|
 Mission
Statement
Our mission is to reach out into the world with the love
of God demonstrated for us by the death
and resurrection of Christ. We are excited
about the opportunity that the Internet gives us to make
available the message of Christ to everyone
with a computer and a phone line.
It is our hope that you will enjoy the content of this
site and come back to it on a regular basis. This site is
dedicated to bringing the message of Christ’s
death and resurrection in everyway possible, through stories,
poems, songs or anything that can be used to convey the
truth of God’s love.
FROM THE
ADMINISTRATOR
Don and I love to travel Ohio. One of our favorite places
to visit is Zoar Village near New Philadelphia. Led by Joseph
Bimeler, the Zoarites came to America in 1817 to seek freedom
after their separation from the Lutheran church in Germany.
After two harsh winters in Ohio, they formed a Society
based on the early Christian church in Acts where all property
and work was equally shared by all. The experiment in communal
living lasted a little over 80 years until 1898 when the
Zoarites disbanded and divided its assets among the remaining
members. The homes and bakery, and gardens are preserved
today as an Ohio Historical Site.
If you visit there, you’ll want to spend some time
in its gardens. There are beautiful flowers and fruit trees,
and vegetables all growing in a well-groomed area. In the
very center is their “tree of life” a large
solitary evergreen. At its base are 12 small evergreens.
Several paths lead from the center to a circular path surrounding
the area. This central area was to remind the Zoarites of
God’s promise of eternal life. They were to remember
that no matter how far you venture from your Heavenly Father,
no matter how far you have wandered into sin and temptation,
all you have to do is repent (literally turn around) and
your Father is still there to receive you. Though you may
fear that you have gone too far away, the voice of the Holy
Spirit says, “It’s not too late; just turn around.”
None of us is immune to the temptations of sin and the
flesh. No sin is greater than another, as we are told in
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God.” What comfort for us to know that
chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed His blood for me.
And, knowing that, we turn to find the outspread arms of
the Savior welcoming us.
-Kay Heilman
Please click on the image or here
“Did Jesus Really Have To
Visit Hell? If Yes, Why?”
In the Apostles’ Creed (and also the Athanasian Creed),
we confess that after Jesus died He descended into hell.
Where in the Bible is this taught? Why did Jesus go there?
From earliest times, Christians have believed that Jesus’
descent into hell is most clearly taught in 1 Peter 3:18–19.
In the context of encouraging Christians who were in danger
of suffering persecution for their faith, the apostle Peter
writes: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the
righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to
God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the
spirit, in which He went and proclaimed to the spirits in
prison” (ESV).
Christians also have seen references to this doctrine in
other scriptural passages such as Eph. 4:8–9 and Rom.
10:6–8. In an April 1533 Easter sermon at Torgau,
Martin Luther spoke of Christ’s descent into hell
and quoted Ps. 16:10 with reference to Him: “For you
will not abandon my soul to Sheol. . . .” (ESV).
In the 1 Peter 3 passage, the apostle Peter refers to a
sequence of events: Christ died, was made alive (KJV: “quickened”),
and went to preach to the spirits in prison. A variety of
interpretations have been given to Peter’s words (also
in early centuries), but a key question is this: Why did
Jesus, after He came to life before His resurrection appearances,
preach in the presence of departed unbelievers and the devil
and his angels in hell? Was it to give unbelievers a “second
chance” through a proclamation of the Gospel? Did
Jesus visit hell in order to suffer further? Did He descend
to deliver those who died before the Flood, or Old Testament
patriarchs and saints, as some have thought? Or, is the
reference to Christ’s descent no more than a figurative
expression for Christ’s suffering for humanity? Lutherans
have held that none of these explanations is acceptable.
Lutherans have understood the Bible to teach that Christ
went to hell to declare His triumph as God’s Messiah
over death and the power of the devil. The Lutheran confessional
writing, the Formula of Concord, states in summary: “We
simply believe that the entire person [Jesus Christ], God
and man, descended into hell after the burial, conquered
the devil, destroyed hell’s power, and took from the
devil all his might” (Solid Declaration, Art. IX).
Although Christ’s descent into hell lies beyond our
understanding, we can derive great comfort from this important
teaching of Scripture, especially in times when our faith
is being tested. We who believe in the exalted Christ can
be confident and certain that “neither hell nor the
devil can take captive or injure us” (Solid Declaration
IX).
About the Author: Until his retirement, Dr. Jerald C. Joersz
was an associate executive director of the LCMS Commission
on Theology and Church Relations.
The Lutheran Witness, February 2010. Volume 129 Number
2. Used by permission
|
