ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Luther on False Teachers
False Teachers Use Work of Others
J-635.1
"Note the master hand wherewith Paul portrays the character of false teachers, showing how they betray their avarice and ambition. First, they permit true teachers to lay the foundation and perform the labor; then they come and desire to do the work over, to reap the honors and the benefits. They bring about that the name and the work of the true teachers receive no regard and credit; what they themselves have brought—that is the thing. They make the poor simple-minded people to stare open-mouthed while they win them with flowery words and seduce them with fair speeches, as mentioned in Romans 16:18. These are the idle drones that consume the honey they will not and cannot make." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 110. Second Sunday in Lent. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9; Romans 16:18.
False Doctrine Tolerated
J-636.1
"And such false teachers have the good fortune that all their folly is tolerated, even though the people realize how these act the fool, and rather rudely at that. They have success with it all, and people bear with them. But no patience is to be exercised toward true teachers! Their words and their works are watched with the intent of entrapping them, as complained of in Psalm 17:9 and elsewhere. When only apparently a mote is found, it is exaggerated to a very great beam. No toleration is granted. There is only judgment, condemnation and scorn. Hence the office of preaching is a grievous one. He who has not for his sole motive the benefit of his neighbor and the glory of God cannot continue therein. The true teacher must labor, and permit others to have the honor and profit of his efforts, while he receives injury and derision for his reward."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 110f. Second Sunday in Lent. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9. Psalm 17:9.
God Punishes Ingratitude by Allowing False Teachers
J-637.1
"In the second place such teachers are disposed to bring the people into downright bondage and to bind their conscience by forcing laws upon them and teaching works-righteousness. The effect is that fear impels them to do what has been pounded into them, as if they were bondslaves, while their teachers command fear and attention. But the true teachers, they who give us freedom of conscience and create us lords, we soon forget, even despise. The dominion of false teachers is willingly tolerated and patiently endured; indeed, it is given high repute. All those conditions are punishments sent by God upon them who do not receive the Gospel with love and gratitude."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 111. Second Sunday in Lent. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9. John 5:43.
False Teachers Flay Disciples to Bone
J-638.1
"In the third place, false teachers flay their disciples to the bone, and cut them out of house and home, but even this is taken and endured. Such, I opine, has been our experience under the Papacy. But true preachers are even denied their bread. Yet this all perfectly squares with justice! For, since men fail to give unto those from whom they receive the Word of God, and permit the latter to serve them at their own expense, it is but fair they should give the more unto preachers of lies, whose instruction redounds to their injury. What is withheld from Christ must be given in tenfold proportion to the devil. They who refuse to give the servant of truth a single thread, must be oppressed by liars." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 111f. Second Sunday in Lent. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9.
Avarice in False Teachers
J-639.1
"Fourth, false apostles forcibly take more than is given them. They seize whatever and whenever they can, thus enhancing their insatiable avarice. This, too, is excused in them."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 112. Second Sunday in Lent. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9.
They Lord It Over Us
J-640.1
"Fifth, these deceitful teachers, not satisfied with having acquired our property, must exalt themselves above us and lord it over us...We bow our knees before them, worship them and kiss their feet. And we suffer it all, yes, with fearful reverence regard it as just and right. And it is just and right, for why did we not honor the Gospel by accepting and preserving it?"
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 112. Second Sunday in Lent. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9.
We Are Dogs and Foot-Rags
J-641.1
"Sixth, our false apostles justly reward us by smiting us in the face. That is, they consider us inferior to dogs; they abuse us, and treat us as foot-rags."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 112. Second Sunday in Lent. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9.
False Teachers Are Peacocks
J-642.1
"The peacock is an image of heretics and fanatical spirits. For on the order of the peacock they, too, show themselves and strut about in their gifts, which never are outstanding. But if they could see their feet, that is the foundation of their doctrine, they would be stricken with terror, lower their crests, and humble themselves. To be sure, they, too, suffer from jealousy, because they cannot bear honest and true teachers. They want to be the whole show and want to put up with no one next to them. And they are immeasurably envious, as peacocks are. Finally, they have a raucous and unpleasant voice, that is, their doctrine is bitter and sad for afflicted and godly minds; for it casts consciences down more than it lifts them up and strengthens them."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 642.
New district presidents and their important role
Earlier this month four new men were elected to serve as presidents of their respective districts. Three of the positions became vacant because of retirements; one position had been filled temporarily after its occupant accepted a call to serve as professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.
The following men have been installed as district presidents:
Nebraska District: Rev. Phil Hirsch of Manhattan, Kan.
Western Wisconsin District: Rev. Michael Jensen of Watertown, Wis.
South Atlantic District: Rev. Charles Westra of Columbia, Tenn.
Southeastern Wisconsin District: Rev. David Kolander of Brookfield, Wis. (GJ - They welcomed the all-gay St. John Lutheran Church, 8th and Vliet, Milwaukee.)
A turnover of one-third of the district presidents is rare. It seems good to step back and review exactly what the role of the district president is and what weighty responsibilities are entrusted to these men.
The district president is, in many ways, the pastor of his entire district. He is elected to his position by delegates at a district convention who represent every congregation in the district. His election is not just a selection by called worker and lay delegates. It is, in fact, a divine call from God himself.
First and foremost, the district president is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the doctrine and practice in the congregations of his district. Doctrine is what is taught; practice is how doctrine is applied and carried out. For a synod to remain faithful to the Word of God and to the Lutheran Confessions, its doctrine must faithfully reflect scriptural truth, and its practice must carefully apply the teachings of Scripture in the life and ministry of the congregation. The district president carries out his responsibility of overseeing doctrine and practice in two ways: proactively, as he sets the tone through teaching and instructing by his words and example; and reactively, as he addresses situations in which false teaching may occur or in which the practice of a called worker or congregation departs from faithfulness to the teachings of the Bible.
If a called worker or even an entire congregation begins to stray from the truth, it is ultimately the responsibility of the district president to provide evangelical admonition and correction. Circuit pastors and district officers assist and advise him in this, but ultimately, faithful teaching in his district is a responsibility that rests on his shoulders.
The district president has a very important role in the call process. When congregations experience a vacancy—of pastors, teachers, or staff ministers—it is the district president to whom they turn. He consults with the congregation to determine its specific needs, and then he provides the congregation with a call list. The district president places candidates on that list because, after extensive research and much prayer, he is convinced that any one of them can meet the needs identified and outlined by the congregation.
The synod’s constitution has charged the Conference of Presidents (which includes the district presidents, along with the synod president and two vice presidents) of encouraging congregations and individuals to provide the financial support necessary to carry out the work we do together as a synod. In that role, the district president is the primary voice in the district making congregations aware of the financial needs of the synod and then encouraging congregations to support that work through their Congregation Mission Offerings.
Not least, in his role as the pastor of the district, the district president provides individual counsel and encouragement to the workers in his district. He spends much time getting to know the called workers he serves and makes himself available when they have questions, concerns, or struggles. He offers words of admonition and correction when it’s needed. He also takes time to be sure that called workers are receiving the care and support that ministers of the gospel should receive from those whom they serve with the Word.
The 12 men who serve as district presidents receive no additional compensation for their important work. (GJ - False. They receive all kinds of extras, such as a free assistant pastor, a deluxe vacation in the Carib in winter, etc.) They have been asked by God and his people to fill a very important role. They do so with a deep sense of awe at the trust that people have placed in them. They carry out their duties faithfully, spending many hours in meetings and many days on the road. And we would not want to neglect the faithful support of their wives, who provide encouragement to their husbands as they carry the weight of their office and who willingly sacrifice time with their husbands for the good of God’s church.
Take a moment in prayer to thank God for these faithful servants and to ask God to give them wisdom, strength, and joy in their service.
Serving in Christ,
President Mark Schroeder
President Mark Schroeder
 |
| Mark Schroeder - proud sponsor of Luther Days. |
Look at their "art" which includes a blob on a cross called "Earth Jesus."
This came from WELS and Fuller Seminary training.
They will artify every verse in the Bible, but the artists are not necessarily believers. UOJ all the way.
---
Hi Greg,
You know that the leaders of this are WELS, right:
http://www.sparkandecho.org/about/people/
---
Hi Greg,
You know that the leaders of this are WELS, right:
http://www.sparkandecho.org/about/people/
***
GJ - My response. Yes, I knew but I hate to give this stuff too much space. With Mark Schroeder - anything goes - except justification by faith.
GJ - My response. Yes, I knew but I hate to give this stuff too much space. With Mark Schroeder - anything goes - except justification by faith.
---
A Reader - About WELS
So true! Saw it in my years in the WELS. Could name a few names, but what is the use - most know them anyway. Whatever they say is true and they are honored and awarded like gods, while the quiet, hard, in the home workers are slaughtered and abused. Been there.
God only knows the changes new district presidents will have. It is
significant and I hope for the better.
Gardening Answers - Creation Makes Our Work Easier.
Flies on My Daisies
Ripen the Tomatoes
My neighbor wanted her green tomatoes to ripen. She used fertilizer, which game them enormous vines, not ripening yet. Man-made nitrogen will put too much growth into the green part, short-changing the fruit somewhat.
I gave her two tomatoes in a plastic bag with a banana. An apple or a banana in a bag will speed up ripening, because they give off a natural gas that ripens fruit.
Bananas are picked green and ripened with that gas.
KnockOuts - Big Chop for Growth
Every time I reduce my KnockOut roses by 50%, after their big bloom, our helper says, "Are you sure?"
When everyone was content to let their KOs alone, I watered mine after cutting all the blooms off and cutting back the bushes. They reponded by going into a new set of growth and blooms.
The Creation Gardener:
- Mulches and leaves the soil alone.
- Encourages and even adds earthworms.
- Prunes aggressively, which usually means cutting roses for vases and spotting dead wood to remove.
- Waters with stored rainwater when possible.
New roses get watered daily to help the roots get established.
Flies on My Daisies
I keep spotting flies in my garden. The astute realize that houseflies are not in the garden. The flies are tachinids, which are great at killing pests. Shasta Daiseys are good at attracting beneficial bugs, but these are cone flowers - which are also good.
Do not swat the garden flies. They are friends from the Creator.
Bury the Weeds - Voila! - Compost
I have a rich and growing supply of weeds, thanks to rich soil and watering. Of course, weeds will grow anywhere but thrive with water and dominate with plenty of rain.
When we have a thick patch of weeds in the mulch, we cover that area with newspapers or cardboard, then weigh down the sunblocker with wood mulch or various weights, like gallon jars of water. We use the jars in the Wild Garden before we get enough leaves to weigh down the easy-fly pieces.
Weeds make great compost when denied sunlight.
About the Eighth Commandment - Honored Only in the Breach by ELDONUTS
ELDONA has been busy accusing me of "violating the Eighth Commandment," so someone asked me to clarify a few things.
Here is the Small Catechsim on the topic -
The Eighth Commandment.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.
One important aspect of this commandment is judging one's intentions, thoughts, and motivations. The genius of malicious gossip is telling everyone about those inclinations, as if the speaker had the god-like ability to read minds and judge hearts.
ELDONUT Eric Stefanski said a layman asked questions "with evil intentions." How exactly does someone know those intentions and have the brazen buffoonery to condemn what he cannot know? That is a violation of the Eighth Commandment.
ELDONUT Douglas Handrich claimed I wrote about ELDONA to increase page-views and make more money from the blog. That little snarl is a two-fer. First of all, ELDONA is not good for many page-views. I have no idea which post will be most popular. The sect is little known and not destined to be long remembered. Secondly, I make no money from blogging - there are no ads. The congregation supports itself through contributions and my tent-making work.
How does someone call himself a pastor when he passes off such fables as the truth? Like others, Handrick asked for my phone number but never called. Not one of the attack Yorkies has phoned but they cannot stop yipping.
Clearly, Bishop-for-Life Jim Heiser is leading the chorus, from the back. He reminds me of our pet Shelty who barked away every truck near our home, but only after she ran behind the pool fence for protection. With Stefanski unlimbering all his false information, they should have plenty to growl about in the next decade.
How did this infallible sect manage to stay in fellowship with the Rolf Synod, which was clearly organized around Universal Objective Justification and non-episcopal government? That arrangement went on for years until Paul Rydecki joined ELDONA and the diocese began refuting UOJ.
Luther's Large Catechism
284] All this has been said regarding secret sins. But where the sin is quite public so that the judge and everybody know it, you can without any sin avoid him and let him go, because he has brought himself into disgrace, and you may also publicly testify concerning him. For when a matter is public in the light of day, there can be no slandering or false judging or testifying; as, when we now reprove the Pope with his doctrine, which is publicly set forth in books and proclaimed in all the world. For where the sin is public, the reproof also must be public, that every one may learn to guard against it.
Anytime someone discusses the distorted, corrupted, false doctrine of a Lutheran synod - the issue published, of course - the guard dogs of those synods growl "Eighth Commandment." I heard that so often in WELS that our family joke was identifying any truthful statement as a violation of the Eighth Commandment.
Red Section
I highlighted the red part to emphasize identifying convicted criminals as criminals, those protecting sex offenders as enablers, etc. However, to label a pastor (not me) as "preaching though a convicted felon" is the most malicious kind of violation of this commandment. This example, from the Maxima Cloaca of ELDONA - from Stefanski via Handrick - is stated with absolute certainty though the claim is an utter falsehood. I could list more examples from Stefanski but one is enough to impeach his credibility.
Do they want to describe in their ELDONA history about Heiser starting his work in the Lutheran Confessional Synod with Pastor Randy DeJaynes? WELS and the ELS were in fellowship with the LCS. That is where Heiser's Repristination Press started, the Lutheran Confessional Synod, where Bishop-for-Life DeJaynes had his wife preach for him.
Court account.
Blue Highlighted Sentences
I once kept an Eighth Commandment folder, with letters from WELS leaders. They called my critiques of Church Growth "violations of the Eighth Commandment." Paul Kelm, Joel Gerlach, and the head of missions sent me letters.
When someone publishes false doctrine, it is not slander to label it as such. In fact, discussion of doctrinal matters is highly commended by St. Paul himself - a writer seldom consulted when pastors cite the Eighth Commandment.
1 Corinthians 11:19King James Version (KJV)
19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
Luther also commended public discussion of doctrine, which he promoted by example. Chemnitz examined the Council of Trent and converted one prominent Roman Catholic leader who read his magnificent - and sometimes humorous - critique. ELDONA has my Latin copy of Chemnitz' Examen, which I donated, but I do not expect they mention that to anyone.
The Book of Concord confesses the truth but also rejects specific false doctrine in opposition to those truths. There is really no confession without a parallel set of rejections.
Any Lutheran who claims a quia subscription to the Book of Concord but teaches UOJ is a sadly conflicted, ill-informed, false teacher.
The ELDONUTS hate their nickname, but they have earned it with their behavior. I apologize for telling several laymen to consider ELDONA. That was a grave mistake.
Several asked - Has anyone from ELDONA contacted you in 8 years about their grievances, which just erupted?
Answer - No one has, even though Hadrich asked for my phone number. My email addresses are published at the top of the blog.
Several asked - Has anyone from ELDONA contacted you in 8 years about their grievances, which just erupted?
Answer - No one has, even though Hadrich asked for my phone number. My email addresses are published at the top of the blog.
 |
| The enthronement of Bishop James Heiser, STM. Rome is not the answer to Fuller Seminary - it is just another form of entertainment evangelism. |
From Rev. Randy Moll - Pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Rogers, Arkansas
What’s Wrong with America?
What’s wrong with America? What changed the nation’s course and led us down a path which makes our nation — our society — almost unrecognizable to those of us who still remember another America?
People answer these questions a number of different ways. Many point to our nation’s ills — to things like abortion, euthanasia, sexual aberrations, lack of self-esteem and respect for others and drug and alcohol abuse. But these are only the symptoms and result of a far deeper cause. And so, we need to look deeper if we are to find out and understand the reason for what’s wrong with America and what has changed the course of a whole nation and people.
If we look back on our nation and the principles upon which it was founded, we see an entirely different way of thinking — a different world view. Our founding fathers, even though not all were Christian, held to a Christian (or Judeo-Christian) world view. They believed that the world and all mankind were the creation of an almighty God, to whom all are responsible and to whom all must one day give account. They also believed that people have certain rights given to them by their Creator — rights which men and governments have no authority to take away.
The Declaration of Independence sets forth this common belief in the well-known words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
How things have changed! Rather than believing in an almighty creator God who has given us life and all things, the view of modern society — the view taught in our public schools and espoused by our nation’s government and courts — is one of a chance existence: life and the world as we know it are the result of “natural” laws relating to mass and energy in the universe with man being the highest known form of evolving life.
Thus, instead of man being a creation of God — a person endowed with life, liberty and the freedom to own property and carry out godly pursuits before he stands before his Maker — man is now viewed as an insignificant speck on the face of the universe who is here today and gone tomorrow. His only significance and meaning in life is in the existential now, and his only moral guide is himself and the views of society’s influential and ruling elite.
Is it any wonder, then, that our nation’s highest court could legalize abortion and grant protections to same-sex marriages in all 50 states with sweeping rulings? Should we be surprised that euthanasia has been practiced and is now being legalized in a number of states? After all, modern laws are no longer based on the moral absolute of God’s Ten Commandments and the Bible; they are based on the opinions and desires of people and society. If society determines it is okay to murder unborn babies for the convenience of the mothers, it becomes the law of the land. If society thinks it is acceptable to terminate life when it becomes “unmeaningful” or “unuseful,” then it becomes the law of the land. If society determines that alternative lifestyles and same-sex marriages are acceptable, the law is used to protect these aberrations. If society determines that it is okay to have sex outside of marriage, to produce and view pornography, to allow no-fault divorces, that lotteries and other forms of gambling are for the common good, they become legal and lawful. And the list goes on!
Of course, what has happened is not new. It has just taken another form. In the Garden of Eden, the devil’s temptation was to doubt God’s Word and to become like gods, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3). Instead of listening to God and His Word, Adam and Eve made their own moral judgment and did what seemed good for them at the moment: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (v. 6).
Adam and Eve erred in the Garden and we err today when we seek to be our own gods and put in place of God’s Word our own views of what is good and evil, right and wrong. When we determine our own moral values, our values are neither moral nor absolute. They change from situation to situation and become further and further removed from the foundation of God’s truth.
Sadly, we may not have seen the worst yet in America. If a ruling party determines it to be good to exterminate people of a certain race or religious or political view, it could become law — it did in Nazi Germany. If a ruling party determines that churches be closed, presses be shut down or censored and that dissenters be sent to mental wards or labor camps, it could become law — it did in the old Soviet Union. If a ruling party determines what our children are to be taught in schools, who will receive health care and how, what is socially and morally acceptable and what is not, which religious speech and displays are permissible and which are not, it will become the law of the land — it’s already happening in America.
This is the direction America is taking today: God and His Word are becoming outlawed; man’s opinions and views are becoming the law of the land. Our nation is becoming another fulfillment of Psalm 2: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.”
And so, what is my point? It is just this: It will do little good to complain about the symptoms if we don’t address the root problem. We must do more than oppose abortion, euthanasia, sexual immorality and other symptoms of a humanistic, man-centered nation and society. We need to focus on restoring a world view based on the God of the Bible and His absolute and unerring Word.
That cannot be done through war or bloodshed. It cannot be accomplished through political might or gaining the upper hand at election time. It won’t be accomplished through marches on the nation’s capitol. Church programs and membership drives will prove futile. And though I often write columns political in nature, they will be of little effect.
There is only one way to change America’s world view, and that is by preaching and teaching the Word of God — the Bible — with a goal of reaching one person at a time. Only when people again read and hear God’s absolute truth will they be reminded that they are not gods. There is only one true God and He sits in the heavens and laughs at our foolishness in thinking that we can cast off all ties with Him and with His Anointed — the Lord Jesus Christ.
Only when we, by the working of God’s Holy Spirit through His Word, individually acknowledge that God is God and humble ourselves before Him, trusting the promises of His Word which assure us that God desires to be merciful to us, forgive us and accept us for the sake of the eternal Son of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, will our way of thinking change. And if, by the grace of God, enough people hear the Word of God and believe its message, America, as a nation, may also change its world view and let God be God again, before it is too late.
By Randy Moll
Gentry, Arkansas
Gentry, Arkansas
WELS Welcomes All-Gay Congregation Leads the New Stories for the Month.
ELDONUTS Slip into Second Place
 |
| The future blogger displayed unusual early skills in handling donuts. 4,000 views were recorded yesterday. |
 |
| This was LI's Facebook profile photo on Father's Day. When executives complain about the required Saturday Morning Meeting at Walmart each month, one 30-year veteran says, "Marty's dad attends every single one, and he does not have to." We have a great time and then have a Team Jackson grill for both families. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)