Martin Chemnitz Press

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Rogate Sunday - The Fifth Sunday after Easter

Rogate, The Fifth Sunday after Easter, 2013

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10AM Central Time

The Hymn # 202 Welcome Happy Morning 4:28

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 # 207 Like the Golden Sun 4:76

Five Parts of Prayer

The Communion Hymn #305 Soul, Adorn 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 #657 Beautiful Savior 4:24

KJV James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

KJV John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.

Fifth Sunday After Easter

Lord God, heavenly Father, who through Thy Son didst promise us that whatsoever we ask in His name Thou wilt give us: We beseech Thee, keep us in Thy word, and grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that He may govern us according to Thy will; protect us from the power of the devil, from false doctrine and worship; also defend our lives against all danger; grant us Thy blessing and peace, that we may in all things perceive Thy merciful help, and both now and forever praise and glorify Thee as our gracious Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Five Parts of Prayer

God’s Promise.
Faith.
Specific petitions.
Asking.
In the Name of Christ.

I am following Luther’s outline in the first of three sermons found here –

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/05/martin-luther-two-sermons-on-prayer.html

The topic of prayer is potentially enormous, especially since the subject has been abused and distorted so badly.

Prayer is based upon the Gospel Promises, not upon the Law. Whenever prayer passages occur in the Bible, they are accompanied by the Promises of God. Therefore the motivation is Gospel rather than Law, believing rather than doing.

Not only do people turn prayer into law, but they make that clear by saying, “You have to pray harder,” which sounds like weeding garden or sanding a tabletop. They should be emphasizing believing rather than doing, believing in God’s grace and love rather than Olympic level prayer.

Lenski:

24) Up till now you did not ask anything in my name. Keep asking, and you shall receive in order that your joy may be fulfilled. In 14:13, 14 the matter of asking in Jesus’ name is stressed as something that is altogether natural for disciples of Jesus. So in 15:16 “in my name” again appears as a matter of course. Now, however, we learn that “in my name” pertains to the Giver as well as to the petitioner; as we pray, so the Father (or Jesus, 14:13, 14) gives “in my name.” Hence the disciples must use this name. They must in all their needs come not merely with the name “Jesus” on their lips or attached to their prayers but with the revelation (name) of Jesus in their hearts by faith. Up to this time, Jesus says, the disciples have not prayed in this manner. Some think that Jesus points to a shortcoming, a weakness, a fatal deficiency in the praying of the disciples. If this were the case, the blame would fall on Jesus himself, since he delayed until this time to impress upon the disciples the necessity of using his name in prayer. Until this time Jesus himself had allowed the disciples to pray as all true Jews prayed in connection with the name of God as it was known to them from the old covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In their prayers hitherto they used the Old Testament promises and prayed in connection (ἐν) with them. But now the fulfillment of these promises had arrived in Jesus; in a few hours the new covenant would be sealed with the blood of Jesus. Thus faith had to advance and to embrace this new covenant, the fulfillment of the old promises in Jesus. It thus had to use Jesus’ name and revelation when praying. The reason for the advance to Jesus’ name is objective. The Spirit will take “of mine” and will report this to the disciples (16:14, 15). Thus subjectively, too, the disciples will now turn to Jesus’ name. Refusal so to do would mean the rejection of the revelation (name) of Jesus.

Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 1100.

God’s Promise

This section introduces a problem, but that comes with the wrong emphasis, in my opinion. Jesus is giving His final words to His disciples, before the crucifixion, so He is talking about the future when they pray – an encouragement that will give them hope and strength when they feel alone. They were never alone up until now, so their prayers are going to change in wording.

The power of a name is dependent upon the power of the person named. Government officials issue orders in the name of a governor or a president, the military in the name of a general. In the British Empire, many things are done in the name of the Queen.

How much greater is something done in the Name of Jesus, with God the Father answering petitions? And this is something altogether different, because we are not asking in power but in friendship, as family, because we are brought into God’s family by faith in Christ.

God’s promises are great in this regard. They rest upon the power of the Gospel itself. The beautiful Christmas hymn by Gerhard expresses this well.

Thou Christian heart, whoe’er thou art,
Be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee!
For God’s own Child, in mercy mild,
Joins thee to Him—how greatly God must love thee!

Likewise, Luther wrote in his Christmas hymn:

Thus hath it pleased Thee to make plain
The truth to us, poor fools and vain,
That this world’s honor, wealth and might
Are naught and worthless in Thy sight.

Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Here in my poor heart’s inmost shrine,
That I may evermore be Thine.

My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep,
I too must sing, with joyful tongue,
That sweetest ancient cradle song.

Someone who is loved will not hesitate to ask. Doubting and not praying go together. Doubting God’s love means questioning the grace, mercy, and love revealed in the Scriptures. As Chytraeus wrote, doubting God’s goodness is a sin. All sin begins with lack of faith.

In contrast, joy comes from relying on God’s Promises and asking for His help and guidance.

25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:

Faith Explained

The resurrection and ascension of Christ will be those events which will fill the disciples with such faith that they will start applying the lessons taught in those three years. And yet it was not easy to reach that state, because they were scattered by genuine fear and almost in a state of paralysis. God allowed them to go through that agony so they would strong enough to face the opposition of the Roman Empire and the leaders of all other religions. They had the pagan leaders opposing them and the Jewish leaders at their backs. In fact, they expanded the opposition by their mission efforts.

And Paul did not make things better by switching sides. We see that same conflict today when someone leaves the fold of whoopy-entertainment worship or UOJ. The former friends are more bitter in their opposition for losing someone. The closeted apostates do not want someone to discover the meaning of faith, and the rationalist-Pietists do not want someone to take the Confessions seriously.

Faith puts all the emphasis upon God’s power and wisdom, casting away all the arrogance and pride of human vanity. Every time I see people bragging over buildings, I wonder about who will heat and repair them in a few years. They brag about “success” but do not boast about the cross, or even mention fidelity to the Word.

This faith is God’s Creation, because the Holy Spirit works through the Word to convict us of our lack of faith. On one side is all that God has done throughout the Bible. On the other side is man’s doubtfulness and fears, insecurities and anxieties. So –

Thou Christian heart, whoe’er thou art,
Be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee!
For God’s own Child, in mercy mild,
Joins thee to Him—how greatly God must love thee!

Gerhardt knew that from experience – the sorrow and the joy.

Faith is not an emotion, but faith affects our emotions. That is why our greatest pain is emotional and the best remedy is faith in the Gospel Promises. Faith then changes what we do and how we do those things.

I see that with college students giving a speech. I have to remind them that their stage fright is all in their heads. They can speak to their friends from the front of the room and do a great job. One walked to the front as if to her own execution. We talked that over and the next time she was her bright, funny self and was a perfect example of how to give a speech. It was all in her head.

Luther is especially good about these emotional conflicts, because he experienced them. He was wise enough to identify opposition as a good thing, a sign of God’s blessing, something to be valued rather than regretted.

That is shown in so many ways. The faithful do not experience the material success of the apostates, and the apostates jeer at them for this. Look at how small and unimportant you are, the opponents say. Look at how well we are doing – we have all the big money people on our side.

The things that happen are utterly predictable – the betrayal of so-called friends, the shunning, the people rejoicing in the harm they do. That teaches the faithful that whatever we cling to can be left behind for the greater treasure of the Gospel. And there are many spiritual rewards that come with it.

27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.

Specific Petitions

This Father-Son relationship is constantly taught in the Gospel of John, not that it is absent elsewhere. We hear it so often, as if to show us that the Trinity gives us a similar relationship. Just as the Father loves the Son, so the Son loves us, and gives us the same relationship to the Father as his own.

KJV John 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

And the Holy Spirit is always at work teaching us about this relationship we share. That is why we can and should make specific petitions, asking God according to our needs and the needs of others.

Luther:

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/05/martin-luther-two-sermons-on-prayer.html

8. The third requisite of true prayer is, that one must name definitely something that he brings to God or for which he prays; as for strong faith, for love, for peace, and for the comfort of his neighbor. One must actually set forth the petitions; just as the Lord’s Prayer presents seven petitions.

This is what Christ means by the words: “If ye shall ask anything of the Father.” “Anything,” that is, whatever you are in need of. Besides, he himself interprets this “anything” and says: “That your joy may be made full.” That is, pray for all things you need, until you have acquired even all and your joy is made full; and his prayer will first be fully answered on the day of judgment.

Ask

What makes ask in prayer? It is the certainty of its value and effect. The Gospel of John emphasizes the love of the Father toward the Son, and the love of the Father for all believers. Fear and doubt keep people from asking, while love encourages people to ask.

Children love and trust their parents, and we know there is no end of asking there. Children will make the most outrageous requests because they are not afraid of losing their parents’ love from asking.

This section of the lesson also reminds us that the disciples were still thinking of an earthly Messiah. The Savior as the Son of God was completely shown to them in the resurrection and ascension. The divinity of Christ then helps us with asking. We are asking from God Himself.

29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.

In the Name of Christ

We know more about Christ if we have grown up with the Scriptures and had them explained to us. They also grew up with the Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament, but much of the content was obscure to them.

We think in terms of the Trinity, and they had the Trinity in the Old Testament, but not fully explained.

This phrase “in the Name of Christ” teaches us to pray in His Name, because He has that power, that love from the Father, and that love for us.

To avoid the Name of Christ is a matter of joining with all other religions, to give them equal or superior status. When people want to blend in, they drop, “in the Name of Christ.”

When they are banned from using the Name of Christ in a prayer, they should excuse themselves from that association, whether it is the Masonic Temple or the ecumenical gathering of all the right people.

Prayer

"The Christian's faith trusts in the ordinary means. Prayer is not a means of grace. Means of grace are divine appointments through which God uniformly offers blessings to all who use them. Faith is the means by which the blessings are received and appropriated. God gives us bread, when we ask it, not through the channel of prayer, but through the ordinary channels of His providence. He gives us grace when we ask it, not through prayer, but through the ordinary means appointed for this end, namely the Word and Sacraments. He who despises these will as little have grace as he who refuses to accept bread produced in the ordinary way of nature. Faith asks with confidence, and trusts in the ordinary means of God's appointment for the blessings asked."

Matthias Loy, Sermons on the Gospels, p. 387.

"Prayer is made vigorous by petitioning; urgent, by supplication; by thanksgiving, pleasing and acceptable. Strength and acceptability combine to prevail and secure the petition."

Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., VI, p. 107. Philippians 4:4-7.

"The Lord's Prayer opens with praise and thanksgiving and the

acknowledgement of God as a Father; it earnestly presses toward Him through filial love and a recognition of fatherly tenderness. For supplication, this prayer is unequaled. Hence it is the sublimest and the noblest prayer ever uttered."

Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., VI, p. 107. Philippians 4:4-7; Matthew 6:9-13.

"In like manner, St. Paul says that God's ability is thus proved, in that He does exceeding abundantly above and better than we ask or think. Ephesians 3:20. Therefore, we should know we are too finite to be able to name, picture or designate the time, place, way, measure and other circumstances for that which we ask of God. Let us leave that entirely to Him, and immovably and steadfastly believe that He will hear us."

Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., III, p. 179f. Ephesians 3:20.

"Only begin this [prayer, self-examination], I say, and see how you will succeed in the task; and you will soon discover what an unbelieving knave is hidden in your bosom, and that your heart is too dull to believe it."

Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., II, p. 257. Mark 16:1-8.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Get Any Hostile Comments Lately?

"Ichabod? Never heard of him."

Someone asked me about hostile comments. Except for Lillo-of-the-Valley (Fox Valley), they are extremely rare.

Joel Lillo swore off Ichabod long ago, but he is additional proof that WELS pastors do not give up their addictions easily.

As readers know, I let most comments through - and often feature and answer them. The UOJ fanatics exhausted their two arguments long ago, kept repeating them, and finally realized that they only fueled all kinds of justification by faith quotations and exegesis.

Some have complained that I feature comments, so I continue to feature comments. Others have raged against the graphics, so I keep making them.

The page-view rate seems to be running at 1.1 million per year, a big increase from a few months ago.

Checking to see if Cyberbrethren and LQ were still alive, I found this quotation on LQ - gasp:

The nominations, if you're interested, are at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/getreligion/2004/03/w hen-bad-music-happens-to-a-good-god/

Then, the blogger and Lutheran pundit Rev. Gregory Jackson wrote a review of the musical "Godspell" which included the following comments:

quote:One can also see the influence of Hinduism in portraying Jesus as the Lord of the Dance, a figure borrowed from India, where Shiva’s title is Nataraja – Lord of the Dance. The juxtaposition of Jesus as a dancing clown and as the crucified Messiah struggles as awkwardly in Godspell as it does in the modern hymn (1963), Lord of the Dance:

I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back;
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and I still go on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he (Carter, 1963).

Godspell represents a welcome break from the overly somber and melodramatic Jesus films of the past, but the Gospel message is lost in the amusing digressions from the actual narrative, the new mythology of a dancing god. A simple portrayal of the verbatim record in the Gospel is going to have a greater impact than a joyful, mystical, impressionistic experience.

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/200 9/02/godspell-review-from-my-film-course.html

MARK DRISCOLL VISION-CASTING DEAD BODIES HIS MARS HILL BUS WILL ROLL OVER : Apprising Ministries

These lupine leaders claimed they were at a "pastor conference"
when they took Bishop Katie to Seattle with them.
There were no WELS conferences; Driscoll is in Seattle.
"Let us prey."

MARK DRISCOLL VISION-CASTING DEAD BODIES HIS MARS HILL BUS WILL ROLL OVER : Apprising Ministries:

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Jun 18, 2012 in Current Issues, Features

Apprising Ministries has been telling you for some time that Emerging Church New Calvinist Mark Driscoll is badly adrift and taking more and more people with him.

For example, Mark Driscoll Promoting Word Faith Teacher Brian Houston? and Mark Driscoll, Acts 29 Network, And Rick Warren and Mark Driscoll And Contemplative Idolatry.

Now comes this below segment from today’s edition of Fighting for the Faith by Christian apologist Chris Rosebrough of Pirate Christian Radio. In his introduction he tells us:

If you disagree with or are disloyal to the vision that God supposedly gave Mark Driscoll then you’re going to be thrown of the bus or have the bus run you over. In Driscolls own words, by God’s grace there will be a mountain of bodies before they’re done.

This segment of Fighting for the Faith has Mark Driscoll telling a room full of church planters about what he calls “Blessed Subtraction.” (source)

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America 2013 Synod and Colloquium, Part 1

Early Monday morning, fellow Ecclesia Augustana contributor Christian Schulz and I began a 14-hour trek to the great state of Texas with the intention of attending the Colloquium portion of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA)‘s 2013 Colloquium and Synod. Those of us in the Lutheran world are familiar with such acronyms as LCMS, WELS, ELS, ELCA, and even some smaller groups like CLC. Some of these groups claim to be "Confessional Lutheran" and theologically orthodox institutions, but many of us are all too familiar with the horror stories stemming from each. Playing on this theme, the ELDoNA writes on their website:

In the Lutheran Church, one encounters a great deal of talk about ‘confessional Lutheran’ doctrine and practice; sadly, the substance has been something quite different. The various ‘synods’ often appear more interested in a ‘theology of glory’ (focusing on worldly prestige, money, and ‘numbers’) than a ‘theology of the cross’ which recognizes that the Church is despised by the world, because she is the Bride of Christ.

The Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America is committed to the restoration and advancement of consistently Evangelical Lutheran doctrine and practice in harmony with the Sacred Scriptures and the Book of Concord (1580).

It is in this context that the ELDoNA piqued our interest; after all, it is hard to deny their claims concerning the synods, my own Wisconsin Synod included. While rush hour traffic in Fort Worth prevented us from making it to the opening Vespers and fellowship dinner last night, we got up bright and early this morning to attend Matins and the first day of Colloquium presentations.

There were a number of insightful papers presented today. The first of these was by Dr. Kent A. Heimbigner, whose topic was “Nietzsche on Christianity: A Baptismally Informed Analysis.” The paper demonstrated the impasse that exists between Nietzsche (and his ideological ilk) and those belonging to the orthodox (Lutheran) Christian confession, specifically in terms of the person of Christ Himself (Nietzsche’s Jesus verses the Biblical Christ), the use of language (Nietzche viewed language as imprecise and even dubious, whereas Christians view the language or Word of God as powerful and effective, with the ability to create and restore), and disparaging concepts of morality and humanity (Nietzsche sees man as born as “fully or ideally human,” whereas Christians see man born into death as fallen creatures in need of restoration through Holy Baptism). In short, the paper was enlightening on both philosophical and theological levels.

The next paper, entitled “Social Identity in the New Testament and Today: Does Christianity Negate All Other Identity?”, was presented by the Reverend John S. Rutowicz. He touched on a number of themes related to the Social Identity Theory developed by Henri Tajfel, which posits that there are varying levels of group membership that effect human identity to greater and lesser degrees. In particular, the paper demonstrated that the New Testament does not disparage social identities such as race and ethnicity, but rather embraces them - even in some contexts that might be viewed as “racist” by individualistic, postmodern Western society. He specifically highlighted the example of Christ Himself in St. Matthew 15, where the Lord calls a Canaanite woman a “dog” in solidarity with His own Jewish heritage, as well as the example of St. Paul in Titus 1:12-13, where the Blessed Apostle generalizes an entire people in stereotypical, negative terms ("All Cretans are liars"), while elsewhere (2 Corinthians 11:22) he lauds his social identity as a Hebrew. In short, Rev. Rutowicz contended that these examples serve to show that one can maintain social identities outside of the Christian identity. While the Christian “social identity” should be what the author calls our “terminal identity,” thus governing our other identities, it should not negate them, if we take the Lord and His Apostles as our examples.

Another presentation was Rev. Joshua W. Sullivan’s paper entitled “The Use of Genesis in the Old Testament Apocrypha.” Rev. Sullivan provided a number of examples demonstrating the fact that the O.T. Apocrypha rely heavily on the types set forth in the canonical Book of Genesis. While the Apocrypha contain some dubious material, they provide what the author called “sermon illustrations” or stories that are of immense value to laypeople and pastors alike. One such instance was the story of Tobit, which provides in the persons of Tobit and his betrothed Sarah provide a beautiful picture of what the Christian marriage is supposed to be (in fact, the early Church adopted a citation from the book of Tobit as the Introit for its Nuptial Services!). But more than this, the Apocryphal texts are especially fitting given the similarity between their immediate context (a time in which the Jews were faced with the immense pressure of Hellinization to forfeit their culture and beliefs) and that of our own day, in which Christian values and mores are being trivialized and ridiculed more and more.

The last paper yet to be mentioned from today's session was presented by Pr. Paul Rydecki and entitled “The Forensic Appeal to the Throne of Grace in the Theology of the Lutheran Age of Orthodoxy: A Reflection on Atonement and Its Relationship to Justification.” In it, Pr. Rydecki provided citation after citation from the era of Lutheran Orthodoxy highlighting the traditional analogy of forensic justification in the Divine Tribunal of God. In so doing, he demonstrated that the Christian’s justification occurs not at the Cross or from eternity, but rather in time when the Christian - by God-given faith - clings to the “Throne of Grace,” an "alternate tribunal" from that of the Law and established by the Cross for all people. To quote pages 4-6 of the paper [the citation is long, but worth the read]:

Chemnitz offers this analogy [it is essentially an expansion of Romans 3:22-26] in its most extended form, depicting the various aspects of this courtroom setting. [...] It is presented here at length, because it expresses so clearly the Lutheran concept of justification in relation to the atonement.

‘Thus, the use of the legal term 'justification' refutes the ideas of the Epicureans. For it shows that the justification of the sinner is not some insignificant or perfunctory thing, but that the whole human being stands before the judgment of God and is examined both with respect to his nature as well as his works, and this according to the norm of divine law. But because after the entrance of sin a human being in this life does not have true and perfect conformity with the law of God, nothing is found in this examination, whether in the person's nature or in his works, that he can use to justify himself before God; rather the Law pronounces the sentence of condemnation, written by the very finger of God Himself.
Now God does not justify the ungodly by some kind of mistake, as a judge often makes a faulty decision by failure to examine the evidence sufficiently or by wrong thinking; nor through indifference, as if He did not care about the transgression of His law; nor through wickedness, as if He approved of our iniquity, connived with it, or were in collusion with the impious. A justification of this kind God Himself pronounces to be an abomination, Ex. 23:1; Is. 5:23; Prov. 17:15. God cannot retract this sentence of condemnation revealed in the Law, unless it is perfectly satisfied or fulfilled, Matt. 5:18.
Thus righteousness and satisfaction are required where God is to justify. Luther is correct when he says that God remits no sin unless the Law has been satisfied with regard to it. In the case of human judgment, to be sure, guilt is absolved either because of some preceding merit (for they are accounted worthy who deserve to be forgiven), or with respect to present righteousness and innocence either of the cause or of the person, or with respect to a satisfaction which the guilty party promises to make either to the judge or to his opponent in the case. But before God's judgment man can put up nothing in his own defense in order that he might be justified, as many very clear Scripture passages declare.

Therefore, because God does not justify out of frivolity, unconcern, error, or iniquity, nor because He finds anything in man whereby he might be justified before God; and yet the just requirement of the Law must be fulfilled in those who are to be justified, Rom. 8:4, therefore a feign righteousness must intervene-the kind of righteousness which not only with payment of penalties but also with perfect obedience to the divine law made satisfaction in such a way that it could be a propitiation for the sins of the whole world.

To this the terrified sinner, condemned by the voice of the Law, flees in true faith. This he desires, begs for, lays hold of; to this he submits himself; this he uses as his defense before the judgment seat of God and against the accusation of the Law. By regard for this and by its imputation he is justified, that is, he is absolved from the comprehensive sentence of condemnation and receives the promise of eternal life. This is what Paul is saying Rom. 3:31: "The doctrine of the righteousness of faith does not destroy the Law but upholds it."

Paul clearly describes the act of justification in this way in Romans 3:

1. The conscience of the sinner is through the Law placed before the judgment tribunal of God (who is a consuming fire and in whose sight not even the stars are pure), is accused, convicted, and condemned, so that it is afflicted and pressed down by a terrifying sense of the wrath of God, Rom. 3:19: "...that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God" (KJV).

2. The heart thus contrite does not entertain Epicurean thoughts but anxiously seeks whether and how it can be freed from the comprehensive sentence of condemnation. From such thoughts come such passages as Ps. 130:3: "If You should mark iniquities...."; Ps. 143:2: "Enter not into judgment..."; Rom. 7:24: "Who shall deliver me...?"...

3. Therefore God, "who is rich in mercy" [Eph. 2:4], has had mercy upon us and has set forth a propitiation through faith in the blood of Christ, and those who flee as suppliants to this throne of grace He absolves from the comprehensive sentence of condemnation, and by the imputation of the righteousness of His Son, which they grasp in faith, He pronounces them righteous, receives them into grace, and adjudges them to be heirs of eternal life.

This is certainly the judicial meaning of the word 'justification,' in almost the same way that a guilty man who has been sentenced before the bar of justice is acquitted.

It is manifest how much clarity this gives to the discussion of justification. The fathers in disputing this matter often spoke inadequately about justification. But in their devotional writings, when they were looking at the picture of the divine judgment or the divine judicial process, they handled the doctrine of this article very well.

The example of Bernard [of Clairvaux, 1091-1153] shows this clearly, because he was not involved in idle speculations but was exercising himself in the serious matter of repentance based on the doctrine and testimony of Paul. Gerson has some wonderful thoughts about the tribunal of God's justice and the throne of His grace. For if we are discussing our common position before the tribunal of God, we are all subject to the tribunal of His justice; and because before him no living person can be justified but all are condemned, therefore God has also set up another tribunal, the throne of grace. And the Son of God pleads for us the benefit of being called away from the tribunal of justice to the throne of grace. Therefore the Pharisee, because he was not willing to use the benefit of this calling, but wanted to enter into judgment before the tribunal of justice, was condemned. But the publican, who was first accused at the tribunal of justice, convicted and condemned there later by faith called out to the throne of grace and was justified [Luke 18:9-14]. (Loci Theologici, p. 481-482)

And this is the process or act of the justification of a sinner before the judgment seat of God, so that he appeals from the throne of the strict justice of God to the throne of grace in the blood of the Son of God, as Gerson describes the matter of justification by the apt simile of forensic appeal. (Enchiridion, Q. 146)

All these points so beautifully illustrating the doctrine of justification come from the correct linguistic understanding of the word "justification." (Loci Theologici, p. 482)'

Several things must be noted here. First, that, on account of the satisfaction Christ made to the divine law, there exists, objectively, a Throne of Grace to which all sinners are invited (in the Gospel) to flee, an alternate place of judgment opened up as a result of God's grace and the obedience, suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is "another tribunal," apart form the Law, where God is propitious, where absolution is pronounced, justification is declared, and eternal life is bestowed for the sake of Christ. The "atonement" made by Christ has opened up this Throne of Grace, which is actually Christ Himself, the "atonement cover" or "Mercy Seat," sprinkled with His own blood, the "Atoner" or "Reconciler."

Second, that justification occurs in the divine courtroom, not without the accused fleeing in faith to the Throne of Grace, not before the accused flees in faith to the Throne of Grace, but simultaneously with this 'fleeing' or this 'forensic appeal.' This present-tense (that is, concurrent with faith) absolution and justification is perfectly in keeping with the language of the Augsburg Confession:

Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Rom. 3 and 4. (AC:IV)

...in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ's sake (AC:V).

Scripture teaches that we are justified before God, through faith in Christ, when we believe that our sins are forgiven for Christ's sake (AC:XXIV:28).
Third, that, although the foreign righteousness of Christ has made satisfaction to the divine law so that it is a 'propitiation for the sins of the whole world,' only those who appeal to this Propitiator actually escape condemnation under the divine law and are justified. The act of justification is not simultaneous with the atonement made by Christ.

Fourth, since 'the just requirement of the Law must be fulfilled in those who are to be justified,' and since the only way in which that just requirement can be fulfilled for any sinner is if the accused pleads the 'foreign righteousness' of Christ as his defense, then it would actually be contrary to God's justice for Him to absolve or acquit the guilty man who is not using the 'foreign righteousness' of Christ as his defense before the judgment seat of God.

Fifth, Chemnitz says that his analogy presents the article of justification as clearly expressed by St. Paul in Romans 3. The burden is on those who wish to read an already-pronounced justification of all unbelievers into Romans 3:24 either to demonstrate how such an interpretation is compatible with Chemnitz' analogy, or admit that their own interpretation is at odds with Lutheran orthodoxy.

Sixth, note that Chemnitz refers this analogy to the 'correct linguistic understanding of the word 'justification.'" He is not seeking to offer an arbitrary, partial or ad hoc definition of the word, but to faithfully convey the meaning of the word as used throughout the Holy Scripture. As he says elsewhere, 'Our question is in what sense the Holy Spirit employs the word "Justify" in those passages of the Scripture in which He treats and teaches the doctrine of justification, as we have already shown it most clearly.'

Chemnitz' analogy illustrates that the concept of forensic justification, as described by the Lutheran Fathers, is not a piecemeal justification that already 'happened' for all sinners, and then 'happens' again through the Word and faith. Instead, it is the culmination of the four 'causes' that comprise the article of justification, each of which is a sine qua non in forensic justification. There can be no forensic justification of the sinner without God's grace, or without the merit of Christ, or without the sinner being clothed by faith in the foreign righteousness of Christ, or without the promise of the Gospel that kindles faith.

The Lutheran Fathers have much to say about the unique role that each of these four components plays in forensic justification....”

Pr. Rydecki went on to delineate the “four comonents” of justification, which I myself have elaborated on in prior posts on this blog. In short, Rydecki irrefutably demonstrated that “this common outline, this ‘justification by faith alone in Christ’ was the only concept of justification espoused by the Lutherans” - that is, “until Samuel Huber (1547-1624) arrived on the scene” (p. 17). Contrary to misguided and unscholarly notions, Rydecki showed that "Huber's problem was not that he was a Universalist. It was that he strayed from proper Biblical exegesis of certain passages, including Romans 5:12-20. It was that he strayed from the common outline of forensic justification that requires the imputation, by faith, of Christ's righteousness in order for the sinner to be justified. It was that he strayed from the Lutheran teaching that 'restricts justification to believers only, as prescribed by all prophetic and apostolic Scriptures'" (p. 19).

All of the Colloquium presentations were well received by those in attendance. Each paper sparked interesting discussion and prompted unique insights. Pr. Rydecki’s paper on “Forensic Justification” elicited what seemed like distractions to this observer (comments about “objective/subjective” terminology and Synodical Conference theologians, which were nowhere to be found in the paper itself), but the feedback seemed to be generally positive from actual members of the diocese.

All in all, I have been impressed by the ELDoNA so far. I look forward to the rest of the Colloquium tomorrow and learning about how the rest of the Synod unfolds. Stay tuned for more information in the coming days.

'via Blog this'

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Cantage - The Fourth Sunday after Easer

Cantate, The Fourth Sunday after Easter, 2013

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn #458 Our Father – Luther 4:50

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 #462 I Love Thy Kingom 4:21

This World’s Prince Is Judged

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 #657 Beautiful Savior 4:24

Fourth Sunday After Easter

Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst through Thy Son promise us Thy Holy Spirit, that He should convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: We beseech Thee, enlighten our hearts, that we may confess our sins, through faith in Christ obtain everlasting righteousness, and in all our trials and temptations retain this consolation, that Christ is Lord over the devil and death, and all things, and that He will graciously deliver us out of all our afflictions, and make us forever partakers of eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV James 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

KJV John 16:5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Three Luther sermons on John 16:5-15

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/norma-boecklers-new-book-treasury-of.html

This World’s Prince Is Judged

KJV John 16:5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

The context of this sermon is after the Last Supper. The disciples know that a crisis is looming. Thomas said that journeying toward Jerusalem would be equal to dying together.

Lenski:

Already in 14:28 Jesus had told the disciples that he was going to his Father. When he now calls the Father “him that did send me,” the sense is the same save that now the mission of Jesus is specifically mentioned: Jesus returning to his Sender, having completed his mission and the visible stay on earth which it required. He goes to his Sender in order to make report to him of his successful task. When saying that he is returning to his Sender, Jesus makes a basic statement, one that governs all that follows in this chapter.

The addition: “and none of you inquires of me, Where art thou going?” while it is joined with “and,” is adversative, “and yet.” Strange to say—and Jesus says it with a touch of gentle reproof and of pain in his own heart—not one of the eleven makes a request of him as to where he is going.

Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 1078.

There is an interesting transition in this powerful passage, as Lenski teaches. The disciples should be asking about where Jesus is going because what follows will comfort and guide them. In sorrow, they do not ask. That is our normal reaction when we face bad news – we do not want to hear more. We would rather deny it or put it off a little longer.

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

It would difficult for any group to think about the world-wide spread of the Gospel at this stage of sorrow. And yet, that is one theme in this message. Jesus earthly ministry meant that the Gospel was limited to His travels in one tiny outpost of the Roman Empire. Soon the Spirit would move the disciples to take the Gospel around the civilized world, by creating centers of the Faith that would copy the New Testament and spread it even farther, with local pastors taking over for the apostles.

In the last century Christians have neglected the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in many different ways. For that reason Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement have stepped in to replace the vacuum.

One Form of Neglect

The Scriptures have been treated as an ordinary, man-made book. That is the majority opinion among mainline, Left-wing denominations. The extent of fiddling with the manuscripts and the translations has meant the same for the so-called conservative denominations as well.

Why would someone seriously study a book written by men, a book with a constantly changing message?

Another Form of Neglect

Congregations and denominations have assumed that the Word of God has no power at all unless man can find some way to make it attractive and appealing to human reason and emotion. The drive to sell the Gospel by making it a secular coaching tool is another way of saying that the Word of God must satisfy the carnal appetites of man – What’s in it for me?

What This Theme Means

The direct connection between the Word and the Spirit means that we never question the power of the Holy Spirit when someone is faithful to the Bible, which is the only book written, published, and protected by God Himself. No other book has that claim; therefore, the Bible judges all books.

This truth satisfies the questions of:

Do I have the Holy Spirit? Yes – faith in Christ shows that someone has the Spirit, because faith is a creation of the Spirit through the Word.
Do I know the truth even when everyone denies it and teaches against it? Yes, because the true Word of God never changes, even though man changes.
Am I forgiven? Yes – if someone has faith in Christ alone for salvation, that individual is justified by the Spirit/Word and saved for eternal life.

God’s plan is to expand the Gospel message throughout the world, so the departing of Christ will mean the sending of the Spirit. And this includes, as we know, the actual resurrection of Christ.

He was raised for our justification - His actual rising from the dead, before the Tomb was opened, shows us the reality of our own eternal life. When we grieve for someone who has died before us, we always keep in mind the risen Savior. How can this be, that we are promised eternal life? We remember the resurrection of Christ and that strengthens our faith.

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/norma-boecklers-new-book-treasury-of.html

James 1:21 wrote:

receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

This half-verse is a classic passage on the efficacy of the Word. Receive is used as a synonym for believe, and it expresses the Biblical concept of faith/trust very well. Faith or trust is not a decision and not a merit or virtue. Faith means receiving what God offers as the truth (with abundant Promises and prophetic evidence).

Engrafted is a fine agricultural word. When we splice two plants together they have the nature of both. Most roses are a hybrid graft on a wild rose root. That give the rose the staying power of the wild rose and the beauty of the hybrid. Most roses have that lump which betrays the graft.

The Gospel Word is grafted onto us, received in faith. This Word is the Holy Spirit’s power behind faith and justification, forgiveness and salvation.

The arrogant, proud, and self-righteous do not have faith. They reject faith and have no meekness. By not receiving with meekness they deny to themselves the grace that comes from the Gospel Promises.

The Holy Spirit’s work in three Words

Some time ago, these verses really tied me up in a knot. They were so simple and yet I had to struggle to see the complete message. Luther said in one of his sermons about this lesson – it is a fine lesson but it takes fine readers to understand it.

As he realized, most of the world reading this passage rejected its meaning. How can something so simple on the surface be so complex and powerful? That of course is the strength of John’s Gospel – a profound message expressed in child-like simplicity, with many repetitions.

9 Of sin, because they believe not on Me;

What is sin? Most people will define sin as actions. And they have a hierarchy of sins. The worst is criticizing the synod, according to various synods, because that is a sin against the Holy Spirit (no forgiveness!) I am not kidding. One parson said, “I cannot disagree with the circuit pastor, because the Holy Spirit put him in that office.” The same is said about other political functionaries, who have no trouble arguing against the Word. Because. They. Know. Greek.

The world knows what sin is. All the messages of this age are about sin. Do you fail to recycle? Sin. Do you oppose every kind of marriage? Sin. Do you own a gun? Sin. Do you believe in traditional values? Sin.

Christians have quite a few definitions too, all based on actions and attitudes. Did you play the pipe organ of a non-WELS church? Sin.

But all this is thrown aside in a few words from Jesus. And John gave us these sermons as essential supplements to Matthew-Mark-Luke. Essential – not extra credit read. So essential that we should especially take the Johannine words to our hearts as the elder Apostle’s final testimony, for the salvation of all who believe.

Sin is not believing on Jesus. I am going to use the old wording because too many people think faith is just thinking Jesus is a good Teacher and perhaps even the Savior. They have some knowledge of Jesus but also hedge their bets with their trust in their own righteousness.

In those few words Jesus rejected the world’s definition of sin and the false teacher’s version of sin. If your church is not growing, you are sinful!

But those words also toss us into the abyss when we realize their complete meaning. When we harbor doubts and anxieties about past sins, we fail to believe on Jesus, who has taken all sins upon Himself.

Continuing regret, remorse, sorrow, and anxiety is making a side-bet. I will show my true contrition by clinging to the thought of not being completely forgiven until I am perfect and free of sin. But that fulfills the meaning of this verse. That is THE sin – not believing in God’s complete, full, free forgiveness through faith in Christ.

Were you not a perfect child or a perfect parent? Sin is not imperfection, a weakness we all have. Sin is not believing in our complete forgiveness. We cannot lay a side-bet on our future perfection, which really paves the road to repetition. All the gurus have proven this by making their law the savior and driving people right back to the same thing (food, addiction, etc). And when people come back for another dose of the law, the guru says, “See, you need me.”

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/norma-boecklers-new-book-treasury-of.html

10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father and ye see me no more

I had a lot of trouble with this. What is the connection? The constant debate over justification and many great Scriptural insights from others have helped me see the connection.

Righteousness is God’s forgiveness or justification by faith. This is the great comfort to be offered by the Paraclete (Advocate). The Gospel will be declared across the world and spread as the first social network came into being. Jesus designed it, saying,

Take advantage of hospitality. When you are invited into a home, speak about the Gospel. If they receive you and listen to the Word, they receive Me, since I am conveyed by the Word of God. If they reject you, they do not reject you but Me, the One who sent you. Knock the dust off your shoes and move on.

The Spirit will convict the world of forgiveness because the teaching of the Resurrection will plant faith in the hearts of people across the world.

The risen Savior was seen and heard by hundreds of people, who established the Gospel everywhere, found themselves persecuted, and traveled on to establish it in new places, often in world ports where the Gospel would travel even faster. In essence, Jesus friended 500 people in addition to the Twelve, and He certainly had believers among those He healed. Since all of them witnessed to the resurrection, the Christian faith spread across the Roman Empire in one generation.

Luther is one who was convicted of righteousness. As he said in one sermon, the entire world would be forgiven IF every single person believed on Jesus Christ. But they do not. So we can preach about the possibility, due to God’s Promises, but not about the reality, because many do NOT believe, and many fall away from faith in Christ.

Righteousness comes to us through faith, and Jesus is consistent in all His teaching about that truth.

Therefore the wisdom of the world and all the teachers is thrown aside in a few words. That is why there will always be great hatred about faith in Christ, constant disruption and anger, especially among the self-righteous religious leaders, whether they are the Pharisees of the past or the synodical drones of the present.

John 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

This message can be treated under the topic of faith but it is especially good here at the end of the triad.

Christ is teaching – Satan may rule this world and define all that is good, holy, honored, and worshiped, but he is judged, condemned, and nearing his final destruction. Do not adhere to those things he honors and upholds. He is condemned for eternity.

And yet – I see this in the church – members and pastors in larger churches think they are really something based on material measures – money, local prestige, synodical honors, and so forth. And they brag about everything except being faithful to the Word of God.

Only in America could a church brag about being 150 years old. In Europe some are 1,000 years old. Some are so big that one can hardly see the altar from the balcony. So much marble and gold that tourists gasp.

All wordly wisdom is Satan’s. All the best scientists trust in evolution, not Creation. Don’t you want to be among the best, the wisest, the most up to date?

Luther wrote on “the prince of this world is judged”:

25. But now, since the prince of this world and the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of the devil, are directly opposed to one another, and the Holy Spirit is not willing that anyone should parade his own deeds and praise himself on account of them, the holy cross must soon follow. The world will not consent to be reprimanded for its blindness. Therefore one must willingly submit and suffer persecution. If we have the right kind of faith in our hearts, we must also open our mouths and confess righteousness and make known sin. Likewise we must condemn and punish the doings of this world and make it known that everything it undertakes, is damned. For this we must be considered heretics, and must pass through the fire. They say: This is against the holy councils and the canon of the holy father, the pope. Then you are to answer: How can I help it? Here it stands — the text does not say the Holy Spirit is to convict them and say their doctrine is error, blindness and the government of the devil. This, of course, they will not endure, but would have us call them gracious noblemen. Therefore, one must here risk his neck.

26. These are the three parts we have in this Gospel lesson: Sin is unbelief; righteousness is faith; the judgment is the holy cross. Therefore give heed and learn to consider everything that is without the Spirit as nothing and as condemned, and afterwards be prepared for the holy cross that thou must suffer on account of it. Now follows in the Gospel further: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth.”

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/norma-boecklers-new-book-treasury-of.html

So many people say, “I would speak the truth and not hedge it, but my family would be angry. My church friends would stop speaking to me. My ecclesiastical bosses would shun me.”

“I must have said something wrong or said it in the wrong way, because everyone wants my scalp.”

That is a measure of the truth. In one setting the truth will make convicts cry and repent. In another setting it will make the self-righteous furious and full of vindictiveness.

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This is another great section, because we can see the wisdom and compassion of Christ. He is not going to tell them too much because their capacity is not great enough to grasp all of it.

How did they record such harmonious Gospels, four in all? The Holy Spirit came to them as promised and stirred up their memories so that their words were divinely in accord. The Gospels and Letters became the foundation of the Church, an unchanging standard or norm for the Christian faith.

Jesus received from the Father and taught it to the apostles. The apostles received from Jesus and the Holy Spirit and taught it to the early church in preaching and teaching, to us in the written Word of God.

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/norma-boecklers-new-book-treasury-of.html

Martin Chemnitz Press