![]() When Paul tells children to obey their parents, he reinforces the instruction in the New Testament by quoting the Fifth Commandment (Ephesians 6:2). It is just as much a part of New Testament doctrine to preach obedience to God’s moral law as it is to proclaim the death of Jesus Christ. Now that Jesus Christ has died and given Himself for our sins-and loved us while we were yet sinners-we respond with a corresponding love to Him. When we read that “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10), we are not being told that love has displaced the Commandments, but that love provides a motive by which we can obey them. The truth is that the Old Testament (as well as the New Testament) is full of God’s grace dealing with penitent people, and the New Testament (as well as the Old Testament) is full of God’s moral law. Some erroneously equate the Old Testament with law and the New Testament with grace. Karl Menninger) wrote a book entitled “What Ever Became of Sin?” He says, “Where are the preachers who ascend Mount Sinai and confer with the Almighty and come back to us with the Tables of Stone under their arms?” Preaching against sin is not a popular task. Many who claim to be Christian can’t even name the Ten Commandments, much less attempt to live by them. As we honestly look at these laws, we say, “I am guilty of this and I am guilty of that”-and seeing our guilt, we say, “I must do something about it”-and thus the Law becomes a schoolmaster to drive us to the Savior, Jesus Christ. They help us see how sinful we are and show us the extent of our failure to obey God’s laws. The Ten Commandments were given that every mouth may be stopped and that all the world may become guilty before God (Romans 3:19). They spell out in a concise way what sin really is. The Commandments are God’s rules for life. Each one of the Commandments is repeated and expanded in the New Testament. The Ten Commandments are the essence of God’s moral law. The Commandment Requires That Worship be Kept Simple The Commandment Condemns Corruption of Divine Worship The Commandment Forbids the Misrepresentation of God The Biblical doctrine taught by the Apostles and restored at the Reformation holds answers which are relevant regardless of time or place and offers assurance of forgiven sins and eternal life who all who believe its message. It is tragic when souls are led to confusion and despair because of the false religious ideas with which they are surrounded. While the false and misleading ideas of human religious invention are appealing to sin-blinded minds, they fail when exposed to the realities of life. Instead, to be a Lutheran is to receive Jesus in His Word, Body, and Blood for the forgiveness of sins in the Divine Service and to be bearers of this pure Truth to a broken world corrupted with sin, death, and every lie of the devil and man’s own sinful heart. ![]() To be a Lutheran is not dependent on a code of behavior or a set of common customs. ![]() In fact, this cultural and institutional baggage may be the primary obstacle in Lutheranism’s path. Rockford, Michigan, United States Lutheranism is more than a cultural identity or a denominational label.
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