Usually we speak of the Ten Commandments as the law of God which shows us our sin.  Furthermore, we know that only believers can do good works, because without faith nothing is pleasing to God (Heb. 11:6).  Good works flow from faith.  Nevertheless, when Luther describes the Ten Commandments as the fountainhead of all good works, he is contrasting God-ordained works with works which man makes up.  When an unbeliever lives 20 years within the estate of marriage, we should not be afraid to call it holy marriage–as marriage is established by God.  Thus, Luther has written, “For to be holy and to be saved are two entirely different things.  We are saved through Christ alone; but we become holy both through this faith and through these divine foundations and orders. Even the godless may have much about them that is holy without being saved thereby” (LW, v.37, p.364-365).

This lesson seeks to give some sound ways to speak about the God-instituted estates and the Table of Duties for those who live in these “various holy orders and positions” (Small Catechism).   God has established these estates not as a mean of acquiring salvation, but as both the means He uses to preserve His creation, and as the believer’s means by which, living in these estates, he gives thanks for God’s creation and salvation.

Handout 1: threee-estates-etc.pdf
Handout 2: ThreeEstates-Wolfmueller.pdf
Overheads: Gospel-Reset-Overheads-Jun-30-2019.pdf

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Although others have explained the three estates (church, family, and state) exclusively, the Word of God teaches these estates theologically and ethically.  Each and every person, believer or unbeliever, finds themselves to be a member of each estate.  The church was instituted in the Garden of Eden, before Eve was created and before the fall into sin.  The family was instituted when God united Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and before the fall into sin.  The state was instituted after the fall into sin, in order to curb sinful outbursts by the threat of punishment.

God has established these estates not as a mean of acquiring salvation, but as both the means God uses to preserve His creation, and as the believer’s means by which living in these estates he gives thanks for God’s creation and salvation

Handout 1: threee-estates-etc.pdf
Handout 2: ThreeEstates-Wolfmueller.pdf

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Although the American culture has indeed changed, we need to be careful how we describe this change.  The illustration on pages 53 and 82 seems to teach that the United States formerly had God’s Word as her foundation, but now the foundation is man’s word.  Let’s be clear:  The United States has never been a Christian nation.  The United State does not teach or enforce Christian doctrine.  She does not rule her citizens by the spiritual or even the civil righteousness of the Ten Commandments.  She was founded by rationalists, deists, and Christians.  I’m not sure that the majority of her inhabitants were ever practicing Christians–but maybe at some time.  We can say that general Biblical knowledge of the population has probably declined.  We can say that outwardly immoral behavior (civil righteousness) has become more acceptable.  We can say that many are openly denying natural law and the conclusions of human reason in order to embrace their own sinful desires.

We also need to be concerned when the church is directed to influence “culture.”  For example, p.117 says, “The church is, by and large, no longer influencing the culture in our once very Christianized West, but now the culture is rapidly influencing  (infiltrating) the church.”  When the foundation and purpose for the right hand (church) kingdom and the left hand (state) kingdom are not properly distinguished, there will be much mischief.  Next week we will take up the topic of the three estates in order to determine what kind of “influence” is appropriate.

Overheads 1: Gospel-Reset-Overheads-Jun-16-2019.pdf
Handout Page 8: Gospel-Reset-Class-Eight-May-19-2019.pdf

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We need to understand the difference between trying to prove the Bible is true by extra-biblical evidence and showing that the extra-Biblical evidence agrees with or confirms (or at least doesn’t contradict) the teachings of the Bible.  The problem with trying to prove the Bible is true is that the person’s trust now is built not on the Holy Scriptures, but upon another source of authority.  The Scriptural foundation is the only solid foundation that can be trusted.

This book uses the terms society, culture and worldview.   In this study we try to determine the meaning of the term worldview, and especially Christian worldview.  After examining several individual beliefs/values for both the Christian and the secular humanist, we saw that the actions of each would be different based on their beliefs/values.  Nevertheless, it was a Wikipedia article that explained that “Different demoninations of Christianity have varying worldviews.”  In addition, Wikipedia states that the term “worldview” can be anything from a “philosophical concept to a synonym for ‘doctrine.'”

Overheads 1: Gospel-Reset-Overheads-Jun-9-2019.pdf
Web Site Snippets: Worldview-Jun-9-2019.pdf

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There are differences between St. Peter’s address in Acts 2 and St. Paul’s address in Acts 17.  The speaker proceeds differently because of the knowledge or lack of knowledge of the hearers with regard to the true God and Creator, sin, death, and the promise of the Savior.  Nevertheless, both speeches use the Bible alone to bring the truth of Jesus Christ to the hearers.

In this study we are going to examine the two different approaches (to evangelism) which are used in this book for speaking to Christians (pages 11-14 and pages 111-112) and non-Christians (pages 109-111).  This book explains the difference within the hearers as either possessing or not possessing  “the foundation needed to comprehend a Christian worldview” (p.111).

Finally, we make a distinction between teaching about creation from natural knowledge and teaching about creation from revealed knowledge.

Handout 1: Gospel-Reset-Class-Eight-May-19-2019.pdf
Overheads: Gospel-Reset-Overheads-May-26-2019b.pdf

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In this Bible study, we compare and contrast Peter’s address in Acts 2 with St. Paul’s address in Acts 17.

The “sermon” in Acts 2 is made to Jews who already knew the Old Testament.  By means of the revealed knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, they knew that the one true God was the Creator of all things.  They knew about the fall into sin and the consequence of death.  They knew that God had promised to send a Savior to redeem the world.  Peter’s sermon simply identified Jesus as the Messiah and fulfillment of God’s promise.

The “sermon” in Acts was made in the Athenian marketplace to a gathering of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers.  These Gentiles knew that there was a god, but their attempt at identifying and worshiping Him, was a miserable failure.  We looked at the basic teachings of Greek philosophy from the Epicureans and Stoics.  At the beginning of his speech, St. Paul refers to their natural knowledge, but he also calls their religion ignorance.  St. Paul needs to introduce to them the one true God as the Creator of heaven and earth.  He needs to explain that the required worship for righteousness was not the service of men’s hands.  Instead, the greatest worship is to receive the righteousness which comes by the man Jesus Christ through faith.  St. Paul preached the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Handout 1: Gospel-Reset-Class-Eight-May-19-2019.pdf
Overheads: Gospel-Reset-Overheads-May-26-2019b.pdf

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