Lutheran Synod Quarterly

LUTHERAN SYNOD QUARTERLY VOLUME 51 • NUMBER 1 MARCH 2011 The theological journal of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod LUTHERAN SYNOD QUARTERLY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF........................................................... Gaylin R. Schmeling BOOK REVIEW EDITOR ......................................................... Michael K. Smith PRINTER ......................................................... Books of the Way of the Lord FACULTY............. Adolph L. Harstad, Thomas A. Kuster, Dennis W. Marzolf, Gaylin R. Schmeling, Michael K. Smith, Erling T. Teigen The Lutheran Synod Quarterly (ISSN: 0360-9685) is edited by the faculty of Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary 6 Browns Court Mankato, Minnesota 56001 The Lutheran Synod Quarterly is a continuation of the Clergy Bulletin (1941–1960). The purpose of the Lutheran Synod Quarterly, as was the purpose of the Clergy Bulletin, is to provide a testimony of the theological position of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and also to promote the academic growth of her clergy roster by providing scholarly articles, rooted in the inerrancy of the Holy Scriptures and the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Lutheran Synod Quarterly is published in March and December with a combined June and September issue. Subscription rates are $20.00 U.S. per year for domestic subscriptions and $30.00 U.S. per year for international subscriptions. All subscriptions and editorial correspondence should be sent to the following address: Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary Attn: Lutheran Synod Quarterly 6 Browns Ct Mankato MN 56001 Back issues of the Lutheran Synod Quarterly from the past two years are available at a cost of $8.00 per issue. Back issues of the Lutheran Synod Quarterly and Clergy Bulletin prior to the past two years are available at <www.blts.edu/lsq>. The Lutheran Synod Quarterly is abstracted in Religious and Theological Abstracts, PO Box 215, Myerstown, PA 17067 (E-mail: <[email protected]>; Website: <www.rtabst.org/abstracts>). Copyright ©2011 by Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary. Requests for permission to reproduce more than brief excerpts are to be directed to the Editor- in-Chief. Contents LSQ Vol. 51, No. 1 (March 2011) 2010 REFORMATION LECTURES: BAPTISM IN THE THREE REFORMATION CAMPS Lecture One: Justification and Baptism In Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Theology .......................................................9 Robert J. Koester Lecture Two: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism: Well-Seasoned Water in Lutheran Theology ...........................................................41 Thomas L. Rank Lecture Three: Baptism in the Camp of the Reformed .....................71 Lawrence R. Rast, Jr. ARTICLE AND SERMONS The Norwegian Hermeneutic .........................................................89 Paul S. Meitner Sermon on Ephesians 2:13-22 for the Dedication of the Peruvian Seminary .......................................................................121 Paul C. Fries Sermon on Psalm 115 ..................................................................125 Alexander K. Ring BOOK REVIEW AND NOTE Book Review: The Lutheran Study Bible .......................................131 Thomas L. Rank CELC Convention Invitation .........................................................134 Steven P. Petersen 4 Lutheran Synod Quarterly Vol. 51 Foreword LSQ Vol. 51, No. 1 (March 2011) N THIS ISSUE OF THE Quarterly we are pleased to share with our readers the 2010 annual Reformation Lectures, deliv- ered October 28–29, 2010, in Mankato, Minnesota. These lectures areI sponsored jointly by Bethany Lutheran College and Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary. This was the forty-third in the series of annual Reformation Lectures which began in 1967. The format of the Reformation Lectures has always been that of a free conference and thus participation in these lectures is outside the framework of fellow- ship. This year there were three presenters. The first lecture was given by Dr. Robert Koester, who is serving at Northwestern Publishing House in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin and holds a D.Min. degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Prior to coming to Northwestern Publishing House, he served in the parish ministry, including congregations in California, Montana, and Moorhead, Minnesota. He is the author of Law and Gospel: The Foundation of Lutheran Ministry and Gospel Motivation, as well as numerous Bible studies. Currently he is working on a book entitled A Lutheran Looks at the Eastern Orthodox, which is scheduled for release in 2012. He resides with his family in West Allis, Wisconsin. The second presenter was the Rev. Thomas Rank, pastor of the Scarville and Center Parish in Scarville, Iowa. He graduated from Bethany Lutheran College in 1977. He received a B.A. in Ancient Near 6 Lutheran Synod Quarterly Vol. 51 Eastern Studies from the University of Minnesota (1980), an M.Div. from Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary (1985), and an S.T.M. in Pastoral Theology from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana (2009). He has served parishes in northwestern Minnesota and northern Iowa. He has served on the Board for Evangelism and the Doctrine Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. He teaches as an adjunct professor of religion at Bethany Lutheran College, and is an associate editor for Logia. He resides with his family in Scarville, Iowa. The third presenter was Dr. Lawrence Rast, who is the Academic Dean and professor of American Christianity and American Lutheranism at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He received a B.A. from Concordia College, River Forest, Illinois, an M.Div. and S.T.M. from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana (1990, 1995), and earned a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee (2003). He serves as associate editor of book reviews for Concordia Theological Quarterly and as seminary archi- vist. He is a member of the Board of Editorial Advisors for Lutheran Quarterly and of the editorial committee of the Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly. In addition to this work, he is a faculty representative to the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and serves as chairman of that commission. The theme of the lectures was “Baptism in the Three Reformation Camps.” The first lecture, given by Dr. Koester, was entitled “Justification and Baptism in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Theology.” The second lecture, presented by Rev. Rank, was entitled “The Sacrament of Holy Baptism—Well-Seasoned Water in Lutheran Theology.” The third lecture, given by Dr. Rast, was entitled “Baptism in the Camp of the Reformed.” The Reformation Lectures were a study of the doctrine of Baptism during the Reformation era. Baptism is a glorious creative act of the entire Trinity, in which we became the adopted children of God the Father by faith in the Savior. All our sins were washed through Messiah’s blood, and we were incorporated into Christ’s body, the church, receiving the Spirit and all His blessings. This biblical doctrine Luther maintained in contradistinction to the errors of both the Romanists and the Reformed. Contrary to Rome, he taught that Baptism is not an infusing of grace which was to help the individual live a holy life thus winning salvation. Rather it is a distribution of the full forgiveness of Jesus won for all on the cross. In opposition to the teaching of the Reformed, Luther confessed that Baptism is God’s own act. It is No. 1 7 not a mere human action done in obedience to Christ nor is it only a picture of what occurred when an individual was brought to faith, but it is a powerful, creative act of God which distributes all the blessings of Christ’s cross and works the faith to receive them. The hermeneutical method of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod is based on the confessional principle of Sola Scriptura along with a deep apprecia- tion for the Lutheran symbols and the historic practices of the Lutheran Church. This method is the subject matter of the essay entitled, “The Norwegian Hermeneutic,” by the Rev. Paul Meitner, who is pastor of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Iron Mountain, Michigan. This essay is taken from his master’s thesis, “From Strangers to Sisters: The Growth of the Fraternal Relationship between the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Between 1917–1955,” prepared for Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Sunday, September 19, 2010, was a special occasion for our brothers and sisters in the Peruvian Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Church. The new seminary building was dedicated. For the first time, a national pastor was installed as president of the seminary. His name is the Rev. Segundo Guttierez. The Rev. David Haeuser, who was the previous president, will continue in Lima serving as a mentor for the seminary. The Rev. Paul Fries, chairman of the Board for World Missions, served as the guest preacher for the occasion. He based his sermon on Ephesians 2:13–22, with the theme “The Strong Foundation.” The seminary in Peru can stand only if it is built on the strong foundation of the Holy Scripture, the chief message of which is this: Jesus Christ lived the perfect life demanded of us, in our place; He suffered the agony of hell in our place; He offered His own life as the sacrifice for our sins, so that we, forgiven by God and justified by His grace, can now be called “fellow citizens” and “members of God’s household.” We often find ourselves struggling with our guilt over our sins of idolatry or shunning the words and invitation of God. And yet God tells us that in our repentance we leave our sin behind us, not at the foot of Sinai but at the foot of Calvary, at the cross. He invites us to hear His promise of forgiveness in His Son and to feast on His Gospel. This is the point of the Rev. Alexander Ring’s sermon on Psalm 115. Also included in this issue are a review of The Lutheran Study Bible by the Rev. Thomas Rank, and information concerning the triennial convention of the CELC in New Ulm and Mankato, Minnesota.

Load more