Overview

Mark Mattes' hope is not only to secure believers' consciences in Christ but also to reclaim theological and social turf which mainline Protestants have too quickly ceded to various secular agendas. The collected essays engage the reality of believers' death and resurrection in Christ, and how that bears upon the life of faith while also attending to a wide range of relevant theological topics such as scriptural authority, apologetics, a critique of contemporary mainline Protestant and Evangelical Catholic ethics, a critique of Lutheran-Reformed ecumenism, and the church's mission and outreach. The collection concludes with several sermons based on Old Testament lessons seeking to show how the theology embedded in the essays can be used for proclamation.

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9781948969239

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So, the faith is something that we can genuinely commend to our children and grandchildren as well as our neighbors. But we cannot do that if we do not seek to mature in the faith ourselves through study of the Word and its bearing on this world. P. 96 In his latest work entitled, Law and Gospel in Action: Foundations, Ethics, Church, the Rev. Dr. Mattes brilliantly accesses the state of the Lutheran Church and all of Christianity today. Three ideas that I gleaned from this collection of essays are: 1) a Christian must mature in the faith, 2) the will of the sinner is captivated and unable to free itself, and 3) pastoral care is not about modern psychology, rather it is for the care of souls. American Evangelicalism has put so much emphasis upon conversion and altar calls that they have forgotten that there is a calling, post conversion, to mature in the faith. Mattes eloquently states this in the above quote. It behooves a pastor in parish ministry to remember that there must be teachers in addition to evangelists. In 19 theses Mattes communicates the reality of the captivated will. Conversion from sinner to saint is the work of Christ, not the human will. When one hears the doctrine of election as gospel and not law, one is captivated by the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Because reason alone has become the main hermeneutic in today's culture, pastors spend a majority of their time studying the latest counseling or business growth strategy. God's called and ordained are to 1) preach the Word, 2) rightfully administer the sacraments, and 3) care for the maturing souls of their respective congregations. Mattes points out that pastors need to return to confessing the faith of the church and not to the faith of their own understanding. Today's clergymen must focus on the killing blow of the law and the resurrecting word of the Gospel. Rev. Dr. Mattes has been an inspirational mentor and instructor in the Christian faith to many. Namely, yours truly. I can hear him speaking directly to me through this collection of essays which are essential to any man in pastoral ministry. Rev. Jamie M. Strickler St. Timothy Lutheran Church Charleston, WV

I would recommend Law and Gospel in Action as ideal for the engaged layperson, or pastor who wants to stay sharp and tuned into broader discourse than we often confront in daily parish life. - Pastor Kevin McClain

Author Information

Mark Mattes serves as Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, and previously served parishes in Gardner, Illinois, and Antigo, Wisconsin. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and an M.Div from Luther Seminary. Mattes has authoredMartin Luther's Theology of Beauty: A ReappraisalandThe Role of Justification in Contemporary Theology, and has co-authoredImaging the Journey, co-translatedTheology the Lutheran Wayby Oswald Bayer, co-edited the collected papers of Gerhard Forde,A More Radical GospelandThe Preached God, and is an Associate Editor for Lutheran Quarterly.

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