Scripture alone!
AĀ lesson for the next generation isĀ toĀ continue to depend on Godās Word for what you believe and teach.Ā
Joel D. OttoĀ
My grandfather, Professor Armin Schuetze, celebrated his 100th birthday in April.Ā Ā
Milestones that end in two zeroes are worth mentioning. He served in the full-time publicĀ ministry for 51 years, the lastĀ 33 years as a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran SeminaryĀ where heĀ taught pastoral theology and counselingācourses which his sonĀ now teachesāandĀ church history and the Lutheran Confessionsācourses which I now have the privilege to teach.Ā HeĀ especially loved teaching the courses on Luther.Ā Ā
This is, of course, another milestone yearāthe 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. I askedĀ my grandfatherĀ what he would want the next generation to know and remember about the Lutheran Reformation. He said, āIf God hadnāt sent Luther to reclaim the truth that weāre saved by grace alone through faith alone, who knows where we would be?āĀ Ā
He then went on to emphasize the otherĀ sola,Ā the otherĀ aloneāsola ScripturaĀ orĀ Scripture alone. In fact, if it were not for āScripture alone,ā how would we know about the certainty of our salvation by grace alone through faith alone? How would we know anything about Jesus?Ā
Scripture aloneānot traditions, not human reason, not dreams or visions, not feelings or emotionsā is the source of teaching. Itās how God reveals his saving work in Christ. Thatās why Luther said, āMy conscience is captive to the Word of God.āĀ
Scripture aloneānot my prayers or personal decisionsāis how God gives me the gift of faith. The gospel in Word and sacraments is the power of God for my salvation. Thatās why Luther wrote, āThe Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel.āĀ
Scripture aloneānot the latest gimmick orĀ theĀ preacherās entertaining storiesāis how God gets his work done in the church. Proclaiming his Word is the mission Jesus gave to his church. Thatās why Luther preached, āI simply taught, preached, and wrote Godās Word. . . .Ā I did nothing; the Word did everythingāĀ (Lutherās Works, Vol. 51, p. 77).Ā
Scripture alone is why Luther preached and taught almost to the day he died. Itās why he translated the Bible into the language of the people. Itās why he wrote his catechisms. Itās why he penned countless letters comforting and encouraging people with theĀ gospel. Itās why he wrote hymns to sing the Word into peopleās heads and hearts. Itās why he wanted every child to have an education so everyone could read the Bible.Ā
And itās why my grandfather, even in retirement, wrote books,Ā taught Bible classes, and spent three monthsĀ (in the dead of winter!)Ā at the WELS mission in Russia when he was 82. Itās why, when I visited him a few years ago, he was in his study with his Hebrew Bible and Lutherās commentary on the Psalms.Ā
I remember his remarks at his 90th birthday celebration. He was thankful that hisĀ 7Ā children, hisĀ 28Ā grandchildren and all their spouses, and his great-grandchildren (now numbering more thanĀ 60) were all baptized children of God who regularly heard Godās Word.Ā Ā
If thereās any lesson from the Lutheran Reformationāand from a 100-year-old professorāmaybe thatās it. Be in the Word. Read it. Hear it. Learn it. Memorize it. Proclaim it to family and friends. It works!Ā Ā
Contributing editor Joel Otto, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, is a member at Salem, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Ā Ā
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Author: Joel D. Otto
Volume 104, Number 10
Issue: October 2017
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