Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary

Here is a link to a sermon preached a couple weeks ago by Rev. Jason Braaten here in Kramer Chapel:

Audio // Text

Sometimes there are those sermons that stick with you. They stand out either because they taught you something, struck your stubborn conscience with God’s law, or soothed an aching heart with the sweet Gospel of forgiveness. Rev. Braaten certainly proclaimed law and gospel, and I was duly comforted with the forgiveness of sins, but additionally, his preaching was also a lesson in how to read scripture.

“For the crucified and risen man Jesus is the key to unlock the Scriptures, and only with this key in hand, only with him in mind, do we rightly understand them. “

That is how you should read scripture: look through the lens of the incarnation and see Jesus as the plan and purpose for everything that God does leading up to, and flowing from, the death and resurrection of His beloved Son for your salvation.

The names of the sons of Israel find their meaning and fulfillment as Jesus is the praise and glory of God (which we have beheld, full of grace and truth) and Jesus is the increase as all things earthly decrease. Jesus is the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets as He Himself demonstrates in Luke 24:25-27 (ESV).

In the new curriculum here at CTS we do not have a formal class in hermeneutics. We have received some criticism for this, perhaps because the critic believes studying the abstract theories of how to read scripture are vital to the work of the pastor, or it could be a misunderstanding that for some reason we are not teaching the students how to read scripture. By no means!

As demonstrated in this sermon our students are daily taught applied hermeneutics as they hear the proclamation of the Word of God as they gather for chapel. At the foundation of the new curriculum is an interdisciplinary approach to theology which demands the study of scripture in every aspect of pastoral formation, whether in a course on scripture, doctrine, history, or pastoral practice.

Every class, every chapel service, every opportunity to discuss theology then becomes a lesson in how to read and interpret scripture, and how to teach it and proclaim it. This is ultimately the work of a servant of the church, and that is why Concordia Theological Seminary exists, to form servants in Jesus Christ who will teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all.