Intrepid Lutherans

It's time to register for Church and Continuity 2012!

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Paul A. Rydecki) — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:18:00 +0000

Our first Intrepid Lutherans conference begins one week from tomorrow. Over 50 people have registered so far, and it's not too late to join them, but time is running out!

As a reminder, the conference begins on the evening of June 1st with dinner, followed by a highly relevant and scholarly presentation by Rev. Bob Koester on the issues surrounding the NIV 2011 translation of the Bible. The 12 districts of the WELS will be voting in the June district conventions whether to adopt the NIV 2011 now, or whether to put off the decision another year so that the NIV 2011 can be adopted then. At least, that's what some would like to see happen. As our readers know, we at Intrepid Lutherans are strongly opposed to the NIV 2011. Rev. Koester's presentation will demonstrate why.

Saturday, June 2nd, will be a full day of presentations, outlined in our conference brochure.

The deadline for registration is Tuesday, May 29th. Will we take last minute registrations after that date? Yes! Would we prefer to receive them before that date? Yes!

Go to our conference page and register now!

God, Marriage, and The State In Our World Today

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Spencer) — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

The Current Situation
(NOTE: This post is continued from an article posted last week, entitled Homosexuality, God, and The Bible)

A few years ago the State Supreme Court of Massachusetts ruled that the state government cannot prevent two persons of the same gender from marrying one another. They further directed the State Legislature to in some way provide statutory regulations, or written guidelines and procedures, to counties and municipalities, so as to implement this ruling within the next 180 days. There are similar cases before the Supreme Courts of a number of States, and it is certain that the Federal Supreme Court will have to address this issue before too long.

Obviously, the Massachusetts’ ruling is a controversial one, as it runs counter to the customs and traditions of not just Western civilization, but the societal norms of the vast majority of the world over most of recorded history. Even the pagan governments of Greece and Rome did not formally sanction homosexual marriage.

Many well-meaning and sincere Christians would like to obviate the rulings of any Court on this subject by adding an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would restrict the definition of marriage to only a union of one man and one woman. To this end they seek the support of the President, the Congress, and many others.

While such efforts are understandable, and certainly permissible in our system of government, it begs the question of whether or not the State should be in the business of regulating marriage in the first place, and if it should, to what extent it is empowered by God to do so.

The Bible’s Definition of Marriage

Holy Scripture consistently gives only one definition for marriage: A man and a woman, are brought together by or under the authority of God, or His representatives, and agree to look upon one another as husband and wife, with all the rights and all the responsibilities of such an estate, for as long as they continue their earthly existence. That’s it; no more, no less.

While there are many wedding feasts and banquets described in the Bible, no actual marriage ceremonies are recorded anywhere in God’s Word. In both Old Testament and New Testament times, marriage was usually arranged by parents, and the betrothal or engagement announced to the people of the town or village. The actual marriage took place simply when the man was able to take care of the woman, and took her from her father’s house to his house. The Bible has only three requirements for a God-pleasing union of man and woman: 1.) Mutual consent, freely given, 2.) fulfill the responsibilities of husband and wife toward each other, and 3.) that this commitment be for life.

Thus, from the start, it should be clearly understood that there are not a host of different requirements or definitions for marriage as far as God is concerned. What the State may or may not add is irrelevant and immaterial to this simple basic definition.

Note the following passages from the Bible:

In the Old Testament –

Genesis 2:22 & 24 “Then the LORD God made a woman . . . and He brought her to the man. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” God established marriage during the Creation Week, before the Fall into sin. Thus, in its original institution, it too was perfect.

Genesis 24:57, 58, & 67 “Then they said, ‘Let’s call the girl and ask her about it.’ So they called Rebekah and asked her, ‘Will you go with this man?’ ‘I will go,’ she said. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife.” Note here that consent is sought from Rebekah and given by her. Note also there is no other rite or ceremony. This consent confirms the marriage.

Genesis 29:21 “Then Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her.’” Jacob had an agreement with Rachel and her father that she would be his wife after he worked for Laban for seven years. This already made her his wife. Note that he does not ask Laban, “Give me Rachel to be my wife.” When the agreed upon time was up he wanted only to consummate the marriage.

Ruth 4:13 “So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife.” Ruth and Boaz had made an agreement that if no one else in Boaz’ family wanted to fulfill the duty of being a “kinsman-redeemer,” and raise up children with her, he would do so and marry her. When no one else came forward they regarded themselves, and were regarded, as husband and wife, no other procedure was necessary.

First Samuel 25:39 & 42 “Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife. Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, . . . went with David’s messengers and became his wife.” Again note the consent requested and then given. By giving her consent, Abigail becomes David’s wife, even though he is already married. Thus, even a concurrent marriage to someone else does not abrogate this mutual agreement with a new wife.

Hosea 1:2 & 3 “The LORD said to him, ‘Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife . . . So he married Gomer. . .’” God commanded one of His prophets to actually marry himself to a prostitute, in order to graphically demonstrate to Israel what they were doing to their relationship with Him by their idol-worship. Gomer accepts this arrangement and becomes Hosea’s wife, as shown by the fact that she bears him a number of children.

In the New Testament –

Matthew 1:18 & 19 “His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Notice that even though they are only “pledged,” that is, engaged or betrothed, Mary and Joseph are referred to here as already married. However, the Bible makes it clear that the marriage was simply not consummated as yet. And, if Joseph wanted to dissolve the marriage, he would have to formally divorce Mary.

Matthew 19:6 “So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” Jesus makes it clear that God intends marriage to be ended only by the death (separation) of one or another of those He has joined.

First Corinthians 7:11 & 39 “A husband must not divorce his wife. A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives.” Simply put, marriage is supposed to last “for as long as you both shall live!”

To sum up:

- God created the estate of marriage.

- Sexual relations alone do not establish a marriage.

- Merely living together does not establish a marriage.

- Individual marriages are established only by the authority of God, either directly, or indirectly through His representatives, and by the agreement of those involved to look upon one another and treat one another as husband and wife.

- This agreement is also done in public so everyone will know that this man and woman are no longer available for marriage to someone else, and as a witness to their permanent commitment. Marriage is rightfully ended only by earthly death.

NOTE: Naturally, when a betrothal or engagement is based on this Biblical understanding, the man and woman involved are correctly referred to as “married in the eyes of God.” In this way, and this way alone, betrothal is indeed what is referred to as “tantamount” to marriage. This point will be important for us to remember a bit later on in the discussion.

It also goes without saying that all examples of marriage in the Bible are unions between men and women. While homosexuality is mentioned, as noted, even pagan cultures did not consider such relationships to be equal with marriage.

What Does This Mean For Us Today?

One area of application comes up most often with regard to the various types of regulations of marriage. Simply put, the question is: If marriage is established by God according to the guidelines set forth in the Bible, why then is the government even involved with marriage at all?

The Involvement of the Government Is By God’s Design

To answer this question, it is important to remember that God also created government, and human society produces governments, mainly for the purpose of protection; that is, to provide defense against those outside the society who would invade it for some nefarious purpose, and to keep order inside that society. Indeed, God wants people to be protected from physical attack from without and also from within the society. (See Romans 13) He also wants the things they acquire or produce to be safe from such attack, so that people can use and enjoy them, or pass them on to their descendants. (i.e. The Seventh Commandment) Therefore it is both God’s will, and in the interest of society, to have rules to protect men and women from other women and men; including rules about who is “off limits” as a potential partner. (see also Sixth Commandment)

Even societies that allow plural marriage more often than not still regulate the number of husbands/wives, and who may be taken as an additional husband/wife. Thus, the government produced by a particular society is then called upon to enforce these rules with formal public laws, and real and meaningful punishments for those who break these laws.

The same is true when it comes time to pass on what a person has produced or acquired during life to their progeny. It is understood that a union of a man and a woman can and often does produce children. In addition, every society has rules about who is and who is not a “legitimate” child or “heir,” and thus able to receive part or all of what a person leaves behind when he dies.

Not just anyone should be able to step forward and claim some part of a person’s estate. If that were the case, then no one’s possessions would be safe after they were dead, and there would be little incentive for people to work to produce things of lasting value within that society. So again, the government is called upon to make laws about inheritance, and again to back up such laws with force if need be.

Therefore, it is necessary that the government of a society formally declare not only who can be married to whom, but also who is or can be considered a legal descendant of another individual for inheritance purposes. This in turn involves whether or not a particular descendant was produced within the framework of a legitimate or legal union of a man and a woman.

Thus it is that the safety, orderliness, and stability of a society is dependant in large measure upon the government of that society promulgating and enforcing rules about marriage and the subsequent sexual activity which could produce children. Indeed, the government, as a servant of God and society, has very good and necessary reasons for regulating marriage and therefore also reproduction.

Sadly, however, as we will see, the government is slowly but surely abrogating its duty to regulate marriage and the sexual relations that can produce offspring. But more about that later.

Until 1996, Marriage In America Was Solely A State, Not A Federal Matter

In the United States, the regulation of marriage is one of those matters originally left to the jurisdictions of the various States by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. To my knowledge, until 1996 there had only been one attempt at making marriage regulations a matter of Federal Law. In the early part of the last century a Constitutional Amendment was proposed to formally and permanently outlaw polygamy. However, this attempt was derailed by President Theodore Roosevelt and the Republican leadership in exchange for political support from the heavily Mormon state of Utah. Recently, as noted earlier, due to the increase in demand for same-sex marriage in some areas of the country, there have been renewed calls for the Federal government to define marriage by way of a Constitutional Amendment as a union of one man and one woman.

However, in 1996, Congress passed and President Clinton, ironically the most promiscuous President in modern American history, signed into law the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (known as "DOMA" today). The Act reads in part:

CHAPTER 115 OF TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 1738C.

“No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship.”

SECTION 3. DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE.

(a) IN GENERAL.-CHAPTER 1 OF TITLE 1, UNITED STATES CODE, IS AMENDED BY ADDING AT THE END THE FOLLOWING:

7. Definition of “marriage” and “spouse”

“In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.”

While this Act does not dictate to the States how they must define marriage, it puts this one civil action outside the framework of the so-called “good faith and credit” clause of the Constitution. Therefore, regardless of any Court findings or laws passed in other States regarding same-sex marriage, the rest of the States would not be forced to recognize such unions. Of course, this Act has not yet had the opportunity to be tested. Many legal scholars doubt it could survive a U.S. Supreme Court challenge. For now, it is a mere “paper tiger.”

As for the regulations of the various States concerning marriage; in general, the laws of most States mandate that unrelated persons of the opposite sex who wish to live together, procure a license to marry from the County in which they reside, and have their marriage solemnized by a person authorized by that State to do so. However, with regard to specifics there is a great deal of difference among and between the States with regard to this basic activity of human life. Many States have fairly conservative laws concerning marriage and sex, while others are considerably more liberal.

Common-Law Marriage Is Also Biblical Marriage

One aspect of State regulation in particular actually involves what could rightfully be called a very simple Scriptural definition of marriage, and can very well prove enlightening to our topic. At this time fourteen States provide for what is called “Common-Law” marriage. However, here again, the regulations governing this type of union vary a great deal among those same States. For example, some have residency requirements, others do not. A few, though by no means most, also have a time requirement. In addition, there is no requirement for the couple to provide some kind of reason for procuring a common-law union as opposed to one established by a State-sanctioned individual.

Still, the requirements for Common-Law marriage in those States that provide for them in their statutes are basically the same:

A verbal public commitment, freely made, to look upon each other as husband and wife for as long as they live;

To actually cohabit in some way; and

To present themselves as married to the public. This can be done in any number of ways; telling people they are married, holding joint ownership of land or other property such are automobiles and the like, or maintaining joint financial arrangements, among others.

It will be noted that these requirements mirror quite closely those found in Holy Scripture. Thus, wherever they are provided for by law, there is no valid Scriptural reason why we should not look upon also Common Law marriages as legal, binding, and valid before both God and man.

The States that specifically allow for Common-Law marriage to be contracted within their borders are: Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

Still, a complicating factor is that, pursuant to Article IV of the U.S. Constitution and again that “good faith and credit” clause, all States must recognize not only a regular marriage contracted in any other State of the Union, but also a Common-Law marriage contracted in another State where such is legal.

In other words, a State that does not permit Common-Law marriage within its own body of laws is required to accept as legitimate any such unions from States where such arrangements are acceptable. For example, the actual law concerning Common Law marriage in Arizona reads:

“Under common law, Arizona will recognize a common-law marriage contracted in another state, provided parties establish a connection with the other state of kind and duration which will minimize the evils of common-law marriage; however, parties need not, unless that state requires it, have been domiciled in a state which recognizes common-law marriage.” [Arizona Statute 25-111.2]

The problem here is that there is currently no way for authorities in a State without a Common-Law provision itself to ascertain whether or not any particular Common-Law union now residing in that State was done according to the regulations of the State where the Common-Law marriage was supposed to have been made in the first place. Thus, a couple could claim to have a Common-Law marriage contracted in a State where such is legal, and there would be no way to concretely check the veracity of such a claim.

Also, as already mentioned, and contrary to popular belief, most Common-Law States have no specific time requirements, or even residency requirements to establish this union. For example, many people are under the mistaken impression that there is a fairly universal rule in the United States that living together for seven years constitutes a Common Law Marriage. Yet that particular provision does not exist at all among any of the fourteen States that recognize this form of civil wedlock.

So, as we have seen, the definition of Common Law marriage is almost the same and just as simple as the Scriptural definition of marriage itself, which, as we have also noted applies to a true betrothal. Therefore, since a true betrothal is tantamount to marriage in God’s eyes, Common Law Marriage is certainly even more so!

The Consequences of Having No Unchanging Standards for the Legal Regulation of Marriage

Much has been written about the use of such things as The Ten Commandments, Natural Law, and Christian principles in formulating the various legal regulations of a given society. Suffice it to say that while, as Christian citizens, we can hope, encourage, and even expect that such Biblical guidelines will be made use of by our lawmakers, we cannot demand, nor should we force them to do so. Even a cursory study of nations living under Islamic law should convince us of this!

Unfortunately, in our world today, without some kind of firm, objective guidelines to go by, the regulations of the various States can often cause more confusion and problems than they solve. For example, in the foolish rush to be seen as “politically correct,” many states have abrogated laws against certain sexual practices regarding homosexuality. However, in doing so they have also affected laws governing heterosexual relationships. Since Arizona is where we live and carry on our ministry, I will limit myself to this state’s laws. However, much of what applies to Arizona also applies to most if not all states.

Basically, as of 2002, almost any sexual contact, up to and including intercourse, between persons eighteen years of age and older, whether of the opposite or same gender, and whether or not they are married to one another, is legal in the State of Arizona. The exceptions are: prostitution, also called “concubinage” (AZ Statutes, Title 13, Chapter 32), polygamy, incest (Title 13, Chapter 36), and adultery (Title 25, Chapter 14). Yet, even of these, adultery is seldom persecuted, there have been many calls for legalizing prostitution, and court cases are now pending to force the government to allow for polygamy.

Also, any sexual contact between someone over 18 and another under that age is still illegal unless they are married. However, strangely enough, sexual contact between two person who are both under 18 is not illegal. Thus, if the couple are both over 18, or both under that age for that matter, and they engage in sexual relations, whether they are of different genders or not, with or without a wedding ceremony, the laws of the State do not come into consideration. In other words, what they are doing is not actually illegal anymore!

The Conclusion – The Gospel, Not the Law, Will Change Hearts, Minds, and Actions!

So, where does that leave us? As we noted, God makes it clear in Holy Scripture what His requirements are for marriage. And, for the reasons stated earlier, it remains in the interest of citizens for the States to continue to regulate marriage. Whether it is wise for the federal branch of our government to involve itself with this aspect of civil life is a political question, best left to that arena. But, it seems we can safely say that some kind of governmental regulation of marriage is good, and necessary, and God-pleasing.

But, what form should those regulations take, and upon what cultural norms should they be based? As we said, it would be wonderful for the government to base these laws on Holy Scripture, but that is problematical at best. For, whose interpretation of the Bible will be codified into law? Certainly not an orthodox, conservative, historical Lutheran view; of that you can be sure! And would we want, say, Catholic, or Mormon theology as the basis for marriage laws imposed upon us? I think not. One would suppose that the government should be able to come to an agreement on a simple, basic definition of marriage from a few clear passages of Scripture. But even that is beyond the realm of possibility in the politically charged and polarizing atmosphere in the halls of power today.

We are left with the very distinct probability that the government will eventually authorize same-sex marriage. In addition, polygamy cases in both Utah and Arizona are being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, partially on the basis of recent State court ruling on various laws outlawing homosexual practices or marriage. We must admit that it would be inconsistent and illogical for the Supreme Court to give legal standing to same-sex marriage, but not to plural marriage, especially if the later were presented as an intrinsic part of a religious practice, as it is with fundamentalistic Latter-Day Saints.

Once again we see that the law is powerless to change behavior, or to force correct, God-pleasing actions. Certainly we can and must hold forth God’s perfect Word as a rule and guide for our government. But even if our State and Federal governments were to codify the entire old Mosaic Law Code, it would not stop all sins against God’s will for marriage. Indeed, we know better, don’t we! Only the Gospel, with its soul-saving, and life-changing power can cause people to live as God intended in any area of life, marriage or otherwise. Therefore, let us re-double out efforts at proclaiming the pure Gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ as the real, true, and only antidote to any and all social, moral, or institutional evils. In this way, and this way alone, we will be fulfilling the command of our Lord and Savior, and the will of His Father for all people.

Pastor Spencer

Vatican II, the Church Growth Movement, contemporary “Sectarian Worship”, and Indiscriminate Ecumenism: A Brief History and Synopsis of their Relationship

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Douglas Lindee) — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Sectarian Worship (also known as “Contemporary” or “Charismatic” Worship) is not just a benign preference that some choose to engage in for stricly personal or otherwise irrelevant and inconsequential reasons, but is always adopted with a purpose in mind. Often, that purpose is to use man's choice of practice as a necessary means of drawing or keeping people within the family of Christ, apart from which, people will unnecessarily spend eternity in Hell and the Church on Earth will shrink and die. This necessity, whether confessed or not, is demonstrated in the rejection of other forms historically associated with confessional Lutheranism, forms which are viewed as old, irrelevant, and thus incapable of drawing a crowd (which is supposedly necessary for worship practice to accomplish, since true Christian worshipers won't come on their own), of keeping its interest for one hour a week (which is also supposedly necessary, since true Christians don't normally have an internal motivation to remain interested in Law & Gospel preaching and the Sacrament for one hour a week), according to the shifting fads and priorities of contemporary pop-culture (which is also supposedly necessary, since true Christians are unable to recognize and appreciate the uniquely cross-cultural and consistent historical practices of the Church Catholic). Thus, also involved in the purpose behind adopting Sectarian Worship, is, as the title of this worship practice implies, to volitionally express a separatation and “apart-ness” from the catholicity of the Lutheran Confession, and consequently, whether confessed or not, a togetherness with all those who likewise reject the notion of catholicity, regardless of their confession.

These supposedly evangelical motivations view the Divine Service, not exclusively as the privilege of the passive Believer to be served by His Lord and Saviour in Word and Sacrament, but, eschewing this notion, views the worship assembly as primarily an assembly of unBelievers; they do not view the function of the “Worship Service” solely as a process for focusing the Believer on the centrality of Christ and the Means through which He serves His own (as does the Divine Service), but primarily as a stage upon which is mounted the active foci of the worshiper – musicians and orators – as those foci engage in the age-old task of mass-manipulation and crass salesmanship. And because of the inherent ecumenical nature of these “evangelical motivations,” there is, among those Lutherans who adopt Sectarian Worship forms, a palpable fear of distinguishing Believer from unBeliver in the worship assembly, and worse, of distinguishing orthodox Believers from heterodox – a fear which results in two equally eggregious abuses: an invitation to everyone to partake of Christ's Body and Blood (upon the functionally meaningless condition of “private self-examination,” of course), or the elimination of the embarrassing Sacrament from the Service altogether.

Modern Sectarian Worship is a contemporary peculiarity of the Church Growth Movement (CGM), which sprung mostly from Arminian and Baptistic influences in mid-20^th Century America oblivious to the the Lutheran and Scriptural teachings of the Church, of Predestination, and of the Means of Grace, and is today being referred to by confessional Lutherans as Functional Arminianism. In fact, the topic of Functional Arminianism (in the context of Predstination, no less) came up relatively recently on Intrepid Lutherans, in a comment to the post Circuit Pastor Visitation. In that comment, I directed readers to a recent and important paper on the topic of Functional Arminianism, stating

Part I: Freed from the Shopkeeper's Prison - Election, Evangelism, and Functional Arminianism

Part II: Bible and Confessional Study on Election and Evangelism

Part III: What is the Pastor's Job?

Part IV: How to Run a Lutheran Evangelism Program

As a choice, the Sectarian Worship of the Church Growth Movement, in distinctly Arminian evangelical fervor,

vaunts man and his efforts with respect to the Church;
augments by man's efforts, or entirely eliminates, the Holy Spirit from His own work, and
thus inherently and unavoidably discards the Means of Grace as insufficient and ultimately superfluous;
removes Christ and His service to man from the center of the Divine Service, and instead places man, his interests and his entertainment needs at the center, calling it his service to God in the Worship Service;
and blasphemes God by crediting the results of man’s work, outside of and apart from the direct use of the Means of Grace (i.e., bald numeric growth in the visible church), to the Holy Spirit, with statements like, “Such an increase in numbers! Surely, this is the work of the Holy Spirit, alone! Praise God, that He equipped us with the right organizational tools to save all these people!”

It is no accident that the Charismatic Renewal in greater American Protestantism coincided with the rise of Church Growth theories emanating from Fuller Seminary, and it is no accident that the introduction of Church Growth theories emerged from Fuller at the same time this institution was the center of doctrinal controversy – indeed, the epicenter of a veritable crisis in American Christianity.

Fuller Seminary and the Church Growth Movement
Established in 1947 as the flagship theological institution of the burgeoning Evangelical Movement – an ecumenical movement begun in reaction against the separatism of Fundamentalists (viewed as a barrier to spreading the Gospel and to engaging in constructive dialog with errorists) – Fuller Theological Seminary initially stood as a theologically conservative Evangelical bulwark, and progenitor of “the new paradigm” of evangelical methodology. Among pop-church Evangelicals, it is still a widely respected institution. Within a decade of its founding, however, cracks in the foundation of this bulwark began to reveal themselves, and by 1972 they had become chasms, as Fuller went on record officially questioning the veracity of the Scriptures by striking the phrase “...free from all error in the whole and in the part...” from their statement concerning the inspiration and inerrancy of the Holy Scriptures. The environment created at Fuller by raging internal struggles over the inerrancy of the Scriptures, coupled with ecumenical predilections under the waving banner of the “new evangelicalism,” provided both the soil and the atmosphere in which the ideas of the Church Growth Movement (CGM) could germinate and flourish.

In 1965, “the father of the church growth movement,” Donald McGavran, became Dean of the Fuller School of World Mission (now the School of Intercultural Studies), moving that department to Fuller from the school at which he had founded it in 1961. Thirty-four years' experience as a missionary in India led him in 1954 to begin developing his own entirely pragmatic notions of “cultural contextualization” for the purpose of “Christianizing whole peoples,” etc. One can immediately see the preoccupation with mass appeal and the inordinate fixation on popular culture that these notions engender, and the displacement of concern over individual souls, along with any sense of catholicity, that result from them – indeed, McGavran, in his Bridges of God repudiated the notion of carrying the Gospel to individuals as counterproductive to true evangelical “Church Growth,” inevitably leading to the acceptance of particularly revolting and unscriptural Church Growth principles, such as “scaffolding”¹. C. Peter Wagner was a disciple of McGavran’s at Fuller, and was later passed the mantle of CGM prophet.

But these were not the only influences at work at Fuller.

Ecumenism and the “Pentecostal Experience”
A primary purpose of the Evangelical Movement, as a reaction against Fundamentalism, was ecumenism, and this Evangelical purpose was seriously supported and engaged at Fuller. Enter “Mr. Pentecost,” David J. du Plessis, who had been active through the 1950’s as an ardent proponent of ecumenism on behalf of the Pentecostals, convinced that the Pentecostal “experience” could serve as an effective ecumenical bridge to non-Pentecostals (namely, the historic mainline denominations) and help bring unity to Christianity worldwide.

That “experience” had its modern genesis partly in the Brethren movements of Europe² in the early/mid-1800's (the left-overs of Scandinavian and German Pietism), but especially in the practices of the Scottish Irvingites with whom John Nelson Darby (Plymouth Brethren) spent much time during their outbreaks of agalliasis (“manifestations of the Holy Spirit,” which, among the Irvingites at that time and place, included practices such as automatic writing, levitation, and communication with the dead³) and whose practice and theology (including the foundations of Dispensationalism) influenced him greatly. Passing from Darby to James H. Brooks and Cyrus I. Scofield in America, his teaching has continued to see development over the years and is still disseminated by Dallas Theological Seminary, Moody Bible Institute, Bob Jones University and others.

These experiential practices began finding their way to America at about the same time that a charlatan known as Charles Finney exploited the use of these “New Methods,” as they were called, during America's “Second Great Awakening,” fueling the fever of “revivalism” and captivating Christians with the allure of the “Anxious Bench” as a means of saving souls⁴. Widespread use of such practices strengthened the Brethren movements and touched off the Holiness Movements within Methodism (which later developed into [and at Azusa Street, Los Angeles in 1906, was confirmed as] full-blown Pentecostalism). By the mid- to late-1800's, such radical practices defined “American Worship” – and it was precisely these forms that Walther notoriously condemned. Even the Old Norwegian Synod, in the 1916 edition of its Lutheran Hymnary, Junior stated it’s warning against Sectarian “American Worship” forms:

Pr. 22:6

We should teach our children to remain in the Lutheran Church instead of to sing themselves into some Reformed sect

By engaging in such forms, the Old Norwegian Synod insisted, Lutherans will wind up singing their way out of their own Confession. A sound application of lex orandi, lex credendi.

With widespread criticism against these experiential “American Worship” forms, and, let’s face it, their rather shallow substance, infantile antics, and transparently manipulative purposes, such practices fell out of fashion by the early 1900's (as “contemporary” forms have a habit of doing anyway). Nevertheless, Pentecostals continued to cling to them, and continued to develop them alongside their theology. Accordingly, such worship forms have come to mean much of the following:

the actions of the worshiper are themselves Means of Grace, or means through which the Holy Spirit supposedly comes to, and works in, the worshiper;
the Holy Spirit's work in and through the worshiper’s actions is generally regarded as a function of the zeal with which the worshiper engages in them;
the purpose of these acts is human centered, “to draw near to God in the act of worship,” that He would reciprocate by drawing near to the worshiper and experientially confirm for the worshiper that the Holy Spirit is with him, and that he is therefore accepted and loved by God;
these acts of “drawing near to God” are really acts of man's yearning, tarrying, and striving, of wrestling with God through worship and prayer with the expectation that He give the blessing of spiritual experience in return;
the assurance of one's salvation is measured by the magnitude of the blessing which proceeds from successfully wrestling with God – in the experience of God Himself through worship;
such experience of the Holy Spirit's presence in worship or prayer, or “the Baptism of the Holy Spirit,” is public confirmation of an individual's “spiritual anointing,” of his salvation and approval before God, and serves as divine qualification and appointment for ministerial authority in the congregation (creating levels of Christians in the congregation based on relative “spirituality”);
apart from such visible experiences, the individual is naturally prompted to introspection regarding why God does not bless him with His presence (with the usual explanations being sin or doubt, or not really being saved, or even demonic possession), and is looked upon with suspicion by fellow worshipers as one who is not visibly accepted and blessed by God – both factors leading individual worshipers who lack spiritual experiences to guilt and dismay;
as a result, many of those who have habituated themselves to the “Pentecostal Experience,” also have a keenly developed ability to whip themselves into a frothy lather (to avoid introspection and the suspicion of others, and to vaunt their spirituality in the eyes of others); if they cannot, or do not, or are unable to reach a pinnacle of spiritual euphoria according to their own expectations, or those of their peers, they just blame it on the band for “not doing it right;”
worship accompaniment must therefore serve the need of the worshipers to have particular spiritual experiences, by manufacturing those experiences for them;
and these experiences are referred to as “the working of the Holy Spirit,” even though they are little more than the cooperative effort of human worshipers seeking hard after emotional/psychological “spiritual experiences,” and of human entertainers, mounted on stages in classic entertainment-oriented venues, who are skilled at providing those experiences for their audiences;
thus, the “Pentecostal Experience,” and all of its derivatives (including contemporary “Sectarian Worship”), are the epitome of anthropocentric worship practice, which, as stated above, remove Christ and His service to man from the center of the Divine Service, and instead place man, his interests and his entertainment needs at the center... and blaspheme God by crediting the results of man’s work, outside of and apart from the direct use of the Means of Grace, to the Holy Spirit..

The “Pentecostal Experience,” Vatican II and the Charismatic Renewal
Pentecostalism dwindled over the early decades of the 20^th Century to near insignificance. It was in the throes of this insignificance that David J. du Plessis, the ardently ecumenical Pentecostal, secured a position as Pentecostal Representative to the Second Vatican Council. Following Vatican II came implicit encouragement to Roman Catholics to reach out to Protestants through investigation and even experimentation with worship forms that appeal to them, which eventually led in the 1960’s to the opening of the “Catholic Charismatic Renewal.” The Charismatic Renewal had already begun in some quarters of liberal protestantism, but following the start of the “Catholic Charismatic Renewal” it began to rapidly spread among Episcopalians and liberal Lutherans, until finally, beginning in the late 1970’s it spread to Reformed Evangelicalism where it was swiftly incorporated by the Church Growth Movement as a necessary component of the congregation’s corporate experience – specifically, necessary to the salvation of souls, since appealing to unregenerate culture on its own terms, and to individuals directly through means of physical and emotional manipulation (rather than the public use of the Means of Grace, Word and Sacrament), was considered necessary to attract the un-churched from pop-culture, secure their conversion, and increase the membership of the congregation. Hence the connection of “worship style” to so-called “evangelism” – similar to Papistic ritualism which was also considered necessary for salvation, and was the cause of its repudiation by the Reformers.

Fuller Seminary, the Charismatic Renewal and the Church Growth Movement
The incorporation of “Charismatic Worship” as a necessary component of the Church’s practice was immeasurably influenced by the ecumenical and evangelical work of Fuller Seminary. By the mid-1970's du Plessis had an ongoing partnership with Fuller Seminary, as a consultant on ecumenical issues, and by the mid-1980’s, Fuller Seminary had erected the multi-million dollar David J. du Plessis Center for the Study of Christian Spirituality in his honor. It was also about this time, in 1974, that the Quaker, John Wimber, was hired as the founding Director of the Department of Church Growth at the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth. Wimber left that position in 1978, starting what would become the very influential Vinyard Movement. By the mid-1980's C. Peter Wagner was not only the chief exponent of CGM, he was, along with John Wimber, also one of the chief prophets of the Signs and Wonders Movement, inextricably linking CGM with Pentecostalism and Charismaticism.

The notions under which “Sectarian” or “Charismatic Worship” was introduced to the Lutheran Church in the era of the Charismatic Renewal were entirely foreign to her practice. Striving to achieve ecumenical unity through shared experience across denominations, it was also foreign to her Confessions. Clawing for approval by Arminian standards of evangelical necessity, it betrayed her entire body of doctrine. The fact is, the Church Growth Movement and Sectarian/Charismatic Worship, insomuch as they evangelically strive to achieve by man’s own alternative means what the Scriptures say is exclusively the Holy Spirit's work through the Means of Grace, by definition begin with a low view of the Scriptures and the Sacraments, and with a dismissive attitude toward the Holy Spirit’s work through those Means. Insofar as CGM “evangelically” regards such manufactured worship experiences as necessary for the salvation of souls, CGM practices directly serve the synergistic doctrines of Arminianism. The ancient liturgical principle of lex orandi, lex credendi must be respected with regard to these points. Moreover, Church Growth methods along with Sectarian/Charismatic Worship were designed to function cross-denominationally as ecumenical bridges, and whether engaged in with these purposes in mind or not, they are nevertheless understood among those who regularly practice them as ecumenical expressions, and thus make a mockery of our Confessional unity and voluntary separation from the heterodox.

False practice leads to false thinking, and eventually false belief
It has been said that there are no non-smokers like former smokers. The same can be said of former Evangelicals, particularly those of us who lived through the height of the Charismatic Renewal and nevertheless emerged with an intelligible, articulable Confession – in other words, who miraculously emerged rejecting vapid Evangelicalism, mindless Charismaticism and the Arminian Church Growth theories that have facilitated their proliferation, who have emerged with a clear view wrought from long experience with how false practice induces false thinking and eventually false believing, having watched friends and family lose their faith as a result, and having only been saved ourselves “as though escaping through flames.” Experience. Decades of first-hand experience with false practice and the false belief that follows from it. I’m not about to live through it again, nor am I going to subject my children to it.

------------
Endnotes:

According to the purely utilitarian CGM theory of “scaffolding,” the backs and money of established and active members of a congregation exist solely for the use of that organization's “leadership,” on which they are not only free, but ordained by God, to build something new and foreign according to the “vision” God directly reveals to them, regardless of anyone's objections. When those who object, or realize they've simply been used, leave the congregation as a result, their departure is happily accepted by “leadership,” who appeal to a twisted version of God's sovereignty to excuse their gross actions against those entrusted to their spiritual care by thus determining that God, having led such departing members away from the congregation, has merely indicated to them that their work on the “scaffold” of such former members has been exhausted, and that thus the old scaffolding ought to be dismantled, while the focus of their leadership ought to be more fully directed on the new scaffolding that had been erected as work was being accomplished on the old.

In this CGM theory we see prima facia evidence that at its foundation, CGM does not consider that the visible Church exists to minister to Believers, but solely to use Believers in its task to convert entire people-groups. It is myopically fixated on incessant change because people and pop-culture incessantly change, which is also why “congregational leadership” is continuously exhorted to create and re-evaluate “Mission” and “Vision” statements, to frequently engage in “Strategic Planning” to verify the relevance of these statements to continuously shifting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats with respect to a single, narrow and immediate objective: bald numeric increase in the organization. Thus, the Church Growth Movement calls upon the congregation to continuously re-invent itself and to this end leverages contemporary leadership theories which exult and glorify the role of a congregation's “leadership class.”

Because the Believer is not the purpose of the congregation's existence and the focus of its ministry, continuous back door losses are an inevitable reality in CGM congregations. The repulsive CGM theory of “scaffolding” was invented to explain and justify it. Because continuous back door losses are an inevitable reality in CGM congregations, continuous numeric growth, or at least continuously driving new people through the church doors, is vital to the existence of the congregation as an organization. Because evangelism is the Biblical process of achieving numeric growth in the congregation, the “Mission” and “Vision” of the congregation must fixate on evangelism as a process of achieving numeric growth. Rather than the Means of Grace, a congregation's “leadership class” is central to the practice of a CGM congregation, and because leaders must have something to lead, the health of the congregation as a visible organization is the focus of the leaders’ vision and of the organization’s effort. In CGM congregations, the congregation as an organization, and the people in that organization, serve the organization’s leadership, rather than the leadership serving the souls entrusted by God to their care.
Gerstner, J. (2000). Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Critique of Dispensationalism, 2^nd Edition. Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications. pp. 17-59.
Please see following works:
For more information on the errors of Charles Finney, see the following article written by Michael Horton almost two decaes ago:

Homosexuality, God, and The Bible

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Spencer) — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:34:00 +0000

The Whole Truth!

There has been much discussion and debate about homosexuality, not just in the secular world, but also within various Christian denominations. In all this, the most important consideration must be what God says on the issue. Therefore, the question for all Christians must be: What Does God say about homosexuality in the Bible?

Human Questions – Divine Answers

Question: Isn’t the Bible silent about homosexuality, or isn’t it true that what is written does not show it to be against God’s will, and not really sinful?

Answer: Actually, the Bible is very clear on the subject of homosexuality in such passages as Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:26 & 27, First Corinthians 6:9, and First Timothy 1:10, where homosexuality is called sin.

Question: But do these passages really talk about what we know as homosexuality?

Answer: In the Leviticus passage God forbids a man to “lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” The word for “lie” is the Hebrew word for bed, and is also used for marriage, and the act of consummating a marriage; therefore, there can be no doubt as to what Moses is referring; for a man to have intercourse with a man as he would with a woman is disgusting to God! Indeed, there are numerous Old Testament passages, that all condemn homosexuality: Genesis 19:1-29; Leviticus 20:13; Deuteronomy 23:17; Judges 19; and First Kings 14:24, 15:12, and 22:46.

Question: But the Old Testament laws are no longer binding on New Testament Christians, right?

Answer: True enough for the most part, but then we have the passages in St. Paul’s letters, given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. These are certainly authoritative to any who would claim to be Christians!
- In Romans 1: 26 and 27, Paul speaks of “shameful lusts,” and describes this as happening when “women exchanged natural relations for un-natural ones,” and also “men committed indecent acts with other men.” The term “unnatural” literally means “against the natural order of things.” As for what that natural order is, all we need to do is look back to Creation. In Genesis 2:24 we see that the natural order is that of husband and wife (i.e., male and female) becoming “one flesh.” Therefore, according to the One who created humans, any sexual intercourse aside from male and female is un-natural - not the natural or intended use of the Creator - in other words, wrong! Please forgive the bluntness here, but it is necessary so as to leave no doubt as to what the Bible is talking about. The term “indecent acts” means any “deed of shame having to do with one’s genitalia.” Since Paul says these acts are being done between men and men and between women and women, the meaning is clear to anyone who is willing to see it: the use of one’s genitals with those of the same sex is shameful to God.
- In First Corinthians 6:9 God condemns “homosexual offenders” and “male prostitutes.” The first term comes from the Greek word for “soft, weak, sick,” and was often used for “effeminate” men, and especially for catamites; i.e. men and boys who allowed themselves to be sexually used or even abused for money or goods. The second word was very commonly used for a sodomite, someone engaging in homosexual anal intercourse; or pederast, someone using young children, usually boys, for sexual purposes. The same word is used in First Timothy 1:10; only there, the NIV translates it as “pervert.” The term is a compound word from two Greek words meaning “male,” and “marriage act, bed, or intercourse.” Again, sorry for the explicit language, but the meaning could not be more understandable and to-the-point; male to male, or female to female sexual activity is sinful, period.

Question: But isn’t it really just homosexual “activity” that’s condemned in the Bible, not homosexual “orientation?” Isn’t it possible that a person can be a “non-practicing homosexual,” like being a non-practicing Catholic or Jew?

Answer: The main definition of homosexuality is “sexual desire for those of the same sex” (Webster’s New World Dictionary). Jesus teaches us clearly that sin begins in the “heart,” or mind (Matthew 5:27,28). Thus, the very attraction itself to members of one’s own gender is just as sinful as attraction to someone other than your own spouse, whether any overt action takes place or not. Thus, the Bible is clear that so-called “homosexual orientation” is sinful also.

Question: Isn’t it possible that certain people are born as homosexuals; and therefore God cannot condemn them because He created them that way?

Answer: We have already seen that God does indeed proclaim homosexual thoughts and actions as contrary to His will, and therefore wrong, morally sinful, and thus certainly imperfect. Yet, when we look back at creation, Genesis 1:31 tells us, “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” The Hebrew word here means “good in every way; totally perfect.” Thus, it is completely impossible for God to create homosexuals. The fact is, God does not create or make homosexuals anymore than He creates or makes any other kind of sinner!

Question: If that’s the case, then what is the origin of homosexuality?

Answer: In Mark 7:21-23 Christ says, “For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean.” And St. James reminds us, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, not does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (1:13-15)

Question: Does this mean that all homosexuals are lost and condemned to hell for all eternity, with no hope of salvation?

Answer: Absolutely not!
- Yes, the Bible does speak out strongly against both homosexual desire and activity. Indeed, the Holy Scriptures are crystal clear – one could even say quite open and blunt – on the subject. Simply put, homosexual thoughts or acts are definitely against God’s will and therefore sinful, pure and simple.
- However, they are no different from any other sin. They have been completely paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross and can be forgiven. Homosexuality is not the one and only “unforgivable sin,” and homosexuals should not be shunned or looked upon as hopelessly condemned to hell.

Question: How can homosexuals be saved?

Answer: Just like every other sinner – faith in Jesus Christ as Savior!
- However, so that a person may receive the eternal benefits of this free forgiveness, the truthfulness of God’s condemnation of homosexuality needs to be acknowledged. People cannot claim to believe in Jesus, but then also say He was and is a liar on a particular subject!
- And unfortunately, homosexuals are not going to admit they are wrong, confess their sin, and repent of their soul-destroying life-style if they are told that what they are doing or thinking its fine with God and not a sin, and thus “natural,” and “normal.”
- It is, therefore, a great tragedy that the leaders of most church bodies today deny the clear teaching of the Bible and allow for – or even promote – homosexuality as normal and natural and not sinful.
- Such people are actually leading homosexuals away from forgiveness and salvation, and thus shall themselves receive a terrible judgment from God. Jesus said in Matthew 18:6 and 7, “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!”

Summary: Our Savior wants everyone to repent, believe in Him, and be saved. That includes people caught in the sin of homosexuality. It is the church’s duty to proclaim this truth. May God help us to always do so clearly, for the salvation of many!

Pastor Spencer

On Tuesday, look for -

God, Marriage, and the State in Our World Today

Promotional Materials are Finally Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Douglas Lindee) — Fri, 04 May 2012 05:29:00 +0000

Fully one month ago, in the post Dear Pastor: What are our congregation's policies for promoting non-denominational ministries?, we at Intrepid Lutherans hinted that we would be making our own promotional materials available for download so that readers can post them on the bulletin boards of their own congregations. Of course, we suggested at that time that those materials would be available in a week... We'll spare the details, but admit that we were a little optimistic about that. Regardless, they are now here!

Click here to download promotional materials for the
2012 Intrepid Lutherans Conference: Church and Continuity
This package of materials contains two posters, one suitable for immediate display, and the second more suitable for the middle of May; a trifold brochure with agenda, presenter biographies, and registration instructions; and a brief note from Intrepid Lutherans thanking you for downloading and making these materials available, along with suggestions for posting them in your congregation.

Borrowing (Lutheran Hymnody) from Baptists

noreply@blogger.com (Brian G. Heyer) — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:30:00 +0000

A Baptist friend of mine recently posted on his Facebook page his concerns over Contemporary Christian Music. It should be noted that my friend is not a casual Baptist, but a fire & brimstone, Creationism street preacher, ask-every-waitress-if-she-knows-whether-she’s-going-to-heaven, KJV-only, variety Baptist. The resultant exchange of Facebook-thread crossfire between his Baptist friends was useful to observe. Not only did some recognize the folly of the bait-and-switch of making Church more like the World, they concluded (in not so many words) that Doctrine and Practice are indeed intertwined.

Is it okay to borrow that lesson from the Baptists? Or should we postpone that lesson and try to Lutheranize church theatrics? (Gee, I wonder why Hoenecke didn't think of using vaudeville acts to pack the pews?)

A curious turn in the discussion was a Baptist quoting the words of Dr. Martin Luther himself to appeal for glorifying hymnody in the Church. They posted Luther’s first preface to the Wittenberg Hymnal, from A.D. 1524, the text of which follows below for your future reference.

That it is good, and pleasing to God, for us to sing spiritual songs is, I think, a truth whereof no Christian can be ignorant; since not only the example of the prophets and kings of the Old Testament (who praised God with singing and music, poesy and all kinds of stringed instruments) but also the like practice of all Christendom from the beginning, especially in respect to psalms, is well known to every one: yea, St. Paul doth also appoint the same (1 Cor xiv.) and command the Colossians, in the third chapter, to sing spiritual songs and psalms from the heart unto the Lord, that thereby the word of God and Christian doctrine be in every way furthered and practiced.

Accordingly, to make a good beginning and to encourage others who can do it better, I have myself, with some others, put together a few hymns, in order to bring into full play the blessed Gospel, which by God’s grace hath again risen: that we may boast, as Moses doth in his song (Exodus xv.) that Christ is become our praise and our song, and that, whether we sing or speak, we may not know anything save Christ our Saviour, as St. Paul saith (1 Cor. ii.).

These songs have been set in four parts, for no other reason than because I wished to provide our young people (who both will and ought to be instructed in music and other sciences) with something whereby they might rid themselves of amorous and carnal songs, and in their stead learn something wholesome, and so apply themselves to what is good with pleasure, as becometh the young.

Beside this, I am not of opinion that all sciences should be beaten down and made to cease by the Gospel, as some fanatics pretend; but I would fain see all the arts, and music in particular, used in the service of Him who hath given and created them.

Therefore I entreat every pious Christian to give a favorable reception to these hymns, and to help forward my undertaking, according as God hath given him more or less ability. The world is, alas, not so mindful and diligent to train and teach our poor youth, but that we ought to be forward in promoting the same. God grant us his grace. Amen.

Introducing Aegidius Hunnius

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Paul A. Rydecki) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:15:00 +0000

I recently finished working on a Latin translation project, a 1597 document written by Aegidius Hunnius, one of the chief orthodox Lutheran theologians in Wittenberg. It's a collection of 214 theses—short statements combatting the errors of Samuel Huber in the areas of election, justification and Baptism. It is published through Repristination Press and now available on Amazon:

Theses Opposed to Huberianism: A Defense of the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification

Here's the publisher's book description from Amazon:

Aegidius Hunnius (1550–1603) was among the “Champions of Lutheran Orthodoxy” who served on the faculty of the University of Wittenberg and was one of the early signers of the Formula of Concord. During his service at Wittenberg, he was also superintendent, and oversaw the visitation of the churches of Saxony, coauthoring the Saxon Visitation Articles (1592). In this work, Hunnius contends with the theology of Samuel Huber (1547–1624), a former Calvinist who was called to the University of Wittenberg in 1592. After arriving in Wittenberg, Huber introduced his own novel terminology and theology which put him at odds with the Formula of Concord and his fellow professors. Huber made the situation worse by accusing his colleagues of Calvinism when they did not assent to his theological opinions. In this book, Hunnius refutes Huber's errors regarding the doctrine of justification; as Hunnius wrote in the dedication to this work, “we propose ... not only to wash away the charges he has made, but especially to refute his shameful errors concerning the eternal election and predestination to eternal life, not only of the children of God, but also of the children of the devil (that is, all the impenitent); similarly, his errors concerning the universal justification of all men—of unbelievers no less than believers; concerning also the regeneration of hypocrites in Baptism, which is said to be conferred on them in that very act of treachery and impiety.”

Intrepid Lutherans Conference Agenda

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Spencer) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 01:47:00 +0000

Greetings Readers!

Some have inquired about a more detailed run-down of the presentations at our up-coming conference in Oshkosh, such as the order of presentations, time, and length.

You will find the complete Agenda below.

We look forward to seeing many of you at the conference. If you haven't done so yet, please do register as soon as you can. Thank you and God bless!

Intrepid Editors

Intrepid Lutherans

Church & Continuity Conference
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Oshkosh, WI
June 1st & 2nd, 2012

AGENDA

Friday, June 1st
5 PM – Board of Director's Meeting for Intrepid Lutherans, Inc.
6 PM – Intrepid Lutherans Dinner with after-dinner speaker, Rev. Robert Koester
8 PM – Gemütlichkeit

Saturday, June 2nd
9 AM – Opening Matins service

9:30 – Welcome, Announcements, & Introduction, Chairman Rev. Paul Rydecki

9:40 – Presentation: "What Has Brought Us Here?" Historical overview of the past 30 years in WELS and current issues, moderator – Rev. Steven Spencer; panel – Mr. Brian Heyer, Mr. Rick Techlin, and other laymen from the area, with discussion

10:15 – Presentation: "Why Is This Happening to Us?" How the culture wars have become religious wars among us, Mr. Douglas Lindee, followed by discussion

11:30 – Lunch provided on site

12:00 – Presentation: "The Consequences of Church Growth Theology" What it is, where it is, and why it is dangerous, Rev. Luke Boehringer, followed by discussion

1:15 – Presentation: "The Beauty of the Western Rite" How the complete Divine Liturgy fulfills the spiritual needs of our Pastors and people, Rev. Michael Berg; discussion

3:00 – BREAK

3:15 – Presentation:"Do We Want to Be Dresden Lutherans?" What it means to be tied to the Book of Concord rather than to a church body, school, family, or ministerium, Rev. Paul Rydecki, followed by discussion

4:15 – Open Forum

4:45 – Preliminary planning for next conference

5:00 – Closing Vesper Service

Registration fee - $25/person; $15 for "signers"

NEEDED - One Good Shepherd!

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Spencer) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 01:26:00 +0000

(Preached a few years ago on Misericordias Domini at Trinity Orthodox Lutheran Church, Sierra Vista, Arizona)

Homily on John 10:11-16

"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd."(NASB)

Christianity is NOT all about Christians. Christianity IS all about Christ! To many who claim the name "Christian," this religion revolves around them: their ideas, their needs, and their feelings.

This could be seen clearly in a newspaper article in Friday's paper. The article was about how various churches here in town carried out "evangelism." One Pastor — it doesn't matter who — said that asking people if they're "saved" wasn't very useful. Rather he wants to know if people are being disciples of Jesus. "Of course, Jesus is the Savior too," he said, almost as a throw-away line, "but what's really important is whether or not they are living as Jesus' followers."

Now, that is taking the Bible and turning it inside out and upside down. You could say the same thing about any and every wise man or philosopher who ever lived, and any religion on the face of the earth!

Look again at the words of Jesus from John 10. Does he talk mostly about the sheep, or about the shepherd? Where is the focus? Is it even on the behavior or feelings of the sheep, or is it on the behavior and feelings of the Good Shepherd? The answer is crystal clear. If we ask —

DO WE REALLY NEED A SHEPHERD?
God answers, Yes!
We Need A Shepherd To Die For Us!
We Need A Shepherd To Protect Us!

What is the main message of the Good Shepherd? Once again, it has very little to do with the sheep. People ARE sheep. They are foolish. They are easily led astray. They are stubborn. They are more often than not disobedient. And, they love to wander. Thus, just like sheep, people need a shepherd. The fact is, they need a Savior! This isn't just PART of Jesus' work, and a minor part at that, as some seem to think. The work of paying for our sins is the main and most important work of the Good Shepherd.

As I said, we have a lot of sins to pay for. We have to pay for them because God, our Maker, deserves complete and total respect and obedience, and will not and cannot tolerate anything less. This isn't a matter of His "feelings," or about Him being picky or overbearing. This is a fact of His existence that He cannot deny, no more than He could lie. The fact of our existence is that we have not, indeed, cannot give God what He rightfully deserves — complete holiness and righteousness. Thus, we owe a tremendous debt that we could never hope to repay, not even with our very lives.

So, the entire message of Christ, and of the whole Bible, is a simple one of "transference:" By grace through faith God transferred our guilt to His only Son, and made Him pay the ultimate price, and also transferred Jesus' perfect righteousness to us. Then the Father raised His Son from the dead to put His own seal on the deal. This was the promise given to Adam and Eve, and to the Patriarchs, Kings, Prophets, the people of Israel, and nations of the world.

So, the message of the Good Shepherd is not about us — unless it's about our sin and our inability to remove it ourselves. No, the message is all about the work: the life, preaching, miracles, and entire ministry of Jesus Christ. We really DO need a shepherd, and He is the BEST!

But neither does our shepherd simply fight one battle for us and retire to the old shepherd's home! He stays with the flock, and each and every individual member of the flock to fight every day, and every hour of every day to protect us from the only real evil there is — hell!

Here again, look at some shepherds today. Far too many refuse to fight. They have become spiritual "draft-dodgers," religious "peaceniks," and "objectors" to Biblical warfare without a "conscience!" They take no stands, offend no one, confront no sins, and proclaim no eternal truths. They want people to have the peace of Jesus without giving them any piece of the real Him at all!

Note what Jesus calls these kinds of shepherds, "hired hands!" They are not the owners, nor do they even belong to the owner's family. At the first sign of trouble or difficulty or danger, they run away as fast as they can. In other words, they are only in the "religion" business for the money, and even then only when that good.

So, why do so many people follow such worthless shepherds? Remember — people are sheep! And most of these shepherds themselves are "lost sheep," who do not have Jesus as their Good Shepherd!

But Jesus is always with us. Not only is He among us with His spiritual presence. He is with us and within us through His precious Sacraments. And He is beside us with His ever-powerful Word, to lead us against our common foes: fear, doubt, worldly wisdom, false teachings, Satan's lies, and our own temptations. The Bible is indeed Christ's very own "rod and staff' that comforts and guides us through life and death. Without a pure, true, and completely trustworthy Bible, we would once again be wandering sheep.

So, what is Christianity all about? Is it about people doing good, being nice, living right, having faith in the goodness of people, and trying to be like Jesus as much as possible? NO! Christianity is all about Jesus Christ, God's Son, and Him horribly crucified for all the rotten, dirty, nasty, disgusting sinners in the whole world. It's about His message of forgiveness and peace with the Father through His sacrifice, which is ours only by faith. It's about the Means of Grace He left behind to create and strengthen saving faith — the Gospel in Word and Sacraments. It's about His Church, commanded by Him to preach ONLY His Saving Word to the world. It's about His Ministry, set up by Him to serve believers with the Means of Grace and announce the Gospel to all people. And, finally, yes, it is about believers, working together to preserve His pure Word and being used by the Holy Spirit to extend the kingdom of His Word.

Those other churches may not need a Good Shepherd to die for them, or to protect them from a very real and deadly devil, but we do. We Really Do Need A Shepherd – A Good Shepherd! Praise God we have one, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen.

Pastor Spencer

Announcing the 2012 Intrepid Lutherans Conference: "Church and Continuity"

noreply@blogger.com (Intrepid Lutherans) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:39:00 +0000

Greetings Dear Reader!

It has been two years in coming, but we are finally announcing the very first annual Intrepid Lutherans conference.

2012 Intrepid Lutherans Conference:

“Church and Continuity”

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Oshkosh, WI
June 1st and 2nd
Registration cost: $25

On Friday evening, June 1st, we’ll be hosting a dinner, with Rev. Robert Koester (WELS) giving an after-dinner presentation entitled, “Adelphos: Discerning Bible Translations.” The cost for the dinner is included in the registration fee.

Then all day Saturday, June 2nd, we will gather for worship and presentations. These are the themes and the speakers we have lined up for Saturday:

“What Has Brought Us Here?” Historical overview of the past 30 years in WELS and current issues, moderator – Rev. Steven Spencer (WELS); panel – Mr. Brian Heyer, Mr. Rick Techlin, and other area WELS laymen.
“Why Is This Happening to Us?” How the culture wars have become religious wars among us, Mr. Douglas Lindee (WELS).
“The Consequences of Church Growth Theology” What it is, where it is, and why it is dangerous, Rev. Luke Boehringer (WELS).
“The Beauty of the Western Rite” How the complete Divine Liturgy fulfills the spiritual needs of our Pastors and people, Rev. Michael Berg (WELS).
“Do We Want to Be Dresden Lutherans?” What it means to be tied to the Book of Concord rather than just to church body, school, family, or ministerium, Rev. Paul Rydecki (WELS).

The cost of the entire conference, including Friday dinner, Saturday continental breakfast and lunch, is $25 per person.

Any and all are welcome!

We're counting on our readers to help us advertize the conference in your congregations and districts. We hope you're as excited about it as we are!

Click here to register!
Promotional posters and brochures will be forthcoming. Stay tuned for more information!

Your Intrepid brothers,
Mr. Brian Heyer
Rev. Paul Lidtke
Mr. Douglas Lindee
Rev. Paul Rydecki
Rev. Steve Spencer

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead - Sermon for Easter Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Paul A. Rydecki) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This sermon was written for the saints at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to be preached on Easter Sunday, 2012.

Mark 16:1-8 + Psalm 16 + Job 19:23-27 + 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Brothers and sisters, fellow believers in Christ Jesus: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia! Jesus lives!

He really does, you know. He lives – not in our hearts, not in our dreams or in our imagination. The real Son of God, with his real flesh and blood, born of the virgin Mary, who truly suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried has really come back to life, stepped out of his tomb, and appeared to his disciples, who were all very surprised and overjoyed to see him alive again.

It really shouldn’t have surprised them quite as much as it did. He told his disciples how he would be killed and rise on the third day, which was the very same thing that was prophesied about the Christ in the words of King David in Psalm 16 a thousand years before, “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to the grave, or let your holy one see corruption.”

As the apostles pointed out to the Jewish crowds later on, King David, who wrote those words of the Psalm, most certainly died and most certainly decayed in his grave. But the Holy One about whom he was writing, the Son, the offspring of David, the Christ – he was not abandoned to the grave or left in the tomb. He was raised from the dead.

That’s what the angel announced to the faithful women who went to the tomb that first Easter morning to finish taking care of Jesus’ body, which, they assumed, was already beginning to be corrupted by decay.

How wrong they were! Instead of the big stone blocking the entrance to the tomb, they saw it rolled away and an angel waiting there to give them the good news. Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.

Wouldn’t you like to have seen it, too? The place where they laid him? The stone rolled away, the empty tomb, the folded linens, the angel sitting where Jesus had been? Or what if you had seen the empty tomb? Then what? Then you would have been just as alarmed, just as terrified as those women were. Because an empty tomb, all by itself, isn’t good news.

The fact that Jesus’ tomb was empty, the fact that the offspring of David, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, rose from the dead is neither good news nor bad news. It just is. It’s a fact. It happened. But what does it mean? Is it a fact that saves or is it a fact that damns? The only way to know what it means is to hear what God reveals about it in the preaching of the gospel.

And what does God reveal in the gospel about the offspring of David, Jesus Christ, risen from the dead?

In the words of Psalm 2, Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. So those who take refuge in the risen Son of God are blessed! But those who do not seek refuge in him will perish.

According to the gospel, then, the empty tomb of Jesus means that his enemies and all who hate him had better be very afraid. The resurrection of Jesus is terrible news for the devil and his demons. It’s terrible news for the one who wants to get to heaven by serving some other god, or by offering God his own merits. It’s also terrible news for all who refuse to repent of their sins. Because if Jesus is dead, then you get to decide what’s right and wrong for your life, and then when you’re dead, you’re dead. That’s it. But if Jesus is alive, then there will also be a resurrection of all the dead and a Judgment Day for all. So for the impenitent and unbelieving, the empty tomb of Jesus is cause for fear.

But for those who want a sure refuge from God’s wrath, for those who want to be reconciled to God, for those who want Jesus for a Savior, the gospel reveals this truth: that Jesus was delivered up for our sins and raised to life for our justification. His death was sufficient payment for all sin, for every sin, for the worst sinner, for his most bitter enemy; and his resurrection means that all who hope in him, all who trust in him, all who look to him for forgiveness of their sins are absolved before God’s courtroom in heaven. The empty tomb means the justification of all who believe in the risen One.

And with justification comes every gift and benefit of Christ: the adoption as God’s children, the full acceptance into eternal life, the daily forgiveness of sins in this Christian Church, and the promise of your own empty tomb when Jesus returns, for judgment against all who refused to repent, and with salvation for his believing people.

No, Jesus’ empty tomb all by itself is still a scary thing, and those faithful women who visited Jesus’ tomb on Easter Sunday remained afraid until, later that day, they saw Jesus for themselves and, more importantly, heard his gospel, his word of peace. Then they rejoiced with a joy that even the bitterest persecution couldn’t take away.

You have to see Jesus for yourself, too. But not with your eyes. Blessed are they who have not seen and yet have believed, Jesus said. Believed what? Believed in the empty tomb? No. Believed in God’s promise of forgiveness in Christ. Believed in his Gospel. Believed in the word of God the Father who emptied Jesus’ tomb by raising his Son from the dead. This word from God that he has commissioned me to preach to you today is better than seeing a thousand empty tombs. Because here in the Word you don’t see the place where Jesus isn’t. You actually get to see Jesus. Because here in the Word of God, here in Sacrament of Jesus, the risen Lord Jesus comes to you today with a message intended for you: “I was delivered up for your sins and raised to life for your justification. Repent and believe in the good news that He who believes in me will live, even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

All week long in our Holy Week services, I’ve been giving you certain things to remember above all else. Today it’s very simple. Today I tell you, as I told our confirmand last Sunday, in the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel.

Let his enemies remember and repent! Let his people remember and rejoice! Amen.

Remember this day that the Lord has made - Sermon for Easter Vigil

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Paul A. Rydecki) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This sermon was written for the saints at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to be preached on Saturday night at the Easter Vigil, 2012.

Welcome to this new day – the day of our Lord’s resurrection from the dead! Jesus rose on the first day of the week, which began at sunset tonight. And since then, every first day of the week has been blessed. Since then, every first day of the week has become a celebration of Easter as the Church gathers around her risen Lord in Word and Sacrament until he comes again in glory to raise all the dead and to bring us into that great wedding banquet that has no end.

Today is also the Third Day – the Third Day of the Paschal Triduum, the blessed Third Day about which Jesus said, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.”

Today has also been called “The Eighth Day” – the day of the new creation. For God made all things in six days, and on the seventh day he rested. And Christ labored for the six days of Holy Week and on the seventh day his lifeless bones rested in the tomb. But now he rests no more. Now he is risen from the dead and that changes everything. You can’t just start over again counting the days of the week as man has done since the beginning of creation, because this creation is waxing old, like a garment. This creation is destined for fire, because the sin of man – the sin of us all – has ruined it. We’ve ruined everything, and so everything must pass away; everything must be destroyed. Everything – except for the living Lord Jesus. He has already conquered sin and passed from death to immortality. He is the beginning of the new creation, a perfect creation, and the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. He is our doorway out of this dying world and our entrance into the life of the next.

And we enter through that doorway through Holy Baptism. It’s no accident that ancient baptismal fonts were octagonal – eight-sided – in shape. Because the Church understood what was really going on in that Sacrament, what was really happening in the spiritual realm. The baptized is being drawn out of this dying world and into the new creation of Christ, being clothed with Christ and with his resurrected life, the life that belongs to all of you who have been baptized and believe in the risen One.

So welcome to this day, fellow believers! Today is a new day with the dawning of new life and the beginning of the destruction of death. And whether we remember it as the first day, or the third day, or the eighth day, let us remember with the Psalmist that this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 118:24)! Amen.

Remember the Spirit, the water and the blood - Sermon for Good Friday Tenebrae

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Paul A. Rydecki) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 23:00:00 +0000

This sermon was written for the saints at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to be preached in the evening Tenebrae service on Good Friday, 2012.

Now the first Holy Day of the Three Holy Days comes to a close and a new day begins now at sunset – a special Sabbath Day for the Son of God, a day of perfect, undisturbed rest for his dead body in Joseph’s tomb. And just as God rested from his whole work of creating the universe on the seventh day of creation, so the Son of God rested from his whole work of salvation on the seventh day of that first Holy Week.

It had been quite a day, with all the suffering and death that the whole world of sinners had coming to them, now poured out on the sinners’ Substitute – all in a single day. And yet, even after as he died and before he was buried, God already pointed to the three gifts that flow out of Jesus’ death. Of all the things to think about and remember as Good Friday comes to a close, remember the Spirit, the water and the blood.

With his Passion – his suffering – complete, with his work of redemption finished, Jesus breathed his last and “gave up his spirit.” Then one of the soldiers pierced his side, and out came blood and water.

The Apostle John points us to those three things in his Gospel, and explains it in his first Epistle, This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.

What do these three agree about? Well, they agree that Jesus really, truly and actually died. He gave up his spirit, and blood and water flowed out of his side when it was pierced.

But they agree on more than that. Because, John says, not that they testified when Jesus died, but that they testify now. To what?

To exactly what Psalm 130 says: If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
That Psalm is fulfilled on Good Friday, at the great “It is finished!” The Lord did redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

But how is that redemption applied to you? How is it the forgiveness Jesus won applied to you so that you may be justified? How does the forgiveness that is “with the Lord” get to you so that you are forgiven, so that you can stand before God?
It’s by the Spirit, the water and the blood.

On that very first Easter Sunday, the risen Jesus would appear to his disciples, breathe on them and say, “Receive the Holy Spirit! If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” The Spirit of Jesus hands out the forgiveness Jesus won on the cross in Holy Absolution, in the forgiving word spoken by the ministers of Christ.

It’s also by the water, by which the Spirit plunges us back through time and unites us with Christ. What did Peter say on Pentecost? Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins!

It’s also by the blood. What did Jesus say at the very beginning of that first Holy Day? “Take, eat; this is my body. Take, drink; this cup is the New Testament in my blood which is poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Do this…”

All the benefits won by Jesus on that Good Friday, all the treasures of his life and death – forgiveness, life, salvation, victory over sin, death and the devil, a Father’s love, a place with him in Paradise – all of it comes to us now through Word and Sacrament, through the Spirit, the water and the blood. And it’s no accident that they were all there on Good Friday, just like it’s no accident that John recorded it, just like it’s no accident that you, here, in this place, have been reached by the Spirit, the water and the blood. God’s love for you and his desire for your salvation are from eternity. And just as he elected us in Christ since before the foundation of the world was laid, so he also planned Good Friday from eternity, so he also planned how and where and when the Spirit, the water and the blood would come to you to bestow on you the forgiveness purchased by the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

And just as Christ entered his Sabbath rest on that first Good Friday evening, so there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, according to the writer of the Hebrews. Let us strive to enter that rest, he says. And how will we do that? Through faith alone in Jesus Christ. And how will God sustain that faith in us until the end? Through the Spirit, the water and the blood. Remember. Amen.

Holy Week Sermons – Good Friday (by Dr. Paul E. Kretzmann)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Douglas Lindee) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:33:00 +0000

GOOD FRIDAY
by Dr. Paul E. Kretzmann⁺⁺

John 1:29
“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the Sin of the world’?”
It is a solemn occasion which finds us assembled here at this time, for the Christian world is today commemorating the darkest day in the history of the world, the day on which the Son of God, the Lord of Glory, the Prince of Life, suffered the most shameful death of the cross; it is the day on which He laid down His life as a ransom for the sins of the world. No wonder that the Christian Church has from olden times celebrated the day with every evidence of deepest grief and mourning.

On account of this fact we have chosen our present text for a meditation of the significance of the day for us. For it is a wonderful statement that we have before us in this passage; it is a sermon which was delivered by one of the most successful preachers of all times. If we but look at the few words contained in our text, John the Baptist may not seem to have said much in this one sentence, yet this one sentence is one of the most remarkable Lenten addresses to be found in the entire Bible. Let us then, in this solemn Good Friday hour, look at the individual words of this wonderful sermon and apply them to ourselves.

BEHOLD! St. John calls out. He wants to rivet our attention upon that unique spectacle presented to our eyes on Calvary's dread mountain; he wants us to concentrate with supreme devotion on its significance. His call reminds us of the words in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, words which have been included for centuries in the liturgy for Good Friday, since they so well portray the sorrow which must have filled the heart of the Savior as He hung there upon the cross in unspeakable shame and disgrace: “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger” (La. 1:12). The words of John the Baptist are like those of the soul-searching hymn:

Is it not worth considering that, while Christ was preparing to die also for them, the high priests and the scribes were assembled in session to perfect plans for His murder; that even when He hung upon the cross they reviled and blasphemed Him? Is it not worth calling the attention of all the people of the world to the Savior’s atoning death on Calvary, as He is suspended there to redeem a world mad for money, mad for honor, and mad for pleasure? What an unspeakable abyss of sin opens up before us if we compare the sacrifice of the Son of God with the utter disregard for His sufferings on the part of mankind!

Nor is this all that the word behold brings to our attention. The Church rightly sings: Stricken, smitten, and afflicted See Him dying on the tree! Yes,
BEHOLD THE MAN!
Thus did Pilate, the unjust judge, call out, probably with at least some degree of pity for the prisoner, knowing that the high priests had delivered Him for envy. Remember: it was our sins that drove the nails through His hands and feet, even as they had caused the cruel thorns to lacerate the tender skin of His head; it was our sins that caused the patient Sufferer to cry out in the agony of an eternal rejection by God: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mt. 27:46, Mk. 15:34). Yes, let us in this hour behold the Lamb of God; let us behold the wrath of God over the sins of mankind; but let us also behold the unsearchable depths of God’s mercy!

“Behold the LAMB!” calls the Baptist. He well knew what he was saying in these words. For centuries, as long as the Tabernacle and the Temple of the Jews were used as their centers of worship, every morning and every evening a lamb was offered to the Lord, and on every Sabbath two lambs, both in the morning and in the evening. These sacrificial animals had a definite significance. Every member of the Jewish Church in the Old Testament well knew, just as does every believer of the New Testament, that the blood of a lamb in itself cannot take away sins. It was only by virtue of the symbolism connected with this sacrifice that it had any value; it was because every lamb thus sacrificed was a type and symbol of the one unique sacrificial Lamb which was to come in the fulness of time.

And this was true in a much greater measure of the sacrifice offered on that one great festival of the Jewish church year, when millions of believing Jews assembled at Jerusalem for the Passover. It was the one great day of the year when every Jewish householder made use of the privilege and prerogative of offering his lamb in person in the priests’ court of the Temple. Every paschal lamb of the Old Testament was a type of the greatest, the most unique Lamb of all, of which St. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Co. 5:7). He is the Lamb of whom Isaiah, in chapter 53 of his prophecy, writes in such a remarkable fashion: “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Is. 53:7). And the Evangelist clearly identifies Christ as the one true Passover Lamb, when he applies the statement: “Not a bone of him shall be broken,” to the incident which took place at the cross, when the bones of Jesus were not crushed by the cruel mallet of the soldiers (Jn. 19:36).

And why did all this take place? Because the Savior was God’s Lamb, as St. John the Baptist tells us. “Behold the Lamb of God,” he calls out. When Christ died on Calvary, He died as a sacrifice which had to be made to satisfy the holiness and the justice of God. God Himself had so planned it before the foundation of the world, for He foresaw the unspeakable misery which would come upon all mankind as a result of sin. Every member of mankind has merited eternal damnation for his sins, and eternal damnation would be the inevitable lot of every human being that ever lived on this earth if Jesus had not been offered as the sacrifice in our stead. Every sin committed by man calls down upon him God’s wrath and displeasure, temporal death and eternal damnation. The justice of God can demand no less than a full obedience, and the justice of God must therefore insist upon a condemnation which meets the full demand of righteousness.

And yet this same holy and just God was directly interested in the sacrifice of Jesus, for the Lamb of God, in offering up Himself upon the altar of the cross, made an adequate sacrifice, a sacrifice which completely atoned for all the sins of all mankind and thereby made it possible for the mercy and love of God to turn once more to fallen mankind and to receive all men as His dear children in Jesus Christ, their Savior. The Apostle Paul writes that God Himself “was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (2 Co. 5:19). As God had from eternity conceived the plan to have His Son become the substituting Christ, the Lamb of atonement, so He fashioned the course of His Son’s life on earth, so that all the prophecies of old were fulfilled, one after another, until the work of redemption was completed. God planned the coming of the Lamb, God was with the Lamb, God offered the Lamb as the sacrifice, God accepted the sacrifice of His Son. By God’s determinate counsel His Lamb was delivered for our offenses, for the transgressions of the whole world.

This fact is brought out by John the Baptist in the most beautiful manner when he says, in his great Lenten sermon: “Which taketh away the sins of the world.” It is very interesting and comforting, in this connection, to know that the word used in the original language of the New Testament has a double significance. It means, first of all, that the Savior bore, that he carried on His back, the sins of the world. The situation is well depicted by the great hymn-writer Paul Gerhardt, when he has Jesus respond to the call of His Father to bear the sins of the world;

And another hymn-writer, ]ohann Heermann, puts it in these words:

Yes, Jesus bore the sin of the world. He died for the denial of Peter, which He took upon Himself; He died for the betrayal of Judas; He died for the thousands of transgressions with which we have burdened our consciences throughout our life. As Isaiah tells us: “The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6). He bore the sins of His enemies: He bore the abuse and the blasphemy of the high priests and scribes in the palace of Caiaphas, of the soldiers in the palace of Pilate, of the servants in the palace of Herod. And, what is more: He bore the mockery and the blasphemy of the thousands of men and women who today refuse to accept the redemption gained through His blood.

And He not only took upon Himself, He not only bore our sins, but, as the second meaning of the verb assures us: He took away these sins. The Church of the Old Testament had a very striking ceremony which was a type of Christ’s sacrifice. On the great Day of Atonement in the fall of the year there was one peculiar double sacrifice, namely that of two goats. The first goat was the goat of sin-offering, sacrificed with a bullock, and its blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat, to make an atonement for the children of Israel. In a special prayer the sins of the people were laid upon the goat, so that the animal bore the iniquities of the whole congregation. Thus Jesus was the sin-offering for all mankind. The second goat of the festival was known as the scapegoat, and it is expressly stated that the high priest should confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat. And then the scapegoat was sent away into the wilderness, symbolically laden with the sins and iniquities of the people. This ceremony was clearly to signify the complete taking away of the people’s iniquity. Thus Jesus, of whom the scapegoat was a type, took away our sins on the cross, when He was condemned to everlasting damnation in our stead and carried our sins, as it were, into the wilderness of hell. St. Paul writes that Jesus “blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Co. 2:14). It was the Savior’s sacrifices that took from us the curse which the fall of Adam and our sins had brought upon mankind. He took away our sins when He wrestled with His heavenly Father in His importunate prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane; He took away our sins when He endured the pains of eternal hell while He hung for more than three hours on the cursed tree of the cross.

The Lamb of God, as John the Baptist says, took away the sin of the world. And here is the very heart of the Good Friday message. For unless we realize the damnableness of our sins, the miracle of Calvary has no significance for us. We must acknowledge, without excuse or reservation, the actuality of our sins, together with the penalty which the righteous God must demand from us. We must realize that we sin a hundred, a thousand times a day, in thought, in word, in deed, in the hidden motions of sin in our mind, in the sins of commission, in the sins of omission. We may think that we have made some headway in sanctification with the help of the Lord, but when we think of the many possibilities for showing kindness, for doing good which we have missed, we are bound to find that our sins and transgressions mount up before us in staggering total. And all this the Savior took upon Himself. He took away the folly, the deceitfulness of sin. He knew from the beginning how easily men are led into sin by its beautiful appearance. He knew how quickly Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden had listened to the voice of the Tempter. — He took away the wickedness of sin. Every sin is not only a mistake or an error; it is a transgression of God’s holy Law; it is a rejection of God as the one Lord; it is an insult to the Holy One, who has said: “Be ye therefore holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Le. 11:45,19:2,20:7; 1 Pe. 1:15-16). One of the most wonderful words of the Bible is that which tells us: God “made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin” (2 Co. 5:21). God transferred to Jesus, the great Lamb of sacrifice, the iniquities of us all, so that He bore, He took away, their guilt. He was regarded by God as the greatest sinner that ever lived, because in Him all the sinners that ever lived in the world are personified.

But now, thank God! we can add the last word of our text, for the Lamb of God, as St. John tells us, bore and took away “the sin of the world” The same Apostle who recorded the sermon of the Baptist in our text, writes, in his First Epistle: “Jesus Christ the righteous... is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn 2:2). St. Paul likewise, in a passage of singular power and beauty, assures us that we are justified freely by the grace of God through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood (Ro. 3:24-25). Even as God loved the whole world and sent His Son to pay for the sin and for the guilt of the whole world, so Jesus died for all (2 Co. 5:15), for all men without exception. As we belong to the world of sinful men, we may rest assured that the sacrifice of the Lamb of God has effected our redemption. This assurance is so great that it serves to console us even if our sin is as great as the adultery and murder of David, as the denial of Peter, as the blasphemy of Paul. The Apostle tells us: “Hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things” (1 Jn. 3:19-20). And therefore we and all men everywhere should gladly receive the assurance given in the wonderful Lenten sermon of the Baptist: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” It means that each and every person in the wide world, although under the condemnation of the Law as a sinner, may freely accept and make his own forever the redemption gained for all men by Jesus through His death on Calvary, so that we may joyfully confess, with the explanation of the Second Article: “Christ has redeemed me, a lost and condemned sinner, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil. This is most certainly true (SC:II:II).

AMEN.

Endnotes:

Jesus Only: A series of Lenten and post-Easter Sermons

Dr. P. E. Kretzmann: Standing on God's Word when the World opposes us

Remember that it is finished - Sermon for Good Friday Chief Service

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Paul A. Rydecki) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:00:00 +0000

This sermon was written for the saints at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to be preached during the hours of the cross on Good Friday, 2012.

John 18 - 19 + Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 + Psalm 22

The Word of the Lord through the prophet Zechariah: Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. (Zech. 3:8-9)

Today we remember that single day, that day of once-and-for-all atonement, that day of redemption called Good Friday.

So many things to remember from Good Friday: The before-sunrise trials before Annas and the high priest Caiaphas. The false witnesses. The spitting and mocking and striking. The early-morning trials before Pilate and Herod and Pilate again. The ripping of Jesus’ back to shreds. The purple robe. The crown of thorns. The Gentile governor’s attempts to free an innocent man. The Jews’ insistence that their king be crucified.

Of course, it’s Jesus’ six hours or so on the cross that we remember most of all. And it’s that striking Psalm, 22, that painted the picture for us a thousand years before the events took place. I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. They have pierced my hands and feet. They divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots. All who see me mock me. He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him! All my bones are out of joint. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Isaiah has already told us why. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

But even as Jesus cries out from the cross in agony, he is directing us back to the Psalm. And what we find there is not the hopelessness of despair and guilt and punishment, but faith in God in the midst of the deepest agony, the hope of an end to punishment, an end to suffering, and the ushering in of salvation. For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

It was about the 9th hour – about 3 PM when Jesus cried out from the cross, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani?” And it was about at the 9th hour – 3 PM on that Day of days when Jesus was delivered, his suffering ended. His Father delivered him, delivered him to death, but through death, to Paradise for his worthy soul, and to a Sabbath Day’s rest for his weary bones.

One perfect life had been lived. One perfect death had been died. A life of obedience and trust in God from start to finish – the life and death of the Man who is also God. It is finished!, Jesus cried. And was it ever! Satisfaction made. Redemption finished. Forgiveness won. For every sin of every sinner, including you.

This atonement finished by Jesus, this payment for sin made by Jesus is the firm footing for our faith. This is what is preached in the Gospel. This is what is delivered to us by God in the means of grace. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Jesus Christ with his perfect righteousness, the only righteousness that avails before God. Jesus Christ with his finished work of redemption.

Now, what sin can the devil throw in your face and say, “Oh. That one’s too big. I’m sorry. Even Jesus’ blood can’t cover that one”? “Oh. You did that? You harbored a thought like that in your heart? And you call yourself a Christian? No forgiveness for you – not if God finds out about that.”

Foolish devil. And foolish you, if you believe him. It is finished, Jesus said. There is no sacrifice or payment for sin left to be made. Once for all, it is finished.

Or, what good work will the fool devil fool you into doing in order to make God “happy”? What good Christian sacrifice will you make for him, to hold it up next to Jesus hanging on the cross, “See, God! Well, Jesus did all that, but I did this! Look here! Look at me! I’m a good Christian, aren’t I?”

You might as well be one of the damned Pharisees who called for Jesus’ crucifixion. Because if you dare to hold up another righteousness before God than that of Jesus, if you dare to rely on any sacrifice but the sacrifice of Jesus, then you will be locked out of the heaven Jesus won for you. It is finished, Jesus said. God’s law has been satisfied. Don’t try to satisfy it some more.

Instead, trust in the satisfaction Jesus made! Trust in the crucified One. Hold his sacrifice up before God and say, “See! Look at this! Look only at this! Accept me because of this! Because of him!” That’s faith. You really want to make God happy? Then remember that it is finished, that God is already appeased by the sacrifice of Jesus, and happy with all who put their faith in him.

As the Psalm says, All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. Yes, the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, even as the Church has remembered for some 2,000 years, even as we are doing today. It is God’s will that you remember this Day of days, Good Friday, that you remember Jesus Christ and him crucified, that you worship him and tell of him to the next generation. But of all the events of Good Friday, of the crucifixion itself, God wants you to remember this, that it is finished. Salvation has been won, for you. Amen.

Dear Pastor: What are our congregation's policies for promoting non-denominational ministries?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Douglas Lindee) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 03:36:00 +0000

Email Subject: What are our congregation's policies for promoting non-denominational ministries?

Email Body:
Dear Pastor [name here],

I'm just curious what those policies might be. For example, I know that we often have literature out for "Time of Grace," even though they explicitly state, and want to be known as, a ministry that is not affiliated with any denomination (a recent Journal Sentinel article featured "Time of Grace," where they highlighted this very point). They even have men on their Board of Directors with whom we are not in fellowship (at least one -- they are required to have an LCMS member on their Board of Directors to maintain RSO status with LCMS). If our policy is quite open, I can think of several non-W/ELS organizations to promote in our congregation, which are still "Lutheran." Let me know.

Thanks!

[Your name here]

Dear Laymen,

The above email is a brief form letter for you to use, to inquire with your pastor regarding policies governing the distribution of promotional material. We provide it for your convenience. If you should use it, and discover that your congregation's policy is quite open, we at IL are developing some "promotional materials," which will be available beginning next week, for you to post in your congregation. Even if the policy is open to review, we can scarcely imagine that promoting organized activities of fellow W/ELS laymen and clergymen would be refused in our case, especially given that we endeavor to actively promote a robust Confessionalism among orthodox Lutherans.

(BTW: If you, your pastor, or your acquaintances would like evidence that LCMS requires that a voting member of the Board of Directors of an RSO ministry be a member of the LCMS, and specifically in the case of "Time of Grace," you can refer him to these two documents, Minutes of the LCMS Board for Communication Services (BCS), which approved Time of Grace's application for RSO status: 012709 BCS Minutes APPROVED.pdf and 042709 BCS Minutes APPROVED.pdf. These official documents were retrieved from the LCMS website early last year before it was "relaunched" and all older documents like these removed.)

Stay Tuned!

Remember the cup of salvation - Holy Thursday sermon

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Paul A. Rydecki) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This sermon was written for the saints at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to be preached on Holy Thursday, 2012.

Exodus 12:1-14 + Psalm 116 + 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 + John 13:1-15

Tonight begins the first of the Three Holy Days, from sunset to sunset, according to Creation Time – first evening and then morning each day. It would take a full twenty-four hours – or maybe just a lifetime – to do justice to all the events that took place during the twenty-four hours of that very first Holy Day that began at sunset on Maundy Thursday and ended at the eerie sunset of Good Friday.

So many memorable and meaningful events took place on that Thursday night. The love of Jesus on display as he washed his disciples feet. The command for them to walk in his footsteps of love, self-sacrifice and lowly service. The Passover meal. The predicted betrayal, abandonment and denial. The High Priestly prayer of Jesus – for his disciples back then, and also for his disciples now. The Garden of Gethsemane. The anguish of Jesus’ soul.

“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here and watch with me.” And then, with sweat dripping like blood, Jesus prayed three times to his Father to “take this cup” from him, “if it is your will. My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

And the Father’s will was done. Jesus drank from the cup. And that brings us back to the one thing I would ask you remember tonight, or at least, the one thing I would ask you focus your attention on. On Palm Sunday I asked you to remember one thing above all else – to remember Jesus riding on a donkey. Tonight, as we begin the first of the Three Holy Days, remember the cup.

We sang about it already in the Psalm this evening, and since we’ve been considering the Psalms throughout our Lenten journey this year, let’s include them for the Three Holy Days, too. In Psalm 116 we sang the words of the Messiah, “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.”

Now the interesting thing about the Messianic Psalms is that, though they were written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, they were written from the perspective of the Messiah both as the events are transpiring in his life, and also as he looks back on it all after it’s all over.

Listen to the words of Jesus in Psalm 116, “I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.” You see the perspective of the Messiah there? It’s as if Holy Week is already over and done and the Father has already heard him and delivered him from his enemies on Easter Sunday. But the Psalm gives us a window into what Jesus was going through as Holy Week was happening.

“The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of the grave laid hold on me. I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the LORD: O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!” Sounds just like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, doesn’t it?

Then he gives thanks to the Lord, “For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.” Sounds like Easter Sunday, doesn’t it?

But see what had to happen in between. A cup had to be drunk. In order for sinful mankind to be able to drink salvation from God’s cup, the sinless Son of Man had to first drink the cup of wrath, the cup of punishment, the cup of torture and death. And when he asked his Father to take it from him and his Father didn’t do it, what did Jesus do with that cup? Oh, he could have thrown it down on the ground and let God’s wrath against sin be poured out onto sinners. Remember, he said in the Garden when Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus, “Put your sword away… Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”

Instead of dropping the cup, Jesus drank it – drank it down to its dregs. He had to be brought low, lower and lower and lower, down to the point of death, even death on a cross.

But as he says in the Psalm, “When I was brought low, he saved me.” The cup of wrath and suffering for sin had been emptied. And now the cup of Jesus is filled to the brim with salvation – not just for himself in his glorious resurrection, but with salvation that he pours down the throats of his people.

What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.

That’s not just a figurative expression. Jesus literally poured his salvation – his forgiveness and his life, into a cup on Maundy Thursday and gave it to his disciples to drink, not just once, but to do this in remembrance of him, to lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, to drink from it often and to proclaim his death again and again until he comes.

Do you still sin after your baptism? Yes, you do. Do you still have bitter enemies who can attack your faith in Christ and beat it to a pulp? Yes, you do. But you have been given a cup of salvation, filled with the precious blood of the Lamb of God, filled for you to drink.

It’s not a symbol of Jesus’ blood. By the power of Jesus’ word, it is his blood. It’s not a symbol of salvation. By the power of Jesus’ word, it is salvation and forgiveness and life for all who believe in the words and promises of Jesus – given for you, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. No sin is wicked enough, no enemy is strong enough to undo Jesus’ words of promise. He pours his salvation into this cup, and so administers a lethal dose to death.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Even your death is precious to your Father in heaven, because you have been united to his precious Son, Jesus Christ, whose death was also precious in the Lord’s sight, precious enough to satisfy God’s wrath against every sinner. Your death, when it comes, will be precious to your Father in heaven, because you have drunk from his cup of salvation, week in and week out, and so you have received the medicine of immortality, a better Tree of Life, God’s seal and pledge that, though you die, you will live.

And isn’t that what that other Psalm says, too? You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Ps. 23:5-6)

Remember the cup of Jesus – the cup that he drank, and the cup that he has filled with his salvation, with his blood, poured out for you. The table is ready. Drink from his cup and live. Amen.

The Royal Banners Forward Go - Vexilla Regis

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Paul A. Rydecki) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:24:00 +0000

This ancient hymn, written by Venantius Fortunatus, has been sung by Christians for some 1500 years to various chant tones and melodies. The melody below is the one from The Lutheran Hymnal composed by John Hampton (text and tune in the public domain). Lutheran Service Book includes the hymn with a different melody. I don't know why it didn't make the cut for Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal, but it didn't.

In case there are any churches that wish to use the hymn on Good Friday but don't have copies of The Lutheran Hymnal handy, I've created the graphic below that can be inserted in service folders. Right-click the link below and "Save Target As..."

TLH #168 - The Royal Banners Forward Go

The embedded mp3 plays all seven stanzas of the hymn.

The journey to the cross and the empty tomb - a Lutheran translation

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Paul A. Rydecki) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 23:00:00 +0000

I always appreciate the invitations to “journey to the cross this Holy Week,” or to have a “blessed journey to the empty tomb.” Those invitations come from every corner of the Christian world. But when Lutherans say such things, they mean something different, something more than what the sects mean. At least, one hopes.

How is one to “journey to the cross” or “to the empty tomb”? Obviously pilgrimages to the Holy Land are not going to cut it.

How, then?

For the non-sacramental sects, one makes such a journey mentally and emotionally (they would mistakenly say “spiritually”) by reviewing the Holy Week events, like relearning a valuable lesson, like reminiscing about an old friend who isn’t around anymore, like rereading a good book, like watching a rerun of a favorite show or a classic sporting event on TV. To make it really special, they may jazz it up a bit with dramatic readings or reenactments – whatever it takes to make watching a rerun less boring and more emotionally stirring, more “meaningful.”

For the non-sacramental sects, Holy Week is a time to remember Jesus, and by remembering Him, to have a sort of “spiritual” communion with Him up in heaven. They may even have a snack of crackers and grape juice to celebrate Maundy Thursday, the empty shell of a Supper in which Jesus is merely remembered, with an empty seat at the table in honor of an absent Guest.

That’s what a lot of Christians understand when they hear about a journey to the cross and the empty tomb.

Lutherans mean something better.

For means of grace Lutherans, the journey to the cross and the empty tomb is not a journey we make by thinking really hard about Jesus’ death and resurrection. It’s not a journey we make by trying to muster up the right feelings of horror or of guilt or of joy. In fact, it’s not really a journey we make at all. It’s a journey that the Holy Spirit takes us on through the means of grace, the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. Instead of a rerun, the Holy Week Gospel is a live feed, back through time to the actual events in history that purchased our redemption.

But it gets even better than that.

For means of grace Lutherans, the satisfaction that Christ made for sins on the cross actually comes through the live feed and is applied to penitent sinners here and now. The goodness and mercy of Christ, the righteousness of our Substitute, the love of a Father, are communicated to us here and now, forgiving sins in the present tense. The Spirit of Christ comes through the words to us, whisking us away through baptismal waters, back before the court, onto the cross, into the grave and out again. The means of grace brings the risen Savior to us and stirs up faith to cling to Him in a way that even faithful Mary was not allowed to do on that very first day of the week.

But it gets even better than that.

Means of grace Lutherans have something better than a peek inside an empty tomb on Easter Sunday. We are given a glance at the One who once occupied the tomb, whose glorified body and blood now grace the Altar, to be handed out to the faithful for the forgiveness of sins. This brief moment of reclining at table with the risen Savior is far more than a remembrance of the living Lord Jesus. It’s a reception of Jesus Himself, a communion in the life of the Living One, and therefore, a life-giving medicine.

I once heard it suggested that, in our Christian freedom to not offer Holy Communion on any given Sunday, maybe Easter Sunday is the best time to exercise that freedom for the sake of our Easter visitors. Such a practice would fit right in with the non-sacramental sects and their “spiritual” journey to the empty tomb, but it would seem quite unnatural for means of grace Lutherans who believe that, in the Holy Supper, we truly “proclaim Christ’s death until He comes,” for means of grace Lutherans who know that this “remembrance of Him” is, in reality, the personal appearance of the Risen One in our midst.

So pastors, if, for some reason, you decided that Easter Sunday was the perfect time not to offer the body and blood of the risen Savior to your people, the ideal time not to offend potential believers in Jesus with the real presence of Jesus, there’s still time to rethink it. So what if bulletins have already been printed and musicians already lined up? Your organist already knows at least one setting for the Service of the Sacrament. Your people will understand, too, if you explain to them that there’s one way and one way only by which a means of grace Lutheran actually makes the blessed journey to the cross and to the empty tomb – through an abundance of the means of grace.

As Lutherans, we sometimes need to remember how many shorthand phrases we use, both for our own sake as well as for the sake of others. Even “means of grace” means very little to those on the outside. Holy Week is a fine time to invite your friends and neighbors to accompany you on a blessed journey to the cross and empty tomb. Just be sure they know the Lutheran translation.

Holy Week Sermons – Palm Sunday (by Dr. Paul E. Kretzmann)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Douglas Lindee) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:01:00 +0000

PALM SUNDAY
by Dr. Paul E. Kretzmann⁺⁺

(Introit, Ps. 22:19)

Jeremiah 6:16
“Thus saith the Lord, ‘Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk therein’”
For most Lutheran Christians, Palm Sunday occupies a unique position among the Sundays of the church year. This is true not only because the day ushers in the solemn contemplations of Holy Week, with the reading of the Lenten story, not only because the Gospel lesson of the day tells us of that unique incident in the life of our Savior, His entry into Jerusalem, but also because in most congregations the day has been set apart for the solemn act of confirmation. Palm Sunday has for many centuries been the day on which new members were received into the Christian congregation, when they made a public profession of their faith and were declared ready to receive the last instruction in Christian doctrine before being admitted to the Lord's Supper. For that reason Palm Sunday is a day of solemn memories for many hundreds of thousands of church members, a day on which they quietly and definitely renew the baptismal vow as they repeated it on the day of their confirmation. And even if a Christian was not received into adult membership into the Christian Church on Palm Sunday, he will readily join the other church members in remembering the solemn occasion when he made his vow to be faithful to the Triune God and His Word, and specifically to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Such a solemn renewal of the vow by which a person declares his allegiance to the Savior is particularly necessary in our day, when so many difficulties have arisen to endanger the simple faith of Christians. It is true that the Christian Church, in its outward appearance, has apparently made much headway in recent years. The number of church members, according to available statistics, has increased by many per cent over the gains recorded a few years ago. Over 60% of the people of America now profess adherence to some church^**. It is most unfortunate, however, that in many instances, this outward membership is not the expression of a full and complete adherence to the full truth of the Word of God. There is a good deal of formal Christianity, including a fairly regular attendance at the chief service on Sunday morning, chiefly because this is considered rather fashionable. But when one inquires about the attendance at other church services, at Bible hours, and at meetings in which further progress in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ is the goal, there are bound to be great disappointments. And if we should go one step farther and inquire about regular worship in the home, and about daily Bible reading by the individual, the disappointment would be increased in considerable measure. It is truly a sad phenomenon, but one which cannot be denied, that many congregations, especially in the large cities, have, for the majority of the membership, degenerated into social clubs with a religious veneer, and that the call of the Lord: “My son, give me thine heart” (Pr. 23:26), is falling upon deaf ears.

And there is another point which must be added here, namely that of the attitude taken by a great many people who disdain to be reckoned with churchgoers, many of whom even are out-and-out enemies of the Bible and its soul-giving truths. Somehow people have gotten the notion that Christianity, the Christian religion, the Christian faith, are on trial, that the truth of the Bible has been cited before the tribunal of men and has been found wanting.

Is this true? Is the Christian religion failing? Has it been arraigned before the tribunal of men’s justice and found wanting? — Nothing can be farther from the truth. To all who entertain such notions the Bible calls out: “Nay, but, O man, who art thou that thou repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, ‘Why hast thou made me thus?’” (Ro. 9:20). Or: “The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Co. 1:18). Hence it is not the truth of God that is standing at the bar of justice, but the foolishness of man. It is the people of this country and of every city in it who are standing at the crossroads; it is they who should be found in great searchings of heart. For those who reject or ignore His Word and who foolishly criticize the eternal verities of Holy Writ the words are written: “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.’ He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure” (Ps. 2:1-5). It is the almighty and all-wise God who calls out to men, in His holy Word: “This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Is. 30:21). It is also He who speaks to us, in the words of our text:

”STAND YE IN THE WAYS, AND SEE, AND ASK FOR THE OLD PATHS, WHERE IS THE GOOD WAY, AND WALK THEREIN,
AND YE SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.”
Let us, under the gracious guidance of the Holy Spirit, meditate on these words for a few minutes.

1.
It is a solemn warning that lies in these words, just as solemn as that which we find in Christ’s own words: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” (Mt. 7:13). Truly, many are they that go in thereat. Many are they who are listening to the seductive voices of men who profess to be leaders to everlasting life, but whose way leads far from the path of heaven to a dreadful uncertainty which leads to everlasting destruction. Who are they who presume to put up their pitiful manmade theories over against the eternal verities of God’s Word? Ah, they glibly prate of scholarship and of the latest results of science. They presume to pick the Bible to pieces and to substitute for its divine truth the flimsy threads of human arguments. They fill the hearts of our growing boys and girls, of our young men and young women, with doubts concerning the wisdom before which the greatest achievements of man’s mind pale into insignificance. They speak of mistakes in the Bible, though nine out of ten have never even read the Bible. Yea, they lead men and women, or try to lead them, into new and strange paths, into paths where the truth of the creation story is ridiculed, where the inerrancy of the inspired Record is set aside, where the deity of Christ is declared to be non-essential, where nothing is left of the Bible but a shell and a hollow mockery.

But what saith the Lord? Let us repeat the words of Ps. 2:4: “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.” And the Prophet proclaims: “The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?” (]e. 8:9). And again we read: “Thus saith the Lord, ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord’” (Je. 9:23-24).

But there is another matter which ought to concern us most seriously at this time, one which is not connected, except indirectly with the attacks that have recently been launched against the Bible. It is a situation which confronts every one of us in a manner that ought to challenge our attention. It is the universal abandonment to selfishness which characterizes our times, the hectic seeking after the gratification of various appetites, the eagerness for sensual and sensuous delights. It was not in this manner that the kingdom of David and the Church of the Lord was built up through the preaching of the Lord’s prophets. It was not thus that George Washington became the “father of his country”; it was not thus that Abraham Lincoln, under God, was fitted to become its savior. It was not thus that the individual state in our great commonwealth was established, each so remarkable in extent and powerful in riches. And, above all, it is not thus that the Lord would have us live our short span of life, as it is allotted to us in this vale of tears. Shall we spend the money which comes to us as a gift from the hands of a kind Father for the pursuit and gratification of momentary and fleeting delights? Shall we waste our God-given strength in the vain pursuit of pleasures which sap our God-given energy and weaken the stamina of our nation? Shall we prostitute the liberty which is ours as the children of God into a license which endangers our soul’s salvation? — Ah, if there were fewer white lights burning to show the way to questionable and dangerous amusements and more white lights of consecration glowing within the hearts and souls of men in the interest of that which is good and elevating or, as the Apostle puts it, of “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report” (Ph. 4:8); if there were less strength dissipated in yielding to the vices of our day and more strength used in building up the homes and the nation and the churches; if there were less money spent in useless and dangerous luxuries and more for the sound establishment of things which are enduring for the welfare of home and Church: how much more would the pleasure of the Lord rest upon those who call themselves Christians! Does not the Lord say, in the Book of His eternal Truth: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world”? Yea, and He continues: “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 Jn. 2:15-17). And another Apostle writes: “Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (Ja. 4:4).

Are we then, my friends, following the allurements of the world's wisdom and of the world's temptations? Have we listened to the voice of the tempter and placed our souls in jeopardy? Oh, let us hear the warning cry of our God: “Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein.” Mark what the Lord says through His inspired Prophet: “Behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, ‘Who seeth us?’ and ‘Who knoweth us?’ Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay” (Is. 29:14-16). The world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

2.
And this last promise is of such great importance in our present meditation. For we find that, in addition to the warning contained in our text, we have also a most loving appeal, a fatherly call to all men, for while the Lord admonishes us: “Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein,” He adds the beautiful statement: “And ye shall find rest for your souls.” So we see that even the first part of the sentence contains an implied promise, for it says, in effect: If you will keep on standing in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way. The Lord thereby indicates that He presupposes such conduct on the part of all those who are truly His children. This being the case, we can appreciate the promise all the better: Ye shall find rest for your souls; namely, by following the right way and walking therein.

We know where the true path may be found; we know which is the right way to heaven. The Savior of mankind has said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (Jn. 14:6). Christ is the Way, because He has prepared the way into the presence of our heavenly Father through the blood of His cross. Does the false wisdom of this world throw up its hands in horror over the doctrine of the redemption, an idea which our oversensitive generation can no longer accept? We ignore all objections to the eternal truth, for we know that we have redemption through the blood of the Lamb, the forgiveness of sins.

Let us, therefore, give the closest attention to the words of our text, to the glorious promise included in the words of the Lord: And ye shall find rest unto your souls. The inspired writer of the Letter to the Hebrews states it as a simple fact: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (He. 4:9). And in the same letter we find the encouraging question: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (He. 9:14). That is the truth of God: The blood of Christ has purged our consciences from dead works to serve the living God, to walk in His ways. How then can any one, knowing Christ and the atonement through His blood as the only way, neglect to keep on seeking the one and only Way to heaven? Now, Jesus is found in the Word of grace, and in the Word alone. It is He who says, in the Book of eternal Truth: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (Jn. 5:39). It is He who inspired His holy writer to call out: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” And again: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:9,105). And let no one think that these passages refer merely to a sanctified life, for there can be no true sanctification without a knowledge and acceptance of the way of justification based on the redemption wrought by the Savior.

Have we been heeding His call: “...thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (De. 4:29). It is God Himself who draws men to the Savior, namely by creating willing hearts, such as are willing to be led and guided by Him, eager to learn more and more about the way to heaven through the acceptance of His promise: “Ye shall End rest for your souls.”

Have you been searching for Him in His Word? How often have you read the Bible, the Book which has rightly been called “God’s love-letter to all mankind”? There are less than 1200 chapters in the Bible and, by spending fewer than ten minutes a day on the average, or far less than one per cent of your time, you can easily read the Bible through once every year. Have you been observing a family worship hour, in which you and your loved ones spend some time daily with your Redeemer, in order to learn ever more about the way of salvation through Christ and His blood? There are 168 hours in the week: do you suppose that you could spare two of these hours in becoming acquainted with the eternal verities which are essential for your eternal happiness? O friends, as we value the great and the lasting things of this life, as we look forward to the life beyond the grave, as we desire to spend eternity in the company of our one and only Savior, let us heed the call of the Lord in our text: “Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.”

AMEN.

Endnotes:

American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS)

numeric increase

where the health of the organization is measured in dollars

butts in seats

Jesus Only: A series of Lenten and post-Easter Sermons

Dr. P. E. Kretzmann: Standing on God's Word when the World opposes us

Contemplations on Hebrews 9:13-14

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Spencer) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:41:00 +0000

For your reading pleasure, in preparation for Holy Week

Contemplations on Hebrews 9:13-14

13For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (NASB)

One of the old country-church songs I remember my grandmother singing said, "There's power in the blood!" Of course, it was referring to the blood of Christ. How sad that so many who sang that song didn't and still don't take full advantage of that great power. They try to add their feeble will to Christ's work; make their "decision" a part of their salvation. Also, they deny the continuing strength and peace He gives in His Holy Supper as they seek to remove that very blood, shed for all, from this wonderful sacrament. We know better – at least we ought to – for the Bible does indeed teach us that the blood of Christ has great power!

In the days of the Old Testament, a red heifer – the color red signifying the inflaming and viral nature of sin – was to be slain by a priest; but not the High Priest. The High Priest was to abstain from all contact with death. Then the body and blood were to be burnt outside the camp of Israel. Some of the blood was retained and sprinkled towards the tabernacle, and also, during the process of burning, cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool were thrown into the fire. The ashes were gathered, kept, and stored for use by those who had become ceremonially unclean by touching the dead, and for the purification of a house, furniture, and cooking implements where a death had taken place. The ashes were mixed with water and sprinkled upon people, buildings, and other items on the third and seventh day, and thus the defilement was removed. This was God's own arrangement for the purity of His people. Only those who complied with this will of God could enjoy the liberty of approaching His courts, and sharing in the blessings of the tabernacle and priesthood.

We can't fail to see the many symbols of the sacrifice of Christ in this ceremonial purification – an animal red with sin, a Savior Who was "made to be sin"; burned outside the camp, crucified outside Jerusalem; wood, the cross; hyssop in both scenes; scarlet wool, the robe Jesus wore. Truly, this red heifer was a type of Christ. By believing what God said concerning the ashes of this animal, the people were purified. By faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified, we too are purified!
The writer to the Hebrews had previously noted the inferior and limited effect of all the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament. So also here he moves from the blood of slain beasts to the Divine nature of our Lord, and marks out the untold value and merit of His death and the great and eternal results of the purification we receive by faith. Thus, it is Christ's sacrifice that cleanses our consciences from dead works.

Death in the Old Testament is almost always identified with pollution. A conscience defiled by dead works shows nothing more than the putrefying nature of sin, and the exclusion from God which it produces. But the precious blood of Christ, which cleanses the conscience, fills it with love, gratitude, and service toward God and others. Christ's death opens the gates of fellowship with God and brings us to His mercy-seat where we have eternal peace with Him!

It has been said, "In service there is glory!" Being purified of sin by the blood of Christ means we can now serve God. And at the end of our service is complete and total glory.

Biblical Christianity has been referred to by its critics as "a blood-thirsty religion." Indeed, the very thought of God purposely ordering the slaughter of millions of animals, and His own Son, is so disturbing, even revolting, to most modern theologians, that they completely reject the blood atonement outright; both in the Old Testament, and in the story of Jesus Christ. These are the same folks who reject hell, damnation, Jesus as the only way to heaven, and most of what the Bible clearly teaches. Thus, they forfeit the benefits that were won for them by Christ on the Cross!

Again, we know better. The Bible teaches us that God is not blood-thirsty, but in reality hungers and thirsts to love and save all people. This is only made possible by the Cross! Truly, the blood of Christ has power, the power to purify us from all sin, and the power to give us eternal glory!

Pastor Spencer

Contemplations on Luke 13

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Spencer) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:38:00 +0000

For your reading pleasure, in preparation for Holy Week -

Contemplations on Luke 13:22-30

22 And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; 27 and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. 29 And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”
(NASB)

Jesus speaks here, simply and clearly, about those who will and those who will not enter eternal life with God. He uses the picture of a house with only one entrance, and a very small one at that! He reminds us that the door to heaven is narrow!

What Jesus taught throughout His entire ministry, wherever He went, was always the same: that there is forgiveness and salvation in Him, and Him alone; that God's love to mankind has been shown in His Son, Jesus Christ, and that by believing in this Son of God anyone can and will be saved. In fact, He was, at the time of this parable, on His way to terrible agony and death in Jerusalem.

As He made His way to the scene of His Most Holy Passion, a man asked Him a strange question. It was strange because it showed concern for how many would be saved rather than the process of salvation. In His answer our Lord warns us that we are in a very personal and intense struggle which requires great vigilance on our part because of the opposition of the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. Jesus pictures the kingdom of heaven as a house. The entrance to that house is through a very narrow door. The door is standing open, but only for a short time. In fact, it looks impossible for us to get through that door. And indeed it is impossible to do so – by ourselves! There is only one way to make it through that door: faith in Jesus Christ as God, Lord, and Savior! As He once said, "I Am the Gate," and again, "No one comes to the Father but by Me."

And Jesus wants us to know that there will be many people who will have such saving faith. They will come from the four corners of the earth. It's not race, or nationality, or politics, or poverty, or power, or anything else that places anyone into heaven. It's faith in Jesus Christ as the one and only Redeemer of mankind. That's why we preach the Gospel to all people everywhere. And there are many who are still far from the Gospel. They may be on another continent, or they may be just around the corner. By the power and love of God the Good News of salvation by grace alone through faith in Christ will reach out to them, and these "last" shall be made "first," just like all other believers. And this is where our own sanctification can be important. Preaching is one thing. Doing is another. We must let our lights shine and our salt season so that others might be drawn to the Word we proclaim. Sanctification is not just for us, and it's not just to please God – though that would be enough. Our sanctification also aids our outreach and the spread of God's kingdom.

Sadly, far too many will not be able to enter through that narrow door. Again, not because they are too sinful, but because they carry the weight of their own righteousness. Those that think they are good enough to get into heaven without Jesus are way too "fat" with their so-called good works to squeeze through the door into heaven. All their efforts will be in vain. Notice how Jesus makes it so emphatic, "I tell you!" In other words, here is the truth – listen up!

Not only is the door to heaven far too small to admit our "works," but the door could be shut altogether without notice, and for good. This door closes for each individual at death and for the whole world on Judgment Day. And once the Judge of heaven and earth has closed the door it is forever shut. It's just that simple, and yes, that terrifying! But only for the unbeliever. And no amount of protesting or arguing will make any difference. Jesus says that at the Last Day many people will say that they knew of Christ, that they had seen Him, heard His message; that they had, in fact, had every opportunity to believe in Him, but yet remained in the ranks of the unbelievers. In like manner, there are those even in the church who can claim to be confirmed, long-time members of a congregation – or at least their names are on some church's membership list somewhere, but in fact their faith is dead. As Jesus puts it, "By their deeds you will know them." Here again, He's talking about REAL sanctification – not deeds without faith, but faith shown by deeds!

Jesus is saying that many who have the blessings of the Word, through their own pride and carelessness often refuse to accept it, indeed reject it, and are lost. We need to warn them; whether they are those who are plainly living in unbelief, or those in our own circles who seem to be losing their way through that narrow door. And we need to warn ourselves. If we ignore or despise the blessings of the Gospel through the Means of Grace, they could be taken away from us!

Today the door is open. It is open to all the living. Tomorrow it may be closed. Tomorrow it may be too late. Let us follow Christ's instruction today, and through the Means of Grace, given so bountifully to us in Word and Sacraments, make every effort to enter through the narrow door by trusting in Him alone and not in ourselves. Truly, the door to heaven is narrow, but it is wide open to all those who trust in Jesus!

Pastor Spencer

“Pursuing freedom from Scripture's clear teachings, by arguing for their ambiguity, results only in tyranny” – Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Douglas Lindee) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Erasmus, the Ambiguity of Scripture, and the Tyranny of Man’s opinions

Bondage of the Will

De Servo Arbitrio

Seeking to protect the integrity and power of human choice, in his Diatribe Erasmus had claimed that the Bible is ambiguous on key matters. In reply, Luther asserted its clarity.

That quote is the opening sentence of a paper delivered by Rev. Dr. James Nestingen (NALC) at the Lutheran Free Conference that was held on the MLC campus in November 2011 (bold and underline emphasis is mine). The title of his paper was “Biblical Clarity and Ambiguity in The Bondage of the Will”. I was personally present for the reading of this paper at the Conference, along with reactions delivered by Rev. Scott Murray (Vice President, LCMS) and Professor Joel Fredrich (WELS, Martin Luther College), which were essentially appreciative of Dr. Nestingen’s paper.

And I must commend the Conference for their choice of Dr. Nestingen to cover this topic. If anyone cares to do an internet search for information about Nestingen, he will find that Nestingen is Professor Emeritus, Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, and has apparently been conservative enough throughout his career to have been considered, at least by some, a thorn in the side of the ELCA. Furthermore, he is a recognized Luther scholar. But what makes his insight so interesting, and useful, is the liberal context in which he spent his career and to which he applied his studies. The ELCA had opened itself up to the perspectives and sensibilities of secular and unregenerate culture, while, again under the guise of offering a Gospel “relevant for Christian living,” its message and ministry devolved to a “Third Use” form of moralistic social activism, consistent with those Worldly perspectives and sensibilities. In other words, the issues raging in the ELCA, to which Dr. Nestingen applied his studies, and to which he applies his analysis of Luther’s Bondage of the Will relative to the perspicuity of Scripture, are very much the same issues raging in greater society today, which impact us everywhere outside the walls of our church buildings, and threaten to enter our Church through our exposure to these issues everywhere else. Professor Fredrich briefly touches on this observation in his reaction paper, confirming for the reader that the observations and applications Dr. Nestingen makes are probably out of reach for WELS scholars – they would never think to make them on their own, simply due to lack of exposure to the issues. Thus, Dr. Nestingen's insight on this topic was much appreciated by me and others.

After covering two of Luther’s preliminary arguments in Bondage of the Will, Dr. Nestingen begins with the issue of ambiguity vs. perspicuity:

[T]he assumptions of the arguments [Erasmus] employed against the reformer have become so dominant in public culture that they seem inescapable

He is the agent

discerning their relative value

Erasmus

remains sovereign... he stands aloof as arbiter of Scripture, the faith of the church and what falls most appropriately on the ears of the peasants

Erasmus’ freedom is negative

Consequently, the self has no alternative but to seize on ambiguity

as though it were liberty

bold

From here, Nestingen goes on to analyze Luther’s argument for the perspicuity of Scripture, identifying in them two levels of clarity: the first “external,” and the second “internal.” In the former case, Luther was essentially referring to the domain of man’s reason set to the tasks of textual criticism and biblical hermeneutics. In the latter, he refers to the Holy Spirit active in the believer, who works to illuminate the Scriptures meaning. Quoting Luther, Nestingen writes,

“Because of the power of sin, ‘All men have their hearts darkened, so that even when they can discuss and quote all that is in Scripture, they do not understand or really know any of it.’ Thus, ‘the Spirit is needed for the understanding of all Scripture and every part of Scripture’” (pg. 5).and three pages later helpfully amplifies this this, as follows:

This death eliminates the self as actor...

Ambiguity in this context becomes intolerable, threatening to undermine what has become life-defining

it takes us outside of ourselves

bold

It is worth pointing out, as does Professor Fredrich in his reaction paper, that it is proper to consider “external” and “internal” perspicuity together, not separately. One could imagine that separating the two, and admitting only the latter, would result in general preference for and overruling emphasis on the “personal meaning” that individuals may take from their own unique reading of the Scriptures. Such would amount to a self-referential “anthropocentric” Gospel, where meaning is determined from man’s fallen sensibilities; and as unique readings vary, the clear message of the Gospel would swiftly descend into chaos. In any human organization, like the ELCA for instance, unity of teaching could only be asserted, and order could only be maintained around that teaching, not by appeal to and mutual agreement on the objective meaning of Scripture, but democratically: “We shall officially adopt those opinions regarding the teaching of Scripture which are shared by the majority of individuals, determined by vote. Those having opposing opinions are to be silent.”

And such church organizations, insofar as they open themselves up to worldly sensibilities, share fully with the world in these Erasmian conclusions:

‘it’s true because I say so,’

the claim that biblical law is ambiguous goes without saying

Ancient, it is by definition out of touch with contemporary realities. Patriarchal, it was conditioned by an age in which male-female relationships — as currently defined by the privileged — were by definition inappropriate

the assertion of ambiguity requires no further explanation or defense. It is an assumption that needs no further investigation and brooks no challenge

bold

underline

a priori

appeals to the supposed ambiguity of the biblical text bring an end to any further conversation

But when a church body invokes ambiguity to legislate a particular reading of passages, the possibility of any other reading has been officially eliminated

Imperially silenced, those who disagree, who hold to the biblical priority set by the Formula of Concord, have been effectively excluded

bold

underline

Dear reader, we ought to thank Dr. Nestingen for alerting us to the tactic of asserting Scripture’s ambiguity as opportunity for supposed liberty, and for locating the modern source of this tactic in Erasmus – who opposed Luther in this regard. It seems, in our post-modern age, when ALL truth and meaning are self-referentially experiential, that the “discovery” of ambiguity in the Scriptures, having become great sport, has accelerated to an alarming rate!

But it is time for you to comment.

Have we opened ourselves to the unregenerate and anti-biblical thought patterns of post-modernism? Have we at least been less than watchful for the osmosis of such ideologies from the World?
Do we see in our own midst the tactic of appealing to Scripture’s “ambiguity” on display?
Does the acceptance of various anthropocentric aberrations of the Church Growth Movement, including Sectarian Worship, depend, at least in part, on an appeal to “ambiguity” and the license that it grants?
Does the advocacy of certain translations of the Bible appeal to “ambiguity” – “ambiguity” that we really never knew was there before, but which seem to have been revealed to us in the peculiarities of the post-modern perspectives rampant in popular culture?

If you recognize this tactic at work, where do you identify it? What are its implications for the pure teaching of God’s Word, and for Unity under that teaching?

“Pursuing freedom from Scripture's clear teachings, by arguing for their ambiguity, results only in tyranny” – Part One

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Douglas Lindee) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:54:00 +0000

Without the “Theology of the Cross” man misuses the best in the worst manner

The title of this two-part series of posts was taken from the closing sentence of my previous post, When the Third Use of the Law pre-dominates.... Through the eyes of those who were there, we caught a glimpse in that post of the decay in clarity of Scripture’s teaching that occurred in the ELCA. As the Second Use of the Law was replaced over time with its Third Use, the perspicuity, or clarity, of Scripture and certainty of its teaching was rendered more and more ambiguous, requiring man to supply clarity in matters which Scripture had previously been thought to clearly teach. Under the guise of offering a Gospel “relevant for Christian living,” Third Use preaching offered little more than a degenerate form of moralistic social activism, well-suited for the itching ears of those no longer disposed to endure sound doctrine, who’ve instead turned to chasing their own lusts (2 Ti. 4:1-5). This decay lead the ELCA officially into the antinomianism it now revels in, having, at its Church Wide Assembly in 2009, officially placed “sin into the ‘not-sin’ category, by majority vote,” declaring that monogamous homosexual relationships “[are] God-pleasing... against the clear Word of Scripture” (quoting from my previous post). The tyranny in this is that in the ELCA, man has become the arbiter of Scripture’s clarity and meaning, rather than Scripture itself, and from the verdict of man’s declaration there is no appeal – that is, there is no recognized higher authority to which one may appeal (Scripture having been declared ambiguous, or unclear because it has been made difficult to understand), making man and his declarations the final authority.

This is what two average individuals, one layman and one clergyman, present in the ELCA throughout its decline, seemed to independently observe. But we don’t really need direct observation of these events to predict that such would happen. Do we?

Scripture clearly teaches that Satan is full of pride and covets God’s glory for himself (Is. 14:13-14; Ma. 4:8-10), and that at the instigation of Satan man Fell into this same sin, in this way separating himself from God: the sin of pride and of desiring equality with God (Ge. 3:1-19). This sinfulness remains part of our fallen human nature. We want to be like God. We desire His wisdom and authority for ourselves. We long for ourselves a share in God’s glory. Being entirely unlike God, however – that is, being unrighteous, unjust, unloving, lacking knowledge, having no real power over Creation, and certainly not being everywhere present all the time – we abuse the Revelations of Himself to us, in our efforts to rob Him of the glory that belongs only to Himself:

General Revelation

any

his

Special Revelation

Man naturally pursues a “Theology of Glory.” The consequences of this with respect to God’s many gifts to mankind are clearly stated by Dr. Martin Luther, who stated in his 24^th Thesis at the Heidelberg Disputation, “without the 'Theology of the Cross' man misuses the best in the worst manner.” It should come as no surprise, therefore, that where man permits himself the freedom and authority to arbitrate God’s Revelation, he does so with the force and finality of God Himself. It should also come as no surprise that man, according to his nature, does work toward this very end – whether deliberately or quite unconsciously – and that he revels in the glory assigned to him for his efforts.

It seems most charitable to assume that no confessing Christian would deliberately seek a place of judgment over God’s Word, and to leave it at that – remaining oblivious to its likelihood and limiting ourselves to the messy job of first recognizing when it happens and then reacting to it long after the fact. This is, however, a dangerously pollyanna attitude, since the tactic of arguing for the abstruseness of Scripture, in order to deliberately accumulate authority and glory to man, is not unknown in the history of the Church. In fact, this is exactly how, and why, Erasmus, in his Freedom of the Will (a.k.a. De libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio, or Diatribe), and later supporting works, argued for the ambiguity of the Scriptures – to maintain the freedom and authority of man over against Scripture. And Erasmus’ arguments have remained active as a dominant force in Western Society and, through it, the Christian Church – more so today, perhaps, than ever before.

To be continued in Part Two, tomorrow... (“Pursuing freedom from Scripture's clear teachings, by arguing for their ambiguity, results only in tyranny” – Part Two)

What Will Become Of Us?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Spencer) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 01:03:00 +0000

There's been a lot of hand-wringing lately over the political future of our county. Especially in one of the major political parties, there seems to be much consternation over who can lead them to victory in the presidential race, as the nomination process seems to drag on and on. Political pundits on both sides of the aisle bemoan all the difficult problems facing the nation and point fingers at one another as the cause and hold themselves and their policies out as the solution. Most proclaim - as they do every four years - that this election will be the most important in the country's history. And, there are many doom-sayers predicting the complete collapse of the society, and a bleak future.

Where does the church stand in all of this? What does the Bible tell us about the rise and fall of nations and peoples? Check out what St. Paul says in Romans, chapter 9, especially verses 14 to 18, and I hope God's point of view becomes clear:

14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

The Declaration of Independence proclaims boldly, “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for a people to dissolve the political bonds that have tied them….” Why did our forefathers believe it was necessary to break their political bonds with England? Injustice! Unfairness! Tyranny! And so, our country began its existence in pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness.

Yet it would seem that at this point in our history we have become somewhat misguided in our pursuit. We have sacrificed eternal life and spiritual liberty to pursue material happiness. We do not seem care if we have real justice as long as we are comfortable and entertained. We seem to care more about what the government should do for us, than what we can do for others and ourselves. Fairness seems unimportant as long as we get what we want and long as we can do what we want.

At the same time, when something does go wrong, then we clamor for justice and fairness. When a storm hits, or a drunk driver kills or injures a friend, or an illness strikes, or a mother kills her children, or we lose our job, then we cry out that it's just not fair. Why did God let this happen? How could a just and fair God let this happen?

First, we seem to forget the Bible's many examples of God’s mercy and compassion. Paul quotes here what God told Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” The fact is God showed a great deal of mercy toward one particular group of people – Israel. Indeed, God was merciful to the people of Israel long before He spoke to Moses. He gave Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the promise of the Savior and His many blessings. He protected them and made them into a great nation. Time and time again He rescued them from the injustice and disaster. Over and over again He showered them with his complete underserved love and kindness.

Perhaps some might look at God's actions with regard to Israel and declare Him unfair. They might complain about God choosing Jacob the younger over his twin brother Esau before he was born and declare that unjust. And they might consider God delivering the Israelites from Egypt and proclaim such as unfair. After all, why should God favor this one nation over all the others? But God’s fairness or justice is not our justice.

Such folks might forget that Egypt was powerful too, and had many advantages over the nations around them. Why? God tells us, “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” In other words God treated Egypt well for a very good reason – to move along His plan of salvation for the whole world! Egypt was raised to power because God was using them to take care of his people. God used Joseph to save Egypt from a great famine because He wanted to display His power and to set the stage for the building up of Israel four hundred years later.

Then, once Israel was ready to become a new nation, God maneuvered a new family of rulers into Egypt who opposed Him and made His people into his slaves. This would make the Israelites want to leave the Land of Goshen, and provide an excellent opportunity for God to show His power to the whole world down to this very day! He destroyed that Pharaoh and his army is the waters of the Red Sea. In this, God was more just and fair in dealing with Pharaoh than Pharaoh was in dealing with God and His people. God did not give Egypt what it truly deserved. He could have brought down fire and brimstone, totally destroying the land and its people as He did to Sodom and Gomorrah. But He did not. Egypt still existed after God’s people left their land. In fact, Egypt's greatest days were still of ahead of her, and God used Egypt many times again as He trained and disciplined Israel. The fact is – God was more than fair to Egypt. That's His kind of justice! And this is all for His Glory – and our salvation!

Now, what is just or unjust, fair or unfair, all depends on your point of view. And since God is in charge and we are only His creations, what He does is always just, whether we think so or not. The situation of Israel and Egypt illustrates the difference between God and man. God is the one in charge. God wants all people to be saved. Yet there are many different people and many different nations in the world. He wants all of them to hear the Gospel of Jesus. Still, the majority take advantage of God's patience and mercy. So sometimes God has enough rejection and rebellion and He sends or lets trouble strike. He brings down the proud and mighty for a time – like He did Egypt. He reminds mankind just who is in charge. But even then He does not punish as sinners deserve. He disciplines; He chastises; He cajoles; all with the hope that people will listen to His Word and believe His beautiful Gospel message.

This is His point to Paul – that He has a right to do what He wants with anyone and any nation. God has mercy on whom He decides to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wills to harden. And this truth too brings out the cry of injustice against the LORD. People question God’s ways and ask, “Why does God blame us? For who can resist His will?” But now Paul answers, "Who are you to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"

Here Paul uses a common example of everyday life to explain why we really have very little right to question God. God is like a potter making pottery. The pot is nothing without the potter. In the same way God has the right to do with people as He sees fit. He is the Maker of all things – and this includes all people and all nations. He chooses who they are going to be, where they are going to live, what they are going to do, and how they will be used for His ultimate purpose of savings souls, hopefully, including theirs! And sometimes He even uses those who reject his Gospel to save those who will believe; using the damned to bring others faith and eternal life. Now, that might not seem fair, but if it's one of us who gains salvation – who are we to complain!?

Consider again the nation of Israel. God choose them and raised them up for one purpose and one purpose only – to bring the Messiah into the world, period! Because of this purpose, time and time again He had mercy on these stiff-necked and rebellious people, even when they least deserved it. Indeed, every time a little trouble came their way they whined and complained against God and His leaders. Still, He continued to help and deliver them. Even sending them into slavery again – this time in Babylon, was really good for them. After that they never again fell into idol-worship. He preserved them until Jesus came. Then, with their purpose fulfilled, they could continue on and serve God and the Gospel, or they could rebel and lose their nation for nearly two thousand years. We know how that turned out!

So now, when we think about Israel and Egypt, the Jews and Gentiles; our faith is strengthened and increased. We see God’s great power and mercy in controlling the lives of nations, large and small, weak and powerful. So also we believe God can help us through any trouble, big or little, important or minor. More importantly, we understand that God controls people and nations only for the purpose of bringing people into contact with the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Good News tells them the story of how God sent His Son into the world to satisfy His own divine justice.

All sinners deserved to be punished for eternity in hell, but God decided – quite unfairly – to save sinners. So His Son became a substitute for sinners. He lived as a man and yet did not sin. He suffered and died to pay the penalty sinners owed a just and righteous God. His Son became the object of His wrath so we could become the objects of His glory. Sinners became saints through faith in Jesus. Those headed to hell became heirs of heaven! Unfair? Sure! Great for us? Absolutely!

What usually happens when people see or feel some kind of injustice? Oh, they may put up with it for a while, but sooner or later they rebel. That's what happened when our nation was born. The leaders felt the taxes imposed on them from far-away England were unjust and unfair, among other grievances. So they rebelled and won our independence. However, in point of fact, they had been aided and protected from the Spanish, French, and many native America tribes for nearly two hundred years, and the powerful British navy guaranteed their commerce on the seas and completely destroyed the pirate threat from their waters. Some could say that rebellion was no way to say thank you! Ah, but fairness and justice is in the mind of those on the receiving end, eh?!

Today our leaders have set upon us much more burdensome taxes, and interfered in our lives much more than King George could ever have dreamed of doing! But even today many people don't oppose taxes that are for their benefit, or that only affect others. But let the tax be on them, and out comes the Tea Party!

So, where is justice? Where is fairness? Where is our God? And what's going to happen to our nation? As we enjoy another year of freedom, and endure another election cycle, let us all remember God's message to us through Paul. With God, there is no such thing as injustice, even for a moment. God is just and His justice is absolute, perfect, and final. It may take a while to play out. We may not always recognize it as perfect. But, be assured, as the Psalmist says, “God is in His heavens, He will not be moved!”

Of course we thank God that in His mercy, He has blessed our nation. We praise God that He is in control. We pray for our nation and rejoice that He hears our prayers. And most importantly, we thank Him more than anything else for His free and faithful grace that moved Him to send His Son to satisfy divine justice for us, and for working His will in the world in such a way that we would come to believe this wonderful truth for our eternal salvation. Truly, justice and glory belong not to any one nation or particular nation, but to God and Him alone – and we wouldn't want it any other way!

Pastor Spencer