The Holy Spirit and Paul Wrote - Justified by Faith and Expressed It Many Ways - But Never Objective Justification or Grace apart from Faith

Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace;

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

***

The Dirty Half-Dozen, Sprung for a Special Mission

GJ - The Synodical Conference has sent out their third-stringers to Camp Trinity: shape-shifters, politicians, united in anti-fa, anti-faith.

"Speakers include Rev. Steven Spencer; Rev. Rolf Preus MDiv, STM; Rev. Dr. John Spangler; Ex-1st VP Rev. Wayne Mueller, M.Div.; Dr. Doyle Holbird and Rev. "Prof." Jack Cascione, M.Div."

Greek Lesson - Mark 9:9ff - Whoever Receives One Such Child

Parser - tells us the I.D. of the word

Lenski's Mark Commentary - download as a PDF

Mark 9

9 καταβαινοντων δε αυτων απο του ορους διεστειλατο αυτοις ινα μηδενι διηγησωνται α ειδον ει μη οταν ο υιος του ανθρωπου εκ νεκρων αναστη

10 και τον λογον εκρατησαν προς εαυτους, συζητουντες τι εστιν το εκ νεκρων αναστηναι

εκρατησαν - more like holding, seizing among themselves alone. specific to Jesus

11 και επηρωτων αυτον λεγοντες - οτι λεγουσιν οι γραμματεις οτι ηλιαν δει ελθειν πρωτον

12 ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις - "ηλιας μεν ελθων πρωτον αποκαθιστα παντα - και πως γεγραπται επι τον υιον του ανθρωπου ινα πολλα παθη και εξουδενωθη

αποκαθιστα παντα - restore all things, preparing people to believe

εξουδενωθη - be treated with contempt (once in NT)

13 αλλα λεγω υμιν οτι και ηλιας εληλυθεν, και εποιησαν αυτω οσα ηθελησαν, καθως γεγραπται επ αυτον

14 και ελθων προς τους μαθητας ειδεν οχλον πολυν περι αυτους - και γραμματεις συζητουντας αυτοις

15 και ευθεως πας ο οχλος ιδων αυτον εξεθαμβηθη και προστρεχοντες ησπαζοντο αυτον

προστρεχοντες - ran

ησπαζοντο - saluting

16 και επηρωτησεν τους γραμματεις τι συζητειτε προς αυτους

17 και αποκριθεις εις εκ του οχλου ειπεν διδασκαλε ηνεγκα τον υιον μου προς σε εχοντα πνευμα αλαλον

ηνεγκα  -- from φέρω, fero Latin - carry

18 και οπου αν αυτον καταλαβη, ρησσει αυτον, και αφριζει και τριζει τους οδοντας αυτου, και ξηραινεται, και ειπον τοις μαθηταις σου ινα αυτο εκβαλωσιν και ουκ ισχυσαν

ρησσει αυτον - first stage of seizure

19 ο δε αποκριθεις αυτω λεγει, "ω γενεα απιστος! εως ποτε προς υμας εσομαι, εως ποτε ανεξομαι υμων φερετε αυτον προς με

εως - repetition of how long for emphasis

20 και ηνεγκαν αυτον προς αυτον και ιδων αυτον ευθεως το πνευμα εσπαραξεν αυτον και πεσων επι της γης εκυλιετο αφριζων

εκυλιετο - rolled

21 και επηρωτησεν τον πατερα αυτου ποσος χρονος εστιν ως τουτο γεγονεν αυτω ο δε ειπεν παιδιοθεν

παιδιο -θεν  compound, from

22 και πολλακις αυτον και εις πυρ εβαλεν και εις υδατα ινα απολεση αυτον - αλλ ει τι δυνασαι βοηθησον ημιν σπλαγχνισθεις εφ ημας

ημιν - eta becomes e, we, us - upsilon u for you

23 ο δε ιησους ειπεν αυτω,  "το ει δυνασαι πιστευσαι, παντα δυνατα τω πιστευοντι"

24 και ευθεως κραξας ο πατηρ του παιδιου μετα δακρυων ελεγεν πιστευω κυριε βοηθει μου τη απιστια

25 ιδων δε ο ιησους οτι επισυντρεχει οχλος, επετιμησεν τω πνευματι τω ακαθαρτω λεγων αυτω "το πνευμα το αλαλον και κωφον εγω σοι επιτασσω εξελθε εξ αυτου και μηκετι εισελθης εις αυτον"

26 και κραξαν και πολλα σπαραξαν αυτον εξηλθεν και εγενετο ωσει νεκρος ωστε πολλους λεγειν οτι απεθανεν

27 ο δε ιησους κρατησας αυτον της χειρος ηγειρεν αυτον - και ανεστη

28 και εισελθοντα αυτον εις οικον οι μαθηται αυτου επηρωτων αυτον κατ ιδιαν οτι ημεις ουκ ηδυνηθημεν εκβαλειν αυτο

29 και ειπεν αυτοις τουτο το γενος εν ουδενι δυναται εξελθειν ει μη εν προσευχη και νηστεια

30 και εκειθεν εξελθοντες παρεπορευοντο δια της γαλιλαιας και ουκ ηθελεν ινα τις γνω

31 εδιδασκεν γαρ τους μαθητας αυτου και ελεγεν αυτοις οτι ο υιος του ανθρωπου παραδιδοται εις χειρας ανθρωπων και αποκτενουσιν αυτον και αποκτανθεις τη τριτη ημερα αναστησεται

32 οι δε ηγνοουν το ρημα και εφοβουντο αυτον επερωτησαι

ηγ - negation

το ρημα - very important teaching

33 και ηλθεν εις καπερναουμ και εν τη οικια γενομενος επηρωτα αυτους τι εν τη οδω προς εαυτους διελογιζεσθε

34 οι δε εσιωπων προς αλληλους γαρ διελεχθησαν εν τη οδω "τις μειζων"

35 και καθισας εφωνησεν τους δωδεκα και λεγει αυτοις ει τις θελει πρωτος ειναι εσται παντων εσχατος και παντων διακονος

Eschatology

36 και λαβων παιδιον εστησεν αυτο εν μεσω αυτων και εναγκαλισαμενος αυτο ειπεν αυτοις

37 ος εαν εν των τοιουτων παιδιων δεξηται επι τω ονοματι μου εμε δεχεται και ος εαν εμε δεξηται ουκ εμε δεχεται αλλα τον αποστειλαντα με

Extremely important verb - receive, welcome is parallel to faith

verse 39 - μη κωλυετε αυτον

https://biblehub.com/greek/2967.htm

3 John 1:10 V-PIA-3S
GRK: τοὺς βουλομένους κωλύει καὶ ἐκ
NAS: either, and he forbids those
KJV: and forbiddeth them that would,

The Big and the Microscopic Picture - Observation Confirms Creation and Divine Management

David Gelernter - "They [students] know nothing about art. They know nothing about history. They know nothing about philosophy. And because they have been raised as not even atheists, they don't rise to the level of atheists, insofar as they've never thought about the existence or nonexistence of God. It has never occurred to them. They know nothing about the Bible." David Gelernter on Conversations with Bill Kristol.

Dr. Lito Cruz commended the video above, and I posted it a short time ago. Dr. Cruz is a Lutheran pastor and a PhD in math, so the conversation in the video is also his work in academics and computer science.The argument is that amino acids form the proteins in our bodies, in animals, and in plants. They must be lined up on a given protein in a certain way to work. The chances of that happening in long amino acid chains is almost zero. That is explained well in the video because these three scholars know the topic so well. Random organization of proteins is impossible.

The Bible begins with Creation by the Word. I look at discussions like this as material to be used in defense of traditional Christianity. If the Bible is really God's only published book, the Scriptures should judge and explain why Dr. Gelernter is correct.

I look at the issue from the perspective of gardening without toxins or man-made chemicals - Creation Gardening. My grandfathers were organic farmers, called farmers in those days. They managed their property without the vast array of man-made chemicals that are promoted in modern farming. My mother taught me that most insects were beneficial and that the pests were easily handled by other creatures. There - I said it - creatures rather than evolutes.

Ranger Bob was trained in landscape gardening, and he can do the work in record time, except he always thinks of chemical solutions, debating Creation methods with me. My best response is, "Count the roses." 

Everything works together in the Creation Garden. The soil is God's own handiwork, an ocean of life teaming with microbes, the foundation of all plant, animal, and human health. Without those fungi, bacteria, protozoa, and nematodes, the soil would be dirt, sterile dead dirt incapable of sustaining life. 

The microbes in soil work with the animals in the soil - earthworms, ants, centipedes, millipedes, slugs, and many more. Larger animals work the soil too, including the hated but beneficial mole. The mole eats all kinds of pests and earthworms. A peak performing soil has everything birthing, dying, eating and being eaten. The effect is to keep an enormous reserve of usable chemicals in the top 12 inches of soil for plants to use and recycle.

I toss every banana peel and each pod of coffee grounds into the soil, because those contributions add to the treasure trapped in the root zone. Others bag their leaves and grass, but I laugh and apply them where they are valued. I do not run chemical tests, because the Creator is far more skilled and flexible than I am. 

If pests assault the flowers, beneficial insects lay eggs near or in the pests, so baby has fresh protein when he hatches. The adults like nectar for food, so I grow their favorite flowers. I would never kill the pests on my own, because they make the garden attractive to the good insects.

One of my favorite photos shows a spider protecting a Falling in Love rose, or, just plain looking for his next meal.

Naturally - or Creationally - the spiders flourish in a garden full of insects. When I cut a long, straight rose for the altar vase, I often find a thick spider net around its base. In the rose may be another spider. Flying around the bloom is often a hover fly or an igneumon wasp. When I used to fill vases on the hood of the Town Car, they flew around the roses as if the garden had merely moved. Sometimes they followed the rose indoors. 

How could all these living things work so well together, in all circumstances, without God's Creation, design, engineering, and daily management?

 These are the fastest growing in the garden, whether the gardener knows it or not - fungi, bacteria, protozoa, nematodes.

The Calendar and Useful Garden Debris

The Gannt Chart is a system for organizing a complicated project. Some people get a certification in Project Management for knowing how to work with the program. A gardener watches that unfold all through the year, with all the parts of Creation working together, from the burst of life in the spring to the production of winter food and protection in the fall.

Ranger Bob wants to weed-whack the gardens down to the ground in the fall, haul all the organic matter away. I say, "No chance. The bugs depend on winter cover, hollow stalks, piles of leaves."

"It looks like a mess."

I say, "Bless the mess. That is the natural state." The leaves and grass become food and shelter for soil creatures. An astonishing array of spiders, beetles, and insects flourish under the blanket of dead leaves and grass. The larger the mulched area, the more birds, squirrels, and rabbits can flourish. Earthworms multiply and moles stir the soil in search of grubs and worms.

A Garden of Fragrances

Mrs. Ichabod wanted the roses near the front door, so she could see them and smell their fragrance all the time.

Jessica Walliser's work introduced me to planting for beneficial insects first of all, adding butterflies and hummingbirds to the list. The penultimate result is a garden of fragrances:

• Roses have many kinds of fragrance, many levels from imaginary to potent.
• Some, like Chaste Tree and Joe Pye, have a medicinal smell.
• Joe Pye flowers also have a light vanilla scent.
• Clethra is the champion, with sweet cinnamon coming from it all the time.
• Mints are minty.
• Berry plants and Butterfly Bush in the back yard give it a grape jelly fragrance at certain times. Butterflies hang around. Beauty Berries ripen for the late fall, when birds need more food.

Fun and Easy Projects in the Creation Garden

Ranger Bob and I finally finished the metal edging down one side of the driveway and across the front of the rose garden. Since our garden areas are always being renewed with wood mulch and tree leaves, the debris gets all over the sidewalk and driveway. This ended when we built the wall. Metal pieces pinned the brown painted metal to the soil at the edge.

Sassy set up a defensive perimeter - in the shade - when we worked.

Fun and Easy Projects

The current state of the rose garden gives food and shelter to a lot of creatures, which is great fun. Sassy and I came back from our morning walk to find baby bunnies playing games, hopping over each other, in the street. Mother rabbit was watching them. She created a diversion while the babies went back to their nest in the garden.

 Buckwheat seeds are inexpensive and very fast growing. They seed themselves to some extent but do not take over. They illustrate what Paul said about sowing abundantly and reaping abundantly.

Buckwheat - Instant, Easy Garden
Nothing grows faster and reseeds itself like buckwheat. I have learned to sow lightly so it does not overwhelm the main plants. Buckwheat plants are tall and slender, bloom and seed themselves quickly. Beneficial insects approve. Children and grandchildren can see the results of scattering buckwheat seeds in a few weeks.

Borage for Courage and Salad Decoration
Borage is also called Bee Bread for its attraction to bees. I sow additional borage during rainstorms. The plant does not seem to be growing and suddenly it is blooming pink and blue flowers, with bees crawling over it. The flowers taste cucumberly, and are sometimes used to decorate salads. Borage also makes people feel better, according to legend, but a garden does that too.

Planting Hummingbird Feeders and Flowers
Grumpy Greg used to say, "I don't fill hummingbird feeders. I grow them."

I built up as many hummer plants as I could. Once I saw the birds feeding daily from the plants, I decided a few bucks spent on feeders was worth it.

Squirrels wrecked the bird feeders so I was not going to buy seed for them to monopolize. Several hummingbird feeders are easy to bring close for viewing, easy and inexpensive to fill.

Hummers need plants for nectar and for small critters. Here are the plants I see routinely visited by the birds:

• Butterfly Bush
• Joe Pye
• Bee Balm
• Trumpet Vine.

The birds flit from plant to plant, stop at the feeder, fly up to the maple, and repeat. When they visit their audience, they come closer and do little jigs to turn as they fly upright.

Off with Their Heads
Most gardeners need to prune a lot more. The shears should be sharp and powerful, not old, cheap ones. Some of us like to prune because they always brings results. See John 15:1ff for the True Vine parable.

1. Daisies need constant attention because they bloom constantly. If a flower is turning into a button, it should be pruned to promote the growth of more flowers.
2. Bee Balm is very attractive to bees and hummers, so the whole crop can be trimmed off at once, for regrowth once the bees have done their job on the clump. Caution - early morning cutting is far better than the afternoon, when bees are working the last of the flowers and rather grumpy.
3. Roses grow on fresh, green wood, so a little pruning all the time brings about healthy strong roses.

ELCA Bishop Liz Eaton Re-Elected. The Top Four Synod Leaders Are Harder To Get Rid Of Than a Florida Condo

 One big happy dysfunctional family

Calvinists Love Objective Justification

 John Calvin

Reformed (Calvinist) Forum

As I indicated earlier if you’ve read John Murray’s book (maybe you didn’t but most on this forum have) on Redemption Accomplished and Applied you would realize that calvinists teach objective justification as well. The only difference is that calvinists teach it’s for the elect only instead of for all sinners as lutherans do. Objective justification happened at the atonement or what John Murray calls redemption accomplished. Objective justification is nothing else than Christ’s vicotory (sic) in Calvary that won the forgiveness of sin for all sinners. Calvinists teach that it’s only for the elect, while lutherans teach a universal objective justification. So basicall all your questions about objective justification are easily answered and apply to both reformed and lutheran theology, since both tehologies teach objective justification, for the lutheran this justification is universal (unlimited atonement) and for the reformed is only for the elect (limited atonement).

Now let’s look at the difference between lutheranism and calvinism. We preach the forgiveness of sins to all the world (the great commission) in Christ. Calvinists do the same, the proclamation of the gospel is to all people. But in order for me to preach the forgiveness of sins (objective justification in the atonement) to every sinner the forgiveness of sin needs to have been accomplished for all sinners so that whosoever believes will be saved. As a calvinist I would have a hard time preaching a forgiveness of sin that is only for some people and not for others, how do I know who is the elect and who isn’t so that I can preach it to them? It would be impossible to know. And as a calvinist if I preach the gospel to everybody and tell them Christ has won the forgiveness of sins at Calvary, I’m a liar because I can only tell this to the elect! And how will I know who the elect are? It would be impossible to know.

Scaer on Robert Preus and the Calvinists

Scaer Chapter: Objective vs. Subjective Justification

At the time of the faculty’s conversations with Maier II, Robert Preus looked for support and found it among conservative friends in the Evangelical movement who admired him for his defense of biblical inspiration and inerrancy, including several faculty members of Westminster Seminary—Escondido, California, with its renowned Reformed scholar Michael Horton (b. 1964). Preus must have been aware, but chose to ignore that the Reformed see objective justification as a component of their doctrine of election, but it was hardly universal in scope as Lutherans  have historically held it. Several faculty members who were at odds with Maier II’s views saw certain kinks in the traditional position because it saw each individual rather than humanity as a totality being justified.

Scaer, David P.. Surviving the Storms: Memoirs of David P. Scaer . Luther Academy. Kindle Edition. 

PS - When Mrs. Ichabod posted part of this Robert Preus material on the Orthodox (sic) Lutheran Forum, it disappeared faster than Packer season tickets in Green Bay.

 David Scaer

Not Ungardening - Creation Gardening

 Cat Mint

Back to the wild: how 'ungardening' took root in America 

"Washington (AFP) - Retired union organizer Anna Burger lives by a busy road just a minute's walk from a metro station in the US capital Washington, but every morning she wakes up to a birdsong symphony. 

Butterflies, squirrels and even the occasional deer also come to visit the tree-covered property that she has cultivated with a focus on native species that provide nesting space and nourishment for the local wildlife.

Well-manicured grass lawns have long been associated with the American Dream, but a growing "rewilding" movement now seeks to reclaim yard space for nature."

***
GJ -

The article had a bad slant but I am glad it was published. People are so used to the green grass look that they do not consider growing flowers, herbs, and shrubs in the front yard.

No one wants to eat one food all day, every day. God's creatures are no different. Grass alone provides little for insects and birds to enjoy, and the relatively shallow grass roots do not add as much to the soil as other plants do.

When the front yard is mostly done next year, it will be a combination of:

1. Rose bushes
2. Bulb flowers
3. Shrubs - spirea, clethra, crepe myrtle, chaste tree
4. Mints - bee balm, cat mint, mountain mint
5. Hummingbird plants - Joe Pye, bee balm, hosta
6. Butterfly plants - Joe Pye, butterfly bush, yarrow
7. Beneficial and bee host plants - daisies, feverfew, mints, borage 

Some plants are all purpose, like Joe Pye, which attracts everything and dragon flies.

Most plants double up - the ones attractive to butterflies are also appealing to hummingbirds. Or like bee balm, attractive to hummingbirds and bees.

A variety means plants is always blooming, so the scene is animated by the air-borne life fed by the productive plants growing in healthy, toxin-free soil.

Ranger Bob, when he was not feeding Sassy, asked, "Why are you not over-run with insect pests?"

I said, "Because every pest is food for beneficial creatures. They balance each other." One study showed that planting borage (so easy to grow) will increase the total of beneficial insects. Most householders overlook those flying specks, but they are the main characters in reducing garden destruction. 

Daisies are so common, so easy to grow. I want more bunches of them. The moment they bloom, beneficial tachinid flies land on them. 

Bee balm is...

 a double threat.

Hummingbirds Love Our Gardens and Feeders

Tiny birds and tiny beneficial insects love tiny compound flowers.

Army Ranger Bob did something special for us recently. When he learned I had a hummingbird feeder set up in our kitchen window, he said, "I have something."

He brought over a bird feeder stand and a metal table, both newly painted in Chevrolet orange. He poked the stand into the garden, near the porch. I filled the new feeder he brought over, and I hung it on the pole. The next day, our front yard visitor was sipping at the feeder. Soon two were fighting over it. Memo to self - get another feeder.

So now we sit on the front porch, in the shade, with Sassy the Wonder-Dog getting the most treats possible from Bob. Then she stretches out on the porch, in the shade, and listens to Bob talk about cars, planes, jets, tanks, self-defense, and the Navy.

We drink pour-over coffee and debate who has spoiled Sassy the most. She simply looks at him in adoration when Bob speaks. She also puts him through his paces, showing him a cocked front leg that says, "Tummy rub time." If he flags in his interest, she paws the air for more attention.

Mrs. I comes out on the porch to enjoy the roses and wildlife.

Faint Praise for Toxic Mercury

Boys used to play with blobs of mercury, which was fun with old wooden desks, inkwells, and carved initials where a blob could be stored. Unfortunately, as many found out, mercury has a great affinity for silver and gold. Once the mercury touches a gold or silver ring, the toxic metal adheres - no washing it off.

Dentists know that because many fillings are amalgam. The term is an abbreviation for silver-mercury amalgam. The dental scientists add toxic mercury to silver to make the filling more flexible. It is strange how parents warned us not to play with mercury and paid dentists to entomb silver-mercury in our mouths.

Calvinism is just like mercury, adhering to what is good and pure, almost impossible to remove. John Calvin took over the rationalism and Enthusiasm of Zwingli, swaggering with the same pride and lack of Biblical comprehension. Worst of all, Calvin tried to fool everyone about how much he agreed with Luther.

One pesky writer taunted Calvin into admitting how much he disagreed with Luther's Biblical teaching. His name was Westphal, famous for Calvin's tirade - Against Westphal.

Ever since, Calvinists have tried to achieve unity by having Lutherans drop:

1. Baptismal regeneration
2. The efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace
3. The Real Presence, and
4. Justification by Faith.

Perhaps many Calvinists would claim Justification by Faith, but I see little evidence of that. Many Calvinists dwell on covenant to such an extent that they say, "If I am faithful to God and obey Him, He will reward me." That is not true of every Calvinist, and heaven knows the Calvinists are quite different from each other. But that covenant concept is common, and rarely does a Calvinist mention Abraham in connection with Justification by Faith.

Calvinists moved into the German territories and scrapped with Lutherans. The friction led the government to move toward uniting the Lutherans and the Calvinists into one, big, happy Calvinist family. F. Schleiermacher, the unbeliever who studied theology at Halle U. and taught there, moved the government along toward a complete union of the two confessions.

The Calvinist victory shows in the dominance of Objective Justification, Election without Faith, Church Growth, and the NIV/ESV abominations.

Marketing the Gospel? - Calvinism.

Gimmicks during sermons? - Calvinism.

Getting rid of the liturgy and creeds - Calvinism.

I think the ad came from WELS for the 500th, I am not sure. But the wording came from Lutherans and it said this - "No matter what Luther's short-comings were, at least he pointed to Christ."

The wording struck me because it was used by Pieper to show what was wrong with Calvinism. The Calvinists, like Kalnis (now forgotten), said the Word of God is like a statue of Mercury (such irony) that points the way but does not give a person the power to go that direction. Yes, Calvinism thinks the Word is dead, like their cast iron statue of Mercury in the garden. They have to make the Word of God 

• attractive (marketing), 
• relevant (The CORE), and 
• reasonable (Objective Justification).

At the Chicago Inerrancy Conference, as I wrote before, I heard one Calvinist belittle Dr. Robert Preus for not doing those three things (bullets, above) in his doctrinal paper. The individual went on to say he would not accept a paper like that from a student at his seminary. I would have quipped, "I would bet on that, you Enthusiast!"

One must see Calvinism for what it is to realize how it amalgamated itself to the American Lutherans and triumphed with Objective Justification and Church Growth. Those who want to be one with so-called Evangelicals - like David Valleskey and Paul Kelm - are also the people who stuff Church Growth down everyone's throat.

Mathematical Challenges to the Darwininan Philosophy - Thank You Dr. Lito Cruz

The arguments against random development of life are destroyed in this discussion. Has Concordia Seminary, St. Louis studied this yet?

The challenge is to make proteins from amino acids in the right order, and there are many different proteins.