ROUGHLY EDITED COPY CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY EDUCATION NETWORK CUENET LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS 2-19 DR. ROBERT KOLB CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY: CAPTION FIRST, INC. P.O. BOX 1024 LOMBARD, IL 60148 800-825-5234 *** THIS TEXT IS BEING PROVIDED IN A ROUGH DRAFT FORMAT. COMMUNICATION ACCESS REALTIME TRANSLATION (CART) IS PROVIDED IN ORDER TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION ACCESSIBILITY AND MAY NOT BE A TOTALLY VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS. *** LC2-19 >> I'M THINKING ABOUT HOW I WILL COMMUNICATE THIS TO MY CONGREGATION MEMBERS IN THE FUTURE. IS REDEMPTION A GOOD WORD FOR WHAT CHRIST DOES FOR US? THAT'S WHAT LUTHER SAYS, "HE HAS REDEEMED ME." WHY DOES LUTHER CHOOSE THAT PARTICULAR WORD? >>DR. ROBERT KOLB: I'M NOT SURE THAT I WOULD USE REDEMPTION AS MY FIRST EXPLANATION FOR THE WORK OF CHRIST IN THIS DAY. AND REALLY WE'VE SORT OF LOST THE TERM REDEMPTION AND I'M SURE, ERIC, THAT YOU FIND THAT TRUE AMONG THE PEOPLE WITH WHOM YOU'RE WORKING, TOO. THE WORD WAS A GOOD WORD IN LUTHER'S GERMAN. IT'S AN IMPORTANT BIBLICAL WORD. THOUGH, IT'S ONE THAT SOMETIMES I THINK WE CONFUSE A LITTLE BIT AND DON'T GET IN REAL CLEAR FOCUS. PETER FACED THE SAME PROBLEM IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT IN HIS FIRST EPISTLE. REDEMPTION WAS SOMETHING YOU COULD DO WITH GOLD OR SILVER IN HIS WORLD. BUT HE SAID, "OH, NO. THIS ISN'T A REDEMPTION WITH GOLD OR SILVER. THIS IS A REDEMPTION WITH THE HOLY PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. HE IS THE LAMB OF GOD." AND THE LAMB OF GOD DIDN'T GIVE TIME TO A LEADER ON THE ALTAR AND THEN GO BACK TO PLAY. REDEMPTION INVOLVES THE PAYMENT NOT OF A FINE BUT THE PAYMENT OF THE ULTIMATE PUNISHMENT FOR SIN, DEATH ITSELF. AND SO AS WE LOOK BACK TO -- WELL, TO THE CLASSIC CASE OF THE USE OF THE WORD REDEMPTION IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THE REDEMPTION OF THE PEOPLE FROM EGYPT, WE SEE THAT INDEED THERE WAS A SLAVE THAT NEEDED TO BE FREED. IF WE WANT TO USE THE PURCHASE OF A SLAVE'S FREEDOM AS THE ANALOGY, THERE WAS A SLAVE TO BE FREED. THERE WAS A SLAVE MASTER, PHARAOH, THE EGYPTIANS. BUT THE PAYMENT OF THE PRICE IS NOT CLEAR. YOU CAN SAY PHARAOH GOT SOME MORE WATER THAN HE REALLY NEEDED I SUPPOSE. BUT THE POINT IS, THE FINAL RESULT OF GOD'S REDEEMING ACTION, THE LIBERATION OF HIS PEOPLE, THE FREEDOM THAT CAME IN RESPONSE TO THE PRAYER "LET MY PEOPLE GO." IN THE NEW TESTAMENT WE INDEED CONSIDER A PRICE, THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. BUT IT'S NOT REALLY PAID TO THE SLAVE MASTER. IT DROWNS THE SLAVE MASTER, OUR SIN, SATAN, THE LAW THAT IS ACCUSING US. BUT THE EMPHASIS THERE, TOO, IS THAT CHRIST BY THE SACRIFICES, DEATH BY SUBSTITUTING HIMSELF FOR US, HE HAS REALLY FREED US. AND AS WE SAID JUST A FEW MOMENTS AGO, HE HAS FREED US FOR GENUINE HUMAN LIVING. HE HAS FREED US FOR WHAT WE CALL THE SANCTIFIED LIFE. THAT IS HE HAS FREED US IN LUTHER'S WORDS IN THE SMALL CATECHISM FOR SERVING HIM IN ETERNAL RIGHTEOUSNESS, INNOCENCE AND BLESSEDNESS. SO I THINK WE NEED TO BE SENSITIVE TO THE FACT THAT THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WORD THAT DESCRIBES THE WORK OF CHRIST FOR OUR SALVATION. AND IN FACT, NONE OF THOSE WORDS GIVE US AN EXPLANATION THAT ALLOWS US TO BE IN CHARGE OF WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR US. IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY SOME 80, 90 YEARS AGO, A SWEDISH SCHOLAR NAMED GUSTAF ELAINE TALKED ABOUT THREE ATONEMENT MOTIFS. THAT IS THREE WAYS OF EXPLAINING THE WORK OF CHRIST IN THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY. ONE WAS THE FAVORITE OF THE EARLY CHURCH, CHRIST AS THE VICTOR. A SECOND WAS A MEDIEVAL SCHEMA THAT SAID CHRIST WAS THE VICTIM FOR OUR SINS, OUR VICAR, THE ONE WHO TAKES OUR PLACE. HE TALKED ABOUT VICARIOUS SATISFACTION. AND STILL ANOTHER MODEL WAS THE MORAL EXAMPLE THAT CHRIST ATONES FOR OUR SINS BY GIVING US A MODEL FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING. ELAINE TRIED TO SUGGEST THAT UNLIKE MOST MEDIEVAL THEOLOGIANS AND UNLIKE MOST LUTHERAN THEOLOGIANS, SINCE LUTHER EMPHASIZED CHRIST AS VICTOR MORE THAN CHRIST AS VICTIM AND VICAR. I'M NOT SURE I AGREE WITH ELAINE BECAUSE CHRIST FOR LUTHER IS INDEED THE VICTOR, THE ONE WHO DEVOURS, GOBBLES DOWN DEATH HE SAID. BUT HE IS ALSO VERY MUCH THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB WHO BURIES OUR SINS THROUGH HIS DEATH IN HIS TOMB. ACTUALLY LUTHER USES A COUPLE OF OTHER PICTURES THAT ARE VERY INTERESTING. AND WE GET SOME GLIMPSES OF THEM PARTICULARLY IN THE LARGE CATECHISM. ONE IS HIS IMAGE OF A JOYFUL OR HAPPY EXCHANGE. ONE OF MY FRIENDS SAYS THE SWEET SWAP OF OUR SINFULNESS FOR HIS INNOCENCE. IT'S THE PICTURE OF BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM COMING TOGETHER, EACH DISTINCT PERSONALITIES BUT SHARING ALL THAT THEY HAVE. SO THE BRIDE'S SINFULNESS IS TAKEN BY THE BRIDEGROOM. BUT THE BRIDEGROOM'S INNOCENCE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IS BESTOWED UPON THE BRIDE. THE OTHER IMAGE THAT LUTHER LIKED TO USE PARTICULARLY IN THE GREAT GALATIONS COMMENTARY OF 1535 IS THE IMAGE -- IT'S SORT OF A JOHN WAYNE IMAGE OF CHRIST AS THE VICTOR WHO TAKES ON SATAN IN A DUEL AND WHO THOUGH HE IS SLAIN BY SATAN ARISES TO SLAIN SATAN AND DO TO AWAY WITH HIS ENTIRE WAY OF LIFE AND HIS LIES ABOUT HUMAN REALITY TO DEATH. SO THERE ARE A NUMBER -- FIRST OF ALL, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WAYS IN THE BIBLE. BUT LUTHER FOUND ALSO POST BIBLICAL 16TH CENTURY KINDS OF IMAGES FOR THE REDEEMING VICTORY OF CHRIST, FOR THE SACRIFICIAL DEATH. THE SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT AS WELL AS HIS RESURRECTION TO MAKE CLEAR, TO PROCLAIM, THE LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS AND HIS SAVING WORK. SO I THINK, ERIC, YOU AND I NEED TO BE WORKING, TOO, FOR LOOKING AROUND FOR THE BEST DEFINITIONS, TAKING THOSE BIBLICAL IMAGES TO HELP OUR PEOPLE COME TO A BETTER DEEPER FAITH AND TRUST TO COMING TO THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST. THEN WE NEED TO LOOK IN OUR WORLD THAT MAYBE THERE ARE SOME NEW ANALOGIES THAT HELP OUR PEOPLE UNDERSTAND JUST HOW GOD IS AT WORK THROUGH JESUS CHRIST TO SAVE US, HIS PEOPLE, FROM OUR SINS. *** THIS TEXT IS BEING PROVIDED IN A ROUGH DRAFT FORMAT. COMMUNICATION ACCESS REALTIME TRANSLATION (CART) IS PROVIDED IN ORDER TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION ACCESSIBILITY AND MAY NOT BE A TOTALLY VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS. ***