Luther's sermons have been described as obscure, difficult to follow at times. That is one reason I mark Luther sermon passages in bold and blue, because he often says more in one sentence than others do in a lifetime.
For example, Luther dwells on the Biblical term "angel." This is how we use that term today.
- Someone shovels your walk after a big storm. "You are an angel!"
- "How was little Cecil today?" The teacher says, "He was an angel today!" - startling the mother.
- The youngest children are dressed in white gowns and have little gold halos on their heads, attached or semi-detached, prompting everyone to say "Awww. Look at those angels."
The Biblical term, in Hebrew and Greek, means "messenger." Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, means "my messenger." Evangel means the "good message" or the Gospel, a word derived from Anglo-Saxon.
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| The company you keep. |
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| The company you keep. |
Lutherans Have Become the Church of Rome
Luther's point about the Church of Rome follows. The Vatican does not teach the correct doctrine about Jesus Christ, but the accepted dogma of Roman Catholicism. For example, if someone wears the scapular and is chaste, his time in Purgatory, after death, will be reduced to only a few days, quite a discount.
If people pay attention to the announcements, books, and decrees of the Pope, they will discover that everything from Rome is about the structure and message of Roman Catholicism. That is why Eastern Orthodoxy is still taught by Rome as inferior, tainted, and not quite what it should be.
Are these things - like the scapular and Purgatory - taught in the Scriptures? Never mind. They are taught by His Holiness, his cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, and lay leaders. Many loyal members disagree but the dogma remains.
Even now, some Lutherans are gathering and training apart from the crudeness of ELCA, the rudeness of WELS, the undeserved haughtiness of Missouri, and pipsqueaks of the ELS. The percentage left may be tiny, but a sliver of the Gospel is far better than the New Rome of ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS.
The Big Shrinking Four are exactly like the Church of Rome, which may explain why so many Lutheran pastors mimic the smells and belles of the Vatican. How else can the effeminate wear $800 gowns?
The Big Shrinking Four teach their organizations, not Jesus Christ. That is Luther's point about Roman Catholicism.
Some will say, "ELCA is far beyond the most radical cultures - and proud of it." Any candidate for a church position must subordinate to all the demands of the current dogma, even though those points are contrary to the Scriptures, especially because they are against the Word of God and Jesus as the Word. A candidate who supports the latest from Hollywood will always displace the traditional person, especially when the latest rules are met.
Do not be fooled. The sycophant's of WELS, LCMS, and ELS will bow to the rainbow coalition when grabbing for Thrivent grants, just as they did for adulterous Schwan gifts.
Do the Waltherian Three - LCMS, WELS, ELS - follow the same roadmap as the Church of Rome? They certainly do, while playing the game of being different from ELCA and each other.
CFW Walther is the foundation for the Waltherian Three is, but in reality, the syphilitic girl-chaser Bishop Martin Stephan is their anchor, their cornerstone, their seldom-named idol. When the Walther circle lost their demanding Pietistic leader, they attached themselves to the Pietistic pastor Martin Stephan, whose congregation came from Pietism - just as he did. When Stephan's adultery with young women became too obvious to ignore, and he was tried in court for it, the Stephanites packed up and left for New Orleans, then St. Louis and Perryville.
Walther picked a convenient time to form a riot to remove Stephan from the leadership of their cult. Walther organized the riot, allowed only his fans to participate, and stole Stephan's land, gold, books, and personal possessions.
Walther was a prolific writer, not always a bad trait, and used that to promote the Objective Faithless Justification taught by Stephan. That is what relieved Walther of his burden of Pietistic sin and continues to plague the LCMS, WELS, and ELS. They have no use for Justification by Faith but a great need to teach the entire world is free from sin, absolved, forgiven. Even the monsters in Hell are "guilt-free saints."
WELS has over 60 curated essays promoting Objective Faithless Justification, which has been called "a diamond" and more. If studies the situation, Missouri and the Little Sect on the Prairie have the same disgust for the Chief Article of Christianity as WELS does. They refute the writings of St. Paul because the Apostle disagrees with the opinions of their shrinking groups.
The issue from the Bible is - "What do the angels, the messengers, teach about Christ?"
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| This nonsense was repeated by Robert Preus and Paul McCain. Preus recanted in Justification and Rome, but that is never acknowledged. |
