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Special Topical Issue:

Worldviews: Finding Your Footing • Renewing Hope in an Age of Hopelessness • A Bloodstained Lens • Being a Lutheran in Public School • The Morality of Consent • The Battle Is Already Won

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In Jonathan Fisk’s newest book, discover the most important words Jesus ever said.

cph.org/withoutflesh cph .org/withoutflesh

H I G H E R

Contents T A B L E O F

Volume 20/Number 1 • Spring 2020

HigherThings

Volume 20/Number 1/Spring 2020 Bible Studies for these articles can be found as appendices to this magazine Executive Editor

Katie Hill Art Director

Steve Blakey Editorial Associates

Rev. Paul Beisel Rev. Gaven M. Mize Rev. Dr. Matthew Richard Copy Editors

Kay Maiwald Dana Niemi Bible Study Authors

Rev. Aaron T. Fenker Rev. Joshua Ulm ___________ Board of Directors President

Rev. George F. Borghardt Vice-President

Rev. Duane Bamsch Treasurer

Mr. Kurt Winrich

Special Features 4 A Bloodstained Lens

By Rev. George F. Borghardt So how do we balance being “in” the world but not “of” the world, as Jesus told us in John 15? Rev. Borghardt clarifies this and sets the stage for understanding your Christian worldview.

6 Being a Lutheran in Public School

By Isaac Ostopowich You’re at school, minding your own business but sometimes you wonder, what does living out your faith look like? Isaac takes you on a tour of his experiences at public school with the goal of encouraging you to know what you believe and how to communicate it.

8 The Morality of Consent

By Rev. Mark Buetow In a day and age where truth is seen as relative, find out from Rev. Buetow how the right balance of Law and Gospel comes to bear on the popular concept of “consent” in a relationship.

10 The (a)Typical Family

By Rev. Harrison Goodman Everyone around you has picture-perfect families, especially at church—at least it can feel that way. But is that true? Rev. Goodman directs us to the Truth, and reminds us where our comfort can be found.

By Deaconess Ellie Corrow Is there anything redemptive about feminism and does it have a place in our lives as baptized children of God? Ellie points us to Christ and His gifts to us to answer those questions.

14 Renewing Hope in an Age of Hopelessness

By Dr. Angus Menuge Dr. Menuge instructs us on the ins and outs of countering two hope-stealing ideologies in our modern world, and it comes down to Christ and Him crucified.

Secretary

20 The Battle Is Already Won

By Rev. John Dreyer According to Rev. Dreyer, remembering that Christ has already been victorious is the key to seeing the world rightly, especially when we think about the tests, struggles, and suffering that are an inevitable part of our lives.

22 All In for a Culture of Life

By Kaitlin Sheridan On January 23, 2020, the 47th anniversary of the momentous Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, many passionate folks, including Kaitlin, marched for life around the country. Learn from her experience why it is so vital for us to stand up for the preciousness of life.

Regular Features 26 Catechism: The Catechism as Worldview

By Rev. William M. Cwirla The Catechism isn’t merely something we memorize for confirmation. Rev. Cwirla explains how it shapes the way we view God, ourselves, and how He works through us.

Rev. Joel Fritsche Mrs. Becky Clausen Deaconess Ellie Corrow Rev. D. Carl Fickenscher Mr. Anthony Pellegrini Rev. Chris Rosebrough ___________

Executive Council Executive Director

Erica Jacoby

Dean of Theology

Rev. Aaron T. Fenker Business Executive

Connie Brammeier Media Executive

Sandra Madden Conference Executive

Crysten Sanchez Marketing and Development Executive

Patrick Sturdivant

Higher Things® Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things, Inc. P.O. Box 155 Holt, MO 64048. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2019. Higher Things® is registered trademarks of Higher Things Inc.; All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States. For subscription information and questions, call 1-888-4826630, then press 4, or e-mail subscriptions@higherthings.org. (This phone number is only used for subscription queries.) For letters to the editor, write letters@higher things.org. Writers may submit manuscripts to: submissions@ higherthings.org. Please check higherthings.org/magazine/ writers/ for writers’ guidelines and theme lists.

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A Bloodstained Lens By Rev. George F. Borghardt

As Southerners, we taught our kids to be polite

and respectful to all adults. They weren’t just to say, “Yeah” or “Nah” to the adults around them but rather, “Yes, ma’am,” or “No, sir.” This is how we were raised. That’s how we raised our sons in Texas. After I took a call to Illinois, my youngest son found himself in detention for responding to one of his teachers with, “Yes, ma’am.” You see, his Midwest teacher took his show of respect as being disrespectful. The lens with which she interpreted “Yes, ma’am” was different than the lens my son had and it caused misunderstanding. We all see the world from a certain perspective or through a particular lens. Our senses take in information from the world and people around us and we filter it or interpret it based on our life experiences and culture. It’s how we “see” and “hear” things. If we put on green glasses the world will look green; in the same way we see the world through certain cultural and experiential lenses.

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The world around you has a completely different culture than the one of your Christian faith. It’s not just a matter of a difference in morality (Second Table of the Law). It centers around God (First Table of the Law). You were taught to see everything in the universe in the context of God sending His Son to suffer and die for your sins and the sins of the whole world. God is working all things out—good and bad—for your good in Christ. He is with you in the waters of your Baptism. He’s forgiving you in the words of your pastor and his feeding you His Body and Blood in the Sacrament. That’s Christian faith! Your faith in Jesus is what is totally different from the world! You see the world through Jesus-colored glasses! There are no accidents or serendipities in your world. When something happens it is going to work out for you. When it doesn’t, that’s going to work out for you, too. You know and you trust that God is making everything work in the universe and He’s making it work out for you (Romans 8:28). How could you not? He gave up His Son. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world. It is what it is. It’s survival of the fittest. You gotta do unto others before they do unto you. It’s not cheating if you don’t get caught.” That’s the world’s creed. It’s not only godless—its faithless. Everything is accidental. Evolution teaches the world that everything is about death not life. To the world, morality and gender are not set, they are fluid. There is no black and white morality because there is no higher power. There is life and then there is death and “you can’t fight death and taxes.” It would be easy if the only lens you ever looked through in life is the one you received at your Baptism. The problem is that you have your foot in both cultures and so you try to wear both lenses. You want to see the world through the lens watermarked with Jesus. (See what I did there?) But you live in a world where you pick up things, expressions, and ways to see the world that influence your worldview. They fog your Good-Friday-Jesus-for-me lens. Before you know it, this results in minor changes to how you see the world occur even without your realizing it. In the same way my son picked up a Midwestern accent from our time living near Chicago, you

tend to pick up worldviews that don’t fit with your Christian faith. The Lord’s words call you to repentance. They clean your lens, washing it with baptismal grace. You are repented by God. When you confess your sins, the Lord forgives you and sets you out to see and experience the world through His Word and promise. But how do you live in this world and keep your lens clean? The answer is not to completely separate yourself from the world and live in the wilderness like St. Francis of Assisi. He left his wealth and the civilization he lived in and surrounded himself with nature, hoping to be free of the trappings of the world. Many have done this and have become nuns and monks, separating themselves from the lens of the world. That might help you in some way but it doesn’t help the person God loves in Christ, too: your neighbor. God wants to save you. He also wants to save your neighbor. He’s doing good to you. He’s doing good to those around you, too, through you. Since your neighbor is in the world, God has put you in the world to love and serve those in the world with you. You do this in the world but not wearing the world’s lens. Your lens has been washed in the blood of the Lamb. You see things, you perceive things, experience things in the context of Jesus Christ and Him crucified for you. You are in the world, but not of the world. How does that look? How are you in the world but not of the world? How do you see the world in Jesus—as a baptized child of God—while still living in this world? This issue of the Higher Things magazine is going to explore how to answer these questions. You see the world through His Word taught to you in church. My job has been to point out to you the only lens that matters to you and say, “You are of Christ and Christ is of God” (1 Corinthians 3:23). Jesus FOR YOU, as taught to you from the sacred Scriptures within the Church, is the only lens you need. Rev. George F. Borghardt is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Bossier City, Louisiana and serves as the President of Higher Things.

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The Morality of Consent By Rev. Mark Buetow

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ven though Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, the Lord blessed him in the house of his master, Potiphar, the Egyptian captain of the guard. Joseph pretty much ran the whole household: He was responsible for the finances and groceries and maintenance and the other slaves. When Mrs. Potiphar comes to try and seduce him— “Lie with me!”—well, why not? She’s an adult. He’s an adult. What would be the harm in it if they are both willing? But Joseph refuses. “How can I do this thing and sin against God?” He also is concerned for his master. Mrs. Potiphar was Potiphar’s wife, and Joseph had no right to do that with her. What’s ironic is that when Joseph chooses to do the godly thing, he still gets in trouble. She turns him in and he gets thrown into prison. But notice something here: Joseph trusts in the Lord’s care, and he refuses to do something wrong even when he knows could get away with it.

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Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife. Museum: State A. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow. Author: RENI, GUIDO. alamy.com

Here’s where the world would object. You see, the prevailing moral standard of the day is simply, “consent.” If two people are adults, and both consent, then whatever they want to do is okay. No one can tell them they’re wrong or say they should not do certain things. But consider this question: Can something be wrong even if everyone is in agreement and there aren’t any apparent consequences? The answer depends on whether someone believes in “absolute truth” or “subjective truth.” A simple example: Absolute truth says that adultery is wrong. Joseph should not do that with Mrs. Potiphar, because that would be a sin, against God’s will. Subjective morality would simply say that if both of them consent, there’s really nothing to stop them. Potiphar doesn’t own Mrs. Potiphar. She lives her own life. Backing up a bit, we can look at Joseph’s situation from the perspective of the Sixth Commandment. You shall not commit adultery. God says not to lie with someone who isn’t your spouse. But there’s something beyond that: Love your neighbor as yourself. Joseph knows this, too. He tells Mrs. Potiphar that he is in charge of everything from his master, except her. By saying that, Joseph, even as a slave, shows that he loves his neighbor and doesn’t desire to hurt him. Likewise, he doesn’t want to sin against God. There are two parts of the Commandments: Love God and love your neighbor. The world says, “If I want to do this thing, and everyone consents, and it makes me happy, then I should do it.” As Christians, God’s Word teaches us to ask, “Will this thing that I do glorify God or profane Him? Will it help or hurt my neighbor?” First off, the Law of God should teach us to repent. If you don’t ask those two questions about the things you do—if you make choices and take actions solely based on what feels good and satisfies your desires— then you really have turned away from the Lord and His will. To see that and to acknowledge that is our repentance. But fixing it is something else. Sure, if we just asked those two questions every time we decided whether or not to do something, thought about it, and then did the right thing, well, we wouldn’t fall into sin, would we? That’s the problem. Just knowing what is right or wrong won’t make us do right or avoid wrong. That’s why the morality of consent is so tempting to buy into. It can’t be wrong if everyone is in favor! So here comes Jesus to sort it out and save us. And the glorious irony is that He consents to His suffering and death! The Sanhedrin (made up of Jewish religious leaders) certainly consented to His death. They wanted Him crucified. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, even though he knew he was condemning an innocent man, even though he knew he was doing wrong, consented to crucifying and killing Jesus. Most of all, though, Jesus Himself consented to His own death. He did not defend

Himself against the religious leaders; He didn’t defend Himself to Pontius Pilate. Rather, He consented to His own suffering and death, doing the will of the Father. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will but yours be done, Father.” Do you see the irony of our salvation? Jesus actually goes along with the wrong choice that everyone else consents to, so that His death on the cross and resurrection will be our salvation. It’s that salvation, that forgiveness, that new life Christ wins for us, delivered and strengthened by His Word, baptismal water, and Body and Blood, that set us apart in this world, free from a horrible “morality of consent.” The Spirit has something greater for you when you’re faced with the temptation to simply go along because everyone else wants to do something: The confession of the truth of God’s Word is that there is a right and wrong, determined by the Lord and not by us. That’s a good thing, because it doesn’t just mean that God is glorified, but also that our neighbor is truly loved and served. Knowing our morality is rooted in God’s Word rescues us from that lame analysis of every action or situation: “Well, what’s in it for me?” Put another way, having crucified our sinful flesh with Christ in the waters of Baptism gives us a better perspective on whether we should just consent to something. We instead ask the better question: “Does it glorify God and serve my neighbor?” If not, then let us not sin against God! The world’s morality of consent is a random and messy thing. How old does one have to be to give consent? How do we know if a person consents? The reality is that most people work hard to try to find their way around consent. It’s why people try to seduce and scam others all the time, hoping to get what they want while making others think it’s what they want. That’s a sad and destructive way to live! Jesus Christ has rescued us from this world’s morality. Even if we were to suffer for doing what is truly right in God’s sight, we have this assurance and consolation: Jesus works all things out for our good. He forgives our missteps of morality and the messes we make. He gives us His Spirit so that we become a light in the dark and a loving neighbor to those around us. When the world says one thing and actually does another, it is Jesus who lives in you so you can be someone different, someone loving, someone who seeks the good of others as the highest goal. The One who consented to His own death has given you a new life where your every decision isn’t based on whether you have permission, but on the freedom of God’s love in Christ to love others genuinely. Rev. Mark Buetow is the pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in McHenry, Illinois.

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