Predicted One Year Ago - To the Day! Brexit and Hoaxit

Two freedoms are being celebrated today:
1) The votes are there for impeachment acquittal - Hoaxit today.
2) England is finally free of the European Union - Brexit today.

The prediction was posted by Q one year ago.

Celebration link in England.

PS - Due to technical difficulties, the Hoaxit has been delayed until Wednesday. Thank you for your patience.

Gentlemen - I Refer You to Your Own Document - The Augsburg Confession

Faith? Faith? Where Is Justification by Faith on Their Wiki Page?

"The synod rejects any attempt to attribute salvation to anything other than Christ's death and resurrection."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutheran_Church%E2%80%93Missouri_Synod

The Power and the Glory - Former LCMS SP Gerald Kieschnick

 Former LCMS Synod President Gerald Kieschnick is an Aggie, like Kudu Don Patterson.

I found Gerald Kieschnick's wedding anniversary (54th) on his Facebook page and left a cheerful greeting. We have been FB friends for a long time. I was FB friends with the one who replaced him, Matt Harrison, but Matt unfriended me, just as his campaign manager Paul McCain did.

The order of recent Synod Presidents has been:

• Jack Preus II, brother of Robert, father of Jack III. Jack Preus I was governor of Minnesota.
• Ralph Bohlmann, the second (and last) SP to have an earned doctorate.
• Al Barry, whose campaign manager was Paul McCain.
• Gerald Kieschnick.
• Matt Harrison, whose covert manager was Paul McCain.

I am discussing this synodical trivia because I lived through and observed those presidential campaigns. I remember LCA people being horrified that Jack Preus became president. Al Barry was supposedly the hero who replaced Ralph Bohlman the liberal, and Matt Harrison was the man destined to save Missouri from Kieschnick.

I do not think any synod president stopped the move toward union with the ALC/LCA. That has continued. But I am quite willing to assess the blame equally among the clergy and laity. They all work together through Thrivent, a convenient funding source and mysterious manager of cohabitation-without-marriage events.

Where Would They Be without Thrivent? 

Harrison said LCMS was getting $50-60 million a year, and that was some years back. 

We do not have Thrivent funding our little group, not even free napkins. Without Thrivent we fund or promote books from three sources and give away a lot of Lutheran books. We also broadcast openly (no secret codes) and have 25,000+ worship or education views. We did not start a world mission, but one came to us and we support that effort in the Philippines.

Tis funny how groups with millions of dollars have to spend a million to get a mission parish going. They loan the money to the members (how kind!) and take all the profits when the mission folds. Yes, synods know how to bank with the long view in mind. 

All that wisdom piled up means the "conservative" Lutherans promote and sell bad translations (ESV, NIV) just like ELCA.

All of them meet at Fuller Seminary to learn how to "do church." That is the language of their graduates - Drucker MBO, cell groups, and doing church. 

There She Goes Again! NBW

I was warming up the keyboard when someone sent me a message about a tweet to read. I clicked the link and found it was already taken down.

Nadia Bolz-Weber bragged that she blocked parking spaces in New York, to gather kudos from the Left. That set off pages of commentary on the ALPB.org online forum, another discussion group famous for wasting precious bits and bytes.

Virtue-signaling gathers applause from the Left, and the gestures seem increasingly puerile.

"Fasten your seat-belts, kitties. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

Parsing the Drivel Published by Matt Harrison, LCMS Synod President. My Responses Are in Green

 Harrison's lame denial of Justification by Faith can be found here.

https://blogs.lcms.org/2020/it-all-rests-on-christ/

Under a section titled “Paid in full”, President Harrison goes all-in on a simple-minded version of Objective Justification:

---

Matt Harrison - Paid in full

"Because of verses like Rom. 4:25, which states, Christ “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification,” and 2 Cor. 5:19, “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,” we have spoken of an “objective” justification." 

GJ - Rolf Preus gave up citing Romans 4:25 some time ago, but Harrison has apparently not read the entire chapter for many decades. Romans 4, like all of Romans, all of Paul's inspired writing, is 100% Justification by Faith. So is the Book of Concord.

Romans 4:25 is only part of a sentence. Romans 4:24 says -

"4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."

Harrison chose not to cite 1 Timothy 3:16 to claim the resurrection effected the absolution of the entire world. Rambach the Pietist thought so, and Huber the Calvinist-Lutheran argued world righteousness without faith. However, that creates confusion among the OJ crowd arguing for the cross or the empty tomb being the Moment of World Absolution. "Error loves ambiguities."

2 Corinthians 5:19 does not teach OJ, except to benighted LCMS-WELS-ELS seminary students who seldom study after graduation. Pity them, but confront them with their errors. 

"2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

A few verses before, the context - which matters - is "in Christ," so this applies to believers. Claiming 2:Corinthians 5:19 for OJ means Harrison is accusing Paul of contradicting himself. Thus, inerrancy falls to the ground. In fact, OJ (the darling of Calvinists and all liberals) builds upon the twin concepts of: 

1. the Bible constantly contradicting itself  
2. the Biblical text being untrustworthy (NIV, ESV)."

Harrison:

"That is, a divine judgment was rendered in the death and resurrection of Christ. All sins of the whole world have been paid for, and the price was Christ’s bloody death then and there. The world has been “justified” according to the New Testament. This means that the most important thing in Christianity is not how I feel about Jesus, or came to believe in Jesus, or my experience of Jesus (though all these things are certainly not unimportant). Christianity is not ultimately or primarily focused on me, my deeds, my experience, my sincerity. All things focused on me will falter and are imperfect (Rom. 7)."

GJ - Harrison merged the Moment of World Absolution(Good Friday, Easter? why not both?) because Walther/Stephan used the empty grave while their acolytes use the cross. Caught in another contradiction, they make it one long moment, silly beyond comprehension.

Another contradiction is their own separation of the Atonement from their precious OJ. As Robert Preus said in his bizarre essay, loved by Cascione, OJ is not the Atonement. But OJ is not Justification by Faith either, so OJ is a justification that declares the entire world free of sin and saved, for all time. As the Pietists like to say, "I cannot believe it unless it is already true." Thus the Virgin Birth in Isaiah 7 could not be believed in advance, nor could Abraham have believed in the Messianic Promises (Genesis 15:6) because they were not fulfilled for many centuries.

Harrison - or his ghost writers - tried to fashion a negative statement as a way of clarifying the OJness of OJ. He pontificated - "This means that the most important thing in Christianity is not how I feel about Jesus, or came to believe in Jesus, or my experience of Jesus (though all these things are certainly not unimportant)." Therefore, Justification by Faith is a feeling? He certainly placed anyone outside the OJ universe in the feelings/experience category.

"The big thing is the cross and resurrection. Everything for my salvation, and the salvation of the whole world, Jesus accomplished in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago. One of my seminary professors explained it this way: If someone puts a million dollars into a bank account for you and you simply refuse to believe it, and thus gain no benefit from it, it does not mean that the money’s not there! Faith is simply recognizing the facts, and the bank card is the means to get at the fortune! The world has been reconciled to God in Christ, believe it or not. That makes our task of sharing the Gospel simple. It’s about telling folks they’re broke (repent!), but they’ve got a treasure with their name on it. “Here! It’s yours! It’s done! Believe it!” If by the power of the Word they believe, they have immediate access (Eph. 2:8–9; Acts 13:48) to complete forgiveness and peace of conscience. If by the stubbornness of their wretched human will and the will of the devil they refuse, they walk away from the treasure (Acts 13:46)."

GJ - I cannot unwind this farrago of claims, but I can see that Concordia, St. Louis became Seminex not long after Seminex. Everyone is broke but rich. They only need to be told they are rich, as long as they think they are broke. If they think they are broke (contingency alert! dive! dive!), they have a great treasure if they think they do. But that only works (a strawy efficacy, to be sure) if they believe they have a treasure. 

That sounds like the lifetime annuity promises made by the Planned Giving Counselors. "You will be rich and tax-free, unless we invest your money badly. But do not worry - it is an irrevocable contract."

 Robert Preus got away with this as the Ft. Wayne president. McCain, Cascione, Otten, and Hale endorsed it. Not content to impeach Walter A. Maier II, they impeached St. Paul, Luther, and the Book of Concord.

 Wow. Just wow. Scaer could be head of the reborn Synodical Conference with this epigram.

Fourth Lesson - Pilgrim's Progress7 PM Central Tonight

https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

FOURTH LESSON

Ahead Lay the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Christian found two men refusing to go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

CHRISTIAN. But what have you met with? said Christian.

MEN. Why, we were almost in the Valley of the Shadow of Death; but that, by good hap, we looked before us, and saw the danger before we came to it. [Ps. 44:19; 107:10]

CHRISTIAN. But what have you seen? said Christian.

MEN. Seen! Why, the Valley itself, which is as dark as pitch; we also saw there the hobgoblins, satyrs, and dragons of the pit; we heard also in that Valley a continual howling and yelling, as of a people under unutterable misery, who there sat bound in affliction and irons; and over that Valley hangs the discouraging clouds of confusion. Death also doth always spread his wings over it. In a word, it is every whit dreadful, being utterly without order. [Job 3:5; 10:22]

CHRISTIAN. Then, said Christian, I perceive not yet, by what you have said, but that this is my way to the desired haven. [Jer. 2:6]

MEN. Be it thy way; we will not choose it for ours. So, they parted, and Christian went on his way, but still with his sword drawn in his hand, for fear lest he should be assaulted. P.

Christian found himself assaulted by many blasphemies whispered in his ears, coming from demons from the pit. This is a good picture of our entertainment industry and academic theologians, who glory in their blasphemies, like the late ELCA bishop who denied the articles of the Christian Faith and led his denomination away from traditional marriage.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death was overwhelming for Christian until he called upon the Lord for help. When he discussed this experience with Faithful, his friend said his journey through the Valley was peaceful and full of sunshine. They meet with Talkative, who impresses Faithful with his recitation of doctrine, but Christian warns him that Talkative is well known at home, living on Prating Lane –

I have been in his family, and have observed him both at home and abroad; and I know what I say of him is the truth. His house is as empty of religion as the white of an egg is of savor. There is there neither prayer nor sign of repentance for sin; yea, the brute in his kind serves God far better than he. He is the very stain, reproach, and shame of religion, to all that know him; it can hardly have a good word in all that end of the town where he dwells, through him. [Rom. 2:24,25] Thus say the common people that know him, A saint abroad, and a devil at home. His poor family finds it so; he is such a churl, such a railer at and so unreasonable with his servants, that they neither know how to do for or speak to him. Men that have any dealings with him say it is better to deal with a Turk than with him; for fairer dealing they shall have at their hands. P. 88

Along the way, Faithful and Christian met Evangelist, who rejoiced not in their difficulties but in their victories. He warned them of Vanity Fair ahead.

EVANGELIST. My sons, you have heard, in the words of the truth of the gospel, that you must, through many tribulations, enter into the kingdom of heaven. And, again, that in every city bonds and afflictions abide in you; and therefore you cannot expect that you should go long on your pilgrimage without them, in some sort or other. You have found something of the truth of these testimonies upon you already, and more will immediately follow; for now, as you see, you are almost out of this wilderness, and therefore you will soon come into a town that you will by and by see before you; and in that town you will be hardly beset with enemies, who will strain hard but they will kill you; and be you sure that one or both of you must seal the testimony which you hold, with blood; but be you faithful unto death, and the King will give you a crown of life. P. 96.

Vanity Fair – Founded by Beelzebub, Apollyon, Legion, et al.

Almost five thousand years agone, there were pilgrims walking to the Celestial City, as these two honest persons are: and Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion, with their companions, perceiving by the path that the pilgrims made, that their way to the city lay through this town of Vanity, they contrived here to set up a fair; a fair wherein, should be sold all sorts of vanity, and that it  should last all the year long: therefore at this fair are all such merchandise sold, as houses, lands, trades, places, honors, preferments, titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, and delights of all sorts, as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not.

And, moreover, at this fair there is at all times to be seen juggling cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, and rogues, and that of every kind.

Here are to be seen, too, and that for nothing, thefts, murders, adulteries, false swearers, and that of a blood-red color. P. 98

The Prince of Princes also traveled through this city and was shown all its allures.

The townsmen were suspicious of Christian and Faithful, and examined them.

So they beat them pitifully, and hanged irons upon them, and led them in chains up and down the fair, for an example and a terror to others, lest any should speak in their behalf, or join themselves unto them. But Christian and Faithful behaved themselves yet more wisely, and received the ignominy and shame that was cast upon them, with so much meekness and patience, that it won to their side, though but few in comparison of the rest, several of the men in the fair. This put the other party yet into greater rage, insomuch that they concluded the death of these two men. Wherefore they threatened, that the cage nor irons should serve their turn, but that they should die, for the abuse they had done, and for deluding the men of the fair…

The judge’s name was Lord Hate-good. Their indictment was one and the same in substance, though somewhat varying in form, the contents whereof were this:— “That they were enemies to and disturbers of their trade; that they had made commotions and divisions in the town, and had won a party to their own most dangerous opinions, in contempt of the law of their prince.” P. 99

The Three Witnesses, Envy, Superstition, and Pickthank

PICKTHANK. My Lord, and you gentlemen all, This fellow I have known of a long time, and have heard him speak things that ought not to be spoke; for he hath railed on our noble prince Beelzebub, and hath spoken contemptibly of his honorable friends, whose names are the Lord Old Man, the Lord Carnal Delight, the Lord Luxurious, the Lord Desire of Vain Glory, my old Lord Lechery, Sir Having Greedy, with all the rest of our nobility; and he hath said, moreover, That if all men were of his mind, if possible, there is not one of these noblemen should have any longer a being in this town. Besides, he hath not been afraid to rail on you, my Lord, who are now appointed to be his judge, calling you an ungodly villain, with many other such like vilifying terms, with which he hath bespattered most of the gentry of our town. When this Pickthank had told his tale, the Judge directed his speech to the prisoner at the bar, saying, Thou runagate, heretic, and traitor, hast thou heard what these honest gentlemen have witnessed against thee?

Faithful was tortured and burned at the stake. God allowed Christian to escape the prison.

Hopeful came out of Vanity Fair, impressed by the speech and conduct of Christian and Faithful. He said others would be coming along for the same reason.

By-ends came along.

CHRISTIAN. This town of Fair-speech, said Christian, I have heard of; and, as I remember, they say it is a wealthy place.

BY-ENDS. Yes, I will assure you that it is; and I have very many rich kindred there. CHRISTIAN. Pray, who are your kindred there? if a man may be so bold.

BY-ENDS. Almost the whole town; and in particular, my Lord Turn-about, my Lord Time-server, my Lord Fair-speech, (from whose ancestors that town first took its name), also Mr. Smoothman, Mr. Facing-both-ways, Mr. Any-thing; and the parson of our parish, Mr. Two-tongues, was my mother’s own brother by father’s side; and to tell you the truth, I am become a gentleman of good quality, yet my great-grandfather was but a waterman, looking one way and rowing another, and I got most of my estate by the same occupation.

Demas tried to attract Christian and Faithful to his silver mine at Hill Lucre, but they refused. Soon they saw Lott’s wife, turned to salt.

Doubtful Castle and the Giant Despair

The Pilgrim’s Progress Map

Pages from the Lutheran Library Print Edition

City of Destruction – Christian leaves;  Christiana and their children follow in Part 2

Slough of Despond - Pliable, Obstinate, Worldly Wiseman, Evangelist

Village of Morality -

Wicket Gate – Good Will

Interpreter’s House - Interpreter (Holy Spirit)

The Cross – Three Shining Ones

Difficulty Hill – Formalist, Hypocrisy

Palace Beautiful - Discretion, Prudence, Piety, and Charity

Valley of Humiliation - Apollyon

Valley of the Shadow of Death – Two Men, Demons, Pope and Pagan, Faithful met again

Vanity Fair – Talkative, Lord Hate-Good, Hopeful, By-Ends, Witnesses: Envy, Superstition, and Pickthank; Demas, Lot’s Wife

Doubting Castle - Giant Despair

Delectable Mountains

Beulah

Dark River

Celestial City

 Apollyon - a founder of Vanity Fair

ELCA'S First Presiding Bishop - Herb Chilstrom - To Be Buried

 Herb Chilstrom paved the road to Hell with his good intentions.

 Bishop Deborah Hutterer has four years parish experience - why not be a seminary president? Half of the ELCA bishops are women.

The Rev. Dr. Herbert W. Chilstrom, 88, first presiding bishop of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Jan. 19, at his home in Green Valley, Arizona. Services of Holy Communion will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, at Desert Hills Lutheran Church, 2150 S. Camino del Sol, Green Valley, Arizona. ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton will bring a greeting, Bishop Deborah Hutterer will preach and Pastor Martin Overson will preside. Reception to follow. Second service will also be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at Christ Chapel Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota. ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton will preside and bring a greeting, Presiding Bishop Emeritus Mark Hanson will preach, Bishop Jon Anderson will bring a greeting and Chaplain Siri Erickson will host. Reception to follow. For each service, clergy and rostered leaders of the ELCA, together with clergy of the ELCA’s ecumenical partners, are invited to robe and process and are asked to RSVP (to jhoward@dhlc.org for Desert Hills and to https://forms.gle/ZB162Zyf99ETnKg5A for Christ Chapel). The vestments color of the day will be green.

The Rev. Dr. Herbert W. Chilstrom was born Oct. 18, 1931, in Litchfield, Minnesota. Chilstrom completed academic degrees at Augsburg University, Augustana Seminary, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Princeton Seminary and New York University, where he earned a doctorate in education degree.

He served Lutheran congregations in Pelican Rapids, Elizabeth and St. Peter. He was professor and dean at Luther College, Teaneck, New Jersey, from 1962 to 1970. In 1976, he was elected bishop of Minnesota Synod of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA). At the 1987 merger that created the 5.2 million member ELCA, he was elected first presiding bishop.

LCMS Synod President - " A Poorly Catechized Sunday School Student"

 Harrison's pals proudly posted a video of him struggling to look cool. They wrote out the juvenile lyrics of his slanderous song against the man he once courted to become SP - Herman Otten, pastor of a LCMS congregation.

Hello Pastor Jackson:

The January 2020 issue of the LCMS monthly newsletter (the Lutheran Witness) included an article written by synod President Matthew Harrison titled “It all rests on Christ”. You can find it linked on the LCMS site here:

https://blogs.lcms.org/2020/it-all-rests-on-christ/

Under a section titled “Paid in full”, President Harrison goes all-in on a simple-minded version of Objective Justification:

Paid in full

"Because of verses like Rom. 4:25, which states, Christ “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification,” and 2 Cor. 5:19, “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,” we have spoken of an “objective” justification. That is, a divine judgment was rendered in the death and resurrection of Christ. All sins of the whole world have been paid for, and the price was Christ’s bloody death then and there. The world has been “justified” according to the New Testament. This means that the most important thing in Christianity is not how I feel about Jesus, or came to believe in Jesus, or my experience of Jesus (though all these things are certainly not unimportant). Christianity is not ultimately or primarily focused on me, my deeds, my experience, my sincerity. All things focused on me will falter and are imperfect (Rom. 7).

The big thing is the cross and resurrection. Everything for my salvation, and the salvation of the whole world, Jesus accomplished in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago. One of my seminary professors explained it this way: If someone puts a million dollars into a bank account for you and you simply refuse to believe it, and thus gain no benefit from it, it does not mean that the money’s not there! Faith is simply recognizing the facts, and the bank card is the means to get at the fortune! The world has been reconciled to God in Christ, believe it or not. That makes our task of sharing the Gospel simple. It’s about telling folks they’re broke (repent!), but they’ve got a treasure with their name on it. “Here! It’s yours! It’s done! Believe it!” If by the power of the Word they believe, they have immediate access (Eph. 2:8–9; Acts 13:48) to complete forgiveness and peace of conscience. If by the stubbornness of their wretched human will and the will of the devil they refuse, they walk away from the treasure (Acts 13:46)."

My reaction is that Jesus never said anything like this, St. Paul never said anything like this, the Lutheran Church Fathers never said anything like this.

At one time in Lutheran Church history, it was a singular honor for a man to be selected as a seminary president or synod president, based on his scholarship and theological understanding. The paragraphs from President Harrison's article read like something written by a poorly catechized Sunday School student, not a synod president.

Dr. Martin Luther wrote the following, in his explanation of the third article of the Apostle's Creed, about justification:

"I believe that I cannot be my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the one true faith.

In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers."

My response to President Harrison: People are not saved by “accepting God's offer of forgiveness”. As Dr Luther wrote, salvation is God's work alone. “ I believe that I cannot be my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the one true faith”.

My response to President Harrison: The entire world has not been reconciled to God in Christ, God has not forgiven the sins of all people. As Dr Luther wrote, God forgives the sins of believers only. “In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers”.

I admired Matthew Harrison for his work with world relief missions prior to his becoming president of the LCMS and his steadfast support for the pro-life cause. My regard for him was diminished when I read a report on your blog a year or so ago of a video in which President Harrison aped the role of a blues singer and mocked elderly Herman Otten. I can't fathom how a man who is the head of the second largest Lutheran denomination in the US could believe that this is appropriate behavior for someone in his position. His support for universal justification without regard to faith further diminishes my regard for him.   

***

 They are harder to get rid of than Angela Merkel or Thrivent salesmen.

GJ -  The author of this email is correct. Harrison's simpleton recital of Objective Justification is anti-Biblical and contrary to Luther and the Book of Concord. Matt the Fatt begins with the Atonement and twists that into everyone in the world being absolved and saved without the Gospel Word, without faith, without the Means of Grace.

Poor Matt, he cites Romans 4:25 without Romans 4:24. Has he read Romans 4 at all? He is clearly not "apt to teach."

Romans 4:22 And therefore it was imputed [counted] to him [Abraham] for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;


25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

The verse the Apostle Paul cited in Romans 4 is this -

Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness.

By confusing terms, as he does with 2 Corinthians, Harrison apes Bishop Stephan in making the Atonement universal salvation without faith, a sad commentary on his LCMS education.

 The genius generation of Baby Boomers imagines that they they have built and corrected the Gospel once delivered to the New Testament, taught in brilliant clarity in the Reformation. So why do they despise Luther - and Melanchthon even more?

I Have the Secret Formula the Synods Are Seeking. I Will Give It Away Instead of Selling a False Version

 "You know what's wrong with us? We are colder than Eskimeaux delivering a Schwan order in a North Dakota blizzard. You gotta be friendly! Show some love!"

They have done many surveys. One big, expensive study showed that "nurturing" congregations grew, and that was in the Lutheran Church in America, about 30 years ago. No one quite knew how to develop a nurturing congregation, but they had an attractive booklet to study.

Fool Her Seminary jumped on the opportunity to provide sell a solution to the gullible, poorly trained, ambitious, and greedy. But alas, the more they poured the ice-water of the Law on their lupine customers, the worse things got.

Everyone talks about love, even about grace. I just saw another church anniversary - Fifty Years of Grace - the least original title since Watch Us Grow! Alas, "they know not that they know not."

Gospel is often in their speech but not anywhere else. Ask the millions who have left the shunning, abuse, and hatred. The numbers are so great the synods are adopting another program (!) suggesting those thousands who walked away for a reason - or received the Left Foot of Fellowship - could be coaxed back. The math is compelling: if the 50% who quit would come back in numbers, the bosses could measure growth from the low point to present. Stroh, a right strawy apostle, promised those results in one of his packaged programs with invented figures.

Here is the secret formula - not a secret at all. But it has been buried under so many layers of false doctrine that relatively few know it. Calvinism is growing fast among the Babtists, just as it has among the Lutherans of all stripes.

I learned this from a relatively obscure teaching of Jesus. I admit - I puzzled over it, and that blockage made it so much more intriguing to know.

John 16: 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.

8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

9 Of sin, because they believe not on Me;

10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

The Holy Spirit means the preaching of the Word, because the Spirit never works without the Word and the Word never lacks the divine and effective energy of the Spirit.

Here Jesus teaches in the plainest possible way that the foundational work of the Church's ministry is to teach faith in Him.
The tired, old, decaying mainline denominations - including all the Lutheran synods - teach the opposite.

Every time Schroeder and Harrison address their fading synods, they repeat the Objective Justification dogma they love so much. The WELS and LCMS originally taught Justification by Faith, but the Calvinists took over with unionism and Fullerism. Now they agree against the Gospel in the name of the Gospel.

Luther is also plain about this topic. Love does not convert - the Word does. He teaches faith in the Savior throughout his work, pointing out that love is necessarily the fruit of Justification by Faith, the first fruit named in Galatians 5 as a product of the Spirit teaching faith.

One must be a believer to teach this truth, and I am afraid the numbers are small, thanks to the seminary motto of "obfuscate to graduate." They might enter seminary with faith, but the political and elitist attitudes will drive that out of most.

If someone graduates with faith and starts a ministry, with or without a synod, the natural impulse will be to teach faith in Christ and face the consequences. For those too busy to read The Pilgrim's Progress, the section on Vanity Fair is enough.

Those who love the Word will love the one who brings it (Luther) and those who despise the Word will do whatever possible to eradicate it.

A faithful congregation will concentrate on teaching faith in the Gospel. They will reap the rewards promised in the Scriptures. Teaching faith will involve:

1. Emphasizing the efficacy of the Word
2. Means of Grace services with the traditional, Biblical liturgy, the Creeds, a carefully prepared Biblical sermon, the Sacraments, and hymns whose lyrics we can recite without blushing.
3. Taking the Word to the members and prospects by visiting.
4. Extending the Gospel with world missions when possible.

 The jury at Vanity Fair is the result of apostasy. The effective Word of the Gospel stirs up hatred.

Washington Crossed the Delaware, On Durham Boats, Surprising the Hessians,

One of my favorite teachers - among many at Garfield - was Mrs. McMillan. She posted this famous painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware on her wall, and I often looked at it. My 2012 blog post about the Washington painting, in Moline Memories, is one of the most popular.

Mrs. McMillan served in the Philippines, but that is another story.

I often thought about that pivotal surprise attack. Successful generals are known for taking advantage of the situation. But one must also give credit to Washington for leadership, his wife helping the troops too, and letting the enemy use their imaginations. Before another battle, Washington posed canons without ammunition above and against the enemy position. The English withdrew. The best victory is when no shots are fired, though some would question Washington for his use of deception.

Germans like to celebrate. Why would the starving and freezing Yankees bother the Hessians on the day after Christmas, which is also an English holiday - Boxing Day? They attacked the Hessians (another good story, about money and world banking) - one party ferocious, the other hungover, half-awake, and suddenly terrified.

The location of the Trump rally is reasonably close to that victory in Trenton, New Jersey. The appointment of the prosecutor Durham was also the beginning of Q, the beginning of the end for the Deep State. We are in the last stage of that battle, and prosecutions will flourish.

 Trump at Rally:
"New Jersey is the state where George Washington led a die-hard band of American patriots to victory at Trenton and Princeton and Monmouth in our glorious battle to win American independence." George Washington.

LQ's Rolf Preus Defends the DeadLast Lutherans Faux-Discussions

 The guile award goes to...scholars are divided.

Rolf Preus, LCMS, ELS, Rolf Synod in Fellowship with ELDONA, Synod Orphan, LCMS.

Pastor Rolf David Preus (Rolf) Senior Member Username: Rolf Post Number: 10521 Registered: 5-2001

Posted on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 - 1:27 pm:       As a contributor to BJS, I take issue with the criticism of BJS posted above. Rev. Joshua Sheer is an Israelite in whom there is no guile. His primary concern is always theological. That doesn't translate into a specific political agenda. If you all have an agenda that differs from his and from those who contribute to BJS I encourage you to interpret what is happening on BJS in the kindest way. Any suggestion that Rev. Sheer and other participants on BJS tailor what they say to meet with the approval of LCMS officials is both unkind and unbrotherly. Much sound theology is promoted on BJS. Judge them by what they do, not by what you think they ought to be doing. You who want a conservative Lutheran website with a church political agenda are welcome to start your own. Pastor Rolf David Preus

GJ - There is so much blarney in one paragraph that I suspect Irish DNA.

Matt the Fatt Harrison ordered Joshua Sheer to erase their material on the LCMS allowing a known sexual predator to serve as a lay pastor, after serving in the hoosegow for his previous crime. He was encouraged into that program by a DP, if I recall.

The second victim came from Scheer's home congregation. I was in touch with him and he admitted the Matt ordered the deletions and he obeyed.

 Darwin Schauer has 30 posts linked on Ichabod.

As readers might have guessed, keeping the information on the Net, especially a well known LCMS blog, would make a multi-million dollar lawsuit a slam-dunk for any lawyer. Previous knowlege? Check. Encouraged to return to the same scenario? Check. District and synod involved? Check and check.

Deadlast Lutherans is a 100% Objective Justification cesspool. I have witnessed Pope Paul the Plagiarist ordering people not to link this blog on Steadfast. What a compliment! They have also erased comments that make their puppet-masters look like guilty idiots.

After erasing the evidence, Scheer became senior editor of the blog and senior pastor. Judas Iscariot must look up in envy, because he only earned a few coins for his perfidy.

Scheer - 40 pounds ago.