The Big Five - LCMS-ELS-ELCA-ELCIC-WELS-CLC (sic) imagine that they teach grace, and they love to use the term grace while mangling and torturing its meaning. The vast majority of Big Five congregations will ignore Ascension because they do not not hold mid-week Advent or Lent services. Those that do are more likely to be copying the Roman Catholic cake-walk with a lot of strutting and billowing of incense smoke. The rest say, "We don't have enough people for mid-week anything!"
First we must define the Big Five concept of grace, using an example from Lutherans now in ELCiC. The previous leader said this about a school for naughty boys that they funded, even though not one of the boys was Lutheran! The speaker emphasized that fact and said - "Not one boy is a Lutheran, so this is an act of pure grace!" The last two words were bellowed with great authority and sanctimony.
The Big Five live according to their new versions of the Bible, especially the despicable NIV. Everyone is forgiven. Everyone! Everyone! (So sayeth the former leader of the LCMS teen group.) Forgetting the leap of faith, they flatter themselves with the Leap of Grace.
Be patient. I am getting there.
Faith in Jesus Christ gives us access to faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, miracle worker and Teacher, who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave, ascending to Heaven.
KJV Romans 5 1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
The gracians, as they might call themselves, are immune to the basics of faith, which they dispose into the category of works. Even there, they do their best to get rid of the true Gospel.
KJV John 6 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
The connection is clear and never broken - faith in Jesus Christ gives us access to grace. Faith comes from the Gospel Word, as early as newborn, because faith comes by hearing. A mother took a photo of her new baby grinning and looking to her right, a big smile for her daddy. Faith comes by hearing, and so the baby was baptized according to the Scriptures. The Baptists want me to say that babies do not have faith, so I ask them how babies have faith in their parents but not in God.
The works of God are - believing in Jesus, whom He has sent.
But the yahoos of modernity still say in horror and alarm - "You are making faith to be a human work!"
Lutherdom will need a whole new generation or two before they can teach Romans 5:1-2, not to mention Romans 10. They have poisoned the well and yet cry in despair because their promiscuous spending in Church Growth and other idiocies have bankrupted them.
- The LCMS Purple Palace will be sold to Roman Catholics at a deep discount.
- The WELS Love Shack will become an Urban Renewal office.
- The ELS office will be a fitness center called Renuvia.
- The CLC and ELCA will merge into the CLC, headquarters in the nearest Masonic Lodge.
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| GA! |
