Total Views on Ichabod - in the Nines

 

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Second Sermon - "Such names he must bear from these holy people, not because he was riotous or given to gluttony and drunkenness, but only because he permitted them to come to him, and did not thrust them from him nor despise them."

 

Second Sermon: The Doctrine of Christian Liberty; Grace and the Forgiveness of Sins

KJV Luke 15:1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying, 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. 8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

1. This Gospel contains the teaching we hold and boast of as our chief doctrine, which is called the true Christian teaching, namely, the doctrine of grace and forgiveness of sins, and Christian liberty from the law. It is a very loving and friendly admonition to repentance and the knowledge of Christ. And it is ever a pity, that a godless, impudent person should be permitted to hear such an excellent, comforting and joyful sermon. And yet it is more sad, that every one graduates so soon in it and masters it so that he thinks he knows it so well that he can learn nothing more from it. Yet God, our Lord, does not permit himself to become vexed or weary in repeating it yearly, yea, every day, and enforces it as though he knew nothing else to preach, and as though he had no other skill or art. While we poor, wretched people immediately become so overlearned, so satisfied, tired of it and disgusted besides, that we have no longer a desire or love for it.

2. But before we take up the subject taught in this Gospel, let us first examine what St. Luke gives as an introduction to show what prompted Christ to preach the following sermon, when he says: “Now all the publicans and sinners were drawing near unto him to hear him,” because they wanted to be near him to hear his word, and he expresses freely and plainly what kind of people he had about him, namely, those who openly lived as they should not live, and were called downright sinners and wicked people. Thus it would appear that the Pharisees had sufficient reason to blame him, because he, who pretended to be a pious and holy man kept company with such low characters.

3. For at that time the men scattered hither and thither through the land were called publicans, to whom the Romans gave charge of a city, or of the revenue, or other duties or offices, and required of them a certain amount of revenue; just as the Turks or Venetians now assign a city or office to a certain person from which he must give many thousands of dollars a year, and whatever he extorts over and above that amount is his own. In this manner they proceeded. Those who collected such revenue and tax proceeded so that they had a profit from it. And as this sum thus appointed was large for each city or office, the officers extorted without let or hindrance, so that they might enjoy more as their ,own; for their masters were so close with them that they could not gain much for themselves, if they desired to act justly and take advantage of no one. Hence they were reported in all lands as being great extortioners in whom little good or honesty could be found.

4. Thus the other great crowds in general were called “sinners,” who otherwise were worse people and publicly lived in a shameful and wild way, in covetousness, adultery and the like. Such drew near to Christ in order to hear him, since they had heard, that in the light of his doctrine and his many miracles he was an excellent man.

5. Now, after all, there was a spark or two of virtue and honesty in them, that they had a desire for Christ and gladly heard his doctrine, and see what he did. Inasmuch as they well knew that he was a good man, and heard nothing but good of him, both in words and deeds, so that their doings did neither agree nor harmonize with his life; and yet they feel no enmity against him, nor flee from him, but go to him, not to seek anything evil in him, but to see and hear something good, and to hope that they might become better.

6. The Pharisees and the scribes, on the contrary, who were held and esteemed as the most pious and holy, were such poisonous reptiles, that they were not only enemies of Christ, and could not bear to see or hear him, nor suffer poor sinners to come to him and hear him that they might be made better, yet they even murmured and blamed him for harboring and receiving them, and said: Behold, is this that excellent and holy man? Who will now say that he is of God, as he associates with such rogues and wicked people? Yes, he is a “wine-bibber and a glutton,” and they say in another place, “a friend of publicans and sinners.”

7. Such names he must bear from these holy people, not because he was riotous or given to gluttony and drunkenness, but only because he permitted them to come to him, and did not thrust them from him nor despise them. For they thought he should have done so, and should have gone forth in a gray frock with a sour countenance and remained secluded from common people, and when he saw such publicans and sinners, he should have held his nose and looked the other way, so that he would not become polluted by them, as they themselves like holy people were accustomed to do. As Isaiah, 65:5, writes of them: that they kept themselves so pure that they would not dare to touch a sinner; as may also be seen in the example of Luke 7:39, where the Pharisees so bitterly opposed Christ, because he allowed himself to be touched by a woman who was a sinner. Now, these were they who at all times desired to be his master, and to prescribe to him and give him rules how he should conduct himself and live holy. Hence they murmur here, because he does not hold to them and avoid such public sinners as they do.

Flag Day

 

Two Fake Catholics

 

Surprise!

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 3 - "The Gospel is spoken to those only who acknowledge their sins, and their sins they acknowledge when they repent of them. But this Gospel is of no use to the Pharisees, for they do not acknowledge their sins."

Third Sunday after Trinity , Luke 15:1-10. Christian Conduct Toward Sinners. The Parable of the Lost Sheep

20. The Gospel is spoken to those only who acknowledge their sins, and their sins they acknowledge when they repent of them. But this Gospel is of no use to the Pharisees, for they do not acknowledge their sins. To those, however, who do acknowledge them, and are about to despair, the Gospel must be brought. But at this point the devil sets up a game, and suggests to the consciences of those who acknowledge their sins and long to be freed from them, that this one should resort to Saint James, that one to Rome, this one should take refuge in prayers, the other in confession.

And then they are told: “Give six pounds of wax, have so many masses said, do this, do that, and thus you will be freed from your sins.” Thereby they are led farther and farther from the Gospel, and are brought to the standpoint of works. In this way they must certainly despair at last.

21. Therefore, when you feel your sins gnawing at you, and feel your heart trembling and agitated, place yourself beside the publicans where they are standing. These are the very ones who shall receive the Gospel. Do so joyously, and say: “Oh, God! it is thy word that says there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance, and that all the righteous and angels are to interpose and cover up sins. Now, Oh, God! I have come to this that I feel my sins. I am already judged. I need but the one Shepherd who seeketh me; and I will therefore freely venture on thy Gospel.”

22. It is thus that you come to God. You are already the sheep placed upon his shoulders. You have found the Shepherd. You are the piece of silver in the hand. You are the one over whom is joy in heaven in the presence of all the angels. We are not to worry, if we do not experience or feel this at once. Sin will daily decrease, and its sting will drive you to seek God. You must struggle against this feeling by faith, and say: “Oh, God! I know thou hast said this, and I lean upon thy Word. I am the sheep and the piece of silver; thou the shepherd and the woman.”

23. You might say: Yes, this I will gladly do; but I cannot atone for my sins. I can render no satisfaction for them. Consider then the publicans and sinners. What good have they done? None. They came to God, heard his Word and believed it. Do the same. His are living words. The Gospel is too deep to be fathomed by human words. Conscientious men who tried it readily understand this.

24. The learned and idle may determine the meaning of the ninety-nine in the desert. It is enough for us to learn the main thought of this Gospel.

Reformation Seminary - Basic Biblical Doctrine

 

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Inerrancy contrasts with My Little Toy Paraphrases

Inerrancy has been used a lot, but the term seems empty today. How can they promote the new Bibles with the Greek text corrupted by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, and Dynamic Equivalence?!

By the way, Fundamentalist is a term that came from conservative Calvinists, not from snake handlers, tongue-speakers, and rednecks.

The Dynamic Equivalence (anything goes) translations come from the unified Biblical associations, which include the Church of Rome. The modern translations are not inerrant, as shown by their weak and fractured passages, the soup is so watered down. The paraphrases - living, amplified, who knows what else? - are the rotten smell of the earlier playing around with D.E.'

The NIV, RSV, ESV, NRSV, Beck, and others fail miserably, and they make money.

Spirit/Word

The Spirit is always at work in the Word of God: this is the primary stance of the Reformation, but laughed at by such notables as Calvin, Zwingli, and the Pope du jour.

Therefore, preaching, teaching, and Holy Communion are always the work of God.

Just as Jesus Christ is powerful, united in His human nature and divine nature, so are the Scriptures. The Biblical books are written by ordinary people and guided by the Holy Spirit. Very few theologians and scholars accept this, substituting their own fantasies, criticism, and erasure.

One example is the "faith of Jesus," found in Romans 3:22, Galatians  2:16, and Philippians 3:9. Why are the apostates so keen on showing faith in His human nature? 

KJV Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Clarity

The Scriptures are clear. We may have trouble with certain passages, but this is not the fault of the author or the Spirit. We often need more study and comparisons to understand. Jesus did not want every person to grab His teaching and mislead Him.

The darker or more difficult verses are illuminated by the brighter, easier passages.

Likewise, we cannot build a new cathedral because something gets people all excited, and they rush around like chickens in a tornado.

Assume the Best

I have gone through several excitements of Jesus' infant narratives. There is another one - Thomas - being waved around for money and publicity. Common sense is not that common anymore.

The Son of God and the Father help us through the Spirit in learning more and removing false ideas.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 3 - "Yea, what is still more, Christ himself does this, and to this end was he sent; for no man fulfills the law of God as perfectly as he. We are scarcely a spark amid the divine fire and light. He is the fire of which heaven and earth are full."

 

Third Sunday after Trinity , Luke 15:1-10. Christian Conduct Toward Sinners. The Parable of the Lost Sheep

14. Christ was filled with all righteousness, and might justly have condemned us all as sinners. But he did not do so. What did he do, then?

He gave himself to be our Servant. His righteousness has served for our sins, his fullness for our feebleness, his life for our death. This we find illustrated, for our example, in the Gospel before us, where he bears himself with such friendliness toward sinners that the Pharisees murmur.

The Lord therefore sets before them the following parables in order to teach how they are to receive sinners and be of service to them, saying: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it, etc. Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it?”

15. Christ is both the shepherd and the woman; for he has lighted the lamp, that is, the Gospel, and he goes about in the desert, that is, the world. He sweeps the house, and seeks the lost sheep and lost piece of silver, when he comes with his Word and proclaims to us, first our sins, and then his grace and mercy. Christ’s declaration, that he is the shepherd and has laid our sins upon his back or shoulders, makes us trust in him fully, and makes publicans and other sinners run after him. These would not have come unto him thus, had they regarded him as a hard and wrathful judge; for they had previously acknowledged themselves to be sinners and in need of his grace.

And so they were drawn to him when they heard his loving doctrine. Here comes the sheep out of the wilderness, and here the lost piece of silver is found.

16. Learn from this, then, that our neighbor is to be sought as a lost sheep, that his shame is to be covered with our honor, that our piety is to be a cover for his sins. But nowadays, when men come together they backbite one another; and thus they would show how zealous they are against sin.

Therefore, ye men, whenever ye come together, do not backbite your neighbors. Make not one face at one person and another at some one else.

Do not cut off one man’s foot and another man’s hand; make no such traffic of living flesh. Likewise, ye women, when you come together, conceal the shame of others, and do not cause wounds which you cannot heal. Should you meet with anything like this in some one’s house, then throw your mantle over shame and wounds, and close the door. A very good reason for doing this is, that you would have others do the same to you. Then, if you have kept the matter secret, bring the parties before you afterwards, and read them a good lecture; and let it remain with you as a secret.

17. Christ, too, acts thus. He keeps silent and covers our sins. He could, indeed, expose us to shame, and could tread us under foot, as our text shows that the Pharisees did. But he does not do so. All will be brought to light, however, at the final judgment. Then everything hidden must be revealed. Then the virgin must place her crown upon the harlot, the pious woman must throw her veil over the adulteress, and everything we have must serve as a garment to cover the sins of others. For every man shall have his sheep, and every woman shall have her piece of silver. All our gifts must be the gifts of others.

18. Hence there is, in God’s judgment, no greater sin on earth than that pious men and women and virgins commit when they despise those who lie in their sin and would appropriate to themselves their natural gifts, puffing themselves up and despising their neighbor.

19. Hence this Gospel is very comforting to sinners. But whilst it is friendly to sinners, it is a source of great fear to Pharisees. Had this Gospel been nothing more than a good counsel, it would not have been so comforting; but now that it has been commanded I can recognize the mind of God in Christ, since he will have it so, and enjoins that we are to cover the sins of others. Yea, what is still more, Christ himself does this, and to this end was he sent; for no man fulfills the law of God as perfectly as he. We are scarcely a spark amid the divine fire and light. He is the fire of which heaven and earth are full.

Lutherans Must Do More Research on Their Own

 

I enjoy chasing down the facts from synodical headquarters and seminary libraries. I have published plenty; Christina was a major force in exposing verbatim facts and sources. Others have contributed but I dasn't name them. 

Two things are quite important -

1. The Big Five - LCMS-ELS-ELCA-WELS-CLC (sic) - do not cherish the truth.
2. The ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS have deluxe headquarters, but seldom used libraries.

If they had chosen students as their endowments instead of robbing the givers for spanking new mausoleums, the crisis would not be looming upon them. Read a little history and you will see that the synods have been letting their students borrow huge sums of money - which became enormous burdens on students, especially those who dropped out along the way. 

Long ago, Augustana College and Seminary let one student swap a truck full of potatoes for tuition. I took Greek in my freshman year of college, but now some schools ask $3,000 for "summer Greek," cash up front. Summer Greek students at St. Louis get to splash in the fountain upon finishing. 

However, the real treasure is Biblical doctrine, which is mocked in every single one of the Big Five - LCMS-ELS-ELCA-WELS-CLC (sic). 

Luther-Melanchthon-Chemnitz led the Reformation through scholarship and preaching the Gospel.  Matt the Fatt is still parroting Objective Justification's magical hocus pocus - Romans 4:25, but not Romans 4, or even Romans 4:24-25, to wit - 

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. OJ! Yay Matt!

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. - Yes - Justification by Faith.

If the Big Five leaders are not "apt to teach," they must step down and stop wasting everyone's money to make themselves look good. 

 Each sect disparages the others, but they still hide under the wings of their boss.

Citations - June 11 Lecture on the Errors of Objective Justification. The Video Is Near the Bottom of This Post.

Dr. Robert Preus' Justification and Rome repudiates Objective Justification, but the Walther Four - LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) - will not admit it.

Herman Otten wrote and published his book on Walter Maier. On this book's back cover, the Harvard PhD in Semitics was quoted in the clearest words about Justification by Faith. The current  CN editor is a crybaby sycophant who lives on Objective Justification.

Robert Preus copied this nonsense into his 1987 essay, 10 years earlier than Justification and Rome, 1997.

 

Jack Cascione and Paul McCain quoted this passage to their followers to prove that Robert Preus really did teach Objective Justification. The Preuss booklet is really absurd, even worse than the above quote in the graphic. I exposed Edward Preuss in Thy Strong Word in 2000, with editions following. 

I have the quotation from an ELS book where Walther wrote universal absolution about 1800 years years ago (for him). I expect to have that detailed by tomorrow.

The Stephan book should be read and studied. Preus' Festshrift contains the statement about Walther getting the letter from Stephan.

Romans 5:1-2. Faith in Jesus gives us access to God's grace.

Romans 4 Abraham is the example of Justification by Faith.

In 1996, Pastor X named August Suelflow as the source – that Stephan had syphilis. My researcher wrote this,

It [Stephan’s syphilis] was common knowledge among pastors around St. Louis and those involved in the Concordia Historical Institute, and of course down in the settlement south of St. Louis made famous by the book Zion on the Mississippi. However, there's nothing in print, all word of mouth, so he and a small group confronted Sueflow about it. Sueflow confirmed it, saying there were historical documents in CHI that never sees the light of day and is in a secure location of CHI.[1]

---

[1] Written communication, September 10, 2020. G. Jackson, Walther, The American Calvin.

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Not surprisingly, dogmatics textbooks flourished in the period where Calvinist scholastics were attacking the Lutherans, who were then pulled into the same kind of scholastic games using Latin terms to categorize doctrine.

Schleiermacher exploited the subjective slant of Zwingli and Calvin, so theologians emerged who would argue not for Biblical doctrine or their denomination’s doctrine, but for “my theology.” Look at the influence of Pietism and the Easter absolution of the world. A short history of this distortion and false proclamation follows:

1.    Samuel Huber (1547-1624) was a former Calvinist who joined the faculty of Wittenberg University, but turned against the Biblical doctrine of the Reformation to claim this should be said to someone who has no knowledge of Christ:

“You have the grace of God, you have the righteousness of Christ, you have salvation.” Concilia Theologica Witenbergensia, 1664, p. 654.[1]

2.    J. J. Rambach (1693-1795) was a well-known, prominent figure in Halle, at the height of Pietism. He wrote:

“In His Person, all mankind was justified and absolved from all sin and curse.” Tom Hardt, Robert Preus Festschrift, “Easter and Absolution.”

---

[1] This is roughly what Rev. Wayne Mueller said to the Columbus WELS Youth Rally, showing them how easy evangelism is. Pastor Paul Rydecki (formerly WELS) has translated Hunnius, who with P. Leyser, refuted Huber’s early form of Objective Justification, which explains its Calvinist DNA from Huber. Calvinism also entered the Lutheran Church through the unionistic style of Spener and the Pietism that grew from his efforts.

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1.    Schleiermacher’s Christian Dogmatics - “According to Schleiermacher, the decree of redemption already means that human beings are agreeable to God in his Son; an individual act of justification in time is not first needed in each individual person. It is only necessary that each individual person become aware that in God’s decree of redemption in Christ he is already justified and made agreeable to God.”

Hoenecke, Dogmatics, III, p. 339.

 

2.   C.F.W. Walther - "For God has already forgiven you your sins 1800 years ago when He in Christ absolved all men by raising Him after He first had gone into bitter death for them. Only one thing remains on your part so that you also possess the gift. This one thing is--faith. And this brings me to the second part of today's Easter message, in which I now would show you that every man who wants to be saved must accept by faith the general absolution, pronounced 1800 years ago, as an absolution spoken individually to him."

The Word of His Grace, Sermon Selections, "Christ's Resurrection--The World's Absolution" Lake Mills: Graphic Publishing Company, 1978 p. 233. Brosamen, p. 138. Mark 16:1-8.  

 

3.    Barth and Kirschbaum’s Church Dogmatics, IV, 1, p. 638

“There is not one for whose sin and death he did not die, whose sin and death he did not remove and obliterate on the cross...There is not one who is not adequately and perfectly and finally justified in Him. There is not one whose sin is not forgiven sin in Him, whose death is not a death which has been put to death in Him...There is not one for whom he has not done everything in His death and received everything in His resurrection from the dead.” Barth, Church Dogmatics, IV, 1, 638

 

4.    Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics, II, Concordia Publishing House, 1951, p. 321.

"Now, then, if the Father raised Christ from the dead, He, by this glorious resurrection act, declared that the sins of the whole world are fully expiated, or atoned for, and that all mankind is now regarded as righteous before His divine tribunal. This gracious reconciliation and justification is clearly taught in Romans 4:25: 'Who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification.' The term dikaiosis here means the act of divine justification executed through God's act of raising Christ from the dead, and it is for this reason called the objective justification of all mankind. This truth Dr. Walther stressed anew in America. He taught that the resurrection of Christ from the dead is the actual absolution pronounced upon all sinners. (Evangelienpostille, p. 160ff.)…

 

5.    LCA Professor Carl Braaten, who felt ELCA was too radical for him –

“We cannot hold a universalism of the unitarian kind. People are not too good to be damned. There is no necessity for God to save everybody nor to reject anyone. God is not bound by anything outside of himself. He is not bound to give the devil his due. If we take into account God's love, he would have all to be saved. If we reckon with his freedom, he has the power to save whomsoever he pleases. This does not lead to a dogmatic universalism. But it does mean that we leave open the possibility that within the power of God's freedom and love, all people may indeed be saved in the end. This follows as a possibility from the fact that God is free from all external factors in making up his mind.”

Justification, The Article by Which the Church Stands or Falls, Fortress Press, 2001.

 

Interested?

Encore - Short Greek NT Verses

 

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Stephanus John 3:16 -  ουτως γαρ ηγαπησεν ο θεος τον κοσμον ωστε τον υιον αυτου τον μονογενη εδωκεν ινα πας ο πιστευων εις αυτον μη αποληται αλλ εχη ζωην αιωνιον

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Matthew 28:19-20     πορευθεντες ουν μαθητευσατε παντα τα εθνη βαπτιζοντες αυτους εις το ονομα του πατρος και του υιου και του αγιου πνευματος

διδασκοντες αυτους τηρειν παντα οσα ενετειλαμην υμιν και ιδου εγω μεθ υμων ειμι πασας τας ημερας εως της συντελειας του αιωνος αμην

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

1 John 1  ο ην απ αρχης ο ακηκοαμεν ο εωρακαμεν τοις οφθαλμοις ημων ο εθεασαμεθα και αι χειρες ημων εψηλαφησαν περι του λογου της ζωης

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 3 - "In the meantime, one resorts, in the name of the devil, to Saint James, another proceeds to build a church, a third provides for the saying of masses, — this one does this, the other does that, and no one thinks of praying for the sinner."

 

Third Sunday after Trinity , Luke 15:1-10. Christian Conduct Toward Sinners. The Parable of the Lost Sheep

7. A truly Christian work is it that we descend and get mixed up in the mire of the sinner as deeply as he sticks there himself, taking his sin upon ourselves and floundering out of it with him, not acting otherwise than as if his sin were our own. We should rebuke and deal with him in earnest; yet we are not to despise but sincerely to love him. If you are proud toward the sinner and despise him, you are utterly damned.

8. These, then, are great and good works in which we should exercise ourselves. But no man pays attention to them. Such works have entirely faded away and become extinct. In the meantime, one resorts, in the name of the devil, to Saint James, another proceeds to build a church, a third provides for the saying of masses, — this one does this, the other does that, and no one thinks of praying for the sinner. It is therefore to be feared that the holiest are in the deepest hell, and that the sinners are mostly in heaven. But it would be a truly Christian work, if you received sinners, if you entered into your closet and there said, in earnest prayer to the Lord: “Oh, my God! of such a person I hear so and so, he lieth in his sins, he hath fallen. Oh, Lord, help him to rise again,” etc. This is just the way in which to receive and serve the sinner.

9. Moses acted thus when the Israelites worshipped the molten calf. He mingled freely with the people in their sins. Yet he punished them severely, and caused three thousand men to be slain from gate to gate. Exodus 32. After that he went up and bowed down before God, and prayed that he would forgive the people their sin, or blot him out of the Book of Life. Behold, here we have a man who knew that God loved him and had written his name in the book of the blessed; and yet he says: “Lord, I would rather that thou shouldest damn me and save the people.”

10. Paul, too, acted thus. At times he rebuked the Jews severely, calling them dogs and other names. Yet he knelt down and said: “I could wish that I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren’s sake.” Romans 9:3. It is as if he had said: “I would willingly be anathema, if only the mass of the people might be helped.” Such a course as this is much too lofty for reason, and passes beyond its conception. It is thus that we, too, must act, and thus that we must serve our neighbor.

11. Again, we have an incident in the first Book of Samuel. When the people demanded a king, and would not be ruled by God’s Word alone, but lost faith in the Lord, and said that they wanted a temporal king to go out before them and fight their battles, like all the nations, 1 Samuel 8:20. Then God came and punished them for the sin of having despised him, and spake thus to the prophet Samuel: “They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me.” After that the people came to Samuel and besought him to pray for them, saying: “Pray for thy servants unto Jehovah thy God, that we die not; for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask a king.” Then Samuel, among other things, said unto them: “Far be it from me that I should sin against Jehovah in ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way. Only fear Jehovah, and serve him in truth with all your heart, for consider how great things he hath done for you.” 1 Samuel 12:19-24.

12. David also acted thus. When the Lord inflicted the plagues upon Israel he spake unto the Lord and said: “Lo, I have sinned, and I have done perversely; but these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.”

13. Such should be your bearing toward sinners; inwardly the heart in service, outwardly the tongue in earnest. God requires this of us; and this is what Christ, our Captain, has manifested in himself, as Paul says to the Philippians 2:4-9: “Not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others. Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, yea, the death of the cross.”

Errors of Objective Justification - Their Great Confusion

 

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Part One

A. A Biblical doctrine must be taught from the Scriptures, not from the false authority of dogmatics (Barth, Bultmann, Tillich, Calvin, Walther, Scaer).

B. No expert or authority can claim a concept that opposes, distorts, or modifies Scripture.

C. We must start at the source (Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent) to go where water is pure, in the Word of God.

Part Two 

1. Walther's Objective Justification claim came directly from his adulterous, syphilitic bishop - Martin Stephan - in a letter than changed Walther's life. "God has already forgiven you 1800 years ago...all men are absolved of sin." Using the Atonement, Walther replaced Christ paying for our sins with all sins instantly, universally absolved. But the Atonement is not Justification.

2. Just as bad, Walther ordered - they must "accept by faith" the absolution of the world, dated on or about the crucifixion.

3. Objective Justification also makes the Resurrection of Christ the absolution of the world. Somehow this flexible absolution includes the Atonement but also the Resurrection. One must remain in the confusion of Walther to avoid laughing out loud upon reading his dogma. His prolific writing and dictatorial leadership has brought the Walther Four into the arms of the ELCA, which also teaches universal salvation without faith in Jesus Christ.

4. Faith in Jesus Christ is a bad word for the Objective Justification salesmen. They get angry and shout, "You are making faith A WORK OF MAN!" Note the David Scaer smear. The peacock is known for his beautiful feathers and adornment, but his voice is raucous and scary.

5. Throughout the Scriptures, faith in Jesus Christ gives us access to God's grace. Romans 5:1-2 makes this very clear. Someone should rip out John, the whole Gospel

KJV John 6:28 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.

 6. Walther used his predestination lectures to remove the concept of faith in Christ. 

WELS - John "Sparky" Brenner still teaches this dogma.
Disagreeing with OJ = excommunication.

Items Seldom Mentioned in the Big Four - 

LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic)

• Walther had only a bachelor's degree and had minimal knowledge of the Biblical languages.
• The Walther circle was exclusively Pietistic, moving from one fearless leader to Martin Stephan after the first one died.
• Stephan studied at Halle University, where universalism, rationalism, and syphilis were common. His STD symptoms were known before he took his followers to America. He was under house arrest when they left.
• Walther kidnapped his niece and nephew from his father's parsonage. That alone was a felony.
• Walther changed the rules to make sure F. Pieper could replace him as head of the synod and the seminary. Pieper mixed Objective Justification with Justification by Faith in his Dogmatics.

 

The author Knapp was a Halle Pietist. Woods, the translator was a famous Calvinist who offered this note, which became part of the LCMS dogmatics. Walther loved it and the two Justifications found favor in Germany.

The Wrong Guy Knocked on the Door To Sell Pesticides

 

Falling in Love Rose on the hood of a Lincoln Town Car,
a spider poised to grab a meal in style.

The doorbell rang last night, and it was a bit late for that. I opened the door and saw a typical door-to-door college age salesman. He was very polite, which is common in these-here parts. 

He was quite struck by the roses in bloom and all kinds of other plants, which I could have mentioned - Joe Pye, Cinnabon Shrub, Bee Balm, Calla Lilies, Lilies, various mints, hostas, pinks, various butterfly plants, and honeysuckle just around the corner. 

He wanted to have his guys spray their formula around the abod . I said, using Creation logic, "Why would I want pesticides all over the gardens when the beneficial insects devour the pests?" I explained how an insect can lay eggs inside a pest, letting their young wake up to a fresh meal served rare.

"If you are not satisfied, I can send the crew back to spray again."

I said, "A woman sold pesticides for a long time and made her living that way. Her friend suggested giving up the toxins and letting nature take its course. Now she is famous, writing about beneficial insects, without using poison."

He was quite genial but I was guided by my mother, a teacher who caught bugs and showed them to timid children, explaining, for instance, how spiders work. I told the salesman that a spider is inside each rose, waiting to have some food. Why would I kill the thousands of spiders that eat up damaging insects?

He said, "You are way beyond me." He left very friendly.

 Easy Does It

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 3 - "This we clearly see in the two sorts of people here presented to us as examples. In the first place, we have the Pharisees and hypocrites who are exceedingly pious people, and were over head and ears in holiness. In the second place, we have the open sinners and publicans, who were over head and ears in sins. These, therefore, were despised by those shining saints, and were not considered worthy of their society."

 

Third Sunday after Trinity , Luke 15:1-10. Christian Conduct Toward Sinners. The Parable of the Lost Sheep

4. This is something that neither the world nor reason will do. A work like this cannot be done by honorable and pious men who are actuated only by reason, by men who would prove their piety by turning up their nose at those who are sinners, as here the Pharisees do who murmur and grumble at public sinners.

5. This is what our monks do. They have gone about making faces at all who lie in their sins, and have thought: “Oh, but this is a worldly fellow! He does not concern us. If, now, he really would be pious, let him put on the monk’s cowl.” Hence it is that reason and such hypocrites cannot refrain from despising those who are not like them. They are puffed up over their own life and conduct, and cannot advance far enough to be merciful to sinners. This much they do not know, that they are to be servants, and that their piety is to be of service to others. Moreover, they become so proud and harsh that they are unable to manifest any love. They think: “This peasant is not worthy to unloose the latchet of my shoes; therefore do not say that I am to show him any affection.” But at this point God intervenes, permitting the proud one to receive a severe fall and shock that he often becomes guilty of such sins as adultery, and at times does things even worse, and must afterwards smite himself, saying: “Keep still, brother, and restrain yourself, you are of precisely the same stuff as yonder peasant.” He thereby acknowledges that we are all chips of the same block. No ass need deride another as a beast of burden; for we are all of one flesh.

6. This we clearly see in the two sorts of people here presented to us as examples. In the first place, we have the Pharisees and hypocrites who are exceedingly pious people, and were over head and ears in holiness. In the second place, we have the open sinners and publicans, who were over head and ears in sins. These, therefore, were despised by those shining saints, and were not considered worthy of their society. Here, however, Christ intervenes with his judgment and says that those saints are to stoop down and take the sinners upon their shoulders, and are to bear in mind that, with their righteousness and piety, they are help to others out of their sins. But, no! That they will not do. And this is indeed the way it goes.