April 28, 2020

To whom it may concern:

Thank you for your generosity in providing scholarships for Seminary students who confess a “quia” subscription to the Lutheran Confessions. I join you in prayer that this confession will be shared by more and more people.

The question being addressed is “Why?” Why ought we hold and confess that the Lutheran Confessions are a true explication of Scripture? Why ought we believe that the canon of Scripture is a true explication of the message of God for all people of all times? Why ought we believe that there is a God who speaks at all?

In other words, I believe, teach, and confess that the Scriptures are true because of the story of Jesus and its culmination: he spoke with authority, he was crucified, yet he was raised on the third day. Jesus is alive, and his prophetic words came true. Jesus is alive, was seen, and sent his church, on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, to proclaim his coming kingdom. Jesus himself confessed the reality of the Scriptures before him and he sent his people to proclaim his words in the power of the Holy Spirit. So, in short, I believe the Scriptures are true because the risen Jesus confessed them and proved them right.

Following that first step, I believe that the Lutheran Confessions are in agreement with the Scriptures. The Lutheran Confessions themselves flow from the story of Scripture. The Lutheran Confessions have been guided by the tradition of the church, otherwise known as the “rule of faith.” It is this rule of faith (guided by the Holy Spirit) at work in the church which decided and defended the canon of Scripture. It is this rule of faith which produced the grassroots baptismal Apostles’ Creed. It is this rule of faith which created and defended the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed. These Lutheran Confessions are creedal. These Lutheran Confessions flow from the narrative of God at work to redeem the world (note the ordering of the Augsburg Confession). These Lutheran Confessions are the work of the church in the 16^th century guided by the rule of faith, listening to the Scriptures, and seeking to reform the one holy catholic church.

The Lutheran Confessions speak the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ purely and clearly. We believe these confessions because Jesus rose from the dead and all authority has been given to him. They are his voice of the Gospel for his people!

God’s richest blessings,

Pastor Rako Zech