Wednesday, October 31, 2012

October 2012: 74,100 Page-Views.
Higher Than Previous Record by 10%

A quotation from Chemnitz is in the graphic.
Graduation at Notre Dame provided this Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant photo-op.


The top two posts since June of 2010:
1. A Luther quotation.
2. A collection of Luther quotations.


9731
9607


This is the SynCon costume for Halloween.
Luther is boring and irrelevant to them.

Support for the Hunnius Book against UOJ



Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Reformation Message from WELS Church Lady. GJ - Wh...":

Singapore approved and posted my comment regarding thier brief review of Pastor Rydecki's translation of Hunnius' refutation of Samuel Huber's UOJ.

http://lutherantheologystudygroup.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-book-by-aegidius-hunnius-champion.html#!/2012/05/new-book-by-aegidius-hunnius-champion.html

They also posted my link to Pastor Rydecki's faithful refutation of the false doctrine and practice of (W)ELS District President Pastor Jon Buchholz.

http://lutherantheologystudygroup.blogspot.com/#!/2012/10/lutheran-justification-controversy.html

By the grace and mercy of the Triune God they will apply Scripture and the faithful Lutheran Confessions when studying the central teaching of the American Lutheran Synods.


Reformation Message from WELS Church Lady.
GJ - Why Are So Many Men Silent?



WELS church lady has left a new comment on your post "Letter to WELS District President Jon Bucholz, Pre...":

My prayers go out to Pastor Rydecki and to all those who support him. Funny that those "other" pastors "ain't" been suspended (?) Pastor Buchholz has dishonored his position as District President; this is not acceptable behavior on his part. I am very VERY disappointed in the COP and seminary leaders actions of not wanting to have an honest discussion over the Doctrine Of Justification. This issue has been brewing for some time, and did not just come to light earlier in the week!

Sorry about the comment that Pastor GJ had to moderate. (aka he did not post it) I'm sure the drugstore will provide you with more smelling salts. Everyone needs to read that letter. I will pass it up the line....WAY UP! The WELS is in trouble, and the leaders must face issues that dwarf the perils of the Intrepids.(well at least one Intrepid for now) See the verses from Galatians chapter 3:

"Even as Abraham BELIEVED GOD AND IT WAS COUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, IN THEE SHALL ALL NATIONS BE BLESSED. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."

"That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."

"But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith is come, we are no longer under a school master. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Here are some passages form David J Valleskey's We Believe-Therefore We Speak: (Warning, it is not like the Galatians verses.)

"It is important for the evangelist to understand what faith is. Perhaps the simplest definition is that faith is the hand that receives the the benefits of the finished work of Christ. It is the hand into which God places the forgiveness of sins and justification won by Christ."

"Faith is not the cause of justification. To say, "A person is declared righteous in the sight of God...because of having believed," is to fail to distinguish properly the relationship between faith and justification. Faith is not in any way that which brings about the sinner's justification. The cause of justification is the perfect life and sacrificial death of Christ. Faith is simply the way by which the individual sinner apprehends the salvation won by Christ."

Brother David, you got's some splainin' to do! Yes you borrowed from Pieper, Walther, and Millard J Erickson. I/we cannot let this go, and one cannot hide behind Matthew 18. The Matthew 18 crawl space is getting a little crowded these days.

In Christ,
Rebecca


Here You Stand, WELS - With McCain and Cascione Cheering You On

Where is this nonsense in Luther
or the Bible?

Febreze has left a new comment on your post "Letter to WELS District President Jon Bucholz, Pre...":

Justin:

It was being discussed privately between the District President, Pastor Rydecki, and other pastors. He was finally booted from the WELS for teaching that sinners are justified by faith alone. Does that not raise a red flag? Especially during the Reformation month?

He certainly didn't need to do anything in private, but he did, probably in the attempts to have the WELS see their error. He could have gone public right away, but didn't. Public error certainly needs public rebuke so others won't be led astray. All the WELS publications that proclaim their "universal justification" are public. Why on earth do we discuss public sin privately? Have you read Luther's explanation of the 8th Commandment?

"All this has been said regarding secret sins [Febreeze - Matt. 18:15]. But where the sin is quite public so that the judge and everybody know it, you can without any sin avoid him and let him go, because he has brought himself into disgrace, and you may also publicly testify concerning him. For when a matter is public in the light of day, there can be no slandering or false judging or testifying; as, when we now reprove the Pope with his doctrine, which is publicly set forth in books and proclaimed in all the world. For where the sin is public, the reproof also must be public, that every one may learn to guard against it."

It turned from a matter of discussion to him being labeled a heretic. Does anything in this letter stand out to you? The only thing you have concern with is Pres. Buchholz' integrity? How about Pastor Rydecki after falsely being charged with heresy? The WELS has shown itself to teach a different Gospel than what has been handed down to us.

P.S. This isn't mudslinging.


Will the Lutheran Church Be Able to Celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation?



Holy Mother Church wanted more cash, so she was selling forgiveness of sin to build one more church  - the shockingly ugly St. Peter's in Rome.

Today is remembered as the turning point in history, when Luther objected to sale of indulgences with his 95 Theses. He might have been another Savonarola, largely forgotten for daring to defy Rome, but the newly invented printing press and hunger for the Gospel fueled a revolt against Holy Father Antichrist.

The gap between Rome and the Scriptures became too great to be explained away to people who could read and study the Word of God.

The wealth and armed power of the papacy could not withstand the efficacy of the Word. Like the Roman Empire it replaced, the Church of Rome was knocked into the dustbin by the Gospel. The massive remnants are still visible, to fill the ignorant with awe, but the Church of Rome is a corpse compared to its glory days.

The Synodical Conference must miss Rome, because the same corruption of doctrine and character has been imitated with obsessive devotion.

The Lutheran Tetzels sell indulgences to wealthy adulterers like Marvin Schwan. The high profile SynCon leaders are men who took this guilt-money from Schwan to make themselves look good.

  • Look at all our Marvin Schwan buildings.
  • Look at all our Marvin Schwan projects.
  • Look at all our Marvin Schwan clergy jobs.


Above the evil fruit rotting on the ground is the corrupt tree of false doctrine. The SynCon Lutherans of today cannot stand Luther's Biblical doctrine.

  1. They despise justification by faith, excommunicating those who teach it.
  2. They cannot discuss the efficacy of the Word, the Means of Grace, or the Holy Spirit's work in the Word..
  3. They venerate Martin Stephan's pimp and enforcer as a saint, the Great Kidnapper Walther, gathering around statues of the Pietist to murmur, "You made us what we are today."

Weeds look like productive plants at first, perhaps to remind us about the nature of false teachers. When a weed matures and fruits, its seed is obvious evil. The tomato-mimic (woody nightshade) produces a poison berry after blooming with a delicate flower.

UOJ has produced a Lutheran editor, Herman Otten, who sells an anti-Luther book, The "Facts" about Luther, as part of his Reformation special. Why not sell books on atheism as well?

An editor of Concordia Publishing House, named after the Book of Concord, promotes Roman Catholicism by regularly featuring articles--verbatim--from the Catholic Encyclopedia, and even posts a painting of St. Bernard receiving the miraculous lactation of the Virgin Mary.

What is the main difference between the Purple Palace of the LCMS and the Vatican? Answer - the Purple Palace has more Roman Catholics employed there.


The Epic Fail of Paul McCain

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The Gospel According to Isaiah 53 - Book Review




Book Review: The Gospel According to Isaiah 53 – Encountering the Suffering Servant in Jewish and Christian Theology

Editors – Darrel L. Bock and Mitch Glaser

Kregel Academic and Professional, Grand Rapids, 2012

ISBN #978-0-8254-2593-6

http://store.kregel.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=2890

Publisher description -  
Description:
The Gospel According to Isaiah 53 presents the redemptive work of the Messiah to the Jewish community, exploring issues of atonement and redemption in light of Isaiah chapter 53. It is clear that Jesus fulfills the specifications of the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. This book has many potential uses in its presentation of the gospel for Jewish people. Pastors who study it will find unparalleled help in preparing Bible studies and sermons, so that their listeners will become better equipped to tell Jewish people about Jesus. It will be beneficial as supplemental reading for classes on Isaiah, the Prophets, and Jewish evangelism. And believers will be trained to share Isaiah 53 with Jewish friends and family. Contributors include: • David L. Allen • Richard E. Averbeck • Darrell L. Bock • Michael L. Brown • Robert B. Chisholm Jr. • Craig A. Evans • John S. Feinberg • Mitch Glaser • Walter C. Kaiser Jr. • Donald R. Sunukjian


Bock is a New Testament professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. Glaser is president of the Chosen People Ministries in New York.

I signed up with Kregel for free books to review, because I have found their books to be worthwhile for theology. We are currently using the Kregel edition of Luther’s Galatians Commentary for the adult study class.

The book began with a Jewish rabbi becoming a Christian believer in 1892, after hearing the Gospel in the Lower East Side. He founded a group that became the Chosen People Ministries. Therefore, this work is both academic and evangelistic.

Biblical Basis for Isaiah 53 as Evangelism
Isaiah 53 is so significant to the New Testament that most of the chapter is quoted in various New Testament books. As they say, if Isaiah 53 in the Old Testament were lost, most of it could be recovered from the New Testament sources.

This also illustrates the unified perspective of the Bible, not as a collection of books or verses, but one unified message of truth, the Book of the Holy Spirit, with one divine author and many human sub-authors.

Pope Piux XII expressed it well, comparing the Bible to Christ, having a divine and a human nature and yet without error.

Isaiah 53 – Justification by Faith
In honor of the Reformation we should recognize the departure from Romanism that Luther advanced, advocating justification by faith while rejecting any version of justification by works. This distinction is essential for understanding the Christian faith, noting what divides and what unites various confessions.

Most conservative Protestants understand that the Gospel creates faith. This book illustrates that confidence in describing a recent campaign to spread the Gospel among Jews. The focus was on proclaiming the Gospel with a focus on Isaiah 53 being fulfilled by Jesus the Messiah and Savior.

Although this basic concept has many variations, the unifying truth among conservative Protestants is that faith in Christ means complete forgiveness of all sin, salvation, and eternal life.

In contrast, liberal Protestants emphasize the grace of God by declaring all the sins of the world forgiven and absolved, whether anyone believes or not, preferably not. This exodus from historic Christianity began at Halle University, which was founded to promote Biblical studies yet soon became rationalistic. The mainline denominations of America teach this cryto-Universalism. Since everyone is forgiven and saved in this parody of the Faith, there is no barrier to ecumenism with any religion and no reason for evangelism.

Holy Spirit, Faith, Forgiveness
Abraham is the example of justification by faith (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4; Galatians 3) and Isaiah 53 is the Gospel proclamation (Galatians 3 and Romans 10).

KJV Isaiah 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

In Greek, report is akoue, so we often translate Romans 10:17 as

KJV Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

That way, the emphasis is on hearing, but Isaiah really means to emphasize this unique report. To paraphrase it and keep both meanings, we should say – “Faith comes by hearing the preached Gospel.”

Isaiah 53 is the opening of the Gospel of the crucified Messiah.

KJV Galatians 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

The Holy Spirit carries out the proclamation of the Gospel, which creates faith and graciously gives that forgiveness promised in the proclamation.

Lacking Trust in the Word
The problem is not that the Word is no longer effective but that people no longer trust the Word to carry out God’s will.

Understanding Isaiah 53 as the key Gospel passage for Jews is the principle reason for this book, which is organized in three parts:

1. Interpretation of Isaiah 53
2. Isaiah 53 in Biblical Theology
3. Isaiah 53 in Practical Theology

“This passage is therefore one of the great pillars of our faith, a multi-faceted diamond that demands we appreciate its true value and worth.” (p. 29)

The Gospel According to Isaiah 53 is so thorough that anyone will find value in it, whether as a beginning in this area or as a minister or professor. The chapters include a large number of references to other worthwhile efforts. I have already promised to loan the book to someone who specializes in this area.

Isaiah 53 is especially for evangelism among Jewish people, but the book is a great resource for any Gospel-based evangelism effort, where the emphasis is upon the Word of God rather than the felt needs of man.

Those who will appreciate this compilation the most are:

  • College and seminary students.
  • Biblical and evangelism professors.
  • Clergy.
  • Interested laity.





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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "The Gospel According to Isaiah 53 - Book Review":

Ichabod -

Isn't this a contrast:

LCMS' CPH produces and advertises the Apocrypha, while Kregel produces the Gospel of Isaiah 53..........

Nathan M. Bickel

www.thechristianmessage.org
www.moralmatters.org

One Luther Quotation Is Already the Most Popular Post Since June, 2010


Disrespect for the Word = Disrespect for Pastors.
SPs and DPs Communicate Their Disrespect to Lay Apostates


I remember when Pastor X thought Gurgle was the candidate to save WELS from itself. Yes, that brave warrior would halt the elimination of Northwestern College (RIP).

Gurgle reversed himself as soon as he was elected SP. After wasting the Milcraft estate as DP, he wasted the Schwan gifts as SP. Now he is working with Kudu Don Patterson, one of the stealth leaders of Church and Change. Yes, he closed NWC as soon as he could arrange a crooked vote.

Mark Schroeder and Jon Buchholz were going to rescue WELS from itself, too. They have supported and funded such Church and Changers as Tim Glende, Jeff Gunn, and Rick Johnson. Not only that, WELS has an insert bragging about such funding.

The process of supporting incompetent, wasteful apostates while undercutting faithful pastors is all the rage these days. ELCA, Missouri, WELS, and the ELS all work the same way.



If a faithful pastor teaches something that annoys a congregational liberal, such as being pro-life or daring to mention closed communion, the liberal layman phones the CP or DP and starts making trouble. There are a zillion ways to undercut a pastor.

If an apostate pastor wants to start a rock-band playing Pentecostal ditties, the CP or DP or mission board will defend that minister to the death. Maybe not that far, but that is the impression they give. They have a thousand excuses for apostate pastors just as they have a thousand tricks to get rid of a pastor.

The clergy deserve blame for this, but so do the laity. Where the Word of God is loved, the person who brings it is also loved.

Where the Word of God is despised, the person who tries to teach it is also despised, with all of his faults--real or imagined--picked apart daily. Synods know how to hate a person out of their little group. One layman wondered where his regular mailing for the district evangelism committee was. The DP said, "Oh, you resigned from that committee." If the layman objects loudly, he is a malcontent.

The Word of God conveys Christ, and He said, "Those who receive you, receive Me. Those who reject you, do not reject you, but the One who sent you." [New International Jackson Paraphrase]

Luther pointed out that people who despise the Word will pick apart the pastor or members of his family. That may be the reason why the pastoral epistles emphasize faithfulness rather than popularity. To remain a believer in the midst of apostasy is good.

Many clergy serve their careers first. They achieve those temporary honors and benefits that the flesh desires. If their children are atheists, that is not simply hidden from the donors. No, anyone who dares to mention the fact is a terrible sinner.

The clergy-belly servers often find themselves betrayed by their Father Below. Just when they think they have gotten away with it all, they do one more thing to come crashing down. Many finish their lives bemoaning their errors - but are too lost to find their way back. Pope Pius XII ended his life in despair, realizing he had betrayed Christ by becoming bed-partners with the Communists.

Paul Tillich, the pantheist theologian, who was as promiscuous as a Church Growth evangelist, was terrified of death. He was on the cover of Time magazine. Match that, humble parish pastors laboring in Wachooka Flats or Steam Corners.

When Tillich died, he was one more heap of flesh. Now he is largely forgotten.

There are many faithful pastors who preach their own sermons, teach their own classes, and visit their own members and prospects. The honest ones bear the cross. They sow the seed of the Word carelessly. If they have a faithful family of believers under their leaky parsonage roofs, that is quite an accomplishment by itself. After all, two people have multiplied the Gospel reach through the Word and Sacrament. Who can measure where that will lead in the future? And any minister who teaches the Word and administers the Sacraments will have results, which belong to God alone to judge.

The vast majority of synodicats are businessmen, incompetent businessmen at that. They are as innocent as serpents and as wise as doves. Their philosophy is exactly the opposite of a faithful pastor. They are the cross to bear in these last days of an insane old world.



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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Disrespect for the Word = Disrespect for Pastors. ...":

Thanks for this post Pastor Jackson. The world was recently treated to a spectacle that they do not deserve: they witnessed a church defending Christ’s doctrine and in true Christian unity defend their faithful pastor and leave the (W)ELS which is waging war against Christ in these last days.

I was reading the Christian Book of Concord while contemplating responding to Pastor Jack Cascione’s attack against the Triune God on LutherQuest. Throughout is Scriptures clear teaching of the Gospel of Christ which is perverted by the false teachers of UOJ. Here is one:

1] In the Twelfth Article they approve of the first part, in which we set forth that such as have fallen after baptism may obtain remission of sins at whatever time, and as often as they are converted. They condemn the second part, in which we say that the parts of repentance are contrition and faith [a penitent, contrite heart, and faith, namely, that I receive the forgiveness of sins through Christ]. [Hear, now, what it is that the adversaries deny.] They [without shame] deny that faith is the second part 2] of repentance. What are we to do here, O Charles, thou most invincible Emperor? The very voice of the Gospel is this, that by faith we obtain the remission of sins. [This word is not our word, but the voice and word of Jesus Christ, our Savior.] This voice of the Gospel these writers of the Confutation condemn. We, therefore, can in no way assent to the Confutation. We cannot condemn the voice of the Gospel, so salutary and abounding in consolation. What else is the denial that by faith we obtain remission of sins than to treat the blood and death of Christ with scorn?
http://www.bookofconcord.org/defense_10_repentance.php

Webber and his catechumen, Jon Buchholz,
quot half this paragraph, not the whole paragraph.


Monday, October 29, 2012

Guerilla Lutheran Asks about Providence



"I thought you said Gorilla Lutheran."


Guerilla Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "Links for Justification by Faith and Justification...":

Bored writes:



Do you think that when President Obama said that our grandchildren would remember that "this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal" he tempted God too much?

Poetic justice certainly seems to be in play with the recent weather and I'm wondering if you'd parse out this theological question:

The Lutheran position is that God only deals with individuals through the Means of Grace. But does God affect history via means beyond the Sacraments and the Word? (Weather, war, etc.) Plenty of Kings, and storms for that matter, not knowing the Word or the sacraments have affected human history, and in many cases, the acts of these Kings have had spiritual consequences. So does God provide for some manner of fate or chance, by which the structure of the world is ordered? Or are some kings (or storms), apart from the Means of Grace, controlled or influenced by God as mere actors on the grand stage? When we say that God only deals with man through the Word and Sacrament, is that Justification-specific, or are we talking about a larger scope?

Martin Luther was apparently trapped under a lightning-struck tree, and promised God to become a monk; the result of this event led him directly into the Word, and the Holy Spirit led him to discover the truth of Justification by Faith alone (but NOT to a Universal Objective Justification…). I can see how one might say that God caused the storm, and that God caused Luther to be there, under the tree that gave its life (so the story goes) for Lutheranism. So how is the storm and the electricity and the tree NOT as much of God’s work as the Word in Luther’s ultimate conversion?

Believe me when I say that I am not doubting the pure Efficaciousness of the Word-that-is-God, but how ought one approach and understand the holistic nature that is God-in-the-cosmos? I suppose I am questioning what seems to be the western tradition of isolating theology from human existence…

***

GJ - Yes, Obama was displaying his divine self-image. He suffers from narcissism. The majority wanted easy slogans instead of proven leadership.

God certainly acts through history. He uses evil people to chasten an apostate people. He gives grace only through the Means of Grace, but His Hand controls all human events.

Pat Robertson got a big specific when he prayed a hurricane away from his location and rejoiced that it turned and spared his campus and headquarters. That was some years ago.

Luther was a genius who was incredibly productive in his work but also faithful to God's Word. It was providential that Gutenberg turned a wine press into a printing press at that time.

It was providential that the Muslim armies threatened Europe and drew Charles V away from the Reformation for many years.