Full Text for CTM Book Review 9-12 (Text)

Qtnurnr~ta m~tnln!ltral :!Intttl}ly Continuing LEHRE UNO VVEHRE MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLy-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. IX December, 1938 No. 12 CONTENTS Pap A Course in Lutheran Theology. Th. Engelder _______________________ 881 The Arrival of the Saxons in St. Louis. w. G. Polack ___ .___________ 905 The Pastor and Foreign Missions. A_ M. Rebwinkel _____________ . ___ 908 The U. L. C. A. and the Doctrine of Inspiration. W. Arndt _______ 917 Predigtentwuerfe fuer die Evangelien der Thomasius- Perikopenreihe ______________________ . __________________________ ________________ 924 Miscellanea ___________ . ___________ ... ___________________________ . ________________________ .___ 935 Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitgeschichtliches ___________ 940 Book Review. - Literatur ____________________________________________________ ._______________ 953 EIn Prediger muss nlcht aIle1n wei- den, also dass er die Schafe unter- weise. wle sIe rechte Christen sollen seln. sondem auch daneben den Woel- fen weh1"en, dass sie die Schafe nlcht angrelfen und mit falscher Lehre ver- fuehren und Irrtum elnfuehren_ Luthe1"_ Es lst keln Ding. das die Leute mehr bel der Kirche behaelt denn die gute Predigt. - Apologia, Arl. 24. If the trumpet give an uncertain sound who shall prepare hlmself to the battle? - 1 C01".14, 8. Published for the Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUBLlSIDNG BOUSE, St. Louis, Mo. Book Review - 53iteratur 953 Book Review - £itmttUt The Cross from Coast to Coast. By Dr. Walter A. Maier. Concordia Pub- lishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 403 pages, 51JzX7%. Price, $1.50. This volume contains the twenty-eight radio sermons delivered by Dr. Walter A. Maier of our Concordia Seminary Faculty in the Fifth Lu- theran Hour. A few of the topics treated are herewith given: The Value of Your Soul, The Promise of Salvation, Completeness in Christ, Rebirth in Christ, Eternal Destiny in the Christ-child, The Church in Your Home, The Divine Solution to the Mystery of Sorrow, Jesus Only, Plenteous Grace, Back to the Unbroken Promises of the Bible, Truth for a Truth- hungry World, The Ever-living Christ. Dr. Maier does not mince words in depicting the evils of our day, nor does he fail to direct the terrified sinner to Jesus, the only Savior. His presentation is clear; his style is fascinating. A sample is herewith given: "Now Luther knew the meaning of grace, the undeserved mercy of God in Christ; now, as he beheld the cross, he realized that sins which he could never remove had been washed away by the blood of his dying Savior and that this full and final cleansing, the free gift of divine mercy, was his 'through faith' under that all-inclusive promise: 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' "This blessing of free grace through the compassion of a merciful Savior, together with the restoration of the other priceless gifts of New Testament Christianity: the open Bible with its infallible direction, the Sacraments restored according to the original institution of Christ Him- self, the priesthood of all believers, these and other eternal truths, which for many had been denied or corrupted, were now revived by God through the Reformation. "What life-and-death lessons we must find for ourselves in that dis- covery, even though some have been asking themselves, 'Why do we need to be saved? From what must we be delivered?' If this age has so far lost its sense of right and wrong that it can gloss over screaming wicked- ness, make the envoys of Satan appear as angels of light, smile at adultery and regard impurity not only as the sowing of wild oats but, as some say, the desirable expression of inborn passions; if too frequently the attitudes of current books and magazines, motion-pictures and enter- tainments, can varnish the sordid sins of popular sinners of our day until they gleam; if the enforcement of law in some places has broken down so completely that, according to the mayor of one of the nation's largest cities, of 14,000 arrests on charges of vice and other crimes only forty- seven were brought before court and punished, we must expect that the individual's sense of his own sin has often been drugged into secure slumber. As the sense of sin decreases, that gray-with-age pagan sel£- righteousness increases. How many times have I heard it in the beamed and paneled offices of self-satisfied executives or from the lips of those who shiver in winding bread-lines before municipal lodging-houses, among university men and women or among illiterates, - this claim: 'My religion is to be good and to do good.' 954 Book Review - .\.litetalUt "Be clear on this: That is not the religion of Jesus Christ. Under- line this warning: That creed has never brought anyone into heaven. The faith that can save men with positive finality is the blessed truth which does not ignore sin, minimize it, but makes sinners contritely con- fess their own unworthiness, reduces them and exalts God until they are nothing and He is everything, the personal confession, '1 know that .in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing,' and then the con- fident and complete acceptance of this promise, 'By grace are ye saved through faith.' "May this Reformation Day bring a reforming, renewing, revitalizing power into your lives as you contemplate the blessed meaning of these :seven one-syllable words 'By grace are ye saved through faith.' It may not be given to some of you to hear another broadcast; but whether you stand before God within the next seven days or the next seven decades, in this faith you have all that you need to claim your prepared place. For Christ's blessed doctrine of sure salvation contains no 'per- haps' and 'possibly,' no 'maybe' and 'maybe not'; it is no hit-or-miss theory, no pious leap in the dark, no theological random shot. As the unchangeable truth of God His promise 'Ye are saved' will remain when the earth beneath us is consumed and the firmament above us vanishes, when mountains have crumbled and oceans dried. "As I ask you to behold 'the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,' the pardon for which He paid with His own blood, and tell you that in our Savior there is enough mercy for a myriad of worlds, enough pardon for a race a million times larger than ours, enough grace, though your guilt were a thousand thousand times more terrifying than it is, believe with your hearts that Christ on the cross, in our stead, has done all that you and I need for the removal of our sins and our restoration to God 'by grace . . . through faith.' " In his foreword Dr. Maier says: "We cannot contemplate the astonishing growth of our radio mission, 'Bringing Christ to the Nation,' without acknowledging gratefully the guidance of our heavenly Father, to whose blessing every step of our progress must be ascribed. Four years ago, when the Lutheran Hour was reestablished, we had the facilities of only two stations; when last week our broadcast closed for the summer, its coast-to-coast chain embraced sixty-two stations, besides others that rebroadcast our pro- grams or that carried the message optionally and occasionally. From an insignificant broadcast the Lutheran Hour has in four years grown to 'such proportions that it has been described by the public press as the nation's largest religious program, measured by the decisive criterion of mail response. For this as for every other blessing of our fifth season we say, 'Not unto us, 0 Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory!' "Never before has divine benediction rested so demonstrably on our ·efforts. More than 125,000 individuals from every State in the Union, from every province in Canada, from Mexico, from the high seas, wrote to express their interest in our programs or their support of our message, 'How reassuring this response was! Some had begun to feel that after .several years of broadcasting the Gospel a saturation point might. be Book Review - £ttetatut 955 reached; yet we are grateful to record that this year our listening audience increased about 50 per cent." What results are achieved by these broadcasts? Christ, our Lord and Savior, tells us that we should preach the Gospel in all the world to every creature, and He Himself has given us the promise that by this Gospel the Holy Spirit will convert sinners. We Christians should have enough faith in our Lord's promise and in the power of the Gospel to carry on irrespective of results. However, the Lord also lets us see some of the blessings of our Gospel-preaching. Dr. Maier in his foreword also says: "Only eternity, as many have written to remind us, will reveal the full blessings of the broadcast Word. We can use the measurement only of imperfect statistics to assure ourselves that God has blessed the radio employed for the furtherance of His kingdom. One fourth of the pastors of my Church answering a questionnaire indicated that last year the fourth Lutheran Hour brought them 1,000 missionary prospects and almost two hundred converts. As we praise God for these blessings, we have reason to believe that these encouraging figures are by no means complete." Also the prayers offered in connection with the broadcasts have been printed in this book. This volume of radio sermons has been dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Louis H. Waltke, "in gratitude for their encouragement and generous support of our radio mission." The purchaser of the book will find many excerpts in response to the broadcasts printed on the reverse side of the book's jacket. Our Lutheran Church is happy to have the opportunity of this nation-wide broadcast of the Gospel. We know that it is filling a great need in our country at this time. The cost of the broadcast was over $100,000. About one half of this sum was contributed by listeners in the weekly mail; the other one half was paid by congregations, societies, and individuals of our church-body. The Lutheran Laymen's League makes the necessary arrangements for these broadcasts, which are conducted under its auspices. Prepara- tions are at this writing being made for the Sixth Lutheran Hour. JOHN H. C. FRITZ 'S)er (leroJb @Jotte~. ~in £ut~etmott fUt ieben %ag. 288 ~eiten 5X7lh. lBet~ rag bon :;So~anne~ Sjettmann, (lmid'au, ~ad)fen. 5.):lteis: M.3.80. WCan oefteUe burd) Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. :!let aIte ~itad) fd)teibt bon bem @efet bes Sj~ttn, bon bet mioe!: ,,@t if! nie gemefen, bet es ausge{etnet ~atte, unb mitb nimmetme~t merben, ber es aus~ gtiinben mod)te. :!lenn fein ~inn ift retd)et meber fein WCeer unb fein !fiott tiefet benn fein mogtunb", ~alJ. 24, 38. 39. !fieU et an hiefer unetfd)illJfrid)en QueUe gefeffen unb baraus feine !fieis~ett gefd)Jjl>ft ~at, fo fd)teiot et meitet: "SJJteine £e~te reud)tet fo meit a!s bet Hd)te SJJtotgen unb fd)einet fetne. mud) ;d)Uttet meine £e~te !fieisfagung aus, bie emig o!eioen mub", lB. 45. 46. S!)iefe !fiotte famen mit in ben ~inn, afg id) oei @e!egen~eit unfetet Sjausanbad)t aud) "bas ooengenannte mud) oenutte, motin fUt ieben %ag fUt3e £ut~ermotte bat~ geooten merben. !fias £ut~er im fetnen !fiittenlietg getebet unb gefd)tielien ~at, Td)eint unb reud)tet aud) in unfetm fetnen £anbe. !fias £ut~et bor biet~unbett ::;Sa~ren aIS !fieisfagung ausfd)itttete, bas ~eibt, ag aus @ottes !fiott gefd)iilJfte 956 Book Review - ~itetatUt lSele~tttng, 1lIeibt nodj ~eute roa~t, trot\bem bie met~iiftniffe fo get-oamg fiefy beriinbert ~aben. Iffian bergiflt beim Defen, bafl bas in einem anbent Danb untet giin3Iicf) berief)icbenen ,Beitumftiinben unb med)iiltniffen gef'()Tieocn 1110rben ift, fo ~affenb finb bicic \[\.lorte fiir unfere ametifmtifef)cn mer~ii!tniifc unb ,Buftiinbe in .ltitdje unb Welt. 5l.ller noci) SDeutfd) 1elcn tann, roet fiel) DUft mlD 5.Jiebe 3U Dut~ets griif3mn @5cl)tiften erroecten roill, bet gtdfe au biefem ausge3eici)ueten ~htbac()t5bud). % I). ~ ii t f cl) :tfjellfllgifd)c Q;;!;ifteutj gente. (Igr.,.ltaifer,metlag, Iffiiinef)en. ideft 50: Sola fide - b cr 5 i ft 1 U t ~ e r i f d).mon idaus SUsllmfjen. 82 @5citen. l1.lteis, ge~eftct: RIVLl.l0. - ideft 52: mOll bet ®emeinfclJaft d)rift, 1 i dj enD e ben s. mon id. :;So :;SluGnb. 27 @5eitcn. ~reiS: .50.- ideft 53: (\j c f e tun b 0: ban gel i u m. mon 0:. @5ctHuf. 102 @5eiten. ~:ltets: 1.60. IBcfennenbe ~trdjc. (Igt.,staifet,metlag, Iffiiindjen. ideft 53/54: .It r i tit be r nat ii t 1 i dj en % ~ eo log i e. mon id. %l)ielictc. 52 @5eiten. ~reis: 1. - ideft 55: id er man n bon lS C3 3 cI 5 .11: cr m ~ fum ei n e "lS e , ten II C 11 b e S1: i r dj e". mOll w. ®tic136adj. 36 @5citen. ~rcis: .70. Theologia mHitans. s~l. SDeief)ettfef)e lBucl)9unblung, 2eiNig. &)eft 16: lill at u m reb e t b i e sr i r ef) e bOll @5 U 11 be? mon Iffi. 'Bornc, 26 @5eiten. ~:ltets, ge~efiet: RM, .75. -- ideft 17: 5D i e ti ref) 1 i ef) enD r b nun, 9 e n a 1 s 0: t 3 i e 1) u n g sma ef) t. mon iSr. 2au, 48 @5citen. l1.lreis: 1.35. - [deft 18: ® 0 t t e s g fa u b e un b ~ n f e ef) t u It g b e i D u t lJ e r. mon iSr • .11:. 5ef)umann. 19 5eHen. l1.ltei~: .50. - ideft 19. ~l u f gab e un b ® ten 3 e b e r ® e r i eli t § ~ t e big t. mon ffd, @5(1)tciuer. 18 @5eb ten. ~teiS: ,50, :;5n biefen S;,cften luitb mancl)es @ute bargcboten, abet auef) mandjes, roas lllinbctlOertig 1mb bcdcl)t! ift. mean roitb bas ffi:eferat ,,®ejct unb 0:bangefium" nie!)t ol)ne gto~en ~tuten 1efen, 0:5 be~anbelt jcr ben ®egenftanb, bet ,,\lerabe3u als bas %l)ema bet gefamten httgcrifdjen %geo1o(lie liegeief)net roerben tann: bie Untctfef)eibung bon ®efet unb 0:bangefium" (@5, 75), unb lic9anbelt ign in ben 19 ;tl)efen in fdjtiftgemii13er, futljerifdjet Weife. 'Bie Wagtl)eit roit'o immel; ein, gefefJiitft: ,,@5D ftel)t bet Iffienfdj unter Slud gan3 betfdjiebencn Woden un'll rann fie nidjt 10gifef) betc1nllaten." (@5. 82,) SDie ~lbl)anblun(\ befteL)t sum groflen %ell nus ,BUnten aus ben httl)erifdjen lSefenntni§fcl)rtften. 5ic licft fief) roie ein miffoutifdjet 5~noba16etief)t 'oer allen ;