Luther on the Difference between One Party and the Smaller Group

From # 16. Sunday After Christ's Ascension. Second Sermon. John 15:26 — 16:4. House Postils

 

[40] From the analysis given, you may decide for yourself in which group you are to be found; for you must be on one side or the other, and it is useless to wait for human council in this matter. It has already been unalterably determined that the two divisions can never agree. The larger body, which has the recognized authority, will always persecute the minority, even to the extent of excommunication and murder, as practiced from the beginning. Those who know Christ — the true Christians — will accept Christ's classification and be numbered with the minority, who have the Word and the knowledge of Christ, and they will suffer persecution for the faith rather than, for the sake of the friendship and honor of this world, to belong to those who, condemned by Christ, are the bitterest foes of God and of the Church, and who cannot see the kingdom of God, nor be saved.

 

[41] In this article of faith, distinction must be made between the true Church and the false; for it is the command of God and of Christ that one shall not be confused with the other. Therefore, we must separate ourselves from the papal Church, regardless of the fact that they trust in their Church authority and condemn us as apostates.

 

[42] If they excommunicate and persecute us because of our evangelical preaching and our knowledge of Christ, we already have the decision of Christ that they are not the true Church, and their office and all the authority of which they boast cannot avail against us; that rather our teaching and judgments against them shall avail before God in heaven. We are certain, by reason of the test which Christ here applies, that the true Church is with the few who know Christ and are united in doctrine, faith and confession of him. And where the true Church is and abides, there remain, also, the offices of the Church, the sacraments, the keys and all things given to it by Christ; it needs neither to ask nor to receive them from pope or council. In the true Church, not only is the office pure in itself, but those who exercise it use it lawfully.

LutherQueasies Run from the Scripture Passages - Yet Again. They Insist on Stephan's Universalistic Dogma

These lectures were commended by the Formula of Concord, for further study of Justification by Faith, the Chief Article of Christianity.

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Alan Lubeck (1431) Senior Member Username: 1431 Post Number: 1916 Registered: 11-2004

Posted on Friday, June 07, 2019 - 10:57 am:       No Worries. They threw more than the kitchen sink at Christ too when He claimed universal justification from the cross.

National Donut Day Today - Take an ELDONUT Out To Lunch

 I know why - they make terrible donuts!

 One of the great chase scenes in Moline police history.

Donut scholarship never recovered from this presentation.

Bakery wisdom was the natural result of my early efforts.

 I was already featured on a donut calendar at age 4.

 Popular demand led to another appearance on a donut calendar.

 Jam-packed ELDONUT meeting

Note - The Path To Understanding Justification Is for the Laity, Not the Clergy

I have almost given up on the Lutheran clergy, but not quite. More precisely, I am counting on the efficacy of the Word to separate the bug-infested flour from the good flour (Luther's expression).

Ranger Bob would probably say, "Bug-infested flour has more protein and minerals." He spent a little too much time in survival school and generously provides those experiences with us.

Looking at infested food is quite revolting. If a shopper spends some time in a grocery story, where natural grains are sold, he will find warnings on the bags - "Rotate to prevent infestation."

Infestation parades as scholarship today, but what does scholarship really mean? The word comes from the Greek expression for leisure, not the American concept of having a lot of degrees. Most of our culture comes from Athens, where wealth allowed people the leisure to study nature, law, philosophy, art, sculpture, poetry, and engineering.

Those who spend their leisure time studying the Word of God are the real scholars. Carpetbaggers Robert and Jack Preus moved to the ELS then the LCMS - on the strength of their doctorates. But neither man knew the Chief Article of Christianity or taught it when they joined to become leaders.

Those who best understand the Scriptures are the laity, who rely on the Word of God. They are not polluted by the fads and fallacies of modern theology and rationalistic Biblical scholarship. An example is posted here.

Unfortunately, since OJ and Church Growth took over the LCMS-ELS-WELS-clc (sic), their only goal in education is to turn out pastors who are loyal to those fads. The rest - beware, the Left Foot of Fellowship is easily extended - in love.

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The Kindle ebook version of The Path To Understanding Justification is already available at this link - for 99 cents.

HAL has to check over the print version before that becomes available, perhaps later today.

Update - The print version is available here. 

For those who want the book without using Kindle -

Free PDF at the Link Below

Click here for the final version of The Path To Understanding Justification.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kyn83vajv25xvfy/Path%20To%20Justification%20Color.pdf?dl=0

The author's price for the print book (full color, covers and illustrations by Norma A. Boeckler) will be around $8.

The primary goal of the book is to deal with the clear, plain teaching of Justification by Faith in the Scriptures.

Kindle Version The Path To Understanding Justification Available for 99 Cents. The Print Version Is Out - The Price for One with Taxes, Shipping $13.00

 Why do OJ Stormtroopers beat a dead horse all day?
Answer - Because they know so little about the Bible, so much about synod politics.

The Kindle ebook version of The Path To Understanding Justification is already available at this link - for 99 cents.

HAL has to check over the print version before that becomes available, perhaps later today.

Update - The print version is available here. 

For those who want the book without using Kindle -

Free PDF at the Link Below

Click here for the final version of The Path To Understanding Justification.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kyn83vajv25xvfy/Path%20To%20Justification%20Color.pdf?dl=0

The author's price for the print book (full color, covers and illustrations by Norma A. Boeckler) will be around $8.

The primary goal of the book is to deal with the clear, plain teaching of Justification by Faith in the Scriptures.

WELS and LCMS leaders are lying when they claim Objective Justification was their original, official teaching. In both cases, the catechetical material was purely Justification by Faith, as proven in the book. But that was slowly and craftily jettisoned in favor of the Calvinistic, Pietistic Objective Justification of Bishop Martin Stephan and his disciple CFW Walther.

Following the example of Walther as a sly, deceptive politician, his heirs have used OJ as a hammer to get rid of those who would rob them of their coveted titles, honors, and luxuries.

They do not denounce Justification by Faith. No, they scream "He denies Objective Justification!"

Norma A. Boeckler

 Norma A. Boeckler