Dr. Robert Preus on Justification by Faith

From Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant:

However, Preus clarified the true meaning of justification in his final book, Justification and Rome, which was published posthumously. Preus wrote this definitive comment:

But the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the sinner takes place when the Holy Spirit brings him to faith through Baptism and the Word of the Gospel. Our sins were imputed to Christ at His suffering and death, imputed objectively after He, by His active and passive obedience, fulfilled and procured all righteousness for us. But the imputation of His righteousness to us takes place when we are brought to faith.

Preus immediately followed the statement above with a quotation from Quenstedt, one of his favorite orthodox Lutheran authors:

It is not just the same thing to say, “Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us” and to say “Christ is our righteousness.” For the imputation did not take place when Christ became our righteousness. The righteousness of Christ is the effect of His office. The imputation is the application of the effect of His office. The one, however, does not do away with the other. Christ is our righteousness effectively when He justifies us. His righteousness is ours objectively because our faith rests in Him. His righteousness is ours formally in that His righteousness is imputed to us.

Preus also quoted Abraham Calov with approval:

Although Christ has acquired for us the remission of sins, justification, and sonship, God just the same does not justify us prior to our faith. Nor do we become God's children in Christ in such a way that justification in the mind of God takes place before we believe.

Justification by faith, in the original sense, was taught in the official catechism of the Missouri Synod, and then was gradually changed:

#305 Why do you say in this article: I believe in the Forgiveness of Sins? Because I hold with certainty that by my own powers or through my own works I cannot be justified before God, but that the forgiveness of sins is given me out of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also true justification. Psalm 130:3-4; Psalm 143:2; Isaiah 64:6; Job 25:4-6 (Q. 124).

Terminology: UOJ, Atonement, Justification

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS and Universalism":

Again, could you please define your terms? According to the most recent couple of posts, according to you, atonement does not equal justification but forgiveness does equal salvation. So does justification equal forgiveness, while atonement does not equal forgiveness? Again, what's the difference between atonement and justification?

It seems to me that this entire thing is simply a case of terminology. It sounds like you and the WELS/ELS/LCMS are saying the same thing, only you're using the term atonement and they're using the term justification to talk about the same concept.

In other words, it seems like the WELS/ELS/LCMS speak of objective justification and subjective justification while you speak of atonement and justification. Same concepts in both cases, just different labels.

***

GJ - A significant number of pastors think that UOJ is the same thing as Atonement, but the UOJ fans reject that idea. Quoting the late Dr. Robert Preus:

Objective justification which is God’s verdict of acquittal over the whole world is not identical with the atonement, it is not another way of expressing the fact that Christ has redeemed the world. Rather it is based upon the substitutionary work of Christ, or better, it is a part of the atonement itself. It is God’s response to all that Christ died to save us, God’s verdict that Christ’s work is finished, that He has been indeed reconciled, propitiated; His anger has been stilled and He is at peace with the world, and therefore He has declared the entire world in Christ to be righteous. [emphasis added]

I used to equate OJ with the Atonement, but then I realized how the circle of Walther disciples invented a new doctrine and imposed it deviously on the Lutheran Church. Robert Preus' last book repudiates UOJ. I will cite that tomorow, deo volunte.

The Word is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Word, yet both work together at all times, never apart from each other. There is a similarity with the Atonement and justification. They are not the same thing, but the message of the Atonement of Christ generates faith in listeners, who receive this priceless message in faith. In receiving the message of forgiveness through God's grace, they obtain what God promises: remission of sin, peace, eternal life, and the fruits of the Spirit.

New Poll Launched Who Looks Like Whom?

Fans of Office Space will recognize Milton Waddams on the left. A fine actor made this character the funniest one in the movie. The bloke on above right is the author of Ichabod. The new poll is at the bottom of the page.

McCain's Face Defended

Revvin' Rev has left a new comment on your post

"Are They the Same Person?":

What is the point you are trying to make, that Rev. Paul McCain is brilliant?

Just because a person bears a resemblance to someone, doesn't automatically mean the "look a like" shares the same characteristics. Or is that what you are saying?

If I were to say that Rev. Gregory L. Jackson looks like Milton Waddams, does that mean that Ichabod mumbles to himself instead of talking to the people he needs to talk to? No, sharing a resemblance has nothing to do with sharing a person's status, characteristics, or personality.

Stick to the issues, leave the personal attacks in the baptismal font.

***

GJ - If the readers link back to the post, they will see a startling resemblance in the photos of McCain and Karl Rove. I thought that was amusing. Besides, I wanted to try inserting photos.

It is not a personal attack to say McCain looks like Rove, unless someone thinks Rove is unspeakably ugly or evil. Perhaps Rove might think it was a personal attack, but only if he were a Wisconsin Synod pastor.

Every so often I try to add some humor to Ichabod, but people are bound to miss the point. More Revvin' Rev below.

***
Revvin' Rev has left a new comment on your post "Are They the Same Person?":

Pastor Jackson,

Even though I didn't mean to attack you personally, I could have when I hypothetically compared you to Milton Waddams. Though it was meant to prove a point, committing a sin to point out a sin isn't right. Forgive me and remove the last comment.

I plead with you to stop the personal attacks. Stick to what people say and the issues. Who cares what Pastor McCain looks like?

WELS and Universalism

Mschottey has left a new comment on your post "FIC Promotes UOJ, Again":

UOJ Is not simply that all men are saved, even the ungodly. That is not taught, as i'm sure you very well know, in the WELS.

UOJ is that Christ died once for all men. He did not die only for the godly, rather he himself said that he did not come for the healthy but the sick. He did not only come for the faithful, nor those who would one day become faithful.

Christ died for all mankind, if he had not passages like "For God so loved the WORLD" and "God wants ALL men to be saved..." would be untrue.

Because of Christ and the work of justification all men on earth have been forgiven. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to instill saving faith in the hearts of unbelievers. Many reject the Holy Spirit, they would like a better way. But Christ died even for those who would reject them.

"While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"

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GJ - I know very well that the Wisconsin Synod had an evangelism campaign where the banners read, "I am saved, just like you." That is Universalism.

Forgiveness is salvation, so universal forgiveness is universal salvation. UOJ is also pure Enthusiasm.

The Wisconsin Synod loves to work with ELCA, whose Universalism and ecumenism are openly proclaimed. WELS hides its joint work with ELCA but still loves to be in bed with ELCA.

FIC Promotes UOJ, Again

WELS AnswerMan

Q: I was told that Lutherans teach that all people's sins were forgiven when Christ died on the cross. I have a very hard time believing that certain known non-christians, complete rascals, impenitent, and staying that way till their death had their sins forgiven. Seems to me that forgiveness is offered to everyone but the actual forgiving of sins by Christ does not happen until the Holy Ghost leads them to Baptism and Faith. Becoming a forgiven person by Christ and being saved happen together. The new testament, I think in Acts, says "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and then you will be saved." Please comment.

-----------------------------------------------------

A: Thanks for asking your question. This subject is a good one to remind us of the importance of defining terms, going out of our way to avoid misunderstanding, and -- above all -- limiting ourselves to what the Bible says on a given subject.

May we speak of all sinners being forgiven -- all mankind, including those impenitent, non-Christian "rascals" you are thinking of? Here is what the Bible declares:

"God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them." (2 Cor. 5:19) "There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:22-25) "[Christ] was delivered over to death because of our sins and was raised to life because of our justification." (Romans 4:25). God says he has justified (declared not guilty, forgiven) all mankind because of Christ's atoning work for everyone two thousand years ago. This truth is often called objective or universal justification.

Alongside this reality is also the truth known as subjective justification, when the individual person is brought by the Holy Spirit to embrace or appropriate this forgiveness and receive personal benefit from it through saving faith. That is what you are primarily thinking of and is undeniable fact on the basis of the Bible. When a person remains impenitent and an unbeliever, he is still pardoned by God objectively and really -- but he does not benefit from that awesome truth. He is like a person who has had a fortune deposited into his bank account, in reality, yet despises that fact and continues to live and die as a pauper. The reality of the gift and the love of the Giver is not changed, but the personal blessing is forfeited.

Beware of emphasizing one Bible truth (subjective justification through faith) at the expense of another (objective justification). Receive with joy the Bible revelation of both. Beware of confusing similar but sometimes differing Bible concepts like being "forgiven" and being "saved". And do yourself a favor and do some reading on the subject. I suggest the following essays you may download and enjoy: http://www.wlsessays.net/authors/B/BeckerUniversal/BeckerUniversal.PDF and http://www.wlsessays.net/authors/S/SchallerRedemption/SchallerRedemption.PDF

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GJ - If people wonder why I write against Universal Objective Justification (forgiveness without faith, grace without the Means of Grace), this AnswerMan smoke cloud is reason enough.

Nothing good is going to happen in WELS, Missouri, or the ELS until they start teaching justification by faith according to the Scriptures and the Confessions.

Here are the basics, which will be published more completely on Lulu.com in the future:

1. The UOJ passages so frequently cited are all Atonement passages. Christ has indeed paid for the sins of the world. The Atonement means that everything changed with the death and resurrection of Christ, but justification in the Old Testamet could only be by faith. Has anyone tried to wedge UOJ into Abraham believing and being counted righteous?
2. No Biblical verse, no accepted Patristic author, no Book of Concord passage, no post-Reformation author has ever supported the opinion that "God declared the entire world forgiven of its sin."
3. UOJ fanatics cannot figure out if this Universalism of theirs happened at the death of Christ or His resurrection.
4. UOJ proponents have to admit that their system of thought is only about 100 years old. The first real belch of UOJ came with the Brief Statement. Walther and Pieper both promoted UOJ, but the roots of their false doctrine grew among the European Pietists. Walther was the first Hyper-Euro Lutheran. He quoted Europeans all the time.

WELS UOJ is highly conducive to working with ELCA Universalists, the Church of Rome, and Fuller Pentecostals. UOJ generates doctrinal apathy and global ecumenism.

The Biblical doctrine of the Means of Grace is taught consistently in the Scriptures, the Church Fathers (and I do not mean Walther, Pieper, and Uncle Fritz), Luther, the Book of Concord, and the post-Reformation theologians like Chemnitz, Gerhard, and others.

The treasure of the Atonement is an objective fact. As Luther said, the atoning death of Christ would be true even if no one ever believed it. Luther also said that God could save the world if he wanted to. Liberals, Universalists, UOJists - all agree that He has done just that. But the Word of God teaches us that God appointed means or instruments to bring this grace, this Atonement to individuals.

The Reformed always rail against the Means of Grace. They hate Holy Communion and Holy Baptism as sacraments. That hate the power of the efficacious Word alone (that is, without their help, their salesmanship, their logic). They hate the abundance of those Means of Grace. Harumpf:
1. The Word?
2. Baptism?
3. Communion?
4. Absolution?
5. Mutual consolation of the brethren?

Why does God need so many? they scandalize among themselves.

I would argue that man needs so many Means of Grace because we are so prone to dismiss, ignore, or disbelieve the full and free forgiveness won for us by Christ on the cross, confirmed for the whole world in His resurrection. God gives us absolute certainty that - no matter how we feel - our sins are taken away through these means.

Every so often a pastor will send an apology to me. He is forgiven. Then he apologizes a second time. So I ask, "Don't you believe in absolution?" That brings a chuckle. That is the soul of the Gospel. God does what He promises.

The Means of Grace also give us a double-blessing. We have the great privilege of sharing in the abundance of Gospel blessings without being individually responsible for the exact effect of the Word in individuals. We do not need to judge, to reckon, to calculate - only to sow the imperishable Gospel seed with abandon.

The efficacious Word is the energy behind the Means of Grace. The Holy Spirit only works through this Word and never apart from it. However, the efficacy shows itself not only in conversion but also in hardening. Anyone who has tried to be faithful to the Scriptures has seen how Satanic hatred erupts from hearing the mildest Scriptural teaching. I used to open my snail mail with asbestos gloves as heat waves shimmered above the page of the latest tirade, which usually closed "In Christian love..."

The Old Synodical Conference has yakked about UOJ with increasing stridency for the last 30 years, while working hand-in-claw with the LCA/ALC/ELCA. Has this UOJ opinion helped their evangelism efforts or lubricated their eventual merger with ELCA? Has UOJ protected the Gospel, as they like to say, quoting one of their illiterate authorities, or moved them into fellowship with the Church of Rome?
Has UOJ strengthened the synods or hastened their decline?

How many UOJ pastors have pursued a mistress while thinking, "I know I am already forgiven"?

KJV John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.


KJV John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

KJV 1 John 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

KJV John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

KJV John 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

KJV John 12:39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

KJV John 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

KJV John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

KJV Acts 10:43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

KJV Romans 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

KJV Acts 13:38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

KJV 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

KJV 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

KJV Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant Moving Along Fast

I just learned that I can do low-cost printing through Lulu.com, where I was going to publish anyway (but use a printer here or in Michigan). Once I finish the master file I can order up the copies needed for Christian News and my personal list.

Printing from Lulu will save me about 3-4 weeks time and many headaches (perhaps substituting a few).

I can also publish works that would be too costly to print. Low-cost printing starts at about $3,000.

Lulu.com is a good system for publishing works for large or small audiences. I can print a custom four-color book of stories for my grandchildren. The revolution in publishing has arrived.

Poetry Corner

Musical Poem

There once was a WELS pope named Yankee,
Who overlooked much hanky-panky.
Now Two's-on home base
With egg on his face,
And members are getting quite cranky.

SP Schroeder Letters, Etc.

Materials from SP Schroeder and the WELS convention are posted here.

Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw News

MLS safe for a while
Posted by AMY PAYNE August 06, 2007 19:19PM
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod has a financial plan to support its offerings -- including Michigan Lutheran Seminary -- but there's no guarantee the synod won't revisit the possibility of closing the school.

"It was about keeping our ministerial education program strong," said Joel Hochmuth, communications director for the synod, of Thursday's decision by synod leaders to keep the school going at 2777 Hardin near Court on Saginaw's West Side.

"It's not one of those things where we're going to fund MLS into perpetuity."

The synod, will, however, extend the school's allocation into 2009. In fact, Michigan Lutheran Seminary will host the synod's next biannual conference in summer 2009, Hochmuth said.

***

Lutherans to ante up for Seminary
Tuesday, August 07, 2007AMY PAYNETHE SAGINAW NEWS
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod has a financial plan to support its offerings -- including Michigan Lutheran Seminary -- but there's no guarantee the synod won't revisit the possibility of closing the school.

"It was about keeping our ministerial education program strong," Joel Hochmuth, communications director for the synod, said of Thursday's decision by synod leaders to keep the school going at 2777 Hardin at Court on Saginaw's West Side.

"It's not one of those things where we're going to fund MLS into perpetuity."

The synod, will, however, extend the school's allocation into 2009. In fact, Michigan Lutheran Seminary will host the synod's next biennial conference in summer 2009, Hochmuth said.

Delegates at the synod's convention, which wrapped up Friday, passed a $2 million addition to the ministerial education budget for the 2008-09 school year.

The synod allocates $2 million each year to Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

With more money for world missions as well, synod leaders said they would need

$3 million to $4 million more from congregations to pay for the expansion. The synod will ask members to contribute to a special offering to reduce the church's debt.

If the funding drive "doesn't bear fruit," the synod will trim from administrative budgets before cutting back on education or missions, Hochmuth said.

Closing Seminary remains a possibility, though, especially if the church still finds itself in financial trouble down the road.

"It's never off the table," Hochmuth said.

Thursday's decision wasn't the first time closure threatened Michigan Lutheran Seminary. Synod leaders rejected a similar proposal 15 years ago.

Amy Payne is a staff writer. You may reach her at 776-9687.


***


Friday, August 10, 2007
Welcome back, Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

Even though it never really closed up shop and left town, many of us were afraid it might.

Amen to decision about Seminary

Earlier this year, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod officials recommended closing the 241-student Saginaw high school after the 2007-08 school year because of a $2.3 million deficit in the synod's budget. Seminary's annual allocation is $2 million.


Last week, synod delegates in New Ulm, Minn., decided to keep the school open -- even if just temporarily.

Thank God.

In the 122 years since it opened its doors, the school on Hardin near Court on the city's West Side has graduated 700 future pastors and 1,400 future teachers from its hallowed halls.

Closure would've sent packing 60 staffers, all of whom live in Saginaw or Saginaw Township -- where they pay taxes, keep up their homes, spend money in the local economy and contribute to the quality of life of those around them -- and forced the school's 241 students to find an education somewhere else. Last year, Seminary enrolled students from five countries and Wisconsin Synod churches from all over the United States, which adds a bit of a cosmopolitan touch to the learning process.

Seminary is Saginaw County's third-largest private high school -- after Nouvel Catholic Central and Valley Lutheran -- and its oldest.

Sometimes people merely co-exist with students and schools near their houses. But in Seminary's case, its closure would've put a sword into the side of its tree-shaded, homey neighborhood, which benefits from the energy and stability the school provides.

Saginaw Mayor Carol B. Cottrell, obviously pleased upon hearing Seminary would stay, made no bones about the positive neighborhood impact the school has had.

"You can see the kids walking down to Fuzzy's (restaurant) or down to the Court Street Theatre," she told The Saginaw News. "When you have a building sitting shuttered, it affects the vitality of the neighborhood."

So, Saginaw certainly needs Seminary. There's still that $2.3 million, but the synod says it is working on it.

In any case, we all can give thanks, and amens all around, for the good news out of New Ulm.

GJ Note - Someone was outraged that I posted about the WELS Curia stabbling MLS in the back. My impeccable source, Diablo, told me about this. Above is the proof. Hochmuth sounds like a mouthpiece for President-in-Waiting Mueller.

Ichabod on Slow-Down

My priority is to finish the publication of Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant. I have given readers enough to study for a year or two. I will be back soon.

The new links provided are loaded with quotations to study. You may hate my conclusions in Thy Strong Word, but study the materials. No one else has gathered as much on the efficacy of the Word. I scoured many libraries and microfilms for the references.

WELS SP Schroeder

I was pleased when Schroeder was elected Synod President of WELS. He has inherited a lot, more than any of us can imagine. He needs to have time and your prayers to accomplish his work. That will take some patience.

A pastor is not really settled into doing his job for a year or two. I cannot estimate what it takes to be a new synodical president at a time like this. Several years are a bare minimum, I think

The forces that put him into office should continue to support the changes needed. I am a complete outsider, so I am not part of the equation.

Reformation Quotations

"Since now, in the sight of God and of all Christendom [the entire Church of Christ], we wish to testify to those now living and those who shall come after us that this declaration herewith presented concerning all the controverted articles aforementioned and explained, and no other, is our faith, doctrine, and confession, in which we are also willing, by God's grace, to appear with intrepid hearts before the judgment-seat of Jesus Christ, and give an account of it; and that we will neither privately nor publicly speak or write anything contrary to it, but, by the help of God's grace, intend to abide thereby: therefore, after mature deliberation, we have, in God's fear and with the invocation of His name, attached our signatures with our own hands."
Formula of Concord, SD, XII. #40. Other Factions and Sects. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1103. Tappert, p. 636. Heiser, p. 296.

"The Lutheran Church is a doctrinal Church. She attaches supreme importance to pure doctrine. The preaching and teaching of God's pure Word is her central activity. Say the Confessors: 'The true adornment of the churches is godly, useful, and clear doctrine.' (Triglotta, p. 401)"
W. A. Baepler, "Doctrine, True and False," The Abiding Word, ed., Theodore Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 496.

"Let him therefore who is concerned about his life not be taken in by the friendliness of heretics to agree with their doctrine. Neither let him be offended at my faults, who am a teacher, but let him consider the doctrine itself." [Origen, Homily 7, on Ezekiel]
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 154.

"But now I ought not to quote the Nicean, nor you the Ariminensian Council, as if to judge beforehand. I will not be bound by the authority of this, nor you by the authority of that. On the authority of the Scriptures and not on any one's own, but on the common witnesses of both, let matter contend with matter, cause with cause, reason with reason." [Augustine, Contra Maximum, Book 3, chap. 14]
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 155.

"What is the reason for certainty in Christian doctrine?...7. the hatred of the devil over against this doctrine;
David Chytraeus, A Summary of the Christian Faith (1568), trans., Richard Dinda, Decatur: Repristination Press, 1994. p. 21.

"The worst of all is, that we must not only suffer shame, persecution and death; but that the world rejoices because of our great loss and misfortunes. This is indeed very hard and bitter. Sure it shall thus come to pass, for the world will rejoice when it goes ill with us; but this comfort we have that their joy shall not last long, and our sorrow shall be turned into eternal joy."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 80. Third Sunday after Easter John 16:16-23.

"For it is not possible for those not to be offended in Christ who walk by sight and feeling and do not adhere firmly to the Word."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, I, p. 23.

"Perhaps you look about and think: What, could so many people be wrong all at once? Beware, and do not let their number trouble you; hold fast to God's Word; He cannot deceive you, though all mankind be false, as indeed the Scriptures say, Psalm 116:11: 'All men are liars.'"
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, I, p. 416. Epiphany Matthew 2:1-12.

"It is true, the injury is not so glaring, and it appears to be much worse if a person's head is struck off, than if a false prophet or writer comes forward; but a false sermon, yea even a false word, which comes whirling along in God's name, will cut off a great number of souls, so that an entire city or country may fall under it."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, IV, p. 386. Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon Mark 7:31-37.

"Perhaps you look about and think: What, could so many people be wrong all at once? Beware, and do not let their number trouble you; hold fast to God's Word; He cannot deceive you, though all mankind be false, as indeed the Scriptures say, Psalm 116:11: 'All men are liars.'"
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, I, p. 416. Epiphany Matthew 2:1-12. Psalm 116:11.

"The doctrine may well be correctly taught by a person even though his life is evil. Bad doctrine is a thousand times more harmful than a bad life."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 846.

"All the others also say that they are teaching the Word of God. No devil, heretic, or sectarian spirit arises who says: I, the devil, or a heretic, am preaching my own views. On the contrary, all know how to say: This is not my doctrine; it is God's Word."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 640.

"Error and heresy must come into the world so that the elect may become approved and manifest. Their coming is in the best interests of Christians if they take the proper attitude toward it. St. Augustine, who certainly was sufficiently annoyed by wretched sectaries, says that when heresy and offense come, they produce much benefit in Christendom; for they Christians industriously to read Holy Scriptures and with diligence to pursue it and persevere in its study. Otherwise they might let it lie on the shelf, become very secure, and say: Why, God's Word and the text of Scripture are current and in our midst; it is not necessary for us to read Holy Scripture."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 639.

"The devil has the advantage of being able to find pupils for a doctrine or a dream no matter how absurd the doctrine or the dream may be. The more absurd it is the sooner he finds pupils."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 632. WLS #1940 Mark 7:31-37.

"However, if anything is undertaken against the Word, faith, and the honor of God, we are in no wise to preserve silence, are to bear it far less patiently. Then we should offer stubborn resistance."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, III, p. 1308. Sermon, 1523

"Hence everything here depends only upon this, that you rightly learn to look upon Christ according to the Word, and not according to your own thoughts and feelings, for human thoughts are frauds and lies, but His Word is true and cannot lie."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, IV, p. 92. Third Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon Luke 15:1-10.

"This is going through closed doors, when He comes into the heart through the Word, not breaking nor displacing anything. For when the Word of God comes, it neither injures the conscience, nor deranges the understanding of the heart and the external senses; as the false teachers do who break all the doors and windows, breaking through like thieves, leaving nothing whole and undamaged, and perverting, falsifying and injuring all life, conscience, reason, and the senses. Christ does not do thus."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 355. First Sunday after Easter John 20:19-31.

"But when St. Peter stood up and preached, they made a mockery of it and considered the apostles drunken fools. When they had urged the Gospel a long time, they gathered together three thousand men and women. But what were they among so many? Yea, no one could discern that the Gospel had accomplished anything, for all things continued in the same state as before. No change was seen, and scarcely anyone knew that there were Christians there. And so it will be at all times."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 306. Easter Tuesday Luke 24:36-47.

"Be not worried because of this! for even though a man preach and continue in the Gospel for many years, he must still lament and say: Aye, no one will come, and all continue in their former state. Therefore you must not let that grieve or terrify you."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 305. Easter Tuesday Luke 24:36-47.

"He permits it to happen that many great saints err and stumble, in order that we may not trust in men, though they be many, great, and holy. We must be led to rely upon the Word that is sure and cannot deceive, as here these two men, and all the others afterward, were directed to the Scriptures."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 290. Easter Monday Luke 24:13-35.

"All preaching of sin and God's wrath is a preaching of the Law, no matter how or when it may be done. On the other hand, the Gospel is such preaching as sets forth and bestows nothing but grace and forgiveness in Christ. And yet it is true that the Apostles and preachers of the Gospel sanctioned the preaching of the Law, as Christ Himself did, and began with this in the case of those who had not yet acknowledged their sins and had felt no fear of God's anger."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, IV, p. 158. Fifth Sunday after Trinity Luke 5:1-11.

"You may tie a hog ever so well, but you cannot prevent it from grunting, until it is strangled and killed. Thus it is with the sins of the flesh."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 247. Easter, Second Sermon Mark 16:1-8.

"The Holy Spirit is given to none except to those who are in sorrow and fear; in them it produces good fruit. This gift is so precious and worthy that God does not cast it before dogs. Though the unrepentant discover it themselves, hearing it preached, they devour it and know not what they devour."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 281f. Pentecost Sunday John 14:23-31.

"Godly and believing persons know their sins; they bear all their punishment patiently, and are resigned to God's judgment without the least murmur; therefore, they are punished only bodily, and here in time, and their pain and suffering have an end. Unbelievers, however, since they are not conscious of their sins and transgressions, cannot bear God's punishment patiently, but they resent it and wish their life and works to go unpunished, yea, uncensured. Hence, their punishment and suffering are in body and soul, here in time, and last forever beyond this life."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 131. Fourth Sunday after Easter, Second Sermon John 16:5-15.

"Therefore the Holy Spirit rightly and justly convicts, as sinful and condemned, all who have not faith in Christ. For where this is wanting, other sins in abundance must follow: God is despised and hated, and the entire first table is treated with disobedience."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 141. Fourth Sunday after Easter, Third Sermon John 16:5-15.

"A hardened heart will not be instructed, no matter how plainly and clearly the truth is presented; but the faith of the righteous is strengthened when they see that the ground of their faith is right and good."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 157. Third Sunday in Lent Luke 11:14-23.

"Christ, in the saying we have quoted from Matthew (24:45), tells us further, the servant of the household should be not only faithful, but also wise, able to discern between the mysteries of God and the mysteries of the devil, that he may safely guard and keep himself and those committed to his care. For, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, false apostles sometimes fashion themselves into true apostles of Christ, even as the devil transforms himself into an angel of light."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 77. Third Sunday in Advent, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Matthew 24:45; 2 Corinthians 11:13-14

"You cannot of a truth be for true doctrine without being unalterably opposed to false doctrine. There can be no 'positive theology' where the God-given negatives have been eliminated from the Decalog."
Norman A. Madson, Preaching to Preachers, Mankato: Lutheran Synod Book Company, 1952 Preface.

"...and Luther asked that his early writings be read 'with much charity,' since they were not yet entirely free from Romish errors."
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., trans., Walter W. F. Albrecht, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1950, I, p. 89. SL XIV, 439; also XIX, 293, 296

"When the time comes that the worldly shall gnash their teeth, they shall witness all the elect and angels saying to God: 'This man has been a faithful minister and teacher. He has proclaimed the saving Word of God to a world of castaways. On yonder earth he was despised, persecuted, and maligned, but he shines now as a star with imperishable luster.'"
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 402. Daniel 12:3.

UOJ Is Enthusiam

Studying the concept of Enthusiasm in the Smalcald Articles will show why Universal Objective Justification is false doctrine. UOJ teaches that God declared the entire world free of sin, without the efficacious Word, without the Means of Grace. People should wonder how this UOJ fraud was perpetrated the the Synodical Conference.

LCMS Pastor Vernon Harley was one of the few ministers to oppose UOJ openly with his thoughtful essays. He told me at his home that no one ever refuted him or even fought against him. I got the impression Missouri just ignored him. Pastor Harley gave me some good material, which I am quoting below. It shows that Missouri did not slavishly follow UOJ at first.

Another leader against UOJ is Dr. Robert Preus. He completely repudiated UOJ in his last book. I will post that section a little later.

Missouri's Small Catechism, Before UOJ

"#305. Why do you say in this article: I believe in the Forgiveness of Sins? Because I hold with certainty that by my own powers or through my own works I cannot be justified before God, but that the forgiveness of sins is given me out of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also true justification. Psalm 130:3-4; Psalm 143:2; Isaiah 64:6; Job 25:4-6 (Q. 124)."
Kleiner Katechismus, trans. Pastor Vernon Harley, LCMS, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1901, p. 164ff.

"#306. What is justification? Justification is that activity (Handlung) of God by which He out of pure grace and mercy for the sake of Christ's merits forgives the sins of a poor sinner who truly believes in Jesus Christ and receives him to everlasting life."
Kleiner Katechismus, trans. Pastor Vernon Harley, LCMS, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1901, p. 164ff.

***
PS
A. Nony Mouse cannot sign his name or defend UOJ. Instead, he wrote:

Greg, I am so happy you wrote the following: "Universal Objective Justification is false doctrine." Now every confessional Lutheran can see for themselves you're a false prophet.

"What is the reason for certainty in Christian doctrine?...7. the hatred of the devil over against this doctrine;
David Chytraeus, A Summary of the Christian Faith (1568), trans., Richard Dinda, Decatur: Repristination Press, 1994. p. 21.

Luther's Smalcald - Against Enthusiasm, III

Book of Concord, Smalcald Articles, VIII, Of Confession

9] 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. 10] 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. 11] 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]. 12] 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. 13] And Peter says, 2 Pet. 1, 21: The prophecy came not by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 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.

The Church of Rome vests its authority in its age, its centuries of tradition, its pope, and its historic and self-serving titles. All these claims are false, but they appeal to restless spirits. The Church Growth Movement (Purpose-Driven, Willow Creek) claims to be making the visible church grow, yet C. Peter Wagner has admitted in print that CG Principles "do not work." Whether they did or not, CG would still be false.

Zwingli and John Calvin separate the work of the Holy Spirit from the Word, contrary to Isaiah 55 and the entire Bible. Calvin said that a sermon would have no effect if the Holy Spirit was not present. That is why Calvinists use the term Sovereign Lord. God may or may not choose to accompany the Word with His Holy Spirit. So some Calvinists argue that man must make the Word of God appealing, germane, or relevant to man. A modern crypto-Calvinist like Floyd Luther Stolzenburg argues that the users must be friendly to make the sermon effective.

Both errors (Rome and Pasadena) appeal to the emotions. Our emotions are good but they vary more than the weather. Our emotions can never be the anchor of our faith. We must base our salvation on the objective Word of God, not on our emotions. Then our volatile emotions can be strengthened and harnassed with the assurrance of salvation in Christ.

Both errors also lead to salvation by works alone. Listen to their dreary heroes for a few minutes. They crow about Mass every Sunday and all the Romanizing tendencies they have introduced (ala Fenton before he jumped the fence). They brag about their paved parking lots and new buildings, as if God coveted one more acre of parking for His people. If their doctrine is questioned, the claws come out, the fangs moisten, and they shout, "Do you know what I have done?"

Luther Wrote
"In short, wherever the Word of Christ is found and held, that is, believed, have no doubt that there the church is, even though he who administers the Sacraments and teaches the Word is godless and blasphemous; for the Word of the Lord does not return void but bears fruit, just as the rain waters the earth and makes it fruitful (Isaiah 55:10-11)."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed. Ewald M. Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, III, p. 1469. Exposition of Genesis 21. Isaiah 55:10-11.

Luther's Smalcald - Against Enthusiasm, II

Book of Concord, Smalcald Articles, VIII, Of Confession

5] All this is the old devil and old serpent, who also converted Adam and Eve into enthusiasts, and led them from the outward Word of God to spiritualizing and self-conceit, and nevertheless he accomplished this through other outward words. 6] Just as also our enthusiasts [at the present day] condemn the outward Word, and nevertheless they themselves are not silent, but they fill the world with their pratings and writings, as though, indeed, the Spirit could not come through the writings and spoken word of the apostles, but [first] through their writings and words he must come. Why [then] do not they also omit their own sermons and writings, until the Spirit Himself come to men, without their writings and before them, as they boast that He has come into them without the preaching of the Scriptures? But of these matters there is not time now to dispute at greater length; we have elsewhere sufficiently urged this subject.

On the one hand - we have the Fuller disciples, with their notebooks, programs, books, and tapes from Pasadena and Willow Creek. On the other hand - we have the Romanists with their garments, incense, hardware (chalice), and choreography. Neither group can stop obsessing about their favorite topics, which are contrary to the revealed Word of God and yet so appealing to the emotions.

Rome is the not the antidote for the Church Growth Movement. Both represent the Enthusiasm condemned by Luther and by all who subscribe to the Book of Concord.

Luther's Smalcald - Against Enthusiasm

Book of Concord, Smalcald Articles, VIII, Of Confession

3] And in those things which concern the spoken, outward Word, we must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one, except through or with the preceding outward Word, in order that we may [thus] be protected against the enthusiasts, i.e., spirits who boast that they have the Spirit without and before the Word, and accordingly judge Scripture or the spoken Word, and explain and stretch it at their pleasure, as Muenzer did, and many still do at the present day, who wish to be acute judges between the Spirit and the letter, and yet know not what they say or declare. 4] For [indeed] the Papacy also is nothing but sheer enthusiasm, by which the Pope boasts that all rights exist in the shrine of his heart, and whatever he decides and commands with [in] his church is spirit and right, even though it is above and contrary to Scripture and the spoken Word.

Ichabod readers - you will never find this paragraph expressed in the synodical publications. Sometimes they speak about the Word, as WELS AnswerMan recently did, without condemning Purpose-Driven false doctrine or commending the work of the Word alone in accomplishing God's will.

Enthusiasm was a term commonly used among Lutherans to condemn the errors of the papacy and the Reformed. Once Lutheran clergy began swinging both ways, toward Rome (or Istanbul) and toward Pasadena (or Willow Creek), they dropped the term faster than a prickly pear cactus.

Smalcald Articles - Luther's Forgotten Masterpiece

Luther wrote the Smalcald Articles in anticipation of an Ecumenical Council. That never happened for several reasons. Councils suggested that the pope was less than a king, diminishing his power. A truly ecumenical council would have promoted Luther's doctrine by publicizing it and allowing it to be debated. Eventually the Council of Trent met, establishing all the errors of Medieval Catholicism as infallible doctrine. The Lutherans were excluded, of course.

Martin Chemnitz' Examination of the Council of Trent remains one of the great masterpieces of theology. The work is full of humorous and wry observations. Chemnitz established that Lutheran doctrine was truly in harmony with the Patristic Fathers, that Romanism was contrary to orthodox Christianity. Chemnitz also dealt with Calvinistic errors. He is called the Second Martin because he did so much to refine and support what Luther (and Melanchthon) taught.

Most Lutherans would say they never heard of the Smalcald Articles. Do not expect a study in your congregation, your synodical rag, or anywhere else. These articles refute everything going on in Missouri, WELS, the ELS, and the micro-mini sects. ELCA? Of course, ELCA too.

Book of Concord Study

The Book of Concord study will continue with the Smalcald Articles. Click on the Book of Concord label for all of them in a row.

I have now subdivided the posts with a second label for each section of the Book of Concord. If you want references to the Large Catechism, click on that label. The Smalcald Articles studies will also have a separate label.

WELS Administration - The Good Old Days

A pastor described the WELS administration in the Good Old Days: Carl Mischke had an office at the bottom of the stairs at the Northwestern Publishing building. Carl's wife Gladys was his secretary. That was the administration.

The faster WELS shrinks, the bigger the administration has become. They even hired a new person to find out where all the money went! And they bought $250,000 in software. I could have sold them a copy of Excel for $100, but no, they needed $250,000 so they did not misplace $8 million again.

The hilarity of this - WELS will teach stewardship to congregations and families!

UOJ and the Sixth Commandment for WELS Clergy

Kokomo Statements

I. "Objectively speaking, without any reference to an individual sinner's attitude toward Christ's sacrifice, purely on the basis of God's verdict, every sinner, whether he knows it or not, whether he believes it or not, has received the status of saint."

II. "After Christ's intervention and through Christ's intervention God regards all sinners as guilt-free saints."

III. "When God reconciled the world to Himself through Christ, He individually pronounced forgiveness to each individual sinner whether that sinner ever comes to faith or not."

IV. "At the time of the resurrection of Christ, God looked down in hell and declared Judas, the people destroyed in the flood, and all the ungodly, innocent, not guilty, and forgiven of all sin and gave unto them the status of saints."

***

J. P. Meyers created the first three Kokomo Statements. Sig Becker endorsed all four of them. WELS still promotes UOJ. Ditto the LCMS, ELCA, ELS, CLC, and LCR. Another component of the WELS clergy attitude toward the Sixth Commandment is their need to prove they are not Pietists.

Sig Becker used to express his disgust to Herman Otten about the adultery and drunkenness of the WELS clergy.

If a District Pope is famous for forcing pastors out of the ministry for no Scriptural reason, then why would he refuse to discipline a pastor for violating the Sixth Commandment? Right is wrong; wrong is right - that is the WELS DP motto.

Jeff Is Pumped - at CrossWalk

NEW SERMON SERIES

You’ve heard it. So have I. Church is boring. Church is for weak people who need a crutch. Church is for do-gooders. Church is a business. Churches just want to grow on your back, and worse, on your buck. If that’s what you’ve heard about church, come and experience our upcoming sermon series—Mythbusters. It’s not easy to separate fact from fiction, but beginning on Sunday, August 19th, we’ll tackle these myths about church head on. We’ll show you what’s real about church, and what’s not. Check out this challenging sermon series. You won’t regret it.

August 19 – Church is for Good People
August 26 – Church is a Crutch
September 2 – Churches—Bigger is Better!
September 9 – Church is Boring
September 16 – Church—Show Me the Money!
I'm really pumped to see all of you tomorrow for the conclusion to our Sermons from Hell series! The message is one everyone will want to hear. I guarantee it!

God bless!

Jeff

Jeff Gunn is pastor of CrossWalk Church. Jeff and his wife Julie have five children, Aaron, Abbie, Andrew, Audrey and Abel. Both Jeff and Julie grew up in Phoenix, but have also lived in South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Zambia. They returned to Arizona in 1996, and Jeff became the first pastor of CrossWalk in 2004.

***

GJ - Would this be a Church Growth congregation of the Wisconsin Synod?

See more from CrossWalk below, which has yet to offer a Holy Communion service in three years.

***

God has a claim on you!

God has valid reasons for making that claim. He not only made us, he made us for himself. You and I have no other purpose of existing on earth than God's purpose. Our lives have no independent value. God refers to us as "the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise." We are called by God "the work of my hands, (created) for the display of my splendor." (Isaiah 43:21 and 60:21, NIV)

But there is something greater about God's claim on us. It's not simply that he created us. He also paid the ultimate price so that we could have life after death. That makes us doubly his, as he reminds us, "You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19,20, NIV)

God does not need your gift.

But, since who we are and everything we possess leads back to him, God asks us for a portion of our possessions as an expression of thanksgiving. Your gift is a way to thank God, and a way to exercise your faith in God.

In considering our offering of thanks to him, God asks us to apply spiritual yardsticks to our giving, not mathematical ones. Here are some of those yardsticks:

God asks for regular gifts. As often as he blesses us with income, he asks that we set aside a share for him.
God asks for first-fruits gifts; that is, we are to thank him from the first and best of our income and possessions.
God asks for proportionate gifts. That means God doesn't look at the size of the gift, he looks at the size of the income it came from.
God asks for joyful gifts, offerings that flow from a cheerful heart.
And finally, God asks for gifts that are considered prayerfully in dialogue with him.
It is our desire to honor God's trust in us.

As his followers, we want to use his resources wisely and for his purposes. We operate within his provision and recognize our responsibility to manage the resources he provides with joy, integrity and faithfulness.

HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO READ WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT GOD AND OUR MANAGEMENT OF HIS GIFTS.

Christian Stewardship Is Taking God At His Word

We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and Amex

Wallace Schulz LCMS Essay

Schulz was a speaker for The Lutheran Hour and a synodical VP for the LCMS when he took over the Benke issue, which was earlier and adroitly avoided by Barry-McCain. Schulz was fired from The Lutheran Hour for disciplining Benke, then voted out of office.

His essay on the LCMS is here.

Lutheran Monastery, Oxford, Michigan

Foundation

"The Congregation of the Servants of Christ" was established at St. Augustine's House in 1958 when some other men joined Father Arthur in observing the monastic life and offices of prayer. These men and others came and went over the years. The community has always remained small; at times the only member was Father Arthur himself. During the 35 years of its existence over 25 men tested their vocations to monastic life by living at the house for some time, from a few months to many years, but at Father Arthur's death in 1989 only one permanent resident remained.

A Quonset hut erected in 1958 has served as a chapel ever since. It is named for the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as part of a wish to restore Mary to the piety of reformation churches and appropriate to a place of worship with many visitors. It is a humble building with a small pipe organ and simple appointments. After all these years of service it is constantly in need of repair. The highest priority for the community and its friends right now is its replacement by a more adequate and dignified structure.

***

This Lutheran monastery for Marian devotion was linked from the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, an organization for liberal LCMS members and ELCA.

St. Boniface Lutheran in Niles, Michigan (ELDONA - Archbishop James Heiser) has a link to this monastery as well - Confessional Lutheran Links.

ELDONA pastors were so shocked by the unionism of the Yankee Stadium event that they left the LCMS. The solution to this apostasy is to visit a monastery founded by a liberal Lutheran - who was cosy with Roman Catholic monks - to foster Marian piety.

Check out the other Confessional Lutheran Links at St. Boniface. Three out of the first four are about clerical garb - a burning issue for crypto-Romanists.

Check out the FAQs at St. Boniface:

Why does our Pastor dress up in vestments?
Vestments help cover the man and proclaim Christ. Vestments are a sort of uniform, indicating that the person wearing them is not acting as a private citizen, but as one who has been given a certain role and authority to act in it, almost like a police officer's uniform, or a military uniform. Here the office is that of speaking and giving the Gospel in the stead and by the command of Jesus.

Why do people bow and genuflect?
The Scriptures teach that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. Bowing and genuflecting (or kneeling) is an ancient posture of worship, a gesture of humility and of giving honor to the one being worshipped. People traditionally bow and genuflect at specific points in the service, for example, at the confession of sins, during the speaking of the creed, and at holy communion.

Why does the Pastor sometimes use incense?
Worship is intended to encompass the whole person, body and soul. Ideally, every sense should be incorporated in the experience and pointed to the places where Jesus is present. Hence, there is art for the eyes, music for the ears, water for the touch, bread and wine for the tongue, and incense for the nose. Why incense and not some other smell? Because incense is the smell most closely associated with Jesus in the Scriptures. He is given incense at his birth by the magi. He is anointed with incense and perfume before His passion. He is buried with incense on His body. Incense is used in the church, then, to indicate the places where Jesus is present - the Holy Gospel, Holy Communion - and is offered up with our prayers as it is Christ who makes these prayers pleasing to God the Father.

Ichabod prediction: Many churches and pastors who call themselves Lutheran today will be Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or ChurchGrowth-Unitarian in the next decade. This is not divergence, as Grey Goose thinks, but convergence. Watch for the discussion on Enthusiasm, Smalcald Articles. Because the Lutheran synods have all abandoned and rejected the Means of Grace, Enthusiasm has swept in with all its foul errors. Enthusiam can go several directions but it is the proto-toxin of all false doctrine.

Note well, noble readers - The ALPB (Lutheran Forum, Lutheran Forum Letter) boasts two editors who became Roman Catholic priests. And they link St. Augustine's Monastery. When Mary, robes, smells and bells are primary, the efficacious Word is forgotten.

Bailing Water Has New Material

If you are interested in WELS issues, check out the Bailing Water Blog.

WELS Stewardship Reports

WELS news for September --- the big news is stewardship. They are going to have programs. These programs offer workshops to help pastors, church leaders and individuals set goals and develop plans for financial stewardship. They will focus on developing a stewardship culture within the congregation. So says the synod. Bottom line is WELS needs its members to give more money. They have new a web site online payment center for WELS schools. They are gathering funds for a goal of $300 million by 2018. This is an endowment fund began in 06. Members and the Schwan Foundation have contributed $3.5 mill in current gifts and $33.1 mill in deferred gifts.

Diablo

Great Hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal

"Yea, as I Live, Jehovah Saith"
by Nikolaus Herman, published in 1560
Translated by Matthias Loy, 1828-1915
Text From:
THE LUTHERAN HYMNAL
(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941)

This is best sung to Old Hundredth. The omitted verses, 5, 7, 9, are provided by the obsolete and forgotten Pollack TLH companion and added by Ichabod. Would someone please tell me how UOJ can be harmonized with this great hymn from the Reformation?


1. Yea, as I live, Jehovah saith,
I would not have the sinner's death,
But that he turn from error's ways,
Repent, and live through endless days.

2. To us therefore Christ gave command:
"Go forth and preach in every land;
Bestow on all My pardoning grace
Who will repent and mend their ways.

3. "All those whose sins ye thus remit
I truly pardon and acquit,
And those whose sins ye do retain
Condemned and guilty shall remain.

4. "What ye shall bind, that bound shall be:
What ye shall loose, that shall be free;
Unto My Church the keys are given
To ope and close the gates of heaven."

5. The words which absolution give
Are His who died that we might live;
The minister whom Christ has sent
Is but His humble instrument.

6. When ministers lay on their hands,
Absolved by Christ the sinner stands;
He who by grace the Word believes
The purchase of His blood receives.

7. All praise, eternal Son, to Thee
For absolution full and free,
In which Thou showest forth Thy grace;
From false indulgence guard our race.

8. Praise God the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit, Three in One,
As 'twas, is now, and so shall be
World without end, eternally!

From Pollack:
5. They who believe when ye proclaim
The joyful tidings in My Name
That I for them My blood have shed,
Are free from guilt and Judgment dread.

7. However great our sin may be
The absolution sets us free,
Appointed by God's own dear Son
To bring the pardon He has won.

9. This is the power of Holy Keys
It binds and doth again release;
The Church retains them at her side
Our mother and Christ's holy Bride.

_______________________________________________________
Notes:
Hymn #331 from The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Ezek. 33:11
Author: Nikolaus Herman, 1560, cento
Translated by: Matthias Loy, 1880, alt.
Titled: "So wahr ich leb', spricht Gott der Herr"
Composer: Jeremiah Clarke, 1707
Tune: "St. Luke"
______________________________________________________________
This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg by Cindy A. Beesley and is in the public domain. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther
Library at Concordia Theological Seminary.

E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu
Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA
Phone: (260) 452-3149 Fax: (260) 452-2126
______________________________________________________________

Nicolaus Herman's hymns were written primarily for children, to supplant the secular songs they loved. When his pastor Johann Mathesius "preached a speically good sermon, Herman straightway embodied its leading ideas in a hymn." Pollack, The Handbook to The Lutheran Hymnal, p. 521.

Trinity Thirteen Sermon

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

KJV Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. 16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

KJV Luke 10:23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.


TLH Hymns
209 - Who is this who comes from Edom
331 - Yes, as I Live, Jehovah Saith
503 - Rise Crowned with Light, Imperial Salem Rise
479 - Zion rise, Zion rise

The Parable of the Means of Grace
This Gospel selection starts with some verses we should not ignore.

Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Jesus is the turning point in history. For centuries people longed for the Savior of the world. Any glance at world religion shows how people were lost and confused, walking in darkness. Some of the more savage expressions of religion are beyond comprehension.

We are just as blessed as the people in Jesus’ audience because we hear those Words of Christ. We have a more certain knowledge of Him because centuries of faithful believers have confessed the truth of the Gospel. We should never lose the sense of that blessing whenever we hear a single phrase from the Scriptures.

I wonder sometimes if people think of the blessings in the Votum – the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. That is a real prayer from the New Testament. And the blessings of the benediction – a three-fold blessing from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face to shine upon you.
The Lord lift up His countenance and give you peace.

God the Holy Spirit is at work whenever the Word of God is spoken, read, or remembered. That divine work is either in converting or hardening, in enlightening or in making dark. God does the positive work while men do the negative. When they make fun of the Atonement of Christ, they harden themselves against it until they are so blind that nothing can penetrate their hardness of heart. Nowhere is that more obvious than among the professional theologians and world religion professors who know everything and believe nothing.

Jesus taught the Word of God to people, leaving no middle ground. There was no moderate, middle position. People believed and followed Him or they hated His message of righteousness from God rather than from works.

A lawyer asked how he might inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him about the Law, which the lawyer repeated in summary form. Love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus’ answer is one of those shocks that make people think. “Do this and you will live.”

Is Jesus advocating salvation by the Law? Just the opposite is true. His reply is an example of irony. No one can possibly fulfill the Law, either the First Table (Love God with all your heart) or the Second Table (Love your neighbor as yourself). If man could keep the Law completely, he would inherit eternal life, but he cannot.

The lawyer did not pause to think he was incapable of fulfilling the First Table. Instead he skipped to the Second Table and asked, “Who is my neighbor?” With a proper definition, he could plan on fulfilling that command as well.

Jesus’ definition of neighbor is not what activist liberals want people to think. Instead, the Parable of the Good Samaritan is an allegory of the Gospel mission of Jesus. We have a portrait of the sinner, the Savior coming to him with the Law and Gospel, and the Means of Grace generously provided.

First we have to dispense with the mainline version, which is studiously wrong in all parts, an obnoxious example of salvation by works. Notable is the Princeton experiment where seminarians were invited to preach on this parable. I believe it was to be taped. Then, as planned, they were told they were late and forced to rush across the campus for their little talk. On the way was planted a derelict. Most if not all the students rushed pass the derelict to give their sermon on the Good Samaritan. Get it? They did not live what they were preaching! At this point the congregation is supposed to hang its collective head in shame, knowing they too would rush past. And they file out slowly, feeling nothing but guilt. If only they could save the world.

Yet another apostate version of this parable is the declaration that the Church is not to take care of the man beaten and lying on the side of the road, but to make the road to Jericho safe. Political activism. Any atheist could believe in that.

The parable concerns a man, who represents all of us, beaten and robbed, left half-dead on the highway. This shows us the condition of the sinner who is dead to Christ. He is impoverished, weak, dying, and soon to be lost entirely without the help he needs. A priest comes by and passed him on the other side of the road, consciously avoiding him. A Levite does the same. Both examples show us that ritual worship and ritual works could do nothing to aid him.

For years the Roman Catholic Church raved about Mother Theresa as a modern day saint, rushing her into sainthood with unholy haste. Her personal letters show that she did not experience the Gospel she was supposed to represent. Few people realize that she was more of a Universalist, treating all religions as the same. Many times people become involved in ritual forms and works that promise redemption but offer nothing at all.

The Samaritan, who is Jesus, had compassion on the half-dead man when He saw him. The designation Samaritan is significant because Samaritans were hated by the Jews and rejected by them. This can be seen both in the historical sense but also in a representative way. What does Jesus owe the world beyond Judaism? Nothing. He is the outsider to us, yet He comes to us. As Luther said in another sermon, the actual message of the Gospel is so fantastic that no human being could make it up. God alone can reveal such mysteries to us.

The man does not reach out to the Samaritan. The Samaritan comes to him. The man is too weak to do anything, so the Samaritan helps him and brings him back to life. So this parable eliminates “making a decision for Christ.” It eliminates the two-way covenant language favored by the Reformed. For instance, it is common for them to say, “God has done all this for you. What are going to do to complete the transaction.” The man in the parable does not complete the transaction. He does not cooperate. He receives and trusts, implicitly.

The first actions of the Samaritan are to pour wine and oil into the wounds of the beaten man. As Luther related, the wine represents the sharpness of the Law, the oil the healing of the Gospel.

Those who complain about the many Means of Grace seem to have missed the end of this parable:

and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

There are several additional actions –
1. Setting the man on his beast.
2. Bringing him to the inn.
3. Paying him money.
4. Giving him over to the care of the host.
5. Promising to give even more for the man’s care.

All these actions are God’s actions, just like:
a. Holy Baptism.
b. Holy Communion.
c. Absolution.
d. Preaching and teaching the Word.
e. Mutual consolation of the brethren.

God’s abundance of grace could be described in other ways as well, providing ministers and teachers, preserving the Word, sending missionaries throughout the world.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is not a parable about salvation by works, but a story to show us God’s active care for us. We love and trust God because of His actions to take care of us in this life and more importantly in the life to come.

The relationship between the Gospel and good works is also spelled out in this parable.

At the end, Jesus asked the lawyer, “Which one was the neighbor.” The lawyer said, “The one who showed mercy.” Jesus answered, “Go and do likewise.” That is to say – Be like the Samaritan. Think about your neighbor’s needs and actively provide for him, before he even asks. Even if you and your neighbor are oil and water, Jew and Samaritan, show compassion.

Thus God spreads His blessings, first giving us the Gospel through many instruments or means, then blessing us with the fruits of the Spirit.