The Ninth Sunday after Trinity, 2020.

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity, 2020

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10AM Central Daylight Time

The melodies are linked in the hymn title. 

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The TLH melody site is linked here.
• TLH lyrics are linked at the Bethany Lutheran Hymnal Blog.

The Hymn #334             Let Be Thine Forever         

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

Let Thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of Thy humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

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 #660    I'm But a Stranger Here

        

The Strangest Parable - Worth a Study

The Communion Hymn #312        Lord Jesus Christ Thou Living Bread               

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657                 Beautiful Savior

In Our Prayers

• In treatment for cancer: Mary Howell, Christina Jackson, Carl Roper, Randy Anderson, Rush Limbaugh.
• Testing and treatment: Pastor Jim Shrader.
• The flowers mark the birthdays of Jeshra Palangyos, Christina Jackson, and Alicia Meyer.
• Pastor Jordan earned his driver's license. Continuing prayers for Jeshra, who is much better, and our mission in the Philippines.
• Dr. Lito Cruz' new work opportunities.
• Our country's leaders as justice is served to the criminals and traitors. The storm is upon us.

            

 Norma Boeckler's Christian Art

KJV 1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

KJV Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

 Norma Boeckler's Christian Art

Ninth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, who hast bountifully given us Thy blessing and our daily bread: We beseech Thee, preserve us from covetousness, and so quicken our hearts that we willingly share Thy blessed gifts with our needy brethren; that we may be found faithful stewards of Thy gifts, and abide in Thy grace when we shall be removed from our stewardship, and shall come before Thy judgment, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Background for the Gospel Sermon - Luke 16:1-9

The parables of Jesus are vivid and easy to remember. The reason is the action involved (division of the estate, wasted money, repentance, forgiveness) or things we easily visualize (yeast in dough, seeds growing, glorious wildflowers, cheerful birds with no bank accounts). There is a long tradition in Judaism, telling stories to illustrate a Scriptural lesson. The difference is that Jesus teaches based on His role as the Creating Word (John 1:3; Genesis 1) and individuals teach based on their own observations and experience.

Because the parables of Jesus are so concise, we do best when we pay attention to every detail and do not use them as our own springboards. Instead, we have to see the intended lesson and how that harmonizes with everything in the Scriptures. Instead of skipping over a parable because "we know that one," we should meditate on its meaning with great care. That is especially true for this one, because 1) It is very difficult to read and explain, hinting at great wisdom to be revealed; 2) It is repeated in the historical readings, so the ancients felt the parable was good to study and preach about - year after year after year.

The Strangest Parable - Worth a Study

KJV Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 

This is a parable Jesus taught to His disciples. Details matter, and therefore details overlooked or misused divert the meaning of what Jesus taught the future leaders of the Christian Mission to the world. The wording - a certain rich man - means this is a parable, a story to illustrate His points. This parable should be studied and taught each year because it is difficult, since the best insights come from spending more time with those passages. 

The steward (house ruler, literally, eco-nomist) is the manager of a vast estate. Because his role is that of manager, he deals with large sums that belong to the rich man. This is more like a warehouse operation. I used to go with my father to wholesale houses for discounted items. Vast areas were filled with truckloads of goods. The reduced price were for cash, but too good to resist.

This steward is accused of squandering the goods.

2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 

The steward is already fired - his work there is done. He has to give an accounting, which is his parting effort after being incompetent or lazy.

3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 

The steward does an old fashioned self-examination, the ancient equivalent of LinkedIn - what will serve him in the future now that his job is over. Two things are immediately clear - he is too weak for manual labor and he is too proud to beg for a living. Those skills show he has zero endorsements, and they remain a bit humorous. He should have thought of his shortcomings long ago.

4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

This man is not a good example, but a bad one. He is example of how the vast majority of unbelievers conduct their lives. Just as before, he is taking care of himself so that he can do well, in spite of being too weak to dig and too proud to beg. He will make friends with the business partners of his boss.

5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

Lenski observed that these amounts show it is not a simple farm but a large warehouse operation. They are like the antique bookseller that offered me a special gift edition of Dickens, inscribed as a gift by the author, for $40,000 instead of the stated price of $50,000. (Unfortunately, I left my checkbook at home.) She had the right to do this, as a part owner of the very large store, which was packed with valuable books. 

I advise first-time book writers that they might think there is a huge profit margin in the typical exchange, but they will be expected to give away review copies and even more copies to friends and relatives, exhausting their potential market. If they could sell 1,000 books right away at double their cost - that would be something. Mark Twain bankrupted himself by printing a life of the pope in every language of the world, not thinking how little people wanted that. Someone said, "A writer cannot be in business. He imagines too many things too well - they never happen in real life."

It seems surprising that the owner is impressed with the unrighteous steward - in a positive way. I think he is happier with the cash than with debts still on the books. A warehouse has debts too, and a pile of I.O.U.'s is not the same as legal tender. The  owner in this case is not God, but another unbeliever, impressed that the other unbelievers were also impressed with the cleverness of the steward.

8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

As Luther wrote in his sermon, all the turns on the meaning of the good tree. The good tree produces good fruit, which means the believer produces fruit that glorifies God. In contrast, the evil tree can only bear corrupt fruit.

Luther:
9. If they thus attack us we must answer. Above all things it must be remembered that there is indeed no doubt whatever, that faith and love are the only source, as you have ever learned, that through faith we become inwardly pious, and we outwardly prove our faith by our works of love.

For I have often said, that the Scriptures speak of man in a twofold manner. At one time of the inner man, and then again of the outer man. For the Scriptures properly make distinctions, just as when I speak of a foot, I do not mean a nose. So the Scriptures at one time speak of us as of the Spirit, spiritual, how we must stand before God by faith, for this purpose he sends forth his Word to which we hold, and afterwards he follows or endows with his Spirit. Thus the tree must be good beforehand, as you have recently heard.

In contrast, mammon is simply an excess of money and goods, with an emphasis upon having more than enough to live on and to share. Few think they have enough, as we see with billionaires making money from vaccines, as if they need more. The mammon is unrighteous because it has no value by itself. So the vast majority of people worship mammon and think of it as promising them all the happiness they could dream about. Warren Buffet's son said, since he has inherited at least $1 billion in funds, "Now they laugh a long longer at my jokes."


for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

If the unbelievers are shrewd about mammon, then the children of light should be shrewd about the treasures of the Gospel.

#1

Have people guarded the Scriptures and made sure everyone had an accurate translation of the traditional text? No. They have turned the Bible into a printing press for money - theirs. They shrewdly own their fresh-every-week translations, so they can charge fees for the Bibles, Bible commentaries, and Biblical teaching materials.

If they have the truth, why do they allow so much confusion and contradiction concerning the Word of God? Unrighteous mammon is more important to them. 

#2

Have they honored the basic Biblical doctrine of the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace?

No, they have taught the opposite - Calvin's dogma of the Spirit working independently of the Word, so no one every knows or trusts the effectiveness of the Gospel. This promotes the Gimmick-of-the-Month Club. The latest fad is Unstuck. If church members study how their congregation is stuck at a certain level, they can study how to become unstuck (like the tongue on the frozen pipe?).

#3

Have they honored the faithful teachers of the past? No, they mock Luther and the Book of Concord, barely know the authors of the Formula of Concord. Instead, they chase the latest fad and newest celebrity church leaders (hurry, before they crash and burn, as so many have).

#4

Do they take the Treasure of the Gospel to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness? And do they see the need of neighbors and help them, without expecting thanks or wondering what they will get for that?

9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

I say unto you -

Jesus is speaking directly to the disciples, for this is a message of major importance to them and all church leaders.

Make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness

This cannot be the conventional meaning of business buddies working together, to prosper together. So this means using the resources available in this world to reach and help those who need the Gospel as long-time and as new Christians. Mammon itself has no value to God, because it all belongs to Him, comes from Him, and goes back to Him. Everything is rented; nothing is owned. It passes through our hands and is used well or poorly.

when you fail -

That means when we have died. Then mammon has no value at all, but what does?  The people who become believers because of us will rejoice with us as we enter eternal life. Here is one example.

Pastor Jordan Palangyos wanted to serve as an independent Lutheran pastor. So Dr. Lito Cruz (a Lutheran pastor in math and in business) suggested he pick one place. Jordan and his wife Amabel picked the area of the Philippines where they came from.

I was assigned the role of distant supervisor. They needed a place to worship, and an elderly lady donated some land. They built their first chapel mostly with labor.

I suggested they use the unrighteous mammon of social media:

1. Facebook (done) plus links to media.
2. A blog (done) with links to FB and our blog (done).
3. Video (done) links to their blog and FB (done).
4. They also received our Lutheran books and visits from Glen Kotten.

Many different people have helped in various ways. This is an example of unrighteous mammon being used to bring the Gospel to an area which needs the Word.

Not only adults are converted but babies too, by the power of the Gospel in infant baptism, taught and practiced by Jesus and the disciples - Let them come to Me and do not forbid them. (Forbid has the meaning keeping children outside of membership.) For to such belongs the Kingdom of God. As anyone can discern, if we must believe as small children to enter the Kingdom, then children have faith.

The blessings go back and forth, because those who participate in this mission are strengthened in their faith -allowed to see the value of the Gospel and the material needs of people in harsh times.

receive you into everlasting habitations.

This is especially poignant with respect to the disciples. They were soon persecuted and killed. Perhaps John lived the longest. They did not write biographies because they honored Christ and the Gospel first of all. Many were martyred in those days, so the welcomes into heaven grew with the numbers of believers. It continues today in China and Africa.

So the children of darkness still take care of their things, which they value, with great diligence. Three years ago I would never have imagined the power of the Satanic in our own country, and the extent of its influence across the world. Everything they do will dissolve and take them down. 

The irony is that all the powers of Hell cannot stand up to the Word, and we can send that Word out everywhere, for almost nothing and provide it to people for very little. 

• 99 cent Kindle versions.
• Free PDFs of the same books.
• Free Word copies, so people can edit, translate, copy and paste for whatever region they serve.

I also think preserving the great, classic hymns is a goal worth pursuing when many churches offer "warmed over bar music played by praise bands." 

The invaluable TLH lyrics archive suddenly failed, so I copied them all into a new blog, The Bethany Lutheran Hymnal Blog, which gets 2500 views per month already.

That takes me back to pre-Y2K. I was doing some writing and wanted to use a website to reach more people. I took classes in website design and graphics, but the Unix class got me into teaching online. (I was going to edit Unix materials for a good income and teach basics to an MD. Neither materialized.) 

Online teaching trained me to do more with the Internet, and blogging became the way to have easy, free websites. From that came most of our members. Twenty years later, I am still learning from the youth about computer possibilities.

Gutenberg invented the printing press for the West (China had it already), and various people gave us computers for today. God's Word has been sent out inexpensively in both modes, using the mammon of unrighteousness.

 Norma Boeckler's Christian Art

Luther's Sermon on the Parable of the Unrighteous Steward

NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.


Luke 16 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.



PARABLE OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS STEWARD.


I. OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS MAMMON.

1. This is truly a Gospel for priests and monks, and will bring them money, unless we prevent it. Before entering upon the consideration of it, we must accustom ourselves to the language used, especially the word mammon.

The Jews were acquainted with this word from the Hebrew, and it has come down to us, just like other Hebrew words, as Halleluja, Amen, Kyrie eleison. In German mammon means riches, not simply riches, but a superfluity of riches, whatever is beyond our needs. However, that which is called mammon and that which is not called mammon are distinguished in a twofold way. First, if the estimate be according to that of our Lord God and of the truth, there are many who possess mammon. But if the estimate be that of the world and of man’s mind, there are few who possess it. For our leaders in thought have taught in the high schools and even from the pulpit, that everyone should see to his station in life, what he needs, and adjust his possessions accordingly. If he be a man with wife and children, he needs more, for where many persons are there much will be needed. And when we reckon thus, no one has anything to spare, but everyone would rather have more. If one has two thousand guilders he says, this I need for my family, to support myself, my wife and children.

2. In the second place they have taught that one is not bound to help, except in cases of the greatest need. Such teaching entirely overthrows the Gospel, so that no one has been helpful to another; but they have in the meantime built churches; and yet in doing so they did not even wait for the greatest need, until the arches were rent asunder and churches became roofless, but they gave to great excess, spreading their gold upon the walls. To sum up the whole matter, mammon properly means, that a man has more than he needs for his support, so that he can help others without injuring himself.

3. Hence the Lord calls it “The mammon of unrighteousness,” because it is daily made use of by the wicked; as it is said: riches develop courage, and the heathen have also called it irritamenta malorum, riches tempt to evil. Again St. Paul says, 1 Timothy 6:10: “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil,” whence cometh strife, pride, war and bloodshed. Therefore it is also called here the unrighteous mammon, because it is applied to such evil uses, and is a great cause of evil to men.

4. Nevertheless it is God’s creature like wine and corn, and the creatures of God are good. Why then does he call them evil? Because they tempt us to so much evil, as Paul says to the Ephesians 5:16: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Not that the time or days in themselves are evil, but because great evil is done in them. He also says to the Romans 2:5: “The day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” Although the day is good, but because God’s wrath will be revealed on that day, the day must take its name from it. And thus, since mammon runs into the service of evil, Christ calls it mammon of unrighteousness, namely, that which we have above our needs and we will not use in helping our neighbor; for this we possess unrighteously, and before God it is stolen goods, for in the presence of God one is bound to give and lend, and suffer himself to be deprived of it. Therefore as the saying runs, the greatest owners of property are the greatest thieves; because they possess far more than they need, and give the least possible to others. So much on the meaning of the word; we now return to the Gospel.

5. We take this parable in a common sense way, without seeking any subtleties in it, as Jerome has done, for it is not necessary to. seek a subtle meaning, the pure milk is sufficient. The parable in itself teaches how the steward deprived his master of his property, and artfully, but deceitfully and falsely, appropriated it to himself. For it is not right, that he, who previously cheated his master out of his property, should also act most deceitfully to secure for himself easy days all his life; let us abide by this explanation. For the Lord concludes that the unjust steward did wisely. He does not praise the thing in itself as good, but blames him for previously squandering his master’s goods, and afterwards shrewdly appropriating his property. This however the Lord commends, namely, that he did not forget himself, praising nought but his cunning and shrewdness. Just as when a flirt draws the whole world after her, and I say: she is a clever flirt, she knows her business. The Lord further concludes, that just as the steward is wise and shrewd in his transactions, so should we also be in obtaining eternal life.

6. And that you may understand this, take the passage of St. Paul to the Romans 5:14, Adam a type of Christ. How can the Apostle compare Adam to Christ, since Adam brought upon us sin and death, and Christ brought righteousness and life? He compares Christ to Adam in regard to origin and source, but not in regard to the fruit and work. For as Adam is the source and chief of all sinners, so Christ is the source and head of all the saints. For we have inherited from Adam nothing but sin, condemnation and the eternal curse; but from Christ we have obtained righteousness and salvation. Now these two are not alike, for sin is punishable, and righteousness is praiseworthy. But he compares them in regard to their origin; just as by Adam sin and death came upon all men, so by Christ righteousness and life come upon us.

7. Thus he compares here the unjust to the just. As the unjust man acts shrewdly, though wrongly and like a rogue, so we also should act shrewdly but righteously in godliness. This is the proper understanding of this parable. For the Lord says: “The children of this world are wiser than the children of light.” So that the children of light should learn wisdom from the children of darkness or the world. Just as they are wise in their transactions, so should also the children of light be wise in their transactions. Therefore he adds, “in their generation.” Here are truly three great questions, in which our adversaries quote this Gospel against us, when the Lord says: “Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.”

8. From this they try to conclude, that we must first of all do works to become good. For they say, here we read: “Make to yourselves friends,” and this surely means to do works. Secondly, they say, that God here even desires to praise works, and not only that, but also to reward them. For here we read of work and its reward, and nothing is said of faith. In the third place they claim that Christ here wishes to establish the comfort and help of the saints, when he says: “Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.” Thus this Gospel is made to directly oppose us, for it says: “Make to yourselves friends.” That is, do good works, that they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles. This appears to mean that we should previously merit our reception by them into the eternal tabernacles. These three points the Pope and his priests have claimed strongly for their side, and he has even called his indulgences the mammon of iniquity, mammon iniquitatis, unrighteous mammon.

9. If they thus attack us we must answer. Above all things it must be remembered that there is indeed no doubt whatever, that faith and love are the only source, as you have ever learned, that through faith we become inwardly pious, and we outwardly prove our faith by our works of love. For I have often said, that the Scriptures speak of man in a twofold manner. At one time of the inner man, and then again of the outer man. For the Scriptures properly make distinctions, just as when I speak of a foot, I do not mean a nose. So the Scriptures at one time speak of us as of the Spirit, spiritual, how we must stand before God by faith, for this purpose he sends forth his Word to which we hold, and afterwards he follows or endows with his Spirit. Thus the tree must be good beforehand, as you have recently heard.

10. This godliness cannot be attained by anyone without grace in his heart. If I am to make for myself friends by means of mammon, I must first be godly. For compare these two statements: A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit, and again, a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. From which judge for yourself: if I am to do good and give away mammon, I must indeed be first good at heart, for God looketh upon the heart, and as he finds the heart, so he estimates our works. This I say, that . men should not cram works into the heart, but let the heart first be good through faith, that the works may flow forth, otherwise you do no one any good; for if you have before given a person anything, it did not come from the heart. Hence the conclusion is, that I must first be good before I can do good. You cannot build from without inward, you do not commence at the roof, but at the foundation. Therefore faith must first be present.

11. Hence the Scriptures speak of us as the outer man, as we in our flesh and blood live among men. Now, that I am good, you do not know, nor do I. I must establish my faith to the satisfaction of myself and of the people, and I must do good to my neighbor in order to prove my faith; thus the outward works are then merely signs of the inner faith. Works do not make me good, but show that I am good, and bear witness that the faith in me is genuine. In this manner must you understand the Scriptures here also, when they say: Give of your mammon and thus make to yourselves friends; that is, do good, that your faith may become approved. So we must also distinguish what pertains to the Spirit and what is the fruit of the Spirit.

12. Luke has described the fruit of faith thus: Give to the poor and make to yourself friends. As though he would say: I will not now speak of faith, but how you should prove your faith. Wherefore do good to your neighbor, and if you can give from the heart you may be assured that you believe. Thus the Scriptures speak at one time of fruits, at another time of faith. Again, they also speak of fruits, when they teach, Matthew 25:42, how the Lord will speak to the lost on the last day: “I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was athirst, and ye gave me no drink,” and the like. This means, you have not believed, as I will prove to you by your own works.

13. The Scriptures in some passages speak of the outward conduct, and in others of the inner. Now if you will apply that which is said of the outward to the heart and confuse matters, you pervert it and do wrong. Hence you must let the distinction remain, and observe it. These expressions: I have been hungry, thirsty, shelterless, naked, sick and in prison, and you have shown me no work of mercy, refer to the external conduct, and signify as much as: you have never exhibited any outward conduct by which you have shown your faith; and to prove this, I appeal to the poor as witnesses. Therefore, faith alone must be present first to make us good, after that good works must follow to prove our piety. This now is one point, namely, concerning works.

14. The second point is far more difficult, when the Lord says: “Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.” You say, our adversaries cry: you say a person shall not do good works to obtain eternal life; behold, here it reads differently. Now, what shall we answer? There are many passages here and there, showing how we wish to have merit on our part. By quoting these passages they intend to disprove to us God’s mercy, and to lead us to satisfy God’s righteousness by our good works. By all means beware of this, and insist that it is nothing but pure grace and mercy alone, and say: I am a poor sinner, O God, forgive me my sins, gladly will I say nothing about my merit, only say thou nothing of thy judgment! Thus David said: “Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight no man living is righteous,” Psalm 143:2. And just for this reason Christ is given to us as our Mediator. If we wish to enter into judgment before God with our good works, we cast Christ aside as our Mediator, and cannot stand before God. Therefore let him remain our Mediator and abide thou under the shadow of his wings, as Psalm 91:4 reads: “He will cover thee with his pinions, and under his wings shalt thou take refuge.” Therefore speak thus: O God, I would not merit anything before thee by my own works, but will employ them only to serve my neighbor, and I will depend only upon thy mercy.

15. You must hence remember that eternal life consists of two things, faith and what follows faith. If you go and believe and do good to your neighbor, everlasting life must follow, although you never think about it. Just as when you take a good drink, the taste will follow as soon as you drink, even though you do not seek it. So it is also with hell, the damned do not seek it, but it follows unsought and undesired, and he must inherit it whether he will or no. This St. Paul also says, 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16, of the persecutors of the Gospel: They “drove out us, and pleased not God, and are contrary to all men; forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always, but the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.” As though he would say: They only persecute us to fill the measure of their sins and fairly to deserve hell, and ever urge their sins more and more until they become entirely hardened, and finally have no regard for either God or man.

16. Thus the Scriptures declare here, that we should do good, so that we may be saved; and this is not meant to say, that we must first earn salvation by our works, but that we must believe, and it will follow of itself. Therefore mark well, that you do not take what follows for what goes before, and keep yourself free from the merit of works. Should God give us heaven for our works? No, no, he has already given us heaven freely, out of mere mercy. Therefore give unto the poor, in order that the eternal tabernacles may follow, and not that you may merit them by your works.

17. Observe then that these passages are explained in two different ways. First, that a man should seek salvation by works, which is false. Second, as a consequence of faith, which is right. Therefore, you are not to seek heaven with any kind of works, but only to do the works freely, then the result, eternal life, will follow of itself without your seeking. For if I should see heaven standing open and could merit it by picking up a straw, I would not do it, lest I might say: Behold, I have earned it! No, no, not to my deservings, but to God be the glory, who has given me his Son to abolish sin and hell for me.

18. In the third place, you should faithfully hold fast to the following words: “That they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.” Behold, they say, here it stands written that they receive us into heaven, how then can you say that we dare not place the saints as mediators before God, and that they cannot help us to heaven? Here observe, that we have but one Redeemer before God, and he is Christ. For thus St. Paul speaks, Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, one Mediator also between God and man, himself man, Christ Jesus.” Again, Christ himself in John 14:6 says: “I am the way, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” Therefore we must not seek our consolation in any of the saints, but in Christ alone, through whose merits alone we and all saints are sated. Therefore I will not give a penny for St. Peter’s merits, that he should help me. He cannot help himself, but whatever he has he has from God by faith in Christ. Now then, if he cannot help himself, how then can he do anything for me? Consequently I must have another, who is Christ, God and man in one.

19. But how can he say: “Make to yourselves friends, that they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles?” This passage we understand from Matthew 25:37-40, where Christ tells us how the King will answer them who will say on the last day: “Lord, when saw we thee hungry, athirst, homeless, naked, sick and in prison? Verily I say unto you,” he will say, “inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, ye did it unto me.” Here the Lord shows who those friends are, namely, the poor and needy. As though to say: when you make them your friends, then you have me as your friend also, for they are my members.

20. Now one thought remains: How will they receive us into the eternal tabernacles, as the text here says? Will they lead us in by the hand? No, but when we come before the judgment seat of God, poor persons whom we have assisted here, will stand in heaven and say: he has washed my feet, he gave me drink, food, clothing and the like. He will certainly be my friend and a witness of my faith, whatever words he may use to declare it. Then a beggar will be more useful to me than St. Peter or St. Paul, for there none of these can help. But when a beggar comes and says: My God, this he has done unto me as thy child! that will help me, for God will say: Whatsoever you have done unto these, you have done unto me. Therefore these poor people will not be our helpers but our witnesses so that God shall receive us. By this I would not object to your honoring St. Peter and other saints, for he is a member of Christ and of God. But you do better by giving your neighbor a penny, than by building a church of gold for St. Peter. For to help your neighbor is commanded, but it is not commanded to build a church to St. Peter. Now everything is twisted the wrong way, one goes to a certain passage in St. James, another to Aix-la-Chapelle, another to Rome, to seek help from the departed saints. But the poor people, who are the real sainthood, are left behind lying in the streets. Let this be sufficient on this Gospel.

Man-Boy Jerry Falwell Junior - Student Dreams Fulfilled

I was expecting the students of Liberty University to show immediate support for their martyred president, Jerry Falwell Junior, lawyer and land developer.

Instead, they are happy that Falwell's self-destructive habits have been rewarded with dismissal, though dressed up in terms like leave-of-absence and starting this moment.

He had two qualities valued in WELS leadership - the son of somebody and behavior best attributed to alcoholism. No really, Falwell's remarks and actions in the past could only be explained by his being squiffed. Otherwise, they are incomprehensible.

The students are happy, and the reasons given are more than enough to get a normal person fired, removed from all official duties, and marched out with his possessions in a cardboard box.
In WELS he would be made the leader of the next big synodical gathering, even with women and children present. WELS would say about his bizarre dress code, "That is just Junior being Junior."

How the Sects Are Arguing Themselves into Oblivion

 The Wizard of Ooze Himself could fill the Time of Grace with something he made up on his way to the make-up room, without form and void.

 1. We talked for two hours. 2. We both had scribbled up Bibles. 3. She smiled. 4. Here it comes wait for it - "But I will be preaching!"

Pastor Mike, as he fashions himself, does not give sermons but "just talks about Jesus." That was an earlier claim. Like all the spineless who just want to be liked, he is quick to invoke his office when convenient.

The unfortunate effect of such wiggle-waggles is a slow, constant, and deliberate retreat from the basics of the inerrant, revealed, unique revelation of God's will.

 WELS ran out of Germans. LCMS ran out of men.

Mikey was picked, like the boy in the ancient TV ad, because he will taste anything. "Give it to Mikey!" we said for decades.

WELS has been on this slide for a long time. Look at this list:

1. Seminary professor has a dangerous DUI.
2. DP arrested for DUI.
3. Pastor has a drunken meeting with a utility pole.
4. Alcoholic, unrepentant adulterer demands a call.
5. Alcoholic pal pastors treat female staff like dirt.
6. Pastor fired for incompetence and other matters. 
7. Church Growth pastor fired for shrinking his parish by 50%.
8. District officer having affair with member.
9. Pastor teaches Justification by Faith.

The first seven cases were protected, kept in their positions, or moved to better calls. #9 - Fired, illegally, by email, by DP Jon-Boy Buchholz.

 "Ordination? We don't need ordination. We already have pastoral calls."

WELS tries to appeal to people by being non-Lutheran generic Calvinists, but they remain a hateful, hyper-Pietistic cult.

1 Timothy 2:12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

One must start with the absolute truth of the Scriptures and allow that God commands what is good for us. Both are lacking in the carnival and circus denominations, which include the Church of Rome. No one does that better, which is why the apostate Lutherans moan and sob and hope to be taken to the bosom of the Antichrist, pleading that the terms of reconciliation be merciful.

Women like to have men as leaders in the church, lay or clergy, and that increases the involvement and appreciation of women. If the Holy Spirit puts WELS Circuit Pastors in their office, so they are infallible, as the sect argues, can we not give even more credit to Paul for being Spirit-led?

The Spirit moved Paul to forbid women usurping authority from men. How clever to make it about voting or anything else. Usurping is an attitude fueling all kinds of behavior. Women teaching men is the clearest and best example.

Not-voting legalism in one sect (perhaps more hypocritical than WELS) has women at the council meeting sitting in the outer circle whispering to their husbands what they must do. No, women do not vote there, not at all. They just run the show and emasculate the men by this ridiculous set-up. (A relative described this to me, and I tried very hard not to make strange faces as I listened.)

WELS leaders have subordinated themselves to women at Fuller and Willow Creek, where that is THE LAW!

For years, WELS leaders have subordinated themselves to ELCA lady executive pastors before inviting them (thanks Mark Jeske) how to reproduce ELCA ministry in LCMS and WELS. And be like the Jetsons.

Given that God knows us better than we do, I understand the 1 Timothy passage as preventing what happens when men abandon their spiritual leadership. The women take over, and the feminists drive out the feminine, always.

WELS and LCMS have replaced men with women, which makes it far more likely that an influential position will not go to a man when it comes up. That also means a man is less likely to take a role formerly occupied by a woman. I served a call where the LCA men insisted on running the entire Sunday School and teaching the classes, except for the tiny kids.

Not that this is anything to fight over. The enormous budgets and staffs of the synods exist to protect their power, income, benefits, and freebies from Thrivent. Dissolving most of the positions would do no harm and free up many for starting missions. But that is work.

Following 1 Timothy is much better than watering it down to nothing. Women are very active in supporting and helping every aspect of broadcasting the Word - in graphics, audio, missions, etc. In days gone by, women's societies were the prime source for world mission funds. We have seen that at Bethany too.

Jeske just happens to find the ELCA pastors most sympathetic to abortion and the repudiation of the Scriptures. Thrivent uses your money to invite ELCA-LCMS-WELS to learn from their wisdom.