A Little Salt - And the World Comes to Walmart

Mike Phelps is famous for his pre-competition scowl.

When Team Jackson has a BBQ, several traditions are honored. One is the Admonition To Avoid Burning the Bacon. Grandson Alex delivers that warning each time, sometimes with great emotion, simply because I burnt the bacon to ashes one (1) time. I asked him, "Why do you protect the bacon with such energy?" He said, "Because bacon is life." We bought him bacon band-aids, which he enjoys using.

He also likes to salt his own selection of meat. He uses generous amounts of salt and tosses some over his shoulder each time. His sister, now almost done with college, asked why he did that. "The Jewish people tossed salt over their shoulders for luck."

Josephine smiled and said, "I think they counted on more than salt for luck."

Latest Saturday Morning Meeting

We have so much fun getting together. I drove LI to the latest Walmart meeting. Mike Phelps spoke about saving water when brushing our teeth! I was thinking, "What about swimming pools, Mike?"

Rod Rosenstein and Rachel Brand in DC. She joined Walmart recently and interviewed Rob Lowe at the latest WM meeting. Rod's and Rachel's names may be mentioned again in the next few weeks: FISA.

 Rob Lowe maintained his smirky look while Brand interviewed him deadpan. She said, "You're looking good," and the audience began laughing about her termporary thaw and adlib.

We still laugh at the pastor from the Alcoholism Capital of America (Appleton) calling this area - Podunkville - in his fake blog. The whole world comes here, so we just sit in the 4,000 seat auditorium (usually the second row) and watch.

"Wie die Armen muessen leiden, Ja?"
"Ja."

From 2016 - Some Significant Church Historians. PS - Metaxas

James Hastings Nichols - History of Christianity - free copy:
Church Historian, Academic Dean, Princeton University
student of Roland Bainton.

We visited Princeton in 1972, in time to enjoy hurricane weather. The New Jersey town was beautiful enough to be a museum by itself, and the campus was very attractive from the outside. Many buildings had that dank, crumbling atmosphere that comes with the Ivy League.

I was directed to the office of James Hastings Nichols. A request for a great church history book reminded me of this. He was required reading in the field, the editor of the journal Church History, and the academic dean. He was very kindly, always assuming I would be accepted - Never "if you come here," but "When you come here..."

The Princeton staff was warm and welcoming, always bragging about professors who had Yale degrees. I thought, "Maybe I should start there." Strangely enough, I did.

Roland Bainton was on the divinity campus often and lectured for special occasions, the year we arrived in the Fall of 1972. In the 1980s he offered to xerox some pages from his book on Yale, to help me with my dissertation at Notre Dame.

Bainton was famous for the telling details in his books and lectures. While others bore us to death with enormous studies that never omit a single detail from their research, Bainton would offer a narrative that combined understanding with a picture. His study of 20 languages showed that learning a new language was no barrier to his research.

Nichols showed that narrative ability, mentioning in his textbook that the first slave ship to land in America was named Jesus.

George Hunsinger, Princeton, 
exposed the Marxist sympathies of Karl Barth.

Speaking of Princeton, one of their current professors is George Hunsinger, whom we met at Yale when he was a graduate student and his wife was at the Yale Medical Library - where I worked.

He was in our apartment, telling us stories about their experiences in Germany. He wrote a book that every admirer of Barth and Fuller Seminary should read.

Karl Barth and Radical Politics shows how the "red pastor of Safenwill" worked with the Communists to spread their propaganda.

I know Evangelicals who explode like the Fourth of July - or more appropriately, like Guy Fawkes Day - when I mention Barth's extreme apostasy and love for Marxism.

Barth is responsible for Fuller Seminary's abandonment of their inerrancy stance (which was pretty weak to begin with) and remains their official and beloved theologian.

Another study of Barth, buried in my library at the moment, describes his enormous insecurity at becoming a theology professor without any graduate study. His able-bodied mistress - Charlotte Kirschbaum - prepared the research for him and likely wrote most of his Dogmatics (as claimed by Frank Fiorenza, former president of the Barth Society, my professor at ND, now at Harvard).

But this is yet another important detail about Barth, which supports the idea of Kirschbaum writing most of his famous work (the fine print) with the professor writing only the outline (the large print).
Barth had graduate students and associates look over this drafts. Some added lengthy clarifications, which Barth simply copied into the final draft without attribution.

Fuller seems to have spawned a whole generation of plagiarizing apostates like Barth. WELS has made plagiarism a virtue, practiced with this motto - "Why re-invent the wheel?" They have group sermons they copy from a private server and steal Craig Groeschel material, slogans, and graphics without attribution, as shown by the Appleton Alcoholics.

 Eric Metaxas, Yale graduate, wrote a fine study of Martin Luther, which is selling very well. Most of the Christian world appreciates Luther more than the Lutherans do.

 By their own admission - No.
They are Halle Pietists who despise Luther's Biblical doctrine.

Butterfly Garden - New Addition. Mailman - "Best Roses I Ever Grew After Reading Your Creation Gardening Book!"

Ruby Spice Clethra - Summersweet.
 

When we dug up one Big Leafy Weed (Hidden Lily), we had an empty space to fill. I looked at various options locally and those on sale at Springhill (no shipping!). The free shipping had me hypnotized because that opened up the options without adding a big cost.

I concluded - this is for the butterfly garden, which is stocked with the best butterfly plants and a prize mega-comfrey plant - always in bloom, always a haven for pollinators. The Summersweets have already impressed me in the main rose garden, because I catch their Cinnabon aroma all the time. One more in the bee and butterfly garden would make our yard a Butterfly Destination.

Mrs. Ichabod asked, "How will you know when it has become a destination for butterflies?" I said, "When I go out for the mail and I am covered with butterflies showing their gratitude."

Books by Norma A. Boeckler

Mailman's Roses - Courtesy Creation Gardening

I was making adjustments in watering the rose garden when the mailman stopped and got out of his mini-truck. He commented about our October drought and added, "I now have the best roses ever, thanks to your book. I convinced my wife we needed to prune and now they are beautiful!"

Earlier I gave him two copies of Creation Gardening. His adult daugher was allowed to borrow one from him, if she gave it back.

Herman Otten complains about his UOJ seminary - Concordia, St. Louis - not teaching Biblical Creation. Creation Gardening is my third, but not last, Creation book. I am being shun-banned by Otten because I teach Justification by Faith, as the Holy Spirit does in the Scriptures - even Paul does. But what is the witness of the Holy Spirit compared to the ravings of CFW, Bishop Stephan's pimp and enabler?

Otten's supporters all teach Justification without Faith, so why does he complain about the natural results of rationalistic Halle Pietism? Howes, one of his UOJists wrote about Election in the Formula of Concord, with an icon of CFW Walther on the cover. Even John Sparky Brenner has to admit that Walther's Election without Grace is just another part of Justification without Faith.

LCMS co-produced this Book of Concord with ELCA's Timothy Wengert, one of their premier gay activists.

 The Missouri sect only has problems with Justification by Faith. 
Everything else is A-OK!

Test - Sending the Sermon as a Blind Carbon Copy - Went Fine

I sent the previous sermon around as a blind carbon copy, our older email list with a number of updates. If you did not get it and want to be on the list, let me know - greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com

All three email accounts come in on the same line now, so I am not concerned which one you use. If I get spam, I mark it as junk and it gets deleted automatically.

I appreciate all the interest and appreciation. To Luther, the sermon was everything. The Large Catechism is derived from his sermons.

Universal Objective Justification Is the Big Lie - A Baker's Dozen from the Donut Heir

 Let's just forget about the Means of Grace and teach Enthusiasm. That would make it so much easier to study at the Great Cloaca, Fuller Seminary.

The post on ecclesiastic liars only indicates the vast monument to deceit exemplified by

• Universal Objective Justification
• The Justification of the Word
• Objective Justification
• World Absolution
• General Justification

They are the five common names given to the concept that God has declared the entire unbelieving world "righteous" and "saved." Some of the more timid liars quail at "saved" and certainly shy away from "unbelieving," but that is what they teach with their bed-fellows, the blind leading the blind while picking their pockets.

How does UOJ deceive? Let me count the ways. UOJ is:

1. Taught by St. Paul in Romans, never mind Romans 4:24 or 5:1.
2. Embraced by Luther, in spite of the Reformation being known for Justification by Faith, a phrase they avoid using.
3. Not the same as the Atonement but conveniently associated with the Atonement to fool the hoi polloi.
4. Ancient, though found only in the Calvinist Huber and in Pietism, which was soft on correct doctrine and Calvinistish.
5. Explained as OJ and SJ by the Calvinist Woods in translating the Halle Pietist Knapp.
6. Known for absolving the world at the cross, or maybe at the empty tomb, maybe even by the angels at the birth of Christ. Please nail down the Moment of World Absolution for us.
7. Proof of Lutheran Orthodoxy, though found in a similar form among the Calvinists and the Adventists. The Adventists use the same language - are they orthodox Lutherans?
8. Everyone is born justified (Edward Preuss, quoted with approval by Bob Preus, Jack Cascione, and Paul McCain), so why do we baptize infants...or anyone?
9. Everyone is a guilt-free saint, especially unbelievers, even if residing in Hell for eternity.
10. According to that great WELS theologian, JP Meyer, everyone is forgiven back to Adam and Eve, so why do we need the Word and Sacraments? Or Evangelism? Or Mission? 
11. So much is said about the differences between the Lutheran sects, but they all agree about UOJ, and they agree with ELCA.
12. When the Lutheran leaders say "Justification," they mean Universalism. Karl Barth and his mistress Charlotte Kirschbaum are smiling guilt-free saints in Hell - they taught that too.
13. Zarling, Bivens, and others claim their UOJ is the Chief Article when the Book of Concord specifically names Justification by Faith as that Chief Article.

Decades of Experience with Ecclesiastical Liars

 Nobody in LCMS-ELS-WELS went to Fulller Seminary.
You can take that to the bank...of kudzu vine.

The Senate confirmation hearing had many people talking about "credible testimony." The nastiness and blatant dishonesty reminded me of how the "conservative" sects operate with their scripted meetings and mimeographed lies.

"Nothing Happened"
For example, a convenient denial is "nothing happened." When something happened and that claim is made, I simply dismiss the individual as a liar. I am talking about ordained Lutheran pastors with something to lose - at least from their perspective. Another clue is hearing more than one person make the same claim verbatim.

One district official (Schroer) said, "I kept the notes from the last meeting, and there is nothing about that in the notes!" He registered surprise with a certain amount of drama, which was too clever. A lot of people already knew about that detail, and they reminded the liar.

 Watch for letters or whispers that say, "X is dividing, perhaps even destroying our sect! This must be stopped. Prayers needed."

Sanctimony
Nothing gives the plot away faster than a solemn, angry, tone of voice that drips with holier-than-thou accusations. The innocent will respond instinctively with a submissive attitude and a fear than he or she has horribly wronged someone - or worse - Holy Mother Sect.

When I gave a presentation that included Paul Calvin Kelm supporting the Kent Hunter Church Growth program on "relationship evangelism," Bivens stood up to protect Kelm "against violations of the Eighth Commandment." Note that he was slandering me in the process. "Do you have a copy of that  brochure?" Bivens demanded, implying that I made it up. I did and gave it to the Northern Conference to read. Next Bivens said, "But did Kelm give permission to be quoted?" Another false foul called. Later I asked Hunter (DMin Fuller) who said, "I asked for Kelm's endorsement and he gave it."

 Her dad said, "There is no Church Growth in WELS."

 Telling the same lie all the time is difficult, even for professional liars.

Amnesia Denials
Most people have witnessed public officials not remembering key details but also pretending to know everything. Future DP John Seifert could not remember Frosty Bivens bragging about going to Fuller Seminary - twice! If that seems bad, though Frosty bragged about it in front of the Midland circuit, Bivens himself forgot and always denied gong to Fuller. Valleskey also forgot going there when I asked him, though his look was fearful. Later, when Koenig asked him, Valleskey remembered going to Fuller, so I imagine the right person has to ask at the right time.

These clergy who lie about important facts are obviously untrustworthy enablers of false doctrine.

Flattery
We have no less an expert than St. Paul warning us to be wary of false teachers who flatter.

Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

They are impressed with someone's earnestness and energy, but caution that it is used the wrong way against innocent people. DP Mueller said, "Your zeal is alienating your brothers." 

Duper's Delight
When people lie, they often give away their deceit by a little grin. Experts call it Duper's Delight. The furrowed brow of sanctimony and the Duper's Delight grin are part of the package. Everyone has a "tell," a sign of what is really going on.

Liars Lie Together
I laugh when I see prominent deceivers photographed together. They remind me of my father's saying, "There is no greater love than the love of one drunk for another." The same can be said for liars. They instinctively know they need their hoaxes to be propped up by other hoaxers. That is why the UOJists are tighter than army ants with each other. Alone, they die. Together, they destroy - and that is ever so much more fun.

Ye Shall Know the Truth, and Thy Cork Shall Pop
Nothing signals truth faster than clergy losing control and raving in anger. Little truths make them angry and they retain control of their little tempers. The big picture, as Mischke liked to say, is different.

When I gave the last chapter of Liberalism: Its Cause and Cure, Oelhafen and Adrian went nuts raving together, standing, shouting. The most coherent part was, "We went to Fuller but that does not mean we believe their false doctrine." (words to that effect) A reasonable sober Kovaciny threw my paper and in falsetto rage called it "crap." I did not have a last chapter for Liberalism at that point. My response was - I have found the last chapter - The Cure.


I submitted the manuscript to Northwestern Publishing House. Valleskey and others did their best to kill it (as they did Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant). Liberalism sold like crazy for a NPH book. CLP also sold well independently through Christian News.

The Future - Public Domain
As readers might conclude, there has been a massive attempt to silence books about Lutheran doctrine and how the synods oppose it fang and claw.

I am working toward making all digital copies available free to save and distribute, the printed copies and Kindle at the lowest price possible.

 Aren't you glad WELS-ELS-LCMS and micro-minis are protecting you from the predatory ELCA leaders? ELCA goes to Fuller! ELCA teaches UOJ - oh noes. ELCA works with Mark and Avoid Jeske! ELCA is in bed with Thrivent!

The Front Door Evangelism Program - WELS Is Finally Going To Open It

Greeters are trained to let the right people in.
"From the Milwaukee area? Are you related to me?"
Better - "How are you related to me?"

"Knocked once, tried to tell them I'd been there
Door slammed, hospitality's thin there
Wonder just what's going on in there."

WELS Iaunched its highly polished program to keep from disappearing altogether. They will open the front door of their congregations and lock the back door.

Tears of laughter dripped down onto my keyboard as I read the details. I routinely get letters from people who will never step into a WELS congregation again. They have tried several and find the same unrepentant abuse and obstinate false doctrine in each one, protected by the glowering eye of the District President and his stooges.

"Saw an eyeball peeping through a smoky cloud behind the green door
When I said "Joe sent me"
Someone laughed out loud behind the green door
All I want to do is join the WELSy crowd behind the green door."

Question WELS-LCMS about their false doctrine and watch
the fangs flash and the slaver drip to the ground.

Paraphrased for a reason: These folks are completely unaware of how meanly they shunned the innocent when they should have supported them, rather than "smoothing over" a situation and covering up the deeds of a grooming, predator, a so-called shepherd.

Like the ELS, they use the word "grace" but deny the Means of Grace. Like Missouri and ELCA, WELS hammers their precious Universal Objective Justification as if they are the sole guardians of that monstrosity. With so little scholarship in their sect, WELS leaders seldom consider that their Barth/Kirschbaum dogma learned at Fuller is the same Universalism embraced by the mainline apostates.

WELS has no Gospel to teach, so what is the draw? Everything can be obtained at any Attritional Church (Rev. Ima Lupine, DMin, Fuller Seminary) or any mainline parish (Rev. Ura Sucker, DMin, Fuller Seminary). The dogma of the Fuller elite, whether "conservative" Lutheran or wacky-left Lutheran is Barth/Kirschbaum's anti-Biblical, anti-Trinity, anti-Luther Marxism.

Karl was a pea-brain: he needed his Commie mistress Charlotte to do his research and intellectual writing. She managed him for the Movement and accepted slave wages.

  Corrupt trees bear rotten fruit.
Barth's adultery was widely known in the US 40 years ago.
WELS loves and protects adulterous pastors - so Barth and Kirschbaum are no problem for them, since Fuller has adopted "Barth" as their theologian.

Answering Some Objectionable OJ Claims - Bethany Research Team

Howling Oh Jay!

Brethren: UOJers claim that there is great comfort in the doctrine of UOJ.  What I see in the doctrine is the abuse of "You've AREADY been forgiven!" which I believe totally undermines "Subjective Justification."
Why repent?  Why confess one's sins?  Why desire Absolution?  "You've ALREADY been forgiven!"  What else matters?  And, WHERE is the motive for the seeking of Sanctification, as the Bible teaches me to seek?


On the other hand, the doctrine of the Atonement comforts me with the knowledge that Christ died for the sins of the world, and therefore for MY sins as well.  The forgiveness of sins gained for me by Christ's atoning death is received by me in the Means of Grace, through which the Holy Spirit conveys the Gospel to me, bringing me to faith in Christ as my Savior and keeping me in that saving faith as I continue throughout my life to partake of those Means of Grace.  And through those same Means of Grace which brought me my Justification, the Holy Spirit conveys to me the power to continue to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," (2 Peter 3:18) in my Sanctification, never complete in this life, but in the life to come.


Pastor Jackson, am I correctly understanding this?

GJ -

Hi everyone. The Atonement is the Gospel that creates and sustains faith by the work of the Holy Spirit in the Word. There are many words for the Atonement, such as propitiation, redemption (two different Greek words with two somewhat different meanings), ransom, etc.

Justification has few synonyms, maybe only one - forgiveness. Their confusion is that Justification is always by faith and always God's declaration. The UOJists merge the Atonement with Justification and say

voilà!

 - We have OJ, God has declared the world forgiven.

All the forms of OJ have God declaring universal forgiveness and salvation. There is no record, no Word where this is taught. So I guess we have to take that "on faith" - my joke. General Justification, UOJ, OJ, and Justification of the World (Brenner) have the exact same message. 

These yahoos have read Walther and Pieper but not modern theology, which uses the same explanations. God is all grace and all forgiveness. To require faith is to negate grace completely. Grace does not allow for contingencies, they declare repeatedly. They do not say, "We do not believe," only that "Requiring faith means removing grace. Grace does not allow for if someone believes."

For a long time the UOJists howled, "Raised for our justification. UOJ! Romans 4:25!" So I kept reminding them of Romans 4:24 - "If we believe in the One..." That is the dreaded contingency - if we believe. Didn't Paul know better? 

And yet they go on with the same blabbering. One thing is true - they never say "Justified by Faith." John Sparky Brenner thinks the opposite of Objective Justification is "the individual appropriation of forgiveness." As Paul began Romans 5 - Since we have individually appropriated forgiveness...

That lacks the grand simplicity of the original, no?

 Our sect approves, because we took over our sect.
Aren't we clever?

Time To Start Studying Luther's Doctrine

Mirthless Mark Schroeder loathes one of these and loves the other. Has Holy Father stepped into congregational matters for you?

The Mark Schroeder legacy - public absolution for felony child trafficking, previously known, excommunication and foreclosure for Justification by Faith.

Eric Metaxas' Martin Luther: The Man Who Discovered God and Changed the World  should be carefully and slowly read by everyone, especially the laity.

Lutherdom has re-captured the Medieval Church, and this came to fruition - this rotten, corrupt fruit - in the last few decades.

Luther was unusual in his devotion to Biblical teaching versus the established authority of Aristotle, Aquinas, and the papacy. Luther's supervisor Staupitz welcomed and encouraged this, so Staupitz was an enabler of the Reformation, though he never left Holy Mother Rome.

Whether ELCA, WELS, LCMS, ELS, CLC (sic) or ELDONUT-land, the leaders reject the efficacy and authority of the Scriptures and assert their own, infallible, and not-to-be disputed power.

Anyone who has a thought must first check in with the Thought Police and see if that idea has been banished forever. This works very well for the few. Someone known for dissent is going to face a rough time before learning that shunning has been initiated and the Left Foot of Fellowship has been extended.

ELCA polished this approach with decades of experience in associating with hard Left activist groups. Even the bishops who eventually left (but only after retirement) went along with all the strategies, crafts, and assaults - until 2009 was one mincing step too far. But the WELS leaders are not innocent babes, with an abusive history going back to Protest'ant days in the 1920s. The ELS gladly beat up their own when told to do so by the Receptionists.  Missouri is legendary in leaking defamatory letters to the entire synod (Jack Preus) while hailing the dogma of a seminary professor who became a leader of Roman Catholics (Bob Preus for Edward Preuss).

This corruption will continue and worsen as long as the clergy and laity accept the dictatorship of Holy Mother Sect and reject the clarity, efficacy, and authority of the Scriptures.

Meanwhile, check out the group blogs:

1. LutherQueasy
2. Dead Last Lutherans
3. ALPB Online Cloaca

They specialize in trivia and avoiding the real issues.

Did You Get the Service Emailed Today? Write To Be on the List - Or To Be Removed

Email is faster, for some reason.

Many members and friends want to get the worship services by email. At first the "new improvements" in Windows 10 prevented me from using the group email, dumping it as spam.

Today I used that list to send the entire service and sermon around as a Word attachment. Many people received it and and responded with pious mirth.

If you did not receive it and want to be on that list, please send me an email to greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com.

If you received it and do not want worship emails, please send a cease and desist message to the same address.

 The reviews are mixed. Fuller Seminary alumni are outraged and crying: "You are not schtoopid enough to be in our sect."

The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity. Matthew 22:34-46

  Graphic by Norma A. Boeckler

The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2018

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn # 239                 Come Thou Almighty King                         

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 #269            O Lord Our Father                      

  

Law and Gospel

The Communion Hymn # 396            Oh for a Faith            

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 #651               Be Still My Soul            

 Graphic by Norma A. Boeckler

    

KJV 1 Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

 Graphic based on Norma Boeckler's

Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We are poor, miserable sinners; we know Thy will, but cannot fulfill it because of the weakness of our flesh and blood, and because our enemy, the devil, will not leave us in peace. Therefore we beseech Thee, shed Thy Holy Spirit in our hearts, that, in steadfast faith, we may cling to Thy Son Jesus Christ, find comfort in His passion and death, believe the forgiveness of sin through Him, and in willing obedience to Thy will lead holy lives on earth, until by Thy grace, through a blessed death, we depart from this world of sorrow, and obtain eternal life, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Sermon Introductory Material

Objective and subjective are two ways to view the Gospel. I saw the difference when we attended a Christmas concert for the men's choir here in Northwest Arkansas. I knew most of the songs, and they were sung well with a large group of musicians backing them, even a harpist. As the concert continued, I noticed - all the songs or hymns were about me. Yes, every single one was about how I feel and think. They were overwhelmingly subjective.

Hymns are not easily divided by these adjectives, subjective and objective. They are not M&Ms that can be put into distinct groups. However, there is a vast difference between the great objective hymns and the subjective ones. The purpose of an objective hymn is to teach the content of the Gospel as revealed by the Holy Spirit. 

The hymns of Luther and Gerhardt have subjective passages, but the Scriptures - not feelings - dominate. The temptation to make everything me-centered will always lead to rationalism and worse. 

This gets us to the question - is the Gospel about my faith or the faith of Jesus? Paul speaks very plainly about the faith of Jesus, in Romans, Galatians, and Philippians. Our era - in reaction against Jesus as only a man (The Last Temptation of Christ, which is the basic message of all modernist theologians) - places all the emphtasis up the divinity of Christ. That is true among the traditionalists. However, the humanity of Christ emphasizes the great, astonishing never-repeated miracle of God in the flesh. That is especially true when we recall Jesus the Son of God looked just like an ordinary man and yet had - and has - all the power of God.

That is where we can see subjectivism going astray. Someone says, "How can God pray to God?" and similar rationalistic questions. If that does not "make sense," they reject it and come up with a religion full of fabulous claims never revealed anywhere except in the thoughts of one person.

Everything about the Savior is objectively revealed by the Holy Spirit. What makes that so compelling is that we hear the truth and the Spirit plants and nurtures faith in our hearts.

All the books in the world do not equal the truth and power of that One Book, the Bible, and no book can refute it. My biggest emphasis in teaching online is to say, no matter what the class, "It's only a textbook. It is one step up from Wikipedia." That is true whether the class is education or Old Testament. But what matters most is Old Testament. 

What is the content of the Old Testament? We read a lot of fascinating, bloodthirsty, dishonest, and lustful stories about the failings of the past. But they are the setting for the real story of God becoming man and dwelling among us, full of grace and truth. In the midst of all this history are the Promises of God.

And yet, many grow up thinking the Old Testament is all about the Law and the New Testament is nothing but Gospel. The amount of Gospel in the Old Testament is what makes the New Testament rather slim in comparison (1/3 the size). Someone in Old Testament recently wrote in class, "You are right. Psalm 22 is so graphic, it seems to be a description at the time the crucifixion happened. And Isaiah 53 makes no sense at all apart from the cross."

The stories of the corruption in the Christian institutions are only a hint at what is happening. Many are shocked. It was a major story in one news website I follow, because the editor is Roman Catholic. Nothing should shock someone who reads the Pastoral Epistles and 2 Thessalonians 2, which we just studied. Luther said succinctly, "The Gospel is thinly sown."

So the Scripture readings should always or mostly lead us to think of what God is saying to us. What are the objective truths? - which may not always appeal to us. If we have a good grasp of the basics, the cacophony of the world will not disturb us.

 Graphic by Norma A. Boeckler

Law and Gospel

KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

This section is called the Four Questions, which are used in the Seder Meal. This is the third. The fourth question is asked by the leader of the meal, who could be the head of the house or the rabbi in charge.

Catechism questions and answers have a long history, and the content depends on the answers given. In this case, the two-part answer was given by other rabbis. That makes some say, "Jesus was just another rabbi, like other rabbis." But that ignores the question He asked.

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

We call these the two tables of the Ten Commandments. The first relate to loving God; the second to loving our neighbor.

Catechisms can be good or bad. 

Loehe - Good - 

43) What may be the meaning of the two tables of the Law?

The human heart, in which the commandments of God ought to be written.

44) What may be the meaning of the first tables, which God Himself made?

The human heart, as it was created by God.

45) And of the tables which Moses made?

The human heart, as it was made by man through his fall. 

God gave His Law to us so we can see that He commands what is good for us. Even the Deists saw that our world exhibits the features of a designed world. a reason behind the concept of right and wrong.

These two table sum up what anyone should know. Obeying one does not negate the others. The atheists always talk about what fine fellows they are, far better than the rest. In essence, they keep the second table - in their own eyes. One might have a few doubts about this - as I do - but they are convinced.

Others think that their loyalty to their church means they do not need to help their neighbor, because they love God or Jesus is first in their lives. Our doctor also served as a parish minister in a poor section of a major city. He called on an enormous, rich church to contribut toward the medical care of people in that city. The senior minister of this enormous parish said, "We don't do anything for the poor, not even for our own members." The doctor/minister was staggered by this, especially since he had poor congregations in his group that put their nickels and pennies together "for the needy."

The Law also serves as a mirror to reveal as we really are. As Luther said, we cannot get through the first table without being condemned by it. 

Some would say, "But I do love God," and that is true, but our battle is often with trusting in Him in all things. In the midst of temptations, trials, and afflictions, do we trust Him above all things?

The corruption of our society is shown in how the second part is treated by the California modernists. Robert Schuller said that God commanded us to love ourselves (a commandment easily obeyed by everyone; even dogs love themselves and make sure they do not give up a small bone if they can get a larger one - Adam Smith). Schuller called it a modern Reformation to teach people this, and it took over so completely that little hide-bound sects that called themselves old-fashioned championed the same thought. I heard one old pastor shouting it at a convention of the CLC.

Errors in one area can show us the foundational error. Those who are anti-Law are mixed up about the Law. Some claim the Law is obsolete, which clearly goes against the teaching of Christ. He came to fulfill the Law by dying for our sins.

Another part of the anti-Law thinking is that since everyone is born forgiven in the UOJ catechism, the Law is obsolete, citing Galatians, the Law is a tutor that leads us to Christ. That only proves that any Scripture can be cited and yet used entirely against the Bible. Simply citing it, especially with a false assumption, is not only bad teaching but apostate teaching, destroying faith in those who have it.

My experience with anti-Law pastors is that they are pathological liars. It is true that "all men are liars" but they look at that verse as the 11th commandment, and smirk about their ability to deceive others. How does one harvest good fruit from a corrupt tree? Jesus said that cannot be done. Luther said some earthy things about that.

The Law is not a tool for measuring who the true saints are, and mankind naturally (without the Holy Spirit) falls into that frame of mind. Thus we live in a world of condemnation where there is constant condemnation. The only escape is found in the second part of this Gospel.

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?

Jesus began with their point of view, which does not work with this verse from the Psalms. In the olden days, when seniority meant something, it was impossible to imagine that someone younger could be superior to the older person - the father, grandfather, or the earlier person in history.

For example, this still prevails among Asians. The older person is automatically superior. The very old are venerated. My mother loved going to Chinese restaurants where the owners literally bowed before her, seeing her white hair and advanced years. She lived past 90. She made something with bird feathers for one restaurant in New Ulm and it was accepted like it was a relic from a saint. 

So we have to suspend the American assumption that the junior executive knows all. 

How can the great King David refer to anyone as Lord in his Psalm? How can the Messiah, the Christ be the Lord over King David?

That we see this to be obvious makes the question mysterious to us, so we have to step back and see the word-play as a litmus test for believers. Those who expected the Promises to be fulfilled were amenable to the teaching of Jesus, and many Jewish leaders believed in Him. The turmoil in the synagogues after the resurrection of Christ is best explained by how powerfully the apostles taught - until they were expelled.

The entire pagan world was looking for the Savior, and so many were drawn to Judaism by the Greek Old Testament. Imagine the pagans coming to Christ through the Bible - that happened. The Jew had the advantage of knowing these Scriptures. The outsiders hungered for true righteousness, faith in the Truth.

We have quite a strange thing going on in this world -

1. The Third World welcomes the Gospel.
2. Western nations are bored with Christianity and everyone wants to be Buddhist, Taoist, or even Satanic.
3. Western Christian leaders are even less favorable to the Scritpures than were the Deists like Jefferson.

But it was all predicted.

46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

Sometimes the only thing we can do is silence people, who then wonder about what the Scriptures really say. The silence shows the power of Jesus' teaching.

We live in a world where everything is measured, often not honestly. So how did Jesus do in this exchange? We have no particular statistics, but we do know that the foundation was laid for everything that happened from that time on. Some believed for a moment and fell away. Some were opponents and began to believe.

My ongoing theory is that many people described in the miracles were known in the early church as foundational members. They would have been the eye-witnesses to back up the apostolic preaching of Jesus as the Son of God. Their extended families could say, "Yes, we remember when he was born blind" or "When she died." 

And yet, those were not the decades of great comfort and wealth, but persecution and hardship. I suggest to students that they not look for those visible signs of success but simply remain faithful to the Word and continue in those little steps of living day by day.

 Graphic by Norma A. Boeckler