Our website: www.justandsinner.org This is part of a series of talks I gave in Denmark on the solas of the Reformation. In this talk, I outline the differences between the Reformed and Lutheran traditions on a variety of points.
Excellent. I have commented this before on several of your videos but you are how I really stumbled onto Lutheranism and are one of the major reasons I left the Reformed world for Lutheranism. I pray that God continues to grant you success in spreading His Truth and Grace as they are so wonderfully preserved and expressed in the Lutheran church so that more people like me can know just how wonderful the fullness of the Gospel is. I never feel better throughout my week than when I am at Divine Service, consistently receiving Word and Sacrament. I objectively and tangibly know what is given to me every week by my Lord through the Means of Grace and it has been the biggest aid in navigating this brutal fallen world.
I was never Calvinist, but definitely was in the "pop evangelical" churches for many years. But I've now realized the importance knowing the church fathers, church creeds, and the confessions from the Protestant reformation. It's important that we don't lose sight of our rich theological teachings for the sake of being "trendy". I've found Confessional Lutheran theology to be the most credible scripturally and historically.
Yes! We confessional Lutherans do have a tendency to be too reticent about sharing our faith, and there is a real shortage of accessible voices! Thank you for becoming a reliable, faithful and accessible voice for Lutheranism!🙏🏻
Dr. Cooper, could you please give a Lutheran explanation of the Apostle’s creed? Specifically “he descended into hell.” Possibly even comparing it to the Reformed view. Thank you so much.
I bekieve the doctrine cimes from the epistles of peter. I know theres at least 2 verses regarding it. 1 peter 3:18 states "... That he might bring us to God, being put to death in thr flesh but made alive by the spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison who were formerly disobedient... And continues
@@haileylindberg4365 I would say look carefully at any nearby Lutheran church. LC-MS, WELS, TAALC, and ELS confessions are usually good, but remember that each church needs to be evaluated individually. Ask them about their adherence to the Scriptures, the Lutheran confessions, etc. Go and listen to the pastor preach; listen for him to properly distinguish between law and gospel. The law should convict, and the gospel should comfort. Issues, etc's website has a "find a church" option as well, but again, I recommend personally checking out churches.
@@haileylindberg4365 A pastor would definitely be the best way to go. He should be knowledgeable about the theological differences and what parts of the Confessions need the most discussion.
Thank you for this. My mum grew up in a United Church of Canada congregation that had been Methodist. She's a solid Lutheran, but you have made feel better about my gentle teasing her about the "girl leaving Calvinism, but the Calvinism not leaving the girl." The "new Calvinism" sounds a lot like what my mum said to me about the "new curriculum" in the UCC.
34:00: Ah! Now I see why there are so many people questioning whether their faith is sincere! The answer to the question really should be: Faith is a gift from God. No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit. And John 6:44. Et al I think a lot of Christians think faith is something they've chosen or something that originates within them or something they have to muster by will. That error is a big part of the problem. Your Father gives you a gift. You open it and Faith is inside. You take the faith and thank Your Lord. If you then come back and ask your Father, "How do I know that my faith is true (or real or sincere)?" your Father is gonna look at you like you have 2 heads It isn't YOUR faith! It's God's faith that He gifted TO you. And if it comes from the Father, it HAS to be authentic. See? So, the very fact that you have faith in Christ's death and resurrection for the payment of your sins -- and then were baptized -- means that it is sincere. Once you really grasp this, the bothersome question explodes
You're absolutely coherent in what you conveyed, but what is laid out, while logically consistent with itself, is a "good on paper, poor in practice" and that's primarily the contention of many who struggle with and/or ultimately leave the Reformed expression for another Christian expression of faith. It would also be negligible were this in the minority, but sadly, this seems to be the majority anxiety of Reformed folk. And there seems to be no satisfying answer other than "deal with it" or "try harder", which even most Christians find incomplete in its emphasis. In contrast, confessional Lutheranism remains both consistent as well as completely assuring to the Christian to emphasize that His gift of Grace is freely gifted out of His love through faith in the person of Jesus the Son rather than to emphasize instead only and primarily His inscrutable sovereignty.
@@jmh7977Stating that the Reformed can have no assurance is Lutheran cope. There's a solid article titled why Reformed folk become Lutheran that addresses this.
@@Jesus-isLord_777 "No" assurance? I didn't say that, only that in reality, it's a primary anxiety of Reformed folk. That's as far from a cope as would be taken seriously. It's simply the truth.
@Jesus-isLord_777 You're totally right. My initial point I think probably came off as "Lutheranism is better because of A, B, C", but what I meant to convey was at least insofar as the anxiety of assurance is concerned, confessional Lutherans don't suffer that in practice. In other areas, however, we can run fowl sometimes, totally. Always striving in faith, sometimes well, often not. We both love Jesus and confess Him as Lord, so that's good. 😀
Dr. Cooper, do you have any videos, books or papers on the topic of Pointicular Salvation? In other words, does salvation come at a 'point' in time for every Christian, a 'point' in time where a person 'passes from death unto life'. Dr. James White says that Catholics believe in a "piecemeal" salvation, that salvation and forgiveness is doled out little by little, over time through the forgiveness offered and received through the taking of sacraments faithfully, that we are "being" saved, not that we ever ARE saved, or we HATH everlasting life for sure. What is your position on this topic?
I know that The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane is associated with the International Lutheran Council (ILC) which is the Confessional International Lutheran Organization. You might be able to contact someone there who knows of a good confessional Church in your area.
It’s those who identify as confessional Lutherans who misread The Bondage of the Will. In that book Luther argued that everything is predestined to happen in accordance with God's hidden will and foreknowledge, which includes that some people are predestined to be damned. Also he argued from John 6:44 that the Holy Spirit doesn't operate universally through the Word but that the Holy Spirit is only given to those whom the Father wills to regenerate, and that regeneration is irresistible. Also in his Large Catechism Luther maintained that God only wills to give Holy Spirit and faith to some infants in baptism not to all infants. This isn't of course to deny that Luther held that Christ atoned for everyone's sins and not just those of the elect. In addition Article 5 of the Augsburg Confession doesn't teach the universal operation of the Holy Spirit in the Word and sacraments. The truth is that the teaching of the Formula of Concord on grace and predestination represents a radical departure from the position that Luther and the early Lutherans took, and is an unscriptural innovation which Luther and the early Lutherans would have opposed. Luther I’m sure wouldn't regard those who agree with the FC as being true Lutherans. On the contrary those like myself who are in agreement with Luther's teaching in The Bondage of the Will and in his catechisms are the true Lutherans.
This is a good critique of the major flaw of Reformed theology, and it offers up some of the strengths of Lutheranism, but it doesn’t convince me that Lutheranism is therefore the answer.
@@BenjaminAnderson21 I have a Reformed background, but presently I’m attending a large evangelical LCMS church. The problem is, from my reading of scripture there isn’t any one theological system that I can fully ascribe to. With Lutheranism, for example, I don’t agree with their sacramental views of baptism and communion, and I find their explanation of predestination to be somewhat confusing.
This video convinced me to subscribe to your channel. You are the only ex-Calvinist that does not insult the Reformed tradition. I can see the weaknesses of Reformed theology, like you do. I agree that there are some truths about God and how He works that man will never be able to understand completely, not because we are sinful but because we are finite. Reformed theology's weakness is that it pretends everything can be explained by human reason and logic. Apart from that, I still think Reformed theology is the best that had been devised by man (and like everything devised by man, it is imperfect) - so I will continue to subscribe to it. BTW, I've been teaching engineering at the institution from which you got your bachelor's degree since August 2003. Were you on campus when I was around?
Time-stamp 34:40, 34:55 - How do you know that faith is real? By your works. How do you know your works are good? By your affections. 35:55 - That’s literally me.
By Martin Luther-- The doctrine of predestination teaches that God, in His perfect sovereignty, has both elected a certain number of sinners to salvation and has ordained all that comes to pass. Not one thing is outside of His sovereign and controlling decrees. For many, this is a doctrine of great comfort; the Triune God reigns, and so we can rejoice. Our election to salvation is certain because God has predestined all that comes to pass. But, for others, there is perhaps no stranger and no more hated doctrine than this. Some have even gone so far as to say that they would not worship a God who predestined all we experience in this life. A large question that many ask is, “If God has predestined all things, whatsoever they may be, then can man be truly free?” Luther was at the center of this argument in the sixteenth century and defended the sovereign, predestining decrees of God over and against those who lauded the free-will of man above God’s power. Martin Luther's theology, agreed on all five points and wrote: The Bondage of the will, aganst Erasmus's Freedom of the Will.
