God's Word is the only foundation for the work of the Gospel. As Lenski and others once said, the Church is built upon one thing only - the Word of God.
The Word, preached and taught, brings the Gospel to people. The Word conveys the Savior to us. We call the Word a Means of Grace because God grants forgiveness only through the Word (visible and invisible, the Word and Sacraments).
When the Word is correctly taught, the positive affirmations are not left to hover in the air without contrasting them with the negatives (rejections).
If the Word is efficacious, then Reformed doctrine is wrong. Fuller be damned.
If the papacy is the Antichrist, a Roman Catholic bishop cannot march in a religious service with the faculty of Bethany Lutheran Seminary. A Roman Catholic archbishop (gay or straight) cannot teach the Word at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Those who arrange, cover up, and explain away such monstrous behavior must be disciplined or expelled.
If Holy Communion an expression of doctrinal unity, open communion is nothing less than a repudiation of Lutheran doctrine.
The Glory Has Departed
Thursday, August 23, 2007
I Believe in the Efficacy of God's Word
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I believe many in the ELS and WELS are so eager for fellowship and maintaining human relationships that they forsake Christ and Christian doctrine. To the point where doctrine and fellowship are no longer judged on holding to all of God's Truth but trying to find some shred of truth in all the false doctrine that will justify the relationship.
Brett Meyer
Case in point:
Re: [elsministry] Re: Roman Catholic Church
David, Brett, et al,
Thanks for the nice response, David. Brett, I think all of us have struggled with these questions.
Are there any parallels with the Pharisees in Jesus' day? They sat in "Moses' seat" and yet taught a false way of salvation. Though our
Lord clearly chastises them for their misguided doctrine, He seems to
acknowledge that the Truth was still present in their message,
despite being so buried under their man-made regulations. At the same time He warns hearers against their "leaven."
Jesus' parable of the enemy sowing weeds among the good wheat has
often been seen as a picture of the earthly, visible church, which
contains hypocrites and even false teachers.
One passage I often use in these cases is II Thessalonians 3:14-15,
where Paul writes:
"If anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person
and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not
count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother."
There are erring brothers in Christ who continue following a false teaching, and yet the danger of this poison has not yet killed their faith entirely. At the same time we should admonish them and not keep company with them (fellowship) because the poison helps no one.
In Christ,
- Don M
Pastor Jackson, the comment I made was mistakenly attributed to Annonymous. I entered my name following my comment and would like to be identified differently than Annonymous as I do not want to be mistaken as one of your commentors who have such weak character. My comment was the one that quoted Prof. Don Moldstad of the ELS when he stated that Jesus felt the Pharisees still had the Truth.
Post a Comment