Jack B. Simple Cascione and His Lady Scholars versus the KJV Scriptures, the Original Text, Luther, and the Book of Concord

 WELS Pastor Adam Mueller combines OJ and Church Growth, unbeknownst to Jay Webber.

Free copy of the The Path To Understanding Justification - linked here.

Book Review:

The Path to Understanding Justification

by Dr. Gregory Jackson

  by Jack Cascione

This writer wishes to thank the following for council, editing, and corrections: Rev. Paul Fleischer CLC, Rev. Steven Spencer WELS, Rev. Joel Baseley LCMS, Rev. Adam Mueller WELS, Rev. Jerome, Cascione LCMS, Dr. Andrew Cascione ELS, Mrs. Dale King WELS, Karl Randolph LCMS, and Mrs. Virginia Cascione LCMS.

 

The editors of Christian News requested that I review Dr. Gregory Jackson’s new book, The Path to Understanding Justification.  Jackson earned his PhD from Notre Dame and colloquized from what is now the ELCA to the WELS ministerium where he is no longer rostered.  This book is a large print, 100-page, easy-to-read, distillation /outline of Jackson’s voluminous, long-standing opposition to the Doctrine of Objective Justification. [GJ - Jack B. got one thing right.]

Jackson’s book is recommended for any reader seeking a thoroughly researched, documented, resource opposed to Objective Justification if, for no other reason than to see how opponents of this doctrine turn the Bible against itself.  It is a collector’s item, but leads one to ask, “What drives Jackson to such intense opposition to Objective Justification?”

[GJ - Possible answers - the Scriptures, Luther, Melanchthon, The Book of Concord, Chemnitz, Gerhard]

"I'd rather have George Knapp with silver and gold,
I'd rather teach OJ and SJ so bold.
I'd rather teach George Knapp than Luther or Paul,
Yes I'd rather teach Halle or nothing at all." Mad Jack

Jackson references numerous verses from the Bible dealing with the Justification of the sinner by faith.  He opposes any attempt to divide this doctrine into two categories, Objective Justification--God’s declaration that the world is righteous because of Christ’s sacrifice; and Subjective Justification—God’s gift of righteousness to the individual sinner through faith in Christ. [GJ - no, making a decision for OJ: see JP Meyer and Walther.]  Jackson rejects this division and views Subjective Justification and Justification by Faith Alone as one and the same.  He falsely accuses the LCMS, WELS, ELS, CLC, and LCR of teaching Universalism, that all people have eternal salvation no matter what they believe, when they teach Objective Justification.

[GJ - Why does Jack B. Simple assume OJ is faithful to the Bible and the Book of Concord? He argues in a circle without any Scriptural support, the only path to the truth.]

Three Suggestions to Improve Jackson’s Argument Against Objective Justification

Before criticizing Jackson’s book, we offer three suggestions on how he might make his argument against Objective Justification more effective.

First, Jackson Should also Debunk Synonyms of Objective Justification

Jackson could strengthen his argument against Objective Justification by debunking any biblical support from supposed corollaries and synonyms for Objective Justification.  Jackson needs broader support from the Bible demonstrating limitations to the supposed universality of Grace, Freely, Gift, Salvation, Forgiveness, Gospel, Blessing, Love, Imputation, Redemption, Reconciliation, Propitiation, Vindication, Mercy, Sacrifice, and Ransom.  If God has not declared the whole world righteous in Christ without faith, it also follows that the God does not give the benefits of all these synonyms without faith.  In other words, Jackson needs to demonstrate that his opposition to Objective or Universal Justification is not an isolated example but also pertains to the objective application of the above synonyms.

[GJ - One must swallow the poison to appreciate OJ? No thanks.]

Second, Jackson Should Address the Function of Works in Justification

Jackson bases his rejection of Objective Justification on the fact that God counts Abraham righteous by faith:

Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (Gen 15:6 NAS)

And therefore it was imputed to him [Abraham] for righteousness. (Rom 4:22 KJV)

He also references

²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God.

²⁴ You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.

(James 2:21-24 NAS)

This is where Jackson has the opportunity (on page 76) to demonstrate that both faith and works are components of Justification, but he neglects to make the point.  Because Justification by faith, as Jackson points out, is always accompanied by works, why doesn’t Jackson show that Objective Justification is void of both Abraham’s faith and works, instead of keying in only on faith?

[GJ - Jack sprays the field with more skunk spray, but that does not rescue his ravings. He sets aside the plain meaning of the Word of God for some pseudo-intellectual props for Walther's unearned reputation.]

Thirdly, Jackson Should Investigate Problems with Atonement and Expiation in Justification

Jackson could have delved into the inconsistent and imprecise uses of Atonement, and Expiation.  In his Christian Dogmatics, Volume II, Page 378, Pieper speaks about “objective expiation of sins [to be] wrought by Christ.”  Yet, Expiation is not listed as a Lutheran or biblical term in the Lutheran Cyclopedia, while theologians often define Atonement as Expiation.  When searching for a basis of Atonement, there is no word in the five books of Moses listed in Lutheran dogmatics as the Hebrew equivalent for Atonement.  Atonement and Expiation are not listed in the Book of Concord but dogmaticians like Pieper use these words to define Justification.  Lutheran Theologians describe Atonement in terms of the Vicarious Satisfaction while Atonement has no consistent definition in Lutheran theology.

[GJ - The OJ Fan Club has its piles of documents, proving the OJ Fan Club is smarter than Luther and the Holy Spirit. However, the LCMS began by teaching Justification by Faith, and so did WELS. The Halle OJ of the felon Walther and his syphilitic bishop do not prove anything except their Enthusiasm.]

 The Halle Pietists connected universal salvation with the resurrection of Christ, the same formula used by Stephan, who taught it to Walther.

Insurmountable flaws in Jackson’s Opposition to Objective Justification

First, Jackson Ignores Objective Justification in the Garden of Eden

Jackson’s slice and dice approach to the Bible is akin to, “and he went away and hanged himself” (Matt. 27:5 NAS), and Jesus said,  "Go and do the same" (Luke 10:37 NAS).”  The Bible can be made to say nearly anything when taken out of context.  Just look at Satan’s misquoting of Scripture in his wilderness temptations of Christ.  Because any clergyman worthy of his Call can see the fallacies in Jackson’s writing, his spacious typesetting, simple sentence structure, and limited explanations are apparently designed to persuade the lay reader.

[GJ - I ignored what was not there. Congratulations for using a joke older and more worn-out than great-grandma's nighties. A good jeremiad should be original, not plagiarized from Paul McCain's sermon barrel.]

 

Jackson starts his argument against Objective Justification—God declaring the world righteous in Christ—in the Garden of Eden (page 23).  Jackson quotes Genesis 3:15 where God speaks the first Gospel to the fallen Adam and Eve, who were hiding from God, feared God, and hated God.  There were only two people in the world when God spoke to them, therefore God is speaking to the whole world.  In the entire account of the Fall and first promise, there are no comments about Adam and Eve repenting and coming to faith.  Jackson will not acknowledge that Adam and Eve were forgiven by God until Eve expresses her faith at the naming of Cain in Genesis 4:1.  Here the Bible contradicts Jackson’s thesis that there is no forgiveness before faith, when God clearly forgives Adam and Even before they have faith.  The object of faith must precede faith or faith has nothing to believe in.  If Jackson admits that Adam and Eve were forgiven in the Garden of Eden, he will have to agree that the Bible teaches Objective Justification.  The question remains as to why Jackson is driven to place himself in such an inane theological conundrum.

[GJ - Given the incautious expansion of OJ, do Jack and his Hive consider the moment of universal absolution without faith to have begun at Genesis 3:15?]

Second, Jackson Ignores Universality of Synonyms for Justification

The reason Jackson avoids references to numerous corollaries and synonyms of Justification in his opposition to Objective Justification is that he would have to deal with too much evidence contrary to his thesis.  We had to limit the following data because there are so many verses that describe Christ’s initiative in universal terms before faith.

For God so loved the world, (John 3:16 KJV)

this One is indeed the Savior of the world (Joh 4:42 NAS)

reconciling of the world, (Rom 11:15 KJV)

namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself,  (2Co 5:19 NAS)

and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (1John 2:2 NAS)

Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  (John 1:29 NAS)

Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (Heb 9:26 NAS)

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, (Gen 22:18 KJV)

In thee shall all nations be blessed. (Gal 3:8 KJV)

proof to all men by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:31 NAS)

Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31 KJV)

with righteousness shall he judge the world, (Psa 98:9 KJV)

he shall judge the world with righteousness, (Psa 96:13 KJV)

And he shall judge the world in righteousness (Psa 9:8 KJV)

And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth. (Isa 54:5 NAS)

at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (Rom 5:6 NAS)

having concluded this, that one died for all, (2Co 5:14 NAS)

And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment;  (John 16:8 NAS)

Notice the forensic action in John 16:8 above, where the Holy Spirit will convict the world of righteousness—that is, a declaration of righteousness by God.  Also notice four verses which state that the world will be judged in righteousness.  It is crystal clear that these verses are not speaking about God’s inherent righteousness but His righteousness for us.

[GJ - Using John's Gospel for OJ, especially 16:8 is a level of stupidity and ignorance never before witnessed in print. It takes a village...of idiots.]

There are also a number of verses where universality is implied by the context but not directly stated as in the above.  Pronouns in these verses (such as many, our, them, and we) must apply to all of humanity or the work of Christ is intended only for a fraction of humanity, thus giving us the false doctrine of a limited Atonement.

[GJ - If the "go thou" joke was old and lame, step back, the limited atonement argument, aka the Straw Man fallacy, is even older and lamer. Tis the Calvinists who have universal grace without the Means of Grace, sorta kinda OJ-like.]

much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. (Rom. 5:15 NAS)

how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (1Cor. 15:3 KJV)

"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34 NAS)

He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. (Rom 4:25 NAS)

if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Rom 5:10 NAS)

[GJ - Some means all, according to Jack B. Many means all, according to Jack B. Them and we mean all, according to Mad Jack. Did he advise the New NIV on Romans 3?]

Third, God Loves His Enemies

According in Romans 5:10 above, God has no enemies on earth because He died for them.  He loves everyone, even though everyone is born hating God.  He died for all.  Therefore, if the lack of faith does not prevent Christ dying for them, saving them, forgiving them, reconciling them, redeeming them, loving them, then how can the lack of faith prevent Christ's act of self-sacrificing love from being their Justification?  Romans 3:23 and 5:18-19 say all have sinned and died in Adam but in the second Adam “… through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.”  How much clearer does the Bible have to make this?

[GJ - The gyrations to skip Romans 4 - 5:2 - I am agog, once again.]

 

Faith is not a cause; it is a recipient.  Therefore, the cause of damnation is unbelief, not a lack of righteousness but the rejection of God’s grace, sacrifice, and righteousness.  Hell is populated with untold numbers of souls who reject Christ’s gift of righteousness on their behalf.  Jackson’s denial of Objective Justification flips all of this and makes sinful man incapable of rejecting God’s declaration of righteousness because God never declared that unbelievers are righteous in Christ.  The world cannot send back a Christmas gift it did not receive.

Jackson's definition requires that God cannot initiate the act of Justification until an individual comes to faith.  Accordingly, one of Jackson’s proofs that God did not justify the world in Christ is that all the people in the world do not have faith.  The inevitable result Jackson will not speak about is that his definition for Justification requires the believer to cooperate in his own Justification by faith before God forgives him.  His reasoning is that first Abraham believes God and then God credits Abraham with righteousness.

 

For Jackson the entire Doctrine of Justification requires action on both the part of God and man.  God did not need man in order to create the world, but He does need a believer in order to initiate the Doctrine of Justification.  Why does Jackson put himself in such an untenable position?  Luther’s explanation to the Third Article of the Apostle’s Creed clearly states:  “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel…”

[GJ - Jack did not learn much at Ft. Wayne, like most of the graduates. Faith is not an action on the part of man, except in Walther and JP Meyer, his heroes in rationalistic dogma.]

 Decision theology - embraced by Cascione, WELS,
ELS, CLC (sic).

  Decision theology - embraced by Cascione, WELS,
ELS, CLC (sic).

Fourth, Jackson Ignores Justification in the Doctrine of Election

Jackson conveniently ignores those chapters and narratives that contradict his opposition to Objective Justification.  He focuses on Justification by faith in Romans 3, 4, and 5, but ignores the Doctrine of Election in Romans Chapter 8 and Article xi in the Formula of Concord. 

In Romans 8, God says He elected certain people for salvation before they had faith and before they were born and before there was a world.  In other words, Predestination precedes Objective Justification.  Many are called but few are chosen (Matt. 22:14).  Thus, Christ died for all but not all will receive eternal life.  He is the Savior of the world but not all will be saved.  There is no Universalism here.  We certainly cannot say we are saved because we did not reject or because we have faith in Christ.  The total work of Justification must belong to Christ alone without human cooperation.  When Jackson claims the cause of salvation is Justification by faith, he makes faith a cause in cooperation with the work of Christ.  In verses that say our faith has saved us, faith must be the recipient of salvation, faith is not the cause of salvation.  Christ is the cause and the only cause.

[GJ - Walther used his Election without Faith to tear up the Synodical Conference and make himself the Pope. Cascione's blabbering is more Straw Man, verging on slander, especially with his bachelor's level theology degree.]

 Jack has spent his life attacking Justification by Faith.

 

John Calvin agreed with the flawed ancient axiom regarding the vicarious satisfaction of Christ: Sufficient for all, efficient for some.  He simply equated the "some" to mean "the elect.”  Calvin’s error is that there are no qualifiers in the Gospel and God does not cause unbelief.  On the other hand, the Reformed are challenged by the confession of the father who asked Christ to heal his son when he proclaimed — Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief — because they question whether Christ died for everyone's sins including the sin of unbelief.  But the fact is, the entire Law of Moses was nailed to the cross! Colossians 2:14.

[GJ - Calvin was an Enthusiast. The first OJist, Sam Huber, was a Calvinist teaching at Wittenberg. Walther got his "life-saving" OJ from Stephan, who was too lazy to finish a degree but apparently learned his OJ at Halle. Did that contribute to Stephan being the Jeffrey Epstein of the Lutheran Church? and CFW Walther his pimp?]

 

Romans 8:30 is Jackson’s nemesis: Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.  With Jackson’s understanding of Justification, God only Justifies the chosen, but with Objective Justification all are Justified without regard to Predestination.  Jackson is trying to explain the Doctrine of Election for which God has not given us an explanation.  All attempts to answer the question either lead to Double Predestination (God chooses the saved and the damned) or Pelagianism (I earned heaven by believing in God and doing His will).  Jackson’s definition of Justification makes faith a cause, when the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only cause for why anyone believes and is saved.  The fact is that in Christ, God loves you, died for you, forgives you, and wants you in heaven.  Why does Jackson make this so complicated?

[GJ - Cascione enjoys covering up the path to understanding Justification by using up all his dogma notes from Scaer. Both are entirely grace-less in their attacks on the Means of Grace.]

 

Jackson’s book should not be titled The Path to Understanding Justification, but vacillates between two other possible titles, The Path to Understanding John Calvin or The Path to Armenian Semi-Pelagian Justification.  When it suits him, he follows one or the other.

Much of Jackson’s position is stated by R. C. Sproul as follows:

The so-called “Five points of Calvinism” (growing out of a dispute with Remonstrants (Arminians) in Holland in the early seventeenth century) have been popularized by the acrostic T-U-L-I-P, spelling out the finest flower in God’s garden: T — Total Depravity; U — Unconditional Election; L — Limited Atonement; I — Irresistible Grace; P — Perseverance of the Saints. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/biblical-scholasticism/

The article from which this quote was taken is posted below.  Jackson can find better support for his position from R. C. Sproul than any of the Lutheran Synods he condemns.  We have one question for Dr. Jackson, “Yes or no, did God declare the world righteous in Christ?”

[GJ - I cannot help Cascione with his honesty or anger issues. I do not have time to read the Calvinist Sproul, the Calvinist Walther, the Calvinist Pieper, the Calvinists Cascione and Scaer. Cascione published with the Banner of Truth! Isn't that a Calvinist outfit?]

 

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Biblical Scholasticism

by R.C. Sproul

In an age wherein the ground of theology has been saturated by the torrential downpour of existential thinking, it seems almost suicidal, like facing the open floodgates riding a raft made of balsa wood, to appeal to a seventeenth-century theologian to address a pressing theological issue. Nothing evokes more snorts from the snouts of anti-rational zealots than appeals to sages from the era of Protestant Scholasticism.

“Scholasticism” is the pejorative term applied by so-called “Neo-Orthodox” (better spelled without the “e” in Neo), or “progressive” Reformed thinkers who embrace the “Spirit” of the Reformation while eschewing its “letter” to the seventeenth-century Reformed thinkers who codified the insights of their sixteenth-century magisterial forebears. To the scoffers of this present age, Protestant Scholasticism is seen as a reification or calcification of the dynamic and liquid forms of earlier Reformed insight. It is viewed as a deformation from the lively, sanguine rediscovery of biblical thought to a deadly capitulation to the “Age of Reason,” whereby the vibrant truths of redemption were reduced to logical propositions and encrusted in dry theological tomes and arid creedal formulations such as the Westminster Confession of Faith.

 

The besetting sin of men like Francis Turretin and John Owen was their penchant for precision and clarity in doctrinal statements. As J. I. Packer observed in his introduction of John Owen’s classic work, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ: “Those who see no need for doctrinal exactness and have no time for theological debates which show up divisions between so-called Evangelicals may well regret its reappearance … . Owen’s work is a constructive broad-based biblical analysis of the heart of the gospel, and must be taken seriously as such … . Nobody has the right to dismiss the doctrine of the limitedness of the atonement as a monstrosity of Calvinistic logic until he has refuted Owen’s proof that it is part of the uniform biblical presentation of redemption, clearly taught in plain text after plain text.”

 

The “monster” created by Calvinistic logic to which Packer refers is the doctrine of limited atonement. The so-called “Five points of Calvinism” (growing out of a dispute with Remonstrants (Arminians) in Holland in the early seventeenth century) have been popularized by the acrostic T-U-L-I-P, spelling out the finest flower in God’s garden: T — Total Depravity; U — Unconditional Election; L — Limited Atonement; I — Irresistible Grace; P — Perseverance of the Saints.

Many who embrace a view of God’s sovereign grace in election are willing to embrace the Tulip if one of its five petals is lopped off. Those calling themselves “four-point Calvinists” desire to knock the “L” out of Tulip.

On the surface, it seems that of the “five points” of Tulip, the doctrine of limited atonement presents the most difficulties. Does not the Bible teach over and over that Jesus died for the whole world? Is not the scope of the atonement worldwide? The most basic affirmation the Evangelical recites is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world … .”

 

On the other hand, it seems to me that the easiest of the five points to defend is limited atonement. But this facility must get under the surface to be manifested. The deepest penetration under that surface is the one provided by Owen in The Death of Death in the Death of Christ.

 

First, we ask if the atonement of Christ was a real atonement? Did Jesus really, or only potentially, satisfy the demands of God’s justice? If indeed Christ provided a propitiation and expiation for all human beings and for all their sins, then, clearly, all persons would be saved. Universal atonement, if it is actual, and not merely potential, means universal salvation.

However, the overwhelming majority of Christians who reject limited atonement also reject universal salvation. They are particularists, not universalists. They insist on the doctrine of justification by faith alone. That is, only believers are saved by the atonement of Christ.

If that is so, then the atonement, in some sense, must be limited, or restricted, to a definite group, namely believers. If Christ died for all of the sins of all people, that must include the sin of unbelief. If God’s justice is totally satisfied by Christ’s work on the cross, then it would follow that God would be unjust in punishing the unrepentant sinner for his unbelief and impenitence because those sins were already paid for by Christ.

People usually get around this by citing the axiom, “Christ’s atonement was sufficient for all, but efficient only for some. What does this mean? The Calvinist would interpret this axiom to mean that the value of Christ’s sacrifice is so high, His merit so extensive, that its worth is equal to cover all the sins of the human race. But the atonement’s benefits are only efficient for believers, the elect. The non-Calvinist interprets this axiom in slightly different terms: Christ’s atonement was good enough to save everyone — and was intended to make salvation possible for everyone. But that intent is realized only by believers. The atonement is efficient (or “works”) only for those who receive its benefits by faith.

As I said, this is still a form of “limited atonement.” Its efficacy is limited by human response. Sadly, this kind of limit puts a limit on the saving work of Christ far greater than any limit of the atonement viewed by Reformed theology.

The real issue was the design, or purpose, of God’s plan in laying upon His Son the burden of the Cross. Was it God’s purpose simply to make salvation possible for all but certain for none? Did God have to wait to see if any would respond to Christ to make His atonement efficient? Was it theoretically possible that Jesus would die “for all” yet never see the fruit of His travail and be satisfied?

Or was it God’s eternal purpose and design of the Cross to make salvation certain for His elect? Was there a special sense in which Christ died for His own, for the sheep the Father had given Him?

Here our understanding of the nature of God impacts strongly and decisively our understanding of the design and scope of the Atonement. To deal with every biblical text that bears on those questions, the best source I know of is John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ.

  

 From Amazon and Kindle.

Luther's Sermon - Consolation in Suffering and Patience. Waiting for the Revealing of the Sons of God. Trinity 4. Romans 8:8-22

Norma Boeckler

FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY



TEXT:

ROMANS 8:8-22. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

CONSOLATION IN SUFFERING, AND PATIENCE.

1. Paul’s language here is peculiar. He speaks in a manner wholly different from the other apostles. There is something particularly strange about the first sentences of the passage. His words must be faithfully studied and their meaning learned by personal experience. The Christian life consists altogether in the practice and experience of what the Word of God tells us.

He who has no experimental knowledge of the Word will have but little conception and appreciation of Paul’s words here. Indeed, they will be wholly unintelligible to him.

2. Up to the point where our text begins, Paul has been assuring us in this epistle that through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ we attain the high privilege of calling God our Father; that the Holy Spirit bears witness in our hearts of our sonship, and makes us bold enough to come, by faith in Christ the Mediator, joyfully before God, trusting him to fill and bless us.

Then Paul draws the conclusion, first, that we are children of God; next, he says: “If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” The second conclusion is the outcome of the first. For the reason that we have the boldness and assurance to call God our Father in sincerity and nothing doubting, we are become not only children but heirs, heirs of God and brethren to Christ, joint-heirs with him. But all this, as Paul says, is true “if so be that we suffer with him” ( Romans 8:7).

3. The high prerogative of heirship, Paul faithfully enjoins, is dependent on a sacred duty. Let him who would be Christ’s brother, and joint-heir with him, remember he must also be a joint-martyr and joint-sufferer with Christ. The apostle’s meaning is: Many are the Christians, indeed, who would be joint-heirs with Christ and gladly enjoy the privilege of sharing his inheritance, but who object to suffering with him; they separate themselves from him because unwilling to participate in his pain. But Paul says this will not do. The inheritance follows only as a consequence of the suffering. Since Christ, our dear Lord and Savior, had to suffer before he could be glorified, we must be martyrs with him, with him be mocked by the world, despised, spit upon, crowned with thorns and put to death, before the inheritance will be ours. It cannot be otherwise.

A consistent sympathy is essential to Christian faith and doctrine. He who would be Christ’s brother and fellow-heir must also suffer with him. He who would live with Christ must first die with him. The members of a family not only enjoy good together but also share in their ills. As the saying is, “He who would be a companion in eating must also be a companion in labor.”

4. Paul would earnestly admonish us not to become false Christians who look to find in Christ mere pleasure and enjoyment, but to remember that if we are to participate in the “eternal weight of glory” we must first bear the “light affliction, which is for the moment.” 2 Corinthians 4:17.

By the words “if so be that we suffer with him” the writer means that we are to do more than exercise the sympathy that grieves over another’s misfortune, though such sympathy is binding upon Christians and is a superior Christian virtue, a work of mercy: we ourselves must suffer, non solum affectu, sed etiam effectu, that is, we are overwhelmed by like sufferings. As Christ our Lord was persecuted, we also must endure persecution. As the devil harassed him, we also must be harassed unceasingly. And so Satan does torment true Christians. Indeed, were it not for the restraining hand of the Lord our God, the devil would suffer us to have no peace. Paul has reference to a heartfelt sympathy intense enough to enter into actual suffering. He says to the Hebrews ( Hebrews 10:32-23): “Ye endured a great conflict of sufferings; partly, being made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions.”

5. And in the verse preceding our text he tells us that as our blissful inheritance through brotherhood and joint-heirship with Christ is not a mere fancy and false hope of the heart, but a real inheritance, so our sympathy must amount to real suffering, which we take upon ourselves as befitting joint-heirs. Now Paul comforts the Christian in his sufferings with the authority of one who speaks from experience, from thorough acquaintance with his subject. He seems to view this life as through obscurities, while beholding the life to come with clear and unobstructed vision. He says: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shal be revealed to usward [in us].”

6. Notice how he turns his back to the world and his face to the future revelation, as if seeing no suffering anywhere, but all joy. “Even if it does go ill with us,” he would argue, “what indeed is our suffering in comparison with the unspeakable joy and glory to be revealed in us? It is too insignificant to be compared and unworthy to be called suffering.” We fail to realize the truth of these words because we do not see with our bodily eyes the supreme glory awaiting us; because we fail to grasp fully the fact that we shall never die but shall have a body that cannot suffer nor be ill. If one could conceive the nature of this reward he would be compelled to say: “Were it possible for me to suffer ten deaths by fire or flood, that would be nothing in comparison to the future life of glory. What is temporal suffering, however protracted, contrasted with eternal life? It is not worthy to be called suffering or to be esteemed meritorious.”

7. In this light does Paul regard suffering, as he says, and he admonishes Christians to look upon it similarly. Then shall they find the infinite beyond all comparison with the finite. What is a single penny measured by a world of dollars? though this is not an appropriate comparison since the things compared are both perishable. The suffering of the world is always to be counted as nothing measured by the glorious and eternal possessions yet to be ours. “I entreat you, therefore, beloved brethren,” Paul would say, “to fear no sufferings, not even should it be your lot to be slain. For if you are actually joint-heirs, it must be your fortune, a part of your inheritance, to suffer with others. But what is your pain measured by the eternal glory prepared for you and obtained by the sacrifice of your Savior Jesus Christ?

It is too insignificant to be contrasted.” So Paul makes all earthly suffering infinitely small — a drop, a tiny spark, so to speak; but of yonder hopedfor glory he makes a boundless ocean, an illimitable flame.

8. Why cannot we take his view of the insignificance of our afflictions and the magnitude of the future glory? The extravagance of our conduct is apparent in the fact that but a harsh word uttered by one to his fellow will make the injured one ready to overturn mountains and uproot trees in his resentment. To them who are so unwilling to suffer, Paul’s word of encouragement here is wholly unintelligible. Christians are not to conduct themselves in this impatient manner. It ill becomes them to make extravagant complaint and outcry about injustice. “But,” you say, “I have truly suffered injustice.” Very well, so be it. But why do you make so much of your sufferings and never give a thought to what awaits you in heaven?

Why not exalt the future glory also? If you desire to be a Christian, truly it will not do to conduct yourself in this impatient manner. If you must air your grievances, surely you may do it quietly and decorously.

9. In this life it must be otherwise than in the life of glory. If you essay to be a joint-heir with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not suffer with him, to be his brother and are not like unto him, Christ certainly will not at the last day acknowledge you as a brother and fellow-heir. Rather he will ask where are your crown of thorns, your cross, the nails and scourge; whether you have been, as he and his followers ever have from the beginning of time, an abomination to the world. If you cannot qualify in this respect, he cannot regard you as his brother. In short, we must all suffer with the Son of God and be made like unto him, as we shall see later, or we shall not be exalted with him in glory.

10. Upon this same topic Paul addresses also the Galatians ( Galatians 6:17): Henceforth let no one confuse me, say nothing to me about the doctrine that friendship is rewarded on earth; for I bear branded on my body the marks of my Lord Jesus Christ. His reference is to the signs in ancient paintings of Christ, where the Savior was represented as bearing his cross upon his shoulders, with the nails, the scourge, the crown of thorns and other emblems in evidence. These marks or signs, Paul instructs, all Christians as well as himself must exhibit, not painted on a wall but branded in their flesh and blood. They are made when inwardly the devil affrights and assails us with all manner of terrors and overwhelming afflictions, and at the same time outwardly the world slanders us as heretics, laying her hand to our throats whenever possible and putting us to death.

THE REWARD.

Such marks, or scars, for Christ the Lord, Paul admonishes all Christians to exhibit. Thus he encourages them not to be terrified though they suffer every conceivable wrong, such as our brethren here and there have suffered now for several years. But brighter days are in store for us when once the hour of our enemies and the power of darkness shall come. Our adversaries annoy us now with malignant words and slanderous writings, and indeed they may take our lives. So be it. We must in any event suffer if we are ever to attain true glory. But what they will secure by putting us to death they certainly shall experience.

11. In Paul’s reference to the glory that shall be revealed in us there is a hint as to the cause of man’s unwillingness to suffer: faith is yet weak and fails to descry the hidden glory; that glory is yet to be revealed in us. Could we but behold it with mortal vision, what noble, patient martyrs we should be! Suppose one stood on yonder side of the Elbe with a chest full of gold, offering it to him who should venture to swim across for it. What an effort would be made for the sake of that tangible wealth!

12. Take the case of the adventurous officer. For a few dollars per month he defies spears and guns, exposing himself to almost certain death. The merchant hurries to and fro in the world in a frenzied effort to amass riches, hazarding life and limb, apparently careless of physical cost so long as God’s mercy preserves to him but the shattered hulk of a body. And what must not one endure at court before he realizes, if he ever does, the fulfillment of his ambition?

In temporal things man can do and suffer everything for the sake of honor, wealth and power, because these are manifest to earthly vision. But in the spiritual conflict, because the reward is not discernible to the senses it is very difficult for the old man in us to believe that God will finally grant us glorious bodies, pure souls and hearts of gladness, and make us superior to any earthly king. Indeed, the very reverse of this condition obtains now.

Here is one condemned as a heretic; there one is burned or in some other way put to death. Glory, wealth and honor are not in evidence now. So it seems hard for us to resign ourselves to suffering and wait for the redemption and glory yet unrevealed.

Again, no hardship is too great for the world to undergo for the sake of sordid gain; it willingly suffers whatever comes for that which moth and rust consume and thieves steal.

13. Paul means to say: “I am certain there is reserved for us exceeding glory, in comparison wherewith all earthly suffering is actually of no consideration; only it is not yet manifest.” If we have to face the slightest gale of adversity, or if a trifling misfortune befalls us, we begin to make outcry, filling the heavens with our false complaint of a terrible calamity.

Were our faith triumphant, we would regard it but as a small inconvenience to suffer, even for thirty or forty years or longer; indeed, we should think our sufferings too trifling to be taken into account. May the Lord our God only forbear to reckon with us for the sins we have committed! Why will we have so much to say about great sufferings and their merits? How utterly unworthy we are of the free grace and ineffable glory which are ours in the fact that through Christ we become children and heirs of God, brethren and joint-heirs with Christ!

Well may we resolve: “I will maintain a cheerful silence about my sufferings, boasting not of them nor complaining about them. I will patiently endure all my merciful God sends upon me, meanwhile rendering him my heartfelt gratitude for calling me to such surpassing grace and blessing.” But, as I said, the vision of glory will not enter our hearts because of our weak and miserable flesh, which allows itself to be more influenced by the present than by the future. So the Holy Spirit must be our schoolmaster to bring the matter home to our hearts.

14. Note particularly how Paul expressly states that the glory is to be revealed in us. He would remind us that not only such as Peter or Paul are to participate in the blessing, as we are prone to believe, but that we and all Christians are included in the word “us.” Indeed, even the merest babe obtains at death, wherein it is a joint-sufferer with mankind, this unspeakable glory, which the Lord Jesus into whose death it was baptized has purchased and bestowed upon it. Though in the life beyond one saint may have more glory than another, yet all will have the same eternal life.

Here on earth men differ in point of strength, comeliness, intellect, yet all enjoy the same animal life. So in the other life there will be degrees of radiance or glory, as Paul teaches ( 1 Corinthians 15:41), yet all will share the same eternal happiness and joy; there will be one glory for all, for we shall all be the children of God.

15. Now the first point of consolation is that we turn our backs upon all suffering, saying: “What is all my pain, though it were tenfold greater, compared to the eternal life unto which I am baptized, to which I am called? My sufferings are not worthy to be so termed in connection with the exceeding glory to be revealed in me.” Paul magnifies the future glory to make the temporal sufferings the more insignificant. Then follows: “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the revealing [manifestation] of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope: [For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope;]”

16. Here is the second point of consolation. Paul holds up as an example to us the condition of the whole creation. He exhorts us to endure patiently, as the creature does, all the violence and injustice we suffer from the devil and the world, and to comfort ourselves with the hope of future redemption. Remarkable doctrine this, unlike anything elsewhere found in the Scriptures, that heaven and earth, sun, moon and stars, leaf and blade, every living thing, waits with sighing and groaning for the revelation of our glory.

THE TRAVAIL OF CREATION.

17. Such sighing and agony of the creature is not audible to me, nor is it to you. But Paul tells us he sees and hears it, not expressed by one creature alone, but by all God has made. What does he mean? What is the sighing and longing of creation? It is not that annually the leaves wither and the fruits fall and decay: God purposes that every year new fruits shall grow; he decrees the shattering of the fallen tree. But Paul refers to the creature’s unwilling subjection to the ungodly; “subject to vanity,” he phrases it.

For instance, the blessed sun, most glorious of created things, serves the small minority of the godly, but where it shines on one godly man it must shine on thousands and thousands of knaves, such as enemies of God, blasphemers, persecutors, with whom the world is filled; also murderers, robbers, thieves, adulterers. To these it must minister in all their ungodliness and wickedness, permitting its pure and glorious influence to benefit the unworthy, most shameful and abandoned profligates. According to the apostle, this subjection is truly painful, and were the sun a rational creature obeying its own volition rather than the decree of the Lord God who has subjected it to vanity against its will, it might deny every one of these wicked wretches even the least ray of light; that it is compelled to minister to them is its cross and pain, by reason of which it sighs and groans.

Just as we Christians endure many kinds of injustice and consequently sigh for and implore help and deliverance in the Lord’s prayer, so do the creatures sigh. Although they have not human utterance, yet they have speech intelligible to God and the Holy Spirit, who mark the creatures’ sighs over their unjust abuse by the ungodly.

18. Nowhere else in the Holy Scriptures do we find anything like Paul’s declaration here concerning the earnest expectation and waiting of the creatures for the revelation of the children of God; which waiting the apostle characterizes as a sighing in eager desire for man’s redemption. A little later he compares the state of the creature to a woman in travail, saying it cries out in its anguish. The sun, moon and stars, the heavens and earth, the bread we eat, the water or wine we drink, the cattle and sheep, in short, all things that minister to our comfort, cry out in accusation against the world because they are subjected to vanity and must suffer with Christ and his brethren. This accusing cry is beyond human power to express, for God’s created things are innumerable. Rightly was it said from the pulpit in former times that on the last day all creatures will utter an accusing cry against the ungodly who have shown them abuse here on earth, and will call them tyrants to whom they were unjustly subjected.

19. Paul presents this example of the creatures for the comfort of Christians. His meaning is: Be not sorrowful because of your sufferings; they are small indeed when the ensuing transcendent glory is considered.

You are not alone in your tribulation and your complaint at injustice; the whole creation suffers with you and cries out against its subjection to the wicked world. Every bleat of the flock, every low of the herd, is an outcry against the ungodly as enemies of God and not worthy to enjoy the creatures’ ministrations; not even to receive a morsel of bread or a drink of water. Along this line St. Augustine is eloquent. “A miserly wretch,” he says, “is unworthy the bread he eats, for he is an enemy of God.”

Paul tells us the whole creation groans and travails with us, as if desiring relief from anguish; that it suffers like a woman in travail. For instance: the heavenly planets would gladly be freed from serving, yes, in the extent of their anguish would willingly suffer eclipse; the earth would readily become unfruitful; all waters would voluntarily sink from sight and deny the wicked world a draught; the sheep would prefer to produce thorns for the ungodly instead of wool; the cow would willingly yield them poison rather than milk. But they must perform their appointed work, Paul says, because of him who has subjected them in hope. God will finally answer the cry of creation; he has already determined that after the six thousand years of its existence now passed, the world shall have its evening and end.

20. Had not our parents sinned in paradise, the world would never be dissolved. But since man has fallen in sin, we all — the whole creation — must suffer the consequence; because of our sins, creation must be subjected to vanity and dissolution. During the six thousand years, which are as nothing compared to eternal life, all created things must be under the power of a condemned world, and compelled to serve with all their energies until God shall overthrow the entire world and for the elect’s sake purify again and renew the creature, as Peter teaches. 2 Peter 3:13.

21. The sun is by no means as gloriously brilliant as when created. Because of man’s ungodliness its brightness is to an extent dimmed. But on the day of visitation God will cleanse and purify it by fire ( 2 Peter 3:10), giving it a greater glory than it had in the beginning. Because it must suffer in our sins, and is obliged to shine as well for the worst knave as the godly man, even for more knaves than godly men, it longs intensely for the day when it shall be cleansed and shall serve the righteous alone with its light.

Neither would the earth produce thistles nor thorns were it not cursed for our sins. So it, with all creatures, longs for the day when it shall be changed and renewed.

22. This is the explanation of Paul’s remarkable declaration concerning the “earnest expectation of the creation.” The creature continually regards the end of service, and freedom from slavery to the ungodly. This event will not take place before the revealing of the sons of God; therefore the earnestly expectant creation desires that revelation to come without delay, at any moment. Until such manifestation the world will not consider godly souls as children of the Father, but as children of the devil. So it boldly abuses and slanders, persecutes and puts to death, God’s beloved children, thinking it thereby does God service. In consequence the whole creation cries: “Oh, for a speedy end of this calamity, and the dawning of glory for the children of God!”

23. We have plain authority for the interpretation of the groaning of creation in Paul’s further words, “the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will.” He thus makes all creation — sun and moon, fire, air, water, heaven and earth with all they contain — merely poor, captive servants. And whom do they serve? Not our Lord God; not for the most part his children, for they are a minority among those ministered unto. To whom, then, is their service given? To the wicked — to vanity. The created things are not, as they would be, in righteous service. The sun, for instance, would choose to shine for Paul, Peter and other godly ones. It begrudges to wicked characters like Judas, Pilate, Herod, Annas and Caiaphas the least ray of light; for it is useless service, yielding no good. To serve Peter and Paul would be productive of pleasure and profit; well may its benefit be bestowed upon these godly ones. But the sun must shine as well for the wicked as for the ungodly. Indeed, where it fittingly serves one godly individual, thousands abuse its service.

The case is similar with gold and other minerals, and with all the articles of food, drink and clothing. To whom do these minister? Wicked desperadoes, who in return blaspheme and dishonor God, condemn his holy Gospel and murder his Christians. This is wasted service.

24. So Paul says, “The creature was made subject to vanity;” it must render service against its consent, having no pleasure therein. The sun does not shine for the purpose of lighting a highway robber to murder. It would light him in godly deeds and errands of mercy; but since he follows not these things the service of the blessed sun is abused and that creature ministers with sincere unwillingness. But how is it to avoid service?

A wicked tyrant, a shameful harlot, may wear gold ornaments. Is the gold responsible for its use? It is the good creature of the Lord our God and fitted to serve righteous people. But the precious product must submit to accommodating the wicked world against it will. Yet it endures in hope of an end of such service — such slavery. Therein it obeys God. God has imposed the obligation, that man may know him as a merciful God and Father, who, as Christ teaches ( Matthew 5:45), makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good. For the Father’s sake the blessed sun serves wickedness, performing its service and bestowing its favors in vain. But God in his own good time will reckon with those who abuse the glorious sunlight and other creatures, and will richly recompense the created things for their service.

25. Beloved, Paul thus traces the holy cross among all creatures; heaven and earth and all they contain suffer with us. So we must not complain and excessively grieve when we fare ill. We must patiently wait for the redemption of our bodies and for the glory which is to be revealed in us; especially when we know that all creatures groan in anguish, like a woman in travail, longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For then shall begin their redemption, when they shall not be slaves to wickedness but shall willingly and with delight serve God’s children only. In the meantime they bear the cross for the sake of God, who has subjected them in hope. Thus we are assured that captivity will not endure forever, but a time must come when the creatures will be delivered. “Do ye likewise, beloved Christians,” Paul would advise, “and reflect that as the creature will rejoice with you on the last day, so does it now mourn with you; that not you alone must suffer, but the whole creation suffers with you and awaits your redemption, a redemption so great and glorious As to make your sufferings unworthy to be considered.”

What Is Q? And Why Do the Media Never Ask? October, 2017

 This table  of military officers forms the letter Q.

The video above is a good summary about how this Q business started. President Trump and his closest associates have been communicating with supporters since October of 2017.

More basics about Q can be researched here.

I had to talk some friends off the ledge on Election Day, 2016, because they could not see that Florida - and the presidential election - were won early that evening.

Subsequently, my neighbor asked me about Q and Attorney General Sessions, and we had long talks. I had to calm him down about Sessions, because Trump made the AG into a cowardly do-nothing clown. Democrats said they would impeach Trump if Sessions was forced from his position.

Some research showed that Sessions was known for his honesty and his unwillingness to try a case in the press. In fact, he was known as "the silent executioner." He began the Jeff Epstein case without the public or media knowing. Sessions looked weak, confused, and befuddled until he left office, grinning.

The Q posts were used to allow President Trump (Q+) - and his team of around 10 people, mostly military - to communicate directly with their supporters in the US and around the world.

The top layer of the FBI was fired and some of the crooks were turned into cooperating witnesses. Similar events took place with the Department of Justice.

 Epstein provided girls for Prince Andrew - and had his own cabin at Interlochen Arts Camp for Kids - due to his donations.

Epstein Will Collapse the Deep State
Jeffrey Epstein was known for his use of young girls and his private island years ago. What we did not know was the extent of his networks, the billionaire customers, his connections with foreign intelligence, and the overlapping connections with politicians and the Nxium cult.

Epstein dominating the news is the same as Q being the star player, but Q is in the background and not mentioned - except in mockery.

I can think of 40 - 100 pages to start with, but that is really up to the citizens to find out. Everyone with a computer device has a free world-wide library.

Ghislaine Maxwell, circled, who solicited girls for prostitution, was invited to the ultra-exclusive Chelsea Clinton wedding. Ghislaine worked with Epstein and billionaire Richard Branson (private island owner). Epstein is supposedly a founder of the Clinton Foundation.

I suggest starting with Ghislaine Maxwell, the procurer who obtained many of the young girls for Epstein's customers and video cameras. She was invited to Chelsea Clinton's wedding.

Ghislaine is the daughter of Robert Maxwell - "born orn Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch" - who worked with Israeli intelligence and other countries.

Or Senator John McCain. His second wife is the daughter of Jim Hensley, a Phoenix mobster with close ties to Edgar Bronfman, a Canadian mobster. The Bronfman sisters got mixed up with Nxium, a sex cult now on trial. Nxium has many direct contacts with the Democrat Party in New York.

 Ghislaine Maxwelll posed with Murdoch, who gave us the NIV Bible.

 Pastor Bickel loved the photo of Old Lizard Hands, which reminded me of the book Unholy Hands on the Bible.