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| Lenski's commentaries are still circulating - ELCA owns them now. |
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| Lenski was silenced on inerrancy, and Capital Seminary went down the drain. |
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ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - The antidote trusts the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10.
Friday, September 8, 2023
Often Mentioned, Seldom Seen - Eisenach/Lenski Selections
A Reader Comments on the Poke, Poke a Rib Song at a Lutheran Church, Aiming at Children's Sunday/Funday
Hello Pastor Jackson
I would like to comment on your September 7 blog post in which you presented the video of a Lutheran congregation singing “Hal la la la la lu ia” as part of their Divine Service.
I followed the link to YouTube and watched the video there. My first thought was that this must be an ELCA congregation. I checked the church's website and found that it belongs to “Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ” (LCMC). According to Wikipedia:
Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) is an association of Lutheran congregations located primarily in the United States. ... It began in 2001 in response to some liberal views of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). ... The group describes itself as "centrist" or "mainstream", noting that it stands between the more liberal ELCA and the more conservative Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) ...
So they see themselves as centrist, mainstream Lutherans.
Most of the congregants in the video appeared to be aged 50+, some looked to be in their sixties or seventies. I didn't see any children or teenagers. I was struck by the fact that these mature/senior citizen Lutherans were OK with standing up and singing a silly kindergarten song as part of a Divine Service.
A few weeks ago, you posted the video of an ELCA congregation reciting the “Sparkle Creed”. Most of the congregants there also appeared to be mature/senior citizens. Therefore they were catechized in the late 1960's and the 1970's, long before the rot had set in that we see in the ELCA today. Nonetheless, these Lutherans were OK with reciting the theological gobbledygook of the “Sparkle Creed” as part of a Divine Service.
It appears that the theological underpinnings of many American Lutherans is a mile wide and an inch deep.
This is pure ELCA, from their Edina, MN congregation.
I Fired Schwan's aka Yelloh
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Marvin Schwan put ice cream on wheels and his name on various Lutheran buildings. The synods were always in fellowship with each other when it came to Schwan Foundation funds. I was cutting down on Schwan foods, ok, ice cream and pizza, when they changed to Yelloh for some mysterious reason. One of the drivers stopped by when I was in a hurry, so I asked for their "skillets" and a gallon of ice cream for guests: 3 skillets and a gallon of chocolate ice cream. I did not bother with the total so I saw the email later - $83.13! That was so far off its value that I phoned to cancel. I wonder how far corporations will go with combining low quality and high costs: there must be a breaking point. I fixed a vegetable stew with meat to retaliate:
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One reason fad diets fail is the idiosyncratic ingredients. Each named diet has special requirements, and that is probably the #1 reason they fail.
My vegetable consultant suggested more meat in my meals, and he was right. Going light on meat built up a big craving for the high value fats and salt.
Nine of the ingredients listed above have been given high marks for nutrition. Too much healthy food habits will turn that furtive stop at McDonalds into a disaster.
Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 14 - "Not that faith is in man and does not work, which is impossible. For faith is a living, active thing."
Link -> Complete Sermon for Trinity 14.
18. Now we must also examine the other part of this example of the nature of Christianity, love. The lepers have instructed us how to believe; Christ teaches us to love. Love does to our neighbor as it sees Christ has done to us, as he says in John 13:15: “For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have done to you.” And immediately afterwards he says in verse 34: “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
What else does this mean than to say: Through me in faith you now have everything that I am and have: I am your own, you are now rich and satisfied through me; for all I do and love I do and love not for my but only for your sake, and I only think how to be useful and helpful to you, and accomplish whatever you need and should have. Therefore consider this example, to do to each other as I have done to you, and only consider how to be useful to your neighbor, and do what is useful and necessary for him.
Your faith has enough in my love and grace; so your love shall also give enough to others.
19. Behold, this is a Christian life, and in brief it does not need much doctrine nor many books, it is wholly contained in faith and love. Thus also says St. Paul, Galatians 6:2: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ.” And to the Philippians 2:4 he says: “Not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.” And there he gives us Christ as an example, 5:6: “Who existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped.” Who, although he was true God, yet became our servant and served us, and died a scandalous death for us. This Christian, free and joyful life has the evil spirit as its enemy, who with nothing else does such great injury as with the doctrines of men, as we shall hear. For truly the manner of a Christian’s life is briefly marked out in the words, have a good heart toward God and a good will toward your fellow man, here it consists entirely within us.
20. His good heart and faith naturally teach him how to pray. Yea, what is such faith, but pure prayer? It continually looks for divine grace, and if it looks for it, it also desires it with all the heart. And this desire is really the true prayer, that Christ teaches and God requires, which also obtains and accomplishes all things. And because it does not trust or seek comfort in self, its works or worthiness, but builds upon God’s pure grace, therefore whatever he believes, desires, hopes and prays, also comes to pass; so that the holy Prophet Zechariah justly calls the Spirit a Spirit of grace and of prayer, where God says, Zechariah 12:10: “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication.” Because faith recognizes and desires God’s favor without any intermission.
21. Again, love naturally teaches him how to do good works. For they alone are good works which serve your neighbor and are good. Yea, what is such love but only good deeds continually shown toward your neighbor, so that our work is called love, our faith is called prayer? Thus Christ speaks in John 15:12-13: “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” As though he would say: So completely have I done all my works for your benefit, that I also gave my life for you, which is the greatest of all love, that is, the greatest work of love. If I had known a greater love, I would have manifested it to and for you. Therefore you should also love each other, and do all good deeds to one another. I require no more of you. I do not say you are to build for me churches, make pilgrimages, fast, sing, become monks or priests, or that you are to enter into this order or rank; but you do my will and service when you do good to each other, and no one cares for himself but for others, on this all entirely depends.
22. And these he calls “friends.” By this he does not mean that we should not love our enemies. For he says clearly: “Who lays down his life for his friends.” “His friends” are more than mere “friends.” It may come to pass that you are my friend, and yet I am not your friend, or I may love you and receive you as a friend and offer you my friendship, and yet you may hate me and remain my enemy. Just as Christ says to Judas in the garden: “Friend, do that for which thou art come.” Matthew 27:50. Judas was his friend, but Christ was Judas’ enemy, for Judas considered him his enemy and hated him. Christ loved Judas and esteemed him as his friend. It must be a free, perfect love and kindness toward every one.
23. See, this is what James means when he says, 2:26: “Faith apart from works is dead.” For as the body without the soul is dead, so is faith without works. Not that faith is in man and does not work, which is impossible. For faith is a living, active thing. But in order that men may not deceive themselves and think they have faith when they have not, they are to examine their works, whether they also love their neighbors and do good to them. If they do this, it is a sign that they have the true faith. If they do not do this, they only have the sound of faith, and it is with them as the one who sees himself in the glass and when he leaves it and sees himself no more, but sees other things, forgets the face in the glass, as James says in his first chapter, verses 23-24.
Thursday, September 7, 2023
The Efficacy of God's Word - Repudiated by the Lutheran Sects and Their Ecumenical Pals
Many have told me, "I never heard the term the efficacy of God's Word until you emphasized it." I was not shocked to hear this, because most Lutheran pastors and leaders have not taught this concept, which is expressed throughout the Bible.
Francis Pieper fans will say, "But I have underlined the term in my four-volume Pieper." That may be, but Pieper cleverly wove efficacy and Objective Justification into his dogmatics. Foul stinking dogma will always push out Biblical doctrine, and we can see those results today.
How many denominations study at Fuller Seminary today?
Answer - all of them. The Salvation Army, the Church of Rome, and all the non-Catholics bend the knee before the statue of Donald McGavran, who was a Disciples of Christ minister and sociologist.
The holier-than-thou Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic) is just as hot for Church Growth as ELCA, WELS, LCMS, and the ELS. Ditto - Objective Justification. Larry Olson rode his bike to visit McGavran, and used his pal to proclaim in Calvinist News that Larry never studied at Fuller. Ditto, Valleskey, Bivens, Huebner, Werning, and a host of other nincompoops. I would use better liars than that coven of do-gooders.
Not Effective!
I can imagine the millions of dollars spent to promote the funny farm in Pasadena. Pastors - like Larry Olson - earned the precious DMin at Fuller. The older designation for a quickie doctorate used to be an STD, but that lost its luster for some reason. The true founder of the LCMS, Bishop Martin Stephan, could explain.
Here are some ineffective approaches promoted by Lutherans and other lupine leaders:
- Entertainment replacing hymns for worship.
- Bad Bibles sold to make money for the denominations - RSV, ESV, NRSV, NIV, and the Beck for keeping CN afloat.
- Soda, coffee, and snacks for the service. WELS VP Huebner named one pastor on his staff as their "barista."
- Women teaching men when that is clearly nixed by the Apostle Paul. Usurping authority - why not?
- Soccer camp blended with drive-by catechism lessons for a week.
- Removing the liturgy.
- Creating creeds to be more relevant.
- Mocking Luther at every opportunity, even though they hardly know Luther's Biblical doctrine.
- Replacing Biblical teaching with fads, cheap humor, and Jeske clones.
Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 14 - "Behold, so powerful is faith, to obtain all it wants of God, that God considers it done before the asking. Of this Isaiah says, 65:24: And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
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Link -> Complete Sermon for Trinity 14.
10. The second characteristic of faith is that it does not desire to know, nor first to be assured whether it is worthy of grace and will be heard, like the doubters, who grasp after God and tempt him. Just as a blind man runs against a wall, so they also plunge against God, and would first gladly feel and be assured that he can not escape out of their hands. The Epistle to the Hebrews says, 11:1: “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” This clearly means faith holds fast to what it does not see, feel or experience, either in body or soul, but as it has firm trust in God it commits itself to and relies upon it without any doubt but its hope will be realized. Thus it will also certainly be realized, and the feeling and experience will come to it unsought and unsolicited, even in and through such hope or faith.
11. For tell me, who had given these lepers a letter and seal that Christ would hear them? Where is there any experience and feeling of his grace?
Where is the information, knowledge or certainty of his goodness? Nothing of the kind is here. What then is here? A free resignation and joyful venture on his imperceptible, untried and unknown goodness. Here there is no trace in which they might discover what he would do, but his mere goodness alone is kept in view, which fills them with such courage and venture to believe he would not forsake them. Whence, however, did they receive such knowledge of his goodness, for they must have known of it before, be they ever so inexperienced and insensible of it? Without doubt from the good reports and words they had heard about him, which they had never yet experienced. For God’s goodness must be proclaimed through his Word, and thus we must build upon it untried and inexperienced, as will hereafter appear.
12. The third characteristic of faith is, that it allows of no merit, will not purchase the grace of God with works, like the doubters and hypocrites do, but brings with it pure unworthiness, clings to and depends wholly on the mere unmerited favor of God, for faith will not tolerate works and merit in its company, so entirely does it surrender, venture and raise itself into the goodness for which it hopes, that for its sake it cannot consider either good works or merit. Yea, it sees that this goodness is so great, that all good works compared with it are nothing but sin. Therefore it finds only unworthiness in self, that it is more worthy of wrath than of grace; and it does this without any dissimulation, for he sees how in reality and in truth it cannot be otherwise 13. These lepers here prove this clearly, who hope for the grace of Christ without the least merit. What good had they ever done to him before? They had never seen him, how then could they have served him? Besides they were lepers, whom he could justly have avoided according to the law, Leviticus 13:1, and kept himself free from them as was just and right.
For in reality and truth there was unworthiness, and reason why he should have nothing to do with them nor they with him. For this cause they also stand far off, like those who well knew their unworthiness. Thus faith also stands far from God, and yet it goes to meet him and cries out, for it knows itself in the reality of truth to be unworthy of his goodness, and has nothing on which to depend, except his highly renowned and loudly praised goodness. And such a soul also seeks Christ’s favor, while it stands far off and is empty; for it cannot in the least tolerate in its company our merit and work, and comes freely like Christ into this village to the lepers, in order that its praise may be free and pure.
14. Observe how everything agrees perfectly that God’s love gives its favor freely, does not take nor seek anything for it, and how faith also receives quite freely and pays nothing for it, and thus the rich and the poor meet together, as the Psalms say, To this their words also testify when they say: Have mercy on us! He who seeks mercy of course neither buys nor sells anything, but seeks pure grace and mercy, as one unworthy of it, and evidently having greatly deserved the contrary.
15. Behold, here is a good, real, living and true example of Christian faith, that sufficiently teaches us how we must be disposed if we would find grace, piety and salvation. Now, in addition to this doctrine follows the incentive or inducement to faith, that we should gladly believe as we are at present taught to believe. This incentive, however, consists in that we observe how such faith never fails, that as it believes so it comes to pass, and that it is certainly heard and answered.
For Luke describes how graciously and willingly Christ beheld and heard the lepers, and says: “And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go and show yourselves unto the priests.”
16. How very friendly and lovingly the Lord invites all hearts to himself in this example, and stirs them to believe in him! For there is no doubt that he desires to do for all what he here does for these lepers, if we only freely surrender ourselves to him for all his favor and grace. Just as true faith and a Christian heart should do and delight to do; so these lepers also do and teach us to do. For how earnestly the Lord desires that we should joyfully and freely venture to build on his favor before we experience or feel it, he has here sufficiently testified that he hears them willingly, without any hesitation, that he does not first say he will do it, but as though it were already done, he did as they wished. For he does not say: Yes, I will have mercy on you, ye shall be cleansed; but merely: “Go and show yourselves unto the priests.” As though he would say: There is no use of asking, your faith has already acquired and obtained it, before you began to ask; you were already cleansed in my sight when you began to expect such things of me; it is no longer necessary, only go and show your purity to the priests; as I consider you and as you believe, so you are and shall be. For he would not have sent them to the priests, if he had not considered them clean, and so wished to deal thus with them, as those who had become cleansed.
17. Behold, so powerful is faith, to obtain all it wants of God, that God considers it done before the asking. Of this Isaiah says, 65:24: “And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” Not as though faith or we were worthy of it, but in order that he might show his unspeakable goodness and willing grace, thereby to stir us to believe in him, and comfortingly look to him for every good thing, with joyful and unwavering consciences, which do not stumble after him nor tempt him. So now you also see that Christ hears these lepers before they call, and before they cry out he is prepared to do all their hearts desire. “Go,” he says, I will not add a word, for it has succeeded in your case farther, no promise or consent is necessary; take what you ask and go.
Are not these strong incentives that make the heart joyful and eager?
Behold, then his grace permits itself to be felt and grasped, yea it grasps and satisfies us. This has been said on the first part, namely, faith.
