This Friday is still good

Word from the Center
Written By Dr. Gregory Seltz

“It is finished” (John 19:30). God has eternally executed His justice on humanity’s rebellious sinfulness and made a merciful reboot for our eternal life with Him possible in this life and death moment of Jesus the Messiah. Salvation is God’s work alone. Only the cross can absolve and transform human hearts. Today, we are tempted to look past the cross or to avoid it altogether. The modern “heresy” (or better, “blindness) is the notion that our best efforts and the power of the “benevolent, secular state” is all that is needed for “life and salvation.” It is modern foolishness of an age-old problem.

Absent any political “solutions” for our deepest problems, Christians around the world focus why this Friday is still good for us and for all. The day that Jesus the Messiah died on the cross is “good.” Why? Because that’s what ultimate victory looks like in the Bible. When Jesus allows His perfect life and His innocent death to be exchanged, substituted for our sinful life, real, eternal life is possible again for us, for those who put their trust in God’s redemption through His Son. On Good Friday, Pontus Pilate, one of the political power brokers of that day, ironically and ignorantly snarled at Jesus, “Don’t you know that your life is in my hands?” Well, such arrogance then and now misses the whole point. Jesus’ life was, even then, in Jesus’ own hands to give up freely just for you and me. Good Friday is what justice being served and mercy being offered looks like. Good Friday is repentant sinners, captive to their own sin and rebellion, mercifully being set free from the eternal consequences of their sin. Just look!

Today, in the shadow of the cross where the Son of God gives up His life so that we might live, we repent of our sin and shame, our guilt and greed, pleading to God for His mercy. We do that for ourselves and for our nation too. We watch this Jesus, the God-man like no other, march to and through the cross so that sin, death, and even the devil himself might be vanquished for all time. As we engage our culture, as we serve our nation, we are always mindful of the reason that we do all that we do. We do it so that people might know of this Jesus who has done all things well for all.

It’s Good Friday. It is finished. The victory is won. Easter joy is mere days away. But such joy is always anchored in Good Friday’s Good work, God at work in Christ for you!

Every day, we proclaim to a broken world that God is good, that He does all things well. We proclaim that no matter what is going on at this very moment, God is at work to preserve and to save. Today we see the uniqueness of that salvation for each and every one of us, even as we protect the right to proclaim it so that all might hear and be saved! A blessed, Good Friday to you all.

The Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz is executive director of the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty.

Be Informed

People advocating for “Oregon’s law allowing doctors to prescribe lethal overdoses for some patients’ suicides” say it has safe guards in place. But a recent study shows that the safeguards are “largely meaningless.” Learn more here.

Be Equipped

Interested in ways your congregation can get involved in the pro-life movement? Revs. Mark Surburg and Kirk Clayton explain.

Be Encouraged

“That Self-Evident Proposition is, of course, the proposition that “all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights …” If [that] is logical and true, it follows that only Christian education delivered throughout the course of human lifetimes—and delivered with Lutheran attentiveness to the verbatim Word of God—is the way to know the self-evident truth for ourselves.”
— Rev. Dr. Gregory Schulz

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See Also
December Bulletin Insert
December Bulletin Insert

The Bulletin Insert is designed to be printed and cut in half to fit conveniently inside a Sunday worship bulletin. Each month an insert will offer insight, encouragement, and information from the LCRL on the topics of Religious Liberty, Life, Marriage, or Education.

December Bulletin Blurbs
December Bulletin Blurbs

The dates identifying the LCRL bulletin blurbs are only suggestions. Please feel free to use any and all of the bulletin blurbs as your ministry needs allow.

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Facts, Fiction, and the Media: Reading and Watching the News as a Lutheran

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Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips

This morning I sip coffee from one of his mugs: "Masterpiece Cakeshop: Yeah . . . that cakeshop." What cakeshop? If you don't know, you're not informed, and you're watching the wrong news. Jack has been embroiled in legal battles since 2012, when the baker declined to use his talents to create a custom cake celebrating a so-called gay marriage. Phillips, mind you, served all people, no matter what. But he did not wish to use his time and talents to commemorate that which he believed was wrong. This is what the First Amendment is all about, freedom of speech, which means the freedom from compelled speech, along with the free exercise of religion.

November Prayer Partner Thursday
November Prayer Partner Thursday

Prayer Partner Thursday provides a month-long prayer emphasis in one of the four Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty areas of emphasis: Religious Liberty, Sanctity of Life, Educational Freedom, and Marriage as an Institution (family).

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Is it alright for Christians to be involved with politics?

The Bible contains no specific command that either requires or forbids Christian involvement with politics. However, through the prophet Jeremiah, God teaches His people that they should, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf” (Jer. 29:57). In other places, God teaches that Christians should obey and pray for those in positions of civil authority (Matt. 22:21; Rom. 13:17; Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13).

November Bulletin Insert
November Bulletin Insert

The Bulletin Insert is designed to be printed and cut in half to fit conveniently inside a Sunday worship bulletin. Each month an insert will offer insight, encouragement, and information from the LCRL on the topics of Religious Liberty, Life, Marriage, or Education.

November Bulletin Blurbs
November Bulletin Blurbs

The dates identifying the LCRL bulletin blurbs are only suggestions. Please feel free to use any and all of the bulletin blurbs as your ministry needs allow.

WITH GOD, THINGS ARE ALWAYS “IMPOSSIBLY POSSIBLE.”
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Have you ever been so overwhelmed by something that you finally gave in? In a moment of exasperation, you concluded, “There’s nothing else that I can do; I can’t handle this.” I think we’ve all faced that to some degree. There are issues in life that so overwhelm us it seems as though life itself has become impossible to face. Jesus often shakes us up by pointing out “the impossible” in our lives, while at the same time offering God’s possibilities even then. Amazing! Unclean lepers are healed instantly. People blind from birth suddenly see clearly, both physically and spiritually. Who is this Savior who shows us the depth of our depravity just so that He can demonstrate even more clearly God’s gracious salvation? He’s the Savior who, when it comes to eternal life and salvation, reminds that “with man this is impossible, but not with God; with God all things are possible.”  

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Every year on October 31, Christians from around the world are reminded of a “reforming” movement that brought back to light the central message of the Bible, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Freedom, life, and salvation were again heard as God’s gifts offered to sinners by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. Martin Luther’s rediscovery of the uniqueness of the freedom of the Gospel as God’s saving work in the world for all shook the foundations of the medieval world. It ushered in many of the precious freedoms that we enjoy in this world today. It clearly identified and distinguished the uniqueness of the eternal freedom that comes from knowing and trusting in God’s gracious work in Jesus from the cultural/political freedoms that come from public policy, citizenship, and good government. Distinguishing, cherishing, and engaging both freedoms is part of what it means to be a Christian citizen in the world for the sake of the culture and the mission of the Church.

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CAST AN INFORMED VOTE – PLEASE

The Bulletin Insert is designed to be printed and cut in half to fit conveniently inside a Sunday worship bulletin. Each month an insert will offer insight, encouragement, and information from the LCRL on the topics of Religious Liberty, Life, Marriage, or Education.

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AN “ALL IN” SAVIOR!

When I first came to Washington, D.C., in 2006 for a class in my PhD program, we were privileged to speak with many congressional leaders personally. Bill Hecht, a Lutheran pastor-turned influential lobbyist in Washington, lined up various leaders from the House and the Senate to speak with us about the things that mattered to us as Christians in the politics of the day. I remember visiting with the head of the House Ways and Means Committee at the time. He talked about various legislation saying, “We’re trying to make sure that the Congress has to live by the same rules that they foist on everyone else.” I remember my reaction. I was shocked. I had never thought about the fact that government officials often pass laws that we must follow, while living by another set of rules themselves. Incredible. Health care?

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Beyond the Booth

One of the cherished notions that typically guides the lives of Americans is that politics and religion do not mix. Of course, there are some areas of overlap that Americans accept and even expect, like a prayer at a presidential inauguration or candidates ending speeches with “God bless America.” But, on the whole, it is taken for granted that there needs to be a clear distinction or even a wall of separation between church and state. People do not want the government telling them what to believe about God, and they do not want the church telling them how to vote. Actually, they do not want anyone telling them how to vote.

October Prayer Partner Thursday
October Prayer Partner Thursday

Prayer Partner Thursday provides a month-long prayer emphasis in one of the four Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty areas of emphasis: Religious Liberty, Sanctity of Life, Educational Freedom, and Marriage as an Institution (family).

Evangelicals lurch leftward, merging the Gospel with political action…in Jesus name? Hardly.
Evangelicals lurch leftward, merging the Gospel with political action…in Jesus name? Hardly.

Join me and Doctor Everett Piper on The Liberty Action Alert as we uncover why America’s Evangelical churches are lurching leftward—and what this means for Christians striving to be faithful 2 Kingdom citizens.

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THE CHRISTIAN LIFE - FASHIONED FOR SERVICE!

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How Can You Call Yourself Pro-Life

How can you call yourself pro-life and not support free lunches, open borders, socialized healthcare? Well, you fill in the blank. First, off, such talk is a diversionary tactic, disingenuous. Can we simply agree that we ought not to be killing babies, whether they are in the womb or have been born? It really is that simple.

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Life is on the Ballot – Christian Citizens rise to the Occasion!

Listen as Nicole Hunt and I discuss the crucial 'Pro-Life' movement and why now is the time for Christians to rise for the culture and the Church!

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UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE!

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The Ethics of Designer Babies

“Every day in every way, we’re getting better.” This mantra emerged in the first decades of the twentieth century, a hallmark of the optimistic mindset that prevailed in many circles of academia and government. New scientific discoveries and technological innovations seemed to promise a brighter future. However, two world wars, the Great Depression and the Holocaust shattered that positive view of humanity — at least for a time.

October Bulletin Blurbs
October Bulletin Blurbs

The dates identifying the LCRL bulletin blurbs are only suggestions. Please feel free to use any and all of the bulletin blurbs as your ministry needs allow.

October Bulletin Insert
October Bulletin Insert

The Bulletin Insert is designed to be printed and cut in half to fit conveniently inside a Sunday worship bulletin. Each month an insert will offer insight, encouragement, and information from the LCRL on the topics of Religious Liberty, Life, Marriage, or Education.

Fighting the Good Fight: Biblical messaging amidst the culture war for the sake of the culture and the Gospel
Fighting the Good Fight: Biblical messaging amidst the culture war for the sake of the culture and the Gospel

Tune in this week as Dr. Jay Richards joins us to discuss how faith and reason can win the culture war and why Biblical messaging is key in this critical battle!

Dr. Gregory Seltz
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