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| Examine and avoid. Examine and avoid. Examine and avoid. |
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| The official teachings of the LCMS are: 1) Fellowship with ELCA through Mark and Avoid Jeske, Thrivent; 2) Justification without Faith; 3) Church Growth via the Fuller Seminary Cloaca Maxima; 4) Evolution, 5) Abortion - an adiaphoron. |
Romans 16
17 παρακαλω δε υμας αδελφοι, σκοπειν τους τας διχοστασιας και τα σκανδαλα (παρα την διδαχην ην υμεις εμαθετε) ποιουντας, και εκκλινατε απ αυτων
18 οι γαρ τοιουτοι τω κυριω ημων ιησου χριστω ου δουλευουσιν, αλλα τη εαυτων κοιλια - και δια της χρηστολογιας και ευλογιας εξαπατωσιν τας καρδιας των ακακων
KJV
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.
Verse 17
There are two significant parts to this verse, with word order used to emphasize the point.
I beg you, brothers.
(This is not just a request.)
Examine (or look at) those making divisions and deathtriggers
(skandala are not just offenses; the term comes from deadly triggers in traps).
Against the doctrine you learned, and
Lean away from them (or) - avoid them.
The two parts --
The Synodical Conference types, especially the toxic Cult of Legalistic Conmen (CLC sic) love to repeat "Mark and avoid" until the phrase becomes a monotone chant.
Slogans weaken the Scriptures (five Solas!) and do not help or edify by themselves.
Marking sounds like something we do with a felt pen, so it misses the mark today. That does not weaken my love for the KJV, because a pastor is obliged to study the text and provide paraphrases. Keeping up with the local surfer dude vocabulary is not required, but I digress.
Oddly, the verb for mark is found in telescope and microscope, not to mention medical devices I hesitate to name. All are instruments for careful observation, study, and diagnoses.
The weight of verse 17 is on carefully examine and on the object of that verb form.
Carefully examine whom? - those creating divisions and death-triggers. Paul wrote that there must be divisions, but false teachers create them for their own benefit, and these divisions are death traps.
Objective Justification is one such division, embraced by the radicals in the LCMS-WELS-ELCA-ELS-CLC (sic) and used as a way to get rid of traditional Lutherans. OJ kills the efficacy of the Word, the Means of Grace, and Justification by Faith. The last term is shortened by the radicals to Justification and named as the Chief Article! They are shameless liars.
Divisions and Death-Triggers Against
The key to careful observation is that these divisions and death-triggers (soul killers) are against the doctrine you learned.
Lenski: His injunction is to keep away from believers who are errorists and teach falsely. Not only the exact duplicates of the errorists of Paul's day are to be shunned, as though no new ones could arise, as though new ones do not divide, tear, and set traps, as though all errorists new and old, great and small, are not related, all in the same class; but, according to Paul himself (15:4), "whatever things were written before, for our instruction were they written," his admonition is to be fully applied and not weakened or evaded. Romans Commentary, p. 918.
Conclusions
The Synodical Conference is very much like the Southern Baptists, not exactly what Paul wrote about. The Synodical Conference began in Pietistic Unionism and has followed the Halle University model downhill at an increasing velocity.
The synodocrats are quick to press the shun button for whatever reason. They are good examples of leaning toward false teachers - for the money and their itching ears.
False teachers should be confronted with their errors, given a chance, and avoided.
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| ELCA gay activist - Let's publish a Book of Concord together! |
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| Waldo Werning - let's use him for distributing Church Growth nonsense. |
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| Wilken, the radio jockey, thinks Justification by Faith is Calvinism! Let's give him tons of money to spread his ignorance. He wants to build a statue of Paul the Plagiarist McCain, too - another giving opportunity. |
