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| The Votum - was the traditional ending of the Gospel sermon, not a coaching session, not a fix-it talk. |
From Vernon Knepprath:
I think I finally have a more complete understanding of UOJ and
its effects. Your posts helped me considerably with that
understanding. I saw the changes going on under my nose. I knew
Lutheran theology (or so I thought) and pushed back as effectively as I
could. But I couldn't for the life of me understand why the changes
were being driven with such vehemence. It was a long process to reach
an understanding, but now it seems very clear.
If
everyone is forgiven, then the church can, no, it must be re-defined.
It seems the Lutheran leadership advocating these changes would have us
believe that the Christian church is no longer for believers. The
church must be changed to fit the desires of everyone, and the desires
of unbelievers must clearly trump the desires of believers. One must
allow the worship of self to "hook" the unbelievers. So the theory
goes. But who is really being "hooked"? The liturgy no longer matters,
because the liturgy was only important; it only had significance
for believers. The liturgy means nothing to unbelievers since they are
not beneficiaries of the work of the Holy Spirit. So toss the liturgy,
and hopefully the toss carries it far enough to be sight unseen.
This
idea that man knows best is pervasive ... but it always has been. The
Lutheran church is repeating the history spelled out so clearly in
Scripture that it chooses to ignore. Rejection of Truth is ALWAYS a
matter of choice. This is the nature of sin, and the evil that comes
with it.
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| When we say the Apostles Creed, we are joining with the saints of all ages in confessing the truth of the Scriptures. |
