"He spoke as a guest speaker about problems with cohabitation at the 2011 Getting Real About Sexuality conference at the Concordia University College of Alberta."

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Edmonton+Lutheran+pastor+faces+child+pornography+charges/10298927/story.html

Justification Throughout the Bible

Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

The broad leaves suggest a future in hogging the sun for growth. Pumpkins are also good for shading the corn patch. Pumpkin in the Compost, Part I.

Autumn approaches and the pumpkin is still growing out of the compost. The plant took a long time to sprout and form its initial leaves. I watered it during the dry season, then left it alone. The roots reached deep enough to mine the moist compost for water and nutrition. The vining tendrils reached out for support from the chicken wire and the blossoms formed.

Yard debris is piled around the plant, including pears from my my neighbor's tree. When frost ends its growth, the components will become part of the compost during the winter. The soil food web of life does the following to give us healthy soil and plants:

• Shredders like springtails and earthworms tear dead plants apart for bacteria, nematodes, protozoa, and fungi to attack.
• The microscopic creatures mineralize the chemicals, breaking organic matter down so the plant can use the component parts. A plant cannot absorb a bean pod, but fungus can.
• The biomass, which includes all creatures in the soil, keeps recycling all these components, which build up in various ways.

My gardening neighbor is throwing his garden trash into the compost, located in the corner next to his backyard garden. I deliver roses to his front door.



Nine Inches of Rain
Our record rainfall, nine inches over several days, gave the rose garden a boost. Soon we had over three dozen roses in bloom at once. We had enough for large vases of roses for each neighbor, another for school, roses on the altar, and many blooms still on the bushes.

Our grandson said about a grasshopper on the rose, "I will just hang around here. Don't mind me." I was cutting roses for the neighbors when the same grasshopper (or his cousin) was on the roses near the blooms. He looked well fed but I saw no damage. Healthy plants shrug off insects and plant diseases. The insects attract predators, so balance is kept without sprays.

Pigweed is plentiful in Arkansas Hog country. I harvest it for compost.

Mulching is Done for the Year
I promised to stop mulching, so I made two more trips to Lowe's, each one the last. No, really, I promise this time.

Sassy loves Lowe's. The customers and clerks welcome her. One family smiled at her and petted her, saying, "We have a three-legged dog, too." I asked, "Does your dog have a blog?"

I had piles of soggy newspapers, which made me want to mulch the entire fence line. Our helper wanted some work to do. He is fast and neat, knowing my plans. We ended up with about 200 feet of fence lined with newspapers and mulch, The only un-mulched part of the fence is the compost, which is the ultimate mulch. We  mulched the dead tree, because that will be the support for trumpet vines, a favorite of humming birds.

The chemical fertilizer crowd used to pan compost as "OK but really low in NPK." That is like saying, "Steak is fine, if it makes you feel good, but you should concentrate on vitamin pills for all your meals. If you feel hungry, eat more vitamin pills."

The soil food web people see compost as the ultimate soil amendment because of its complex chemical combinations, humus, earthworm cocoons, and soil creatures. That is why I am saving the compost for the corn patch, where pumpkins and pole beans will also grow.

Corn demands nitrogen, so the chemical people say, "Pour on the nitrogen fertilizer, but not too much or it will be all greens and no crop." But the soil food web delivers  nitrogen to the roots, chiefly through fungi that need carbon from the root tips. The soil food web balances the chemicals according to the needs of the plant.

Mulch feeds the birds by providing a feeding ground for them. Fungi reach up into the mulch to break down the shredded wood and feed the roots. Mulch pretends to shelter insects and earthworms, but movement and noise alert the birds that food is being served.

Spiders show that mulch effectively promotes insect life. Soon after I mulch a plant, a web is cast about the surface of the shredded wood. A spider, unbidden by me, decides that the spot is ideal for a home, with fresh meals delivered hourly. In contrast, a raked bare soil area under the plant will remain dry and relatively free of insect life. Earthworms will avoid the surface until dark.

You can buy this toad house for only $72 - named Hopsburg Castle. What happened to using broken clay flower pots? Toads love dampness and slugs.

Orders for the Spring
I am ready for spring planting. The spinach will be covered when the frost arrives.

Some gardening plans include:

• Straw bale gardening in the sunny garden, for potatoes and strawberries.
• Peas, asparagus, Malabar spinach, gourds, and pole beans along the fence, stage left.
• Roses along the fence, stage right.
• Screening plants along the back fence. No offence, but the alley view needs a vegetative wall of butterfly bushes and sunflowers.
• Tomatoes galore in the vegetable garden.
• Trumpet vines for the dead tree and a nearby living tree.
• Roses around the maple tree in front.

Nothing beats the giant Russian, Siberian, striped sunflower for growth, screening, and seed production.

Tim Glende started this debt-ridden debacle in Savoy, Illinois, which was foreclosed by WELS and sold to Baptists. Glende studied under Mark Driscoll!

Google images will reveal all colors of disgusting molds that grow on mulch, but the key growth is almost microscopic.

When our helper and I finished all the mulching - I promise - for this year, I thought. "We should hose it down." Sometimes his children come along to help, so I was ready for them to help - with a suitable length of garden hose and a brand new nozzle. We had plenty to do and no children to help, so the mulch stayed dry...for a few hours.

That night we had a heavy rain, enough to build a puddle across Scott Street (my rain gauge). Aha, I thought, the mulch has started to rot.

The idea behind mulch and straw bale gardening is the decomposition of the medium. I did not think so at first. I imagined that mulch would hold moisture in the soil (true) and prevent wind erosion (also true). I understood that soil creatures liked shade rather than blazing sun (beyond dispute), but I wanted wooden mulch to last forever. No wonder they sell people on various non-rotting media - even plastic "weed barriers" that make weeds worse.

Contact with the soil will begin the rot. Leave a log on the ground and it will look the same for years, but underneath it is eaten away by fungus and soil creatures, leaving its inside soft enough to crumble with a little finger pressure.

The newsprint layer is a bit of a barrier, but mostly there to block the sun and hinder weed growth. Newspapers are sponge-like in absorbing water but they let air through, so they foster decomposition.

From Emlab:
Fungi do not ingest their food like animals. Instead, they release enzymes into their surrounding environment to break down complex materials into simpler ones that can be absorbed by the fungus in a process known as absorptive nutrition. For these enzymes to leave the fungus, remain functional and to break down complex substances, water is necessary. Once the complex substances have been broken down and dissolved in water they are absorbed by the fungus.

I want the fungal strands (hyphae) to attack the wood and begin feeding the broken down chemicals into the soil. The rain promotes the growth of other microscopic creatures, so they prosper together and generate more biomass. The biomass (all creatures great and small, the Lord God loves them all) holds nutrition in the soil in a vast Vanity Fair of buying, trading, and crafty swindles.

I consider sacks of mulch to be soil amendments. I do not have to rototill mulch into the soil to get the effect, because God's Creation takes care of the distribution. Rototilling would wreck the system that goes into action for all decomposition.

Did I have to rototill the lawn to plant spinach? No, I mulched and waited, then opened a section for planting, with all the grass and weeds rotted into the top layer, serving as cafeteria for earthworms, bacteria, protozoa, and nematodes.



I have garlic bulbs to plant in the rest of the row. As hardy bulbs, their cloves will grow into fresh garlic bulbs for the spring.

Make friends quickly with your accuser, lest...

Most Wormhaven gardening practices go against common garden myths, for good reason - constant study. In the past, the Grace Dow Library was my Harvard and Yale in gardening. Between the gardening books upstairs and the children's books downstairs, I had every title read. I bought the rest of the books I needed, from earthworm culture to Rodale organic gardening books.

In addition, my parents taught me the difference between the artificial growth of modern agriculture and the flavor-filled results of old practices. My father often railed against tasteless tomatoes and bland chicken.

Creation principles do not go away, even if people think they have better ideas. I still like the American Indian response to the effect of plowing. Expected to react in wonder, he said, "Soil upside down." I remember a pastor recalling with pride how he rototilled leaves into his garden in the fall. I said, "Earthworms will do that for you." He was oblivious to the obvious. Don't come between a gardener and his 10 hp rototiller.

Almost everyone dismisses fallen leaves - even some composting gardeners do. If nitrogen is the ideal, why bother with dry leaves, loaded with carbon, short on nitrogen? Dry leaves compost slowly, etc. Likewise, wood lacks nitrogen and will "absorb nitrogen," so wood mulch is bad, bad, bad.

First of all, the big swap underground is the plant giving up carbon for nitrogen. Who wants all the carbon (boo hiss)? Fungi do. They need carbon to grow. Fungi give up nitrogen to the plant roots because of their need for carbon. Fungi are purpose-driven.

Secondly, wood does absorb nitrogen in the first stage of rotting, but releases it again later. Organic matter is self-adjusting. Manure promotes bacteria, which digest it. Wood promotes fungi, which excel at attacking wood with chemical-bond splitting enzymes.

These principles were established at Creation, and they will not change. They are so complex that no one can briefly summarize what happens in that ocean of life in the soil.



Biblical Principles
We can discover Creation principles with science. The more we learn from the microscope and telescope, the more we grasp the infinite number of dependencies in the universe.

The most important truths are revealed in the Scriptures, yet they are ignored with more obstinacy than Creation principles.

Lutherans like to say that justification is the Chief Article of the Christian Religion, quoting Luther (remember him?). Justification is the master and the prince, judging all other articles - as Luther wrote. But - justification is also the topic most often ignored in discussions, because it is divisive. Indeed. Justification divides the sheep (JBFA) from the goats (UOJ).

Instead, the blogs and discussion groups like to talk about the symptoms of the One Great Error of the Synodical Conference and ELCA - forgiveness without faith. One might as well argue about blue handles on the rake as opposed to green handles.


Likewise, all doctrinal discussions should be based upon the efficacy of the Word, but that phrase is seldom mentioned and often implicitly rejected. The morons and criminals who run the synods assume that their entertainment services will attract new members when their own statistics show how wrong they are. Meanwhile, Koine charges $3,000.00 just to show up. No one blushes.

The all-time universal favorite hymn is Amazing Grace, but few discuss the Means of Grace.  Those who reject the efficacious Word in the Word and Sacraments are never mentioned, but they are not so irenic in return. Nothing enrages the Enthusiasts more than the Instruments of God's grace. Thus the UOJ Stormtroopers talk about Jesus while tearing down the bridge to Jesus - the Means.

I found some Facebook friends boo-hooing the recent effort to subpoena sermons that might offend a mayor. I responded to Matt Harrison (LCMS SP) and a WELS pastor - "Let me know when you two stand up to ELCA and Thrivent. I won't hold my breath."

Butterflies greet the planting of their favorite bushes. They also need other plants for their life cycle.

We have 80 degree days predicted in the next week. Meanwhile temperature easily reach 70, and the leaves are only starting to fall.

The butterfly bushes arrived two weeks early, so I did not have to plant them amid snow and ice. They were surprisingly small for a plant with so much potential (12 feet in height). Sassy ran outside to supervise, but that conflicted with her desire for an evening walk. She gave me the Bad Daddy speech as I was digging, no matter what I promised.

Satisfied that her evening walk was sealed with promises and oaths, Sassy went back in to wait.

Each filled hole already had a bag of mushroom compost in it, so digging some out was easy. I just had to scoop soil around the rootball and prop up the plant as I mixed clay and mushroom compost around it. Newspaper and cypress mulch topped the effort, and I watered thoroughly.

Butterfly weed is a good addition to the garden.

I want the roots to form well, so I will add Epsom Salts when I water next. I do not have to mix it in the soil because it dissolves immediately in water. Magnesium and suphate from the Epsom Salts will benefit the plant and cost almost nothing to apply.

Mulch will benefit the plant by providing organic matter for the soil creatures and cover for their work in the sunshine. Tunneling and mixing is good for plants, whether new or old, so the activity will encourage growth while preserving moisture.

When the work was done, Mrs. Ichabod had me stand near each one. They are difficult to see from the house. She said, "I have trouble imagining them 12 feet tall." That is the problem with most people when they plant trees and bushes. They pack a group of them together, and the plants grow like conjoined twins, branches entangled into each other. Many examples can be found on our walks, not to mention two trees planted about four feet apart.

The area along the back fence will have a dense planting of giant sunflowers. They will screen the view until the bushes reach their height.

Sassy got her evening stroll, and Mrs. Gardener got a big surprise. Her husband had eyeballed our mulch trail up and down the shared fence. I initially thought about vining plants there, but I considered his love for neatness along the fence.

I told Mrs. Gardener, who came outside, "Roses are going to grow along the fence." She lit up and said, "Then I can reach over and cut one?"

"That is the idea." Or - that became the idea. I will need a larger variety to make that easy for her to do. She was really excited about the idea, and Mrs. Ichabod is just as happy about dressing up the fence with roses. The initial path of mulch is to provide a weed free zone next to the fence. Our helper and I will dig holes into the lawn parallel to the fence and mulch around them to compost the lawn.

This winter the rose catalogs and magazines will arrive. My wife and I will order bare root roses early to get the ones we want. If space allows, we will snap up some leftover bargains at the end. Jackson and Perkins will likely have a few $50 tree roses for $10. Some old roses are available for $8. Since the going rate for the promoted ones is $30, fractions of that price are welcome.

Winter is the easiest and least expensive time for a gardener. No work needs to be done. Nothing needs to be ordered at first. Everything in the coming year will grow perfectly.

Butterflies puddle in mud or manure, easy to arrange with the elevated soaker hose.

Daniel Fuller, son of the founder, led the school away from inerrancy.Church Mouse has many good posts - well researched.


Fuller Theological Seminary alums: Rob Bell « Churchmouse Campanologist:

Fuller Theological Seminary alums: Rob Bell
November 25, 2010 in Evangelical, Protestant | Tags: emergent church, Evangelical, Fuller Theological Seminary, Protestant, Rob Bell
Rob Bell, 40, is one of Fuller Theological Seminary‘s top alums and a big name in the Emergent Church.

The lopsided smile makes us think of Mark and Avoid Jeske, but this is fellow apostate Rob Bell.

Beginnings

He founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a city better known as a centre of Reformed (Calvinist) theology in the United States. His father, Robert Holmes Bell, is a US Federal Judge, first appointed in Ronald Reagan’s second administration in 1987.

Like his father, Rob earned his Bachelor’s degree at Wheaton College in Illinois. Whilst there, he was part of an indie rock band and also met his future wife, Kristen. He got his start in the ministry after volunteering to teach a Christian message to the counsellors at the college’s Honey Rock Camp when no minister was available. At that time, he said, the Holy Spirit gave him a message about ‘rest’. From that point on, he decided to pursue a calling in the church.

That compelled him to earn an M.Div. from Fuller and serve as a youth intern at Lake Avenue Church. After he earned his degree, Bell and his wife returned to Grand Rapids, where he took the Saturday evening service at Calvary Chapel. At the age of 29, he decided to break out on his own by founding the Mars Hill Bible Church. Within a year, the congregation moved to what was a disused anchor store in a local mall.

In addition to his highly successful church ministry, he also makes short films. The series is called NOOMA, the phonetic American pronunciation of pneuma, signifying the Holy Spirit. (Here in the UK, we would say ‘NEWMA‘.) He also tours the country to sell-out crowds. His books include Velvet Elvis, Sex God and Drops Like Stars.

Start with Barth

According to someone who knows and told Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries, Bell was more of a John MacArthur style preacher when he served at Calvary Chapel. Then, he and his wife read one of Brian McLaren’s books, A New Kind of Christian. From that point, he rejected sola Scriptura. He believes that the Bible needs reinterpretation. He also said that the more one studies the Bible, the more questions it raises.

How do the ministers from the Emergent Church come to think that way? Silva puts it down to the influence of Modernism, then Karl Barth. Whilst Barth advocated a neo-orthodoxy, which in some way redressed Modernism, he did reject sola Scriptura and biblical inerrancy. For him, Scripture contained words of God, not the Word of God. Bell, too, rejects the truth of Scripture and loves the confusion his questions bring him. Yet, for many of us, myself included, it was actually believing what the Bible said which brought a sense of relief and deepened our belief.

Divine dirt clods

Bell borrowed a phrase from Marianne Williamson and attributed it to Nelson Mandela. One can imagine that his congregation lapped it up. Ken Silva tells us:

If you’re still tracking with (in English that’s following) me I return your attention now to the supposed ”Mandela” quote where Guru Bell tells us “you may be a dirt clod, but there is greatness and power and glory that resides in every single human being.” Why is that; because ”this divine breath is in every single human being ever.” And what has Bell taught us all along; that “breath” is spirit—it’s the heart of his whole shtick right down to “Nooma” …

… as previously pointed out in Rob Bell and New Age Guru Marianne Williamson those words were actually penned by New Age Priestess Marianne Williamson in her book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles“.

What about homosexuals?

Scripturally speaking, there is only one way to truthfully respond when asked if a homosexual can continue his liaisons and become a Christian. Yet, Bell obfuscates:

The Bible is very clear that the practice of homosexuality is a sin (see—Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10) and for someone to become a Christian they must repent of [i.e. forsake, turn away from] their sin (see—Mark 1:14-15; Acts 20:21). But unfortunately an honest question to Rob Bell and MHBC on such a crucial issue of our time was met with a mere form letter from a “michelle” …

Then the recipient of this form letter from michelle of “Mars Hill Communications” is told:

We care deeply how Scripture is interpreted and how to discern living the way of Jesus, and in encountering differing viewpoints it is our aim to agree or disagree in love, keeping central a shared desire to know God and serve Jesus Christ. Regarding your comments or questions, we’d like to direct you to our mission http://www.marshill.org/mission, Narrative Theology http://www.marshill.org/believe,

Directions http://www.marshill.org/believe/directions [shared values], and serving focus http://www.marshill.org/serving, available at marshill.org.
You might also find our recent audio teachings http://www.marshill.org/teaching/podcast.php and archived series http://www.marshill.org/teaching/other.php as well as Rob Bell’s recommended reading list http://www.marshill.org/about/rob/recommendedReadingList.php to be beneficial.

After all, I’m constantly told how Jesus-centered and Biblical Bell’s teaching is; well Rob Bell, where do you stand; because Jesus answers the question—No.

Judge not

About online criticism, Bell had this to say:

When a Christian can find nothing better to do with their time [than criticize]…you start realizing that some Christians need to be saved. How a person would have energy to take shots at other Christians is just mind-boggling. You have to be so disconnected from the pain of the world to think that blogging is somehow a redemptive use of your time.

That sort of response doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. I’m delighted that Ken Silva blogged (!) the following:

This would make me one whom Bell called “disconnected” from life because in his fickle fantasy I would only be thinking about how “blogging is somehow a redemptive use” of my time. But instead it looks like Bell’s entered the doghouse yet again feeling he’s just “a little more relevant” because he and his “tribe cares more about the poor” etc., etc. while buying into the myth that those who hold the doctrines of grace like me don’t have any such concerns.

And this is what an Anglican priest pretty much published in a parish newsletter a few weeks ago. Paraphrased: ‘God doesn’t care about your religiosity or your doctrinal belief; He cares about what you do.’ Deeds, not creeds! Oh, we have so much in this world to DO! And you can’t redeem yourself in His sight unless your DOING things in His name. (That is, things which the church approves. Blogging isn’t one of them, because your pastor cannot see what you are doing.) Wrong … it’s about living a life of faith through grace. Our pitiful works alone cannot save us.

Hell defined

Bell is into utopia, always a bad sign. Ken Silva explains:

Bell makes it clear that he is more concerned with “hell on earth” than with what happens after this life: “What’s disturbing then is when people talk more about hell after this life than they do about hell here and now” …

Bell’s teaching that heaven and hell come to earth depending on how we live now simply is not biblical. He says, “As a Christian, I want to do what I can to resist hell coming to earth. Poverty, injustice, suffering – they are all hells on earth, and as Christians we oppose them with all our energies.” [7] But the term for hell, Gehenna, is used 12 times in the New Testament, 11 of them by Jesus. Not once did He use the term to describe something that is now on earth or now coming to earth.

But, then, Bell’s not interested in biblical truths, just a social activist interpretation.

How evangelical is Bell?

Ken Silva observes:

Bell is a hero to the mystical interspiritual set who in their deluded spiritual pride think their neo-Gnostic meditation powwows of Contemplative/Centering Prayer will eventually unite all religions. But this now begs the question: If the so-called crossing of ”traditional boundaries of religious groups to build stronger communities” really was the message of Jesus Christ and His Apostles then why were all of them, save John, murdered? They should have been as revered as Bell is. But you should now be able to understand why we’re experiencing such a diluting of doctrine; you see, if they were to teach in straight Biblical purity it wouldn’t make them very good role models at all for these fickle “faith heroes.”

‘Nothing new under the sun’

Another pastor, the Revd Casey Freswick of Bethany United Reformed Church in Wyoming, Michigan, writes of Bell’s errors:

Ultimately, Rob Bell does not repaint the Christian faith. He paints a picture that is not a picture of the Christian faith or the truth of Christianity. But his new picture of error is not really new at all. It is old error. It is old false teaching. It is the same old errors of the past repainted. Rob Bell forsakes truth. He rejects it. He deceives. He is a false teacher. He repaints the errors of the past…

Rob Bell has embraced these and other errors and merged them into postmodernism, an anti-Christian philosophy teaching the impossibility of absolute truth. Both postmodern 21st century philosophy and 20th century “modern liberalism” have influenced Rob Bell. A more appropriate title for Rob Bell’s painting, his “Velvet Elvis”, is “Postmodern Liberalism” …

One key aspect of liberalism embraced by Rob Bell is the false view of the life of Jesus replacing faith in Jesus. For Bell “Christian” describes those devoted “to living the way of the Messiah, who they believed was Jesus. A person who follows Jesus … A way of life centered around a person who lives.” He writes, “I am far more interested in jumping than I am in arguing about whose trampoline is better.” What we do is essential, not what we believe.

It is hard to fathom someone professing a love for Christ yet rolling around in all that error. I, too, embraced a lot of this before it was loosely codified as the emergent church. You could get it fairly readily by finding out what the clergy read in their spare time, then taking the books out of the local library. At some point, you get to the point where you ask yourself, ‘If I believe the Beatitudes and charity are the way forward, why am I not predisposed towards believing the rest of Scripture?‘ And, at that moment, the real journey begins with Bible reading, solemn reflection and prayer. I am today miles away from where I was then, which was not too far from where Rob Bell is now.

I have spent the past few hours reading through what Rob Bell says. Nowhere was there any mention of the Cross, Christ’s propitiation for our sins, the Resurrection, the Ascension, Pentecost or St Paul’s exhortations to the churches. Maybe he’s wrestling with himself wondering whether or how they actually happened. If so, that’s very sad, indeed.

Tomorrow: Another Fuller alum and his theology

Ichabod was the first to predict Mark Driscoll's war, and his disciples Glende and Ski have followed.

***

GJ - Fuller Seminary began with weak view of inerrancy (inerrant in doctrine, but not necessarily in history, geography, etc). The founder's son studied under Karl Barth, an avowed Marixist, and came back with a new view of the Word of God. Another prominent leader at Fuller had similar training.

Church Growth - so dearly loved by Missouri, WELS, the Little Sect, and some parts of ELCA, had its beginning after Fuller repudiated inerrancy. Joel Gerlach, David Valleskey, F. Bivens, Lawrence Otto Olson, First VP Huebner, and Paul Calvin Kelm all studied CG at Fuller.

Some Quotations


"The crudest extravagances of revivalism (Methodism, Pentecostalism, Holy Rollerism) have their root in this specifically Reformed doctrine of the immediate working of the Holy Spirit." [Fuller Seminary is known for its Pentecostal extremism, including C. Peter Wagner's "Signs and Wonders" course.] "Grace, Means of," The Concordia Cyclopedia, L. Fuerbringer, Th. Engelder, P. E. Kretzmann, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1927, p. 299.

"I know these questions are real because I was asking them myself when I first came, during my second missionary furlough from Bolivia, to study at Fuller under McGavran. Frankly, I entered his program in 1967 as a skeptic. But I emerged an enlightened person." C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books, 1976, p. 35.

Professional church growth consultant: "A pioneer in this field is Pastor John Wimber of Yorba Linda Friends Church in Orange Country, California. Wimber has recently resigned his pastorate to head up the newly-created Department of Church Growth of the Fuller Evangelistic Association." C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books 1976, p. 20.

"The basic responsibility for the seminar is mine, but I am also assisted by Donald McGavran, Win Arn and John Wimber of the Fuller Evangelistic Association." [Two week Doctor of Ministry seminar every winter at Fuller School of Theology, on church growth] C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books, 1976, p. 15.

"Church growth consultation began at the Charles E. Fuller Institute in 1975, when it was still called Fuller Evangelistic Association, under C. Peter Wagner and John Wimber. I took over from Wimber in 1978." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Chapter: "Church Growth Consultation," by Carl F. George, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 159.

"In January of 1982, he [Wimber] taught a course at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he is an adjunct professor, called 'Signs, Wonders, and Church Growth.' Wimber taught this course for four years and it became one of the most popular courses at Fuller." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 275.

"Stephen A. Wagner is senior pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Carrollton, Texas. In addition he serves as chairman of the Church Growth Task Force of the Texas District, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod...He is the author of Heart to Heart: Sharing Christ with a Friend (Corunna, Indiana: Church Growth Center). He is also a contributing author to the Church Planting Manual (North American Missions Department of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, 1985), and he has written articles for denominational publications. Currently he is a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree in church growth from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 274.

"Wagner was instrumental in the organization of the North American Society for Church Growth, and became its founding president in 1984. In the same year he was honored by Fuller Seminary with the Donald A. McGavran Chair of Church Growth." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 273.

"Recognizing the need for professional church growth consultation, in 1975 he [C. Peter Wagner] invited John Wimber to become the founding director of what is now the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth. Wimber got the Institute off to an excellent start, then left to become the founding pastor of Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Anaheim and Vineyard Ministries Internation... Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow (Regal, 1979) is approaching the 100,000 mark... Church Growth and the Whole Gospel (Harper and Row, 1981) is a scholarly discussion of criticisms of the Church Growth Movement from the viewpoint of social ethics, in which Wagner did his doctoral work." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271f.

"C. Peter Wagner is the Donald A. McGavran Professor of Church Growth at the Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Missions in Pasadena, California. The School of World Mission became a part of Fuller Seminary in 1965 when Donald McGavran, father of the Church Growth Movement, moved his nonacademinc Institute of Church Growth to Pasadena from Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon. Since that time, Fuller Seminary has been the institutional base for the Church Growth Movement, first in its global expression and later in its North American expression." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271.

"C. Peter Wagner is the Donald A. McGavran Professor of Church Growth at the Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Missions in Pasadena, California. The School of World Mission became a part of Fuller Seminary in 1965 when Donald McGavran, father of the Church Growth Movement, moved his nonacademinc Institute of Church Growth to Pasadena from Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon. Since that time, Fuller Seminary has been the institutional base for the Church Growth Movement, first in its global expression and later in its North American expression." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271.

"Elmer Matthias is associate professor of practical theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, an institution of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod...While serving the parish [Zion, Anaheim, California] he enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry program in church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary, receiving his degree in 1977. At Concordia Seminary he became the first trained church growth seminary instructor in Lutheran circles, teaching church growth, evangelism, and parish administration." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 250.

"When the roster of pioneers of church growth in North America is drawn up, three individuals will deserve a prominent place on it: One is Win C. Arn, one of the students in the first Fuller Seminary course in American Church Growth...Another pioneer is Paul Benjamin, who in 1974 left his position as Professor of New Testament and Church Growth at Lincoln Christian Seminary to establish the National Church Growth Research Center in Washington, D.C." C. Peter Wagner, Study Questions by John Wimber, Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: Regal Books, 1976, p. 17.

"We resent unnecessary distractions; we resist unbiblical diversions.. Can anyone believe that all other activities should be suspended until all evangelicals agree on precise doctrinal statements? We certainly cannot." David Allan Hubbard, "What We Believe and Teach," Pasadena, California: Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA, 91182

"Scripture is an essential part and trustworthy record of divine self-disclosure All the books of the Old and New Testaments, givine by divine inspiration, are the written Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice. They are to be interpreted according to their context and purpose and in reverent obedience to the Lord who speaks through them in living power." David Allan Hubbard, "What We Believe and Teach," Pasadena, California: Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA, 91182

"The current "Statement" approved by our trustees and faculty in 1972 is our attempt to hear and obey the Scriptures as they teach us their basic truths. Any changes made had as their intent a more - not less - biblical expression of Christian truth. We see this move not as a shift but as a corrective." David Allan Hubbard, "What We Believe and Teach," Pasadena, California: Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA, 91182

"Where inerrancy refers to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches through the biblical writers, we support its use. Where the focus switches to an undue emphasis on matters like chronological details, the precise sequence of events, and numerical allusions, we would consider the term misleading and inappropriate. Its dangers, when improperly defined, are: 1) that it implies a precision alien to the minds of the Bible writers and their own use of Scriptures; 2) that it diverts attention from the message of salvation and the instruction in righteousness which are the Bible's key themes;...5) that too often it has undermined our confidence in the Bible we have... 6)that it prompts us to an inordinate defensiveness of Scripture which seems out of keeping with the bold confidence with which the prophets, the apostles and our Lord proclaimed it." David Allan Hubbard, "What We Believe and Teach," Pasadena, California: Fuller Theological Seminary, 1-800-235-2222 Pasadena, CA, 91182

"Were we to distinguish our position from that of some of our brothers and sisters who perceive their view of Scripture as more orthodox than ours, several points could be made: 1) we would stress the need to be aware of the historical and literary process by which God brought the Word to us...4) we would urge that the emphasis be placed where the Bible itself places it - on its message of salvation and its instruction for living, not on its details of geography or science, though we acknowledge the wonderful reliability of the Bible as a historical source book; 5) we would strive to develop our doctrine of Scripture by hearing all that the Bible says, rather than by imposing on the Bible a philosophical judgment of our own as to how God ought to have inspired the Word." David Allan Hubbard, "What We Believe and Teach," Pasadena, California: Fuller Theological Seminary, 1-800-235-2222 Pasadena, CA, 91182

"A second example of this homogenization is Waldo J. Werning's Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, published by Moody Press in 1977." [Ed. note: The foreword is by C. Peter Wagner. Werning studied at Fuller.]


"Werning is a Missouri Synod Lutheran executive. Although Werning's denominational publishing house did not publish his book, it is nevertheless an attempt by Werning to create an instrument for church growth among Missouri Synod Lutherans. If you read Werning, you can readily see that he is exceedingly eclectic, drawing from everywhere, including his own tradition." Delos Miles, Church Growth, A Mighty River, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981, p. 33f. [McGavran became a professor of missions in Indianapolis in 1957, at the College of Missions, where he got his M.A. in 1923. He began teaching at Northwest Christian College in Oregon in 1961. McGavran was invited to move his Institute of Church Growth to Fuller and become the founding dean of Fuller's School of World Mission.] Delos Miles, Church Growth, A Mighty River, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981, p. 10f.

"To acquire more expertise in Church Growth thinking, I visited the School of World Mission and Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary. When I inquired concering resources and materials for American Church Growth, I found that Dr. Donald McGavran and C. Peter Wagner were team-teaching a course applying world principles of Church Growth to the American scene. I immediately became a part of that group. As I listened and learned, I realized here was the effective approach to evangelism for which I had been searching. In those hours, I experienced my third birth--'conversion' to Church Growth thinking." [Winfield C. Arn] Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 12.

"In the words of C. Peter Wagner, Professor of Missions at the Fuller School of World Missions, Jesus at Bangkok was the 'prototype of an ideal social attitude,' the 'man for others' whose resurrection and lordship meant no more than that others should be inspired by His example." Ernst H. Wendland, "Missiology--and the Two Billion," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, January, 1974 71, p. 11f.


[Fuller's new statement on Scripture] "Scripture is an essential part and trustworthy record of this divine disclosure. All the books of the Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration, are the written Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice." [Lindsell writes]: "It is where the word infallible is placed that makes the difference. Had the statement said that the Books of the Old and New Testaments 'are the infallible Word of God, the only rule of faith and practice,' it would have repeated in different words what the first statement of faith had said. But what the new statement does is this: it limits infallibility to matters of faith and practice. And this is the view espoused by Daniel Fuller in his address on Warfield." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 116.

[Paper by Daniel Fuller, Evangelical Theological Society, Toronto, 1967] "Daniel Fuller then said he wished to make a slight corrective to Warfield and his view of an inerrant Scripture. He argued that there are two kinds of Scripture: revelational and nonrevelational. Revelational Scripture is wholly without error; nonrevelational Scripture is not." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 113.

[Inerrancy advocates left Fuller: Charles Woodbridge in 1957, Wilbur Smith in 1963, Harold Lindsell in 1964, and Gleason Archer in 1965.] "The departure of all four was directly related to the question of biblical inerrancy." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 111f.

[After the December, 1962 faculty-trustee retreat, the Fuller catalog backed away from the claims that the faculty agreed about doctrine without any mental reservation, that they signed the statement of faith each year, and that faculty members in disagreement withdraw from the seminary.] Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 111. [December, 1962, faculty-trustee retreat]

"Edward Johnson, president of Financial Federation and a member of the board, focused the issue when he used the term benchmark in the discussions. He insisted that once the benchmark (a term used by surveyors having to do with the point from which they take all of their measurements) was changed, the institution would lose its bearing and depart from orthodoxy in other ways. The failure of the board to stand firm on the original commitment of the seminary led Johnson to resign within a month...." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 110.

"The second decision related to the selection of a new president for the seminary. David A. Hubbard was Charles Fuller's candidate and Daniel Fuller's as well. He had the support of C. Davis Weyerhauser, too...The syllabus [he co-authored at another seminary] contained teachings that were opposed to historic evangelical understanding. They included matters like the non historicity of Adam and Eve., the Wellhausen approach to the Pentateuch, the late dating of Daniel, and other points. The offensive parts were written by Laurin who, in turn, was defended by Hubbard as an outstanding evangelical." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 109.

"It soon became known that Daniel Fuller indeed had changed his viewpoint [on inerrancy]. This was pinpointed in two major decisions that were made. The first one had to do with the appointment of Calvin Schoonhoven to the faculty. He was a Fuller Seminary graduate who also had gone to Basel, and was a close friend of Daniel Fuller. When Schoonhoven was examined for a faculty appointment, he admitted that he did not believe in an inerrant Scripture. Other faculty members and I opposed his appointment. We got nowhere." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 109.

"A third indication of the coming crisis involved the son of the founder, Daniel Payton Fuller...After he had been there [on the faculty at Fuller] several years, he went to Basel, Switzerland, to work for another doctorate under men like Karl Barth. While Fuller was at Basel, rumors began coming back to America that he had shifted his position on the Scriptures. I personally talked to Charles E. Fuller about this on a number of occasions. In every instance he assured me that there was no truth to the rumors that his son had changed his position. He was wrong, as subsequent events demonstrated." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 108f.

"A second indication of the coming crisis occurred at a faculty meeting when one member of the teaching staff declared that what he was about to say might cost him his job. He said it, but it didn't cost him his job. He made it apparent that he believed the Bible was not wholly free from error. He was joined in this by at least one other faculty member at that meeting. Neither the administration nor the board moved to censure and remove those who could no longer affirm the doctrinal statement of the seminary, at least at the point of inerrancy. The situation was allowed to drift." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 108.

[In or about 1962] "One of the key board members, who was later to become chairman and whose wealth helped to underwrite the annual operating budget, was C. Davis Wyerhauser. As the situation developed, he was to play a key role in the final outcome. He was clear in his own conviction that the Bible had errors in it. Nor did he hesitate to make his position plain. But he neither chose to resign from the institution nor was forced to resign by other board members." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 108. [Faculty member Bela Vasady could not sign the original statement on inerrancy and left Fuller by mutual agreement.] Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 108.

[Original statement on Scripture] "The books which form the canon of the Old and New Testaments as originally given are plenarily inspired and free from all error in the whole and in the part. These books constitute the written Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 107. "From the beginning it was declared that one of the chief purposes of the founding of the seminary was that it should be an apologetic institution...It was agreed from the inception of the school that through the seminary curriculum the faculty would provide the finest theological defense of biblical infallibility or inerrancy. It was agreed in addition that the faculty would publish joint works that would present to the world the best of evangelical scholarship on inerrancy at a time when there was a dearth of such scholarship and when there were few learned works promoting biblical inerrancy." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 106f.

"Fuller Theological Seminary was founded in 1947. It was brought into being through the efforts of Charles E. Fuller of the 'Old Fashioned Revival Hour.' He secured the services of Harold John Ockenga, then minister of the Park Street Church in Boston, as president of the fledgling institution. The school opened its door with four faculty members: Wilbur Moorehead Smith, Everett F. Harrison, Carl F. H. Henry, and myself." Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p. 106.

"Despite these strident affirmations of biblical infallibility, responses from Fuller demonstrate a serious inconsistency in distinguishing evangelicalism from neo-orthodoxy." [Gerald T. Sheppard, Fuller graduate, assistant professor at Union] Harold Lindsell, The Bible in the Balance, Gerald T. Sheppard, "Biblical Hermaneutics..." Union Sem Q R, 1977 Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 237.

"The paradox that Barth, Brunner, Cullmann, and Eichrodt provide more attractive models at Fuller for an 'evangelical' approach to Scripture than do the fundamentalist and that they are at the same time major representatives of 'neo-orthodoxy' has yet to find resolution." [Sheppard, Fuller graduate and professor at Union] Harold Lindsell, The Bible in the Balance, Gerald T. Sheppard, "Biblical Hermaneutics..." Union Sem Q R, 1977 Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 237.
"The graduates of an institution usually give full proof of the teaching they received from the school in which they studied. According to Dr. LaSor's observations the leaven was present when David Hubbard, Daniel Fuller, and Ray Anderson were students. They went from Fuller to graduate study overseas and were promptly converted to the neoorthodoxy and liberalism of their professors. They returned to Fuller Seminary having moved farther to the left than any of their teachers at Fuller. And now their students in turn begin to reflect their views." Harold Lindsell, The Bible in the Balance, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 236.

"Ralph P. Martin is Professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary...Professor Martin engages in guess work and patch-quilt organization to explain away the Pauline authorship of the Pastorals." Harold Lindsell, The Bible in the Balance, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 228.

"Dr. Kraft is a professor in the School of World Mission at Fuller Seminary. Two illustrations will suffice to show the continuing Fuller drift away from the authority of Scripture. Dr. Kraft has been deeply involved in anthropological and sociological studies in relation to missions...His [Dr. J. Robertson McQuilkin's] burden included demonstrating that in some cases people who profess to be evangelical place the behavioral sciences over Scripture rather than under Scripture, with the result they undermine the Word of God. He made specific reference to Professor Kraft...." Harold Lindsell, The Bible in the Balance, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 226.

"The Fuller Evangelistic Association has a doctrinal statement. It is the statement which was adopted by Fuller Theological Seminary some time ago. It does not differ from their early statement and has never yet been changed, that I know of. This statement explicitly affirms that the Bible is free from all error in the whole and in the part. Both Dr. Hubbard and Dr. Fuller are part of that organization. This means they are signing two different doctrinal statements, one of which affirms inerrancy and one which does not. We also know that Dr. Hubbard frankly disavows inerrancy and even declares this view to be 'unbiblical.' Harold Lindsell, The Bible in the Balance, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 220.

"Lest anyone think this is a harsh indictment, let me add that nowhere since the publication of The Battle for the Bible has Dr. Hubbard or the Fuller Seminary ever said that it still believes that the Bible is free from all error. They say opposite." Harold Lindsell, The Bible in the Balance, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 213.

"The real question is whether inerrancy or the view represented by Dr. Hubbard and Fuller Seminary leads to the dismal results he forecasts." I think it can be established that the view of Fuller Seminary will result in the very disasters he posited as the outcome for those who believe in inerrancy." Harold Lindsell, The Bible in the Balance, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 209.

"In the new statement, Fuller Seminary no longer says that the Bible 'is the infallible Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.' It simply says the Bible is the word (lower-cased) of God, and then adds that infallibility is limited to matters of faith and practice. Thus whatever does not constitute a matter of faith and practice can contain error. I alleged that Fuller has given up its cherished belief in an inerrant or infallible Scripture." Harold Lindsell, The Bible in the Balance, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 184.

"The situation of the Fuller Theological Seminary has worsened since the publication of The Battle for the Bible. Prior to and since the publication of the book, Fuller Seminary has waged a vigorous campaign to offset its impact." Harold Lindsell, The Bible in the Balance, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 183.

"Of all the articles in the special issue of Theology, News and Notes, none is more important than those pertaining to Dr. Jewett...In it, the reader will find the full confirmation of my second allegation: that Fuller Seminary has breached its new statement of faith in the case of Paul King Jewett who denies the infallibility of Scripture in regard to a matter of faith and practice. The seminary itself has now borne testimony to this fact. Dr. Jewett has said that in Ephesians 5 the apostle Paul tells us that which is not true." Harold Lindsell. The Bible in the Balance, News and Notes, Fuller Seminary, 1976 Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 193.

"The Fuller people claim that I am disenchanted with the school because I was not chosen to become president. This canard has been repeated many times. It is interesting, in view of the fact that I have been offered five presidencies in the course of my career and turned all of them down." Harold Lindsell. The Bible in the Balance, footnote 12 Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 242.

"Given the state of theological education in most of the major denominational seminaries, Fuller still looks outwardly to be conservative." Harold Lindsell. The Bible in the Balance, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 241.

"I have now updated the case I made in 1976 in which I asserted that Fuller Seminary has departed from its original commitment to biblical inerrancy. ...If Fuller Seminary were to return to the original foundation on which it was begun it would necessitate the dismissal of a large number of faculty members. It would require the reorganization of the school of theology, the school of mission [home of the Church Growth Movement], and the school of psychology. Dr. Quebedeaux's observations happen to be true [The Worldly Evangelicals, 1978]. All three divisions of the seminary are now involved in the departure from orthodoxy." Harold Lindsell. The Bible in the Balance, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 240.

Mrs. Fuller was converted by the efficacious Word
"Mrs. Barnhill looked at me and said, with such a loving look in her gray eyes, 'Oh, Grace, Christ said, 'No man cometh unto the Father but by Me,' and, my dear, you have no way of approach to a holy God unless you come through Christ, His Son, as your Saviour.'"The Scripture which she quoted," Mrs. Fuller continues, "was the Sword of the Spirit, and at that moment Unitarianism was killed forever in my heart. I saw the light like a flash and believed at that moment, though I said nothing. She had quoted God's Word, the Spirit had used it, and, believing, I instantly became a new creation in Christ Jesus. She might have talked and even argued with me about it, but instead she just used the Word." [conversion of Mrs. Grace Fuller, wife of Charles Fuller, Old Fashioned Revival Hour broadcast, founder of Fuller Seminary] J. Elwin Wright, The Old Fashioned Revival Hour and the Broadcasters, Boston: The Fellowship Press, 1940, p. 54.

"To the best of my knowledge, only three WELS pastors have ever taken classes at Fuller Seminary: Reuel Schulz in the 1970s, and Robert Koester and I in the 1980s." Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "A Response to Gregory L. Jackson, Ph.D.," Christian News, 3-28-94, p. 23.

"You may reply that by 'Fuller-trained' you mean anyone who has attended a workshop presented by the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth, an agency which is independent of the Seminary. If that is the case, your attribution of 'Fuller-trained' is still simply not true. It would surprise me if even half of the two dozen people on your 'WELS/ELS Who's Who' list have attended a Fuller workshop; I personally know of only five who have." Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "A Response to Gregory L. Jackson, Ph.D.," Christian News, 3-28-94, p. 23.

"Please stop exaggerating the amount of study that I have done at Fuller. After four years of study at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, which involved sixty-two different courses and a year of vicarage, I graduated in 1983. From 1987 to 1989 I took four courses where I was in a classroom with a Fuller instructor. That is the extent of my Fuller coursework...In addition, I have taken two courses at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and one at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. Because of Fuller's liberal (would you expect anything else?) policy on transfer of credit, and because of two independent studies I undertook, I could complete the degree by simply writing a dissertation." Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "A Response to Gregory L. Jackson, Ph.D.," Christian News, 3-28-94, p. 23

"The church growth movement has made inroads into nearly every denomination in America. Once considered only the turf of conservative evangelicals, you will now find church growth practitioners in the United Methodist Church, in the Presbyterian Church in the USA, and among the Episcopalians. The LCMS has more pastors enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Theological Seminary, the seedbed of the movement, than are enrolled in the graduate programs at their Fort Wayne and St. Louis seminaries combined, and most of them include church growth as part of their studies." Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "See How It Grows: Perspectives on Growth and the Church," EVANGELISM, February, 1991, Parish Consultant for the WELS Board of Parish Services and his district's Coordinator of Evangelism. p. 1.

"When Frederick Horn faced that situation, the Holy Spirit moved him to accept the call, and for the last few years he has served as the [lay] Minister of Discipleship for Grace Lutheran in downtown Milwaukee." (Pastor James Huebner Fuller alumnus) Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary,, "Another Kind of Minister, There's a lot to do in a church, and a staff minister can do a lot of it," The Northwestern Lutheran, March, 1994, p. 9. Olson is director of staff ministry at MLC.

"David Hubbard, president Fuller Seminary: 'Not all of us have the gift of evangelism. I admire people who can lead others to Jesus Christ right on the spot...." Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 52. "In an article on the small group movement, J. A. Gorman notes that 'both the Church Growth Institute of Fuller Seminary and the American Institute of Church Growth became centers for influencing the use of this means for evangelizing." (Christian Education, Moody Press, 1991, pp. 509, 510) Prof. David Kuske, "Home Bible Study Groups in the 1990s," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1994. p. 126.

"In late 1976, 80 district mission and evangelism executives and board members attended special Fuller Seminary sessions and by the late 1970s, courses on Church Growth principles were taught at both LCMS seminaries." [Toward a Theological Basis, Understanding and Use of Church Growth Principles in the LCMS. 1991. p. 1] Rev. Curtis Peterson, former WELS World Mission Board, "A Second and Third Look at Church Growth Principles," Metro South Pastors Conference Mishicot, Wisconsin, February 3, 1993 p. 10.

"Incidentally, during my mission counselor days in California during the 80's, I did take a course at Fuller from Carl George and Peter Wagner. I am grateful for the opportunity to have done so because it helped me to see through the lousy theology espoused by David Luecke in "Evangelical Style and Lutheran Substance" a book, by the way, which has been roundly criticized in WELS circles as your own columns have noted." Rev. Joel C. Gerlach (WELS) to Pastor Herman Otten, no date. [Gerlach taught at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary]

"I did attend a Pasadena forum on Church Growth featuring Win Arn and others. That this does not imply 'studying' and thus absorbing and advocating CG philosophy or theology is borne out by the stated objective of my attendance in my role as home mission administrator, to be personally informed as to this popular 'home-mission' related movement. During my attendance I publicly challenged the theological basis of some of the CG principles. That I found some pertinent non-theological observations does not imply any acceptance of the Reformed theology involved. None of my writings re mission methods or stewardship principles deviate from the Law/Gospel Lutheran approach to justification and sanctification. Please check them honestly!" Rev. Norman W. Berg, former DP and Home Mission Exec, WELS Letter to Gregory L. Jackson, 3-27-96.

"Non-Christians usually become good prospects for personal reasons or as I like to say: 'They come for sociological reasons and stay for theological reasons.'" [Note: this is the felt needs approach of Fuller, also endorsed by Pastor Forrest Bivens, now a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary: "I went to Fuller Seminary and I happen to believe we can use sociological methods to bring people to church so we can apply the Means of Grace." Midland circuit get together, attended by Pastor - now DP - John Seifert.] Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 4.

"Then there is the church growth movement, which has made more devastating headway in LCMS than in ELCA (although it is evident enough in the latter). Today, it is said, Missouri has three seminaries-- St. Louis, Ft Wayne, and Fuller Seminary in California, the hothouse of church growth enthusiasms. The synodical and district mission offices are frequently controlled by church growth technocrats...But the idea that Word and Sacrament ministry is somehow validated by calculable results is utterly alien to the Lutheran Reformation...The triumph of style over substance, however, is all too evident in LCMS congregations that look like Baptists with vestments. As we have noted before, second-rate Lutherans make fourth-rate Baptists." Rev. Richard Neuhaus, (ELCA at the time), Forum Letter, 338 E 19th Street New York, NY 10003 November 26, 1989 p. 2.

"...and in the process we got a look at the inside of his study. [WELS pastor David Reichel, Mandan, ND] He's got all the standard reference works you'd expect to find in a confessional Lutheran pastor's office. But the handiest shelf, right at chest level, was reserved for a long row of binders from annual seminars at Fuller." Source: Pastor Paul Naumann, CLC. April 1, 1996, e-mail.

"Waldo Werning has made an outstanding contribution to the church growth movement in America with Vision and Strategy for Church Growth...Working out of the models established by Donald McGavran and the School of World Mission at Fuller Seminary, Waldo Werning breaks new ground in developing ways that church growth principles can be applied directly to American churches." [Foreword by C. Peter Wagner] Waldo J. Werning, Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, Second Edition, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, p. 5.

[Ockenga accomplishments since 1947: 1. The National Association of Evangelicals; 2. World Evangelical Fellowship; 3. New apologetic literature from the great publishers; 4. Fuller and other seminaries; 5. Christianity Today; 6. Billy Graham, spokesman of the New Evangelicalism.] 12-8-57 news release by Harold Ockenga William E. Ashbrook, Evangelicalism, The New Neutralism, Columbus: Calvary Bible Church, 1963, p. 8.

"The New Evangelicalism has changed its strategy from one of separation to one of infiltration. Instead of static fron battles the new theological war is one of movement. Instead of attack upon error, the New Evangelicals proclaim the great historic doctrines of Christianity." Harold J. Ockenga, news release, 12-8-57 William E. Ashbrook, Evangelicalism, The New Neutralism, Columbus: Calvary Bible Church, 1963, p. 7.

"The New Evangelicalism has changed its strategy from one of separation to one of infiltration. Instead of static from battles the new theological war is one of movement. Instead of attack upon error, the New Evangelicals proclaim the great historic doctrines of Christianity." Harold J. Ockenga, news release, 12-8-57 William E. Ashbrook, Evangelicalism, The New Neutralism, Columbus: Calvary Bible Church, 1963, p. 7.

"The New Evangelicalism is the latest dress of orthodoxy as Neo-Orthodoxy is the latest expression of theological liberalism. The New Evangelicalism differs from Fundamentalism in its willingness to handle the social problems which Fundamentalism evaded. There need be no dichotomy between the personal gospel and the social gospel. The true Christian faith is a supernatural personal experience of salvation and a social philosophy. Doctrine and ethics are Christian disciplines. Fundamentalism abdicated leadership and responsibility in the societal realm and thus became impotent to change society or to solve social problems." Dr. Harold John Ockenga, pastor of Park Street Church, Boston, first president of Fuller Seminary, 12-8-57 news release. William E. Ashbrook, Evangelicalism, The New Neutralism, Columbus: Calvary Bible Church, 1963, p. 7.

"Christianity according to Fundamentalism is one religion. Christianity according to Modernism is another religion. Which is the true religion is the question that is to be settled in all probability by our generation for further generations. There is a clash here as profound and as grim as between Christianity and Confucianism. Amiable words cannot hide the differences. 'Blest be the Tie' may be sung til doomsday but it cannot bind these worlds together." [Editorial, Christian Century, January 3, 1924] William E. Ashbrook, Evangelicalism, The New Neutralism, Columbus: Calvary Bible Church, 1963, p. 6.

PhD graduation, not a drive-by DMin, from Notre Dame, 1982.

Someone wrote:

I just want to thank you for being the real thing, Lutheran that is. Nothing artificial, no added ingredients or flavoring, just the real thing.

I look forward to your Sunday message and Luther's Sermons on Ichabod. You have helped me tremendously in the knowledge of the Confessions, early Lutheran Fathers, and Justification by Faith. May God continue to bless you and keep you proclaiming His Word!

And in another note from the same person:

Your blog helped open our eyes as we spent most of our time detoxifying ourselves from Calvinism, and didn't pick up their lack of justification by faith.  Thank you for bringing that and many other problems to light.

People write or phone from time to time, and it is always good to hear from the readers. The opposition decided to stop sending nasty emails to me, perhaps because I laughed at them, quoted them, and used their eructations to reveal the apostasy of the Lutheran synods.

They probably concluded, correctly, that their viciousness only encouraged me and provoked me to write even more along the lines they suggest -
"Tired of justification by faith posts" - write more of them!
"He writes about his dog" - more Sassy articles!
"Hates the graphics" - more Photoshops!
"I could produce better Photoshops" - OK, try these!
"Makes fun of our leaders" - increase the apostasy articles!

The purpose of this blog is to deal with doctrinal issues, so the thank you note identifies the source of apostate fury. The apostate fraudsters are not about to admit their fraud, which means facing their own delusions about being Christian believers - they are not.

Chemnitz quoted Origen in writing, "Let him consider the doctrine itself."

The UOJ Stormtroopers follow the same method as the gay activists and radical Left. The tactic is called "jamming." When someone offends their party line, a few people pretend to be a mob of furious, wounded victims of hate. They generate a mountain of opposition from of a few fanatics, and try to force others to back down.

WELS has institutionalized this tactic under the leadership of Mark Jeske, Paul Kelm, and David Valleskey. They never stop their personal attacks because they want to poison the well, an age-old logical fallacy. The idea is to make everyone back away from associating with their target. While engaging in constant personal attacks, they view any discussion of their hideous dogma as a violation of the Eighth Commandment, not to mention Matthew 18.




The Book of Concord commends readers to study Luther's Lectures on Galatians for additional development of justification by faith. However, the Synodical Conference leaders argue that the orthodox Lutheran position, the Chief Article, is justification without faith.

I don't know where he went. Why?

Seminarians are taught to chant, "That's Arminian!" and be critical of Babtists, Evangelicals, and Pentecostals. That must be especially funny at The Sausage Factory (WELS), where the faculty members are anti-Lutheran and consider Dr. Moo from Wheaton College (Babtist) their leading expert on Bible translations. At least he has a doctorate.

Arminius criticized the rationalism of Calvin - hence the name Arminian, not to be confused with Armenian (the tacky Kardashians).

There are Arminian Babtists and Calvinist Babtists, a wide arrray, including Cal-Aminians, according to a list from Wheaton College. Let's not forget post-trib, mid-trib, and pre-trib millennialists.

Teaching comparative dogmatics is like teaching college English - everlasting job security.

The true distinction is the one most ignored - justification by faith. All the Evangelical-Pentecostals I know adhere to forgiveness through faith alone.

The Synodical Conference and ELCA leaders teach universal salvation without faith. Many of these people have no faith at all, but that is their official position and they actively oppose justification by faith while working together, cozy-like.

WELS students have reported homosexual assaults as routine at synodical schools, but WELS has no problems. Just ask them. Anyone who objects to homosexual hazing is gay.

Not a Contradiction
Lutherans make a show of opposing the Babtists and Pentecostals while copying them in every way possible.

But a closer look is needed. The synods (99% of all nominal Lutherans) are in love with Babtist, Pentecostal, and Evangelical apostasy. The leaders really do hate traditional Evangelicals (to lump them all in one group) for justification by faith.

The Lutheran leaders really love the Fuller, Willow Creek, Trinity Divinity, Mars Hills (Bell and Driscoll versions) because they are all apostates together. Throw in Rick Warren, a closeted Babtist who really teaches justification through works.



Now add gay activism to the whole bunch as they swirl down the sewer together. Apostasy is their unifying energy, which is why they passionately hate believers.

The cleverly named Church Growth Movement has destroyed all the denominations to the right of the National Council of Churches. Those raised in traditional Baptist churches are locked in a strange trance. They have to adore such quacks as Craig Groeschel and Andy Stanley because, "Those are our guys."

Although Evangelicals are not that well organized, there is a group think that informs them -

• We are not like those bad liberals.
• We are Bible believers.
• We have to stick together against the opponents.

They take criticism of Fuller or Andy Stanley or Rick Warren as a personal attack. Does that sound like WELS and LCMS leaders? Of course it does.

Apostasy is a cancer that grows without the twinges and stabs of pain we associate with organic problems, such as bad kidneys, bad digestion, and a bad heart. Apostasy simply eats into individuals and denominations while hiding itself from view.

This trans-sexual is an ELCA pastor, which may bother WELS/ELS and the LCMS, but not enough to stop them from working with ELCA.

The roses are still blooming well and still delivering buds after the nine inches of rain we enjoyed. The weather cooled, but we will have beautiful days for the next two weeks.

The butterfly bushes arrived, so I planted them just before a light rain, mulching them with newspapers and shredded cyprus, adding some Epsom Salts during the rain to strengthen the roots.

I learned from reading more about fungi that they are the long-distance delivery mechanisms for nutrition at the plant roots. Bacteria and protozoa are local taxi rides, while fungi are cross-country trains in comparison.

The plant roots hand out carbon to fungi and get various nutrients in return, the exchange guided by the roots. I keep adding leaves to the compost, because those are carbon credits for Vanity Fair of composting and growing. Hipster gardeners like me realize that the carbon rich leaves are just as important as nitrogen rich grass and weeds in the compost.

Our gardening neighbor is donating his green trash to the compost, organic cash being invested for the 2015 garden.

Luther's First Sermon for the NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

This sermon, which is not found in the c. edition, was issued in pamphlet form under the title: “A sermon on the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew; The Kingdom of Christ, which consists in the forgiveness of sins; the trying of the spirits; the efficacy of the faith of others; The twofold power on earth to forgive sins. Martin Luther, Wittenberg, 1525.” Erl. 14, 190; W. 11, 2281; St. L. 11, 1710.

Text: Matthew 9:1-8. And he entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city. And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus, seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven. And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise, and walk?

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, and take up thy bed, and go unto thy house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they were afraid, and glorified God, who had given such authority unto men.

CONTENTS:

JESUS CURES THE MAN SICK OF THE PALSY; OR THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST, THE FAITH OF OTHERS; AND THE POWER TO FORGIVE SINS.
* Luther’s desire that the preaching of the Word might come into practice. 1.

I. THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST.

1. In the kingdom of Christ this sweet voice should re-echo Thy sins are forgiven thee.

2. In the kingdom of Christ there is nothing but consolation and forgiveness.

3. Where the kingdom of Christ is to be enlarged, we must keep away with the law and works. 4f.

* Of the fanatical spirits. a. How they glory in their works. b. How are we to decide that the fanatical spirits have not the Holy Spirit. 6-8.

4. The kingdom of Christ develops, so that we place all our glory and comfort in grace.

5. How and why one should remain on the true road of the kingdom of Christ.

6. What persons belong to this kingdom and who do not.

7. The whole kingdom of Christ consists in two words. 12-14.

* The raging spirit of the world against the Gospel. a. The first characteristic of this spirit. b. The second characteristic. c. With what should Christians comfort themselves in the presence of this spirit 18.

8. By what is Christ’s kingdom maintained and increased. 19f.

* Of faith and works. 19-21.

* The whole life of a Christian must be in accord with the Word.

* What answer should we give to the Papists when they reproach the Protestants, that they perform no miracles. 23.

II. THE FAITH OF OTHERS.

1. Whether children are baptized upon the faith of others or whether they have their own faith. 24-25.

2. The faith of others avails nothing for salvation.

3. How far the faith of others help and to what does it serve.

4. Children must be saved not through the faith of others, but through their own faith. 27.

III. THE POWER TO FORGIVE SINS.

1. The nature of this power.

2. All Christians have this power.

3. How a Christian should make this power to be of benefit to himself. 30-31.

THE SUMMARY OF THIS GOSPEL:

1. The faith of others brings faith to sinners, but it will soon require their own faith; for Christ says to the sick of the palsy: Be of good cheer; that is, only believe, and have a good heart, there is no need or distress.

2. The world and the flesh in their wisdom set themselves against the Gospel. The natural man does not believe that the forgiveness of sins is through Christ.

3. The outward miracle and signs one sees with the eyes, are only signs of the inner healing, and a publishing of the forgiveness of sins.

4. We are certain that we have the forgiveness of sins through Christ. But how are we assured of this? First, from his invitation and promise: for he is true and faithful. Secondly, from his power; for he is God.

1. My friends in Christ, as we hear and enjoy this Gospel every year, I hope you also understand it, and know what it teaches us, and may God grant that the right life may also follow this knowledge! For the greater part of the Gospel we hear only with the ear, and we know it, but do not live according to it, whereas it should be so taught that few words and nothing but life would be the result. But what shall we do for it ? We can do no more than preach it and no further raise it and carry it, we must preach and urge it until God comes and gives us his grace to the end that our words be few and that life may spring forth and grow. The first theme here offered us is the Gospel when Christ says: “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven.”

2. These words show and contain in brief what the kingdom of Christ is, namely, this sweet voice, these motherly and fatherly words penetrating our inmost soul: “Thy sins are forgiven.” In no other sense are we to view the kingdom of Christ, so far as it is understood, than how we are to live before God. As you, beloved, well know that our highest duty is rightly to establish the conscience that we may know how we stand before God and our neighbor. Therefore we must also hold fast to these words and become accustomed to the expression: “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven”, and like sayings of which the Gospel is full.

3. From this it follows that the kingdom of Christ is realized where nothing but comfort and the forgiveness of sins reign not only in words to proclaim it, which is also necessary; but also in deed, as we shall see in this example.

For he did not only speak these words into the ear of this sick man; but he also forgave his sins and comforted him. This knowledge is proper for us Christians to know. It is indeed easily and quickly said and heard; but when it comes to the test the light is early extinguished, and satan soon leads us astray; as you here observe that the scribes undertake to destroy this knowledge. I have before often said and will always say, that you should beware and properly learn the character and nature of the kingdom Of Christ. For you know how reason is inclined in its every movement to fall from faith and from this knowledge to works. But here you see no works at all, no merit, here there is neither command nor law; there is nothing more than the offering of Christ’s assistance, his comfort and his grace, only kindness meets the man sick of the palsy.

4. Therefore, if the kingdom of Christ is to grow, we must keep out of it with the law, and not be busy with works; for it is not in harmony with it to say: Go out and run hither and thither and atone for your sins; you must observe and do this and that, if you will be free from sin; but directly without any work and law, out of pure grace, your sins are forgiven.

Therefore, it is beyond the sphere of the kingdom of Christ to urge the people with the law.

5. But we receive such things only with the ear and on the tongue, and it enters not into the depth of the heart; for sin at all times still hangs about our necks, it clings firmly to us, as St. Paul speaks of this in Romans, 7:18- 19, and Hebrews 12:1. But in death we will experience it. Of this class are at present our fanatics who boast of the Holy Spirit, and pretend they would do better, some of whom are also in our midst, listen to us and contend that it is not enough for us to preach only faith and love. Yea, they say, You must do better and climb much higher. How high then must I climb? You must destroy pictures, you must kill the ungodly, and do whatever they propose. This filth now enters nearly every community where the Gospel has just been planted. These tares of satan will also come to us, as I have often warned you. Take heed that you remain sound in your knowledge, in the true doctrine of Christ, for this knowledge and light is soon lost.

6. Thus I say, my friends, and would beseech you not to esteem that spirit great who proposes to you any kind of work, call it what you may, even if it would raise the dead, which they have not yet been able to do. And how is it that they say: we must kill the godless! Even if Moses commanded it that you must really do it, what sort of Christians are you then? But by this you shall truly experience which spirits are of God. and which are not. For if you give me a work to do, it is not the Holy Spirit who does it; but he goes and first brings me the grace of Christ, and then leads me to works.

For thus he speaks: Thy sins are forgiven, be of good cheer, and the like.

He does not first insist on works, but first leads up to God through his sweet Word and grace, and does not immediately refer you to do some work; but later you will find works enough to do unto your neighbor.

7. But the fanatics soon torment us with works, and profess to have a nobler spirit; they urge and insist upon our doing something first of all, and permit faith and love to be overlooked. This of course is not of the Holy Spirit. Christ first takes possession of the conscience, and when it is right in faith toward God, then he also directs us to do works toward our neighbor.

But he first highly extols faith and keeps works in the background. This they cannot understand. I would forgive them everything, if they would only not patch and mend their good works, to which they trust their existence, honor and fame. I would not care about their destroying all pictures, and melting cups and bells into one mass; but that they should make a matter of conscience out of it for those who do not destroy pictures, just as though the Holy Spirit or faith were not present unless this work be performed.

8. I say this: Even if it were a work which God at this present hour commanded, I would not so insist upon it and condemn those who do not immediately obey it; and would find him some kind of protection, as that he is yet perhaps weak, and thus spread over him the kingdom of grace.

Let us be conscious of the fact that the work among them is directed to God, and not toward our neighbor. They make their works a necessity and say: If you do this, then you are a Christian; if you will not do it, you are no Christian. Where this or that is done there are Christians. And the fame follows their work, that they want to be esteemed better than others. Now you have the true light, therefore be warned. Prove the spirits. We do not wish to prefer ourselves, as these persons do; but we boast in this, that we hear the Word, “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven.” I know that I have a gracious God; but these spirits cannot do this. Therefore it is a mere devilish apparition that they carry from house to house. In this they lie against the Holy Spirit, and blame the Holy Ghost that he is the father of their cause. And even if the works were good, the forcing and compelling must remain in the background. Let them then keep quiet about setting us an example by their crazy works.

9. The kingdom of Christ consists in finding all our praise and boast in grace. Other works should be free, not to be urged, nor should we wish by them to become Christians, but condescend with them to our neighbor.

Thus we should hear this Gospel to hold fast to its expressions so that they may be written, in our hearts, that this light, this Word and lamp may truly shine in us, by which we can judge all other doctrines. Thus he says to the man sick with the palsy: “Thy sins are forgiven”. These and similar words are to be taken to heart and meditated upon, since they are nothing but pure grace, and no work, by which the conscience is oppressed and forced to do something. Thus, with these words you must protect yourselves against false teachers.

10. We have now sowed a little of the Word, and this the devil cannot stand, for he never sleeps; the worms and the beetles will come and infect it. Yet so it must be, Christ will prove his Word, and examine who has received it and who not. Therefore let us remain on the right road to the kingdom of Christ, and not go about with works and urge and force the works of the law, but only with the words of the Gospel which comfort the conscience: Be happy, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven.

11. By this observe how narrow and how wide the kingdom of Christ is.

Few there be who so receive the Word that it tastes good to them and judge themselves by it, and who understand what is said by: “Thy sins are forgiven.” If we are now in the kingdom of Christ why then does he mention sin? Are sins always there? No one belongs to this kingdom unless his sins are revealed to him by the Gospel, otherwise these words apply to no one: “Thy sins are forgiven.” Indeed all hear the Gospel, but it does not enter the hearts of all, for they do not all feel their sins. But the Gospel preaches that everything we have in us is sin. Therefore it also offers comfort; forgiveness of sins is here. If I am to receive forgiveness of sins, I must have knowledge of sin.

12. Forgiveness of sins is nothing more than two words, in which the whole kingdom of Christ consists. There must be sins, and if we are conscious of them, we must confess them; when I have confessed them, forgiveness and grace are immediately present. Before forgiveness is present there is nothing but sin. This sin must be confessed that I may feel and know that all that is in me is blindness; otherwise forgiveness of sins could not exist where there is no sin. However, there is no lack of sins to confess, but the lack is in not feeling and knowing our sins to confess them; then only forgiveness of them follows. But it is quite a different thing when God forgives sins, than when one man forgives another. One man forgives another his sins in a way that he thinks of them again tomorrow, or casts them up to him. But when God forgives sins it is quite a different thing than when man forgives. For God condemns no more, he banishes all wrath from him, yea, he no more thinks of the sin, as he himself says in the prophet Isaiah, 43:25. Now if this wrath is gone, then hell, the devil, death and all misfortune that the devil may bring with him, must also disappear; and instead of wrath God gives grace, comfort, salvation and everything good that he himself is.

13. Sin is pure unhappiness, forgiveness pure happiness. The divine majesty is great, great is also that which it forgives. As the man is, so is also his forgiveness. But you must know in your heart how great these words are in which you know how to trust, yea, for which you can cheerfully die. But only few rightly receive these words, therefore there are but few true Christians.

14. This then is the kingdom of Christ, and he who possesses it thus, possesses it in the right way. Here there is no work, but only the acknowledgment of all our misfortune, and the reception of all the gifts of God. Here there is nothing but simple comfort, here the words are continually heard: Be joyful, let not your conscience be troubled because of sin, or because you have not done a great amount of good; I will forgive you all. Therefore it is not by merit, but it is a simple gift. This is the Gospel, upon which faith depends, through which you grasp and keep these words, so that they may not have been spoken in vain. For we have no other comfort of which God tells us to boast than that God says: “Be of good cheer, be comforted; for I forgive thy sins; and in my forgiveness you can glory and rejoice.” Here then you have reason to boast and rejoice, but not in your own works.

15. This the workrighteous person cannot do, for honor always follows, as they have said: Honor follows virtue as the shadow follows the man. If it is the honor of works, whether man or God has commanded them, it is nothing; if it is the honor of the works God does in us it is all right, as <19B816> Psalm 118:16 says: “The right hand of Jehovah is exalted; the right hand of Jehovah doth valiantly.” As though he should say: “In this will I boast and glory, namely, in that he has exalted me out of death, hell and all evil.” Workrighteous people have not this glory, for they have not the Word; but as the work is, so is the praise, they urge and compel us to depart from the Word to human work. But the Holy Spirit urges us from our works to the Word. The former boast of their works, the latter, where the Holy Spirit is, rejoice internally in the heart with God, that he has done this work, and they remain clinging to grace, and attribute nothing at all to their own works.

16. Thus the scribes do here. When they heard these words they said among themselves: “This man blasphemeth .” For this is the nature of the holy Gospel and the true Word of God where it is truly believed, that it is blasphemed on both sides, and the whole world would destroy it; as was the case in the time of the Apostles, and as our raging princes now do, who simply wish it were dead, entirely crushed and destroyed with all those who preach and confess it. This however is the least persecution.

17. The other persecution is much worse, which takes place among us as it also did in Apostolic times among the Apostles. So too our country squires, who enjoy the Gospel with us, and do not want to be followers of the Pope, but to be regarded as Christians; they must plunge into it; so furious they are that they boast of the Gospel, and yet they trust in their works. And here the Holy Spirit must be called the devil, there the beautiful spirit. But we must venture to say: Their cause is not just; then they will say again: Your cause is not right; for the wicked spirit does not rest unless it is praised. We have a Lord of protection, he will successfully accomplish his work.

18. Paul calls all false spirits bold and proud. Yes, in their filth with their protectors they are proud and impudent, otherwise they are the most cowardly villains that can be found. When they are to appear and answer for their conduct, they cannot produce a single answer. Among themselves they are bold, and venture to catch God in his own Word; but when it comes to the test, they simply despair. But the Holy Spirit stands firm, checks their buffeting, makes us bold and courageous, comforts weak consciences and says: “Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven.” The true spirit is bashful, and becomes bashful in the sight of God, as Christians do who bow before God, honor him and are not proud. But before tyrants the Holy Spirit encourages them so that they fear neither tyrants nor devils, and are not frightened even if they tore their heads from their shoulders.

But in God’s presence they fear and tremble like a rustling leaf. But, alas, I see the great mass of people are only concerned about continually hearing without understanding what is said. and when the time comes that they should give an answer, they stand like the pipers and can answer nothing.

And thus we also go forth to execution. We must endure such assaults and factious spirits and cannot change it. Nevertheless, we may well comfort ourselves with the thought that we have the true foundation, that our cause is right and theirs wrong. This they also know well enough, and for this reason they can never be bold except among themselves, and there they may boast as long as they please.

19. But the kingdom of Christ consists in this and thereby grows, namely, that the conscience be comforted with the Word. What else takes place through works and laws, all pertains to our neighbor. For I need no works before God, and must only be careful rightly to confess my sins. Then I have forgiveness of sins and am one with God, all which the Holy Spirit works in me. Then I break forth with blessings toward my neighbor, as they did here who brought the man sick with the palsy to the Lord. Those were in the kingdom, or show who are in the kingdom, as the Evangelist says, that the Lord had respect unto their faith. For had they not had any faith, they would not have brought the sick to the Lord. Faith precedes works, works follow faith. Therefore, because they are in the kingdom by faith, they bring in the sick man and thus do the work.

20. On this earth man lives not for the sake of works, in order that they may be profitable to him, for he is not in need of them. But if you do good works in order thereby to obtain and merit something from God, all is lost, and you have already fallen from this kingdom. But since you believe and continue to live you ought to know that you live for this very cause, namely, to carry in the sick man. God does not desire the Christian to live for himself. Yea, cursed is the life that lives for self. For all that one lives after he is a Christian, he lives for others. So these also do who bring in the sick man, they no longer live for themselves, but their lives serve others; yes, with their faith they win for the sick man a faith of his own. For this sick man had at first no faith, but after he heard the Word, Christ instills into him a faith of his own, and awakens him with the Gospel; as he is accustomed to instill faith by the Word.

21. Thus all works should be done, only to the end that we may see how they agree with the service for other people, to bring them to a true faith and lead them to Christ. If I tear down the pictures in churches that men may see a Christian is present, that is of no profit to the people, nor does it preach how to become free from sin; but he only desires praise, which does not lift up the consciences, and only makes the people gape with ears, eyes and mouths wide open. It is a contemptible art to demolish pictures. But to know the kingdom of Christ that I or others may be benefited, this is well done. But you will not accomplish this even if you tear down all the churches, but only by hearing the words: Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven; then by bringing others to God’s Word.

22. The Word must be enforced, it must be beaten into men, here I must eat and drink, adorn and clothe myself, not that I may live, but that I may enforce the Word. For where the life of a Christian is not centered in the Word, it is not right. I am required to aid the conscience with the Word. I must give my neighbor meat and drink and do all I can for him in order to reach the chief thing, namely, to encourage the conscience, as they do here, who assist the sick man to recover his bodily health. And although it is a kindness or work to his body, nevertheless they so help him that his soul is also strengthened. Thus I feed the hungry, give the thirsty drink, clothe the naked, and the like. Yet I do this not only that he may eat and drink, but that I may secure the opportunity to tell him the Word, and thus also to bring him to Christ. These works are outside the kingdom, done to those who are not in the kingdom, in order to bring them into the kingdom.

23. Thus the Holy Spirit preaches, but the mad spirit of the separatists only desires to perform great wonders, to see and do miracles and signs. It is miracle enough that people learn by our preaching to know Christ and obtain a joyful conscience. Likewise, that I learned monachism, priestcraft, and everything belonging to popery to be nothing, is for me a great miracle. There is nothing in it when they make the charge that we perform no miracles. Although they do not shine so brightly and our ministers perform no miracles, as the Papists imagine they do, nevertheless, our light is pure and our knowledge correct. We surely preach the Gospel, and this they must of course conscientiously confess before each and every one, whether they desire to do so or not. So you have learned here that the kingdom of Christ and the Gospel are devoted to the end that you concentrate all your life, whether you be wife, child or husband, that you may be one who brings the sick to Christ, and thus be of assistance to others.

II. THE FAITH OF OTHERS.

24. Now we should also consider a little the faith of others and the power to forgive sins, had we the time. I said before that it is an error to baptize the children into the faith of the church; men preached as though they were baptized without faith. This error enters among us by force at present, for the devil does not sleep. They think infants have no faith. The Pope with his subordinates has hitherto maintained that children have no faith, but are laid into the lap of the Christian church, and were baptized in the faith of universal Christendom. These new fanatics, like the Pope, also say that children have no faith; but that we should wait until they grow up.

25. We say that the faith of others does not assist unto salvation, even if two Christendoms were present. The child must itself believe in Christ. For I have not been born in the place of the child or for the child, nor will I die in its stead, it has a death and birth of its own. If it is to live and become free from death, it must also come to this through faith in Christ. However, we pray for the children as well as for all unbelievers; and preach, pray and labor that the unbelieving and children may also come and believe; for this we also live.

26. So these people here had also faith, but not the man of the palsy. Yet, he must receive it if he is to get well, otherwise their faith would not have helped him. They, however, in their faith prayed Christ to give the man sick of the palsy a faith of his own. So the faith of others assists to the end that I may obtain a faith of my own.

27. Yes, one might say: “How do we know whether children believe or not?” Neither do we know who among adults believe or who do not. If I be baptized as an adult and say: I believe; how can you know whether I believe or not? How do you know it? How, if I were to lie? No one else can know it, to this every one is brought by his own heart and thoughts; if it is right, it is right. The child cannot stand on my faith, I have scarcely enough faith for myself. Nor shall I lay it into the lap of Christendom, but into the Word of Christ where he says: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14. Luke 18:15. And thus I shall say: “Here, O Christ, I bring a little child to thee, thou hast commanded me to bring it to thee.” Now I have done my part, Christ will also certainly do his part.

So I do not baptize the child in my own faith or in the faith of Christendom. But my faith and Christendom bring the child to baptism, in order that by rightly bringing it God may give it a faith of its own, that it may believe as I believe and be preserved in the same Word that Christ has given me. And I do not baptize the child on that it has no faith, as the Bohemians think, that when it grows up it shall then first obtain faith, and speak the Word of God over the child: Thy sins are forgiven thee; and yet it does not, as they hold, believe the words. Is not this to charge the Word of God as being false? Now to sum up: I can of course by my prayers and faith help another that he may also believe, but I cannot believe for him.

THE POWER ON EARTH TO FORGIVE SINS.

28. The Pharisees knew very well that to forgive sins was the work of God, and belonged to him alone. For this reason they regarded Christ as a blasphemer, who as a man pretended to forgive sins. The forgiveness of sin is of two kinds: The first is to drive sin from the heart and infuse grace into it; this is the work of God alone. The second kind is the declaration of the forgiveness of sin; this man can do to his fellowman. But here Christ does both. He instills the Spirit into the heart and externally he declares forgiveness with the word, which is a declaration and public preaching of the internal forgiveness.

29. All men who are Christians and have been baptized, have this power.

For with this they praise Christ, and the word is put into their mouth, so that they may and are able to say, if they wish, and as often as it is necessary: Behold, O Man! God offers thee his grace, forgives thee all thy sins; be comforted, thy sins are forgiven; only believe and thou wilt surely have forgiveness. This word of consolation shall not cease among Christians until the last day: “Thy sins are forgiven, be of good cheer.”

Such language a Christian always uses and openly declares the forgiveness of sins. For this reason and in this manner a Christian has power to forgive sins.

30. Therefore if I say to you: Thy sins are forgiven, then believe it as surely as though God himself had said it to you. But who could do this if Christ had not descended, had not instructed me and said that we should forgive one another our trespasses? As when he says, John 20:22-23: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained unto them.” And at another place, Matthew 18:19-20, he says: “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” The word penetrates and performs it.

31. Now if there were no man on earth to forgive sins, and there were only law and works what a weak, and miserable thing a poor troubled conscience would be. But now when God adequately instructs every one, so that he is able to say to others: Thy sins are forgiven thee, wherever thou art; the golden age has arrived. On this account we are to be defiant and boastful against sin, so that we can say to our brother, who is in anxiety and distress on account of his sins: Be of good cheer, my brother, thy sins are forgiven; although I cannot give thee the Holy Ghost and faith, I can yet declare them unto thee; if thou believest, thou hast them. They who thus believe these words praise and glorify God, even as they do here in the Gospel. That is, God has given man power to forgive sins, and thus the kingdom of Christ is spread, the conscience is strengthened and comforted. This we do now through the Word. God grant that we may also thus understand it.

---

St. Matthew, by El Greco

Luther's Second Sermon for the NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.   MATTHEW 9:1-8.





KJV Matthew 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men


This sermon appeared instead of the preceding one in the c edition. Luther delivered it on Oct. 3d, 1529, while the Marburg Coloquium was in session. It appeared in print the following year under the title: “A sermon on Christian righteousness, or the forgiveness of sins, Preached at Marburg in Hesse, 1529, Martin Luther, Wittenberg, 1530.” On the last page are the words: “Printed at Wittenberg by Hans Weissen, 1530.” Erl. 14, 206; W. 11, 2301; St. L. 11, 1724.

CONTENTS:

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE WORLD, AND THE CHRISTIAN, HEAVENLY RIGHTEOUSNESS. OR, JESUS CURES THE PALSIED MAN, AND THE POWER ON EARTH TO FORGIVE SINS.
* How and why the article on the forgiveness of sins should be well learned and faithfully practiced. 1.

I. OF THE WORLDLY RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PIETY.

1. The nature and aim of this righteousness.

2. How God requires this of all persons. 2-3. 3 . In what way it can be inculcated in the people.

* Of the Word of God and the Gospel. 5-7.

4. It should not be lightly esteemed.

5. An admonition to exercise ourselves in this righteousness and piety. 9.

II. OF THE CHRISTIAN AND HEAVENLY RIGHTEOUSNESS.

A. This righteousness in itself and its right use.

1. Its nature.

2. This righteousness makes us Christians and is different from workrighteousness.

3. Great art and tact are required to grasp this righteousness well and to use it aright. 12-14.

4. How to use this righteousness properly. 15-20.

5. How and why we should faithfully practice this righteousness, praise and spread it. 21-22.

B. The fountain and foundation of this righteousness.

1. The nature and need of this fountain and foundation.

2. Only Christians grasp this fountain and foundation.

3. How and why it is necessary to know this fountain and foundation.

4. All our righteousness rests upon this fountain and foundation. 27.

C. The means and institutions by which to become partakers of this righteousness.

1. The nature of these institutions and means.

2. How and why God established them.

29. 3 . Without them no one can know and obtain righteousness and salvation. 30-31.

* The righteousness as conceived by the world must follow the Christian righteousness.

1. The theme of this Gospel is the great and important article of faith, called “the forgiveness of sins”, which, when rightly understood, makes an honest Christian, and gives eternal life. Therefore it is necessary in the Christian Church to teach this article diligently and unceasingly, so that we may learn to understand it clearly and distinctly. For this is the one great and difficult art of a Christian, where he will have enough to learn as long as he lives, so that he need not look for anything new, higher or better.

2. But that we may rightly understand this, we must thoroughly know how to distinguish two powers or kinds of piety. One here upon earth, which God has also ordained and has included under the second table of the ten commandments. This is called the righteousness of the world or of man, and serves to the end that we may live together on earth and enjoy the gifts God has given us. For it is his wish that his present life be kept under proper restraint and passed in peace, quietude and harmony, each one attending to his own affairs and not interfering with the business, property or person of another. For this reason God has also added a special blessing, Leviticus 18:5, “Which if a man do, he shall live in them”, that is, whosoever upon earth is honest in the sight of all men shall enjoy life; it shall be well with him, and he shall live long.

3. But if on the other hand man is unwilling to do this, he has ordained that the sword, the gallows, the rack, fire, water, and the like be used, with which to restrain and check those who will not be pious. Where such punishment is not administered and the whole country becomes so utterly bad and perverted, that the officers of the law can no longer restrain, God sends pestilence, famine, war, or other terrible plagues, in order to subvert the land, and destroy the wicked, as has happened to the Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, and others. From this we may learn his will, namely, that such piety be exercised and maintained; and know that he will provide what is necessary; but if such piety is not practiced he will in turn take away and destroy everything.

4. This is in short the sense and the whole substance of this piety on earth.

But it is further necessary to urge it and to admonish people that every man diligently, zealously and voluntarily exercise himself in it, and that he be not driven to it by force and punishment. This admonition consists in setting forth God’s commandments and in applying them to every station of life on earth, as God has ordered and appointed them. They are to be respected and highly honored; we should find pleasure in them and heartily do what is required in the different spheres of life. When God says, “Honor thy father and thy mother,” every child, man-servant, maid-servant, citizen, and the like, should receive the Word with joy, have no greater treasure on earth, and not imagine if he do this he is already halfway or altogether in paradise. And this should be solely done, that every heart may be assured without a doubt and say: Now I know, that such work, life, or position is right and proper and is assuredly well pleasing to God; for I have his Word and command as a sure witness, which never deceives nor fails me.

5. For do not let this be the least grace upon earth, when you have come to this decision in your heart and your conscience rests upon it. We owe this assurance to the blessed Gospel alone, in which we should delight and which we must reverence, even if we receive no other benefit or use from it than this, that it quiets our conscience and positively teaches us how to live and in what relation we stand to God.

In what error and blindness we were aforetime, when not even a spark of such teaching enlightened us and we allowed ourselves to be led in the name of the devil by the whims of every lying preacher; we tried all kinds of works, ran hither and thither, expended and wasted our energies, money and property; here we established masses and altars, there cloisters and brotherhoods, and every one was groping for the way in which he might serve God; yet no one found it, but all remained in darkness. For there was no God who might say: This is pleasing to me, this I have commanded, etc.

Yes, our blind guides did nothing less than lose sight of God’s word, separated it from good works, and instead of these set up other works everywhere; in addition to this they discarded and despised the positions in life, which God had appointed, as though he knew no better, nor even as well as we, how to manage his affairs.

6. Therefore we must constantly take heed to inculcate this Word of God, which does not burden us with any special, great and difficult works, but refers us to the condition in which we live, that we look for nothing else, but with a cheerful heart remain satisfied in it, and be assured that by such work more is accomplished than if one had established all the cloisters and kept all the orders, although it be the most insignificant domestic work. For hitherto we have been woefully deceived by the fine luster and pomp of works, hoods, bald pates, coarse apparel, by fasts, wakes, pious looks, playing the devotee, and going barefoot.

Our foolishness consists in laying too much stress upon the show of works and when these do not glitter as something extraordinary we regard them as of no value; and poor fools that we are, we do not see that God has attached and bound this precious treasure, namely his Word, to such common works as filial obedience, external, domestic, or civil affairs, so as to include them in his order and command, which he wishes us to accept, the same as though he himself had appeared from heaven. What would you do if Christ himself with all the angels were visibly to descend, and command you in your home to sweep your house and wash the pans and kettles? How happy you would feel, and would not know how to act for joy, not for the work’s sake, but that you knew that thereby you were serving him, who is greater than heaven and earth.

7. If we would only consider this, and by the power of the Word look beyond us, and think that it is not man, but God in heaven who wishes and commands these things, we would run full speed, and in a most faithful and diligent manner rather do these common, insignificant works, as they are regarded, than any others. There is no other reason why this is not done than the simple fact that the works are separated from the Word, and God’s command is not regarded nor respected; we move along in a blind, drowsy manner, and think the doing of the works is all sufficient. Because we regard these works as insignificant, we stare and look around for others, become indolent and fretful, do nothing in love, faithfulness and obedience, have no scruples on account of our negligence, are faithless to our fellowmen, injure or vex them, and thus heap upon ourselves all manner of misery, wrath, and misfortune.

8. This then is one part of our discourse, that this external righteousness be urged both in admonitions and in threatenings, and not be considered as of no importance. For whosoever despises it, despises God and his Word.

9. Therefore let every man look to himself what he is or what he has to do, and what God demands of him, whether it be to rule, to command and order, or on the contrary to obey, serve and labor, that he may attend to the duties of his office with all faithfulness for God’s sake. Let him be assured that God has more respect for such faithfulness than for all the work and piety of the monks, who never yet have attained to this outward righteousness; nor are they able to extol all their works and doings as heartily as a child or servant girl performing their duties according to God’s command.

O, what a blessed world we would have, if people believed this, and every man remained at his post, always keeping in mind God’s will and command. Then there would shower from heaven all kinds of blessings and gifts instead of the many vexations and heart-aches, which we now have, are looking for, and deserve.

10. Above this external piety there is another, which does not belong to this temporal life on earth but which avails only before God and which leads us to the life beyond and keeps us in it. The former piety consists in works, which this present life requires to be done among men, whether they be our superiors or inferiors, our neighbors, or our kindred. It has its reward here upon earth, also ends with this life, and they who do not practice it shorten their days. But this latter piety moves and soars far above everything that is upon earth, and has nothing to do with works. For how can it have works, since all that this body can perform and that is called works, is already included in the former piety.

This piety is now called the grace of God, or the forgiveness of sins, of which Christ speaks in this and other gospels, and which is not an earthly but heavenly righteousness; it does not come of our work and ability but is the work and gift of God. For that human piety may well shield us against punishment and the hangman, and permit us to enjoy temporal gifts; but it cannot attain for us God’s grace and the forgiveness of sin. Therefore, even though we may have this external piety, we must nevertheless have a much higher one, which alone avails before God, frees us from sin and an evil conscience, and leads us out of death into eternal life.

11. This is, furthermore, the only part or article and doctrine, by believing which we become and are called Christians, and which separates and divorces us from all other saints on earth; for they all have a different foundation and nature of their saintliness, peculiar exercises, and rigorous life. It separates us also from the works of those holding positions and offices approved by the Word of God, which are indeed much higher and better than all the self-chosen ecclesiasticism of the monks. These also constitute a holy calling, so that they are called pious and deserve praise of all men because they do their duty. But all this makes no one a Christian.

He alone is a Christian who receives this article in faith, and is assured that he is in the kingdom of grace, in which Christ protects him, and daily forgives him his sins. But he who looks for something else or wishes to deal otherwise with God, must know that he is no Christian, but is rejected and condemned by God.

12. For this reason the greatest skill and intelligence is needed to grasp and understand this righteousness, and in our hearts and before God rightly to distinguish it from the above mentioned outward righteousness. For this is, as has been said, the skill and the wisdom of the Christian, but it is so high and great that even all the beloved Apostles could not speak enough of it; and yet it meets the painful misfortune that no art is mastered as soon as this.

There is no greater theme for a preacher than the grace of God and the forgiveness of sin, yet we are such wicked people, that, when we have once heard or read it, we think we know it, are immediately masters and doctors, keep looking for something greater, as though we had done everything, and thus we made new factions and division.

13. I have now been teaching and studying this subject with all diligence for many years (more than any one of those who imagine they know it all), in preaching, writing and reading, yet I cannot boast of having mastered it and am glad that I still remain a pupil with those who are just beginning to learn. For this reason I must admonish and warn all such as want to be Christians, both teachers and pupils, that they guard themselves against such shameful delusion and surfeit, and understand that this subject is most difficult and the greatest art that can be found upon earth; so that even Paul had to confess and say ( 2 Corinthians 9:15) that it is an unspeakable gift, that is, one which cannot be described among men with words so that they may regard it as highly and dearly as it really is in itself.

14. The reason for this is, that man’s understanding cannot get beyond this external piety of works, and cannot comprehend the righteousness of faith; but, the greater and more skillful this understanding is, the more it confines itself to works and rests upon them. It is not possible for man in times of temptation and distress, when his conscience smites him, to cease from groping around for works on which to stand and rest. Then we seek and enumerate the many good deeds, which we would like to do, or have done, and because we find none, the heart begins to doubt and despair. This weakness adheres so firmly to our nature, that even those who have faith and recognize the grace of God, or the forgiveness of sins, cannot overcome it with all their efforts and exertions, and must daily contend against it. In short it is entirely beyond human knowledge and understanding, ability and power, to ascend above this earthly righteousness, and to transfer oneself into this article of faith; and although one hears much about it and is conversant with it, there continues nevertheless the old delusion and inborn corruption which would bring its own works before God and make them the foundation of salvation. Such is the case, I say, with those who are Christians and fight against this workrighteousness; others, critics and inexperienced souls are even lost in it.

15. Therefore this doctrine, that our piety before God consists entirely in the forgiveness of sins, must be rightly comprehended and firmly maintained. We must therefore get beyond ourselves and ascend higher than our reason, which keeps us in conflict with ourselves and which reminds us both of sin and good works; and we must soar so high as to see neither sin nor good works, but be rooted and grounded in this article and see and know nothing besides. Therefore let grace or forgiveness be pitted not only against sin, but also against good works, and let all human righteousness and holiness be excluded. Thus there are in man two conflicting powers: Externally in this life he is to be pious, do good works, and the like. But if he aims beyond this life and wishes to deal with God, he must know that here neither his sin nor his piety avails anything. And though he may feel his sins which disturb his conscience, and although the law demands good works, he will not listen nor give heed to them, but will boldly reply; If I have sin, Christ has forgiveness; yea, I am seated on a throne to which sin cannot attain.

16. Therefore we are to regard the kingdom of Christ as a large, beautiful arch or vault which is everywhere over us, and covers and protects us against the wrath of God; yea, as a great, extended firmament which pure grace and forgiveness illuminate and so fill the world and all things, that all sin will hardly appear as a spark in comparison with the great, extended sea of light; and although sin may oppress, it cannot injure, but must disappear and vanish before grace. They who understand this, may well be called masters, but we will all have to humble ourselves and not be ashamed to keep on learning this lesson as long as we live.

17. For wherever our nature succeeds in finding sin, it tries to make an unbearable burden of it. Satan fans the spark and blows up a great fire which fills heaven and earth. Here the leaf must be turned and we must firmly conclude: If the sin were ever so great or burdensome, this article of faith is nevertheless much higher, wider and greater, which has been recommended and established not by man’s wisdom, but by him who has comprehended heaven and earth and holds them in the hollow of his hand. Isaiah 40:12. My sin and piety must remain here on earth as far as they concern my life and conduct. But in heaven above I have another treasure, greater than either of these; there Christ is seated and holds me in his arms, covers me with his wings and overshadows me with his grace.

18. You may say: How is this, since I daily feel sin and my conscience condemns me and threatens me with God’s wrath? I answer: For this reason, I say, one must understand that the righteousness of a Christian is nothing that can be named or imagined but the forgiveness of sin, that is, it is a kingdom of power which deals only with sin and with such abundant grace as takes away all wrath.

It is called the forgiveness of sin for the reason that we are truly sinners before God; yes, everything in us is sin, even though we may have all human righteousness. For where God speaks of sin, there must be real and great sin; so also forgiveness is no jest, but real earnestness. When you, therefore, consider this article you have both. Sin takes away all your holiness, no matter how pious you are on earth; again, forgiveness takes away all sin and wrath. Therefore your sin cannot cast you into hell, nor can your piety elevate you into heaven.

19. Therefore, when the devil disturbs your conscience, and tries to bring despair to your heart by saying: “Have you not learned that one must be pious?” then answer courageously and say: Yes, you are right; I am a sinner, that I have known before; for this article, called the forgiveness of sins, has taught me this long ago. I am to be pious and do what I can before the world; but before God I am willing to be a sinner, and to be called nothing else, that this article may remain true, else there would not be forgiveness or grace; but it must needs be called a crown of righteousness and of merits. Therefore, although I feel nothing but many and great sins, yet they are no longer sins; for I have for them a precious panacea and drug which takes away the power and poison of sin and wholly destroys it. It is this word, “Forgiveness,” before which sin disappears like stubbles before the fire. Without it no work, suffering, or martyrdom avails against the smallest sin. For without forgiveness sin is and remains pure sin, which condemns us.

20. Therefore only confess this article heartily and boldly and say: Before the world I may be pious and do everything that is required, but before God it is only sin according to this article. Therefore I am a sinner, but a sinner who now has forgiveness and who sits at the throne where grace rules supreme, Psalm 116. If this were not so I would be a sinner like Judas, who saw only his sin, but no forgiveness. But Christians, no matter how much sin they feel in themselves, in that word forgiveness see much more abundant grace presented to them, and poured out over them.

21. Thus learn then to magnify this article and spread it as far as Christ reaches and rules, that you may elevate it far above everything in heaven and on earth. For as the Word soars over all this, so must also faith, which comprehends the Word and keeps the heart steadfast in it, overcome sin, conscience, death and the devil.

22. Consider now what kind of a person a Christian is, who lords it over death and the devil, and before whom all sin is as a withered leaf. Now examine yourself and see how far you have learned this lesson, and whether it is such an insignificant and easy matter as some inexperienced souls think. For if you have learned and believed it, all misfortune, death, and the devil will be as nothing. But since you are still so vexed with sin, and since you are still frightened and in despair on account of death, hell and God’s judgment, humble yourself, give honor to the Word and confess that you have never yet understood this matter.

In short let every man examine his own heart, and he will find a false Christian who imagines that he knows all about this subject before he has learned the first principles of it. The words are soon heard, read and repeated, but to carry out the principle in practice and in character, so that it may live within us, and our conscience may be founded upon it and rest in it, is not in the art of man. Therefore I say and admonish, that those who wish to be Christians may always keep it in mind, assimilate it, practice it, and chastise themselves with it, that we may at least have a taste of it, and as James 1:18, be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. For we shall never advance so far in this life as to come to a perfect understanding of it; nor did even the blessed Apostles, full of the Spirit and of faith, advance so far.

23. Thus far I have explained the first part, what Christian righteousness is and in what it consists. But if you ask further, whence it comes, or how it has been brought about or gained, I answer: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come from heaven and has been made man, has suffered and died for our sins. This is the cause, the means, and the treasure, through which we obtain the forgiveness of sin and for the sake of which the grace of God is bestowed upon us; for such a treasure does not come to us without means or merit. But since all of us are born in sin and are the enemies of God, we have deserved only eternal wrath and punishment. All that we are and have is condemned, and there is no help or way out of it. For sin is so grievous that no creature can quench it, the wrath so great that no man can appease and conciliate it. Therefore another man must take our place, namely Jesus Christ, God and man, and through his suffering and death make satisfaction for our sins and pay for them. This is the price that has been set, and has been expended for us, by which sin has been quenched and the wrath of God appeased, the Father has been reconciled and made our friend.

24. Christians alone know this and believe it, and are in this respect different from those of every other faith and worship on earth. For the Jews, Turks, false Christians, and those who would be righteous by works, also boast that God is merciful; and there is no man on earth but knows something of the grace of God, and yet all of them fail to obtain it, or in other words, they do not have the treasure in which it lies and from which it flows. They continue in their blindness and imagine they can acquire it by their works, rigid life, and their own holiness, with which they only make the wrath and displeasure of God the more grievous.

25. Therefore it is necessary that we rightly learn to know this treasure, and seek forgiveness where it may be found; that is, that we thoroughly learn to know, comprehend, and keep the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is ordained that no one shall come into God’s presence, find grace, nor obtain forgiveness of the least sin except through Christ. Because you are a sinner, and will always remain one, your conscience is ever present, condemns and threatens you with God’s wrath and punishment, so that you cannot see the grace of God.

With reference to the forgiveness of sins let me say, that you will not find anything in your heart with which you can pay them off, nor raise any funds for which God might recognize you and cancel the debt in the ledger.

But if you seize Christ as the one who has become your substitute, who has taken your sin upon himself, and who has given himself with all his merit and worthiness for you, no sin can avail anything against you. If I am a sinner, he is holy, and is Lord over sin, death, satan and hell, so that no sin can harm me, because he has been given me as my righteousness and salvation.

26. Therefore we have, indeed, pure grace and forgiveness of all sins, but nowhere except in and through Christ alone, and in him only it must be sought and obtained. Therefore whoever will come before God with any kind of work, that God shall recognize and regard as meritorious for obtaining grace, will be disappointed and undeceived, yea, instead of grace he will heap wrath upon himself. Thus you see that all other ways and means are condemned as the doctrines of devils; by which men are led and directed to their own works, or to the holiness and merits of others, as for example, of the saints who have led ascetic lives and followed the rules of their orders, and have suffered and expiated a great deal; or as those have done who have comforted people in the throes of death and have admonished them to suffer death willingly for their sins. Whoever dares to offer anything else for sin or to atone for it himself does nothing else than deny the Lord Jesus Christ, yea, disgrace and slander him, as if the blood of Christ were of no more consequence than our repentance and satisfaction, or as if his blood were not sufficient to take away all the sins of the earth.

27. Therefore, would you be freed from your sins, cease to seek works and satisfaction, and to bring them before God; but simply creep under the wings and into the bosom of Christ, as the one who has taken away your sins, and has laid them upon himself. Thus you need not chastise yourself with them, nor have anything to do with them! For he is the Lamb of God, says John 1:29, which taketh away the sins of the world; and Peter says, Acts 4:12, There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. The reason we are Christians is because we have Christ with all His merit and worthiness, not because of our efforts and works, which indeed make a St. Carthusius, a St. Francis, or an Augustinian monk, an obedient servant and extremist as they are called; but such works can never make a Christian. Behold, this is the second part which belongs to the sermon on this article.

28. The third thought is how and by what means we may appropriate such righteousness, so that we may receive the treasure acquired by Christ. Here also we need to give heed that we take the right way, and not make the mistake, which certain heretics have made in times past, and many erroneous minds still set forth, who think that God ought to do something special with them. These imagine that God will deal separately with each one by some special internal light and mysterious revelation, and give him the Holy Ghost, as though there was no need of the written Word or the external sermon. Consequently we are to know that God has ordained that no one shall come to the knowledge of Christ, nor obtain the forgiveness acquired by him, nor receive the Holy Ghost, without the use of external and public means; but God has embraced this treasure in the oral word or public ministry, and will not perform his work in a corner or mysteriously in the heart, but will have it heralded and distributed openly among the people, even as Christ commands, Mark 16:15: Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, etc.

29. He does this in order that we may know how and where to seek and expect his grace, so that in all Christendom there may be the same custom and order, and not every man follow his own mind and act according to his own notions, and so deceive himself and others, which would certainly happen. As we cannot look into the heart of any man, each one might boast of having the Holy Ghost and set forth his own thoughts as divine revelation which God had inspired and taught him in a special manner; as a result, no one would know whom or what to believe.

30. Therefore this part also, namely the external word or preaching, belongs to Christianity as a channel or means through which we attain unto the forgiveness of sins, or the righteousness of Christ, with which Christ reveals and offers us his grace or lays it into our bosom, and without which no one would ever come to a knowledge of this treasure. For whence should any man know, or in what man’s heart would it ever come, that Christ, the Son of God, came from heaven for our sake, died for us, and rose from the dead, acquired the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, and offers the same to us, without publicly having it announced and preached?

And although he acquired this treasure for us through his suffering and death, no one could obtain or receive it, if Christ did not have it offered, presented, and applied. And all that he had done and suffered would be to no purpose, but would be like some great and precious treasure buried in the earth, which no one could find or make use of.

31. Therefore I have always taught that the oral word must precede every thing else, must be comprehended with the ears, if the Holy Ghost is to enter the heart, who through the Word enlightens it and works faith.

Consequently faith does not come except through the hearing and oral preaching of the Gospel, in which it has its beginning, growth and strength.

For this reason the Word must not be despised, but held in honor. We must familiarize and acquaint ourselves with it, and constantly practice it, so that it never ceases to bear fruit; for it can never be understood and learned too well. Let every man beware of the shameless fellows who have no more respect for the Word than if it were unnecessary for faith; or of those who think they know it all, become tired of it, eventually fall from it, and retain nothing of faith or of Christ.

32. Behold, here you have all that belongs to this article of the righteousness of Christ. It consists in the forgiveness of sins, offered to us through Christ, and received by faith in and through the Word, purely and simply without any works on our part. Yet I do not mean that Christians should not and must not do good works, but that they are not to be mingled and entwined in the doctrine of faith, and decorated with the shameless delusion that they avail before God as righteousness, whereby both the doctrine of works and of faith are besmirched and destroyed. For everything possible must be done to keep this article pure, unadulterated and separate from all our own doings. But after we have this righteousness by faith, works are to follow and continue here on earth, so that there may be civil righteousness, and that both be maintained, each in its proper place, but separate in their nature and efficacy, — the former before God in faith over and above all works, the latter works in love to our neighbor, as we said plainly enough above and always taught.

The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2014 


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time


The Hymn # 513      Art Thou Weary                                             4:37
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 
The Gospel 
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior                                             4:24 

Which Is Easier To Say?

The Communion Hymn #305        Soul, Adorn Thyself                          4:23
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #277       I Heard the Voice                                                     4:57

Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity
O mighty and everlasting God, who by Thy Son Jesus Christ didst mercifully help the palsied man both in body and soul: We beseech Thee, for the sake of Thy great mercy: Be gracious also unto us; forgive us all our sins, and so govern us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not ourselves be the cause of sickness and other afflictions; keep us in Thy fear, and strengthen us by Thy grace that we may escape temporal and eternal wrath and punishment, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

KJV Matthew 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.



Which Is Easier To Say?

KJV Matthew 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

There are two approaches to the Word of God. One is to hold up a mirror and see whatever image is in that mirror. 

Roman Catholics find allegories that mine the riches of the earth to build their institutions. Their official pronouncements about society seem socialistic, but their organization is an example of extreme capitalism. Each monastery and convent, each order, has to raise its own money, so all the individual parts are keen about ways in which to encourage purchases (religious objects) and gifts (for the mission). We lived near one Catholic order (Maryknoll) where the priests told us of how many thousands of letters they sent out regularly. The young ones were Leftists, but it is doubtful that they expressed their actual views in the letters.

Rationalists find some way to deny the miracle, to say the illness was simply in the mind of the person healed by Jesus. They say the individual had an emotional problem, which went away when near Jesus, so that was healing. 

Those who deny and repudiate faith never discover that the miracle begins with faith.

2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed

These friends had faith that Jesus would heal this man. The trust came from the reputation of Jesus as a miraculous healer. They were moved by compassion to bring the paralyzed man within reach of Jesus. So there was a plan. He could not go by himself, so they coordinated the trip. In faith and love, they brought the two together. 

We do the same whenever we bring Jesus and others together through the Word. The Word is the instrument that brings the Savior to others, and that meeting will always have its effect. 

Sometimes God works through large numbers, the way the Sower went out to sow the seed (the Word). Many difficulties oppose the Word, but it finds its place and grows with astounding yields. 

Often God works through individuals, who arrange this meeting between the Savior and the individual. These friends were not trying to balance the budget of the local synagogue. They were not looking for "success" in an evangelism campaign. They were giving of themselves to help another person, and they trusted that person to Jesus.

and Jesus seeing their faith

The Son of God could discern the thoughts of the crowd, which is often mentioned in His response to the opponents. But in this case He could also see their faith. They were carrying this man in a litter, which may sound easy at first, but the burden grows with distance in a bright desert sun.

Faith is God-pleasing and bears the fruit of love. We see that in our pets, since they are completely reliant on us for food, comfort, and security. When we have a close relationship with an animal, it expresses its appreciation all the time (or every so often, in the case of cats). People can see the relationship. Birds and squirrels do the same when they are fed regularly. They grow less afraid and more likely to ask for what they need. 

I think this happens in the animal kingdom so we can see our relationship to God more clearly. As my religion class pointed out, worldly wisdom teaches people to rely completely on themselves. That is exactly the opposite of the revealed truth of the Word. All material and spiritual benefits come from God alone, and we should rely on Him, trust Him, and love and thank Him for all His blessings and His protection.

We pray for people because we believe God will answer those prayers according to His wisdom, giving more than we can ask or even imagine. Prayers come from faith and love.

The emphasis on business in the church has extinguished faith and love, because everything is seen as a gimmick to make things better from man's perspective, to show outward signs that appeal to the Old Adam. That is why so many congregations mix a show of faith with a message that is entirely man-centered.

said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer;

As Luther observed, this is another way for Jesus to say, "Have faith. Do not be afraid. Your illness will be taken away."

This is a man who cannot use his muscles very well at all. He cannot walk, That means he must rely on others for the most basic needs of life. He is weak and vulnerable to all kinds of mischief and trouble. Every day is lived in anxiety and distress.

Jesus' nature was so apparent in words and deeds that His voice soothed people (or angered them) and nurtured immediate faith in their hearts (and likewise, immediate hatred and opposition). 

I had a not-so-great physician who said, "This won't hurt." A giant spark leaped from her cattle prod - and it hurt. She said, "I'm sorry. It won't hurt this time." Zap. It sparked and burned out of control, and it did hurt. Faith vanished.

In contrast, God promises and His promises are sure. He gives true comfort, and His Gospel displaces our fears and distress.

Luther:
2. These words show and contain in brief what the kingdom of Christ is, namely, this sweet voice, these motherly and fatherly words penetrating our inmost soul: “Thy sins are forgiven.” In no other sense are we to view the kingdom of Christ, so far as it is understood, than how we are to live before God. As you, beloved, well know that our highest duty is rightly to establish the conscience that we may know how we stand before God and our neighbor. Therefore we must also hold fast to these words and become accustomed to the expression: “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven”, and like sayings of which the Gospel is full.

3. From this it follows that the kingdom of Christ is realized where nothing but comfort and the forgiveness of sins reign not only in words to proclaim it, which is also necessary; but also in deed, as we shall see in this example.

thy sins be forgiven thee.

This is the statement aimed an enraging the opponents. And now we have many non-Jewish opponents outraged by the concept of forgiveness through faith. I lost count of how many "Lutherans" have denounced me for teaching what Luther taught so clearly, what is revealed so clearly in the Scriptures. And they add - cult leader, crazy, etc. But that is what often happens when obstinate unbelief meets faith. The Word is effective driving them mad. As James says about demons, they believe but their hides bristle. 

It is noteworthy that Jesus emphasized forgiveness and faith rather than healing. Forgiveness is the most important part, while healing is the outward sign of the man's justification by faith.

Dr. Robert Preus answered the question, "When are we forgiven?"

3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

The scribes did not say this out loud, but Jesus knew their thoughts. Blasphemy means specifically an attack against the nature of God. They believed He was only a man, perhaps a special healer, but still only a man. For Him to forgive sins was an attack against God. In fact, they were blaspheming, but could not accept that in their self-delusion. Jesus challenged them by asking, "Which one is easier?"

Luther:
10. We have now sowed a little of the Word, and this the devil cannot stand, for he never sleeps; the worms and the beetles will come and infect it. Yet so it must be, Christ will prove his Word, and examine who has received it and who not. Therefore let us remain on the right road to the kingdom of Christ, and not go about with works and urge and force the works of the law, but only with the words of the Gospel which comfort the conscience: Be happy, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven.

Luther on False, Proud Spirits - afraid of God
18. Paul calls all false spirits bold and proud. Yes, in their filth with their protectors they are proud and impudent, otherwise they are the most cowardly villains that can be found. When they are to appear and answer for their conduct, they cannot produce a single answer. Among themselves they are bold, and venture to catch God in his own Word; but when it comes to the test, they simply despair. But the Holy Spirit stands firm, checks their buffeting, makes us bold and courageous, comforts weak consciences and says: “Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven.” The true spirit is bashful, and becomes bashful in the sight of God, as Christians do who bow before God, honor him and are not proud. But before tyrants the Holy Spirit encourages them so that they fear neither tyrants nor devils, and are not frightened even if they tore their heads from their shoulders.

But in God’s presence they fear and tremble like a rustling leaf. But, alas, I see the great mass of people are only concerned about continually hearing without understanding what is said. and when the time comes that they should give an answer, they stand like the pipers and can answer nothing.

Arise and walk is just as difficult in their minds, because they could never claim a miracle like that. Rather than express wonder and faith about the miracle, they only wanted to accuse. This is another case of unbelievers being so blind that they see nothing good in front of them.

The rationalists want to make a big deal of the healing and then dismiss this, but this miracle is really about faith and love. In faith the friends bring this helpless man to Jesus. They believe, and Jesus admonishes the paralytic to also trust in Him - be of good cheer.

When faith is dismissed, works must enter. The entire unbelieving world trusts in works, as long as they define their blessed works of unfaith. Faith unsettles them, so they must promote works without faith.

6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

Jesus dramatically showed the power of His healing Word, when He commanded the paralytic to rise and walk to his own house. The man rose and went to his home, which was a great marvel for the audience.

The miracle connected the healing power and forgiving power of Christ. So many woes in our society would be healed by the forgiveness of sin. Faith in God makes our worst society evils so repugnant that they cannot even be considered.

Because the Catholic Church put so much emphasis on people giving their faith to others (such as babies being baptized) Luther was anxious to teach repeatedly that faith is individual. No one can give his faith to another. However, we certainly can show kindness to others so that the Word has an opportunity in their lives. Aiding them in becoming believers is far more important, but the first part is often being neighbors and helping anyone in need.

The fanatics drive people to do this or that, to prove they are all special in the eyes of God. But true honor toward God is to use what we have in faith to glorify him. That can be as simple as visiting people in nursing homes and cheering them with music. Nothing is quite so pleasing as hearing talented people sing hymns of faith. Many would consider this a lot of trouble and lacking in prestige, but what the world despises, God honors. Whatever is done in faith glorifies His Name.

Conducting our work, whatever our station in life, is the best way to honor God in faith. I see students who want to do their best in school and others who cut corners and deceive the system with plagiarism. I find workmen who do their best - and then some - and others who do as little as possible and charge too much. 

I wonder about the future of society where doing as little as possible is a talent. I go to the same place all the time for mulch; I am a frequent flyer. If a teen is helping, I can count on him acting like he is being tortured, moving as slowly as possible. One showed up, in slow motion, after I loaded 15 bags by myself. I could have towed away a stack for all he cared. He was probably peeved that he walked all that way for nothing.

Still, doing our work in faith will always achieve benefits for others that cannot be measured. The intangibles are the most important. I told my religion class that they would feel much closer to people they prayed for, if they prayed for them by name. That would fix them in their minds and create a relationship that did not exist before.

If all we can do is create islands of believers during the last days of an insane old world (Chemnitz' description of his times), then that is good. That can only happen through the faithful teaching of His Word, and doing our own work in faith, thankfulness, and love.

Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "Leave the False Prophets Alone During Holy Week":

It's too bad you don't take such words to heart, especially on a day like today. This isn't the first time someone's told you to repent. I pray that you do before you're called out of this world.

***

GJ -

Chief of sinners though I be,
I don't post anonymousely.

Rembrandt: Christ driving the moneychangers from the Temple.

KJV Matthew 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "Sausage Factory Prez To Preach for Patterson on Ea...":

It is rather sickening to visit here today, I should have known better. It is Good Friday and Greg's blog carries word of a pastor who is going to have the privilege of sharing the great news of Jesus' resurrection with people on Easter Sunday and instead of rejoicing, this becomes something to use in order to lob insults? I hope everyone sees how spiritually sick that truly is. All of us need to stop at the cross today, examine our lives carefully and then be awestruck at what our dear Lord paid to provide forgiveness for each of us. I guess the jaded tone of this site just struck me harder than usual on this special day. I'm not bitter, nor angry, nor entertained, just saddened by what you and your followers have become, Greg.

***

GJ - I recall that Jesus spoiled Holy Week by driving the moneychangers from the Temple and cursing the fig tree (as representing the falsehoods embraced by Israel).

Now that the political plans of Church and Chicanery are exposed, the Changers suddenly become pious and want only spiritual Valium on this blog, which is subtitled: The Glory Has Departed.

I love the sanctimony dripping from the comment above. Too bad he did not have the courage to sign his name. I think he is angry and bitter that Church and Change is now known for what it is, a den of thieves, a pit of vipers, white-washed sepulchres full of dead-men's bones.

No one is required to read this blog. I only expected a few dozen to bother, so I did not have to send out email doctrinal bulletins, with all the trouble involved in changing addresses and losing track of people.

A large number of WELS pastors and laity read this blog. Many different WELS members supply me with well-documented information.

Aderman is a founder of WELS Church and Change, but Church and Change went away. Right? Right?

When Bruce Becker's job was eliminated at The Love Shack, Mark and Avoid Jeske hired him the next day.

Matt plagiarizes sermons, promotes awful rock music in church, and advertises Easter worship with live bunnies. Easter is all about bunnies and gimmicks. Just the man WELS needs for the Asian seminary.

The torch of Enthusiasm passes from John Lawrenz to Steve Witte, new president of the WELS porta-sem.

Prayer Warrior Churches

Wild strawberries feed the birds we love, and Creation gardening feeds the soil the plants depend upon.

We began the backyard gardens for 2015 this summer, laying down newspapers and wood mulch  to turn the lawn into compost. That works faster than most assume. Soon the grass and weeds are black, and after that, soft soil is ready for planting.

Some people write about using Dawn detergent and vinegar to kill weeds. The stench of Dawn should warn people that they are dousing the soil with powerful chemicals. Everything dies with detergent. Ocean scientists found this out when treating oil spills with shiploads of detergent, killing off all sea life. In contrast, oil itself is temporarily toxic but goes away without oceanocide. (Source - Mrs. I worked for an engineering firm that specialized in hazardous transport.)

Blowtorch - that will definitely kill weeds, start grass fires, and perhaps burn down fences and outbuildings.

Note that my method builds the soil without harming anything.

The backyard garden has a Western exposure, so there is quite a bit of sunlight, even with the extra trees. I always had some scrubby wild strawberries around the faucet, but something new happened this year.

The elevated soaker hose went across the mulched area for the future vegetable garden. That meant the area underneath the mulch was always watered and shaded. But the line where the mulch met the house was not perfectly shaded.

The wild strawberries, fortified with rich, watered soil beneath, began marching across the base of the house, bearing bright red berries. In various places before, I have seen them as minor weeds, usually rather dry and dusty, not healthy but not yet willing to die.

Now they are neat little bird-feeding plants with brilliant red berries. The three main foods for birds are:

1. Suet, mealy worms, and soil creatures.
2. Seeds of all kinds, but especially sunflower seeds.
3. Berries of any kind.

People who use weed killers on their lawn will shudder at eating the surviving wild strawberries. I use no weed killers beyond mulch, so my organic berries are good for birds and humans alike. The way they creep across the back of the vegetable garden sets the table for birds to get used to one-stop shopping - wild berries, suet hanging above, and sunflower seeds tossed on the ground. Meanwhile, the mulched area is ideal for hunting those soil creatures - who move the shreds of wood and betray their activity.

Easter Sunday at Holy Word, Austin, and Christ the King. Don't laugh - WELS rewards this with seminary calls.

This is where we need to adjust everyone's thinking, as I learned from a book on rabbits. We raised them once and learned a lot from them. We never thought of promoting Easter with ads saying - Live rabbits for petting on Easter Sunday!

The common wisdom is that predators control the rabbit population, but do they? If the rabbit population declines, what will the hawks eat, carrots? In fact, the rabbits control the predator population. Only so many predators can exist at the top of the food pyramid. The population below controls the population at the top.

So if one wants birds in the yard, the yard must support the population of birds. I have suet out, so the insect eaters will stop and stay for the next season. I enjoy spreading sunflower seeds, because all the birds enjoy them, and some seeds volunteer, growing into new plants in the next season.

If every plant cell is a complex chemical factory with nano-mechanisms, they must be nurtured at the same microscopic level.

God Employs What People Despise
People plan epic gardens. One said, "We have a backhoe to dig the rose garden!" Mrs. Ichabod gasped.

The lawn and garden people sell bags of expensive chemicals that are cheap to manufacture. The chemists and engineers at Dow Chemical used to laugh at the mark ups.

With some planning and labor, the same goals can be realized without the big equipment and big bills. But what is needed? Newspapers? Everyone is throwing them away. Mushroom compost? That is just another day for manure. Mulch? Grass clippings, dead leaves, and old weeds?

I have heard and read the lectures on Creation (organic) gardening. "There, there, have fun with that, but come back for the insecticides, herbicides, and inorganic salts when you fail. Bring your MasterCard or Visa."

"We're gonna do God's work in Round Rock, but it will take lots and lots of money - yours."

Faux-Lutherans Despise the Means of Grace
The only ones more contemptuous than chemical gardeners are the Church Growthers. They have great visions for God's Kingdom - but it will take a lot of money.

They have no use for carefully preparing sermons. They copy and paste from Groeschel and other frauds. They hide the sacraments, because God's Instruments of Grace might offend those who need them the most.

Anyone who opposes them is against missions, against evangelism, and lazy, crazy, or disgruntled. To prove how essential their diabolical labor is, they must belittle or destroy the efficacious work of the Word. And the Growthers do work hard - they have to. They must prop up their gimmicks, inject them with spiritual steroids, and march lock-step with other frauds, peculators, and abusers. They need lots of money to do God's work with their entertainments. Koine demands $3,000 to show up.



God's Word Is Efficacious in Converting and Hardening
The principles of Creation are no different from the working of the Holy Spirit in the Word. One can defy Creation, but the results will be the same.

The Word of the Gospel converts. The purer the teaching, the more powerful the effect. When people mix God's Word with man's word, the effect is diminished, often down to outright rejection, the pious words used to mask a demonic message.

But when the preacher trembles at God's Word and dares not oppose it or teach anything contrary to it, the effect is divine. Faith is planted and nurtured by the Word. The congregation only needs to be faithful in teaching and worship to accomplish His will and enjoy the fruits of the Spirit that spring from Gospel teaching.

When expensive gimmicks are used, people say, "We need more expensive programs. This is not enough." When the congregation or synod relies on the Word of God, they have to acknowledge, "God has done this. We are blessed to be see Him at work in His Word and Sacraments."

Obstinate unbelievers, especially apostates, become enraged by the Gospel and take every opportunity to tear apart anything God has done through the Word. They are bottomless reservoirs of slander and malice, as WELS/ELS/LCMS/CLC leaders have shown. They rob widows and orphans and steal church properties with their attorneys, who wear their fancy $3,000 suits. The same attorneys defend their criminal pals so everything can be brushed under the rug.

Face it - your synod's "mission money" spends more time in the courtroom than in the mission field.

But this blessed opposition is the sign that God's Word is having a divine effect. They drive the faithful out of their faithless synods - that is good, no? They wake up people to the Book of Concord, to faithful translations of the Bible, to faithful congregations.

Infant faith? Answered here.

Ladybugs are cute, but they are also voracious pest eaters, whether immature or full grown.

The supposed ideal lawn and garden is not insect friendly, for two reasons:

1. The neatness obsession hurts the foundation of insect life.
2. The bug-free obsession kills all the bug life for a time when only 1% of them can do any harm.

The important of insects is eloquently described below -

It might surprise you to know that a mere 1 percent of the insects we come across in our lives are actually harmful. These are the creatures that consume our plants, introduce disease, bite our flesh, feed on our pets, and cause economic, aesthetic, or medical damage. These are the bugs that tend to attract our attention, and as a result they get all the press—most of it negative. 

The remaining 99 percent of insects are either benign or beneficial. Benign insects are very good at going about their business without harming our crops or us. And beneficial insects are, in fact, doing some type of good in the landscape. Insects can be beneficial for several reasons. First, they can be pollinators. We all know how important quality pollination is to a farm or garden. The world, after all, cannot function without it. Most of us can readily recognize common pollinators like honeybees and butterflies, but there are hundreds of thousands of other pollinator species in this world: beetles, moths, wasps, ants, flies, bats, and birds. Not to mention the more than thirty-five hundred species of native bees in the United States whose pollination work sadly and undeservedly plays second string to that of the imported European honeybee. 

Fifteen billion dollars worth of food needs to be pollinated by some little creature each and every year in the United States alone.

Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 184-194). Timber Press. Kindle Edition.

Crepe myrtle seed pods feed the birds in winter.

Our crepe myrtle bush is quite the feeder by itself, a microcosm of what can be done. Insects find a pleasant home in bushes - food, shelter, and a place to leave larvae for the winter. A bush rains down mulch in the form of dead leaves on the soil below. I put wood mulch under our crepe myrtle and saw it being drawn into the soil below by the handful of worms I commissioned to work that area. I added to the mulch by trimming the plant and cutting up the trimmings as mulch below. A spider signaled the value of this pile by casting a filmy web across it to feed herself and her brood.

The second bloom of the bush turned into handsome seeds in pods at the top of the bush. Birds will use these for food all winter and recycle some of the food on the bush below. Birds will also seek out the larvae hidden in the branches.

A trashy yard and garden create an ideal living space for insects - and if left alone - for the beneficials that keep insect pests in line.

Trashy does not mean shabby, but multi-habitat. We all like the front yard to be showcases. In the spring of 2014 we had a front yard with an ugly space around the maple tree, an overgrown crepe myrtle, and grass. Now we have 16 mulched rose bushes, a neatly trimmed and twice-blooming crepe myrtle, and a trimmed maple tree with attractive mulch around the base.

A healthy garden, however, is absolutely teeming with parasitoids. Parasitoids are among the most abundant categories of animals on the planet, with about 150,000 described species and many more yet to be named. This population consists mostly of parasitoidal wasp and fly species. Adult female parasitoids find host insects (you’ll find out how later) and lay their eggs on or inside of them. These parasitoids are not dangerous to humans or other mammals as they can’t sting, nor do they ever use us as hosts.

Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 260-264). Timber Press. Kindle Edition.

Unlike thorns, pigweed is easy to remove and great for the compost. Each big leafy plant is a village for insects good and bad.

The backyard has two mulched garden areas for 2015, spinach growing, and about 200 linear feet of mulched fence area. The dead tree is mulched for next year, when the trumpet vines will grow up its smooth exterior. Our mulch always has a newspaper base, which means our neighbors must pitch in with their extras, happy to be rid of them.

Some areas that went bonkers with weeds are now covered with newspapers and wood mulch. The dead weeds beneath are the ultimate green manure, loaded with nitrogen and carbs to feed the soil creatures, including insects, grubs, and a wide array of soil creatures.

Appreciating the natural cycle of predator and prey means recognizing that there is a place for pest insects in the landscape. Because the population of predators always lags behind that of prey, gardeners shouldn’t panic when pests are discovered. Instead, wait and watch for signs of arriving predators and parasitoids. It’s important to see that the population of predators always lags behind that of the prey (this is particularly true if a parasitoid is involved, as their lag time is actually a generation or two behind their host prey). If you put it on paper, it looks much like two undulating, wavy lines with the one representing the predators always hitting its peak slightly after the one representing the prey. In an undisturbed cycle, neither the population of predators nor that of prey will ever hit zero. This means that in order to sustain a healthy population of predators in the garden, one always has to have prey available.

Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 282-289). Timber Press. Kindle Edition.

Another resident seems to have planted or nourished some wild violets, so I am moving them to the back area where they can thrive.

The back section of the yard will be a cultivated trashy area, between the Butterfly Bushes and the Russian sunflowers. I want an area full of bee and butterfly plants, which will favor all the beneficial insects.

Everyone wants to chop down their weeds and grasses, but multi-habitat means tall plants, longer grass, and so-called weeds. Comfrey, pig weed, and goosefoot are not what we covet for the rose garden, but they are great for the wild area.

Whatever wild berries and herbs I can cultivate there will be welcomed by the life God created at the beginning of time.

The balance of life is illustrated by two different episodes of rose pruning. Our grandson Alexander found a grasshopper on the rose he was trimming. He did nothing to bother it, but trimmed near it. The grasshopper saw no reason to move, and we saw no damage. Later, I was cutting roses for our neighbor. A grasshopper was near my fingers and alive, but never moved. I ended up with blackspot on the roses, from the rainy season, but no insect damage.

A single ladybug—probably the most illustrious beneficial predatory insect—can consume up to five thousand aphids during its lifetime, and a single minute pirate bug—probably the least illustrious predatory beneficial—eats about thirty pests per day; and there are thousands of other insect species that do the same.

Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 203-206). Timber Press. Kindle Edition.

Plant id test - yes, this is goosefoot, easy to eat good for you. Why do you pay for a salad when eating out? Instead, eat a salad outdoors.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/seattle-megachurch-dissolves-after-founder-resigns/ar-BBcg46I

SEATTLE — Two weeks after lead Mars Hill Church pastor Mark Driscoll resigned amid questions about his leadership, the Seattle megachurch he founded announced Friday it was dissolving its network of branches across four states.

The church said on its website that the best future for its branches would be for them to becoming "autonomous self-governed entities."

"This means that each of our locations has an opportunity to become a new church, rooted in the best of what Mars Hill has been in the past, and independently led and run by its own local elder teams," Pastor Dave Bruskas wrote on the church's website.

The existing Mars Hill Church organization will be dissolved.

The megachurch's controversial founder resigned as elder and lead pastor on Oct. 14, following an investigation into formal charges brought against him.

The church currently has multiple branches in Washington, and one location each in Oregon, California and New Mexico. Last month, it closed its Phoenix location as a Mars Hill church.

Driscoll's resignation came after a group of church elders recently ended an investigation into the charges.

Driscoll took a leave of absence in August so church leaders could investigate whether he was fit to lead. He faced accusations that he bullied members, threatened opponents, lied and oversaw mismanagement of church funds, the Seattle Times has reported.

The church said it found Driscoll had a domineering style with a quick temper and harsh speech, but it noted he was never charged with immorality or heresy.

On Friday, Bruskas said on the church's website that central Mars Hill staff would be compensated for their work and then let go, and that church properties would be sold off or individual property loans would be taken over by independent branches.

Local leaders and pastors will decide whether to become independent, merge with an existing church or disband.

"Mars Hill Church has never been about a building or even an organization," Bruskas wrote. "Mars Hill is a people on mission with Jesus, and that singular focus continues as these newly independent churches are launched."

The church says it hopes the reorganization plan will be completed by Jan. 1.

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Abusive narcissists attracted to Mark Driscoll's church. Glende? Ski?

Passionate about sharing Jesus? Or dominating and humiliating people?

Copying Driscoll and Groeschel.

Driscoll Defended by Jeske


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Glende's dream latte church in Savoy, Illinois experienced his bullying. He skipped town before the coffee bar was finished (no joking). The congregation was foreclosed by WELS, and the property sold to an emergent Babtist church. The congregation dissolved.

Staffer clings to her job.

Glende's vision is now the Little Hope Babtist Church of Savoy.

The Reformation is all but forgotten. I asked the undergraduates about the importance of October 31st. Everyone said, "It's Halloween."

I said, "Is this a Christian college or Hogwart's School of Witchcraft? This is Reformation Day!" I went through the basics of the Reformation with one class, and they were agog about indulgences buying forgiveness.

Mark Driscoll's Mars Hill religious enterprises went through their final meltdown, with his home base dissolving completely and planning to sell off all assets. This will provide a fine cover for the settlement of lawsuits filed on account of his abusive behavior.

I predicted this years ago, giving readers one more reason follow Ichabod - to be several years ahead of the the media.

Glende and Ski both worked for Jeske. Now the synod presidents do too, because Mark and Avoid is on the Thrivent Board.

No one else is going to publish the obvious parallels between the odious behavior of Tim Glende and Ski, who took Bishop Katie with them to study under Mark Driscoll. Glende, never one to tell the truth. posted in his bulletin that they were going to a "pastor conference," implying a WELS pastoral meeting.

Katie suddenly quit at The CORE, but "not for any reason", they all claimed. Another staffer quit and tried to get WELS to do something about Ski's abusive behavior, but WELS piled the abuse on her and her husband instead. Glende, Ski, and two staffers took the victim's husband to court. That reminds me of Mark Driscoll saying "There will be piles of dead bodies outside the church soon."

The difference is that Driscoll's peers forced him into public repentance and resignation of his position, first in their denomination, then in the church he founded.

WELS does not do that. WELS leaders protect the worst ministers and expel the believers. The really big crimes are erased from everyone's memories, just like the novel 1984. The church workers of the Anything Goes district voted for another Engelbrecht as DP.

One of Driscoll's crimes was plagiarism, and reason enough for him to leave his position and the ministry. Paul McCain is a proven plagiarist, so they simply forced him to erase the blog. Never happened. No evidence (except I copied so many of his Roman and Lutheran thefts).

Searching for Justification by Faith
I looked around the Net for justification by faith articles. One dependable Stormtrooper--LCMS Pastor Charles Henrickson--wrote a lame article where he hid his UOJ agenda and tried to market it as Luther's doctrine. That is one more case of promoting justification without faith as the Chief Article of the Christian religion, as supposedly taught by Luther. Has Charles ever read Romans 4? Galatians? Genesis 15?

The ALPB Online Forum had nothing about the Reformation (as far as I could tell).

Intrepid Lutherans posted a long article by Doug Lindee today.

Predictions
The Protestant world will continue to feature massive meltdowns of the media heroes, who are usually protected far too obsessively by their peers until the police arrive.

So far:

• Robert Schuller ended his career by resigning and seeing that altar to his ego, the Crystal Cathedral, sold off to the Catholics in bankruptcy.
• Rob Bell was forced out of his enormous church when the members realized he did not believe much at all - a fact he denies in his latest effort to sell books.
• Benny Hinn was forced by his peers to go back to his wife. Given her craziness and crudeness, that may be the worst punishment they could hand him.

WELS/LCMS - the Sears/Kmart of Lutherdom
We will see WELS and Missouri draw even closer together as they arrange a morganatic marriage brokered by Jeske's Church and Change plus Thrivent.

The marriage between unequals will simply mask the decline of both. Kmart and Sears will close their doors soon. WELS and Missouri will last a few years longer.

The Reformation of 2017, the 500th anniversary, will be a sad affair - just as this year's is for most.

Otten promoted a hate-filled and fraudulent anti-Luther book, for the Reformation! Yes, sell a book that indulges in the worst papist drivel. His Holiness, Pope Herman I, said, "I sell to both sides of the issue."

On Friday, Reformation Day, Arkansas got much colder and our area reached 20 degrees at night. Frost nipped the roses, but KOed the pumpkin vine in the compost. The pumpkin had previously done well, even  in a relatively shady area. I gave it water every day when it was starting out. Pumpkin leaves are especially large and prone to wilt when water is scarce. The roots got deep enough into the compost to find a constant supply of water for the vine, and heavy rains later helped.

Now the vine and the roots are decomposing, as planned.



Plants thrive in weather for which they were created, a fact that stymies many. My neighbor put in a winter garden with free plants from a local store. Cold loving plants include the cabbage family, lettuce, spinach, and peas. Winter may arrive too soon to make much out of his winter garden, but I have a things going in mine.

The spinach in the front row of mine is doing well, but it will go dormant in the winter and be covered over with a blanket of autumn leaves. Spinach will wake up in the spring and produce the best possible leaves before the insects and the heat ruin the plant. The garlic cloves we planted will be full grown in the spring. Those who like to plant tulips and daffodils might as well poke garlic cloves into the ground as well. Nothing multiplies faster than garlic, which is immune to all insect attacks and a plant giving health and strength to nearby plants - especially roses.

We had plenty of late rains, which gave us a bumper crop of roses and black spot. Our helped wondered what we did wrong. He got the job of removing bad canes and leaves. I told him, "Ever since the Persian yellow rose was bred into roses for color, black spot has appeared. Some plants are vulnerable. Others crawl with it. Still others are almost immune."

Black spot is a bad fungus that weakens leaves, canes, and the rose plant itself. The fungus dwells in the soil so everything bad has to be gathered and removed completely (John 15:1-10; same process)
I am not going to spray for black spot, but I do try to avoid popular roses known for the weakness.



The Knockout roses were not KOed by black spot. They showed virtually no damage. Our helper asked about cloning some of the bushes from the canes, which is relatively easy to do. A cane will root in a glass of water and form a new bush when placed in soil. The resulting plant will not have a wild rose base, but that is not a big problem in many areas.