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"And just as the Word has been given in order to excite this
faith, so the Sacrament has been instituted in order that the outward
appearance meeting the eyes might move the heart to believe [and strengthen
faith]. For through these, namely, through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Ghost
works."
Apology Augsburg Confession, XXIV
(XII), #70. The Mass. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing
House, 1921, p. 409. Tappert, p. 262. Heiser, p. 123.
"Our adversaries have no testimonies and no command from
Scripture for defending the application of the ceremony for liberating the
souls of the dead, although from this they derive infinite revenue. Nor,
indeed, is it a light sin to establish such services in the Church without the command
of God and without the example of Scripture, and to apply to the dead the
Lord's Supper, which was instituted for commemoration and preaching among the
living [for the purpose of strengthening the faith of those who use the
ceremony]. This is to violate the Second Commandment, by abusing God's
name."
Apology Augsburg Confession, XXIV. #89. The Mass. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 413f. Tappert, p. 265f. Heiser, p. 124.
"Whoever denies the Real Presence of the body and blood of
Christ in the Lord's Supper must pervert the words of Institution where Christ
the Lord, speaking of that which He gives His Christians to eat, says: 'This is
My body,' and, speaking of that which He gives them to drink, says: 'This is My
blood.' [Also 1 Corinthians 10:16]
Francis Pieper, The Difference
between Orthodox and Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St.
Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 40. 1 Corinthians 10:16.
"If Reformed theology wishes to free itself from the
confusion of self-contradiction and its other Christological errors, it must by
all means eliminate its rationalistic principle that the finite is not capable
of the infinite."
Francis Pieper, Christian
Dogmatics, 3 vols., St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1951, II, p. p.
275.
"And all these are established by the words by which Christ
has instituted it, and which every one who desires to be a Christian and go to
the Sacrament should know. For it is not our intention to admit to it and to
administer it to those who know not what they seek, or why they come."
Large Catechism, The Sacrament of
the Altar. #2. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1921, p. 753. Tappert, p. 447. Heiser, p. 210.
"For it is not founded upon the holiness of men, but upon the
Word of God. And as no saint upon earth, yea, no angel in heaven, can make
bread and wine to be the body and blood of Christ, so also can no one change or
alter it, even though it be misused. For the Word by which it became a
Sacrament and was instituted does not become false because of the person or his
unbelief. For He does not say: If you believe or are worthy you receive My body
and blood, but: Take, eat and drink; this is My body and blood."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of
the Altar. #16-17. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1921, p. 757. Tappert, p. 448. Heiser, p. 211.
"On this account it is indeed called a food of souls, which
nourishes and strengthens the new man. For by Baptism we are first born anew;
but (as we said before) there still remains, besides, the old vicious nature of
flesh and blood in man, and there are so many hindrances and temptations of the
devil and of the world that we often become weary and faint, and sometimes also
stumble."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of
the Altar. #23. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1921, p. 757. Tappert, p. 449. Heiser, p. 211f.
"Therefore it {communion}is given for a daily pasture and
sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself so as not to fall back
in such a battle, but become every stronger and stronger. For the new life must
be so regulated that it continually increase and progress; but it must suffer much
opposition. For the devil is such a furious enemy that when he sees that we
oppose him and attack the old man, and that he cannot topple us over by force,
he prowls and moves about on all sides, tries all devices, and does not desist,
until he finally wearies us, so that we either renounce our faith or yield
hands and feet and become listless or impatient. Now to this end the
consolation is here given when the heart feels that the burden is becoming too
heavy, that it may here obtain new power and refreshment."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of
the Altar. #24-27. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1921, p. 759. Tappert, p. 449. Heiser, p. 211.
"For here in the Sacrament you are to receive from the lips
of Christ forgiveness of sin, which contains and brings with it the grace of
God and the Spirit with all His gifts, protection, shelter, and power against
death and the devil and all misfortune."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of
the Altar. #70. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1921, p. 769. Tappert, p. 454. Heiser, p. 214.
"Therefore, if you cannot feel it {the works of the flesh,
Galatians 5:199ff. above}, at least believe the Scriptures; they will not lie
to you, and they know your flesh better than you yourself...Yet, as we have
said, if you are quite dead to all sensibility, still believe the Scriptures,
which pronounce sentence upon you. And, in short, the less you feel your sins
and infirmities, the more reason have you to go to the Sacrament to seek help
and a remedy."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of
the Altar. #76-78. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1921, p. 771. Tappert, p. 455. Heiser, p. 214.
"Calvin was dissatisfied with Zwingli's interpretation of the
Lord's Supper, but his own interpretation was also wrong. He said that a person
desiring to receive the body and blood of Christ could not get it under the
bread and wine, but must by his faith mount up to heaven, where the Holy Spirit
would negotiate a way for feeding him with the body and blood of Christ. These
are mere vagaries, which originated in Calvin's fancy. But an incident like
this shows that men will not believe that God bears us poor sinners such great
love that He is willing to come to us."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper
Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1928, p. 185.
"Is the Lord's Supper the place to display my toleration, my
Christian sympathy, or my fellowship with another Christian, when that is the
very point in which most of all we differ; and in which the difference means
for me everything--means for me, the reception of the Savior's atonement? Is
this the point to be selected for the display of Christian union, when in fact
it is the very point in which Christian union does not exist?"
Theodore E. Schmauk and C. Theodore
Benze, The Confessional Principle and the Confessions, as Embodying the
Evangelical Confession of the Christian Church, Philadelphia: 1911, p.
905f.
"For in Confession as in the Lord's Supper you have the
additional advantage, that the Word is applied to your person alone. For in
preaching it flies out into the whole congregation, and although it strikes you
also, yet you are not so sure of it; but here it does not apply to anyone
except you. Ought it not to fill your heart with joy to know a place where God
is ready to speak to you personally? Yea, if we had a chance to hear an angel
speak we would surely run to the ends of the earth."
Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin
Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983
II, p. 199.
"In addition there is this perversion, that whereas Christ
instituted the use of His Supper for all who receive it, who take, eat, and
drink, the papalist Mass transfers the use and benefit of the celebration of
the Lord's Supper in our time to the onlookers, who do not communicate, yes, to
those who are absent, and even to the dead."
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the
Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1986, II, p. 498.
"However, you will be sure as to whether the sacrament is
efficacious in your heart, if you watch your conduct toward your neighbor. If
you discover that the words and he symbol soften and move you to be friendly to
your enemy, to take an interest in your neighbor's welfare, and to help him
bear his suffering and affliction, then all is well. On the other hand, if you
do not find it so, you continue uncertain even if you were to commune a hundred
times a day with devotions so great as to move you to tears for very joy; for
wonderful devotions like this, very sweet to experience, yet as dangerous as
sweet, amount to nothing before God. Therefore we must above all be certain for
ourselves, as Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:10: 'Give the more diligence to make
your calling and election sure.'"
Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin
Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983
II, p. 211. 2 Peter 1:10.
"Hence it is manifest how unjustly and maliciously the
Sacramentarian fanatics (Theodore Beza) deride the Lord Christ, St. Paul, and
the entire Church in calling this oral partaking, and that of the unworthy, duos
pilos caudae equinae et commentum, cuius vel ipsum Satanam pudeat,
as also the doctrine concerning the majesty of Christ, excrementum Satanae,
quo diabolus sibi ipsi et hominibus illudat, that is, they speak so
horribly of it that a godly Christian man should be ashamed to translate it.
[two hairs of a horse's tail and an invention of which even Satan himself would
be ashamed; Satan's excrement, by which the devil amuses himself and deceives
men].
Formula of Concord, Epitome,
Article VII, Lord's Supper, 67, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1921, p. 997. Tappert, p. 581f. Heiser, p. 270.
"Dr. Luther, who, above others, certainly understood the true
and proper meaning of the Augsburg Confession, and who constantly remained
steadfast thereto till his end, and defended it, shortly before his death
repeated his faith concerning this article with great zeal in his last
Confession, where he writes thus: 'I rate as one concoction, namely, as
Sacramentarians and fanatics, which they also are, all who will not believe
that the Lord's bread in the Supper is His true natural body, which the godless
or Judas received with the mouth, as well as did St. Peter and all [other]
saints; he who will not believe this (I say) should let me alone, and hope for
no fellowship with me; this is not going to be altered [thus my opinion stands,
which I am not going to change]."
Formula of Concord, Epitome,
Article VII, Lord's Supper, 33, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1921, p. 983. Tappert, p. 575. Heiser, p. 267.
"Besides this, you will also have the devil about you, whom
you will not entirely tread under foot, because our Lord Christ Himself could
not entirely avoid him. Now, what is the devil? Nothing else than what the
Scriptures call him, a liar and murderer. A liar, to lead the heart astray from
the Word of God, and blind it, that you cannot feel your distress or come to
Christ. A murderer, who cannot bear to see you live one single hour. If you
could see how many knives, darts, and arrows are every moment aimed at you, you
would be glad to come to the Sacrament as often as possible."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #80-82. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 771f. Tappert, p. 456. Heiser, p. 214.