Two Biblical Passages - Messianic?

 Norma Boeckler's books on Amazon.

Questions asked about:

• Luther's translation of Eve's Words in Gen. 4:1 and 
• King David's Words in the last sentence of 2 Sam. 7:19. 

Genesis 4:1 King James Version (KJV)

4 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

וְהָ֣אָדָ֔ם יָדַ֖ע אֶת־חַוָּ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וַתַּ֨הַר֙ וַתֵּ֣לֶד 

אֶת־קַ֔יִן וַתֹּ֕אמֶר קָנִ֥יתִי אִ֖ישׁ אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה:

First of all, Luther saw that the purpose of the entire Bible is to teach faith in Jesus. As he wrote, the entire Bible is a very long sermon about the Man Jesus.

Once the LCMS and its tag-a-longs were infected with the rationalism of UOJ, they were vulnerable to the rationalism of text criticism, which if judged properly, is little more than fairy tales from outer space. That led to the Historical Critical Method being adopted, then Karl Barth and his Commie girlfriend Charlotte Kirschbaum replacing Luther with their neo-Marxist-Calvinism: 

• Church Growth as the new Fascism.
• Luther treated with repugnance.
• CPH's UOJ, Confessing The Gospel, and Gigantic "Small" Catechism.

Exegesis does not exist in a vacuum. So, given Luther's Scriptures-as-a-United-Truth perspective, what does the Hebrew of Genesis 4:1 say?

All of us who have had Hebrew know that אֶת is used for direct objects. Luther was not prone to say, "Oh no, that cannot be." He saw the Word as it was and also related it, as only a genius could, to the rest of Scriptures.

The First Gospel is Genesis 3:15, God promising the Savior after He drove Adam and Eve from Paradise. Would that not plant faith in Eve's heart that the Savior would break the chains of their sin? 

The mark highlighted means The Lord is in apposition. "I have conceived a man - The Lord.

That is no different from I have a bought a house - a condo.

Or - I have married a girl - a German.

The sceptics always want to remove the divine from Scriptures. CPH had no trouble publishing an NIV Bible commentary that denied the Messianic predictions of the Psalms. That is like going to a restaurant with no food, yet they charge money anyway. CPH got away with that and moved on to its $90 follow-up on Braaten-Jenson and Barth-Kirschbaum. Yet the McCain-Harrison tyranny wants to continue in power and in taxing the long-suffering congregations.

 As Luther said about Erasmus's work, this is manure served on a beautiful silver tray.

2 Samuel 7:19-21 King James Version (KJV)

19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God?

At first glance, this passage does not seem overtly Messianic, maybe not covertly Messianic either. But the Bible is not a Bartlett's Familiar Quotations for sects, though the LCMS-ELS-ELCA-WELS sects treat it so. "Oh, here is a verse that proves the entire world is forgiven and saved. If you deny it, you unrepentant sinner, we will kick your sorry soul out." (Quotation sanitized for a  G rating.)

The Patriarchs (not Walther and Pieper, but the Genesis ones) were promised an ever-growing kingdom that was also everlasting. A brief glance at history shows that no such human kingdom has ever existed. Israel itself was nothing more than a dried out stump when Jesus was born. So this Kingdom had to be the one where the Messiah reigned.

So there is an unbroken connection between Genesis 3:15, the hopes of Genesis 4:1, the Justification by Faith of Abraham in Genesis 15, the Messianic Psalms and the prophesies. Is not Isaiah 7 and 9 a reflection on Genesis 3:15, 4:1, and 15:6? We can start with the bright passages we know so well and use them to illuminate ones where we have questions.

The more we do this, the more we will see how God has given us this seamless doctrine of Christ in many different ways, so these revealed truths are known, believed, and unshakeable.

RIP, Pastor Kevin Hastings, Kicked Out of WELS with His Congregation, Only To See It Stolen Back by the Same Thugs

Some history from Pastor Hastings is posted here.

---

Hastings, Reverend Kevin R. was called to Eternal Life on October 10, 2018 at the age of 60 years. Preceded in death by his parents, Ralph and Mabel; siblings, Kathy and Allen; and nieces, Tammy and Jennifer. Survived by his sister, Jennifer, nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, other relatives, and friends. Funeral service will be on Friday, October 19, 2018 at Molthen-Bell Funeral Home at 11:00 AM. Visitation at the funeral home on Friday from 9:00AM-11:00AM. Interment at Arlington Park Cemetery.

 The theft of St. John is told here.
Lots of photos. Hastings knew too much about WELS.
The sect protects some, squashes others. How many throw away a priceless building and congregation, then grab it back again?

Today's Posts from a Reader - Interest in the Chief Article Is Growing

 Luther considered himself a "theologian of the Augsburg Confession," as did the editors of the Formula and Book of Concord. The LCMS-ELS-WELS leaders are Enthusiasts.

The Defense of the Augsburg Confession, Article IV

“And lest we may think that the sentence that faith justifies, fell from Paul inconsiderately, he fortifies and confirms this by a long discussion in the fourth chapter to the Romans, and afterwards repeats it in all his epistles.89]
http://bookofconcord.org/defense_4_justification.php#para89

Thus he says, Rom. 4:4

To him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt . But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Here he clearly says that faith itself is imputed for righteousness. Faith, therefore, is that thing which God declares to be righteousness, and he adds that it is imputed freely, and says that it could not be imputed freely, if it were due on account of works.

---

Thank you for the link on the exegetical Harley work, pure pure gold, another one saved to Kindle

“To declare” (eis endeixin ) in the NKJV is translated “to demonstrate,” which more properly indicates God’s will to show Himself as a just and righteous God at all times, not only in the Old Testament, but “at the present time” (en to nun kairo ), whenever He forgives sinners. Such demonstration or declaring takes place whenever sinners are brought to faith in Christ crucified. Through proclamation of what God in the Old Testament promised to do and has now fulfilled in Christ, God’s righteousness is manifested when sinners are brought to faith and such believers in Jesus are justified or forgiven. God Himself would be unjust, yea, even a liar, if He declared or accepted as righteous those who have no personal righteousness. But God’s believers do possess a perfect righteousness, namely that of Christ. This is an all-sufficient righteousness which God imputes to faith, and so God’s believers become righteous in His sight.

---

Pastor Greg, along the lines of the recent post where Jesus told the Pharisees twice in one verse that they would die in their sins if they did not believe, Paul tells the Colossians AFTER Jesus supposedly forgave and justified the world this in Chapter 2:

13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

See, it is right there, the last phrase of the verse, universal forgiveness!!!  What a great opportunity to say the sins of the world are forgiven, you just have to believe it.

Except, context is a stubborn thing:

10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

Ooops, not universal forgiveness.  Stubborn things like “complete in him”, “circumcision of Christ”, “in baptism”, “quickened together with him” after being buried with him in baptism….so they were still in their sins until they were brought to faith, hmmm.

Also, another description I do not remember learning/seeing before on faith, described as the faith of the operation of God…..why is it that since faith is the operation of God, not man, that God can not use that faith to declare someone righteous as the entirety of Scripture says?

***

GJ - I believe the posts from laity are especially worthwhile, so I encourage people to send them. I do not give away names or identifying facts. Sometimes people tell me about the downhill march of their "conservative" parish, but the details would give that individual away, so I just use that in my sense of where things are going.

Regulars get nicknames and can choose their own.

Lutheran? The Greatest Disgrace This Reformation - The Faux-Conservatives Teach Pseudo-Justification, Betraying Their Calls, Their Synods, Their Members

 These faux-leaders have expanded the war against the Chief Article of Christianity: promoting Objective Justification while trying to eradicate Justification by Faith. They have proved that LCMS-ELS-WELS fellowship with ELCA has been productive in gluing the false teachers together. Most of Lutherdom is apostate at the leadership/academic level, but the faithful laity and pastors are not drinking the Kool-Aid. The NIV has the quality and bacterial count of pond water.

Luther did not teach himself or his organization. The false leaders of today do both, and they are doubly damned for doing so. They should know better - and certainly know enough that their hides bristle at the mention of Justification by Faith.

Like the papal leaders of the Reformation, the "conservative" Lutheran leaders cannot address the actual issues without giving themselves away, so they:

1. Teach and worship the synod they serve so poorly;
2. Teach themselves as infallible genius-level leaders;
3. Impugn the motives and character of anyone who understands the Biblical doctrine of forgiveness and salvation.

My intuition tells me they have more training at Fuller-centric institutions and meetings than they have in Hebrew and Greek exegesis. That is another knee-slapper - the Church Shrinkers deny being at Fuller with one side of their forked tongues while bragging about it with the other side. They love their luxuries -derived from devotion to Church Shrinkage - and remember with advantages those days when they didn't have a pit to hiss in.

As John Slick Brenner predicted, the crimes are piling up for judgment and payment is due. Like the college president who said he knew the tax fraud scheme was wrong from the beginning but pleaded innocent, they will face a Judge far more righteous than a federal one.

Sassy the CyberPet - Fun, Drama, Protection, Fanbase

This is the expression most people see with Sassy,
and "Treats!" will also elicit this response.

Sassy has quite a fan club in Springdale. She is well known at Lowe's, where she loves to shop in the garden department. She enjoys trips to Walmart, which often end with driving through McDonald's next door. She has barked into the mike, but also may hold her peace for the cashier or the second window, where her cone is delivered. Yesterday, the cone was delivered with a big smile and a bow by one of her fans on the crew.

We have shared cones for 10 years. I get the first part, and Sassy reminds me when her part is due. I get taps on the shoulder to remind me of my need to share with her. Not one tap, but three taps. At home, the reminders are, in order of urgency:

1. The first gentle tap on the knee
2. Two gentle scrapes across the knee
3. Two energetic scrapes accompanied by her arrogant German Shepherd scowl. I ask Chris to watch as Sassy escalates the warnings on the bed. Naturally I am laughing as they worsen.

Sassy was amused by the photographer getting on the floor.

As her foster mother warned, Sassy is a talker, with a wide range of vocal cues, barks, moans, friendly growls, and songs. Consequently, we talk to her all day and have lots of conversations, which include her pop up ear alerts, smirks, arrogant German Shepherd scowls, grins, and kisses of all types. Her communication vocabulary seems endless. One kiss on the cheek is reserved for the dog park and a few other delights. Her warning warble is used outside the vet's office, but not every time. She sings with me or may just bark - very loudly.

Ranger Bob and our granddaughter get the loudest, most agonized greetings. A stranger would think Sassy is being tortured. Everyone else gets standard barks.

The talking part comes from her Cattle Dog heritage, and they tend to sing too. Cattle Dogs can be painfully shy and one-person dogs, but Sassy adopts everyone she sees, allowing for the unenlightened to not welcome her. She no longer expects every single person to adore her, but most see her gentle face and start warming to her at once. Sassy sniffs for dog traces on their feet and legs and knows when she has a fan almost immediately.

The loud conversations are hilarious. On walks through the neighborhood, everyone talks to Sassy. People sit in front of their homes and expect friends to drop by for a minute or even to "set a spell." Sassy will settle down and guard the property, constantly scanning it for any new activity, from a squirrel nearby to a person a half block away. Then she gets up and barks.

"Are you in a hurry?"
Bark!
"Do you have an appointment soon?"
Bark! Bark!
"Let's go then."
Bark-bark-bark!

Ranger Bob, an Army veteran, gets the full treatment: the agonized greeting, begging for dog treats, rolling over for a tummy rub, and resting nearby on the floor and listening. We often use the computer to order car parts (for our fleet of old cars) or to research an item - Social Security, taxes, car repair videos, and Command Cody's music.

Today we were walking past the big field where her friends have coffee in front of their home most mornings. Instead, the wife was leaving in her car, but stopped and opened the door to talk to Sassy. Sassy came over for hugs and praise, and the lady was all lit up with smiles.

When another morning friend sits with us, she says, "How about some love, Sassy?" Then Sassy will kiss her hand.

A Reader Commented on the OJ Paper So Loved by Jon-Boy Buchholz and UO Jay Webber

Pastor Greg, another paper I have on my Kindle that I go back to every so often. 30+ pages of straw-man arguments, big words like “logomachy” and the dismissal of faith as anything other than a work of man.

It should be required reading after a paper like this (and some of the other recent ones posted) to read Vernon Harley on Synergism......and Romans, Philippians, the gospel of John, Galatians, Hebrews 11......

“In dealing with justification, the proponents of general justification seem to view faith only from this aspect, namely, of it being a work of man. That’s why they want it excluded from God’s act of justifying the sinner. That’s why it is considered synergistic by them to include faith even though our Lutheran Confessions clearly list faith among the three “necessary elements of justification” together with the “grace of God and the merit of Christ”

“If all men were justified, i.e., declared righteous, absolved at the resurrection of Christ, but if men must be justified again (subjectively) by faith in order to be finally saved from the wrath of God, then quite obviously God wasn’t at all serious in objective justification He didn’t really declare them righteous, give them “the status of saints,” nor remove His wrath from all.”

“...for if faith must first be ruled out of justification and justification must be made universal to avoid synergism and yet faith must ultimately be brought in via “subjective” justification so that man can be saved, then obviously this “work of man” (faith) must be the deciding factor in man’s final salvation. FAITH, the very factor first ruled out to avoid synergism, now must be added so that man can be saved. Who then is faced with the problem of synergism?”

***

GJ - Pastor Harley's essays are linked on the left-column of the blog. To find them quickly there, use control-f then put Harley in the window.

Harley Challenging the Opposition

Exegetical Study

Small Catechism - 1915 by Rev. Schuh for Ohio/The General Council.

28) What articles of our Christian faith does the creed contain?

It contains the chief articles.

29) Yes, the main things. Those things which every Christian should know and believe…So what does this short creed stand for?

It stands for the whole Christian Faith.

32) Yes, we might say: this is the whole Christian faith in a nutshell, this is the kernel of all that we believe. In these few words we give expression to our faith.

34) (134) “Why is it called symbol or ensign?”

“Because by it the Christians are known and distinguished from the enemies of the Christian church.”

35) A symbol is a sign that represents something. When an army is on the march or goes to battle what symbol do they carry, by which they can be recognized?

They carry a flag.

36) If you see a company of soldiers marching under the stars and stripes what do you conclude as to their nationality?

I conclude that they are Americans.

CPH/NPH Ideas for a Relevant Reformation Service. Good for ELCA, too. "We All Say Yay to UOJ!"

 Bulk purchases double as Lutheran World Relief care packages. How many natives are hunting and fishing without their Here I Stand socks? Show them you really care and remember the Reformation at the same time.

1. Book of Concord grape juice. Reformation doctrine never tasted so good. Packaged with a pellet. Buy in bulk. We got a deal from our supplier in Pasadena, California.
2. Railroad cars full of Here I Stand socks - bulk prices only. Use these for your LWR shipments for the needy overseas - charity with a message.
3. Autopsy of a Deceased Church: Keep Yours Alive, by Thom Rainer. Cure dead orthodoxy before it is too late!
4. The Purpose-Driven Church, by Rick Warren. Discover the secrets he discovered from Mr. Success - Robert Schuller.
5. Too Busy Not To Pray, by Bill Hybels. No jokes about Bill, now.
6. Who You Are When No One's Looking: Choosing Consistency, Resisting Compromise. by Bill Hybels. This is our Reformation humor offering.
7. Spiritual Warfare, by Jack Schaap. Or - never leave your iPhone in the pulpit.
8. Unique item - Lawrence Otto Olson's D.Min. certificate from Fuller Seminary. Only one is available, because we hope this icon, this holy relic will launch a new Reformation in the Lutheran Church of the future: growth, Growth, GROWTH! We may have a Holyland tour of Watertown, New Ulm, Mequon, Willow Creek, Corunna, and Pasadena.
9. Thumb drive full of fresh, exciting ideas and goals from your Mission Board. No, it does not matter which one, because they are all the same.
10. Surprise package of CPH trinkets. You wanted them last year, but now you can afford a bunch of them at once, hand-selected by Paul McCain, MDiv. Just a few of them are pictured below.

In the Name of Jesus - Against the Gospel: Buchholz' Blasphemies

Jesus Canceled Your Debt! By Pastor Jon D. Buchholz
 In nomine Jesu 

 Objective justification under attack 

A dispute has arisen among Lutheran theologians regarding the doctrine of justification. The specific question deals with the completeness of justification at Christ’s cross and empty tomb, as well as the role of faith in justification. Did God justify the world objectively, apart from the faith that receives it subjectively? Or is God’s justification only effected when an individual trusts the promise of forgiveness? Is there only one justification—that which is a completed reality by the work of Christ and received by faith? Or is the distinction between objective and subjective justification practically teaching two justifications which are separate and distinct from one another? Is justification complete apart from faith? Or is justification only completed when faith is added?

We maintain:
 God forgave the sin of the world by removing the sin of the world and placing it upon Christ. The world’s debt has been paid in full and canceled by Christ (universal forgiveness).
 In the cross and empty tomb of Christ, God really has acquitted the world of sin, so that in Christ Jesus the world’s status has been changed to “justified” before God (universal justification). On this basis, real reconciliation has been effected between God and the world (universal acquittal, universal reconciliation).
 Through the means of grace, these completed realities are proclaimed and distributed wherever the gospel goes out into the world.
 Through Spirit-worked faith, these completed realities are appropriated and received through faith, so that the forgiveness of sins and the righteousness of Christ become the possession of individual sinners (individual justification).

We understand the word "justification" to be defined according to a broader sense of the term, so that it is used in reference to the substitution of the righteousness of Christ for the world's sin; the universal verdict of "not-guilty" pronounced upon Christ as the world's substitute; the achievement of the forgiveness of sins for all people; and the personal attribution of forgiveness and imputation of the righteousness of Christ through faith.

This is the position articulated by theologians of the former Synodical Conference (false - early Missouri and WELS were Justification by Faith in their catechisms). The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod are heirs of this doctrinal position (false - no the Objective Justification fanatics gradually took over). Advocates of this position see the substance of this doctrine (if not its terminology, which arose later) taught by Luther, the Lutheran reformers, the Lutheran Confessions, and early Lutheran dogmaticians. (Yes, the lying, apostates see OJ everywhere, but OJ is not in Luther or the Book of Concord or the great doctrinal teachers like Chemnitz, Gerhard, Calov, Quenstedt. OJ is not anywhere in the Bible.)

***
GJ - Some in the LCMS and WELS, clergy and laity alike, are unaware of the basic lies of

1. Objective Justification, 
2. aka Universal Objective Justification, 
3. aka Justification of the World,
4. aka General Justification, 
5. aka Justification of the Sinner (Edward Preuss, who claimed everyone was justified before birth.)

This Day in History October 15th

In 1582, the ancient Julian calendar (organized by, yes, Julius Caesar and still observed by many Orthodox Christians) officially was terminated on Thursday 4 October by the command of Gregory XIII (1572–1585, Ugo Boncompagni) via the papal bull Inter gravissimas.

At midnight of 3-4 October the calendar skipped automatically to a day named Friday 15 October.

George Gilder Quotation

 George Gilder has interesting ideas about socialism and culture.

Wiki quoting Gilder

Religion is primary. Unless a culture is aspiring toward the good, the true, and the beautiful, and wants the good and the true, really worships God, it readily worships Satan. If we turn away from God, our culture becomes dominated by "Real Crime Stories" and rap music and other spew.... When the culture becomes corrupt, then the businesses that serve the culture also become corrupt.... Secular culture is in general corrupt, and degraded, and depraved. Because I don't believe in secular culture, I think parochial schools are the only real schools.^[12]

***

GJ - Socialism is the enemy of creativity, because socialism only wants to control and distribute wealth.

As Gilder spoke on the Levin TV show, he could have been talking about the Lutheran synods - and I include them all together - ELCA-WELS-LCMS-WELS and the micro-minis.

Their schools, big and small, all of them smaller all the time, are designed to establish mindless conformity. The tinier they are, the more the leaders - or leader - can enforce rigid conformity.

How successful are the Church Growth (Shrinkage) Movement (founded by a liberal secularist) and its makeover the Missional (Attritional) people? They never accomplished their supposed goal but instead set up their actual purpose - a system of absolute, brain-dead conformity.

ELCA is a bit different in turning out ever smaller baskets of Social Justice Warriors in the style of Nadia Bolz-Weber. But the "conservatives" work cheerfully with ELCA and claim they are doing so much while turning out ever smaller baskets of cookie cutter CGM conformists.

Why did the LCMS cooperate in a Book of Concord
with Wengert, a leading gay activist? What better example of unionism could anyone find that that? What a message to everyone!

These are the undebatable norms of ELCA-LCMS-WELSdom:

1. The liturgy is bad.
2. The pipe organ must be removed and replaced with a Praise Band - one that copies the yowling of the Pentecostals and Evangelicals, absent any musical talent.
3. Creeds are bad.
4. Songs should be modern and feeling oriented.
5. Preaching is a bad word, but coaching is a good word.
6. A synod leader might be a grinning, certified, money-grabbing Life Coach. Scary? Meet DP Kudu Don Patterson, rageaholic and potential Mordor professor.
7. The culture is king, so it is past time to ordain women and all (fill in the number) sexes.
8. Drag races no longer involve cars but male college students, seminary students, and pastors.
9. The Book of Concord is boring and should not be discussed.
10. Luther is the Donald Trump of the Reformation, a figure to be mocked and marketed, never studied.

 Look for Justification by Faith in their communications?
The same goes for "dissenter" Herman Otten, their favorite spiker of stories.

LutherQueasies Abandon Their Objective Justification Thread. Some Refutations from the Word of God

Brethren: In John 8:24, Christ says to the unbelieving Pharisees--for whose sins as well as for the sins of the whole world He would die upon the Cross and make Universal Atonement--"I said therefore unto you, that YE SHALL DIE IN YOUR SINS: FOR IF YE BELIEVE NOT THAT I AM HE, YE SHALL DIE IN YOUR SINS."

Now, according to UOJ, when Jesus rose again at Easter, the sins of the Pharisees to whom Jesus is speaking in John 8:24 were forgiven and thus they were justified, along with everyone else, right?

So HOW could Jesus tell these Pharisees that they would "die in your sins"--He repeats it TWICE!--if they do not BELIEVE that Jesus is the Messiah, if the Resurrection declared that their sins were ALREADY forgiven?

And what about 1 Cor. 15:17?  "And if Christ be not raised, YOUR FAITH IS IN VAIN; YE ARE YET IN YOUR SINS."  Now if this passage didn't mention "your faith," the UOJers could use this passage to say "Resurrection of Christ = Forgiveness of Sins," but the passage DOESN'T say that!  It clearly mentions "your faith" so that the equation is "Faith in Christ Who Rose from the Dead = Forgiveness of Sins," and WITHOUT that faith, "Ye are YET IN YOUR SINS."

Again, HOW can ANYONE STILL be "in their sins" if when Christ rose from the dead, the sins of the whole world were forgiven and everyone was justified, according to UOJ?  --WM

Peter Long, On Worthless Reading. From the Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry.

Here’s a quote from that faithful Ohio Lutheran pastor, Simon Peter Long. From The Eternal Epistle, “Twentieth Sunday After Trinity. Five Fools.” on Eph. 5:15-21.

There never was a time when people did more reading than they do now, and there never was a time when Christians knew less of the Bible than they do now. Some may question what I say, but you show me the Christians of olden days, and they were people of two or three books; they knew their Bibles; they knew what was in every book and in every chapter; they knew their hymnbooks from beginning to end, but today in the exchange of hymnbooks and in the putting in of new books into the libraries, the world is flooded with a literature that isn’t worth the paper to kindle the fire to burn it up. If even our church libraries are as poor as they nearly all are, what can we expect of the public libraries? I read partly fourteen books of our own library in the last ten days, and out of fourteen there are eleven that are not fit to go into any home. Think of a little child spending weeks in reading five hundred pages to find out that finally some nonsensical Susie got married. That is the kind of literature we have in our Sunday School library. Think of the people that are sitting down day after day and reading novel after novel, story after story, when the Word of God is lying at home covered with dust, and the hymnbooks are never used to sing in worship. Think of the people that are flooding our libraries to get the very books they never should look at. How many people are going to the library today hunting out books of devotion, hunting out good true history, hunting out the things that are worth knowing? The fact is the people want literature in the form of soup and will not eat meat. There never was a time when our country was so flooded with books, books, books, and no knowledge. Ask the average reader what he knows, and it is nothing. Oh, the minds of the people that are being poisoned with the nonsensical literature of the day! It is simply awful.

The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, 2018.

 Norma A. Boeckler

The Twentieth 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 #39                   Praise to the Lord                              

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 #262      A Mighty Fortress

   

Invitations and a Singular Dress Code

The Communion Hymn # 246        Holy, Holy, Holy              

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 # 309    O Jesus Blessed Lord         

 Norma A. Boeckler

     

KJV Ephesians 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

KJV Matthew 22:1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Twentieth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We thank Thee, that of Thy great mercy Thou hast called us by Thy holy word to the blessed marriage-feast of Thy Son, and through Him dost forgive us all our sins; but, being daily beset by temptation, offense, and danger, and being weak in ourselves and given to sin, we beseech Thee graciously to protect us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we fall not; and if we fall and defile our wedding-garment, with which Thy Son hath clothed us, graciously help us again and lead us to repentance, that we fall not forever; preserve in us a constant faith in Thy grace, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

 Norma A. Boeckler

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Note - Baby Andrea is having a difficult time as a preemie. Please pray for her and her parents, Randy and Ivy.

PS - We are changing phones and Internet. The phone number does not work now but should work soon.

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Sermon Background - Analogies, Parables

There is quite a difference between an analogy which some writer has created and one from the Bible. Likewise, a Biblical parable is quite different from an ordinary anecdote used to illustrate a sermon.

The Biblical examples are the revealed Word, and they serve to make the Scriptures more easily understood and remembered. Forgetting that, many people use their own illustrations and try to make them equal to the Word and immune from the Word. For example, Luther's example of a man inheriting an estate and not knowing it is used to proclaim Luther was saying the whole world was forgiven whether someone believes it or not. True, a true could inherit an estate and not know it, but the story does not include everyone in the world inheriting an estate and not knowing it. That is one flaw. But a greater one is Luther's Biblical references to preaching the Gospel Promises creating and building faith.

A common excuse is "two sides of Justification are like two sides of a coin." Justification is never a coin in the Bible, and Justification does not have two sides.

An old saying is "all analogies limp," which is not a Biblical quote but true to the Bible. Comparisons, illustrations, stories, and analogies have to be tested by the Word to see if they have any weight.

Likewise, no book or man has any authority over the Scriptures. The person arguing against the Bible is wrong, no matter what his title, office, or esteem in his group of people. There is no slander in calling someone a false teacher. I am called that, with guilty by association (Calvinist! Baptist! Catholic!) all the time. It gives me a chance to explain Christian doctrine rather than phone our church attorney about a potential windfall - Jackson vs. Anonymous Blogger. The Bible encourages spiritual discernment, therefore a continuous discussion and study of what is truly taught in the Word.

Today's Gospel is an interesting example of an extensive analogy in the Scriptures - marriage. Ephesians 5 uses the same theme to write about marriage in this life, while Jesus spoke about marriage as an illustration. Marriage is basic to all cultures, so what the Bible teaches is not only significant, but also an important way to view our relationship with the Savior.

The Wedding Feast of the Son

KJV Matthew 22:1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

This parable draws upon what we know from this life and explains the work of the Father and Son. Marriage was so important in Judaism that everyone was expected to be married, and parents drew up contracts about supporting the married couples in their first years of marriage.

Although marriage itself is often overshadowed by a big display, the wedding is a major event and people look forward to attending. Since many society weddings are power couples or from powerful families, an invitation is coveted, even begged by some. Photographs of the guests are very important for the future.

This marriage concerns Jesus as the groom and the Church as His bride. Jesus referred to Himself as the groom when the disciples were criticized for being too jolly. He blessed the wedding at Cana, which he attended with His disciples, showing that He favored marriage and did not despise the union God created through the Word.

The idea of celibate monks and priests came from outside of Christianity, based on pagan ideas. The situation today shows how turning away from God's plan is always going to generate evil. The disciples were all married, including Peter, "the first pope." 

This relationship between Jesus and the Church is used the opposite way by Paul, using the same lessons, showing how husbands and wives should regard each other. Thus we can see that the intricate relationships in nature are just as true in our human society, though few see Creation at work but run to their sociology books and advice columns.

The parable is clear - the Kingdom of God is like a King celebrating the marriage of His Son.

3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

God began promising the Savior when He drove Adam and Even from paradise because of their sin - Genesis 3:15. From that time on, Promises of the Messiah were preached to the Old Testament denizens. Faith in Christ did not begin with His earthly ministry but with the First Gospel Promise of Genesis 3:15. This gave the Jewish people - and gradually the pagans - time to learn about and believe in all the attributes of the Messiah. 

The pagans? Yes, the pagan world became weary of its gods and goddesses, the way Western people are weary today of Christianity. Those educated pagans in the Hellenistic world after Alexander the Great could read the Old Testament in Greek and see the Promises of the Old Testament. Thus God through Alexander, prepared the world for the Gospel in Greek, preached by Jesus and His disciples in Greek. If they had been limited to Aramaic, as some insist, it would have been as influential as Finnish is today. 

Contrary to the notion that God did not offer salvation to the Jews, He did so through the prophets, generation after generation, and yet they fell away continuously. Look at how our nation has repudiated its Christian foundations and any study of the Faith in our country's history, as if atheists founded it and worked to reform it. What is the "city set on a hill"? if not a Christian image? Christianity was the leading force against slavery, for example. And Christianity was the idea behind our charities, hospitals, nursing homes, and adoption agencies.

When people say what they do not like about the Bride, I have far more information and experiences than they do. What I know would have them running out of the door or loosing their breakfast. 
What is visible is deeply flawed and corrupted, not by God, but by man.

Luther:
4. These words beautifully picture to us and teach how we should make use of the life of the saints; namely, to introduce examples by which the doctrine of the Gospel may be confirmed, so that we may the better, by the aid of such examples and lives, meditate upon Christ, and be nourished by and feast upon him as upon fatlings and well fed oxen. This is the reason he calls them fatlings. Take an example: Paul teaches in Romans 3:23f. how the bride is full of sin and must be sprinkled by the blood of Christ alone, or she will continue unclean, that is, she must only believe that the blood of Christ was shed for her sins, and there is no other salvation possible.

How can the Church be improved without the correct, Biblical understanding of forgiveness through faith? Have you ever contended with children whose parents imagine their offspring can do no wrong? They are born forgiven and act like it. That is our society.

That increases spiritual blindness and hardness, which is why so many refuse to listen to the Gospel. The Kingdom of God is not a congregation, not a denomination, not a minister. So what they offer as reasons have nothing to do with the eternal Gospel.

I know many people disturbed by events around them. They have studied those issues on their own and found the truth of the Scriptures. They are best armed against all doubts because their trust is in the Word, not human institutions.

4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

This is a references to the cross of Christ. He is the great sacrifice, the end of all animal sacrifices because He died without sin to give us His righteousness through faith.

This is where God went another step beyond proclaiming what would be true (which also granted forgiveness through faith). He demonstrated before their eyes, to the Jews and Romans, that the Son of God died in innocence and rose from the dead. As Hebrews reveals, there is a cloud of witnesses proclaiming these truths, going back century after century. In fact, the practices of the Jews embedded those lessons in them, from readings and from the sacrifice of the Passover lamb.

Though some listened, watched, and believed, many went back to their businesses and farms.

6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

What a church history lesson this is - all in advance. Jesus sent out His apostles to teach the Gospel, as eye-witnesses of the resurrection. If that had been a fraud, everyone would have known soon enough. Even today the rationalists fall silent about the Empty Tomb and the closet atheists avoid the topic altogether - "It's not important to Christianity." - Disciples, yes, seminary student. How ironic.

The unbelieving world violently suppressed the Christian Faith and killed the apostles. Perhaps one lived to old age - John. However, they were more interested in preaching the Gospel to a hostile world than keeping a lot of historical notes.

Jerusalem was destroyed, not once, from the Zealot revolt, but twice from a later false Messiah.

8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

This is the funny part, because we are those people. Our ancestors were worshiping trees, stones, fertility gods. The Picts in England were named because of their tattoos Some did not bother with any clothing, even in battle.  Western Christianity did not come from the nobility but from the dregs of society. And the leaven of that Gospel kept the Word alive and elevated ancient languages as well. 

Constantine disliked the pagan city of Rome, which fell about 100 years later, and built a new Christian capital in Byzantium, later called Constantinople after him, Istanbul today.

Christianity grew throughout Europe and then spread to the Americas from exploration and the quest for spice.

The Wedding Garment
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

This sounds completely off topic and alien in this parable, but it fits completely with the complete Biblical message. The image is the wedding garment being the righteousness of faith. The verbs for putting on and taking off (Paul, last week) refer to no longer living as the Old Adam, following our instincts, but living as believers who are forgiven through faith in Christ.

Robes are special, because they make everyone the same in some respect and cover what is beneath. Graduation robes say "everyone graduated from this school." Academic robes tell people "this faculty member with three stripes has a doctorate and went to a certain university."

I saw children graduate from pre-school and wear robes and a mortarboard hat. Cute but odd.

Luther wrote about Christ covering our sins, so we should cover the sins of others and not be gossips.

The robe of righteousness means this righteousness comes from the Savior through the Means of Grace, even though the person beneath is still a sinner and will be on this mortal earth. 

The wedding guest in this parable wore his Masonic garb or the equivalent. Masons teach that they go to Paradise because of their good deeds. So we have many in the visible church which are in the wrong garment, sometimes rented through riches, and do not belong. But that will be settled later. 

Many are called but few are elect. This is a warning from Jesus that one cannot fool God while gathering the praises of man. 

So this reflects back upon marriage, that the husband love his wife the way Jesus loves His Bride, the Church. The Church (invisible) is preserved through Justification by Faith. Marriage and the family are preserved and bless by forgiveness as great as God's forgiveness of our sins, complete and free.

  Norma A. Boeckler