The giant US spy satellite finally landed, on a bluff in Mankato, Minnesota.
Seriously, this is a sink hole caused when tons of salmonella-laced ice cream were buried far away from corporate headquarters. The melting mass undermined the soil and opened up the sinkhole. A casino and several pawn shops were lost during the cave-in.
Something more permanent may be used to fill the sinkhole, such as unsold copies of "Rock and the Christians Role," by Rev. Mark Freier.
ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Giant Satellite Lands
Zip, STS
Hide the incense!
Pastor Zip has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor in ELCA-LCMS Feminist Holy Communion S...":
His blog.
Since you've asked, Pastor Jackson, permit me to correct an impression that seems to be at the center of this particular post. The pastors who have subscribed to the Rule of the Society, and thus (to use your phrasing) joined that ministerium, serve in several different Lutheran churches in North American and Australia. Thus far, no WELS pastor has subscribed to the Rule. The conclusion to your post is not accurate.
Retreats of the Society are open to all -- Lutheran or other church, clergy and lay -- and include time for common theological study and reflection. Because of that, it is not unusual for someone to attend in order to avail himself of that opportunity -- and not participate in all retreat activities. While I have met WELS pastors at Society events, we neither expect nor encourage any attendee to act contrary to the discipline of his church.
The Rev. Steven P. Tibbetts, STS
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Peoria, Ill.
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GJ - Finally, a pastor who signs his name and lists his blog. I like that. Laity sign their names all the time, phone, and email me.
I find a bit of a conflict here. The Society is rather Roman in nature, but recognizes women's ordination at the same time. The Concordia, Ft. Wayne debacle seems to have involved a fair amount of deception. Either the STS deceived the seminary president, or the seminary president deceived the public.
Subscription to the Rule of the Society is not really the issue. If a WELS pastor communed, he expressed common cause with this pan-Lutheran feminist Romanizing group.
My Methodist advisor at Notre Dame attended Mass daily. The Roman Catholic students explained it in two words: "Ritual starved." I imagine WELS pastors feel ritual starved too. Some must crave the Church of Rome. They have a pope at GA. They are infallible when in agreement with the Synodical Pope. Etc.
WELS Layman
The old WELS just ain't what she used to be....what's the difference between this conference and 'church and change'? Seems to be another wolf in sheep's clothing!
http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?2601&collectionID=960
http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?1712&cxDatabase_databaseID=1&id=9209&magazine=Forward%20in%20Christ
God forbid anyone should be uncomfortable in their worship experience... Please keep up the good work.
WELS Layman
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GJ - I hear from all over. I omit names and identifying facts because I know how vindictive the Wisconsin Synod apostates are. Too bad the faithful must suffer under the benighted leadership of Fuller Seminary and Willow Creek graduates.
James P. Tiefel (nicknamed Teufel) is a dyed-in-the-wool apostate. His hymnal managed to be the worst and the most obnoxious of all Lutheran hymnals: feminist revision of hymns, feminist butchering of the Creeds, sloppy sentiment songs posing as hymns, Church Growth hymns, Pietism in the liturgy, etc. The design of CW (Can't Worship) was identical to ELCA's hymnal. I wonder why. Lots of credit to ELCA sources in CW. Once again, I wonder why.
CW (notice Lutheran disappearing from all WELS products?) was so bad that the ELS dropped out and created their own hymnal. The CW editor will teach y'all how to worship. Save your money and drop in at Willow Creek, a few miles away. At least they are honest about their agenda.
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Brian P Westgate has left a new comment on your post "WELS Layman":
Prof. Tiefel was on the liturgy committee, so you can blame him for some of the problems in that portion. He didn't agree with everything that happened there, and some stuff he did agree with then he no longer agrees with. He didn't have much control over the hymn section, since the hymn committee had more votes than the liturgy committee. They were the ones that cut stanzas, brought in bad hymns, etc.
In other words, it's not all his fault, so it might be appropriate to spread the blame around.
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GJ - Note that the ELS quit the project to create their own hymnal, then publicly denied that they quit the joint project. To wit, Erling Teigen published a letter in Christian News to that effect. No one who knew about the conflict was fooled. After all, why would two denominations who "cherish their fellowship" publish two hymnals at the same time? The ELS version had more confessional material in it but also plenty of ELCA credits.
The Reconciliation Error of Universalism
(Objective Justification)
KJV 2 Corinthians 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Where Are the UOJ Warriors?
I challenged the UOJ Stormtroopers to cite one place in the Scriptures or the Book of Concord where God declared the world forgiven without faith, without the Word, without the Means of Grace.
No one could name a single instance where God said, "The entire world is forgiven, without faith." Yet the proclamation of UOJ is the heart of their addled cult and the energy behind their Church Growth fever. All their experts start with Walther and his disciples. The WELS heroes are J. P. Meyer, whose Ministers of Christ was bad enough to be taken out of print; and Sig Becker, who also got the Real Presence wrong while muddying the waters.
I decided to post the main reconciliation passage, where the word is used in various forms. This is the Seat of Doctrine (sedes doctrinae) for UOJ fanatics, so it is easy to see how badly they have bungled their New Testament studies.
Let's start with the original Greek word, without going overboard. The original secular meaning may help but it does not always facilitate more understanding. For example, where does one start with the English word draw? Context is very important. A picture is drawn. Butter is drawn. Well water is drawn. After posing for a portrait for 10 hours, your face looks drawn.
People are always saying that the Greek word repent means: Change your ways. Actually, it means regret in secular Greek. Meta means after; noia means mind.
So some research into a word helps but cannot be definitive by itself. "Scripture interprets Scripture." The clear passages explain the ones that seem dark to us. In addition, we have to stick with the plain meaning of the Word of God, not the twisted logic of academics who defend error to keep their jobs.
Reconciliation
The word is used for exchanging money, such as getting four quarters for a dollar. This secular meaning is probably the reason why UOJ Stormtroopers fixate on forgiveness without faith. Ignorance and lack of study are two more reasons.
Reconciliation is also used for a husband and wife getting together again.
KJV 1 Corinthians 7:11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
So the UOJ Stormtroopers are always saying, "There was an exchange. If Christ took on our sinfulness on the cross, then the whole world must have been forgiven when Christ died."
Then again, they also use the resurrection of Christ for their Moment of Universal Absolution. Walther's Easter sermon seems to be their main argument for this calendar change. They claim both as the Moment, so there is really no hope of reconciliation in their timetable.
The context of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5 makes it clear that the word is used as a synonym for the Atonement.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
The Gospel is the Word of the Atonement/reconciliation. Christ has already paid the price, so this proclamation is the Holy Spirit's means of distributing the gracious favor of God to all who hear and patiently hold fast the divine Promises.
Clearly, absolution comes from the Ministry of Reconciliation (the public ministry) and the Word of Reconciliation (preaching the Gospel).
Romans, Too
The clamoring fanatics, who study their yellowed dog notes, but never the Book of Concord, say, "Romans will prove our case." One gambit is Jesus justifying the ungodly. How could he justify the godly? Their argument is pretty weak, even for graduates of The Sausage Factory or the Frozen Food Seminary.
KJV Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Justification by faith is the reason why we are saved from God's wrath. Those who remain unbelievers have God's wrath abiding on them. The exchange is clearly the Atonement. We joy in the Lord because we have received (believe in the Promises of) the Atonement. Receive is often a synonym for believe in.
The UOJ Stormtroopers cannot defend their weak position, which should be consistent throughout the entire Bible. How can they reconcile their bizarre opinion with this passage?:
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.
When Brett Meyer was being extremely polite on LutherQuest (sic), the false prophets there piled up on him and began calling him names. They hauled out their old bromides, such as "Your faith is in faith," and assured him he was going to Hell for holding fast to justification by faith. Their UOJ opinion was backed by their previous posts (norma normans?) and by various synodical papers of the last 100 years.
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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "The Reconciliation Error of Universalism (Objecti...":
The extensive discussion on Luther Quest entitled Universal Objective Justification was extremely enlightening. A few things are very clear in that thread.
First, the clear differences between UOJ doctrine and Biblical Justification were clearly defined. Pastor Rolf Preus seems to be the lead on that board concerning most topics including UOJ. He personally recommended H.A. Preus' The Justification of the World, where he contends with the doctrine of Biblicaly faithful Professor Weenaas. This article is certainly held in high regard in the UOJ circle as Pastor Rolf Preus urges it the same treatment as Scripture when he says we should read, mark, learn and inwardly digest it. The article shows the high degree of disgust they hold for the faith worked by the Holy Spirit. When it works in favor of their doctrine it is faith worked by the Holy Ghost (at this point being only a withered hand that receives what was already declared). When it condemns their doctrine it is faith that is a work of man which is a damnable heresy.
The discussion also detailed the impetus behind this new doctrine. Assurance. They've rejected the Holy Spirit and because of that do not have any assurance of forgiveness, righteousness or justification. They have then created a new Gospel which gives them this assurance outside of the body of Christ and without the Holy Spirit.
It is also an example and warning to anyone who rejects God's gracious Word. The hardening of the heart is imperceptible to those who reject and the blasphemy that results can be astonishing in its blatant denial of God's pure Word.
Brett Meyer
A Winning Packer
Virtue Online
"Liberal theology without the gospel has the smell of death rather than of life" -- J.I. Packer
In a wide-ranging interview, the Canadian Anglican theologian J.I. Packer talked with David W. Virtue about the state of the Anglican Communion at the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) Winter Conference in Dallas, Texas.
Dr. Packer, 81, is a British-born Canadian Christian theologian in the Calvinistic Anglican tradition. He currently serves as the Board of Governors' Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is considered to be one of the most important evangelical theologians of the late 20th century.
Packer was educated at Corpus Christi College, obtaining the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (1948), Master of Arts (1952), and Doctor of Philosophy (1955). In a meeting of the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, Packer committed his life to Christian service. He taught briefly at Oak Hill Theological College in London, and in 1949 entered Wycliffe Hall, Oxford to study theology.
He was ordained a deacon (1952) and priest (1953) in the Church of England, within which he was associated with the Evangelical movement. He was a lecturer at Tyndale Hall, Bristol 1955-61 and Librarian of Latimer House, Oxford 1961-62 and Principal 1962-69. In 1970 he became Principal of Tyndale Hall, Bristol. From 1971 until 1979 he was Associate Principal of Trinity College, Bristol, which had been formed from the amalgamation of Tyndale Hall with Clifton College and Dalton House-St Michael's. In 1979, Packer moved to Vancouver to take up a position at Regent College, eventually being named the first Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology, a title he held until his retirement.
He is a prolific writer and frequent lecturer, but he is best known for a single book, "Knowing God". He is a frequent contributor to and an executive editor of Christianity Today. Packer served as general editor for the English Standard Version, an Evangelical revision of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
1/24/2008
VIRTUEONLINE: Dr. Packer, you sit in Vancouver, British Columbia. You have seen the collapse of a united Anglicanism in your city and area and it is a microcosm of what is going on in many places. How do you read the present fractures and controversies within the Anglican Communion?
PACKER: It is true that the Diocese of New Westminster is where the modern Anglican troubles began. They began with the decision of the bishop to accept the request of his Synod to start blessing gay unions and drawing up a liturgy for the same. When he did this, he was able to claim "local option" in way among Anglican provinces of settling questions about what Diocesan policy should be. Local option is a corollary from the principle of subsiduarity originally focused on the Roman Catholic fence. Another name for local option is pluralism in practice and there was a time when Anglicans thought that such freedom of thought was Anglicanism in practice. That opinion was revised when applied to blessing gay unions in the Anglican Communion. It is by no means one. The Lambeth '98 Resolution 1:10 declared categorically that such unions were off limits, so when New Westminster opted for gay unions it was like throwing a stone into a pond. The ripples went out to the edge of the pond in all directions. The impact of New Westminster's actions was increased by the action of New Hampshire diocese, electing Gene Robinson. Accepting and consecrating Robinson was Bishop Michael Ingham who was prominent among the consecrators of the wider Anglican Communion. The orthodox became increasingly antsy and the southern hemisphere Primates, the South by South community protested in stronger and stronger language. One reason they did so is that they had a straight forward evangelical faith and they were up against Muslims who saw homosexuality as absolutely off limits and they could foresee what the Muslim world would say to the community as if it were preached as a form of holiness.
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GJ - Time Magazine explains more about Packer in this link.
Someone Who Doubts UOJ
Lutheran Notes - some interesting comments about UOJ and translating.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Universal Objective Justification, or UOJ
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GJ - I expect to have a comment from Anonymous any second now. He is angry that UOJ is not in the Bible, the Book of Concord, the post-Reformation theologians, and Lenski.
I've only done preliminary research into the subject, but in the Lutheran Confessions and the Bible, there's no such thing as Universal Objective Justification (UOJ). Also, there's no such thing as Objective Justification (OJ) or Subjective Justification (SJ). There is only Justification by Faith via the Means of Grace, the Word and Sacraments, period.
Of course, I'll continue to study the issue more. Already , I've gathered information off the Web and blogosphere, as well as one of Martin Franzmann's pro-UOJ papers and his Roman's commentary (1968), and I'll have Dr. Gregory Jackson's book Thy Strong Word any day now. The book can be found online for free. Chapter 5 on Justification is the anti-UOJ chapter in Thy Strong Word, which can be found online, too.
The LCMS, WELS, ELS, CLC* synods, and perhaps other micro-synods, were all affected by European Pietists via C.F.W. Walther (1811-1887). It seems the doctrine that drove the Pietists' piety the most was UOJ. They believed that everyone was already forgiven, but the gift of forgiveness of sins was not accepted by everyone. Therefore, they felt compelled toward emotionalism so they would feel as though they really had faith, and feel as though they were saved. Not surprisingly, the role of the sacraments and the ministry of the keys
in justification were downplayed. In reality, UOJ is a form of decision theology, or enthusiasm, which separates justification from the Word and sacraments, and make it a matter of mere mental or emotional process.
*Concordia Lutheran Conference, not to be confused with the Church of the Lutheran Confessions.
Where did the Pietists get this UOJ doctrine? No one seems to have done the research yet, and that’s because the powers that be don't want to know. It’s similar to how SDA don’t want to know where E.G. White really received her inspiration from, i.e., plagiarism. The information is probably locked up in German Pietistic tracts and manuals on some dusty bookshelf in a library or archive back in Germany. However, we know that C.F.W. Walther transmitted some Pietistic doctrine to the LCMS, WELS, ELS and micro-synods such as the CLC. (Okay, ELS might qualify as a micro-synod, too. They only have a decent seminary and college thanks to Schwan’s generosity.)
I'm supposing that one of the main driving passages behind UOJ (and Pietism) was a common German mistranslation of 2Co 5:19, one of three passages commonly cited as supporting UOJ: Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 4:25. Here is the NIV for 2Co 5:19:
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
The Greek has the present active participle of katallassw, meaning "reconciling." The English translations as early as the KJV all have "reconciling," which is correct:
KJV 2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 2 Corinthians 5:19 how that God was in Christ -- a world reconciling to Himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses; and having put in us the word of the reconciliation,
ASV 2 Corinthians 5:19 to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not reckoning unto them their trespasses, and having committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
However, most German translations have the past tense "reconciled," as though Jesus didn't just kick start the ministry of reconciliation, but actually reconciled the entire world at some point, unbelievers and all. UOJ enthusiasts say that the world was plumb reconciled when Jesus died, or else when he rose. Here are the German mistranslations translated via an unbiased machine translator: German-English Translator: http://imtranslator.com/default.asp
EIN Einheitsubersetzung (1980) 2 Corinthians 5:19 Ja, Gott war es, der in Christus die Welt mit sich versöhnt hat,
Translation: Yes, it was a God who has reconciled the world
with himself in Christ
ELB Revidierte Elberfelder (1993) 2 Corinthians 5:19 nämlich daß Gott in Christus war und die Welt mit sich selbst versöhnte,
Translation: namely the fact that God was in Christ and reconciled the world with himself
LUO Luther Bibel (1912) 2 Corinthians 5:19 Denn Gott war in Christo und versöhnte die Welt mit ihm selber,
Translation: Since God was in Christ and reconciled the world with himself,
LUT Revidierte Lutherbible (1984) 2 Corinthians 5:19 Denn Gott war in Christus und versöhnte die Welt mit sich selber,
Translation: Since God was in Christ and reconciled the world with himself,
MNT Munchener NT (1998) 2 Corinthians 5:19 weil Gott war in Christos (die) Welt (mit) sich versöhnend,
Translation: because God was the world (with) being reconciled in Christos,
SCH German Schlachter (1951) 2 Corinthians 5:19 weil nämlich Gott in Christus war und die Welt mit sich selbst versöhnte,
Translation: because since God was in Christ and reconciled the world with himself,
Luther, and the writers of the Lutheran Confessions were familiar with the Greek, Hebrew and Latin, so they interpreted 2Co 5:19 correctly--as meaning Justification by Faith, not UOJ. Their German translations of 2Co 5:19 might have been a little sloppy, but they had no idea that years later people would contrive UOJ based on a mere three passages, and the tense of one verb in 2Co 5:19.
UOJ was an unknown concept to the Confession writers, and first emerged in the fevered imagination of the Pietists, yet some Lutherans today try to anachronistically read (i.e., isogesis) UOJ into Luther's Works, and other documents of the period. If you look at any such passages claiming to be UOJ in Luther or the Confessions, the justification is always connected with the Means of Grace, not some supposed declaration of the Father that the entire world is guilt free. Just thinking of how audacious it is to put such words in the mouth of the Father boggles the mind!
So this Pietistic doctrine, perhaps popular among many German Lutherans in the 19th C, came over to the U.S. When it was adopted as official doctrine for the first time in the LCMS' Brief Statement of Doctrine (1932), most German Lutherans probably were still reading from German Bibles where it said "reconciled" rather than "reconciling."
Major backers of UOJ include a handful of LCMS theologians, some deceased, including Martin Franzmann, the WELS theologian, Siegbert Becker. UOJ is found in the "This We Believe" NPH pamphlet put out by the WELS. Of course, all these theologians grew up with German spoken in the home, no doubt, so they imbibed the mistranslation of 2Co 5:19 early on, it would seem. Nowadays, all the synods with UOJ in their belief statements rigorously enforce this doctrine.
LCMS: Brief Statement of Faith, Adopted 1932: Of Justification
http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=570
Excerpt: Scripture teaches that God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ, Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 4:25;...
WELS: This We Believe: IV Justification by Faith
http://www.wels.net/s3/uploaded/4421/eng.pdf
Excerpt: 1. We believe that God has justified all sinners, that is, he has declared them righteous for the sake of Christ. This is the central message of Scripture upon which the very existence of the church depends. It is a message relevant to people of all times and places, of all races and social levels, for "the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men" (Romans 5:18). All need forgiveness of sins before God, and Scripture proclaims that all have been justified, for "the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men" (Romans 5:18).
CLC: This micro-synod buys into UOJ as espoused in the LCMS’ Brief Statement of 1932:
http://www.concordialutheranconf.com/content/history.cfm
excerpt: At Okabena we reaffirmed our original subscription to Holy Scripture and the Confessions, including the Brief Statement of 1932, and rejected the false confessions aforementioned.
http://www.concordialutheranconf.com/doctrine/brief_1932.cfm
excerpt: Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod in the By-Gone Days of Its Orthodoxy (1932) Still by God's Grace the Scriptural Position of the Concordia Lutheran Conference
ELS: The ELS believes the same things the WELS does, basically:
http://www.evangelicallutheransynod.org/believe/els/webtc.html/
excerpt: By His perfect life and His innocent sufferings and death Jesus has redeemed the entire world. God thereby reconciled the world to Himself, and by the resurrection of His Son declared it to be righteous in Christ. This declaration of universal righteousness is often termed "objective justification."
ELS/WELS/LCMS:
The ELS is just as fanatical as the Wisconsin sect in promoting UOJ. Missouri has done the same, but tries to hide the UOJ behind justification by faith. The 1987 Theses of Abomination are an example of this verbal trickery.
Bruce Church
Sexagesima Sermon
Sexagesima Sunday
KJV 2 Corinthians 2:19 For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. 20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face. 21 I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also. 22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool ) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? 30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. 32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me: 33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands. 12:1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. 6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
KJV Luke 8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Collect
Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank You that through Your Son Jesus Christ You have sown Your holy Word among us: We pray that You will prepare our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, that we may diligently and reverently hear Your Word, keep it in good hearts, and bring forth fruit with patience; and that we may not incline to sin, but subdue it by Your power, and in all persecutions confront ourselves with Your grace and continual help; through Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Sexagesima
The Hymn #123
The Invocation p. 15
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 2 Cor. 11:19ff
The Gospel Luke 8:4-15
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #295
The Sermon
The Sower
The Offertory p. 22
The Hymn #294
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #49
The Sower
This is one of the easiest parables to understand and one of the most important. Jesus explains each section, but people ignore His explanation or substitute their own.
The disciples wanted to know what this parable meant, indicating that there were two levels of teaching. Jesus taught the Word to the masses and explained His Word in detail to the disciples. That is why people heard and did not comprehend. The same continues today. Many people are glad when they first hear the Gospel. They do not receive continued instruction and never really grasp the Promises of God.
Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
So we have directly from Jesus that the seed represents the Word of God. Seed is quite a marvel in itself. Seed is completely alive and yet only a potential plant. The seed will germinate with just a little water. There is a whole industry in making sprouts from the germination of certain seeds. The sprouts are quite fragile and need tender care to take root and grow.
One of the first errors of new gardeners is to plant seed in good soil, water the seed, rejoice when it pokes above the ground, and neglect it at its most fragile time. I used to do that until I learned to keep watering the new seed.
The Word of God is alive and full of potential, but it needs to be scattered. When I bought seed, I got large amounts of it. Knowing that certain kinds of seed, like lettuce, will grow like grass, I scattered it wherever there was soil and sun. One person asked, “Is there lettuce growing in your planter?” Lettuce was growing everywhere.
When people get timid about the Word of God, they fail to spread the Word as they might. The big fear, stoked by Reformed doctrine, is that God’s Word is ineffective unless it has man’s help, man’s reasoning power, and man’s marketing ability. Jesus used the metaphor of the seed for a good reason. Seed is just waiting to grow.
5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
Luke 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
The Word of God is effective (efficacious – same word) but Satan pounces on every opportunity to get rid of it. This can be seen in every faithful congregation. As soon as the Gospel begins to take root, people rush in to invent turmoil and destroy it.
This part of the parable, as Luther said, includes those who begin to have faith and lose that faith. They are apostates, fallen from the Christian faith. A biography about John D. Rockefeller describes one such Baptist. The young man was brilliant and graduated from Harvard, winning a prize in philosophy, a chance to study in Europe. The rationalism at Harvard began to eat away at his faith. At one point he told his father, a Baptist seminary president, that he no longer believed in the basic truths of the Christian faith. This also happened to a lesser extent to the Baptist theologian (Yale professor) who helped found the University of Chicago. The man became fascinated with the higher criticism (so-called) and had many doubts about the Bible. He was supposed to establish a school of Baptist orthodoxy, but he was cautioned not to speak about his views. Thus the ultra-traditionalist Rockefeller created a school run by and for liberals.
Now there are many young people with no background in the Bible. When they are converted by the Word they are like seedlings needing protection and nourishment. One big foot of rationalism will crush that fragile faith. Cults know that and take advantage of new Christians. Apostates who cannot teach God’s Word but still teach religion work hard to destroy that faith. I told one college class how I did not fit in with world religion departments because I believed in God. One woman who took world religion classes at the school I mentioned said, “That’s true. They are atheists.”
Another Baptist-Evangelical example is Billy Graham’s early professional friend, Templeton. He was so well known as an evangelist that he was able to enter Princeton as a graduate student, without going to college. Templeton was thrown to the wolves who took over Princeton after its liberal-conservative split. Guess who won that one? Templeton lost his faith completely. Late in life he was asked about Jesus. Tears filled his eyes and he said, “I miss Him.” There is some evidence that he died in faith.
There are many ways that Satan crushes the Word growing in people’s hearts. It’s good to remember that the word sabotage comes from the French word for wooden shoe. Sabot is still used as a military term. When the peasants were angry with a farmer, they used their wooden shoes to stomp the fields where the new grain was growing – sabotage. Now they make crop circles and charge for tours.
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
Luke 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
These are the short-term believers. Paul warned against ordaining new believers as pastors. They are the ones who have great joy at first but fall back into temptation. No one can really tell at first.
Many people have dealt with shallow-rooted plants. Maple tree seeds love to helicopter down into gutters where wet leaves provide them a good start. We had a gigantic tree in our backyard in Moline. I remember a spring when we had hundred of maple trees growing in the rain gutters. Not one had a chance to turn into a tree. Likewise, bird seed on a flat roof will sprout in the soil and leaf litter, grow a little, and wither away.
Those who exploit the joy of new faith hasten the fall of their disciples. If people measure the Christian faith by a lack of trials, a life without the cross, they are mistaken. If they think believing in Christ will make them money, they may make tons of money while becoming unbelievers. (One group of professional Gospel singers confessed, if that is the word, that they did not believe what they sang. That was no surprise to me, since I noticed how choreographed they were, just too packaged.)
False assumptions make people leave the faith. The assumptions often come from bad teaching, which appeals to the Old Adam in all of us. We do not want to suffer for the Gospel, but it is pleasant to read about others who have. If we turn an experience of the cross into God hating us, then we have missed the whole lesson of the crucifixion, that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him might not perish but have life eternal.
The experience of the cross deepens our faith and helps us understand, as best we can, what the true cross of Christ was. God lets the cross bear down on us for a time, but not forever. When relief comes, we see how God works.
The false assumption is – the cross is never laid on the shoulders of those who are faithful to God’s Word.
The correct teaching of the Bible is – the cross always accompanies God’s Word, because our sinful flesh, the devil, and unbelieving world rebel against the Gospel of forgiveness.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
This parable sounds ominous. People lose the Word from it being snatched away from them, from being shallow when trials come along, and even from riches.
History shows that riches and luxury destroy the Gospel by choking it, just as rank weed growth destroys a crop. Many successful ministers and congregations have fallen from luxury rather than persecution. If someone is too handsome, too eloquent, and too popular, he often falls into snares and disgraces himself along with the Gospel.
America has more Christian ministers and churches than the rest of the world combined. America is the richest of all countries where Christianity is found. But the Third Word is where the faith is growing.
I talked with one layman about the irony of a future pastor’s son paying $8,000 per year for high school, even more for college, then spending 4 years in seminary. Congregations and synods are rich, but they will not share their wealth with their future pastors. Who will sow the seed? Their millionaire donors? Not likely.
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold.
Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
In spite of all the failures, the Word grows 100 fold. This happens through birth and baptism, through the family nurturing the children in the faith, and through conversion.
First they hear the Word with an honest and good heart. That is, they do not say, “How can I use this to sell more houses, more funerals, more flowers?”
Having heard the Word, they hold it fast. That is another way to translate – keep it. They bring forth fruit with patience. The Gospel will always bear fruit, but not from man forcing or demanding it. God is a very good manager. He has been running the universe for a long time.
One time my maple was covered with cottony maple scale. Some scientists from Dow told me how to cure this. They were all wrong, as I learned later. God sent a horde of ladybugs to the tree. Yes, they were the natural predators of maple scale. No human could arrange such a non-toxic destruction of a pest, but God does this every day, with infinite complexity. Yet we doubt how He manages His Word and will.
This parable teaches patience and trust in God’s Word. Sadly, one false teacher said it teaches people to test the soil. (He was promoting the demonic doctrines of Fuller Seminary, as a Lutheran.) One thing this parable does not teach is judging the soil or judging anything the sower does. The sower scatters the seed because he knows God will bring the bounty.
KJV 1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
"Now, although both, the planting and watering of the preacher, and the running and willing of the hearer, would be in vain, and no conversion would follow it if the power and efficacy of the Holy Ghost were not added thereto, who enlightens and converts the hearts through the Word preached and heard, so that men believe this Word and assent thereto, still, neither preacher nor hearer is to doubt this grace and efficacy of the Holy Ghost, but should be certain that when the Word of God is preached purely and truly, according to the command and will of God, and men listen attentively and earnestly and meditate upon it, God is certainly present with His grace, and grants, as has been said, what otherwise man can neither accept nor give from his own powers."
Solid Declaration, Article II, Free Will, 55?56, Formula of Concord, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 903. Tappert, p. 531f.
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