Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Fourth Lesson - Pilgrim's Progress
7 PM Central Tonight







FOURTH LESSON

Ahead Lay the Valley of the Shadow of Death


Christian found two men refusing to go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
CHRISTIAN. But what have you met with? said Christian.
MEN. Why, we were almost in the Valley of the Shadow of Death; but that, by good hap, we looked before us, and saw the danger before we came to it. [Ps. 44:19; 107:10]
CHRISTIAN. But what have you seen? said Christian.
MEN. Seen! Why, the Valley itself, which is as dark as pitch; we also saw there the hobgoblins, satyrs, and dragons of the pit; we heard also in that Valley a continual howling and yelling, as of a people under unutterable misery, who there sat bound in affliction and irons; and over that Valley hangs the discouraging clouds of confusion. Death also doth always spread his wings over it. In a word, it is every whit dreadful, being utterly without order. [Job 3:5; 10:22]
CHRISTIAN. Then, said Christian, I perceive not yet, by what you have said, but that this is my way to the desired haven. [Jer. 2:6]
MEN. Be it thy way; we will not choose it for ours. So, they parted, and Christian went on his way, but still with his sword drawn in his hand, for fear lest he should be assaulted. P.
Christian found himself assaulted by many blasphemies whispered in his ears, coming from demons from the pit. This is a good picture of our entertainment industry and academic theologians, who glory in their blasphemies, like the late ELCA bishop who denied the articles of the Christian Faith and led his denomination away from traditional marriage.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death was overwhelming for Christian until he called upon the Lord for help. When he discussed this experience with Faithful, his friend said his journey through the Valley was peaceful and full of sunshine. They meet with Talkative, who impresses Faithful with his recitation of doctrine, but Christian warns him that Talkative is well known at home, living on Prating Lane –
I have been in his family, and have observed him both at home and abroad; and I know what I say of him is the truth. His house is as empty of religion as the white of an egg is of savor. There is there neither prayer nor sign of repentance for sin; yea, the brute in his kind serves God far better than he. He is the very stain, reproach, and shame of religion, to all that know him; it can hardly have a good word in all that end of the town where he dwells, through him. [Rom. 2:24,25] Thus say the common people that know him, A saint abroad, and a devil at home. His poor family finds it so; he is such a churl, such a railer at and so unreasonable with his servants, that they neither know how to do for or speak to him. Men that have any dealings with him say it is better to deal with a Turk than with him; for fairer dealing they shall have at their hands. P. 88
Along the way, Faithful and Christian met Evangelist, who rejoiced not in their difficulties but in their victories. He warned them of Vanity Fair ahead.
EVANGELIST. My sons, you have heard, in the words of the truth of the gospel, that you must, through many tribulations, enter into the kingdom of heaven. And, again, that in every city bonds and afflictions abide in you; and therefore you cannot expect that you should go long on your pilgrimage without them, in some sort or other. You have found something of the truth of these testimonies upon you already, and more will immediately follow; for now, as you see, you are almost out of this wilderness, and therefore you will soon come into a town that you will by and by see before you; and in that town you will be hardly beset with enemies, who will strain hard but they will kill you; and be you sure that one or both of you must seal the testimony which you hold, with blood; but be you faithful unto death, and the King will give you a crown of life. P. 96.

Vanity Fair – Founded by Beelzebub, Apollyon, Legion, et al.

Almost five thousand years agone, there were pilgrims walking to the Celestial City, as these two honest persons are: and Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion, with their companions, perceiving by the path that the pilgrims made, that their way to the city lay through this town of Vanity, they contrived here to set up a fair; a fair wherein, should be sold all sorts of vanity, and that it  should last all the year long: therefore at this fair are all such merchandise sold, as houses, lands, trades, places, honors, preferments, titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, and delights of all sorts, as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not.
And, moreover, at this fair there is at all times to be seen juggling cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, and rogues, and that of every kind.
Here are to be seen, too, and that for nothing, thefts, murders, adulteries, false swearers, and that of a blood-red color. P. 98
The Prince of Princes also traveled through this city and was shown all its allures.
The townsmen were suspicious of Christian and Faithful, and examined them.
So they beat them pitifully, and hanged irons upon them, and led them in chains up and down the fair, for an example and a terror to others, lest any should speak in their behalf, or join themselves unto them. But Christian and Faithful behaved themselves yet more wisely, and received the ignominy and shame that was cast upon them, with so much meekness and patience, that it won to their side, though but few in comparison of the rest, several of the men in the fair. This put the other party yet into greater rage, insomuch that they concluded the death of these two men. Wherefore they threatened, that the cage nor irons should serve their turn, but that they should die, for the abuse they had done, and for deluding the men of the fair…
The judge’s name was Lord Hate-good. Their indictment was one and the same in substance, though somewhat varying in form, the contents whereof were this:— “That they were enemies to and disturbers of their trade; that they had made commotions and divisions in the town, and had won a party to their own most dangerous opinions, in contempt of the law of their prince.” P. 99


The Three Witnesses, Envy, Superstition, and Pickthank


PICKTHANK. My Lord, and you gentlemen all, This fellow I have known of a long time, and have heard him speak things that ought not to be spoke; for he hath railed on our noble prince Beelzebub, and hath spoken contemptibly of his honorable friends, whose names are the Lord Old Man, the Lord Carnal Delight, the Lord Luxurious, the Lord Desire of Vain Glory, my old Lord Lechery, Sir Having Greedy, with all the rest of our nobility; and he hath said, moreover, That if all men were of his mind, if possible, there is not one of these noblemen should have any longer a being in this town. Besides, he hath not been afraid to rail on you, my Lord, who are now appointed to be his judge, calling you an ungodly villain, with many other such like vilifying terms, with which he hath bespattered most of the gentry of our town. When this Pickthank had told his tale, the Judge directed his speech to the prisoner at the bar, saying, Thou runagate, heretic, and traitor, hast thou heard what these honest gentlemen have witnessed against thee?
Faithful was tortured and burned at the stake. God allowed Christian to escape the prison.


Hopeful came out of Vanity Fair, impressed by the speech and conduct of Christian and Faithful. He said others would be coming along for the same reason.
By-ends came along.
CHRISTIAN. This town of Fair-speech, said Christian, I have heard of; and, as I remember, they say it is a wealthy place.
BY-ENDS. Yes, I will assure you that it is; and I have very many rich kindred there. CHRISTIAN. Pray, who are your kindred there? if a man may be so bold.
BY-ENDS. Almost the whole town; and in particular, my Lord Turn-about, my Lord Time-server, my Lord Fair-speech, (from whose ancestors that town first took its name), also Mr. Smoothman, Mr. Facing-both-ways, Mr. Any-thing; and the parson of our parish, Mr. Two-tongues, was my mother’s own brother by father’s side; and to tell you the truth, I am become a gentleman of good quality, yet my great-grandfather was but a waterman, looking one way and rowing another, and I got most of my estate by the same occupation.
Demas tried to attract Christian and Faithful to his silver mine at Hill Lucre, but they refused. Soon they saw Lott’s wife, turned to salt.

Doubtful Castle and the Giant Despair











The Pilgrim’s Progress Map

Pages from the Lutheran Library Print Edition


City of Destruction – Christian leaves;  Christiana and their children follow in Part 2
Slough of Despond - Pliable, Obstinate, Worldly Wiseman, Evangelist
Wicket Gate – Good Will
Interpreter’s House - Interpreter (Holy Spirit)
The Cross – Three Shining Ones
Difficulty Hill – Formalist, Hypocrisy
Palace Beautiful - Discretion, Prudence, Piety, and Charity
Valley of the Shadow of Death – Two Men, Demons, Pope and Pagan, Faithful met again
Vanity Fair – Talkative, Lord Hate-Good, Hopeful, By-Ends, Witnesses: Envy, Superstition, and Pickthank; Demas, Lot’s Wife
Doubting Castle - Giant Despair


 Apollyon - a founder of Vanity Fair

ELCA'S First Presiding Bishop - Herb Chilstrom - To Be Buried

 Herb Chilstrom paved the road to Hell with his good intentions.



 Bishop Deborah Hutterer has four years parish experience - why not be a seminary president? Half of the ELCA bishops are women.
The Rev. Dr. Herbert W. Chilstrom, 88, first presiding bishop of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Jan. 19, at his home in Green Valley, Arizona. Services of Holy Communion will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, at Desert Hills Lutheran Church, 2150 S. Camino del Sol, Green Valley, Arizona. ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton will bring a greeting, Bishop Deborah Hutterer will preach and Pastor Martin Overson will preside. Reception to follow. Second service will also be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at Christ Chapel Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota. ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton will preside and bring a greeting, Presiding Bishop Emeritus Mark Hanson will preach, Bishop Jon Anderson will bring a greeting and Chaplain Siri Erickson will host. Reception to follow. For each service, clergy and rostered leaders of the ELCA, together with clergy of the ELCA’s ecumenical partners, are invited to robe and process and are asked to RSVP (to jhoward@dhlc.org for Desert Hills and to https://forms.gle/ZB162Zyf99ETnKg5A for Christ Chapel). The vestments color of the day will be green.
The Rev. Dr. Herbert W. Chilstrom was born Oct. 18, 1931, in Litchfield, Minnesota. Chilstrom completed academic degrees at Augsburg University, Augustana Seminary, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Princeton Seminary and New York University, where he earned a doctorate in education degree.
He served Lutheran congregations in Pelican Rapids, Elizabeth and St. Peter. He was professor and dean at Luther College, Teaneck, New Jersey, from 1962 to 1970. In 1976, he was elected bishop of Minnesota Synod of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA). At the 1987 merger that created the 5.2 million member ELCA, he was elected first presiding bishop.


LCMS Synod President - " A Poorly Catechized Sunday School Student"

 Harrison's pals proudly posted a video of him struggling to look cool. They wrote out the juvenile lyrics of his slanderous song against the man he once courted to become SP - Herman Otten, pastor of a LCMS congregation.





Hello Pastor Jackson:
The January 2020 issue of the LCMS monthly newsletter (the Lutheran Witness) included an article written by synod President Matthew Harrison titled “It all rests on Christ”. You can find it linked on the LCMS site here:

Under a section titled “Paid in full”, President Harrison goes all-in on a simple-minded version of Objective Justification:

Paid in full
"Because of verses like Rom. 4:25, which states, Christ “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification,” and 2 Cor. 5:19, “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,” we have spoken of an “objective” justification. That is, a divine judgment was rendered in the death and resurrection of Christ. All sins of the whole world have been paid for, and the price was Christ’s bloody death then and there. The world has been “justified” according to the New Testament. This means that the most important thing in Christianity is not how I feel about Jesus, or came to believe in Jesus, or my experience of Jesus (though all these things are certainly not unimportant). Christianity is not ultimately or primarily focused on me, my deeds, my experience, my sincerity. All things focused on me will falter and are imperfect (Rom. 7).

The big thing is the cross and resurrection. Everything for my salvation, and the salvation of the whole world, Jesus accomplished in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago. One of my seminary professors explained it this way: If someone puts a million dollars into a bank account for you and you simply refuse to believe it, and thus gain no benefit from it, it does not mean that the money’s not there! Faith is simply recognizing the facts, and the bank card is the means to get at the fortune! The world has been reconciled to God in Christ, believe it or not. That makes our task of sharing the Gospel simple. It’s about telling folks they’re broke (repent!), but they’ve got a treasure with their name on it. “Here! It’s yours! It’s done! Believe it!” If by the power of the Word they believe, they have immediate access (Eph. 2:8–9; Acts 13:48) to complete forgiveness and peace of conscience. If by the stubbornness of their wretched human will and the will of the devil they refuse, they walk away from the treasure (Acts 13:46)."


My reaction is that Jesus never said anything like this, St. Paul never said anything like this, the Lutheran Church Fathers never said anything like this.

At one time in Lutheran Church history, it was a singular honor for a man to be selected as a seminary president or synod president, based on his scholarship and theological understanding. The paragraphs from President Harrison's article read like something written by a poorly catechized Sunday School student, not a synod president.

Dr. Martin Luther wrote the following, in his explanation of the third article of the Apostle's Creed, about justification:
"I believe that I cannot be my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the one true faith.
In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.
In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers."

My response to President Harrison: People are not saved by “accepting God's offer of forgiveness”. As Dr Luther wrote, salvation is God's work alone. “ I believe that I cannot be my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the one true faith”.
My response to President Harrison: The entire world has not been reconciled to God in Christ, God has not forgiven the sins of all people. As Dr Luther wrote, God forgives the sins of believers only. “In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers”.

I admired Matthew Harrison for his work with world relief missions prior to his becoming president of the LCMS and his steadfast support for the pro-life cause. My regard for him was diminished when I read a report on your blog a year or so ago of a video in which President Harrison aped the role of a blues singer and mocked elderly Herman Otten. I can't fathom how a man who is the head of the second largest Lutheran denomination in the US could believe that this is appropriate behavior for someone in his position. His support for universal justification without regard to faith further diminishes my regard for him.   

***

 They are harder to get rid of than Angela Merkel or Thrivent salesmen.


GJ -  The author of this email is correct. Harrison's simpleton recital of Objective Justification is anti-Biblical and contrary to Luther and the Book of Concord. Matt the Fatt begins with the Atonement and twists that into everyone in the world being absolved and saved without the Gospel Word, without faith, without the Means of Grace.

Poor Matt, he cites Romans 4:25 without Romans 4:24. Has he read Romans 4 at all? He is clearly not "apt to teach."

Romans 4:22 And therefore it was imputed [counted] to him [Abraham] for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

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.

The verse the Apostle Paul cited in Romans 4 is this -

Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness.

By confusing terms, as he does with 2 Corinthians, Harrison apes Bishop Stephan in making the Atonement universal salvation without faith, a sad commentary on his LCMS education.


 The genius generation of Baby Boomers imagines that they they have built and corrected the Gospel once delivered to the New Testament, taught in brilliant clarity in the Reformation. So why do they despise Luther - and Melanchthon even more?