Thursday, October 16, 2008
1 Timothy 4:16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
THE APOLOGY
The Apology was written as a defense of the Augsburg Confession. The purpose was to show that the Roman Confutation (The Roman Catholic response to the Augsburg Confession) had not disproved anything in the Augsburg Confession on the basis of Scripture.
Although the Apology was never accepted by the Emperor, it still became an important document for the Lutheran churches. Although the Apology was originally a private work, it became the confession of the whole Lutheran Church. In 1555 it was recognized as an official Lutheran confession in the Religious Peace Treaty of Augsburg. All this paved the way for its inclusion in the Book of Concord in 1580.
Three things stand out about the Apology. The first is its length. It is more than seven times longer than the Augsburg Confession. Melanchthon went into much greater detail on many of the articles that were presented concisely in the Augsburg Confession. Second is the theological nature of the document. The purpose of the Apology was to defend the Augsburg Confession and refute the often technical attacks made in the Confutation. For this reason, the Apology is more polemical in nature, vigorously attacking the teaching of the Romanists. Finally, one cannot miss the overwhelming emphasis on the doctrine of justification which fills almost one third of its pages! Not only was the article on justification the longest of the articles, but it carries into all the other articles as well. It is made clear that all the articles of our faith must be understood in the light of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It is this truth that makes the Apology still relevant and full of meaning for us today!
