Thursday, March 18, 2010

FW: The Book of Concord

A good reminder…

 

Feed: Confessional's Bytes
Posted on: Thursday, March 18, 2010 2:14 PM
Author: Jim Pierce
Subject: The Book of Concord

 

"The Book of Concord should be in every Lutheran home. For that reason our church should provide a good, inexpensive copy, and pastors should see to it that every home has one. If a person isn't familiar with this book, he'll think, "That old book is just for pastors. I don't have to preach. After working all day, I can't sit down and study in the evening. If I read my morning and evening devotions, that's enough." No, that is not enough! The Lord doesn't want us to remain children, who are blown to and fro by every wind of doctrine; instead of that, He wants us to grow in knowledge so that we can teach others." (C.F.W. Walther, Essays for the Church, Vol. II, pg. 51).

Mr. Walther is correct. The Book of Concord (BoC) should be in every home and every Lutheran should sit down and study the BoC as often as possible. Why? Because the BoC is more than a good book containing history and interesting ideas. It is a true exposition of the Holy Scriptures and from it you will learn what the scriptures teach us about the core doctrines of the Christian faith. In studying the BoC you will have gained invaluable knowledge that will help you discern truth from error and in this day and age of apostasy and lukewarmness in the Church, being prepared to give a reasonable explanation for the hope that is within you to another person is key. So, if you don't have a BoC buy one. You can find one used at Amazon.com (click here), or you can buy one new for not that much more at Concordia Publishing House (click here). In fact the BoC is on sale at CPH for $20 which is a steal for a book of this high quality. If purchasing a BoC is problematic right now, no worries. You can read it online by clicking here. One advantage to reading it online is that the electronic form of the BoC is searchable. So you can do key words studies if you want, and much more.

Do you already own a BoC, but you don't know where to start or would like to read it with others? Visit the Brothers of John the Steadfast and find a reading group near you (click here). If there isn't one close by, then talk with your pastor about starting a reading group at your church and contact the Brothers of John the Steadfast and ask about their packet of information that can assist you in starting a reading group.


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