The Witch, Enthusiasm, and Sharla Fritz

I recently did something which I rarely do – I went to the theater to see a movie. The movie I saw was called The Witch (or “The VVitch”…I’m not sure why it was spelled that way in the title). It was a horror movie that told the story of a puritan family which is shunned by their community for some ambiguous sin committed by the father. The family goes into the wilderness to begin their new life in exile. It is there that they come into contact with the witch, who torments them for the duration of the film. I won’t ruin the movie for any of those who might wish to see it, though I will say it is not for the squeamish. Normally, horror movies aren’t my thing. My cousin, however, thought that I would be intrigued by the depiction of the puritans and the accuracy with which the filmmakers portrayed their religious beliefs, and how they affected their everyday lives. He was right.

Watching the movie, I was struck by two scenes in particular. In one the mother prays a prayer over and over again after the family is struck by a gruesome tragedy. She lies in her bed weeping, hands clasped in desperate prayer, begging for God to send His Holy Spirit into her heart so that she could know that she was his child. In another scene, father and son are walking through the woods. The father is catechizing his son. Suddenly, the son tells his father that he knows he is a sinner and is afraid he is damned. The father tells his son that yes, he does deserve damnation because of his sin. He then tries to comfort his son by telling him that we can’t know whether we’re saved or lost, but we must pray and live according to God’s law. The child actor was good – the look of utter despair he gave in response to his father was heartbreaking.

I remarked to my cousin that what that family needed was a good Lutheran pastor to preach to them Law and Gospel properly. Of course, that would have made for a much shorter, less suspenseful movie.

The issue the characters were dealing with was Enthusiasm. The Lutheran Confessions describe Enthusiasm as the belief that God speaks to people separate and apart from Holy Scripture, and that He would save people without the means of grace. This is a concept with which we are all familiar, whether we realize it or not, and we all struggle with it, even in so-called confessional Lutheran congregations.

I recently began reading a book called, “Soul Spa: 40 Days of Spiritual Renewal,” by Sharla Fritz. It is a woman’s Bible study published by Concordia Publishing House. The author recently spoke at my church to the women’s Bible study group, and I was interested to find out the things she was teaching. Before I was very far into the book I would wager that the expression on my face resembled that of the puritan boy in the movie who was given the law by his father after having been crushed by it, rather than the Gospel.

I was particularly distressed by “Day Two” of “Week Three,” a chapter called “Solitude.” The author begins the chapter by quoting 1 Kings:

And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12).

As soon as I read the Scripture quotation I knew what this chapter was going to be about – Enthusiasm. She writes that people need solitude to connect with God and hear his voice. By seeking out solitude we can sort out our feelings, we can more clearly hear God’s voice, and experience the miracle of God’s grace (whatever that means).

The world constantly demands our attention. Sometimes the only time we can truly hear God is when we shut out all the other voices. We need solitude to hear the Father’s whispers to our hearts (Fritz 2015).

The Father’s whispers to our hearts? That doesn’t sound Biblical. Don’t worry. The author explains how Elijah functions as our example for this.

The prophet Elijah experienced a time of burnout and depression after a very successful time of ministry. In response to his ragged feelings, he took a forty-day journey to Horeb, the mount of God. He instinctively knew he needed time alone with the Lord. Elijah’s journey to solitude in 1 Kings 19 can help us with our path to hearing God in the empty places of our souls (Fritz 2015).

Elijah was burnt out? He instinctively knew he needed to be alone with the Lord? Hearing God in the empty places of our souls? This is a total twisting to God’s Word, and a dangerous path down which to tread. Far from teaching us to seek out solitude to listen for God’s whispering to our hearts, this passage shows how God uses means to communicate with us. Elijah only found comfort when God spoke to him – using words – rather than from God’s power manifested by the wind, the earthquake, and the fire.

Furthermore, we are not Elijah. He was a prophet of God, with whom God dealt directly. He has not promised to deal with us in the same way.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Scripture teaches that God works among us through means, not whispers in the empty places of our souls. The Gospel is the means by which the Holy Spirit offers us all the blessings of Christ and creates faith in us (Concordia Publishing House 1991). That Gospel is delivered to us by means of the written word and the sacraments.

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message…Faith comes through hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ…You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God (John 17:20; Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:23).

The problem with what the Bible teaches, however, is that it takes all the work away from us. God’s grace is solely responsible for our salvation. Because we are fallen, sinful creatures, bent in toward ourselves, we cannot accept this and constantly seek to merit what Christ would give us as a gift. This attitude of Enthusiasm has been engrained in us since the fall.

All this is the old devil and old serpent (Revelation 12:9), who also turned Adam and Eve into enthusiasts. He led them away from God’s outward Word to spiritualizing and self-pride (Genesis 3:2-5). And yet, he did this through other outward words. In the same way, our enthusiasts today condemn the outward Word. Yet they themselves are not silent. They fill the world with their babbling and writings, as if the Spirit could not come through the apostles’ writings and spoken Word, but has to come through their writings and words. Why don’t they leave out their own sermons and writings and let the Spirit Himself come to people without their writings before them, as they boast that He has come into them without the preaching of the Scriptures? We do not have time now to argue about this in more detail. We have treated this well enough elsewhere[1] (Concordia Publishing House 1991).

We need not retreat to the solitude of a remote mountain top in order to hear from God. In fact, if we go off to remote places to search for God, we can be certain not to find him. What we will find is our own sinful nature and desires. In order to hear God speaking to us we need to go to where he has promised to be. He has promised to be wherever two or three are gathered in his name to hear his Word preached. He has promised to come to us in the waters of Holy Baptism and the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. We should all stay out of those dark and empty places in our souls.

As for Elijah being an example for us to go off into solitude to sort out our feelings and hear from God, Luther deals with that as well:

God does not want to deal with us in any other way than through the spoken Word and Sacraments. Whatever is praised as from the Spirit – without the Word and Sacraments – is the devil himself. God wanted to appear even to Moses through the burning bush and spoken word (Exodus 3:2-15). No prophet, neither Elijah nor Elisha, received the Spirit without the Ten Commandments or the spoken Word. John the Baptist was not conceived without the word of Gabriel coming first, nor did he leap in his mother’s womb without Mary’s voice (Luke 1:11-20, 41). Peter says, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Without the outward Word, however, they were not holy. Much less would the Holy Spirit have moved them to speak when they were still unholy. They were holy, says he, since the Holy Spirit spoke through them[2] (McCain, et al. 2005).

I expect people to be enthusiasts. I am one as well, and I must repent of my enthusiasm daily. What I don’t appreciate is how the publishing house of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod would cut the legs out from under their faithful pastors by putting their imprimatur on such unbiblical, unconfessional, pop-Christian, fundagelical nonsense as this. How are pastors supposed to teach their congregations rightly when the Synod publishes material which directly contradicts biblical and confessional teaching? Pastors encourage the people in their care to gather regularly around word and sacrament and receive what the Lord has promised us – the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Materials such as these encourage people to seek something different, something better – a personal, emotional experience with God, apart from corporate worship. When the faithful pastor attempts to correct this, his parishioners suspect him of simply being cantankerous. After all, it can’t be all bad if CPH publishes it, right? Lord, have mercy!

Works Cited

Concordia Publishing House. Luther's Small Catechism. Translated by Concordia Publishing House. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1991.

Fritz, Sharla. Soul Spa: 40 Days of Spiritual Renewal. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2015.

McCain, Paul Timothy, Robert Cleveland Baker, Gene Edward Veith, and Edward Andrew Engelbrecht, . Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Translated by William Hermann Theodore Dau and Gerhard Friedrich Bente. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005.

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[1] SA III VIII 5-6

[2] SA III VIII 10-13

The External Word

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum
The Word of the Lord Remains Forever

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe (Hebrews 1:1-2).

The author of Hebrews tells us here that, what God wanted to communicate to mankind, he has communicated finally and completely through Jesus Christ. In the past, from the Fall of Man until Christ, God the Father used many different ways to communicate with man. In the Garden of Eden he spoke to man directly. He spoke to the patriarchs by appearing to them as the Angel of the Lord. He spoke to Moses through a burning bush, and through a cloud on a mountain. He spoke to the prophets in dreams and visions. The message was always the same throughout all that time: That he would redeem mankind from their fallen state by His grace through faith in Christ, and restore creation. But in these last days, the writer of Hebrews says, he has spoken to us by His Son.

The message of the entire Bible is God saving mankind from sin, death, and devil by the atoning work of Christ. St. Augustine explained, “The New [Testament] is in the Old [Testament] concealed; The Old is in the New revealed.” This is the message God was communicating to man after the Fall in the Garden, and this is the message He communicates to us now.

Whenever God is speaking to us, however, he speaks to us by his external word. What I mean is this: God comes to man “externally,” through means. He communicates to us though words, using human language that men are capable of understanding. He uses physical elements and uses his word to connect his promises to them, and to deliver those promises to man. He does not work in man through “burnings” in the bosom. He does not work redemption in man apart from His word. St. Paul writes in Romans:

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ,” (Romans 10:17).

The burning bush, the visions, all the other means by which God communicated the Gospel to man, were means of delivering to man the external word. And now, in these last days, God has spoken to us through Christ. God’s communication with man has been concentrated down to Christ’s atoning death and resurrection. It is finished, and there is no longer any need to burn bushes or send visions to prophets. God has spoken to us by his Son – the Word incarnate, who bled and died on the cross of Calvary to atone for the sins of the world. This word, the message of Christ, has been collected for us into the volume of Holy Scripture we call the Bible. When you read the Bible, you hear God's voice. It is God who speaks to you through those words on the page. When you hear faithful preaching, it is God who speaks to you, through the voice of that faithful pastor. When you receive the Sacrament of the Altar you hear God's word of promise - given and shed for you, for the remission of sins - and faith takes hold of that promise, connected with those physical elements of bread and wine.

Martin Luther in his day dealt with “enthusiasts,” or people who believed that they received the Spirit and faith without God’s word, i.e., by some mystical divine “inner revelation.” The world is no less full of people today who deny the efficacy of Holy Scripture, yet claim that God has given them some new revelation or inner illumination allowing them to ignore what Scripture teaches. All you have to do is turn on Trinity Broadcasting Network and you will see a parade of preachers preaching, not the Word of God as delivered to us in Holy Scripture, but a word that they have received from some personal revelation. What Luther had to say about enthusiasts is equally appropriate for us today.

He [the devil] led them [Adam and Eve] from God’s outward word to spiritualizing and self-pride. And yet he did this through outward words. In the same way our enthusiasts today condemn the outward word. Yet they themselves are not silent. They fill the world with their babbling and writings, as if the spirit could not come through the Apostle’s writings and spoken word, but has to come through their writings and worlds. Why don’t they leave out their own sermons and writings and let the Spirit himself come to people without their writings before them, as they boast that He has come into them without the preaching of the Scriptures?[1] (Luther).

The Gospel is the means by which the Holy Spirit offers us all the blessings of Christ and creates faith in people. The written and spoken (preached) word of the Gospel, as well as the sacraments – God’s word of promise connected to bread and wine, and water – are the means of grace.

Lest I be accused of “putting God in a box,” I must clarify that I am not saying it is impossible for God to impart divine revelations today, or that it is impossible for God to convert men apart from his word. I’m simply saying that he does not wish to. God has always dealt with man through means, and he expressly tells us that it is his will to do so. So, while it is indeed possible for God to send man a “burning in the bosom,” we shouldn’t expect him to do so, because he has told us that he doesn’t operate that way. Many mistakenly take their intense feelings, worked up in a religious frenzy, as a way to assure themselves that they are in the faith. Feelings change, however, and should certainly not be used as a basis for assurance of faith. Furthermore, anyone who claims that he has received a divine revelation should be tested against what we know for certain to be divine revelation – Holy Scripture. Whatever is not in accord with Scripture should be soundly rejected. Luther comments:

In a word, enthusiasm inheres in Adam and his children from the beginning [from the first fall] to the end of the world, [its poison] having been implanted and infused into them by the old dragon, and is the origin, power [life], and strength of all heresy, especially of that of the Papacy and Mahomet. Therefore we ought and must constantly maintain this point, that God does not wish to deal with us otherwise than through the spoken Word and the Sacraments. It is the devil himself whatsoever is extolled as Spirit without the Word and Sacraments. For God wished to appear even to Moses through the burning bush and spoken Word; and no prophet neither Elijah nor Elisha, received the Spirit without the Ten Commandments [or spoken Word]. Neither was John the Baptist conceived without the preceding word of Gabriel, nor did he leap in his mother's womb without the voice of Mary. And Peter says: The prophecy came not by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost[2]. Without the outward Word, however, they were not holy, much less would the Holy Ghost have moved them to speak when they still were unholy [or profane]; for they were holy, says he, since the Holy Ghost spake through them (Luther).

We should marvel at how God deals with us. Not only has he redeemed us by His grace, through faith alone in Christ, He has given us his external word, by which we can be certain of God’s promises of forgiveness and eternal life, even when we feel the weight of our sin, and do not feel “saved.” That can sustain and comfort us when our bosoms cease to burn, our inner illumination goes dim, and we remember what kind of rotten sinners we are, undeserving of God’s favor. In those times we can look to God’s external word; whether in Scriptures, in the preaching of a faithful pastor, or in the Lord’s Supper or remembrance of our Baptism, and have assurance that though we are sinners, God has forgiven us for Christ’s sake, and is faithful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

Luther, M. (n.d.). The Smalcald Articles. Retrieved December 04, 2014, from The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Lutheran Church: http://bookofconcord.org/smalcald.php#confession

 

 

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[1] SA III VII 5-6

[2] 2 Peter 1:19-21

Luther’s Grumpy Best

The Crucifixion

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:16-24).

Of all the confessional writings contained in the Book of Concord, The Smalcald Articles are my favorite. The Smalcald articles are one of three documents contained in the Book of Concord penned by Martin Luther himself (the other two being the Large and Small Catechisms). That fact alone, however, is not the reason for its appeal. In the Smalcald articles, as one theologian recently described, you get Dr. Luther at his “grumpy best”. The reason was simple: Luther thought that he was dying.

In December 1536 Luther was commissioned by elector John Frederick to write a statement of faith (McCain, Baker and Veith). This statement of faith was to contain all of the things in which the Evangelicals absolutely could not yield, and was to be used as a guide for the Lutheran theologians when they eventually met at the council called by the Pope. John Frederick ordered Luther to treat this document as his last will and testament, and he meant it:

It will nevertheless be very necessary for Doctor Martin to prepare his foundation and opinion from the Holy Scriptures, namely, the articles as hitherto taught, preached, and written by him, and which he is determined to adhere to and abide by at the council, as well as upon his departure from this world and before the judgment of Almighty God, and in which we cannot yield without becoming guilty of treason against God, even though property and life, peace or war, are at stake” (McCain, Baker and Veith).

Shortly thereafter Luther became deathly ill. Historians believe that he suffered a heart attack at that time (McCain, Baker and Veith). Luther did not have to pretend that The Smalcald Articles were his last will and testament. He believed that his own death was imminent, and he wrote in such a manner as to fit his circumstances. The language is urgent, to the point, and sometimes terse. He comes right to the point and does not concern himself with the feelings of his theological opponents. No flowery language, just Biblical theology. To me, this comes out most clearly in Luther’s writings about sin, the Law, and repentance.

He wastes no time telling us what sin is:

Here we must confess, as Paul says in Romans 5:12, that sin originated from one man, Adam. By his disobedience, all people were made sinners and became subject to death and the devil[1] (McCain, Baker and Veith).

And what the fruits of sin are:

The fruit of this sin are the evil deeds that are forbidden in the Ten Commandments. These include unbelief, false faith, idolatry, being without the fear of God, pride, despair, utter blindness, and, in short, not knowing or regarding God. Also lying, abusing God’s name, not praying, not calling on God, not regarding God’s Word, being disobedient to parents, murdering, being unchaste, stealing, deceiving, and such. This hereditary sin is such a deep corruption of nature that no reason can understand it. Rather, it must be believed from the revelation of Scripture (McCain, Baker and Veith).

He writes about how the Law shows us our sin:

But the chief office or force of the Law is to reveal original sin with all its fruit. It shows us how very low our nature has fallen, how we have become utterly corrupted[2] (McCain, Baker and Veith).

He writes about how God justifies us sinners, not by the Law, but through faith in Christ:

Allegory of the Old and New Testaments Hans Holbein the Younger

By the Law He strikes down both obvious sinners and false saints. He declares no one to be in the right, but drives them all together to terror and despair. This is the hammer. As Jeremiah says, “Is not My word like…a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” This is not active contrition or manufactured repentance. It is passive contrition, true sorrow of heart, suffering, and the sensation of death[3]…but to this office of the Law, the New Testament immediately adds the consoling promise of grace through the Gospel. This must be believed[4]…Whenever the Law alone exercises its office, without the Gospel being added, there is nothing but death and hell, and one must despair, as Saul and Judas did. St. Paul says, through sin the Law kills. On the other hand, the Gospel brings consolation and forgiveness. It does so not just in one way, but through the Word and the Sacraments and the like[5]… (McCain, Baker and Veith).

Good stuff, all of it. Then he gets grumpy. The subject of how sinful man is justified is the A-1 topic of the Reformation. In Article III, Section III of the Smalcald Articles Luther discusses what he called the false repentance of the Papists. He writes that his opponents teach incorrectly about repentance because they teach incorrectly about sin. Luther angrily points out that people were being taught that, if they confessed their sins and rendered satisfaction for them, they merited forgiveness. Luther writes:

So even in repentance, they taught people to put confidence in their own works…There was here no mention of Christ and faith. People hoped to overcome and blot out sins before God by their own works. With this intention, we became priests and monks, so we could protect ourselves against sin[6] (McCain, Baker and Veith).

He goes on to describe the attitude of the people toward sin and repentance during his time, If we are honest, we will admit that little has changed in the intervening centuries. People will gladly repent of the sins they consider to be “bad”. The problem arises when we consider the sin “good”. Luther uses the examples of illicit love and vengeful anger. These two particular issues have not changed from the Fall to the time of St. Paul, to the time of Luther, to the present day. 

He who could not have contrition at least ought to have “attrition.” I call that half a contrition, or the beginning of contrition. The fact is, they themselves [Luther’s opponents] do not understand either of these terms, anymore than I do. But such attrition was counted as contrition when a person went to Confession. If anyone said that he could not have contrition or lament his sins (as might be the case with illicit love or the desire for revenge, etc.), they asked whether he wished or desired to have contrition. When one would reply “yes” – for who, save the devil himself, would say “no”? – they accepted this as contrition. They forgave him his sins on account of this good work of his. Here they cited the example of St. Bernard and others[7] (McCain, Baker and Veith).

People were being taught – and were willing to believe – that they could live as they wished, doing as they pleased and, as long as they made the proper penance, they would be justified. How often have the faults of the spouse and the feelings of “love” toward the lover been cited in an effort to justify the dissolution of a marriage? How many times have we justified our ill-treatment or hatred of our enemies based on logical reasons (not to mention emotions that felt so good)? Sure, we recognize that it is sinful to commit adultery, but our case is special. Surely God understands the intricate nuances of our individual situation, and won’t count this particular case of adultery against us. After all, we’re in love.

We understand that Holy Scripture teaches us that to hate our brother is to murder him[8], and we even agree! It’s just that, in the case of our particular enemy, things are different because they are particularly evil. Surely God doesn’t hold us to this standard in our particular case, seeing as he is just, and knows how bad the other person is, and just how terrible the thing is that they have done to anger us.

Luther described how the people would exhibit contrition by basically wishing that they felt bad for the “just” sin that they were committing, but didn’t because they had a good reason for committing it. We are no different today. They, like us and men of all ages, tried to earn their salvation and forgiveness by keeping the law. They realized, however, that they couldn’t, so they set up their own law to keep, much like the Pharisees. The depravity of man is so complete, however, that men cannot even keep their own contrived rules. We are dead in our trespasses. We are utterly lost and cannot reconcile ourselves to God. Worse yet, we don’t want to be reconciled to God. In our unregenerate state we want God to accept us on our own terms. We act as though we have a bargaining position in this situation.

In our baptism we were united with Christ, who died to set us free from sin and the way of the Law (Engelbrecht). Now we should act like it. Eternal life has been promised to the justified. Those who live according to the flesh, as evidenced by their unrepentant continuation of the “works of the flesh” St. Paul describes, retain neither faith nor righteousness[9]. Having been united with Christ in our baptism, we have, as St. Paul says elsewhere, been united with Christ in his death, and we will also be united with him in his resurrection[10].

The Christian freedom which St. Paul describes earlier in his letter to the Galatians means conducting oneself by the power and leading of the Holy Spirit (Engelbrecht). So, each day we attempt to walk according to the Spirit as new creatures in Christ. When we inevitably stumble and sin, doing not the good we want to do but the evil we do not want, we come to the cross in penitent faith and receive the forgiveness that Christ won for us there with his holy precious blood and by his innocent suffering and death. This gift is just that – a gift we cannot earn. Any attempt to do so, however small or logical the human requirement may seem, demeans Christ and his sacrifice. There is not room for our penance on Christ’s cross. All Christians should become a little grumpy with whoever attempts to tell us that there is.

Works Cited

Engelbrecht, Rev. Edward A., ed. The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009.

McCain, Paul Timothy, et al., Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Trans. William Hermann Theodore Dau and Gerhard Friedrich Bente. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005.

End Notes

[1] SA III I 1

[2] SA III II 4 

[3] SA III III 2

[4] SA III III 3

[5] SA III III 7-8

[6] SA III III 12, 14

[7] SA III III 16-17

[8] 1 John 3:15

[9] Ap V 227 

[10] Romans 6:5

Click here to listen to Rev. Todd Wilken and Rev. Paul McCain discuss the Smalcald Articles in the first part of a weekly series on Issues ETC. 

Book Review - Heaven is For Real

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (Hebrews 1:1-3).

Note: This is a review, or rather an opinion piece, on the book, "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo. I do not go into terribly great detail describing the visions of Colton Burpo, who allegedly went to heaven. If, however, you don't want to know what he allegedly saw before you read the book, skip to paragraph five of this article, where my opinion begins. - THL

In 2003, three year old Colton Burpo suffered from undiagnosed appendicitis. He and his family were traveling from Imperial, NE to Greely CO. Colton’s father, Todd, is a pastor at a Wesleyan Church in Imperial, and the family was accompanying him to Greely on a church-related trip. Colton became ill and, rather than taking him to the local emergency room, the family decided to take him to their own doctor in Imperial; they believed that he simply had the stomach flu, which had been going around. Colton’s condition continued to worsen after seeing the doctor. After much discussion and prayer the family took Colton to North Platte Medical Center for treatment, where he was finally properly diagnosed. Colton underwent an emergency appendectomy, and a further surgery to clean out abscesses[1] (Burpo and Vincent).

Several months after the surgery, Colton began speaking about strange things which he experienced, such as angels singing to him while he was in the hospital. Colton’s father, suspecting that his son may have had a spiritual experience of some kind, carefully probed him with questions, careful, as he put it, not to put ideas into his son’s head[2] (Burpo and Vincent). Over the next several years Colton would go on to describe how, during his surgery, he was taken to Heaven. Colton explained how he met Jesus, John the Baptist, his grandfather “Pop” (who died before he was born), and his sister, who had been lost to miscarriage, also prior to Colton’s birth. Colton’s father describes his son’s reported visions with breathless wonder. Colton reported that, in heaven, no one is old or wears glasses. Colton also told his father that everyone in Heaven has wings. Colton even had a vision of the battle of Armageddon. According to Colton, his father will be involved in the fighting of monsters, using either a sword or a bow[3] (Burpo and Vincent). Colton also described how the angels in heaven have swords to keep Satan out of heaven[4] (Burpo and Vincent). Todd Burpo also included other descriptions and “insights” given to him by Colton, who sat on Jesus’ lap during his visit to Heaven.

Summarizing Todd and Colton’s answer to the question, “Why do you think Colton was allowed to see Heaven?” the two say: 1) God wants people to know that he is big and loves them a lot, 2) God wants to comfort those who believe, 3) God wanted to give a confirmation that Heaven is “for real”[5].  The overall purpose of the book is geared to conveying this three-fold message.

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).

I do not believe that Colton experienced an actual vision of Heaven from God. The only other options remaining are: 1) he lied about his experience, 2) he experienced some kind of hallucination brought about by some physical cause, such as his serious illness or anesthesia, 3) he experienced a counterfeit miracle.  Taking the things Colton said at face value – and there is no reason not to do so – I do not believe that he was lying. After all, he was only three years old. On the other hand, he seems to have provided details about the goings-on in the hospital while he was unconscious that he could not have known[6]. That leaves only one possibility – demonic vision.

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people (Jude 1:3).

I think that he may have actually had a real experience; I tend to think it was satanic. I do not believe that God speaks to us other than through his word[7]. Even St. Paul, who saw things inexpressible, resolved to know nothing but Christ crucified among the Corinthians[8]. If there ever was someone who could claim his vision of heaven as proof of its existence and a reason for people to believe the things he said, surely it would be Paul. I mean, if Colton really saw the resurrected Christ, wouldn't that make him an Apostle? Should his words not be recorded and be considered Holy Scripture? This idea that men should seek special revelations apart from God’s word was called “enthusiasm” by the Reformers. In the Smalcald Articles, Luther wrote this about Enthusiasm:

In a word, enthusiasm dwells in Adam and his children from the beginning to the end of the world. Its venom has been implanted and infused into them by the old serpent. It is the origin, power, and strength of all heresy, especially of that of the papacy and Muhammad. 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. God wanted to appear even to Moses through the burning bush and spoken Word (Exodus 3:2-15). No prophet, neither Elijah nor Elisha, received the Spirit without the Ten Commandments or the spoken Word. John the Baptist was not conceived without the word of Gabriel coming first, nor did he leap in his mother’s womb without Mary’s voice (Luke 1:11-20, 41). Peter says, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Without the outward Word, however, they were not holy. Much less would the Holy Spirit have moved them to speak when they were still unholy. They were holy, says he, since the Holy Spirit spoke through them[9] (McCain, Baker and Veith).

I believe that this book is dangerous to faith in Christ because it encourages people to look for and trust in a revelation from God apart from his word. Our attitude, when confronted with alleged divine revelation, should be one of, “I don’t know…but what I DO know is this: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.” We should, as the Bereans did with the Gospel message proclaimed to them by St. Paul, test everything by God’s Word[10].

While Christ features prominently in Colton’s vision, and it is even said at one point that a person must “have Jesus in your heart” to get to heaven, the reason why is never clearly stated. In other words, the Gospel is absent, but in the most subtle way. Consequently, this book could have the effect of confirming unrepentant people in their current situation as lost and condemned sinner. Those who are searching for any antidote to the feelings of guilt for their sin, brought upon them by the preaching of the law, will find false comfort in the message extended in this book – the half-gospel that God loves them – and assume that all is well just the way things are. There is no talk of sin, or repentance, or need for a savior. There is no mention of Christ crucified, except to say, "Jesus died on the cross so that we could go see his dad[11]."

This type of confirming vision strikes me as unscriptural, not to mention unnecessary. If you are a believer in Christ, you don't need a vision of Heaven to prove to you that it is real; Christians already believe that it is real. If you're not a believer, this does not tell you how to get to heaven, other than to have Jesus in your heart, and that could mean different things to different people. To an unregenerate person, inclined away from God and toward evil, this is hardly preaching law and gospel.

Scripture is quite clear that we human beings are lost and condemned. We are dead in our trespasses and sins, and there is nothing we can do to rectify the situation. Scripture is also clear that Jesus, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, paid the penalty for our sin. This is the word of Christ through which faith comes. In the words of Luther’s Small Catechism:

…[Jesus] has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity (Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation).

This is most certainly true.

Works Cited

Burpo, Todd and Lynn Vincent. Heaven Is For Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip To Heaven and Back. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010. iBook Edition.

Engelbrecht, Rev. Edward A., ed. The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009.

Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1986.

McCain, Paul Timothy, et al., Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Trans. William Hermann Theodore Dau and Gerhard Friedrich Bente. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005.

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[1] Heaven is For Real, p. 137

[2] Ibid, p. 149

[3] Ibid, p. 221

[4] Ibid, p.216-17

[5] Ibid, p. 169, 243-48

[6] Explaining everything in the kindest way, I choose not to entertain the idea that Colton was coached by his father, and accept the account as it is given.

[7] Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ (Romans 10:17).

[8] 1 Corinthians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10: The heart of the Gospel is Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. In his second letter to the Corinthians, regarding the “man in Christ”, clearly Paul is speaking of himself. Paul is absolutely passive; the Lord alone is doing and giving…Paul uses terminology typical of intertestamental Judaism, but he shows no interest in its details. His spiritual faculties were alert, but Paul’s total focus on the Lord and complete forgetfulness of self made him unaware of how his body related to this experience. He may have had the experience as a vision, or he may have been physically taken to heaven (Engelbrecht).

[9] SA VIII 9-13.

[10] Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true (Acts 17:11).

[11] Ibid, p. 184-85