Rolf One-Note Preus Has Given His Final Sermon

Rolf Preus, the Rambach Professor of Homiletics:

We are justified by Christ’s blood. [GJ - The contradictions are breath-taking. OJists equate the Atonement and Justification.] 

While we don’t receive forgiveness personally until we believe the message of the cross, the message of the cross is that all sins of all sinners are forgiven and that God has justified the entire human race in Christ. [GJ - No wonder he did not understand his father's Justification and Rome - and stopped mentioning it.] 

Some of the Norwegian Lutheran pastors present didn’t believe that. No, they said, God doesn’t forgive you until you believe that he forgives you. [GJ - They teach straw man fallacies instead of the Chief Article at Ft. Wayne.] 

This sends faith in search of itself instead of looking to Christ’s crucifixion where our sins were taken away. [GJ - This? Is Rolf making fun of faith? What about Justified by Faith of Jesus? Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:] 

So the preacher decided to address the issue directly. He looked out at the congregation of pastors and declared: “I am righteous!” Then, after a pause, he said: “Do you believe it?” [GJ - Rolf should read the Wheat Flour Messiah, about the Swedish radical Pietist who was 100% righteous, touched people, and said, "You are righteous."]

GJ - The Norwegian Pietists, like the Halle Pietists, seldom grasped the efficacy of the Gospel in the Means of Grace. They believed in cell groups and the union theology from Spener that leaned toward or fell over backwards for Calvinism. 

Search the web discussion groups, Christian News, the blarney files of WELS - These people are allergic to Justification by Faith and seldom use that phrase so odious to them. Faith in search of itself - that sounds so poetic, like something a tippler would say while admiring its brilliance. The OJists are as awkward with the topic of faith as a sophomore guy asking a girl for a dance.

They are so awkward - or deceptive - that they call their precious Objective Justification the Chief Article of Christianity. Zarling did, and so did Bivens (both WELS). So let me post what the  Book of Concord says. Yay BoC - they all agree with the Confessions, and Missouri/ELS twice as much.

 

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Media Ministries - The Crow, the Jar, the Pebbles and Water

In a spell of dry weather, when the Birds could find very little to drink, a thirsty Crow found a pitcher with a little water in it. But the pitcher was high and had a narrow neck, and no matter how he tried, the Crow could not reach the water. The poor thing felt as if he must die of thirst.

Then an idea came to him. Picking up some small pebbles, he dropped them into the pitcher one by one. With each pebble the water rose a little higher until at last it was near enough so he could drink.

***

GJ - Alec Satin was wondering aloud about reaching people with evangelism. I said, "Your books are doing that for people all over the world. The Classic Lutheran Books page on Facebook has 300 participants and Free Books for Lutheran World Missions page has almost 100 participants.

Our congregation's online efforts have been mocked and pilloried by many a pickle-faced Pietist, which was a good sign. When the congregations were stymied by the Wuhan Flu shutdown, we just kept publishing in various forms. Pastor Palangyos is the most traditional, because he jumps in his car - like the circuit riders of old - preaching and teaching.

I thought of this Aesop fable because of the implied lesson - "Every pebble counts, so count not the lone pebble." One pebble does little by itself, but many pebbles accomplish the task.

The Sower and the Seed  parable (Matthew 13), the rain and snow in Isaiah 55:9ff, and the Creation lessons throughout the Bible teach us that the pebbles add up - if only we keep faith in the Gospel's effectiveness.

What if all of the efforts and contributions of a lifetime only reached one person with the comfort of the Gospel? Would that be too little? So many clergy, professors, and officials are apostate that simply remaining faithful to the Scriptures is an accomplishment.

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