Martin Luther said there is a "baseline" for every Christian - The Ten Commandments, The Creed, and The Lord's Prayer. The following is the first in our "Set Free to Live Free" series as we walk through the Commandments. Years ago, I met an ex-con who spent time at a large penitentiary in Louisiana called Angola. He was convicted for armed robbery. Then while at Angola, he escaped and spent two days on the run in the thick backwoods and Louisiana bayous. The dogs found him, he was returned, and his sentence extended. He entered prison as a man in his 30’s. He left as a man in his 60’s. Although a free man, he didn’t know what to do in open spaces, or how to make his own decisions. He told me, “I still feel like a captive. I don’t know how to live free.”
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What is the baseline of knowledge for a Christian? Martin Luther referred to three components as "the minimum of knowledge required of a Christian" (Large Catechism). Just as a craftsman knows the fundamentals of his craft, every Christian ought to know: The Creed The Ten Commandments The Lord's Prayer And not simply to recite them, but practice and grow in them. Meditate, pray, live, explore their implications, institute them in daily life. The Creed ("I believe") states who God is and what he does. The Ten Commandments are God's intended picture of what it means to live a human life. The Lord's Prayer is how we are to relate and communicate with the living God through all of life's challenges. Two factors of modern society make these three baseline components evermore important. 1.) We live in a complex society. Therefore simplicity provides a focus that cuts through the overwhelming volumes of information that exist. 2.) We live in an increasingly post-Christian society. So the basic tenets of Christianity take on greater significance. When "everyone went to church," the creed was less provocative. As fewer people speak the creed, it grows more profound. Luther recommended weekly examinations on these three components. Tell me how that goes in your home. Even if you don't quiz yourself or your family, his point was to never believe that you've mastered the basics. The basics are a depth to be mined for a lfietime. A well with no bottom. We are always living with what we believe (creed), how to live (commandments), and how to call on God through the trials of life (Lord's Prayer). Luther noted, "These have been the heritage of Christendom from ancient times . . . so that all who wish to be Christians in fact as well as in name, both young and old, may be well trained in them." At my church, we begin a series on the Ten Commandments on April 19th. "Set Free to Live Free." Stressed grapes make good wine. Swollen orbs and clinging vine. When it's hot upon the hill, That's when roots dig deeper still. Good vines make for good fruit, Pushing down a buried root. Twisting 'round to reach the sky, Leaves like wings extend to fly. Liquor is made by fermentation. Only death can bring salvation. The precious product of decay, Comes from life that passed away. Sip the blend of soil and sun. Breath the scent of vic'tory won. Raise your glass to make a toast. Of your painful seasons boast. That's when grapes become the most. It's Holy Week. Meditate on reflections from "old dead guys" - church fathers. Today, Leo the Great, a 5th century pope.
When our Lord was handed over to the will of his cruel foes, they ordered him, in mockery of his royal dignity, to carry the instrument of his own torture. To the wicked, the sight of the Lord carrying his own cross was indeed an object of derision. But to the faithful a great mystery was revealed, for the cross was destined to become the scepter of his power. Here was the majestic spectacle of a glorious conqueror mightily overthrowing the hostile forces of the devil and nobly bearing the trophy of his victory. On the shoulders of his invincible patience he carried the sign of salvation for all the kingdoms of the earth to worship, as if on that day he would strengthen all his future disciples by the symbol of his work, and say to them, "anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Leo the Great This is Holy Week. Meditate on the words of "old dead guys" - church fathers who have walked the road of this week centuries before. Today, Cyril of Alexandria, bishop of Alexandria from 412 to 444 AD.
It was providential and the fruit of God's inexpressible purpose that the title was written in three languages: one in Hebrew, another in Latin and another in Greek. For it lay in plain view, proclaiming the kingdom of our Savior Christ in the most widely known of all languages . . . fulfilling the prophecy that had been spoken concerning him. Paul teaches us, crying out that "every knee shall bow; of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth. And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Therefore the title proclaiming Jesus "king" was, as it were, the true first fruits of the confession of tongues. Cyril of Alexandria |
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