From Plagiarism to Criswell to the Temptation of Bigness

I was refreshing my memory about W. A. Criswell plagiarizing portions of one of the  books he published - Why I Teach That the Bible Is Literally True. Criswell used portions of R. A. Torrey's book - verbatim - without quotation marks or citations.

That led me to get the book about Criswell by Joel Gregory - Too Great a Temptation.

Gregory's two-year stint trying to become the senior pastor at First Baptist, Dallas, led him out of the ministry. He now has this business - Gregory Ministries. When he wrote the book, he was selling funeral planning.

One theme of the book is the Baptist obsession with enormous churches. The bigness in the South is startling. The Lutheran executives doubtless still lust for the same kind of clout. Two of the congregations named with awe in this book are Hybel's Willow Creek (ending in sex scandal) and Jack Hyles' First Baptist in Hammond, Indiana (which has a legacy of abuse from Hyles, his son-in-law, and dozens of their associate pastors in other churches under his wing).

But the point is - those cisterns of corruptive are gigantic, and that is the defining metric. In this book, Gregory's history is constantly measured in terms of explosive growth where he served before the Criswell experience. These miniature cities of Southern Baptist piety are measured by size and real estate and wealthy connections, much less by faithfulness to the Scriptures.

I learned that Baylor University, central to this narrative, really is a Southern Baptist university, with a seminary named after the pastor who preceded Criswell at First Baptist, Dallas. Baylor was owned by the Southern Baptists of Texas until the Baylor board decided it was completely independent of the denomination, but still nominating 75 - 100% of its own board members as Southern Baptists.

It troubles me that ELDONA's own church historian denies the Southern Baptist nature of the school where he earned his PhD. I asked a Lutheran in Texas, very close to the Baylor scene, and he agreed that Baylor was definitely Southern Baptist.

In spite of his own PhD from Baylor, Gregory does not know much about the history of Biblical apostasy in America. Gregory blamed it on Bultmann, post-WWII, but the same issues (Virgin Birth, Resurrection, Miracles, Divinity) were revised by Rauschenbusch - a Baptist! - in 1917. The key Biblical issues were being denied before that, and taught here, thanks to the glory of European study in the 19th century.

So I am thinking that one's lack of knowledge about Baylor may come from Baylor not being very good at training its PhDs. 

First Baptist, Dallas not only suffered from bigness worship but also from the adoration of the pastor, which gave Criswell enormous power to do what he wanted, often to the detriment of the congregation. But that was inherent to the Southern Baptist strategy - encasing the community in a bundle of real estate, social activities, sports, games, and children's activities where they could dwell in peace. First Baptist had 47 kitchens, many of them owned and kept locked by a number of groups within the church. Gregory reported that he needed a guide to find placed within the complex. 

Criswell's wife had her own Bobble Study of 300 people, in spite of Southern Baptist rules about women teaching men. That, of course, was a power center by itself. As explained to me, Southern Baptists can meet at someone's home for a designated Bobble Study and never step foot in the church for 20 years - and that includes the leader. This is naturally the influence of Pietism and its cell/koinonia/share/care/small group plan. The real church is the small group. 

Unethical behavior by pastors who have supposedly taken another call or retired is described in great detail. Here WELS and the Southern Baptists are in complete agreement about previous pastors causing enormous harm to please themselves. The CLC (sic) has the same low standards, adding "the DP's mother.

Dr. Joel Gregory

July 27, 2005

Dr. Joel C. Gregory

Dr. Joel C. Gregory - Texas Baptist pastor, former president of the Baptist General Convention Texas, publisher and founder of Gregory Ministries - has been appointed professor of preaching at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary for the academic year 2005-2006. Gregory is currently a Distinguished Fellow of Georgetown College, the oldest Baptist college in Kentucky.

The well-known preacher, scholar and author will begin teaching at Truett in the fall.

"At Truett Seminary, we intend to make preaching a priority," said Dr. Paul W. Powell, dean of Truett Seminary and special assistant to the president for denominational relations. "We sought Joel Gregory because I believe he is the finest preaching professor we can put before our students."

"It is an honor that Dean Paul Powell and the faculty of Truett have requested me to join with them in their vision," Gregory said. "I hope to help that excellent faculty in their quest to make Truett a center for contemporary biblical preaching in the historic, mainstream Baptist tradition."

Gregory has been a guest preacher at the Truett Preaching Conference for the last three years, as well as an adjunct instructor for I-term and summer classes.

A Baylor alumnus, Gregory earned his bachelor's degree summa cum laude in 1970 and his doctorate in 1983, both from Baylor. He received his master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he taught preaching 1982-85.

While earning his degrees at Baylor and Southwestern, Gregory served as a student pastor at Edgefield and Emmanuel Baptist churches of Waco, Acton Baptist Church of Granbury and Cottonwood Baptist Church of Falls County. From 1977-82, he pastored Gambrell Street Baptist Church in Fort Worth, before joining Southwestern as an assistant professor of preaching.

In 1985, Gregory became pastor at Travis Avenue Baptist Church, the largest Baptist congregation in Fort Worth. He was then called unanimously in 1990 by First Baptist Dallas, historically the largest church in the Southern Baptist Convention, to serve as pastor. He held that position for two years, highlighted by preaching to President George H. W. Bush and speaking at the Barcelona Olympics.

Gregory has served in many leadership positions on the local, state and national levels. He was unanimously elected as president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 1988 and 1989, and delivered the annual sermon at the 1988 Southern Baptist Convention meeting in San Antonio, "The Castle and the Wall," in an attempt to mediate the breach in the denomination.

Following his resignation from First Baptist of Dallas, Gregory wrote a best-selling memoir of his life, Too Great a Temptation. The book has been produced as a play, God's Man in Texas, written by Baylor graduate David Rambo, and is one of the 10 most-performed plays in the United States over the last five years. Gregory also has written or edited several other books, including Growing Pains of the Soul, Homesick for God, James: Faith Works, and Gregory's Sermon Synopses. In addition, he collaborated with the late Earl Allen on Southern Baptist Preaching Today and Southern Baptist Preaching Yesterday and with Dr. Frank Pollard on The Preaching Pastor. Gregory is currently writing the major article on "Expository Preaching" for the Interpreter's Dictionary of Preaching, published by Abingdon Press and edited by Baylor graduate Dr. Cleo Larue, professor of preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary.

An active speaker at churches, conferences and conventions, Gregory has spoken in 46 states and in Middle America, South America, England, Europe, the Far East and the Middle East. He has been a guest preacher at Westminster Chapel, Spurgeon's College, the Barcelona Olympics, Interlaken, Baptist seminaries and scores of university campuses. In 1990, he addressed the Baptist World Alliance in Seoul, Korea. He has more recently been guest instructor in continuing education at Princeton Theological Seminary, as well as lecturer at the United Theological Seminary doctor of ministry intensive.

Gregory also has been associated with two Fort Worth-based publishing groups, Magnolia Media Group, where he was senior vice president from 1994-99, and ACP LLC, where he has served as publisher and CEO since 1999. In 2004, he founded Gregory Ministries for the purpose of advancing the Kingdom of God through speaking, writing, media, Internet, consulting, homiletical education and ministerial counseling. He now serves as a distinguished fellow at Georgetown College in Kentucky. Under those auspices he will be conducting a seminar on biblical preaching at Regents Park College, Oxford, in August. Gregory also works with a retreat for ministerial renewal and restoration, Restoration Ranch, located in east central Oklahoma.

Gregory is a member of the Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth where he shares teaching responsibilities in the Chapel Bible Class. He is the father of two sons, Grant Joel, 31, of New York City, and Garrett Summers, 28, of Fort Worth.

End of a Movie - "Was It All Worth it?"

I have been telling people, "Wait until the Joe Pye and Clethra bloom. Then we we will see butterflies and hummingbirds." 

Yesterday, before the rain, which only arrived this morning, I looked out the kitchen sink widow and saw two hummingbirds fighting over a brilliant red-orange gladiolus. I knew they were around, front and back, because the feeders went down gradually.

I also saw some butterflies around the Rose Garden. But the biggest thrill was enjoyed by Ranger Bob. He told me not to put a feeder close to where we sat on the porch, which is only slightly elevated above the garden. The porch is perfect in the afternoon shade, facing east.

When spring began, I moved the middle feeder almost next to where we sit. Christina came out to join us, too. But Bob had the special seat. Before anyone else sat down, he sat to relax and look over the garden. A hummingbird came within a few inches of his face and did an up-down and left-right survey of this familiar human.

"He was scanning you, Bob. You are a good guy in his database."

Bob said, "That was the greatest feeling, to have that tiny bird looking me over."

We saw two hummingbirds flitting through the garden, plus a husband-wife team of cardinals resting in the comfort of Joe Pye, then in the maples.

 Buckwheat

Seeing four hummingbirds reminded me of the old movie where an actor struggled for years to become established on the stage, going through many crises. One of the actors said to him, before he went out on stage to face thunderous applause, "Was it worth it? All the suffering?"

He said, "Yes" and took his place on the stage.

Gardening is the perfect way to get neighbors laughing when everything goes wrong. One summer, buckwheat took over the entire garden. When the crew cut them down with weed-whackers, it was just at the point when the prolific plants were mature with their prolific seeds. The crop re-established itself immediately and hid the roses again. Our neighbor and her son pointed at the sea of tall buckwheat and laughed. I was glad I did not know Laotian.

Acting with God's Creation in mind is always going to work in the long run. The imponderables are the only constant, but the final results are worth labor. Paul was the one who coined the term - "Your labor of love," writing to the Thessalonians. Parish work is closely related to Gardening.

 The bravest bird is the smallest.

Second Edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God - Now Being Processed

Two gentlemen have already sent their list of potential corrections of the first edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those who Love the Word of God.

Some errors are obvious, like John Bunyan's name spelled as John 8unyan. Other corrections exposed the backwards way of writing this book. I was going to focus on text criticism, and that is where I started, but it seemed that most of the audience would need massive help - and strong black coffee - to plow through that section first. Afterwards, I gathered five more books on that topic alone, such as the Letis book and a printed Bible with all the alterations in it.

I agree with the anonymous editor who said the text criticism section needed a lot more clarity. That will be a complete re-write.

Thank you all for the encouragement and help.

“O, wad some Power the giftie gie him
To see his books as others see them!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion.”

Apologies to Robert Burns

When We Pick Up a New King James Version of the Bible, Westcott-Hort Pops Out in the Footnotes

Count Tischendorf was the self-promoting snake oil salesman who sold the Western world on his find of "the oldest and best" New Testament in Greek. And then he added to his crown with the Vaticanus, making Aleph (Sinaiticus) and B (Vaticanus) the first two, best two standards for the New Testament. 

Chicago Inerrancy Conference, 1978 - My wife and I attended that meeting and received a number of free books and a copy of the New King James Version of the Bible, a product of Thomas A. Nelson (serving as TAN Publishers for virulent anti-Protestant Roman Catholics). Herman Otten sold The Truth about Luther, a TAN book, for Reformation Day. As he said about the Church Growth Movement, "I sell to both sides."

One religious book store owner said the New KJV was best thing ever.

David W. Daniels has a new book on the New King James, The Bridge Bible. Some clergy use it in the Little Sect on the Prairie, the Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic), and the ELDONUTs. 

Where Is the Loyalty? Camouflage in the Footnotes

Camouflage is basic to warfare, so the enemy does not see the soldiers and equipment lined up to defend or to attack. At Ft. Knox, they camouflaged the garbage cans for a laugh, and we enjoyed the look. "The garbage will survive the first strike, no doubt."

The New King James is camouflage for Westcott-Hort/Nestle Aland. Once the credibility of that group is established, the concept of a precise, dependable translation is gone.

The NKJV publishers use the (M) to designate the Majority Text and the (NU) to cite the Nestle Aland UBS text.

Most people will skip over the footnotes, but they establish the Nestle Aland UBS text (which changes annually) as equal or superior. The so-called translation of the NKJV has already been changed once, and there is no reason to stop changing.

John 8

Try to make sense of the Woman Caught in Adultery, based on the useless footnotes.

Mark 16

The ending of Mark is verse 8 or verse 20?

1. Mark 16:9 Vv. 9–20 are bracketed in NU as not in the original text. They are lacking in Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, although nearly all other mss. of Mark contain them.

New International Version says -

[The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.]

Wrong Diagnosis, Bad Practices, Expected Results

The LutherQueasies and the ALPB Online Forum Hot Air Merchants repeat the same verities as their managers. I like to torment both groups because they add another five or six views per day. They may complain about a current Ichabod post to their families, so that is good for a few more page views. It's all about the numbers.

At this point they have about 50 years with Fuller Seminary, Willow Creek, and the late Crystal Cathedral. They use the hot words that move people to act on foolishness, so they can be synod stooges honored at the next banquet, meeting, or parish closing.

"Testing the spirits" has never been their strong suit. 

1 John 4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try [test] the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

Lettuce use a gardening example. (That's the horticultural subjunctive). For a healthy plant or seed, growth will come from sunshine, rainwater, and the nutrition of the soil, aided by soil fungi.

These components are already provided and engineered by the Creator. 

1. Note the living Seed of the Word, the seed sown, the seed that falls into the ground - all have the energy of life which only God can create.
2. Consider the rain and snow-melt - both considerably superior to chlorinated tap water. Rain and snow-melt are blessed with usable forms of nitrogen which do not burn or harm plant life. They lack chlorine bleach, which holds back plant life and seed germination.
3. The energy of the sun makes it possible for a seed to germinate, form different kinds of cells, and grow into an infinite variety of plants. The engineering makes it clear that there is a vast number of growth settings - soil, moisture, temperature, shade versus sunshine. 
4. Finally, and most mysterious (but right in front of us) - all the living elements of Creation work together to help the others grow strong, grow healthier, and recover from catastrophes. Fire and flood create new growth to make a rebirth possible.

As the Minnesota farmer told me, "Irrigation will keep a crop alive, but only rain can make it grow."

Fuller and other felonious fakes were ideal for city-slickers, who do not comprehend what the farmer concluded in one sentence. Now congregations and their bullying overlords are drowning in chlorinated tap water while being denied the Word of God, which has Three Promises.

A. The Word will never return to God empty - which means, the Word is never lacking in effect. Get that - DMins or Demons of Dogmatic Demagoguery?

B. The Word will always accomplish God's purpose (not man's). This is rather simple but absolutely lost on the entire Church Growth Industry.

C. The Word will always prosper God's will. So not only does God work through the Word alone, but also so powerfully that no one can doubt it.

 WELS, LCMS, ELS, and ELCA pastors spend $30,000 or more to forget this passage. One ELS pastor was totally smitten and joined ELCA. He had been on the ELS doctrinal committee, examining future pastors! 

 

 Judging and ignoring the Isaiah passage means certain failure on all fronts. 

"We did everything we could, and spent all your money, but your parish died anyway." The Church Doctor - he does post-mortem for reduced prices. Whadda-guy!

Flowers in the Front Yard, Vegetables in the Backyard - Garden Tradition

 Poke Week quickly turns buds (loved by insects) into berries, and berries into new starts, since 60 species of birds enjoy the berries.

I was enjoying the majestic growth of the Joe Pye in the front yard when I noticed two Pokeweeds elbowing their way into the sunshine. I have plenty of Poke in the back, so I was not welcoming to the latest incursion in the front. I grabbed my rose clippers and cut down both near the bottom of their greedy stalks.

They may may an effort to grow back the rest of the summer. The two have already done a lot in loosening and feeding of the soil. If birds want to plant their favorite food, I would rather have them plant wild strawberry, which blooms early and all summer long, in the shade and sun. They form a mat on the ground and do not compete with the flowers.

 Poke berries are supposed to be toxic to humans and beneficial for humans. They have very little taste, so I have only tried a couple of them. I experienced no benefits except red-stained teeth.

 We have to have some feelings for Poke, based on their offering a home for pollinating insects and food for the birds.

I have a moderate sized Poke growing among the Joe Pye in the backyard, recently edited garden. I could cut it down, but I know the Joe Pye will be more vigorous next year and throw shade on the Poke.

I have noticed that the birds are not buying the back-to-nature philosophy of modern woke hippies. Birds want packaged, highly promoted bird food from various sources. If they are out of store food, they perch near me and chatter or scream their needs. They have grass, loaded with worms and bugs, bushes good for safety and even more bugs, and trees for nesting, safety, and a Ft. Knox of insect food.

I have something they need more than food - water from two little swimming pools, water from the AC drip on the front porch, and water in the bird bath - inspected by Inspector Bob.

This is my health and wellness posting. If I do not publish early in the morning, I get emails, "Are you OK? I haven't seen a post yet."

 They are more concerned about breakfast than publishing.

Plants Know How To Survive

Clethra is a fragrance factory - cinnamon and sweet in its aromas, not just during the blooming season. Clethra and Joe Pye get plenty of wood mulch and peat humus at their base to provide an earthworm food factory for their future growth.

 Clethra reminds us that tiny flowers attract the most pollinators.
Sunflowers are the except. No, they are huge disks of tiny flowers, each one producing a seed, loaded with sweet and musky fragrance to draw the creatures.

Plants must be smart, because know exactly how to survive and how to recover from various disasters, whether drought, flooding, or humans. 

Our vertical garden, festooned with roses, knows how to suppress weeds - simply by reaching up to the heavens and spreading out. Grassy weeds and sharp elbow weeds (like crabgrass) cannot grow in the stygian darkness of their height and broad leaves. They exemplify the true meaning of "the lion's share" which is 100%.

 Thousands of buds become thousands of tiny blooms. 

 When the Rose Garden was young, this Joe Pye led the way in growth. Some have been weed-whacked by mistake, but just come back later, a bit behind, but ready to reach the sky.

The two champions are Joe Pye (about 15) and Clethra (5), both reaching 8 feet in height - green, healthy, and triumphant. Three of the five Clethra are new, so they are knee high. Both plants have delicate flowers and fragrances that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Yesterday, while sipping coffee on the porch, the Military Gardening Group saw a hummingbird fly toward us from across the street, stop at a plant, and fly back home. 

The rabbits are not complaining. They have deep cover and fresh sunshine when they need it. The condensate from the AC drips into a regularly cleaned ceramic bowl, and overflows into the garden. The large concrete feeder, low to the ground, is cleaned and filled often, or Ranger Bob will raise the roof, even though we are outside. He takes care of his watering dish for all the creatures and reminds me to do the same. I have four altogether, and they lose water faster than evaporation allows. 

Sassy enjoys the garden. She looks for rabbits and tracks them with her nose. Once we stirred up a nest while watering and she tried to make friends with the little squeakers. They hopped away and she was sad. 

Yesterday she took up various  guard posts because the neighborhood was busy with relatives visiting. Sassy cannot be too careful. Once it was safe again, she came over and sat down to scratch up a nest in front of us. This went on until all the grassy weeds were uprooted and she could rest on cool damp soil. She loves to hear company discussing how smart she is, and whatever we are talking about - military, gardening, social issues, practical matters. 

 First year Enchanted Peace is attracting a lot of attention. The way it develops, the colors are different each day.

The Sixth Sunday after Trinity, 2021. Exceeding the Righteousness of the Pharisees

The Sixth Sunday after Trinity, 2021

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Sunday, Central Daylight Time

The video of the Bethany service can be found here.

The melodies are linked in the hymn title. 

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The melody site is linked here.
• TLH Lyrics are linked on The Bethany Lutheran Hymnal Blog

The Hymn #402                         O God Forsake Me Not                                              

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

The Lord is the Strength of His people: He is the saving Strength of His anointed.

Save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance: feed them also and lift them up forever.

Psalm. Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord, my Rock; be not silent unto me: lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Lord of all power and might, who art the Author and Giver of all good things, mun in our hearts the love of Thy name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of Thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual   

He shall call to the heavens from above: 

and to the earth that He may judge His people.

V. The heavens shall declare His righteousness: 

for God is Judge Himself. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. The ransomed of the Lord shall come to Zion with everlasting joy upon their lands: 

they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and weeping shall fly away.

 Hallelujah!

   

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #294             O Word of God Incarnate     (How - 7 Hymns)                  

Exceeding the Righteousness of the Pharisees

The Communion Hymn # 387:1-5             Dear Christians                   

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 #435           My Spirit on Thy Care

In Our Prayers

• Christina Jackson has improved greatly in the last 10 days.
• Maria Ellenberger Way and Kermit Way.
• Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris Shrader.
• Trent Hostetler and John Miller died in a plane crash, Haiti missionaries.
• The blog page views reached 9 million yesterday.
• The Bible Book will be edited and enlarged fairly soon.

                                    

Sixth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, we confess that we are poor, wretched sinners, and that there is no good in us, our hearts, flesh and blood being so corrupted by sin, that we never in this life can be without sinful lust and concupiscence; therefore we beseech Thee, dear Father, forgive us these sins, and let Thy Holy Spirit so cleanse our hearts that we may desire and love Thy word, abide by it, and thus by Thy grace be forever saved; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Exceeding the Righteousness of the Pharisees

Background, Gospel Matthew 5:20ff

Righteousness is the key to this Gospel passage - and to the entire Bible, which often uses this term. There are two major forms of righteousness - the righteousness of works and the righteousness of faith in Jesus Christ. Our population today in America depends on the righteousness of works, and that affects everyone, often the church leaders themselves - not just pastors, but officials and professors as well. When they talk about what is good, they express their pride in the works of man - "Look at our parking lot, our gym, our beautiful building."

And we should note that the Pharisees were true saints of works. They were quite demanding in performing all the works of righteousness. They were upstanding citizens and devout in their studies and following the Law.

But we have to rely on Jesus the Son of God to know what true righteousness is. He defined it in such a simple way that few people grasp it. Someone writing to me about John 16:8ff said the explanation in the book was so clear. That took many efforts at seeing and applying this essential passage from Jesus Himself.

The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin, because "they do not believe on Me."

KJV Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

We were at Willow Creek when we heard the former pastor, Bill Hybels, start on this topic. They had about 16,000 in attendance (counting WELS pastors and officials) on a typical Sunday, but no crosses visible outside or inside the church.

I was waiting for tips on how to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, but he stayed on that topic, as if to say, "Yes we are more righteous, because of our works."

One example was the named pro football player, who in the name of servanthood humility, vacuumed the rugs at the church. Condemned were those few who came to the communion service on Wednesdays, which came across in that sermon as not doing the right thing. And it made him angry. 

Jesus' simple message is too plain for many to hear, grasp, and apply. The only way to go beyond the righteousness of works is to have complete trust in the Savior Jesus, God Incarnate. Without that foundation, everything is works in order to please ourselves and impress our neighbors.

We have many examples of that in the Scriptures, because Jesus began with the foundational sin, "O ye of little faith!" Repeating the works of righteousness means staying level with the Scribes and Pharisees. The old leaven is works, the new leaven is faith in Christ. "Sweep out the old leaven" which is a Jewish custom to mark the Passover. God gave us many physical symbols to call up in us their meaning, to stir up our faith in Him, reflecting on what He has done.

Lenski, Matthew, p. 213.

While it is true that the former were the acknowledged expounders and teachers of the Old Testament, and the latter the great Jewish party which professed to live up to the legal regulations of the Torah in the most scrupulous manner, here this distinction is not stressed. The two are regarded as one body, for the vital point in which they utterly failed was the attainment of the righteousness which in God’s judgment admits to the kingdom.

Nicodemus was a leader of the Pharisees and yet he came to Jesus. Was he satisfied with his own holiness? No, or he would not have risked his reputation and perhaps his life.

21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Lenski's point about this section is that the Pharisees prided themselves on not engaging in this sin of murder. So this is a satire on their scrupulous levels of crime and punishment in the Jewish court, showing the absurdity of the opposition. 

1 John 3:15 says, "Whoever hates his brother is guilty of murder." This is really the core meaning of this passage. Someone can be innocent of murder in the court system yet daily participate in murder by hating his brother, since such hatred develops into all kinds of sinful words and actions. James 1:15 writes about the thought developing and turning into evil. 

We truly live in evil times, where the thought police are ready to pile onto anyone who offends them by criticizing their radical ideas and their lawless deeds. I believe this attitude has developed from the basic Pietism (in a bad sense) in our country. Pietism emphasized what people did (cell groups) and what they did not do (cards of any kind, liquor, gambling, the sins of the flesh). Rauschenbusch captured this spirit by having a different set of demands, secular activism. Pietism was opposed to doctrinal distinctions, so the outward deeds became most important. Church worship was nothing if they did not attend their cell group meetings. Oddly, WELS and LCMS decided they needed cell groups to grow and naturally worship became secondary and often non-Lutheran as well.

In general, we have a generation or two of scowling Pharisees. We have not fulfilled all the new and imaginary laws, so the stink-eye is used as a warning before total shunning is initiated. The more this is done, the more righteous they feel. 

23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 

Luther properly calls the sins in this passage "fine sins," because they are not open and obvious, like robbing a bank or burning down a building. They are parades as pure virtue, and are intended to hurt because the person deserves the hurt. When I made some suggestions to the high school 50th reunion, they did not send me an invitation. I thought that was as silly and petty as it could be. Others asked and found out and an invitation suddenly appeared several weeks late.

Such actions divide people and families, such as get-togethers where everyone is invited except for one person or family. In church activities, it is used to assert power and turn some people into lepers so they are automatically silenced, shunned, and given the stink-eye (no reasons given, of course).

This permeates our society. I have seen it at work and heard many retired people speak of it. The idea of being a church leader and exhibiting such conduct is a severe mark against the perpetrators, though they see it as pure, noble, and saintly.

Luther:

And it is not one of the gross, public vices punished also by the world, but one of those fine sins of the devil that do not want to pass for sin. For they sail under false colors, so that no one can rebuke and punish them. For instance, pride will not be called pride, but truth and justice; envy and hatred do not want to be reprimanded, but rather extolled as being true earnestness and godly zeal against wickedness. These are really the two colors the devil carries in his realm, namely, lying and murder, which in the eyes of the world claim the honor and praise of being holiness and righteousness in the highest degree.

2. For this reason our Lord and Savior singles out the Pharisees, who fain would be the holiest and most pious, and be so considered by everybody; he even calls their doings by the beautiful name of righteousness, but he pictures and judges it as one not leading to heaven but into the abyss of perdition, a veritable fruit of satan. And this he does for the reason that they wanted to be called righteous and pious, defying the whole world to prove the contrary, and at the same time were filled with venomous wrath, envy and hate. The world cannot see nor judge in such matters, therefore Christ alone is the judge here who dare and can pass such a sentence of judgment. Even if this righteousness of the Pharisees be ever so beautiful and holy, yet, they shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven; for I do not desire nor will have a righteousness that stamps itself as such, and will not be called sin, but struts about in the fine coat of divine righteousness, so that we must call them Christian, pious people, holy spiritual fathers, etc.

 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Harboring revenge is very bad for the individual who practices it, and the opposite is the best kind of peace and love, always bearing good fruit. This has to be done first between husband and wife, so there is no background grudges, resentments, and bitterness. Forgiveness follows contrition or confession of sin, and that means the past is buried, lost, forgotten, drowned in the ocean of God's grace. If that cannot be done, then Christian Faith is lacking and only a charade. But when both sides acknowledge sin and embrace forgiveness, it creates a new life, a new relationship. I have seen this at work many times. It is the difference between Heaven and Hell.

I have also seen people eaten up by staying in the Hell of anger, bitterness, and rejection of others. Alcohol brings them no peace and only unleashes the anger, much of it distorted by rage.

If church leaders want to know why their denominations and seminaries are dying, they only need to look at their revengeful treatment of others, showing they have no faith. The backyard bullies grew up into tonsured tyrants who must have their way or they will get really angry. They not only get even with their imagined enemies, but also with the families of those they target. Clergy and teachers know that their children and spouses will be deliberately hurt by those who want to be #1 all the time. 

An LCA pastor told me how an official's son, in a feedback session, said the new materials stunk, just like the LCA. His father paid for that, even though they were asking for his "open and honest opinion about the materials."

Luther:

10. Now the aim and contents of this sermon by Christ are as follows: You fancy that whoever does not inflict a blow with his arm has not acted contrary to God’s command; but he is at liberty to be angry at his neighbor and to avenge himself; and to take vengeance is so far right, and no sin at all. This would nullify the commandment, leaving it without any force whatever. For it does not ask merely that you refrain from killing with your fist, but also from doing harm or injury with your tongue or your heart. If not, how about the command that we are to do good to our enemy? If that is to hold good, we most certainly must not work against our neighbor. Otherwise in what respect would we be better than publicans and public sinners, as Christ himself says, Luke 6:32, who are friends to each other, the one not inflicting any harm on the other?

If people want to live a peaceful life, where all the blessings are experienced daily, they only need to consider how few years we have - and those racing by. Just as anger begets anger, forgiveness and love multiply the highest divine virtues. There is a profound difference, of course. Anger is something we manufacture, store, and dispense. The fruits of the Spirit come from God, through the Gospel that brings Jesus Christ to a meeting place with use (Romans 5:1-2)

We harbor anger and resentment - faith receives God's grace.