move from preview to the first […]
Christ and his apostles show that the ritual legislation in Leviticus is relevant for us. While the law of Moses does not prescribe what we do in the Divine Service, it helps us to understand how God interacts with us in Christ and in the Divine Service. So each section of this commentary ends with […]
When Satan seeks to supplant truth with error he is not so foolish as outright to propose that error be accepted. At the fall he was subtle enough not to suggest that. He did not propose outright rebellion against God. He suggested only a slight variation from what God had said, “Is it really true […]
Artist Francis B. Carpenter said Abraham Lincoln had “the saddest face I ever attempted to paint.” His law partner said Lincoln’s “melancholy dripped from him as he walked.” His life was an unceasing litany of sorrows, tragedies, and dangers leading to the Civil War. With many assassination threats, finally he was shot on Good Friday, […]
Publisher’s Preface “Drink from it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” By these words, did Jesus give the Church a sacrament, or did He require from us a sacrifice? What is a testament? What did Jesus want us to […]
The presiding bishop of a Lutheran body said during an interview by reporter Robert Herguth during his podcast “Faith to Face” that there might be a hell, but she thinks it is empty.[1] In reality, many in that body don’t believe in hell. This comes into the open when congregations of that body remove, “He descended […]
by Rev. Dennis E. McFadden, Pastor ordained in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod Vicarious Satisfaction in Lutheran Catechisms, Confessions, and Hymns by attorney and Lutheran layman TR Halvorson fulfills the promise of its title. In a spare 160 pages Halvorson offers examples to prove the centrality of vicarious atonement in the theology of confessional […]
In the Treasury of Daily Prayer for January 8, the text from Romans talks about a natural knowledge of God from the glory of creation. This knowledge should exist, but because of man’s fault, it does not. By sin, man suppresses the natural knowledge of God, and only paganism results. To reveal himself, God turned to a […]
Television has many talent competitions. Big hit shows include Pop Idol, American Idol, Britain’s Got Talent, America’s Got Talent, The Voice, and The X Factor. Sometimes the choice of judges is controversial. Highly accomplished vocal performer, Sir Tom Jones, took a swipe at The X Factor’s Simon Cowell, saying he is not qualified to judge because he has never sung live on stage […]
One spring when I was a teenager, my Dad injured his back. He landed in the hospital in traction. That left seeding the crop to me. Could I get it done? I doubted and dreaded. When I got to the farmyard, before I knew what I was doing, I had climbed the windmill tower and […]
51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive […]
“The begats” is a listing of generations from Adam to Noah. It was repetitious and boring. In each generation, it says someone was born, had kids, lived awhile longer and they died. This repeats nine times. In the King James version, the wording was, the person “begat” sons and daughters. That’s why I call the […]
Atonement
Liturgy and Communion
Luther’s Liturgical Criteria and His Reform of the Canon of the Mass
Luther reformed the Canon of the Mass, the way the Sacrament of the Altar is administered. He has been branded a liturgical hack.
Was he a hack or a surgeon? What part did Jesus’ own words have in Luther’s reform. Is the Lord’s Supper a sacrifice we are to offer to God, or is it a testament and gift that Christ gives to the Church?
World renowned scholar Bryan D. Spinks reports the findings of his research. Spinks identifies errors of scholastic procedure in the body of literature. He examines root sources. By his industry and workmanlike procedure, Spinks succeeds at what he set out to do: Let Luther answer for himself.
As John T. Pless says in the Foreword: “It took an Anglican to rescue Luther from the Lutheran liturgical gurus. That was my first response to reading this tightly-packed and potent monograph years ago. Its value has not diminished with the passage of time. … Spinks demonstrates that Luther’s liturgical revisions were not sloppily done but carried out with integrity based on his confession of justification by faith alone. Luther understood God to be the donor in the liturgy of the Lord’s Supper. Thanksgiving which flows from the gift dare not blur this fact. The Sacrament is the Gospel.”
Spinks’ achievement gives this work an exceptional place in the literature. A new audience needs it. This is why it should be republished. First published in 1982, it has gone out of print. Used copies are rare and expensive. Dr. Spinks once more gives a precious gift to the Church by readily and graciously granting his permission for this new edition.
With new musical engravings of the Verba and The German Sanctus by Jon D. Vieker and commendation by William C. Weedon, this new edition bursts the epiphany of Spinks’ brilliance into the sight of a new audience and generation.