Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity. Grace and Faith

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn #  44                    Ye Lands             2:41

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       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #203            Morning Breaks            2:70     

Grace and Faith

The Communion Hymn # 315            I Come O Savior             2:66

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 # 467     Built on a Rock                   2:83

KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

KJV Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? 6 And they could not answer him again to these things. 7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We beseech Thee so to guide and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not exalt ourselves, but humbly fear Thee, with our whole hearts hear and keep Thy word, and hallow the Lord's day, that we also may be hallowed by Thy word; help us, first, to place our hope and confidence in Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who alone is our righteousness and Redeemer, and, then, so to amend and better our lives in accordance with Thy word, that we may avoid all offenses and finally obtain eternal salvation, through Thy grace in Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God. world without end. Amen.

Grace and Faith

This is a an interesting healing where the main lesson is not about the miracle itself but the reaction of the opposition. There is always an opponent in religion, whether the words are spoken or left unspoken.

Jesus knew, as the Son of God, that the lawyers and Pharisees objected in their hearts to Jesus healing on the Sabbath. They imagined that was work forbidden by God. Jesus responded to their unspoken words, and doubtless their faces communicated as much as their thoughts did.

One of the strangest Sabbath work stories involved the Assemblies of God church in Midland, Michigan. The newly built wall was going to blow down from a sudden windstorm. The crew naturally wanted to brace it, but the minister refused, saying he would not let them work on the Sabbath. The wall fell over in the wind and it cost the congregation $100,000 to repair. Meanwhile the minister was being followed by a private eye, because his wife knew he was violating the Sixth Commandment without the same sense of the Law.

The words of Jesus are well known – The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

But mankind is always involved in one legalism after another. As soon as anything good begins, someone wants to protect it with a wall of traditions, rules, and punishments (for those who break the invented rules).

The point of the Sabbath was to give the hard-working husband and wife a refuge against spending all day laboring at their duties, so they could relax, study the Word and worship, and not be slaves of work itself.

One farmer in Indiana said, “If I can’t get the work done in six, I won’t get the work done in seven, either.” He spent the Sabbath with his family and at church.

The new Pharisees say about faith, “That is work, so it is forbidden.” How do they know? They have a Talmud of instructions about that, and they appeal to this word – grace.

What is grace? God’s grace is not opposed to faith. Confusing the two and mangling their meanings are clever ways to take people away from the Word of God.

Salvation by grace means that God, out of His love, mercy, and compassion, chose to give us the full payment for our sins through His Son Jesus.

It is grace because we did not merit or deserve this atoning death. Nor did we ever think or imagine this could be done for us. Deserving something comes from the concept of work and the law. If we work, we deserve to be rewarded in some way.

Grace goes far beyond providing for the source of our forgiveness and salvation. God has also provided the Means of Grace and those who administer and train others.

Throughout history God has sent missionaries, pastors, and evangelists out to proclaim the Gospel to the world.

Therefore, we do not come to God – God comes to us. We do not find Jesus – the Savior is conveyed to us, by grace, through the Word.

We love God because He first loved us. But also – He loves us and watches over us because of our love of the Good Shepherd.

All this has been done from God’s good will and mercy. Merit and work have nothing to do with what God does for us.

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/norma-boecklers-new-book-treasury-of.html

Faith – Result of God’s Grace

Faith in Christ is the result of God’s grace. Faith is created by the Means of Grace and is also sustained by the Means of Grace.

We have no faith until the Gospel is spoken to us – often via parents through Holy Baptism, but of course it begins even earlier. Anyone could say, “I can teach my baby about Christ without baptism.” However, Holy Baptism – for our benefit – marks the moment of an infant being drawn into the Kingdom of God by the Word of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit plants faith in the baby’s heart, and the parents have the opportunity and responsibility to nurture that faith.

Without infant baptism, people wonder when children are lost early. That was always a problem – infant mortality – and it still is today. Instead of leaving parents in doubt, God gives us all a sacrament of assurance – the visible Word of Holy Baptism.

We cannot look back to when we first believed and remember that baby-moment, but we can see the date on the baptismal certificate.

Adult Faith

Many adults are converted to faith – and sometimes brought back to the faith of their childhood. This does not happen through love, rock bands, a clever presentation (Lord, Liar, Lunatic) or any other scheme. The true church is built on the Word of God alone, through the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word.

Adult baptism is just as good for adults as it is for infants. The sacrament marks the official date when the Promises of God were read and the water was applied, a visible reminder of the washing and rebirth caused by the Gospel in Holy Baptism.

Other Instruments of Grace

Absolution is directly related to Holy Baptism, because this would not be practiced without faith. Believers seek absolution and grant absolution.

The consolation of the brothers is a term used for the forgiveness offered among brothers and sisters in the faith. Nothing is more fruitful in love than forgiveness of sin.

Ordination is described as a sacrament in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. Here it is important to remember that such terms as “Sacrament” and “Means of Grace” are shorthand inventions by man to describe what is found in the Word of God.

Like the Pharisees and lawyers of the Law in this lesson, Lutherans like to huddle together and work over definitions and punishments while ignoring the main message – God only works through the Word, and we receive His work on through faith in the Word. The Holy Spirit accomplishes this both in the giving (preaching, sacraments, mutual consolation) and in the receiving (faith being a creation of the Holy Spirit, who is powerful in the Word).

To debate whether something is a sacrament is to be a Pharisee who fails to discern that God only works through the Gospel.

I was asked to perform a traditional wedding for a friend, a believer. To do that,  I used the old TLH book, Occasional Services, shiny and black, where the wedding ceremony is packed with Scriptural references and divine advice. And I gave a short sermon as well. All partnerships fail with lack of forgiveness. A marriage can last and be an enjoyable and fulfilling experience only with the forgiveness provided by Christ.

The State of Arkansas had the power to let me perform the marriage, which is ultimately a civil affair (since a cruise ship captain can also do the same thing, with or without the Word of God). The county clerk had to give me a certificate first.

I would argue that a Christian marriage service is sacramental in nature, because the Gospel is brought to the couple and the audience in a visible form, with many symbols of Christian union. Lutherans do not usually apply that term, but it would be better if they did. It is not an occasion for entertaining people, for putting on a big show, for making everyone happy. It is an opportunity to provide the Gospel as the foundation of a marriage.

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/norma-boecklers-new-book-treasury-of.html

Sustaining Faith

Since faith is trust in the Good Shepherd, God recognizes our need to have that trust strengthened and sustained in the face of our human weaknesses and Satanic opposition from unbelievers.

The Pharisees and canon lawyers were admonished by Jesus in this lesson because they were obsessed with their own honor rather than honoring God and His grace. They had the very large Old Testament, filled with God’s grace and promises, but they wanted to build a wall around it with traditions, rules, and punishments.

The better the Pharisee, the greater the honors, the harder the heart.

Our modern Pharisees and canon lawyers are the synod officials, their toadies, and the laity who want to feel important. They use the words of faith to protect their turf, but they have no use for the Gospel itself. Anyone can see that in the way they protect felons and thugs and punish believes. If these neo-Pharisees had faith, they would recognize faith. Instead, they trust in themselves and must maintain that by grabbing the seats of honor.

Luther:

24. The Papists have commented on these verses in their own way and twisted this Gospel, saying: Yea, the Pope is to be the least or youngest, sitting at the foot and serving others; but that is to take place in the heart.

They pretended to sit at the foot and to serve others as the humblest; but withal they lorded it over all emperors, kings and princes, yea, trampled them in the dust; just as if emperors, kings, princes and rulers should not also possess in their hearts the humility of which the Lord here treats. They thus put on airs and make a show of their carnal interpretation. If they had any humility in their hearts their lives would bear testimony to it. Christ speaks here not of outward humility alone, for the inner is the source of the outer; if it is not in the heart it will hardly be manifest in the body.

25. Therefore the Gospel aims at making all of us humble, whatever and whoever we may be, that none may exalt himself, unless urged and elevated by regular authority. That is what the Lord wants to inculcate by this parable, directing it to all, be they high or low. In this spirit he reproves the Pharisees and others who desire high places and are ambitious to get ahead of others. They may accept honors when regularly elected and forced to accept high places. I make these remarks to contravene and discredit their false spiritual interpretations.

26. But now they go and mingle and confuse spiritual and worldly things, and claim it is enough if they be humble in heart when they strive for the chief seats. Nay, dear friends, heart-humility must manifest itself in outer conduct, or it is false. All should therefore he willing to take a lower seat, even to throw themselves at the feet of others, and not move up higher, until urged to do so. Anyone who regards this rule, will do well; but he who disregards it will come to grief by so doing. That is what our Lord desires to impress upon his hearers as he closes this parable. “For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Quotations

"Since, therefore, so much depends upon God's Word that without it no holy day can be sanctified, we must know that God insists upon a strict observance of this command-ment, and will punish all who despise His Word and are not willing to hear and learn it, especially at the time appointed for the purpose."

            The Large Catechism, Preface, #95, The Third Commandment, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 607. Tappert, p. 378. Exodus 20:8‑11.                

"Since it is God's gracious purpose to remove every hindrance to conversion by the means of grace, and it is still possible for a man at every point to continue in his opposition to God, a man is never without responsibility over towards the grace of God, although he may mock and say that, since God is the one who does everything for our salvation, then a man has no responsibility himself, as we see in Romans 9:19.  Cf. Theses 17 and 18."

            U. V. Koren, 1884, "An Accounting," Grace for Grace:  Brief History of the Norwegian Synod, ed., Sigurd C. Ylvisaker, Mankato:  Lutheran Synod Book Company, 1943, p. Romans 9:19.              

"It is God the Holy Ghost who must work this change in the soul.  This He does through His own life‑giving Word.  It is the office of that Word, as the organ of the Holy Spirit, to bring about a knowledge of sin, to awaken sorrow and contrition, and to make the sinner hate and turn from his sin.  That same Word then directs the sinner to Him who came to save him from sin.  It takes him to the cross, it enables him to believe that his sins were all atoned for there, and that, therefore, he is not condemned. In other words, the Word of God awakens and constantly deepens ture penitence.  It also begets and constantly increases true faith.  Or, in one word, it converts the sinner."

            G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church, Philadelphia:  Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 145f. 

                        Law Causes Contrition          

"In like manner Moses must precede and teach people to feel their sins in order that grace may be sweet and welcome to them.  Therefore all is in vain, however friendly and lovely Christ may be pictured, if man is not first humbled by a knowledge of himself and he possesses no longing for Christ, as Mary's Song says, 'The hungry he hath filled with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away,' Luke 1:53."

            Sermons of Martin Luther, ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 149.

                         Gospel Only for Humble Sinners

"All this is spoken and written for the comfort of the distressed, the poor, the needy, the sinful, the despised, so that they may know in all times of need to whom to flee and where to seek comfort and help."       

Sermons of Martin Luther,  II,  p. 149.

Pastors - memorize this.
It is true Pastoral Theology in one paragraph.

Team Jackson - Walmart Meeting and the T-Rex Grill

Bill Ford was not at the Walmart meeting, but the Ferrari heir
John Elkann was.

Shaq O'Neal, MBA, University of Phoenix,
spoke at the Walmart meeting, interviewed by two executives who
used a step-ladder to stay in the camera frame.

O'Neal also earned a doctorate in education at Barry University.

At our last gathering we assembled the Kingsford grill,
Father's Day/Birthday present from Walmart.
which was boxed but relatively easy to assemble.
It has been dubbed the T-Rex, because
it devours so much meat at once.

A new mission | Appleton Post-Crescent | postcrescent.com. Ask the Newspaper about Tim Glende (featured in the video) Suing His Church Member for Objecting to Unscriptural Behavior by Glende's Buddy Ski

WELS deals with sexual harassment by a pastor
with a fake removal (thanks to SP Schroeder and DP Engelbrecht) -
plus silencing and harassing the husband who objected.
Try that in Arkansas, Ski, and you will be singing
in the soprano section of the choir.

A new mission | Appleton Post-Crescent | postcrescent.com:

Fox Cities churches convert old businesses to expa...: The Core and The Mission Church are two of a growing list of Fox Cities churches that have bought existing buildings and turned them into house of worship. Click the link above for the video.

Fox Cities churches convert old businesses to expa...: The Core and The Mission Church are two of a growing list of Fox Cities churches that have bought existing buildings and turned them into house of worship.

Written by

Holly Meyer

Post-Crescent Media

• FILED UNDER

• Local News

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Jeff Ulman holds his son Boaz as he greets Heidi and Carson Bork of Neenah at the downtown location of The Core in Appleton. The location is the Appleton campus of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Freedom. The church recently renovated a building at Franklin and Superior streets. / Ron Page/Post-Crescent Media

Do you have a faith story idea?

Reporter Holly Meyer covers trends in the Fox Valley’s faith community as part of Post-Crescent Media’s commitment to coverage of the successes and challenges of life in the Fox Cities. If you have a faith-based story idea, contact Meyer at 920-993-1000, ext. 426, or hmeyer@postcrescent.com.

Recent changes of scenery for Fox Cities churches

• St. Peter Lutheran Church in Freedom purchased a former tavern at 222 W. Franklin St. in Appleton for its downtown campus, The Core.
• Christ’s Church of The Valley bought a former movie theater at 215 E. Washington St. in downtown Appleton.
• The Mission Church moved into a former flooring company at 314 N. Appleton St. in downtown Appleton.
• Celebration Church purchased OuterEdge Stage, 303 N. Oneida St., in downtown Appleton.
• Fox Valley Chinese Christian Church bought a former office building on W. Spencer Street in Grand Chute.
• Living Faith International Church relocated to a former banquet hall on W. Prospect Avenue in the Town of Menasha.

Watch online

Take a look inside the recently renovated downton Appleton churches, The Mission Church and The Core, at postcrescent.com.

More

St. Peter Lutheran Church in Freedom has been reaching out lately to young, unchurched Fox Cities residents. But rather than focusing exclusively on expanding its home base, church leaders turned to downtown Appleton to target the crucial audience at a second site.

St. Peter’s, a Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod member, found a permanent spot for its new campus, known as The Core, in a former tavern on West Franklin Street.

The move in 2012 put the church on a growing list of congregations that have converted former businesses into houses of worship.

“Part of it’s a trend in our culture and world today where there are churches who are trying to reach people in a different way that people, who might not be looking for a traditional church, might come to and be more comfortable at. I think part of that drives it,” said the Rev. Tim Glende, lead pastor at St. Peter’s.

Glende said the premise behind the downtown campus was to bring The Core’s less traditional, multimedia and music-centered services to young adults instead of waiting for them to come to the Freedom church.

“One of our reasons for being downtown was young people go downtown. They hang out at the downtown. There’s a college downtown. It’s an area that they’re familiar with and if people come downtown for other things they’ll come downtown for church,” Glende said. “Sometimes we won’t reach that demographic of people because of the traditional church building we have and the history that we have of being a church that’s 140-plus years old.”

'via Blog this'

Look at the video and see the deluxe interior of the stinky old bar
given almost free to St. Peter in Freedom.
WELS also loaned them the money to remodel the place,
even though the parish was busy in a $4 million  new construction.
Blessed are the poor, for they will see none of this generosity.
Glende "redeveloped" his first parish in Savoy, Illinois,
but ran away before ground-breaking at his coffee bar church.
St. Peter, Freedom members - take note.

Luther's Sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity. Luke 14:1-11. He Who Exalts Himself

St. Luke, by El Greco

Luther's Sermon for the SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. Luke 14:1-11


This sermon is found in all editions of the Church Postil. Erl. 14, 150; W. 11, 2233; St. L. 11, 1674.

Text: Luke 14:1-11. And it came to pass, when he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching him. And behold, there was before him a certain man that had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not? But they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him and let him go. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a well, and will not straightway draw him up on a sabbath day? And they could not answer again unto these things.

And he spake a parable unto those that were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief seats; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a marriage feast, sit not down in the chief seat; lest haply a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him, and he that bade thee and him shall come and say to thee, Give this man place; and then thou shalt begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he that hath bidden thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher; then shalt thou have glory in the presence of all that sit at meat with thee. For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

CONTENTS:

CHRIST HEALS THE DROPSICAL MAN, OR FAITH AND LOVE, THE LAW AND THE RIGHT USE OF THE LAW, AND HUMILITY.
* Contents of this Gospel. 1.

I. OF FAITH AND LOVE.

1. Of faith. a. How the example of the dropsical man teaches us faith. 2f. b. Faith must be wrought in us by the preaching of the Gospel. 3-4.

2. Of love. 5.

II. OF THE LAW AND THE RIGHT USE OF THE LAW.

1. How and why one should proceed with the use of the law wisely and prudently. 6-7.

2. All laws bind no farther than love goes. 8f.

3. How and why all laws should be interpreted according to love and our need. 9-11.

4. Love and need abolish all laws. 12-15.

5. How the prophets of the Old Testament explained the law according to the spirit of love and had to suffer much on account of it.

6. Where the laws do not serve love, we should quickly abandon them. 17f.

* Where a vow conflicts with love, it should be abolished. 17-19.

7. A Christian has power to dispense with all laws. 20.

III. INSTRUCTION IN HUMILITY.

1. What moved Christ to give this instruction.

2. The way and means, by which Christ gave this instruction. 22f.

3. How to defend this instruction against the false interpretation of the Papists. 23-26.

4. An opinion of the interpretation Augustine gives on this instruction.

* Love and need conquer all laws. 28.

SUMMARY OF THIS GOSPEL:

1. Here you see faith and love together. The heart of the man with the dropsy was right toward Christ; that is faith. Christ had mercy upon him and healed him, that is love.
2. Good works are to serve one’s neighbor.

3. Love dispenses with and suspends the public command of God; but the Pharisees did not believe this.

4. The outward Sabbath denotes the inner Sabbath, when we are quiet before God, and let his will be pleasing to us, and he does with us as he pleases. Of this Isaiah and the Epistle to the Hebrews speak.

5. We are all invited to divine grace; but the Pharisees sit high in their pride; because of their pharisaical hypocritical holiness.

1. This Gospel offers us two leading thoughts; one is general and is found in all our Gospel lessons, the other is peculiar to this one. First, in its general character, it shows who the Lord Jesus is and what we may expect of him, and in this is exhibited both faith and love.

2. Faith is here set forth in that this man, sick with the dropsy, looks to Christ and firmly believes he will help him. This faith he had as the result of his previous acquaintance with Jesus. He knows him as a kind, friendly and sympathetic man who always helps everyone and lets none go away uncomforted. Had he not heard such reports about the Lord he would not have followed him, even into the house. He must indeed have had some gospel knowledge and believed the wonderful things spoken about him.

3. And this is the Gospel, as I said, that must be preached and heard before there can be faith. We must know that God is kindly disposed toward us and has sent his Son from heaven to help us. This the conscience must hear and believe; for if God were unfriendly and unmerciful toward us, it would avail little to know that all his creatures sympathize with us. If God is satisfied with us, no creature can do us any harm, as St. Paul says in Romans 8:31: “If God is for us, who is against us?” Let death, devil, hell and all creation rage; we are safe. Therefore it is the Gospel that must present to us the God-man as merciful. This is the fountain from which our heart can draw faith and a friendly confidence toward God that he will help both the dying and the living in every distress.

4. We notice this here in the man afflicted with dropsy. He had heard of the kindness of Jesus to others and now believes that he will show the same to him. Had he not believed, it would have been impossible to help him. The Gospel resounds in all the world, but it is not heard by everybody. The Pharisees also sat there; they saw these things with their own eyes and failed not to notice what a friendly man Jesus was, but they believed not; hence the Gospel could neither reform them nor give them help and comfort. Thus the Gospel is very universal, but the true laying hold of it is very rare. So much in regard to faith.

5. Later we have here pictured to us also the love in Christ that goes forth and bears fruit, not for itself but for others, as is the nature of true love to do. This is now said on the first part of to-day’s Gospel.

6. However, this Pericope especially teaches us in the second place a necessary doctrine we must possess, if we are to make use of the laws that order the outward and temporal matters and affairs, which the church is to observe. Here we must act wisely and gently, if we wish to do the right thing, especially when weak and timid consciences are concerned. For there is nothing more tender in heaven and on earth, and nothing can bear less trifling, than the conscience. The eye is spoken of as a sensitive member, but conscience is much more sensitive. Hence we notice how gently the Apostles dealt with conscience in divers matters, lest it be burdened with human ordinances.

7. But as we cannot live without law and order, and as it is dangerous to deal with law since it is too apt to ensnare the conscience, we must say a little about human laws and ordinances and how far they are to be observed. The proverb says: “Everything depends upon having a good interpreter.” That is particularly true here where human ordinances are concerned. Where there is no one to interpret and explain the law rightly it is difficult and dangerous to have anything to do with it. Take, for example, a ruler who acts like a tyrant and abuses his authority. If he makes a law and urgently insists on the law being executed, he treats conscience as if he had a sword in his hand and were intent on killing. We have experienced this in the tyrannical laws of popery, how consciences were tormented and hurled into hell and damnation. Yea, there is great danger where one does not know how to temper and apply the laws.

8. Therefore we conclude that all law, divine and human, treating of outward conduct, should not bind any further than love goes. Love is to be the interpreter of law. Where there is no love, these things are meaningless, and law begins to do harm; as is also written in the Pope’s book: “If a law or ordinance runs counter to love, it will soon come to an end.” This is in brief spoken of divine and human laws. The reason for enacting all laws and ordinances is only to establish love, as Paul says, Romans 13:10: “Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.” Likewise verse 8: “Owe no man anything, save to love one another.” For if I love my neighbor, I help him, protect him, hold him in honor, and do what I would have done to me.

9. Since then all law exists to promote love, law must soon cease where it is in conflict with love. Therefore, everything depends upon a good leader or ruler to direct and interpret the law in accordance with love.

Take the example of the priests and monks. They have drawn up laws that they will say mass and do their praying and juggle with God in other ways at given hours according to the clock. If now a poor man should call and ask for a service at an hour when they were to hold mass or repeat their prayers, they might say: “Go your way; I must now read mass, must attend to my prayers,” and thus they would fail to serve the poor man, even if he should die. In this manner the most sanctimonious monks and Carthusians act; they observe their rules and statutes so rigorously that, although they saw a poor man breathing his last breath and could help him so easily, yet they will not do it. But the good people, if they were Christians, ought to explain the laws and statutes in harmony with love, and say: Let the mass go, let the sacraments, prayers, and the ordinances all go; I will dispense with works, I will serve my neighbor; love put in practice in serving my neighbor is golden in comparison with such human works.

10. And thus we should apply every law, even as love suggests, that it be executed where it is helpful to a fellow-man, and dispensed with where it does harm. Take a common illustration: If there were a housekeeper who made the rule in his home to serve now fish, then meat, now wine, then beer, even as it suits him; but perchance some one of his household took sick and could not drink beer or wine, nor eat meat or fish, and the housekeeper would not give him anything else, but say: No, my rules and regulations prescribe thus; I cannot give you anything else: what kind of a housekeeper would such an one be? One ought to give him sneeze-wort to purge his brain. For if he were a sensible man he would say: It is indeed true that my rules and regulations prescribe meat or fish for the table today, yet since this diet does not agree with you, you may eat what you like.

See how a housekeeper may adjust his own rules and make them conform to the love he entertains for his household. Thus all law must be applied as love toward a fellow-man may dictate.

11. Therefore, since the Mosaic law was not understood nor modified by love in the Old Testament, God promised the people through Moses that he would raise up a prophet who should interpret the law to them. For thus Moses says in Deuteronomy 18:15: “Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall harken.” God raised up prophets from time to time to explain the law and apply it, not in its rigor, but in love. Of this Moses himself is an example. He led the children of Israel out of Egypt for forty years hither and thither through the desert. Abraham had been commanded in Genesis 17:12, to circumcise every male on the eighth day. This commandment was plain enough that all had to observe it, yet Moses neglected it and circumcised no one the whole forty years.

12. Now, who authorized Moses to violate this commandment, given to Abraham by God himself? His authority was vested in his knowledge of the law’s spirit; he knew how to interpret and apply it in brotherly love, namely, that the law was to be serviceable to the people, and not the reverse. For, if during their journey they had to be ready day by day for warfare, circumcision would have hindered them, and he therefore omitted it, saying in effect: Although this law is given and should be observed, yet we will apply it in the spirit of love, and suspend its operation until we come to the end of our journey. Likewise should all laws be interpreted and applied as love and necessity may demand. Hence the importance of a good interpreter.

13. It was the same in the case of David when he partook of the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for anyone to eat, except the priest, Samuel 21:6; as Christ himself makes use of this example in Matthew 12:3. David was not consecrated, nor were his servants. When he was hungry he went to Ahimelech and asked for himself and men something to eat. Ahimelech answered: I have indeed nothing to give; the shew-bread of the tabernacle is for holy use. Then David and his men helped themselves and ate freely of it. Did David sin in the face of God’s ordinance? No. Why not? Because necessity compelled him, seeing there was nothing else to eat. It is in this way that necessity and love may override law.

14. That is what Christ also does in our Gospel, when he heals the suffering man on the Sabbath, although he well knew how strictly the Old Testament required the observance of the Sabbath. But see what the Pharisees do! They stand by watching the Lord. They would not have helped the sick man with a spoonful of wine, even if they could have done so. But Christ handles the law even at the risk of violating it, freely helps the poor man sick with the dropsy and gives the public a reason for his action, when he says, in effect: It is indeed commanded to keep the Sabbath day, yet where love requires it, there the law may be set aside.

This he follows up with an illustration from everyday life, then dismisses them in a way they must commend, and they answer him not a word. He says: “Which of you shall have an ox or an ass fallen into a well and will not straightway draw him up on the Sabbath day?”

15. As if to say: Ye fools, are ye not mad and stupid! If you act thus in the case of saving an ox or an ass which may perhaps be valued at a few dollars, how much rather should one do the same to a neighbor, helping him to his health, whether it be the Sabbath or not! For the Sabbath, as he says elsewhere, was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So that the son of man is lord even of the Sabbath, Mark 2:27.

16. Among the Jews there was a rigorous enforcement of the law, even their kings insisted on its strict observance. When the prophets came and explained the law in the spirit of love, saying: This is what Moses means, thus the law is to be understood, then there were false prophets at hand to side with the kings, insisting on the literal text and saying: There, so it is written; it is God’s Word; one must not interpret it otherwise. Thereupon the kings proceeded to kill one prophet after another. In the same way the Papists, priests and monks act now. If anyone says: We need not observe their laws literally, but we should rather interpret them in love; then they immediately cry, Heretic! Heretic!! and if they could they would kill him; yea, they do so already quite lustily.

17. As Christ here treats of the law relating to the Sabbath and makes it subserve the needs of man, so we should treat laws of that kind and keep them only so far as they accord with love. If laws do not serve love, they may be annulled at once, be they God’s or man’s commands. Take an illustration from our former darkness and sorrow under the Papacy.

Suppose someone had vowed to visit St. Jacob, and he remembers the words: “Pay that which thou vowest,” Ecclesiastes 5:4. He may have a wife, children or household to care for. What should such an one do?

Should he proceed to St. Jacob, or remain at home and support his family?

There, decide for yourselves which would be most needful and what harmonizes best with the spirit of love. I regard it best for him to remain home at work and attend to the care of his family. For his pilgrimage to St.

Jacob, even if that were not idolatrous and wrong in itself, would be of little profit to him, yea, he would spend and lose more than he could gain.

18. Another example. A mother is about to bear a child, who vowed to eat no flesh on Wednesdays, as many foolish women do. And perhaps because of this vow the mother may injure her offspring and her own body. Then the foolish confessional fathers come and say: Dear daughter, it is written in the Scriptures, what one vows, that must be kept; it is God’s command and thou must at any peril keep thy vow. Thus the good woman is soon taken captive and chained by her conscience, goes and fulfills her vow, and does harm both to herself and her offspring. Hence both have sinned, those who taught her thus, and the woman in that she did not esteem her love more than her vow, by which she neither served nor pleased God; yea, more than this, she thus provoked God to anger by keeping her vow.

Therefore we should say to such a foolish mother: Behold, thou art about to bear a child, and thou must serve it and desist from this foolish thing, so that great harm may not spring from it; for all laws find their end in love.

19. We should act in like manner toward the false priests, monks and nuns.

When they say: Yea, we have vowed so and so, and it is written: “Vow, and pay unto Jehovah your God,” Psalm 76:11, then say to them: Look, there is also a command: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” But in your vocation it is impossible to serve your neighbor, nor can you continue in it without sin. Therefore, forsake it openly and enter a state in which you are not so apt to sin, but where you may serve your fellow-man, help and counsel him; and do not bother about a vow which you did not give to God your Lord, but to the devil; not for the salvation of souls and blessedness, but for damnation and ruin of both soul and body.

20. If you are a Christian you have power to dispense with all commandments so far as they hinder you in the practice of love, even as Christ here teaches. He goes right on, although it is the Sabbath day, helps this sick man and gives a satisfactory and clear reason for his Sabbath work.

21. There is yet another thought in this Gospel about taking a prominent seat at feasts, which we must consider. When the Lord noticed how the guests, the Pharisees, chose to sit in the first seats, he gave them the following parable to ponder: “When thou art bidden of any man to a marriage least, sit not down in the chief seat; lest haply a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him, and he that bade thee and him shall come and say to thee, Give this man place; and then thou shalt begin with shame to take the lower place. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he that hath bidden thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have glory in the presence of all that sit at meat with thee.”

22. This parable is aimed at the laws and precepts of the Pharisees and scribes which provide that honor should be paid to the great and powerful, giving them the preference and allowing them to sit at the head. Christ here reverses the order and says: “He that would be the greatest, let him take the lowest seat.” Not that a peasant should be placed above a prince; that is not what Christ means, nor would that be proper. But our Lord does not speak here of worldly, but of spiritual things, where humility is specially commended. Let rulers follow the custom of occupying the uppermost seats at festive boards, we have to do here with matters of the heart. Christ does not appoint burgomasters, judges, princes, lords; these stations in life he ignores as subject to civil order and the dictates of reason. There must be rulers and to them honors are due because of their position; but the spiritual government requires that its participants humble themselves, in order that they may be exalted.

23. Therefore the Lord said to his disciples when they disputed as to who should be the greatest among them: “The kings of the Gentiles have lordship over them, and they that have authority over them are called Benefactors. But ye shall not be so; but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve,” Luke 22:25-27. He then speaks of himself as an illustration, asking: “For which is the greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat! But I am in the midst of you as he that serveth.”

And in another place, Matthew 20:26-28, he said: “Whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister; and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

24. The Papists have commented on these verses in their own way and twisted this Gospel, saying: Yea, the Pope is to be the least or youngest, sitting at the foot and serving others; but that is to take place in the heart.

They pretended to sit at the foot and to serve others as the humblest; but withal they lorded it over all emperors, kings and princes, yea, trampled them in the dust; just as if emperors, kings, princes and rulers should not also possess in their hearts the humility of which the Lord here treats. They thus put on airs and make a show of their carnal interpretation. If they had any humility in their hearts their lives would bear testimony to it. Christ speaks here not of outward humility alone, for the inner is the source of the outer; if it is not in the heart it will hardly be manifest in the body.

25. Therefore the Gospel aims at making all of us humble, whatever and whoever we may be, that none may exalt himself, unless urged and elevated by regular authority. That is what the Lord wants to inculcate by this parable, directing it to all, be they high or low. In this spirit he reproves the Pharisees and others who desire high places and are ambitious to get ahead of others. They may accept honors when regularly elected and forced to accept high places. I make these remarks to contravene and discredit their false spiritual interpretations.

26. But now they go and mingle and confuse spiritual and worldly things, and claim it is enough if they be humble in heart when they strive for the chief seats. Nay, dear friends, heart-humility must manifest itself in outer conduct, or it is false. All should therefore he willing to take a lower seat, even to throw themselves at the feet of others, and not move up higher, until urged to do so. Anyone who regards this rule, will do well; but he who disregards it will come to grief by so doing. That is what our Lord desires to impress upon his hearers as he closes this parable. “For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

27. St. Augustine adds a comment here which I wish he had not made, for it savors of vanity, when he says: “A ruler must not abase himself too much, lest his authority be weakened thereby.” This is heathenish and worldly, not Christian; but we can pardon it in such a man, for even the saints on earth are not yet entirely perfect.

28. The sum of this Gospel then is: Love and necessity control all law; and there should be no law that cannot be enforced and applied in love. If it cannot, then let it be done away with, even though an angel from heaven had promulgated it. All this is intended to help and strengthen our hearts and consciences. In this way our Lord himself teaches us how we should humble ourselves and be subject one to another. [However concerning this virtue, what true humility is, I have said enough in former Postils c.] Let this suffice on to-day’s Gospel.

Bad Luck Brian - But This Could Be Any One of the Lutheran-in-Name-Only Sects

Memes are popular among younger Internet readers. Bad Luck Brian is a favorite one about an awkward young adult whose every positive achievement is completely destroyed by bad luck. Some of them are based upon recent unfortunate incidents among various people who contribute them.

The star of this meme enjoys his fame.

This is definitely true of ELCA and the ELS. The message is mixed in the LCMS. The controlling regime is UOJ/papal, a perfectly lethal combination. Robert Preus wrote Justification and Rome to combat the growing Romanism at Concordia, Ft. Wayne.

I am amused and bedazzled by the LCMS pastors who jump up to defend Pope Frank, Society of Jesus, every time he speaks. Before this I did not realize that Lutheran pastors were called to defend the Antichrist, speak well of Him, and put the best construction on everything He does.
[GJ - divine pronoun used on purpose, because many teach that the pope is Christ-on-Earth].

Back to Justification by Faith Alone - there is a large group of LCMS pastors who have never heard of UOJ or who always teach justification by faith. Many realize what a sham the early history of Missouri is, a patently obvious mythification of a sex cult saturated with VD and false doctrine.

Walther deposed the Dresden bishop and became the Missouri pope.

A Lutheran Parable in One Candid Photograph

Is that Larry Olson, or David Valleskey, or Frosty Bivens,
or Jim Huebner, or Joel Gerlach, or Norm Berg
or most the LCMS leadership?

"Everyone has had impure Church Growth thoughts." I confessed that to DP Robert Mueller, who was startled and offended by my joke.

In 1987, I left the LCA - fairly clear about justification by faith, the Church Growth Movement, and modern theology. I had the luxury of years spent studying the Reformation, Schleiermacher, Barth, Tillich, Rahner, the origins of the Synodical Conference (the g-rated myth), and the Social Gospel Movement.

The LCMS, WELS, ELS, and the micro-mini sects insisted that they were the true Lutherans, unlike that nasty bunch forming the New Lutheran Church, aka ELCA.

My first experience was enduring a required week of Church Growth brain-washing at Mequon, followed by a return to Mequon for even more brain-washing in Church Growth. And where was I going for a parish? Columbus, where they had just started the first-ever Church Growth Agency in WELS - LPR! Appropriately, they put an ex-pastor, caught in adultery, in charge of that fiasco - and lied about it to everyone. That packet of Columbus lies just happens to parallel the founding of the Synodical Conference - no surprise since it was fueled with the same false dogma, known as UOJ.

Almost 30 years later, many ELS-LCMS-WELS pastors have made their careers wrinkling their noses about Church Growth while doing nothing about it, except to assassinate critics of the same. Some names immediately come to mind:

1. John Seifert
2. Jay Webber
3. Paul McCain.

Do they really want to be allied with Mad Jack?
Cascione used to link McCain all the time on LutherQuest (sic).

The same dogma lies behind the Left-wing dogma of Fuller Seminary and the pan-denominationalism of the mainline groups. All are desperate to look good, to spend the money on themselves, and to cover their shame with noble sounding words like outreach, mission, and reaching the lost.

The Church Growth thugs are the UOJ hoodlums. They may still pretend to be against Fuller's philosophy, at least when talking to certain people, but their dedication is the same. 

Double-justification is the fig leaf covering the real message of UOJ - everyone is forgiven and saved, even before birth. The more this idiocy is repeated, the greater the emphasis upon grace - they imagine. Naturally they expend their feeble talents on attacking faith at everyone opportunity while claiming, "We teach justification by faith."

Tis a shame that McCain and the Preus boys
cannot grasp the Book of Concord, which they use
as a rabbit's foot.

John Seifert replaced Robert Mueller as Michigan DP. Frosty Bivens called Mueller "the second most spineless DP in WELS." Bivens named Nitz as the most spineless. Seifert has distinguished himself by declaring war on the Intrepids and justification by faith while running interference for Church Growth. Bivens confessed his study of Church Growth at Fuller in front of the Midland circuit, but everyone has forgotten that, too - even Bivens. WELS is studiously senile about so many things - to forget and deny.

Jay Webber and the ELS got directly involved with Floyd Stolzenburg, who was kicked out of the LCMS and never became ELS or WELS, in that great gold-mining operation called the Ukraine. A lot of money disappeared before the Russians decided they wanted to run the show, aka, skim the cash flow. Right now Jay is probably on the phone now, directing his UOJ Stormtroopers to mess with ELDONA's theses on justification. I keep hearing a rumor about them but where are they? Of course - one must not take any risks when teaching Biblical, Lutheran doctrine. 

Paul McCain - where to start? He had just new/old posts up his tedious blog - on reading the Book of Concord - plus another copy and paste from the Catholic Encyclopedia. He is the perfect Harrison campaign manager - bragging about being Lutheran, attacking Lutheran doctrine, and kissing up to the papalists at every turn. I know ignorant bullies rise to the top in sagging old bureaucracies, but do people have to follow and parrot the same slogans?

The nominal Lutherans are dedicated to their worship of Mammon, so they hate God. Luther taught, there is no alternative to this conclusion, which is taught by the Savior Himself. We cannot serve two masters. If Mammon is adored and used as an excuse for every surrender, compromise, and cover-up, then God is hated and despised.

Got that? Me neither.

Luther - Second Sermon on God and Mammon - Trinity 15 - Matthew 6:24-34

5. God cannot allow us to have another Lord besides himself. He is a jealous God, as he says, and cannot suffer us to serve him and his enemy.

We find very few, who do not sin against the Gospel. The Lord passes a severe judgment and it is terrible to hear, that he should say this of us; and yet no one will confess, yea, no one will suffer it to be said that we hate and despise God, and that we are his enemies. There is no one, when asked if he loves God and cleaves to him, who would not reply: Dost thou take me to be such a desperate character as to be an enemy of God? But see how the text here closes, that we all hate and despise God, and love and cleave to mammon. For it is impossible that he, who loves gold and riches and cleaves to them, should not hate God. Christ here holds the two opposed to one another and as enemies, and says: If you love one of these two and cleave to the same, then you must hate and despise the other.

However well a man may live here upon the earth, if he clings to riches it cannot be otherwise than that he must hate God. And whoever does not trust in gold and worldly riches, loves God. This is certain. “Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For alter all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”

37. As I said at the beginning Christ delivered this sermon to his Christians, especially to those in the office of the ministry or to those who otherwise either had nothing or never could acquire and gather for themselves riches and mammon, as the rest of the world does; in order that they might know, from what source they could nourish and support themselves and their families. Yea, they are compelled to live in the danger of being robbed of the little earthly goods God gave them and thus they are without the least doubt compelled to live entirely upon the help that God sends them and they expect from him, since the world gives them nothing.

38. This is indeed painful to flesh and blood, and is very burdensome to them, yea, no one can bear or do it, unless he is a believing Christian. For the world is so disposed that it will not take the least risk in temporal matters for the future; but it must be sure of them, order beforehand and have in store and ready for use whatever it needs, as food, peace, protection and insurance, so that it can live and depend upon neither God nor the people; but as it is evident that the world enriches no one because of his faith and piety, they think they must act and live as others do, in order that they may nevertheless have also something.

39. Against this he herewith comforts and strengthens his Christians, and again repeats: They shall therefore not worry nor doubt nor wriggle in such unbelief, saying: Oh, what is to become of us? Who is going to give us anything? Where in this world are we Christians to get food, protection, peace? But they must know that their heavenly Father provides for this, and will also give it to them, he who for this very reason is called their Father (not the unbelievers’, although he feeds all the world, and gives everything), in order to show that he will also not leave his children, tie leads them into God’s high work of the whole creation, that they may see how he nourishes and supports all things which he creates, after having ordered and regulated each one, — also all the birds in the air, which, as you know, do not fret about their food nor know beforehand whither they shall take it. Aye, especially also the little flowers does he so deck and adorn that such beauty and finery might more fittingly be supplied elsewhere; for does it not seem quite useless, since they only bloom for perchance a day? Must he not therefore much more think and care for his Christians, how they may be fed and clad, and where they might dwell and stay as long as they have to live on earth?

40. This he admonishes them to believe; and to impress them most strongly with it, not by many but by earnest words, he suddenly breaks off after having held up to them the examples from daily life and God’s work among his Creatures; and closes with these words: Shall he not much more do such things for you, O ye of little faith? He wishes to say: Well, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves, if you are Christians and know that you have a Father in heaven, to let me do so much preaching about this! Yes, ashamed you ought to be, and not permit that such things be said of you.

But must I not say it, that ye are so small and have so little faith, and that ye so little confide without doubt and care in the living God, who gives you his Word and promise and has chosen you as his children — that he would nourish and support your body and life? How then Will ye stand without shame and disgrace, not alone before God but before all his creatures, if that is to be said of you, and you yourselves by your own confession must testify that you, having so plentifully God’s word and grace, so little trust him with caring for your miserable maggot-sack and stinking belly?

Lutherans are completely welded to Thrivent, too. I doubt whether any other denominations are controlled, managed, and manipulated by one commercial operation. I will have to create another Photoshop with the bowl of whipped cream (or shaving cream) being Thrivent. Hogs wallowing in mud would be more appropriate, because they do not even look guilty - they look happy and calm, like DPs on their annual vacation in the Caribbean. 

DP Ed Werner went to the Big House for molesting girls in his parish,
but that never happened.