The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1903, Page 34

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si ‘He was born holy and remained holy. While

34

The Lutheran Pioneer,

Jesus Christ is True Man. Failed to Pass the Examination.

As outspoken as our Catechism is in its con-
fession of the Saviour’s divinity, so outspoken
is it in its confession of Christ’s humanity.
That Christ is a true man, the Second Article
thus gives expression to: ‘‘I believe in Jesus
Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,

- born of the Virgin Mary.’’ And in the expla-
nation Christ’s humanity is confessed thus:
“J believe that Jesus Christ [is] true man,
born of the Virgin Mary.’’

This our faith and confession is founded on
the Holy Scriptures; for they are just as out-
spoken in their declaration that the Saviour is
true man as they are that He is true God.
While they, on the one hand, call Him the
true God, they, on the other hand, just as un-
reservedly call Him a true man. Paul writes,
1 Tim. 2,5: ‘‘There is one God, and one Me-
diator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus.” And since the Scriptures cannot lie,
we have right here already the most certain
proof of our Saviour’s humanity. That He is
a true man is also proved beyond all reason-
able doubt by the fact that He was born of a
woman, ushered into this world a helpless
child by a natural birth.

As a further proof of Christ’s humanity the
Scriptures also attribute to Him the natural
parts of a man, to-wit, a body and soul. The
Gospels very plainly show us that Christ had
a human body and a human soul. He Him-
self speaks of His body, Luke 24,39. To as-
sure His disciples, He says: ‘‘Behold my hands
and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me,
and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones,
as ye see me have.”’ And while suffering in
the garden, He exclaims, ‘‘My soul is exceed-
ing sorrowful, even unto death,’’ Matt. 26, 38.

Finally, the Scriptures also attribute to Him
the ways of aman. He was born a little child
and grew as do other children. He ate and
drank to support His natural life. If He went
without food for any length of time, He grew
hungry, and on the cross He cries out that He
is thirsty. Great exertion of the body tired

Him, and He required sleep to refresh Him.
The death of Lazarus causes Him to weep.
His body had its limitation of endurance, for
on the way to Calvary He breaks down with
the cross, no longer able to bear its weight.
And He dies as other men too. In short,
every page of the Gospels furnishes us with
indubitable proof of our Saviour’s humanity,
and no reasonable person can but be convinced
by their narrative that Jesus Christ is a true
Man, and that He was like unto us in every-
thing except one thing —He was without sin.

While other men born of woman are sinful,

With serious mien and solemn greeting a
Methodist preacher in Illinois entered the
house of a Lutheran family. By ‘‘chance’’
the wife only was at home. This ‘‘chance’’
is a peculiar thing, as we read in 2 Tim. 3, 6.
And that this passage applies to this case was
manifest when the preacher at once began to
speak of going to church, prayer, and con-
version. As the lady listened in silence, the
intruder became bolder and asked her to kneel
down and to pray with him. Completely sur-
prised at this impertinence, she entered upon
the following examination with him:

Lady—‘‘Tell me first whether you are
the Methodist preacher from the grove over
yonder.’’

Methodist—'Yes, that I am.’’

I.—‘‘T heard that you come from P. ’
in Germany, the same region where we come
from. Is that so?’’

M.—‘‘Yes, but I emigrated in my twentieth
year.’’

Z.—‘‘Then you certainly learned our Small
Catechism in Germany ?’’

Mf.—‘'Most assuredly! From childhood I
was designed of God to be a preacher, and
hence, in learning, was ahead of all my fellow-
pupils.’’

I.—‘‘Since you desire to pray to Christ
with me, I would like to know what you still
know of Christ from the Small Catechism. If
you do not consider it improper to ask me to
pray with you, you will also consider it proper
for me to ask you to repeat the Second Article.’’

M. (sighing)—‘‘I believe in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, conceived—”’

L.—‘You have omitted ‘Our Lord.’’’

M.—‘‘Our Lord, conceived of the Virgin
Mary, dead and—”’

Z.—'Stop, stop! You are only babbling
foolish stuff concerning Christ, for He cer-
tainly was not ‘conceived of the Virgin Mary!’
Before you pray to Christ you had better learn
the Second Article.”’ :

M.—‘‘The words have escaped me. But
you must know that I do not think much of
the simple repeating from memory. I hold
to the Bible which says that to ‘love Christ is
better than all knowledge.’ ””

L.—‘‘That shows that you do not even
understand the Bible, because you do not
know the Catechism. One can certainly not
love Christ if he knows nothing of Him. Were
you able to love your wife, when as yet you
knew nothing of her? Do you not see that
preachers are altogether unneeessary if people
can love Christ without having been taught
anything about Him by the preachers? Have
you never read what is written in the 17th
chapter of St. John: ‘This is life eternal, that
they might KNow Thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent’ ’’?

M.—*‘Good woman, I only wanted to say
that I—that—that I, you know——” "
L.—Yes, I know, you wanted to pray to

_ He was tempted to sin, He never succumbed
itemptation, but remained pure and spotless.
3 could’ fearlessly challenge His enemies to
avince Him of one sin.

_ All praise to Jesus’ hallowed name,

Who of virgin pure became ~~ -
‘True man for us. F. J. L.

Christ of whom you no longer know anything
aright. So, now please go home and never
come back, until you know the Small Cate-
chism from beginning to end. Until then J
do not consider you a minister.’”—Pilger.

Chief Thing Missing.

The captain of an English war vessel once
invited the Queen of Tahiti and her train on
board the ship, and gave a feast in their honor.
The most sumptuous repast had been prepared
and the captain, without any furtherceremony,
invited his guests to partake of it. But to his
surprise none responded. He then turned to
Missionary Pritchard, who had also been in-
vited, and said: ‘Dear friend, I see that I have
failed to suit the tastes of my guests, notwith-
standing my earnest efforts, for the Queen
looks about as if the chief thing were missing.”’

The missionary smiled and said: ‘‘You are
right, captain. The chief thing is missing.
Your table is indeed-loaded with the choicest
food, but you forgot to give thanks, and with-
out this my spiritual children, as you see them
here, will touch nothing. They hold fast to
the apostle’s word, ‘Whether ye eat or drink,
or whatever ye do, do it all to the glory of
God.’’’ With considerable embarrassment the
captain asked the missionary to offer thanks,
and as he spoke the words, ‘‘All eyes wait
upon Thee, and Thou givest them their meat
in due season,”’ etc., the guests joined in, and
when the ‘‘Amen’’ was spoken, they partook
of the bounteous repast.

What a Christian Is.

A Christian is both a sinner and a saint; he
is evil and is good. In ourselves we are sin-
ners, but Christ gives us another name when
He mercifully forgives our sins for His sake.
Hence both appellations are true. Sins are
yet in us, for the old Adam still lives within;
and again they are not present, because God
blots them out for Christ’s sake. They are
present before my eyes; I see them and I feel
them; but there stands Christ and tells me to
repent, to confess myself just what I am,
sinner, and declares to me the forgiveness of
my sins through faith in His name.

Repentance alone, though necessary, is not
sufficient; faith in the remission of sins through
Christ must also be added. Where there is
such faith, God no longer sees sin; for then we
appear before Him not in our own righteous-
ness, but in that of Christ. He adorns us with
grace and righteousness, even if in our eyes
we are miserable sinners, full of weakness and
unbelief. But this conviction of our wicked-
ness shall not drive us to despair, else we could
not heed the preaching of repentance. No,
we come and say: © Lord, we are damnable
sinners, but Thou declarest that we shall not
remain such, and hast commanded remission
of sins to be preached at all times in Thy
name. — Luther: