Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions

by Paul T. McCain

Publisher:

Concordia Publishing House

, 2005

Overview

Nothing is more important than clearly confessing and bearing witness to the truths of God’s Holy Word which reveal the glorious Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is what the Book of Concord is all about. This edition of the Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions will instruct, inspire, and educate all who use it and help them learn what it means to be, and to remain, a genuinely confessing Lutheran Christian.

Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions is a remarkable achievement in Lutheran publishing. In 800 pages, the reader will find helpful introductions, insightful notes and annotations, and helpful tools and guides to aid reading and comprehension. The dramatic history and heroic persons associated with the various documents in the Lutheran Confessions are brought to life. The second edition offers several significant improvements.

The Book of Concord is the authoritative collection of the Lutheran Church’s statements of faith. It contains documents which Lutheran Christians have used since the sixteenth century to explain, defend, and advance their witness to the truth of God’s Word.

Key Features

• A summary of the nature and meaning of the Church’s commitment to the Lutheran Confessions
• New essays in the introduction which provide an overview of the textual issues and history of the Lutheran Confessions
• Enhanced page layout features and design elements
• An expanded timeline and general index

Contents

Top Highlights

“Where the sin is public, the rebuke also must be public, that everyone may learn to guard against it.” (Page 391)

“Therefore, we must constantly maintain this point: God does not want to deal with us in any other way than through the spoken Word and the Sacraments. Whatever is praised as from the Spirit—without the Word and Sacraments—is the devil himself.” (Page 281)

“What does it mean to have a god? Or, what is God? ² Answer: A god means that from which we are to expect all good and in which we are to take refuge in all distress. So, to have a God is nothing other than trusting and believing Him with the heart. I have often said that the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol. ³ If your faith and trust is right, then your god is also true. On the other hand, if your trust is false and wrong, then you do not have the true God. For these two belong together, faith and God [Hebrews 11:6]. Now, I say that whatever you set your heart on and put your trust in is truly your god.” (Page 359)

“To be baptized in God’s name is to be baptized not by men, but by God Himself. Therefore, although it is performed by human hands, it is still truly God’s own work.” (Page 424)

“So the worship and divine service of the Gospel is to receive gifts from God. On the contrary, the worship of the Law is to offer and present our gifts to God.” (Page 130)

Product Details

• Title: Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions
• Editors: Paul Timothy McCain, Edward Andrew Engelbrecht, Robert Cleveland Baker, and Gene Edward Veith
• Edition: 2nd
• Publisher: Concordia
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 800