ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Bunyan Studied Luther's Galatians Almost as much as the Bible "Pilgrim's Progress is a beautiful allegory of the Christian life. Those who want an overall treatment first might view a video, an animation, or even an illustrated children's book. The Biblical lessons come to life in the characters and their names. Bunyan warned against false doctrine and encouraged people with the Gospel in these lessons. It is one of my favorite books of all time."
I will start Pilgrim's Progress Wednesday evenings at 7 PM using our Ustream link. If I am more organized, I will put each video lesson on Facebook, on its own page, and on this blog ahead of time, and print them as a booklet.
That will continue until Ash Wednesday, when I will begin Greek lessons - very slowly at first. I keep the recording going for Greek lessons, each Wednesday, until Lent is over then continue on the video lessons on Wednesdays at 7 PM.
I have written a short commentary on the Gospel of John. That grew out of the last Gospel of John in Greek sessions.
Paine is a long-standing favorite. People need this to know the basic endings and grammar. Copies cost from $22 up used. The ISBN numbers are handy for getting the best deal on Paine.
The Hymn # 85:1-8From Heaven Above 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 #85:9-15From Heaven Above
KJV Galatians 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
KJV Luke 2:33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. 39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. 40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
Sunday After Christmas
O almighty and everlasting God, mercifully direct our ways, that we may walk in Thy law, and be made to abound in good works: through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen. Background for the Epistle Sermon - Galatians 4:1-7
Luther: 1. This text is very characteristic of the apostle Paul. It is not generally understood. Not because of any obscurity in itself, but because the doctrine of faith, a doctrine it is very necessary to understand if we are to comprehend Paul, for his energetic and zealous mind is, in all his epistles, occupied with the subject of faith — because, I say, this doctrine is almost obsolete in the world, today. A lengthy exposition is necessary to make it plain. To gain space to treat the subject clearly, we will let this suffice for the introduction. Faith is having a bad time on both sides. Of course, the rationalists of all stripes have no faith, except in human reason. But the crypto-rationalists are worse, because they tunnel into church structures and carry on about how great and wise they are - so many honors and titles - and do their best to quash faith in the Scriptures, in God, in the Son of God, in the Holy Spirit. The jackals of Fuller Seminary told everyone, "Your teaching does not matter. Our methods work with all denominations. The fields are white for the harvest, but you must use a scythe, not a pen-knife." (Sources - published drivel from Larry Olson, drive-by D.Min. - and various publications promoting Fuller.) The Fulleroids were true to their word. Their methods eviscerated the membership - using the scythe - of all the denominations they trained. Their human weapon did its work well, and they harvested millions of dollars, sold thousands of worthless books. Faith in the revealed Word of God does not matter to them, but the marketing methods of the lecturers do matter. That is rather obvious and crude, but there are other rationalistic impressions. The more subtle approach is more dangerous, where human reason is seen as an aid in judging the Word - not subordinating oneself to the Word. Those people lead others astray, step by step. If they follow the tendencies of their era, they consider their position correct. For example, in the earliest days, some had trouble believing Jesus was truly human. Now, the same sort of people deny He is truly divine. Both natures are united in His person, so the denial of this union - God in man - will end in many more errors. The Bible teaches faith in Jesus - the Son teaches and acts in complete harmony with the Father, as revealed by the Spirit. The place to read about this relationship is the Gospel of John, often called the Gospel of Faith.
Cain and Abel, Law and Grace
KJV Galatians 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Luther: 1. This text is very characteristic of the apostle Paul. It is not generally understood. Not because of any obscurity in itself, but because the doctrine of faith, a doctrine it is very necessary to understand if we are to comprehend Paul, for his energetic and zealous mind is, in all his epistles, occupied with the subject of faith — because, I say, this doctrine is almost obsolete in the world, today. A lengthy exposition is necessary to make it plain. To gain space to treat the subject clearly, we will let this suffice for the introduction. Paul is occupied with the doctrine (the teaching) of faith, and Luther experienced that doctrine as being almost completely obsolete in his time. He saw people being manipulated into looking away from the Scriptures and being manipulated and used. They were frightened about Hell in dramas put on to make them pay to escape Hell and reduce their time in Purgatory. The agents of the Pope said, "If you pay money, the pope can reduce your time in Purgatory." In the last few decades I have seen the famous theologians write "Grace is not grace, if faith is a requirement. Faith cannot be a contingency." Of course, that false claim rests on a contingency. If faith is a requirement (contingency, the if clause) then there is no grace. Notice that they are playing faith against grace, a bald-faced denial of their favorite chapter in Romans - Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; Faith gives us access to God's grace - Romans 5:1-2, which is not a favorite of the modernists. Through faith in Him we have forgiveness (justification), peace, and access to His grace.
Luther gave Cain and Abel as examples of the contrast between Law and Grace. That is good because the Cain/Abel story is troubling and confusing. Why is one offering good, the other bad? Looking at the offering leads us to the wrong conclusion. God had respect of Abel and his offering, but not of Cain and his offering. The difference is faith. Anyone who writes, roars, and connives against faith has completely missed Luther, St. Paul, and the entire message of the Bible. Faith in Christ makes a good person; whatever is done in faith glorifies God. Believing in Christ is justification, so believing is forgiveness, as simple as that. The good works which follow are the fruit of faith. under a tutor When we are under the Law alone, we are like children who are being tutored. However, the Law leads us to faith in Christ, and then we can see that He alone can fulfill the Law and pay the price for our sins. The "child" is the person who obeys only out of fear and obedience and may even expect to be righteous under the Law. But the Law always condemns and shows us we are far short of righteousness. But leading us to Christ is good, because that shows us grace coming to us through faith, peace because we have the righteousness of faith, and we have access to His grace. Luther calls human reason Madam Huldah, because it talks us out of the revealed truth. For example, now people worry about making their church popular, so they avoid anything that might offend or be unpopular. Yet Jesus used two words for teach. He said - teach all nations, and teach them to obey all I have commanded. If we turn the first verb into "make disciples," that blunts the idea of teaching all nations. To teach "all I have commanded" means including everything, including (let's be inclusive) those points that cause people to stumble into Madam Huldah's trap of human reason.
Because God can do everything, Madam Huldah is bound to object to certain teachings, such as Creation by the Word (the Logos, the Son, Jesus). To appease human reason, which can never be appeased, people invent compromises where the words are used without their meaning. Now the religious social justice warriors want to save Planet Earth but they think all religions are the same. On saving Planet Earth, they are immovable Fundamentalists. On faith in Christ, they are reasonable and flexible Universalists. I could give more examples, but that would spoil the family-friendly G-rating of this blog. Luther: 6. Here Madam Huldah with her scornful nose — human nature — steps in and dares to contradict her God and to charge him with falsehood. She hangs upon herself her old frippery, her straw armor — natural light, reason, free-will and human powers. She introduces the heathenish books and doctrines of men, and proceeds to harp upon these, saying: “Good works do precede justification. And they are not, as God says, the works of Cain. They are good to the extent of justifying. For Aristotle taught that he who does much good will thereby become good.” To this doctrine Madam firmly cleaves, perverting the Scriptures and presuming that God must first respect the works and then the doer. This satanic doctrine universally reigns at present in all the high schools and other institutions, and in the cloisters. Its advocates are but Cain-like saints, disregarded of God. So what do the rationalistic groups do? They move away from faith in Jesus and emphasize specific works - and you better behave. Wearing a plastic straw in one's belt as "carry concealed" will not be appreciated or even tolerated. What makes a work good? Many would answer - the size and importance of it. That reflects well on the donor. That, of course, is a Law or works-righteousness answer. Any mother will say a freshly harvested dandelion from a child is worth far more than a dozen roses, though some roses are always welcome. Christina brought so many roses to work daily - due to constant rain in Columbus - One husband caught on and sent his wife a dozen roses - at work - causing her to beam, "Look at what your husband's roses did!" Faith in the Savior is always going to generate good things. Under a tutor, we do what we must. But in Christ's family, faith moves us from love of our neighbor and gratitude to God. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, Someone can be ancient and full of man's wisdom but still a child in view of the Law. Here he is teaching them not to return to Law salvation, which is like becoming a child again - not in the good sense, but in bondage. Paul paints a picture of the Savior. He does not argue for the Virgin Birth, because that was not an issue at that time. But here and in Romans 1, Paul references the birth of Christ. Implied here too, as in Romans 1 - are the Two Natures in Christ - sent forth from God, but made of a woman, made under the Law. This is too dense for the rationalists but obvious to believers. Notice the verb "sent." John's Gospel uses that all the time - God sent His Son, and Jesus sent His disciples. The Father-Son relationship is often repeated because it means so much. Nothing from the Son is alien to the Father. Jesus is the face and the voice of the Father. The Apostles were sent by Jesus. The Promises and Blessings of the Old Testament foreshadow Christ, predict Christ, and they are fulfilled in Christ. 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 5 ινα τους υπο νομον (law) εξαγοραση (redeemed) ινα την υιοθεσιαν (sonship, adoption) απολαβωμεν Because we have been purchased from the Law with the blood of Christ, we are included as sons. Adoption is a bit weak, as Lenski writes in his commentary. Adoption could suggest babies only, but this is the honor of being treated as son, a brother of Christ, regardless of age or gender. This purchase was made once for all. This confuses people taught by Madam Huldah. The atonement, redemption, expiation, propitiation, ransom, is expressed with many different but related words. Redemption comes to us in two different words - one related to a purchase, the other a payment for release from slavery. All those words are the Gospel, the treasure that comes to us through the Holy Spirit. When this treasure is distributed by the Word and received by faith, both involving the Spirit, forgiveness of sin and salvation follow. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. This is one of the great passages of the Bible. Because we are made brothers with Christ, we can go to the Father, praying as equals with Christ our brother, not as children or slaves to the Law but as a son, as an heir. Luther: 87. Here we see that the Holy Spirit is communicated, not through works, but through faith; for as it reads, the Spirit is given to men because they are children and not servants. Children believe; servants only work. Children are free from the Law; servants are under it. The foregoing explanations make all this plain. It may be necessary, however, for us to consider in some measure the sense in which Paul uses the words “child” and “servant,” “free” and “bond.” Works performed under compulsion are the works of servants, and works wrought of free will are the works of children.
88. Why does Paul tell the Galatians the Holy Spirit was given them because they were children, when the fact is, the Holy Spirit creates children from servants, and must be essentially present before they can become children? I reply: He speaks in the same future sense characteristic of verses three and four, where we read that before the time was fulfilled we were under the rudiments. Here the reference is to children prospectively, in the sight of God. The Holy Spirit was sent to transform the servants into the children they were designed to be.
89. Paul speaks of the Spirit as the Spirit of the Son of God. Why not the Spirit of God? Because he would emphasize the point he is making. Being children of God, God sends them the Spirit of Christ, himself a child, giving them the right to cry, with him, “Abba, Father.” In other words, God sends you his Spirit, who dwells in his Son, that you may be brethren and heirs with him, crying as he cries, “Abba, Father.” The unspeakable goodness and grace of God are extolled in the fact that through faith we share with Christ the full blessings, having all he has, and all he is — also his Spirit.
John 14
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Anyone who feels lonely, rejected, in pain, suffering from fears and anxieties - should read John 14, especially these verses - which are so much in harmony with Galatians 4.
We all fall into the Slough of Despond at times. Bunyan wrote about that to encourage believers and laugh at the one who says, "If this is how the journey to the Celestial City begins, how much worse will it be?" Church history and the current news says - pretty bad. The Gospel says,
those with faith have heaven and earth. They lack nothing that God cannot supply.
