A Study of
Luther's Large Catechism
as found in Concordia: the Lutheran Confessions, A Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord edited by Paul Timothy McCain, Second Edition, Concordia Publishing House, © 2006.
Session
Two
Opening Prayer:
The Law of
God Is Good and Wise
By:
Matthias Loy
The Law of God is good and
wise
And sets His
will before our eyes,
Shows us
the way of righteousness,
And dooms
to death when we transgress.
Its light
of holiness imparts
The
knowledge of our sinful hearts
That we
may see our lost estate
And seek
escape before too late.
To those who help in Christ
have found
And would
in works of love abound
It shows
what deeds are His delight
And should
be done as good and right.
But those
who scornfully disdain
God’s Law
shall then in sin remain,
Its terror
in their ear resounds
And keeps
their wickedness in bounds.
The Law is good; but since
the fall
Its holiness
condemns us all;
It dooms
us for our sin to die
And has no
pow’r to justify.
To Jesus
we for refuge flee,
Who from
the curse has set us free
And humbly
worship at his throne,
Saved by
his grace through faith alone.
Hymn #579 from Lutheran Service Book
Historical
setting: At creation God wrote his perfect law on the heart of man. Since the
fall into sin, people still have consciences, but they are flawed and need
direction by a special revelation of God’s will. On Mt. Sinai, God gave Moses
the 10 commandments. During the reformation, Luther taught Christians how to
use the 10 commandments (and the rest of the catechism) in regular, daily prayer
and meditation. Consider the rough timeline below. To show how these events fit
into the “big picture”, label the points for Moses and Luther.
Read
“Part One” in the Large Catechism beginning on page 359 -361 of Concordia:
The Lutheran Confessions.
1. You may want to underline or highlight Luther’s
answer to the question, “What does it mean to have a god?” (p. 359, #2)
2. What does God mean when He says we are to
have Him alone as our God?
3. What does God want our attitude toward Him to
be? (p. 359, #4)
4.
Look also at p. 332 and the meaning of the First Commandment in the Small
Catechism.
5.
Define “mammon” (p. 359, #6-7). See Matthew 6:24.
6.
List and describe some popular false gods of our generation. How does the
misguided heart feel toward each?
7. What does God call sinners to do in regard to
the 1st Commandment? (p. 360,
#13-15)
8 Luther states that “no people have ever been
so corrupt that they did not begin and continue some divine worship.”(p. 360,
#17). He then goes on to list some specific idols of past centuries (#18). List
some more recent examples of idols of false religions.
Tree in Benin where sacrifices are made. Photo by Sandy Koch, 2002. |
9. Note what Luther calls “false worship and
extreme idolatry. . . which seeks help,
consolation, and salvation in its own works (p. 360, #22). This is works
righteousness or self-righteousness. List examples of this.
10. Why is it so difficult for human nature "to receive anything from God as a gift?"
10. Why is it so difficult for human nature "to receive anything from God as a gift?"
10. What should we expect from God? (p. 361,
#24)
11.
In our present time, our lunch is much farther from the field than it was in
Luther’s time. How do you credit the hand of God giving you good as you receive
your daily bread?
12. “ the ways we receive good gifts through creatures are not to be
rejected.” (p. 361, #27) How can we evaluate programs like government subsidies
and entitlements in light of the first commandment?
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