Drawing copyright by Norma Boeckler.
Luther has a fine statement, which Megatron cannot find at the moment, about God allowing false teachers to thrive, the surest sign of His wrath. False teachers punish the Church, flailing the followers and extracting every last dollar from them, because they did not have a penny for Christ.
The vanity, greed, and conceit of man are revealed by his reliance on human wisdom and experience in the stewardship of the Church. Hand wringing about offerings will increase as the Obama measures continue to assault the economy. Nevertheless, a slight change in giving would end those woes. Why does that not happen? People are tired of the guilt trips laid on them by officials who must have every luxury, benefit, and perk while meeting in posh locations, using insurance money to hobnob with ELCA.
"Reaching out with the Gospel" means consuming millions of dollars that never make it outside of the DPs' palaces, the Purple Palace, the Love Shack, and the Little Vatican on the Prairie. McCain and Barry kissed up to DP Benke, who is known for keeping 95% of all mission offerings.
The ultimate folly is that money will make the difference, instead of the Word. That theory should be shredded by now, since St. Marvin Schwan, of blessed memory, lobbed millions and millions upon the LCMS, WELS, and the Little Sect. Trotters in the trough, they squealed with delight and consumed the money with no effect - except insolvency and some impressive new buildings. Meanwhile, Marvin was begging Lazarus to dip his finger into some water and relieve his agony. "Let me go back and tell them that money buys a pan-Lutheran indulgence, but not salvation."
The answer must have been, "They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them."
The fishermen are an example that should throw the synods into paroxysms of remorse, godly contrition, and faith in the Gospel. The disciples knew from their experience and their night of hard labor that no fish could be found.
"Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at Thy Word I will let down the net."
The nets were so full that they tore from the strain and threatened to sink the boats, which were made for such fishing.
In contrast, we see synods that openly mock the Word but call themselves confessional, conservative, orthodox. Why is no one laughing? Can they not see that unprotected sects lead to outbreaks of The SORE?
The Lutheran Confessions witness to the truth and also reject falsehood. If Pope John, SP Harrison, and SP Schroeder are confessional, what do they confess? All three are content with Reformed doctrine, New Age Emergent Churches, and consorting with ELCA.
Nothing says more about the Biblical poverty of Lutherans today than synodical inability to reject any false doctrine. They devote themselves to getting even with anyone who questions them and expend their wrath on them. False teachers are loved, comforted, protected, adored, absolved, and promoted. And why not? Anyone who condones such behavior is a false teacher himself and not a confessional Lutheran. False teachers love other false teachers. Wolves run in packs and kill for fun.
People like tepid Lutherans. This generation will be known as the Methodist Episcopal Lutherans.
Quotations about False Teachers
"O Lord, look down from heaven, behold And let Thy pity waken; How few are we within Thy fold, Thy saints by men forsaken! True faith seems quenched on every hand, Men suffer not Thy Word to stand; Dark times have us overtaken. (2) With fraud which they themselves invent Thy truth they have confounded; Their hearts are not with one consent On Thy pure doctrine grounded. While they parade with outward show, They lead the people to and fro, In error's maze astounded. (3) May God root out all heresy And of false teachers rid us Who proudly say: 'Now, where is he That shall our speech forbid us? By right or might we shall prevail; What we determine cannot fail; We own no lord and master. (5) As silver tried by fire is pure From all adulteration So through God's Word shall men endure Each trial and temptation. Its light beams brighter through the cross, And purified from human dross, It shines thru every nation." The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #260. Psalm 12.
"Note the master hand wherewith Paul portrays the character of false teachers, showing how they betray their avarice and ambition. First, they permit true teachers to lay the foundation and perform the labor; then they come and desire to do the work over, to reap the honors and the benefits. They bring about that the name and the work of the true teachers receive no regard and credit; what they themselves have brought--that is the thing. They make the poor simple-minded people to stare open-mouthed while they win them with flowery words and seduce them with fair speeches, as mentioned in Romans 16:18. These are the idle drones that consume the honey they will not and cannot make." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 110. Second Sunday before Lent. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9; Romans 16:18.
"And such false teachers have the good fortune that all their folly is tolerated, even though the people realize how these act the fool, and rather rudely at that. They have success with it all, and people bear with them. But no patience is to be exercised toward true teachers! Their words and their works are watched with the intent of entrapping them, as complained of in Psalm 17:9 and elsewhere. When only apparently a mote is found, it is exaggerated to a very great beam. No toleration is granted. There is only judgment, condemnation and scorn. Hence the office of preaching is a grievous one. He who has not for his sole motive the benefit of his neighbor and the glory of God cannot continue therein. The true teacher must labor, and permit others to have the honor and profit of his efforts, while he receives injury and derision for his reward." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 110f. Second Sunday before Lent. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9. Psalm 17:9.
"In the second place such teachers are disposed to bring the people into downright bondage and to bind their conscience by forcing laws upon them and teaching works-righteousness. The effect is that fear impels them to do what has been pounded into them, as if they were bondslaves, while their teachers command fear and attention. But the true teachers, they who give us freedom of conscience and create us lords, we soon forget, even despise. The dominion of false teachers is willingly tolerated and patiently endured; indeed, it is given high repute. All those conditions are punishments sent by God upon them who do not receive the Gospel with love and gratitude." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 111. Second Sunday before Lent. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9. John 5:43.
"In the third place, false teachers flay their disciples to the bone, and cut them out of house and home, but even this is taken and endured. Such, I opine, has been our experience under the Papacy. But true preachers are even denied their bread. Yet this all perfectly squares with justice! For, since men fail to give unto those from whom they receive the Word of God, and permit the latter to serve them at their own expense, it is but fair they should give the more unto preachers of lies, whose instruction redounds to their injury. What is withheld from Christ must be given in tenfold proportion to the devil. They who refuse to give the servant of truth a single thread, must be oppressed by liars." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 111f. Second Sunday before Lent. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9.
"It is not enough that we preach correctly, which the hireling can also do; but we must watch over the sheep, that the wolves, false teachers, may not break in, and we must contend for the sheep against the wolves, with the Word of God, even to the sacrifice of our lives. Such are good shepherds, of whom few are found." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 34. Second Sunday after Easter John 10:11-16.
"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.
"As soon as the Word of God appears, the devil becomes angry; and in his anger he employs every power and wile to persecute it and wipe it out completely. For he is the father of lies and a murderer (John 8:44); he plants his lies in the world through false teachers, and he murders men through tyrants." Martin Luther, Lectures on Galatians, 1535, ed., Jaroslav Pelikan, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1963, 26, p. 455. Galatians 4:29
"We are not free from blame if we have a wrong faith and follow false teachers. The fact that we did not know will be of no help to us, for we were warned beforehand. Besides God has told us to judge what this or that person teaches and to give an account. If we fail to do this, we are lost. Therefore the soul's salvation of each person depends on his knowing what is God's Word and what is false teaching." What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 636.
"They [the false teachers] fared like a man who looks through a colored glass. Put before such a man whatever color you please, he sees no other color than that of the glass. The fault is not that the right color is not put before him but that his glass is colored differently, as the word of Is. 6:9 puts it: You will see, he says, and yet you will not see it." What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 644. Isaiah 6:9.
113] 1. As when they assert that the words of institution are not to be understood simply in their proper signification, as they read, of the true, essential presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Supper, but are to be wrested, by means of tropi (tropes) or figurative interpretations, to another new, strange sense. We hereby reject all such Sacramentarian opiniones (opinions) and self-contradictory notions [of which some even conflict with each other], however manifold and various they may be.
