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Tom Fisher - On the State of the Lutheran Church

 

Dear Pastor Jackson,

This continues my previous article about Christ our good Shepherd carrying us into pastures of rest for our souls. Today I write about a real life example in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod of which I am a member. Yes many LCMS pastors, laymen, and seminary professors speak correctly but think wickedly of whom I am sharply critical. Not all pastors in LCMS are this way. Some LCMS pastors, laymen, and seminary professors are really trying to follow Christ their good shepherd. It is our duty to encourage all of them even though they are wobbly and unstable. We must help them by God's word to be strengthened. So I begin with a tiny rural LCMS congregation in a tiny little town of Golden, Illinois which I attend regularly. They use the red King James Bible hymnal. They love to sing "Dear Christians One and All Rejoice" written by Martin Luther and also "Jesus Christ Our Blessed Savior" by John Huss to name a few. Their pastor who is really trying to follow Christ recently accepted a call to North Dakota so now they are vulnerable to LCMS wolves promoting church growth business models at the expense of God's Word and Sacraments. Here is the letter I wrote to the call committee now searching for a new pastor.

Holy Cross Lutheran Church at Golden, Illinois sustained, nourished, and strengthened me with God's Word and Sacraments during the six years I cared for my mom 24 hours a day 7 days a week. That's really all I had. It was all I really needed. Christ is alive! His Word is efficacious, living, powerful, giving forgiveness of all my sins, giving deliverance from my sin, my death, my hell, and lifting all the evil of this world off of me, and giving me a peace that passes all understanding. I was full of worry, cares, fears and my soul was troubled about many things, but only one thing was needful: to listen to my gentle Shepherd the Lord Jesus Christ and to listen to and ponder His words being repeated verbatim by another gentle Shepherd, pastor Mike Grieve. Pastor Grieve obeyed Christ's command and promise to forgive my sins in the person of Christ. (St. Paul expounds on this in 2 Cor. 2:10) The Office of The Keys is Christ's command and promise to all of us, especially pastors.

"Then Jesus said to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you: and when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted into them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. John 20:21-23

Let's not rush past these very important words of Christ. First Christ says "ye" which is plural referring to the whole church especially pastors. Secondly, Christ says 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost'. Wow this is huge!! God gives all of us, especially pastors, the Holy Ghost to forgive sins in Christ's stead. It is God the Holy Ghost who is forgiving our sins when the pastor says, (see pg. 16 Red Hymnal)

"Upon this your confession,  I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

This is precious to me, very precious! I hope it is precious to you also and that you will want your next pastor to forgive your sins in the person of Christ.

I stress the word 'forgive' because many 'pastors' fail to do this probably because they really do not believe what Luther taught and especially what Christ taught. So these smart alecks say, 'I assure' instead of 'I forgive'. It is happening here in Quincy and many LCMS pastors speak correctly but think wickedly. I want you to be ready to insist pastors repeat the words of Christ verbatim.

Now a word from Luther written to his friend Spenlein:

"I wish to know the condition of your heart, whether you have at last come to loathe your own righteousness and desire to rejoice in the righteousness of Christ and to be of good cheer because of it. For in these days the temptation to presumptuousness is very strong, particularly in those who strive with might and main to be righteous and godly and do not know of the altogether immaculate righteousness of God which is freely given us in Christ. As a result of this they are searching for something good in themselves until they become confident that they can pass muster before God as people who are properly adorned with virtuous and meritorious deeds, all of which is impossible. While you were with us, you held this opinion, or rather this error, just as I did. For my part, I am still wrestling with this error and am not quite rid of it yet. Therefore my dear brother, learn Christ - Christ crucified. Learn to sing praises to Him and to despair utterly of your own works...Ponder this love of His, and you will realize His sweetest consolation. For if we must achieve rest of conscience by our own toil and worry, for what purpose did He die? Therefore you are to find peace in Him by a hearty despair of yourself and your own works. And now that He has received you, made your sins His and His righteousness yours, learn also from Him firmly to believe this, as behooves you; for cursed is everyone who does not believe it " (Martin Luther, St Louis Ed., XXIa, 20f)

Your next pastor can't do it alone. So you must support him, encourage him to do and teach exactly what Luther said in above quote. Are these words of Luther precious to you? They should be! They must be precious to you if you want to be Christian. Works righteousness, and reasoning is around all our necks. None of us are immune from slipping, but God has saved us from this in our baptism into Christ.

So let's go to the Jordan river where Christ is baptized with our sins and we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. This blessed exchange is the forever innocent Christ being clothed with our sins and us sinners being clothed in the entire Christ and His righteousness. 

"Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleasèd." (Luke 3:21,22)

This is very very precious to me! The same things happened to me at my infant baptism:

*Heaven was opened

*God the Holy Ghost was given to me so I believe in Christ and God's Word and persistently cling to it.

*God clothed me in the righteousness of Christ (without my works)

*Christ is wrapped in all my sins 

Reasoning can't grasp this. Faith holds firmly on to it. God makes me His child in baptism.

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."(Gal. 3:26,27)

Time has gotten away from me. It's already time to do chores. I must make a few more important points.

The Lord's Supper is medicine for my soul.

Now a word from Martin Luther:

"So in this matter, you must above all else take heed to your heart, that you believe the words of Christ, and admit their truth, when He says to you and to all, 'This is my blood, a new testament, by which I bequeath to you forgiveness of all sins and eternal life.'" (Martin Luther, LW, vol. 35, pg 88)

Holy Communion is Christ's last will and testament bequeathing to you forgiveness of all sins and eternal life. I firmly believe this. It is very very precious to me!!

"That little word 'testament' is a short summary of all God's wonder and grace fulfilled for us in Christ." (Martin Luther, LW, vol 35, pg. 84)

Yet there are many smart aleck 'pastors' who say 'covenant' instead of 'testament' during the words of institution. The word 'covenant' is Calvinistic. It gives nothing. To support their heresy these smart aleck 'pastors' state that their Bible says 'covenant' not 'testament'. Of course it does. These heretics always use modern corrupted Bibles such as the ESV, NIV, NKJV, RSV to name a few. There is only one Bible that says 'testament' : the Bible God chose for the reformation: the King James Bible. This is Luther's Bible in English. 

It is a terrible sin to change Christ's last will and testament into an empty Calvinistic 'covenant'. These smart aleck pastors, laymen, and seminary professors really don't believe what Luther said and especially what Christ Himself said. They are above Luther, Chemnitz, and especially above Christ Himself. Chemnitz, the second Luther, has harsh words against all of these high powered smart alecks:

"For since Christ instituted His supper in the form of a testament, it is also not allowed at another time to distort even a man's covenant, if it is confirmed, by adding or subtracting. How much greater sin it is therefore, to change or mutilate the testament of the Son of God." (Martin Chemnitz, Ministry Word, and Sacrament, CPH, 1981, pg. 122)

So, I hope your next pastor will cherish and adhere to Christ's Word 'testament' during the words of institution and not change it into an empty Calvinistic 'covenant' that gives nothing.

What is the church?

* A business that thrives on advertising and business strategies like Knapheide, and FS?

*A little gathering of Christians who believe God's Word and live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God and insist their pastor repeats the words of Christ verbatim as found in the red King James hymnal liturgy:

**'I forgive you - Office of the Keys

**'This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sin.

**Baptism into Christ: clothes us in the entire Christ and his righteousness..

**Justification by faith in Jesus Christ without works.

   -Not universalism (Everyone is already forgiven       without faith in Christ: objective justification)

   -Not synergism (man must make a decision to accept everyone is already forgiven without faith in Christ: subjective justification)

So I am a genuine Christian who holds to the King James Bible, the red hymnal, the old 1943 King James catechism. Are you a true Christian? 

I think we need a reformation that takes us back to the the King James Bible that worked wonders during the reformation and especially now!!!!! The corrupt  Bibles (ESV, NKJV, RSV, NIV etc) and  corrupt catechisms, and business model church growth all need to be cast aside unless of course you want to be a smart aleck heretic  instead of a Christian.

Pastor Jackson, please publish freely as you wish and add your own comments freely as much as you would like.

I began memorizing, reading, and studying the King James Bible in eighth grade and continue to do so today over 50 years later.  God's Word is efficacious, living, and powerful in a still, quiet and peaceful sort of way. It reached into the depths of my soul so I could later accept Luther's correct teachings. He became my trusted friend and pastor as I read his writings and continue to do so today. Thank you Pastor Jackson for helping me continue to study Luther's sermons by your many books, and your web site!

 

Tom Fisher

"Our church will grow because of the Unstuck program. Wheee! Oh no!"

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Pentecost Wednesday - The Bread of Life

 

Complete - Pentecost Wednesday Sermon

I. ON FAITH, AND COMING TO CHRIST.

1. This Gospel text teaches exclusively of the Christian faith, and awakens that faith in us; just as John, throughout his whole Gospel, simply instructs us how to trust in Christ the Lord. This faith alone, when based upon the sure promises of God, must save us; as our text clearly explains. And in the light of it all, they must become fools who have taught us other ways to become godly. All that human ingenuity can devise, be it as holy and as luminous as it may, must tumble to the ground if man be saved in God’s way — in a way different from that which man himself plans. Man may forever do as he will, he can never enter heaven unless God takes the first step with his Word, which offers him divine grace and enlightens his heart so as to get upon the right way.

2. This right way, however, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Whoever desires to seek another way, as the great multitudes venture to do by means of their own works, has already missed the right way; for Paul says to the Galatians: “If righteousness is through the Law,” that is, through the works of the Law, “then Christ died for naught.” Galatians 2:21. Therefore I say man must fall upon this Gospel and be broken to pieces and in deep consciousness lie prostrate, like a man that is powerless, unable to move hand or foot. He must only lie motionless and cry: Almighty God, merciful Father, now help me! I cannot help myself. Christ, my Lord, do help now, for with only my own effort all is lost! Thus, in the light of this cornerstone, which is Christ, everyone becomes as nothing; as Christ says of himself in Luke 20:17-18, when he asks the Pharisees and scribes: “What then is this that is written. The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner? Every one that falleth on that stone shall be broken to pieces; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust.” Psalm 118:22. Therefore, we must either fall upon this stone, Christ, in all our inability and helplessness, rejecting our own merits, and be broken to pieces, or he will forever crush us by his severe sentence and judgment. It is better that we fall upon him than that he should fall upon us. For this reason the Lord says in this Gospel: “No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day.”

KJV John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. 46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. 47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 48 I am that bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.