Monday, March 14, 2016

This Needs To Be Read with the Post Below - Supporters of Adulterous Pastor Now Supporting Daniel Price, Adulterous Fake Minister

Read this post about Daniel Emery Price for the irony of Coral Ridge supporters switching to Price.

Is the Price Right? Is He Even a Pastor?

Daniel Emery Price fashions himself a pastor in this area, NW Arkansas.

Tullian Tchividjian, Chris Rosebrough, Daniel Emery Price
and 3 others. Twitter photo.

Entire post from Trent Demarest :

http://www.pseudepigraph.us/2016/03/10/daniel-emery-price-a-wolf-in-christs-pasture/

I mistakenly attributed the post to Chris Rosebrough, so readers should read this additional post, which explains more, from Trent.

Filling in some blanks

You may recall that in January of this year I posted a piece here entitled “From Christianity Today, 1995: ‘Should Adulterous Pastors Be Restored?'” In that piece I related the following information about my wife’s former “pastor”:

As some readers of this blog may know, my wife went to an “Independent Lutheran church” whose “pastor” (he was never ordained) ended up having an affair with a parishioner whom he had been counseling. This affair, as with so many like it, began with emotional entanglement and culminated in adultery. Thanks be to God, the fellow stepped down from his post and was taken back by his wife. And I wish that I could tell you that that’s more or less the denouement of the story— that he has long since accepted that he cannot be a pastor; that he has recognized that it would be improper for him to set himself up as a teacher; that he now quietly rejoices in Christ’s forgiveness while doing the hard and unglamorous work of mending his broken family; that he is living out his vocations of husband, father, and layman at a different church. Sadly, though, that is not the case. Quite the opposite— after a brief time-out, this fellow went on to manipulate the aftermath of his adultery so masterfully that he not only got himself reinstated in his post at the very same church in less than a year’s time, but throughout the course of it all— and by keeping the details of his disgrace rather vague— he became heir-apparent to a massive “radical grace” evangelical para-ministry…and then heir in fact and in deed when that para-ministry’s erstwhile leader confessed to adultery and stepped…slightly diagonally downward and to the left. (Make your own inferences regarding whether this is truly ironic or truly apropos.)

Oh, and he blackmailed the parishioner with whom he had committed adultery. An interesting coup de radical grace.

At the time of my writing the foregoing paragraphs, I had been given to understand that persons of some influence and standing in the Lutheran Church were going to be testifying publicly about this man’s actions before a certain date, such that there was no need for me to publicly say or write more than what I had already said and written.

I am very sad to say, though, that nothing of the sort happened, and so it turns out that my reticence, and that of others, was for naught. Indeed, I am now quite convinced that close to two years’ reticence on this matter has not only been for naught, but for evil. Since April of 2014, my silence on this matter, and that of others, has been costly. It has been wrong. I pray that God would forgive me for this error in judgment, and that He would forgive me if any of what I here write is spurred by a sinful desire for revenge rather than a desire for justice coram mundo. I am a sinner, so I know that this is unavoidable, in fact. Lord, have mercy.

The TL;DR version:

It really has come to this: I am availing myself of the civil freedom of the press in order to testify against this sick and evil man. Not because I want to— disbelieve this if you wish— but because at this point I have to.

I will freely acknowledge that ordinarily it would not be my job to be a whistleblower, because ordinarily (and God is a God of order, ordinances, and ordination) such depredation and wickedness as I have described is curtailed and dealt with by the episcopacy, i.e., by the paternal oversight and discipline of bishops, or by the presbytery, i.e., through fraternal admonition and discipline of brother pastors. But what we are dealing with here is a fundamentally disordered situation. We are so far beyond ordinary at this point that it’s almost comedic. Almost, but not quite. “Self-satire” would be an apt description.

The man whose ongoing wickedness and deception I alluded to in my alluded-to post is named Daniel Emery Price. You may have recently heard of Price, as his “Christ Hold Fast” para-ministry organization is growing in popularity, even moreso now in the wake of their recent conference, which featured clergy from the LCMS and other Lutheran churches.

Mark and avoid this man and all who associate with him. Laymen, warn your pastors; pastors, warn your parishioners. Do not be taken in by the “awww shucks, I’m just a humble flickering wick, I know what it means to be an outsider, we’re all just broken people, the haters just hate me because I preach grace” shtick. He will spin just the right amount of emo “I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!” melodrama, but only as much as will make him appear sympathetic and “on your level”, not so much that people will realize that he’s a monster.

For some time now Price and his toadies have been going around insisting that he has been “called back” to the congregation at which the scandal took place— Trinity NWA (that’s “Northwest Arkansas”, just to be clear). This claim is pure signaling and a deluded attempt to save face. Anyone with firsthand involvement in the scandal of the past two years will attest to this, as will any of the former members who have left this manipulative sociopath’s church.

Daniel Price never was, is not now, and (pray God) never will be a regularly called (rite vocatus) minister in any Lutheran synod. He is not a pastor. He is an impostor, a wolf in shepherd’s clothing, and a menace.

This, my friends, is why we have synods. It’s perhaps not often that you pray before going to bed, “thank you, God, for Lutheran synods.” But tonight, you may want to consider doing that very thing.

“After men begin to be ungodly, that is, do not fear God and do not believe God, but despise God, His Word, and His ministers, the result is that they fall from the true doctrine into heretical ideas, which they teach, defend, and adorn. Moreover, the world regards such sins as the height of piety; those who perpetrate them are praised as the only religious, godly, and righteous men, as the church and the children of God. Men are incapable of passing judgment on sins against the First Table. Afterwards those despisers of God fall into awful sins like adultery, theft, murder, and other sins that come under the Second Table.” — Blessed Martin Luther, Lectures on Genesis [6], LW/AE 2:7

What about the Eighth Commandment?

It will invariably be alleged (as it has been already) that blowing the whistle on Price constitutes breaking the eighth commandment. So let’s talk about that. First, let’s review what the Small Catechism says:

What is the Eighth Commandment?

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.

If we feel the need for additional exposition here, our first recourse is to the Large Catechism. Commenting on the Eighth Commandment in the Large Catechism, Dr. Luther writes the following:

Christ teaches: “But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” So he whom it concerns is always to be treated with personally, and not to be spoken of without his knowledge. But if that do not avail, then bring it publicly before the community, whether before the civil or the ecclesiastical tribunal. For then you do not stand alone, but you have those witnesses with you by whom you can convict the guilty one, relying on whom the judge can pronounce sentence and punish. This is the right and regular course for checking and reforming a wicked person. But if we gossip about another in all corners, and stir the filth, no one will be reformed, and afterwards when we are to stand up and bear witness, we deny having said so. Therefore it would serve such tongues right if their itch for slander were severely punished, as a warning to others. If you were acting for your neighbor’s reformation or from love of the truth, you would not sneak about secretly nor shun the day and the light. (LC I.279-283)

This is a sobering warning to and judgment upon those who gossip about the sins of others and meddle in private affairs which do not concern them. As something of an aside, it also betrays a significant difference between Luther’s day, when civil adjudication still recognized natural and divine law and enforced the Decalogue, and ours, in which the civil code is based on majoritarian social-contracts loosely moored to a “rights-based” ethical framework. In any case, what Luther goes on to say is often overlooked, yet it is of equal importance:

All this has been said regarding secret sins. 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. (op. cit., 284)

I daresay that one’s understanding of the Eighth Commandment— or of any locus of doctrine, for that matter— is not helped here by a minimalist gloss of Luther’s explanation in the Small Catechism. Put another way, any glosses on Luther’s explanations in the Small Catechism which functionally ignore, negate, or exclude what he teaches in the Large Catechism are actually erroneous. This seems to happen a lot with the eighth commandment. The Rev’d Jody Walter (LCMS) put it well some years ago in this blog post:

Over the last twenty plus years…I have heard one screed on the Eighth Commandment after the other. But what is always missed is that the commandment cuts both ways. We are to bear true witness. That means we are to call evil, well… evil. Sometimes the best construction we can legitimately put on something is to explain that is a public sin. The Eighth Commandment is given to protect people’s reputations from false attack. But it is also given so that we can warn God’s people when a wolf is in their midst. In the end what is most important is the truth. As St. Paul says, “Love… rejoices with the truth.” (I Corinthians 13:4-6 ) So any attempt to use the Eighth Commandment to suppress the truth turns the command into a cloak which covers evil— and is, ultimately, unloving. (emphases mine)

The matter at hand is sadly yet truly a case-in-point for all of this.

Adultery, blackmail, death-threats, & manipulation

The scandal which began— or at least became visible— in April of 2014 was not just that a pastor committed adultery with one of his parishioners. This is neither uncommon (sadly), nor newsworthy, nor the unforgivable sin. However, the issue with Price is by no meansjust that he committed adultery— though his adultery certainly disqualifies him from serving as a pastor. There’s quite a bit more to it, as I wrote earlier. Moreover, there are still more details which I did not disclose earlier which now bear mentioning, such as the fact that in the immediate aftermath of his adultery, Price threatened to kill one of the men who was (somewhat witlessly) trying to help the congregation, rocked as it was by everything that had just happened. And, again, six months after stepping down, Price blackmailed his victim, whom he had been “counseling” for over a year prior to their tryst.

My use of the term “victim” here is neither rhetorical nor political, but reflective of the legal reality, per Arkansas state law (Subchapter 1. General Provisions: § 5-14-126: “Sexual assault in the third degree”). Read and mark well the following:

(a) A person commits sexual assault in the third degree if the person:

(1) Engages in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual activity with another person who is not the actor’s spouse, and the actor is:

(A) Employed with the Department of Correction, Department of Community Correction, Department of Human Services, or any city or county jail, and the victim is in the custody of the Department of Correction, Department of Community Correction, Department of Human Services, or any city or county jail;

(B) Employed or contracted with or otherwise providing services, supplies, or supervision to an agency maintaining custody of inmates, detainees, or juveniles, and the victim is in the custody of the Department of Correction, Department of Community Correction, Department of Human Services, or any city or county jail; or

(C) A mandated reporter under § 12-18-402(b) or a member of the clergy and is in a position of trust or authority over the victim and uses the position of trust or authority to engage in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual activity; or

(2)(A) Being a minor, engages in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual activity with another person who is:

(i) Less than fourteen (14) years of age; and

(ii) Not the person’s spouse.

(B) It is an affirmative defense under this subdivision (a)(2) that the actor was not more than three (3) years older than the victim.

(b) It is no defense to a prosecution under this section that the victim consented to the conduct.

(c) Sexual assault in the third degree is a Class C felony.

Price’s sexual misconduct was not merely adulterous, but constituted third-degree sexual assault in the State of Arkansas. Read the bolded sections as many times as you need to until it clicks.

In these despondent times when public morality seems like it’s going down to the toilet, it’s easy to forget/it may surprise you to learn that much of what is immoral is in fact still illegal. In twenty-one states, adultery is a misdemeanor; in two, it is a felony. Now, such laws are unsurprisingly headed for the legal boneyard in many states, but it’s noteworthy that they’ve remained on the books for so long. So, too, across the world (q.v. this depressing article). Whether you think this is a good thing or a bad thing is beside the point. If Scripture is to be believed, God has ordained the powers of government and law-enforcement specifically so that evildoers would not be able to prosper in their wickedness and do harm with impunity.

“True Repentance”: Methinks thou dost protest too much

“Christ often connects the promise of the remission of sins to good works, not because He means that good works are a propitiation, for they follow reconciliation; but for two reasons. One is because good fruits must necessarily follow. Therefore He reminds us that if good fruits do not follow, the repentance is hypocritical and feigned.“ — Apology of the Augsburg Confession, V [IV II].154

Quite apart from any civil ramifications which the fall of a pastor (or a “pastor”) may have, the matter becomes necessarily morepublic if and when he shows himself to be recalcitrant. If it is essential that leniency, patience, and tight lips prevail up until this point— and it is— then it is all the more essential that firmness and frank testimony take over once it is is reached (see Pr. Walter’s point, above; if you don’t think that such a point ever arrives, then, again, you are part of the problem.)

Note the time stamps. Extended break of three days, after which time the “I’m basically Peter” mentality has already begun to germinate.The rest, as they say, is history.

So it is with Daniel Price. After commuting his own brief, self-assigned time-out— ah, how wonderful it is to be a one-man synod!— he took to the internet with an eerie new gestalt, plying the mystified ignorance of his social media followers concerning his adultery, blackmail, and general sociopathy, and slowly but surely romanticizing himself as an apostle of “radical grace.” Some three months after his adultery, he victoriously announced on Twitter that he was “going rogue”, giving voice to his imagined special anointing (my words) to “lead an evangelical exodus” (his words). Predictably, his theology grew steadily more perverse— or, as he would and does say, “Lutheran.” His identification as an “Independent Lutheran”, would be laughable were it not for the evil circumstances, as it is simply an attempt to make valiance out of necessity, i.e., it’s a euphemism for “no synod would ever ordain me, because I’m a sociopath.” It’s right up there in the “you can’t fire me; I quit” category of face-saving bravados.

The Gospel for some of the people broken by the Church, but not for anyone whose faith I’ve personally crushed

So now we come to today. Price is not only now back in his post as “pastor” of Trinity NWA, but he now heads “Christ Hold Fast”, a para-ministry organization he started in January of 2015 which is the continuation of Tullian Tchividjian’s “Liberate” network. The irony hardly needs to be pointed out: Price availed himself of the widespread public ignorance of his own adultery— to say nothing of his threats of murder and his blackmail— in order to step into Tchividjian’s shoes after the latter stepped down…because of adultery. Talk about a dance of the lemons.

Other than the time when circumstances forced him to name his sin— i.e., in April of 2014, when he announced to his congregation what he had done and stepped down— Price has never publicly confessed to his adultery. In this matter, even Tchividjian excels him in integrity, however marginally.

Even among those who know of Price’s adultery, though, there is generally widespread ignorance or denial of the facts of his sociopathic behavior. That, or people just don’t care because “all is grace.” I’ve had people who literally know nothing about the situation other than what they heard twelfth-hand on Facebook assure me, a man whose wife’s best friend was Price’s victim, that Price’s fall was a “moment of weakness.” If you have found yourself repeating this rumor, stop now. You know nothing, and you’re enabling a predator. Turn off the Bright Eyes and go smack some sense into yourself. Price groomed his victim for a year, promised her that he’d leave his wife and child for her, etc. That’s not a moment of weakness. That’s predation, manipulation, abuse of a position of trust, etc. After that, jilted blackmail is just the cherry on top.

What about the members whose trust Price betrayed, who left his church in the aftermath of the scandal as he began to show his true colors? I can’t think of many people who have been more “broken by the Church” than they. But no one even mentions them. Price’s toadies at Christ Hold Fast, his newfound followers and fans— none of them know or care about the former parishioners who were devastated by his misdeeds. By all appearances they’re just collateral damage. If they (or anyone else who knows the full story) object to Price’s triumphant return, if they decry his new gig as “Lutheran” para-minister, if they in any way blow the whistle on him— then they’re ignored, discredited, and rebuked as “legalists.” How dare they say such mean and nasty things about this wonderful boy! Plug his ears to those meanie haters, and give him some fudge and a speaking gig, before he throws a subtweet tantrum— because, believe me, he will.

Understand this: Daniel Price insists that anyone who thinks he’s in the wrong is a legalist. Anyone who suggests that his actions are not in keeping with the repentance simply “doesn’t understand the Gospel.” He says he’s the champion of people who have been “broken by the Church” (a line he got from Rod Rosenbladt). This is a load of crap. He’s the champion of people who think he’s awesome. He is most certainly not “for” anyone whose lives and faith have been broken by his own actions.

Ego-tripping as ministry-model

“[T]he acts of injustice that cause the greatest spiritual damage come from the abuse of power by parents, husbands, employers, leaders, and pastors (Matt 18:6-9 ; Luke 17:1-3 ). Those who hold these positions represent God in them. So their abuse of power is the abuse of their God-given authority which does great spiritual damage to those who are hurt by it.” — the Rev’d Dr. John Kleinig

The convictions of the self-anointed arise as fever dreams in sick minds, not as sane ratiocinations in healthy ones. But the insane do not think that they are insane; really, it’s everybody else who’s got the problem. The vindication of the ego is just that important. All must bow before it. Or as some have said…

Yes. Indeed it does. Regardless of whether the heart of your piety takes the form of praying the daily office or the form of superimposing “radical grace” slogans in stencil-fonts over selfies. The point is, though, that men like Price are convinced that the Church needs them. They’re convinced that their absence from the General Effort would ensure its demise. They’re convinced that they have some indelible anointing. Would it surprise you to learn that Price is a former Pentecostal? It shouldn’t. Indeed, it would seem that “former” is the wrong modifier. Over the past two years, the devil and fleshly-minded fools have turned what began as a tragedy at a small church in northwest Arkansas into a foul scandal and a true evil, all because one megalomaniac refused to accept the consequences of his sin and lead a quiet life away from the public eye.

But why should he have had to do that? This is America, folks. You can be whoever and whatever you want to be. If you drink enough Tang, you can be an astronaut. If enough people think you’re good at Bible, you can be a pastor. (A slight step up is when you and Tom decide that Dick is a pastor, so now he is one.) There are infinite second chances, and consequences and limitations are illusory. Follow your dreams, and don’t take “no” for an answer if it’s not the answer that
~~you want~~ the Holy Spirit wants. If you decide that you have an extra-ordinary anointing to preach and administer the sacraments, then who’s to say otherwise? If you want to start a church— in the congregational or synodal sense of that term— then that’s fine. And if you want to stay a pastor after sleeping with one of the young ladies in your congregation and then blackmailing her, that’s also fine— as long as you “do confession and absolution” before you get back on the horn. To the best rebranding campaign go the spoils, insured by the eighth-commandment gag-rule. It’s all “for the sake of the Gospel.”

No, I don’t think so.

Moreover, avoiding any sort of ecclesial arrangement that would entail accountability and discipline does not make one untouchable. At various points in my life I have personally witnessed how much evil is enabled by cowardly games of quietist hot-potato, how the abused are more or less kicked to the curb and ignored— yes, and even threatened so that the self-anointed can stay on-message. To say that this is unacceptable, even to say that it’s un-Christian, is the height of understatement. It is the inverse of Christian, actually; it is Satanic, evincing the work of the devil, not of Christ (cf. John 6:44

Conclusion

The time for dovelike innocence regarding Daniel Emery Price is far, far past. It is time for all Lutherans and all Christians of goodwill to adopt the shrewdness of serpents and give no quarter to this insidious false teacher and those who collude with him. By his demonstrated impenitence, his threats of violence, his blackmail, and his two years of megalomania and deception, Price has in indeed asked to be treated like a “heathen and a tax-collector.” Mark well the words of St. Paul: “I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler— not even to eat with such a one” (1 Co 5:11

You, Christian, have a vocation today to speak truth with your neighbor so that the name of Christ might not be blasphemed among the nations.

You, Lutheran, have a vocation today to defend the reputation of our beloved Church of the Augsburg Confession, the name of which is daily dragged through the gutter of Gospel-platitudes by pastrixes and anti-pastors, self-sent false sons and confused girls playing dress-up who arrogate to themselves the prerogatives of the ordained at the behest of their cults of personality.

You have a vocation to combat all of this with whatever bit of wit, knowledge, and skill you can muster, in accordance with the measure of what you know. And now you know more. Give no audience, no credence, and no fellowship to the swindler, Daniel Emery Price. Only pray for his repentance, and pray that justice would prevail in earthly matters.

“In civil life obedience to the law is severely required. In civil life Gospel, conscience, grace, remission of sins, Christ Himself, do not count, but only Moses with the lawbooks.” — Blessed Martin Luther, Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians [2:14], LW 26

Coming Soon - Maybe Today - The Introduction to Creation Gardening -
And a New Hitler Video

I will post each chapter without art as it is written. Norma Boeckler has graciously volunteer to help with the artwork. The cover is her work.

Ordering books and sending them, lining up new and old works for Create Space, Amazon, Kindle.

Someone thought the Higher Things dust-up deserved a Hitler video, so I will try to script it later today. Or tomorrow. I am working on my epic three-volume tome - Procrastination.

Rumor - an anti-UOJ sermon
in WELS, somewhere.

Star of Bethlehem, New Berlin, WELS - What Insurance Product Would Jesus Buy?

http://www.starofbethlehem.org/site/cpage.asp?cpage_id=140043680&sec_id=140007275

Star of Bethlehem Lutheran Church & School at 3700 S Casper Dr, New Berlin, WI.

9th ANNUAL STAR BOWLING AUCTION

Thrivent Information

Thivent Choice

This program gives members dollars to designate to Star of Bethlehem.
CLICK HERE for more information on what it is.

Direct these dollars - BY PHONE

Step 1 - Call 800-847-4836 and when prompted, say "Thrivent Choice."

Step 2 - Press 1 to direct Choice Dollars. A representative will work with you to direct
your Choice Dollars to Star of Bethlehem.

Direct these dollars - ONLINE

Step 1 - Register for an online account. CLICK HERE for step by step instructions.

Step 2 - Direct your choice dollars to Star of Bethlehem Church or School.
CLICK HERE for step by step instructions.

Thivent Action Teams

This program gives members dollars to use towards a project or activity at Star.
CLICK HERE for more information on what it is and who qualifies.

Step 1 - Register for an online account. CLICK HERE for step by step instructions.

Step 2 - Apply for an Action Team. CLICK HERE for step by step instructions.

Step 3 - Host your Action Team. CLICK HERE for examples of projects. HAVE FUN!!!

Step 4 - Report your event. CLICK HERE for step by step instructions.

If you would like assistance anywhere along the way,

please contact Thrivent at 800-847-4836 and say "fraternal"
or just contact Tim Mueller at 262-786-2901
or tmueller@starofbethlehem.org.
He would be more than happy to assist you.

***

GJ - By signing up for these programs, church members make sure Thrivent has all their data for prospecting.

The larger the congregation, the better the list for warm calling.

"Hi, I 'm Buzz Krautwurst, your Thrivent agent and a member of WELS. I would like to show you how to help your congregation and protect your wife Brunhilda and your dear children against anything happening to you, God forbid."

The larger the congregation, the more willing it is to sell itself for a few bucks. Thrivent flings its money (your money) at all kinds of secular and unionistic projects.

Belfort - The Wolf of Wall Street.
This drug addict and financial fraud criminal was a
featured speaker for Thrivent.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Judica Sunday, Fifth Sunday in Lent.
Daylight Savings Start

Judica Sunday, The Fifth Sunday in Lent, 2016

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Savings Time

The Hymn #12 This Day at Thy Creating Word

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 #40 The God of Abram Praise

He Who Belongs to God Hears His Word

The Communion Hymn 311 Jesus Christ Our Blessed Savior - Huss

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 #410 Jesus Lead Thou On

KJV Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

KJV John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. 48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? 49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. 51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? 54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Exodus 3:2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.

Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ, we thank Thee, that of Thine infinite mercy Thou hast instituted this Thy sacrament, in which we eat Thy body and drink Thy blood: Grant us, we beseech Thee, by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not receive this gift unworthily, but that we may confess our sins, remember Thine agony and death, believe the forgiveness of sin, and day by day grow in faith and love, until we obtain eternal salvation through Thee, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

He Who Belongs to God Hears His Word

KJV John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

Unfortunately, our English language does not grasp the matter being discussed here. Some background is especially important here. Luke and Mark are Gospels for the Gentiles. Matthew and John are especially focused on Old Testament precedents.

John's Gospel could be called a commentary on Moses and the Exodus. Moses is introduced in the Logos Hymn of John 1. Moses and the Exodus are also featured in John 3. The unique Jesus I AM sermons in John are all references to this passage in Exodus 3. Using the pronoun I makes this emphatic in Greek, since the pronoun is already in the verb ending.

I AM:

John 6: 35, 48 I am the bread of life
John 8: 12, 9:5 I am the light of the world
John 8: 58 Before Abraham was, I am
John 10:9 I am the door
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd
John 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life John
14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life
John 15:1 I am the true vine

Also, when Jesus says concisely, "I AM," He is not saying, "It's me," as we say in slang English, but "I AM God." When He was arrested and said, "I AM" the soldiers fell down twice. The context shows His answer was divine, not "It's me."

We are starting at the ending of this Gospel lesson. Jesus is the I AM, God speaking to Moses from the Burning Bush. He has the Two Natures of the Burning Bush, which appeared to burn and yet remained whole. Reformation Lutherans considered Jesus to be the Angel of the Lord and the Burning Bush to be symbolic of the Two Natures in Him.

Therefore, these opening verses are spoken as God. The battle between faith and works is this in the simplest terms. One is either righteous through faith in Him or righteous through various kinds of works. Faith in Him enrages those who do not belong to God but carry on piously because of their works. The Pharisees of the Bible and today cannot bear the Word of Jesus because these opponents do not belong to God. The more Jesus speaks, the angrier they become.

Luther:

1. This Gospel teaches how hardened persons become the more furious, the more one teaches them and lovingly stirs them to do their duty. For Christ asks them here in a very loving way for a reason why they still disbelieve, since they can find fault neither with his life nor with his teaching. His life is blameless; for he defies them and says: “Which of you convicteth me of sin?” His teaching also is blameless; for he adds: “If I say truth, why do ye not believe me?” Thus Christ lives, as he teaches.

48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?

When I quoted from Romans 4:24, a pastor-friend said, "Get away from me, devil." He was unable to accept Romans 4:24-25 as written. He had to recast it his way, which is the opposite of the sentence, the chapter, the book, and the Bible.

The opponents not only dismissed Jesus as an alien, a Samaritan, but also as a devil. This reference helps explain Jesus being the Good Samaritan - dismissed as the enemy in John, but clearly Jesus in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. (Of all parables, this Good Samaritan Parable is turned upside-down by the liberals, from one about the Means of Grace, into a tirade about salvation by good works.

49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. 51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.

The Father-Son relationship is taught throughout John's Gospel by Jesus Himself. The audience is listening to God directly, and their response is to dishonor God by dishonoring Jesus. Those who dishonor the Word of God are judged by Him. Although the Bible always reveals God as gracious and forgiving, that does not cancel His response to those rejecting, belittling, and dishonoring His Word, which conveys His beloved Son to us.

The Word says, "Here is My beloved Son. Believe in Him completely, and He will give peace, forgiveness, grace, and an abundant life." Rejecting the Word means rejecting Christ, not matter how many perfumed phrases are used to do that. Distorting the Word means distotring the message of grace and keeping people from hearing God's grace and mercy as they should.

52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.

Luther:

9. And from this we may well understand what Christ meant by the word “keep;” it does not refer to such keeping as one keeps the law by good works; for this word of Christ must be kept in the heart by faith and not with the fist or by good works, as the Jews in this case understand it; they fearfully rage against Christ, that Abraham and the prophets are dead; they know nothing of what it is “to keep,” “to die” or “to live.” And it is not called “to keep” in vain; for there is a conflict and battle when sin bites, death presses and hell faces us; then we are to be in earnest in holding firmly to the Word and let nothing separate us from it. Thus see now how Christ answers the Jews and praises his own teachings. You say, my Word is of the devil and wish to sink it to the bottom of perdition; on the contrary I say to you that it has divine power in it, and I exalt it higher than the heaven of heavens, and above all creatures.

The truth of the Word proves to opponents that the speaker of the truth is the worst possible creature on earth. What Jesus is revealing to them should have them falling down to worship Him. Instead, they agree that His words condemn Him as demon possessed.

This is important to remember, because we are always dismayed by the hostile, vindictive assaults and revenge of religious leaders. The Pharisees were religious leaders, so they are no different than Lutherans attacking Lutherans in the name of "confessional Lutheranism," which they cannot articulate.

Some respond, "No, Pieper said..." Yes, Pieper said, but Pieper is not Luther.

Others respond, "But the synod has voted on this already." So has God, and His vote is final.

Still others, "This proves why we must censor you, silence you, and give you all the names you have earned for yourself by disagreeing."

They feel weak in the face of God's Word, so they stir up allies to help them in their cause, as if 100 chihuahuas together could defeat something "sharper than any two-edged sword."

When St. Stephan was being stoned to death, and he spoke first, in Acts, the religious covered their ears and screamed at the same time. The truth is that painful to those in error.

53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? 54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

Those who want to strengthen their knowledge of justification by faith should study Father Abraham, a crucial figure in the Old Testament and New Testament. No one can divorce Abraham from justification by faith, because he is symbolic of this doctrine in Romans, Galatians, and here too.

As Paul taught, being literal children of Abraham has no value. Children by flesh are not true children of Abraham. The true children are those who believe in Christ and are counted righteous - forgiven.

These words from Jesus seem harsh, but they are really gracious warnings. They were effective. Many believed and others became even angrier.

As mentioned many times before, Luther did not discover the Gospel. He pointed out - if this is the Gospel from the Scriptures, then the papacy is entirely wrong. He was speaking about the entire visible church of his culture, his time. How could he do this? Only because the Word has more authority than all the popes combined.

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

13. Likewise Christ also says here in replying to the Jews, that Abraham and the prophets still live and they never died, but have life in the midst of death; they however only lie and sleep in death. For “Abraham,” he says, “rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad.” Thus, the prophets also saw it. Where and when did Abraham see it? Not with his bodily eyes, as the Jews interpret it, but with the sight of faith in the heart; that is, he recognized Christ when he was told in Genesis 22:18: “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Then he saw and understood that Christ, born of his seed through a pure virgin, so as not to be cursed with Adam’s children but to remain blessed, should suffer for the whole world, cause this to be preached, and thus overwhelm the whole world with blessing etc. This is the day of Christ, the dispensation of the Gospel, that is the light of this day, which radiates from Christ as from the sun of righteousness, and shines and enlightens the whole world. This is a spiritual day, yet it arose at the time Christ was on the earth in the flesh, a day like Abraham saw. But the Jews understood nothing about such a day because of their carnal minds, and hence they reviled Christ as a liar.
14. Therefore Christ proceeds farther and gives the ground and reason why it is just his Word and not the word of anyone else, that giveth life, and says it is because he was before Abraham, or in other words, because he was the one true God. For if the person who offered himself as a sacrifice for us were not God, it would not help or avail anything, even if he were born of the Virgin Mary and suffered a thousand deaths. But the fact that the Seed of Abraham, who gave himself for us, is also true God, secures blessing and victory for all sinners. Therefore Christ speaks, not of his human nature that they saw and experienced; for they could easily see he was not yet fifty years of age, and did not live before Abraham. But with that nature by which he existed long before the time of Abraham, by which he existed also before all creatures and before the whole world. Just as he was man according to his spiritual nature before Abraham, that is. in his Word and in the knowledge of faith was he in the saints; for they all knew and believed that Christ, as God and man, should suffer for us, as is written in Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yea and for ever;” and in the Revelation of John, 13:8: “The Lamb of God that hath been slain from the foundation of the world.” Yet now he is speaking here especially of his divine nature.

Only faith can comprehend these words - Before Abraham was, I AM. The Holy Spirit gives us this faith through the Word. God gives us all manner of ways to keep this Word and remain faithful.