The Solution for a Church Full of Hypocrites

This was actually one of a couple dozen theses that I penned while trying to list some points on another topic, but I have come to realize that it is significant enough to deserve its own blog post apart from the issue that brought it up so that I can expand the thought and broaden its scope.

The Solution for a Church Full of Hypocrites:

A "hypocrite" is someone who says one thing but does the opposite. He is an actor who portrays something that he is really not. The church is full of hypocrites. This is a very, very bad thing. Christ hates hypocrites and specifically warns against hypocrisy when dealing with the Pharisees. It is a charge that is levelled against the church quite often. This charge is unfortunately true and has an endless string of examples to prove its veracity. I have heard wrong-headed people suggest that the church is supposed to be full of hypocrites. They will even respond to the charge by saying something to the effect of, "certainly the church is full of hypocrites... and there is room for one more!" NO!!! That is wrong! The church is not supposed to be hypocritical at all. Thankfully, the people who actually think the church is okay being hypocritical is relatively small.

The problem comes when people aim to fix this issue of rampant hypocrisy among "Christians". Everyone knows that they way to do away with hypocrisy is to make some one's words and public face match who they are and what they do. So one must ask, "Why is the church full of hypocrites?"

Answer: The church is full of hypocrites because it is full of people who claim to be pulling holiness off when they are not. A "Christian" is a hypocrite when he claims to be righteous when he is in fact a wretched example of horrible thoughts, emotions, and behavior. He proclaims the changed life when he appears completely unchanged and lives as bad as the pagans.

The history of the church is filled with heretics, pietists, legalists, and plain ole erring leaders who have sought to rectify this problem... but went about it the wrong way. Without a proper understanding of man's sinful condition this side of Heavenly Glory, they seek to motivate, cajole, encourage, and threaten men into acting in accordance with the high principles of the Law. They wrongly believe that, if they can just reform people's behavior, the whole hypocrisy problem will be resolved. They foolishly think that, if they can just fix enough people, the church as a whole will improve itself and finally live up to expectations. They wrongly believe that the reason why this has not happened yet is because the right methodology has yet to be applied and set out to finally institute the purification of the church. This is not possible because the sinful flesh still clings to our mortal bodies. It will never work.

This will sound pessimistic, but the only feasible way to remove "Christian" hypocrisy is to lower the person's self-concept, words, and public face down to the level of his poor behavior and spiritual depravity. One must bring a person's words in compliance with his bad behavior through the power of the Holy Spirit by teaching him to always pray "God be merciful to me, the sinner!"

In light of God's Law, which demands perfect and sincere obedience in every way at all times, a hypocrite who tries harder is still a hypocrite no matter how successful he thinks that he has become. He will always fall short of the glory of God. There is none righteous. Not even one.

A sinner who claims the title of "sinner" is no longer being hypocritical. His self-perception and behavior finally agree. He finally sees himself for what he is: a fallen creature in desperate need of a savior because he cannot free himself from his sinful condition.

And here is where the Law has finally done it's great work by driving desperate men to the cross. Here is the place where the sinner encounters the God-Man Christ Jesus, the Great Physician, who declares, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Here is where the diagnosis finally fits the symptoms and the holy imputed righteousness of Christ is administered to him through the proclamation of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments in accordance with Christ's institution. Here is where the sinner finds healing, wholeness, and unity in the Body of Christ as a fellow beggar among brothers rather than just a puffed-up, lying failure in the company of other puffed-up, lying failures.

Here is where the Law is completed in the death and resurrection of Christ and the freedom of the Gospel liberates the sinner from all of the Law's threats and demands. This is where the public perception no longer matters and the man abandons boasting in himself and begins to loudly boast in the only thing that he truly has to boast in: the Lord God Almighty. This is where the light yoke of Our Savior is found as He, the blameless and spotless sacrifice, assumes our burden of guilt before God the Father and becomes a perfect advocate on our behalf. This is where the Holy Spirit does a mighty and mysterious work within the regenerated soul of the Christian in accordance with His perfect will and bestows upon him diverse and new gifts filled with pious passions as a gracious free treasure of matchless worth. This is where the threatening veil of God's wrath is pulled away and, through the mediation of Christ Jesus, the true face of our merciful God of love is found.

In this freedom that only the Gospel can give, the Christian is finally free and empowered by God Himself to do truly good works which God had predestined before the foundation of the world for His purchased servant to walk in by faith. Free from the burden, despair, and compulsion of obligations, the sinner is supernaturally conformed to the image of Christ through sharing in His cross. He stops toiling in the vain hope of favor from God and the approval of men for all his hard efforts and finally begins to work for free in selfless holiness because God has shown him that Christ has already earned his heavenly wages on his account. It is then that the Christian is able to achieve by faith the truly God pleasing works which no external source on earth--not even the church herself--could compel him to do through human machinations and the exhortations of the Law.

In the gratitude of his salvation and with the secure knowledge that his eternal destiny has already been won completely by Jesus so that there is not even one single thing that could even be added, the Christian gladly and joyfully undertakes the work of a servant to his fellow man as a holy act of true, genuine worship. Freed from despair and guilt, the Christian recognizes that his imperfect obedience in this new life is covered and perfected by Christ's imputed righteousness just as his disobedience was when he was born again by water and the Spirit.

He is finally no longer loathed to contend with the imperative force of the Law's demands but finds himself living freely in the Spirit and walking in God's ways as a new creation in Christ. He can now see his lingering sinfulness for what it now is through Christ: the vestigial Old Adam which clings to him for a short time but will be done away with when this life of tears comes to an end and God rescues him from this body of death. He no longer resists sin because he fears as though he "has to or else" but rather he resists sin and wages war against it on all fronts because his regenerated spirit actually wants to walk in newness of life. He no longer simply fears his sinfulness as an eternal liability but comes to hate his sin as a contagion and detestable thing of which he desires no part according to his regenerated spirit.

The Christian no longer lives in a state of hypocrisy where his words and ideals do not conform to his heart and actions. Instead he lives honestly as a sinner redeemed by grace whose life is one of constant combat between the right spirit which was given to him by the Holy Spirit and the sinful flesh which still clings to him with all its temptations and faults. Rather than attempting to reform his sinfulness through legalistic new measures, he seeks to kill it daily through repentance and enjoys the gift of the forgiveness of sins given in holy absolution and the Lord's Supper with his church family.

In jubilant praise and compassionate concern for his fellow sinner, he finds that the Holy Spirit has given him a voice of expression which helps the church on earth proclaim the very saving message that had won him back from that liar the devil and the gaping jaws of hell itself. Rather than forcing himself to be the greatest among his peers and struggling to fit in, the Christian settles into community with his fellow sheep and peacefully lives out his life in the Body of Christ in accordance with his various callings, vocations, and stations in life.

This is how true disciples of Christ are made and this is how those disciples are kept steadfast in the faith. This is where the Kingdom of God is at hand and made manifest: in Christ Jesus Our Lord. This regenerative act of salvation is where Jesus Christ exercises His power of kingship and how the church of God is brought into being, preserved, sanctified, and eventually glorified on the Last Day.

And so the health of the church is never measured quantitatively or even qualitatively according to humanly conceived standards but is measured Christologically according to its faithfulness to her Savior through the clear preaching of the Divine Word and the proper administration of the sacraments in accordance with the Gospel of Christ.

Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!

In Christ, "Taps" is not the Final Trumpet

Today a loving family, the Holy Christian Church, the United States Army, and a grateful nation laid Private First Class Rob Roy Certain to rest who passed away at the age of 83. I had the profound privilege of folding the American Flag for his funeral as part of the Military Funeral Honor Guard which Mr. Certain had purchased decades ago through blood and sweat during the Korean War. He was a combat veteran and, based on the medals displayed at his funeral, a three time Bronze Star recipient.

In my short Army career thus far, I have probably conducted 60-70 such funerals. While individual military honors funerals vary greatly on many peripheral matters, there are three things that are constant: The ceremonial folding of an American Flag, the presentation of that flag to a surviving loved one, and--before those things--there is the playing of a short horn piece known nearly to the whole nation as "Taps".

As with most military customs, it is not entirely clear how this piece came to be played at funerals though most apocryphal accounts place its use in funerals during Civil War at the latest. Regardless of it's origins, "Taps" is played at military funerals. This event with this song has been played thousands of times at actual funerals and has been immortalized in so many film recreations of the ceremony that the American psyche cannot help but equate "Taps" with "Death".

This connection between "Taps" and "Death" is so strong in the collective memory of American citizens, that the start of "Taps" is usually when the sobbing and wails of mourners greatly increase in volume and intensity. They have held their composure for the entire service in relative silence with little more than red eyes and a few silent tears... ...but, simply at the first few notes of this horn, the entire audience tends to break down. It is as though this music piece firmly declares to all who hear it "Yes, they really are dead." It is an iconic message that is almost universal in its impact across the nation. Next time you are at a military funeral, pay attention and you'll notice it, too.

But "Taps" is not just the "He's dead, Jim" funeral music as most civilians know it. Military personnel know all to well what its true meaning is because, when living on a military base, they hear it played late into the night... each and every night... like clockwork. Why? Because it is clockwork. In the days before the point where every soldier in camp had reliable watches, radios, alarm clocks, and email, a whole slew of bugle calls were created as part of the larger set of trumpeted commands to broadcast across the entire base what time it is, what is going on, where people should go, and what people should be doing. Where a runner could deliver a message to a few through great effort, a bugler could almost effortlessly deliver a message instantly to the ears of the whole camp. It is just part of a much greater tradition of sounding trumpets to signal messages to masses of people... dating all the way back to all ancient civilizations.

While civilians equate "Taps" with "Death", military personnel know that "Taps" actually means "Lights Out" or "Time to Sleep". That's when it's played and that's what it is for. It's time to sleep. On a military base, you hear taps play across the parade grounds and you know what time it is: It's time to hit the rack. It's that simple; almost mundane in its function. It's use at funerals is secondary to this original purpose and pours out of this utilitarian meaning. "Lights Out".

What a fantastic Christian metaphor! That is what death is for those who die in the faith: a time of sleep and waiting for a new dawn. A trooper in a camp here's "Taps" with relief knowing that the day's work is done and that a new day will break with the sounding of the opposite twin for "Taps". Where "Taps" signals the night, the call of sunrise is known as "Reveille" which is a French word that literally means "Wake Up".

The "Taps" at night is always answered by the new day's "Reveille". And for those who die in the faith of Jesus Christ, their peaceful slumber will be ended at the anouncement of a blessed new day. After the long night, there will be a sounding of a magnificent heavenly trumpet that will loudly declare to the entire world that the new dawn of the Second Coming of Christ is at hand!

"I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

"Death is swallowed up in victory."
"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
-1 Corinthians 15:50-58

So when you are at a military funeral for your Christian brother or sister, contemplate the true meaning of "Taps" and let the music remind you of what I have pointed out here... and the words of Christ:

"The child is not dead but asleep." [Mark 5:39]

The Power of Imputed Righteousness

The same voice that declared the universe into existence...
The same voice that declared the perfect holiness of the law...
The same voice that declared the seas to be still and they obeyed...

...declares that you are righteous and pure on account of Christ.

"Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:34-36

When God declares you forgiven. You are forgiven with the voice that said, "Let there be light" and there was light.

+ In Memoriam +

It is around this time of year that our family remembers the solid Christian witness that was given to us by the sainted Grandma Baker. I will never forget her final instructions that she spoke to me before she went to be with Our Lord:

"Love your family, love everybody, and count your blessings. And do that every day."

God's Prosperity for You is Found in Holy Absolution

You hear alot these days about the two "P"s in church: "Prosperity" and "Purpose". There are books, churches, and movements founded on unlocking some kind of divine formula for prosperity. The entire purpose of the church these days is to show you how to purposefully search for your purpose so that you will prosper.

You have to wonder though, when we get past all these mortal speakers, hucksters, and mystics for a second... what does God's Word actually say about true prosperity? What does divine prosperity actually look like? Where does one find God's prosperity?

God's prosperity for you is found at the center of holy absolution. The forgiveness of your sin which is apprehended by faith in Jesus Christ is the pearl of great price. Cast aside everything to lay hold of this unique treasure. What other thing could be found that is of equal value? There is nothing else but this promise: Come and hear Christ's word of forgiveness spoken specifically to you.

"Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." -Proverbs 28:13 [ESV]

Explosives, Prayer, Psalm 77, Ascension, and Faith

On Ascension Day this year, I found myself staring at two unidentified pieces of ordinance. I was laying on my stomach looking for something when I discovered them less than a meter away from my face. They were not supposed to be there and I did not expect to find them. It could have made for a very bad day because they had been violently disturbed moments before I saw them. I am being intentionally vague, but I am sure that you get the idea.

They turned out to be inert ("not dangerous" for you civilians). They could have just as easily been live rounds or some kind of improvised explosive device. I was fairly certain that they were just inert when I saw them, but you really want to be more than "fairly certain" in that kind of situation. Looking back, there was that split second before my army training kicked in where I thought about being "blown to kingdom come". I have to chuckle at the irony of thinking of that phrase on that particular day in the church year.

I guess a Christian who is also a Soldier at war thinks about the heavenly kingdom alot... regardless of his duties or situation. It is always in the back of his mind that the only constant about war is that it can be incredibly indiscriminate and random. My Ascension Day experience was like that: random. Why me? Why inert? The mind can spin rather easily about such questions.

I think that alot of the stress comes from the powerlessness of these kinds of random situations (which happen just as often--if not more often--back in the States.) It seems more intense here because it is compounded by the isolation of being away from home, from the church, and from her gifts. The combination can be a real test of faith and endurance.

Lots of things start to dip: sleep, energy, cognitive function, and even prayer. It is really easy for peaceful meditations on God's Word to turn into fits of frustration and exhaustion. The devil pounces on this opportunity and throws your wretched sinfulness in your face. It can be a real battle. You start to really understand the psalmist when he says:

I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints.

You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
I said, "Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart."
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
"Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?"

Boy can I relate! Here I will interrupt the psalmist to speak about Christ. In the Creed we confess that, at the conclusion of His saving work on earth, Christ ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. Christ spoke this very truth on the night of His arrest.

This doctrine was affirmed by the Apostle Peter at Pentecost when he preached, "This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'" [Acts 2:32-35]

It is there at the Father's right hand that the glorified Christ intercedes on our behalf as our Mediator and Great High Priest. It is because of Christ, Our King and Deliverer, that we have reason to rejoice. By recounting His marvelous deeds, this bleak psalm turns in verse 10 and brightens for us at this point where the psalmist recalls the God who delivered Israel out of the land of Egypt. Pay close attention to a familiar, creedal term used in the first phrase in this transition from despair and frustration to hope and faith. It is hard to miss the Christological imagery here.

Then I said, "I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High."
I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.

When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Amen and Amen.

In the dark, isolated times we turn by faith to the one who sits at the right hand of the Most High and remember the deeds of the Lord. These deeds of deliverance and of salvation. We look to Jesus Christ... incarnate, crucified, buried, resurrected, and now ascended.

May 7th - C.F.W. Walther, Pastor and Theologian

Walther on the Office of the Ministry:

"O, glorious office! No matter how sick a person may be in his soul, the Gospel can heal him. No matter how deeply ca person has fallen into the corruption of sin, the Gospel can pull him out. No matter how troubled, frightened, and afflicted a person may be, the Gospel can comfort him. Whatever the condition in which a person finds himself, even if he is convinced that he must perish because of it, the preachers can confidently oppose him, saying: 'No, as certainly as God lives, He does not want the death of any sinner. You shall not perish; instead, you shall be saved. Turn to Jesus, who can evermore save all who come to God through Him.' And if one who lies near death calls out: 'God, what have I done? Woe to me! Now it is too late! I am lost!' the preachers should call to him: 'No, no, it is not too late! Commit your departing soul to Jesus. You too shall still be with Him in paradise today.' O, glorious, high office, too high for the angels! May we always hold it in high regard, not looking at the person who bears it and despising his weakness, but looking instead at the Institutor of this office and His exuberant goodness. Let us turn to Him in faith so we can experience the blessings of which the preachers have spoken and, through them, be gathered together one day into the barns of heaven as a completely ripe sheaf."

-C.F.W. Walther
from The Treasury of Daily Prayer, pg 212

Question for Today

How does a Lutheran layman live in a place where the objective means of grace are absent or greatly muted by error and schism?

"I'm Afraid that I'm Losing My Faith!"

I am reminded of an event that occurred in a military chapel years ago.

The chaplain was having a prayer request time at the end of the service. During this prayer request time a woman raised her hand and complained that she was losing her faith and that she was worried about all her doubt. She was afraid of all the sin that she was committing and it had really upset her that she was falling away. She was afraid that she was becoming lost.

The chaplain replied, "We will pray for you, but the fact that losing faith bothers you is a good sign. If you did not have faith, you would not care about it at all. You are a sinner and that really bothers you. God be praised!" He then directed her to hold fast to the cross. He proceeded to give instruction from the pulpit that Christ did not come to be with the healthy, but treat the sick.

He was right. Would an unbeliever give a flip about not having faith? Would a hell-bound sinner care about eternal life and his position with God? Of course not! Because those feelings and convictions come from the Holy Spirit alone.

And where you find the Holy Spirit, you find Christ. And where you find Christ, there is forgiveness and salvation.

The Devil hates that. He must destroy it. This is why he attacks your confidence with lies and false arguements. He reminds you that you are weak and inadequate and suggests that that fact somehow matters to God. Of course you are weak and inadequate... that's why Christ died for you in the first place and continues to be your advocate! Does your inability to be holy matter in the slightest? No. Faith and salvation are unwarrented gifts.

God Bless a Man in Black!

My new laptop has video software. Enjoy!

...And Yet Hope Remains

I was present for military honors at a funeral. It was hot. Our part of the ceremony at the grave site had concluded and it was the time for the minister to speak. I must admit that my expectations were not very high. I knew pretty much what to expect.

I had driven by his church before. They meet in a giant General Steel building. A sterile, metal gymnasium with a sign out front that carries the word "fellowship" in its name where one would think "church" should be. I know that they have a dance ministry and their worship falls deep within the pentecostal realm.

He wore no vestments. He held no rubric in his hand. He stood before us all in a dress shirt and slacks with a well-worn Holy Bible has he sorted through all the scraps of paper and pieces of bulletin that were wedged in the pages. He began with his opening statements. He thanked the congregation for being with the family in the past few weeks and he encouraged them to continue with their care for one another. I braced myself for the inevitable unremarkable comments of the modern minister to the modern church.

And then it happened.

"This is no false hope," He said. "This is no pipe dream. As surely as Christ was raised from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father, so we shall also be raised up to be with Him at the end."

He continued, "This earth will be made new. You and I and [the deceased] will all stand before Jesus in the flesh again. Together. Alive. We will all be reunited by faith and see God. Because of Jesus, there is hope here."

Sometimes I lose sight of just how powerful the good news about Jesus is. As a lover of the Gospel, I sometimes forget that this thing that I cling to is not my creation, but a revelation by the Spirit. I become so concerned about its fragility that I lose sight of its scope and resilience. I spend a great deal of time defending the Truth... sometimes to the point that I forget just how powerful, pervasive, and penetrating it is.

As we worry, and fret, and bemoan the sorry state of the church, the Holy Spirit continues to move in spite of our 'best' efforts. We look around us with human eyes and see a dead world that is paved over with temporal concern and a church that is fashioning itself to emulate it. In so many places, the beauty of the Gospel has been torn down, tread under, and cast aside in favor of the urban sprawl of enthusiastic error, pleasure seeking, and feel-goodism.

We look around and see lifeless stone everywhere we look and we buy into despair and hopelessness. But there are cracks in the pavement of the Modern Church and, even in those tiniest of spaces, the glorious flower of the Gospel continues to take root and bloom. As dead and hardened as so many are, the Word is still preached and heard.

In spite of what people will tell you, hope still remains. Christ is still the King of His Church. The gates of hell do not prevail against her. Christ continues to care for His sheep and He continues to go out and rescue people. The Holy Spirit still grows us all in the truth and knowledge of God. The Truth is still out there for those with an ear to hear.

There is alot of work to do. There is alot of 'work' that needs to be undone. So many places and souls have become ravaged and bare. But do not lose sight of the flowers in the sidewalk. Do not forget to see every blossom of the Gospel and rejoice. Do not allow yourself to pass by the Gospel without notice and without action.

Spring is upon us. Even as the world dies around us (taking far too many Christians with it), there are still flowers blooming. We should be watering and planting instead of weeping over all the bare rock that we see.

There is hope for all who are in bondage to sin, error, and the false teachers. I am living proof: a flower formerly wedged in the pavement.

Our Invincible Sins and Our Merciful Reliever

"Who gave Himself for our sins..." [Galatians 1:4]

"...Again by this sentence, it is declared that our sins are so great, so infinite and invincible, that it is impossible for the whole world to satisfy for one of them. And surely the greatness of the ransom (namely, Christ the Son of God) declareth sufficiently that we can neither satisfy for sin; nor have dominion over it. The force and power of sin is set forth, and amplified exceedingly by these words, 'which gave Himself for our sins'."

......

"Let us learn here of Paul to fully and truly believe that Christ was given, not for feigned sins, nor for small, but for great and huge sins; not for few but for many; not for conquered sins (for no man can overcome the smallest sin to put it away) but for invincible sins."

......

"Hold this fast, and suffer not thyself to be drawn away by any means from this most sweet definition of Christ, which rejoiceth the very angels of heaven: that is to say, that Christ is no Moses, no lawgiver, no tyrant, but a mediator of sins, a free giver of grace, righteousness, and life: who gave Himself not for our merits, righteousness, and godly life, but for our sins.

"These things, as touching the words, we know well enough, and can talk of them. But in practice, and in the conflict, when the Devil goeth about to deface Christ, and to pluck the word of grace out of our hearts, we find that we do not yet know them well and as we should do. He that at such a time of trial could define Christ truly, and could magnify Him and behold Him as his most sweet Saviour, and High Priest, and not as a strait judge, this man hath overcome all evils, and were already in the Kingdom of Heaven. But this to do in the conflict, is of all things most hard. I speak this by experience.

"This, then, is the cause why I do so earnestly call upon you to learn the true and proper definition of Christ out of these words, "which gave Himself for our sins," if He gave Himself to death for our sins, then undoubtedly He is no tyrant, or judge which will condemn us for our sins.

"He is no caster-down of the afflicted, but a raiser-up of those that are fallen, a merciful reliever and comforter of the heavy and broken-hearted. Else would Paul lie in saying 'which gave Himself for our sins'.

"If I define Christ thus, I define Him rightly, and take hold of the true Christ, and possess Him indeed, and here I let pass all curious speculations touching the Divine Majesty, and stay myself in the humanity of Christ, and so I learn truly to know the will of God. Here then is no fear, but all together sweetness, joy, peace of conscience, and such-like. And here withal is a light opened, which showeth me the true knowledge of God, of myself, of all creatures, and of all the iniquity of the Devil's Kingdom."

-Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians, Translated by Erasmus Middleton

Not Just Healed... Restored!

I once watched a medical program that highlighted all of the technological advances used to grant individuals increased vision. One particular case was very interesting.

There was a man who had become blind at a very young age. Decades later, the blind man was given an opportunity to have his vision restored. After the procedure, his vision was returned to him, but he still walked with a cane and had extreme difficulty making out objects and working with depth perception. What was wrong with his vision? Nothing.

Doctors have discovered that our early years are spent learning what the images from our eyes mean. We learn depth perception and object relationships through trial and error as toddlers. Deprived of this early development, the man was without the ability to process the new kind of information that he was now receiving. Anyone who has their vision restored after long periods of blindness has a long road of rehabilitation ahead as they toil to be able to see properly.

The man was healed, but his vision was not instantly restored... he has years of rehabilitation and learning to do. Not all blind men have had to struggle with this issue.

John 9:1-11 [ESV]

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is he." Others said, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the man." So they said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed and received my sight."



The miraculous works of Christ Jesus are complete. The man was not just healed... his vision was restored! Christ did not only remove the disability, He compensated for the man's weakness and inability. Not only could the man make out fuzzy patches of light, the man was given sight. What a miracle! Perfect in its mercy and perfect in its provision to meet every need.

This is the Jesus that I meet at the place of forgiveness. In the waters of baptism, at the Lord's Supper, and in the privilege of confession, I am not just healed, but I am restored! I am not just forgiven, I also receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that builds my faith. Faith not only saves me, it also fills my heart with new passions and the desire to do good works. I receive a double blessing: my sin is forgiven and I am strengthened in the faith. My blindness is not just removed... I receive my sight.

By faith I am not just healed... I am restored.

The Unending Battle Against the Dingies

The stress level goes up when I wear white. Sometimes it is almost not worth it.

When I wear white, the smallest spot of dirt shows. Sure I have clothes that I happily soil with levels of grime and filth that would impress a five year old, but when I wear good clothes (particularly white ones), I become conscious of the slightest speck. The more I value the clothing, the more careful I have to be. It forces me to change the way that I live in order to stay clean.

Putting on the white clothing is an uncomfortable experience. The levels of grime and filth that were so easy to ignore before suddenly become unacceptable. I look down and see things that I never would have even noticed if I was not wearing white. The whiter the clothes the more noticeable the dirt.

And it is not a question of if I will ruin a white outfit with grime or stains. It is a question of how soon that will happen... and how bad it is going to be. When I get a stain, the surprise and horror is enough to make me just want to give up with wearing white all together. I certainly would be much more comfortable wallowing in my own filth in my old clothes.

My white clothes have to be washed alot. Even if I don't get it stained, my own body makes white clothes dingy. It takes alot of water, cleaning, and vigilance to preserve the purity. Dirt automatically becomes a big deal because white clothes are only white as long as they stay white. There are alot of dirty things that I have to give up. There are some things that I just can't do. There is no middle ground. There is no wearing white and wallowing in dirt because the two cannot coexist. My life becomes about going out of my way to avoid filth. It is a never ending mission that exhausts and frustrates.

...but that is a small price to pay in order to wear white.

My Suffering as an Enthusiast Ended Through the Sign of the Prophet Jonah

I did all of that seeker stuff. I grew up in the Rick Warren movement. I was a Charismatic. I was a Southern Baptist. I spent years being mentored by former Pentecostals and seeking the ever elusive Holy Spirit Baptism. My father was a Promise Keeper. I’ve read the Purpose Driven Life. I was a praise and worship musician for the better part of a decade starting at the age of thirteen. We played 2-4 services a week and we went on tour to perform at other churches. As a young boy, I helped the liberal elements revamp our congregation with modern worship forms and enthusiast theology. When we joined the church, it had an organ and a few score in membership. When I left, we sat 300+ every Sunday, had a drum kit on the stage, and we hosted Christian punk rock band tours whenever they came to town.

I was also a songwriter. I wrote and performed my compositions before my church whenever the format permitted. The music of the enthusiast is an important window into what makes them tick. It is important to look at what they are singing and connect with them on a deep level.

Why? Because most enthusiasts are secretly hurting inside. Their hope is in the Law and they battle discouragement and disappointment daily. Imagine a life where Christ is most present in the worship that you create and that your connection to God is primarily evidenced by your feelings. Imagine serving a God who comes abundantly in some cases and trickles down in others. Imagine a Holy Spirit who only moves when we do the right things to invoke Him. Imagine a life devoid of the solid foundation that ancient Christianity was built on. Try to live a Christian life that only pays lip service to faith while seeking ever more elaborate ways to reassure itself through signs and miracles.

I submit a song that I wrote as an enthusiast. I performed this song for my congregation. It made people raise their hands, pray, and worship God. After the debut of this song, people came up to me and praised me for my insight and honesty. They thought I really had figured stuff out and that I had written a song that really spoke to the truth of living the life of a Christian. I know people who still love this song. How? It is hopeless! Looking back, my heart grieves to know that this song speaks for many of my brothers and sisters.

Fire by Night
By Mike Baker (when he was living in error as an enthusiast)

How long must I live in this harshest desert?
How long must I thirst as I wander though the heat?
I had a better time as a slave in Egypt,
I don’t know if You’ll provide for me now today.

But You, O God, know my inner questions
The answers You leave are there for me to see
The signs that You’re givin’ me
Lead me through the desert
Through Fire by Night and Cloud by Day

How high must I climb to feel you in abundance?
How far can I fall and still feel your grace?
How long can I live without your gentle healing?
Must there be less of me so I can hear your voice?

‘Cause You, O God, don’t talk the way you used to
The answers You leave are ones I do not see
The signs You are giving me are not out in the open
Like Fire by Night and Cloud by Day.

Maybe just once if you wrote a message in the stars
If I listened for a change… I would know Your heart.

But You, O God, are talking in a whisper
The answers You give are there for those who see
The signs You are giving me are there if I would listen
To the still small voice inside of me

If I listen for a change… can I know Your heart?


I weep for people who feel as I did when I wrote this song. I am horrified that people believe as I once did: that “Jesus being in my heart” means that I should rely solely on some inner voice or subjective experience to lead me in the faith.

This song leads you to false hope. When I wrote it, I was blind. I was searching for God, but I was so spiritually and theologically starved that He seemed elusive, hidden, and distant. I couldn’t know God’s heart because I was listening to the wrong things. Consequently, I felt that God the Father had largely abandoned His people… especially me.

The Enthusiast always wonders why things changed between the Bible and now. Why did God make things so easy for His people in the Old Testament and so hard for us today. Why did God speak verbally to Elijah but not to the church today? Why did God guide His people through visible miracles in the past and not in the present? Why did God speak in a loud voice before and not now? Why did God sit and eat with Abraham then, but not with the church today? They do not understand this mystery and they envy that kind of intimate relationship with God. They search for this relationship in worship and controversial signs, but never find it. They become so desperate that they start to see miracles, angels, and demons everywhere. They will believe anything that looks like a miracle. They will doubt anything that does not feel right. The world becomes bewildering and chaotic.

They are looking in the wrong place. God is not subjective and internal. He is objective and external. He does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not treat you any differently than Israel. In fact, He treats you exactly the same because you are Israel. Paul tells us that Christians are children of Abraham by adoption. If you are looking for a personal relationship with God, look in the same places where the people of the Old Testament looked: In those places where God promises to be.

In the Old Testament, you see many signs and objects that contain the very presence of God. God cleansed the earth with a flood and delivered Noah in an ordinary boat. The rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant with Noah. Circumcision is a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. God speaks to Moses in a burning bush. God turns a staff into a snake. God saves the people from death through ordinary blood on an ordinary door. God resides on the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. God feeds His people with mana. God saves His people from snakes through a snake on a pole. God wins a battle through the act of Moses outstretching his arms. God saved Rahab through a red chord in her window. God shows Gideon the way through a fleece. The secret of Samuel’s strength was his hair. Naaman’s leprosy was cleansed by bathing in the river Jordan. The list goes on and on and on.

Why do we not have these things today? Why doesn’t God come to the church and shout in a loud booming voice and end all of the debates and doubt? If we are wrong, why doesn't God prove His will through an unequivocal sign?

The Pharisees were enthusiasts, too. They wondered the same thing.

Matthew 12:38-41 [ESV]: Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.”

Here's your sign! The sign of the prophet Jonah is your miracle, brothers and sisters. The church is guided by this one miracle. Man wants many miracles and asks for a great deal to prove God’s existence, but the salvation of mankind is given to all by just one sign: the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Christ’s death and resurrection is your objective proof of your salvation. If you doubt that God loves you, look to Christ. If you fear what will happen in the future, look to your greatest of signs: Christ. If you do not know what you are supposed to be doing or where you are supposed to go, look to the visible sign as the Israelites in the desert looked to the Fire and Cloud. Look to Christ’s death and resurrection. Gather strength through faith in this awesome miracle; this perfect and complete work.

So perfect is Christ's death and resurrection that all other signs point to, prefigure, and emulate this one. God providing the lamb instead of Abraham's son points to Christ. God saving His people through blood to ward off death points to Christ. God preserving His people through the Passover meal points to Christ. God curing people with a snake lifted up on a pole points to Christ. God laying Jonah in the depths for three days and then raising Him out of the depths points to Christ.

It is all about Christ. There is your proof! That’s it. That’s all you need. There is no other sign because no further symbol of God’s providence or love could add anything to Christ’s saving work. To know Christ is to know the Father. You know that God is just because of Christ. You know that God is holy because of Christ. You know that God is merciful because of Christ. You know that God loves you because of Christ. You know that God will eternally save you because of Christ.

Christ said about himself, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

At that point, Philip had an enthusiast moment and said, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." How many songs are written by Christians today that ask Philip's question over and over again? We cry out, "Show us the Father! Show us His glory!" We sing, "Rain down Your presence on us! Fill this place with Your glory!" We ask, "Show us Your face O God! Reveal Yourself to us in this place!"

How did Christ reply to Philip? He said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works."

How can we ask for the Father as if we do not already see Him in the Son? There is not a mote of heavenly glory that was kept from Christ. The Father did not withhold an ounce of mercy, power, glory, might, honor, magesity, grace, wisdom, knowledge, omnicience, or love, but He gave it to His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. You want to see the Father? Don't look in your worship. Don't look in your heart. Don't seek after it as though it was some elusive treasure. Look to the free gift of Christ.

Christ did all the work and He is all of proof of God's love that you will ever need. Remember? “IT IS FINISHED!” The sign of the prophet Jonah.

Why look anywhere else for hope or guidance? Why turn to someone as unreliable as yourself for proof of God's favor when Christ is the end of all doubt and rejection? Why flock to places that promise nothing more than miracles, emotional experiences, and wonderous signs? Why settle for something so cheap and temporary?

Christ is the door through which you obtain the holy relationship that Adam lost in the garden. Christ’s blood washes you clean and establishes that intimate relationship with the Father. If you want an intimate relationship that never waivers, look to Christ. You want real hope and security? Place your faith in Christ.

Does that mean that God is done serving His people through means? Of course not. God is working today as He was working before: He hides in ordinary, tangible things. He adopts you into His eternal family through ordinary water by the power of Baptism. He strengthens you in the faith through ordinary wine and ordinary bread in Christ’s Most Holy Supper. He forgives you through words of absolution that are spoken by ordinary men. He guides you through an ordinary book: Holy Scripture. What gives these mundane things such power and significance? The same thing that gave power and significance to the burning bush and the Holy of Holies: the real presence of God.

These means of grace deliver what was promised by the sign of the prophet Jonah. John tells us in his gospel that the "Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Later in that same book Christ says, "For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink." All of this is Christ presented before your eyes, spoken into your ears, and placed upon your lips.

Read what God has said. He does not lie and He does not construct elaborate tricks to confuse you or leave you in doubt.

Matthew 26:26-29 [ESV]: Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom."

1 Corinthians 10:15-17 [ESV]: I [Paul] speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

1 Peter 3:18-22 [ESV]: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

John 20:21-23 [ESV]: Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."

God uses tangible means to accomplish extraordinary miracles. Those means exist today and they are there for you to touch and hold. They are not there as some additional ceremonial rite or mnemonic device. God does not institute these things as observances that depend on you to reflect upon their symbolism and thus grow closer to Him by way of your mental capacity and personal wisdom. Why would God make coming to Him so difficult?

There is no abandonment. You ask for proof and God gives you Christ. Not only that, Christ is given to you in such a way that you can actually point to tangable objects and say, "Christ is right there. I don't know how it works, but I know that this miracle allows me to participate in Christ's death and resurrection. I don't need to doubt or fear because God keeps His promises regardless of what emotional state I am in."

These things exist to bless you and preserve you in the faith. Learn to embrace them as such. You already know that you cannot always count on that small voice inside of you. Sometimes it is wrong. Sometimes it leads you into sin. Sometimes it only tells you what you want to hear. You know that many times that voice is surely not coming from God. You know that sometimes you feel like your prayers don't go anywhere. You know that you need something solid to ease your doubts and comfort you.

Dead, old religion’s answer to this suffering is empty and false. Dead, old religion makes you do all the work and come up with the answers on your own. Dead, old religion tells you to pray, fast, and do this list of works until your heart tells you that you are going the right way. Dead, old religion tells you to suffer through the tough times alone. Dead, old religion makes you look to human teachers or within yourself for guidance. Dead, old religion hides behind alot of show, glitter, and flash. Dead, old religion distracts you and points your attention to itself instead of Jesus.

Living, real faith – that intimate relationship that you are seeking – is deeper and much more mystical than that. There is a real church that still has miracles and still follows God through the ways that He has established by Christ's specific, spoken promises. There is a real church that has no need for the petty miracles and signs that the Pharisees wanted. There is a real church that does not wickedly ask God to reveal His glory and power for the sake of a wondrous experience.

There is a real church that gathers together and does nothing but participate in the sign of the prophet Jonah: Christ’s death and resurrection. There is a real church who heeds God's Word and repents daily. There is a real church that is constantly transformed, refreshed, and vivified through repentance and faith in Christ Jesus.

It’s not about you. It's not about what you tell yourself is true. The proof is not found in what you do or don't experience when you feel God’s presence or when you don’t feel the presence. Even Pagans and Atheists are confirmed in their false beliefs through that fickle method. You don’t think that practitioners of other religions feel their god’s presence? You don’t think that their worship confirms their beliefs? What makes you different from them? How can you be sure that you are thinking, feeling, and believing correctly? The cold truth is that you can't know God by your feelings any more than you can know a person through how you feel about them. It is time to stop guessing about God. Start knowing God.

It is all about Christ. That is the difference. It is not about what you do or why. It is about what has been done for you. The firm foundation of Christ is objective and incarnate. Christ's death and resurrection is an objective fact that you can cling to. You know God loves you because of Christ.

Converts - Part 3: "The Church Without Wheels"

Those who leave Lutheranism often level variations of the same charge:

The church of the Book of Concord does not/no longer exist(s). The Lutheran Church, as expressed in its confessional documents does not exist.

I submit that this observation by our critics is proof of the correctness of our confession. Since it is impossible for us as sinful individuals to measure up to the requirements of God's Word for even a few minutes it only makes sense that it is impossible for large collections of sinful individuals to measure up to the only modern church that purely expresses God's Will in her confessions without error.

While other confessions have resorted to creating human doctrines, practices, and methods to make church more rational and easy, Lutherans have embraced the narrow gate of truth which renders a perfectly orthodox church in all places at all times virtually impossible this side of heaven. All other churches adapt to the whims of human invention. As men err, their churches adapt and err with them. Confessional Lutheranism, grounded on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ, will not follow sinful men as they stray. Thus people abandon her and cease to embody the confession.

Take the Roman church as an example. As her people fall into various forms of error, she makes her doctrine conform to those errors. As new false doctrines are introduced over the years, she adopts them and makes them appear legitimate. She then forces her faithful to conform to her imperfect version of the truth. Men have put wheels on that church. Rome is driven by her human occupants. Romans who want to leave the point where pure truth exists simply have to take their church with them. Even when everyone adopts human error, the church, as she is identified by her ever-evolving confession, remains occupied and true to her faith (though inconsistent to her previous traditions and documents). To the casual observer, the Roman church practices what she preaches. This is because she preaches only what she practices for the season that she practices it. In those places where she has not abandoned the truth for error, she finds herself in agreement with her Lutheran opponents.

Bound by Law and Gospel, the catholic, orthodox, and evangelical church does not do this. As her people fall into various forms of error, she remains steadfast in doctrine. She does not compromise with reason, bad exegesis, and novelty. She does not have wheels. Confessional Lutherans who want to leave the point where pure truth exists must leave their immovable church and go to one with wheels. If every Lutheran was to adopt error, the church, as she is identified by her confession, would be abandoned and cease to exist. To the casual observer, the Lutheran church can never perfectly practice what it preaches. This is because, as long as she is still truly Lutheran, she preaches what God has revealed... which no man but Our Lord Jesus Christ can faithfully accomplish, fully comprehend, or steadfastly keep. Since all Christians are hypocrites and failures it makes sense that when Christians gather around pure doctrine and try to practice it, they find themselves speaking hypocritically and failing to realize God's ideal.

This is why this one criticism, of all of the criticisms that Christians level against each other, is uniquely reserved for those who profess what has come to be known as Confessional Lutheranism.

If we confessed the human standard that there is nothing special about the Lord's Supper or Baptism as many protestants do, most of our battles over Sacramental practice would not be an issue. We would be unified like many protestants, but at what cost? Since we confess God's Standard which He revealed in Holy Scripture, we find that sinful man continues to contest and rebel against it.

If we confessed the human standard that men are justified by works as everyone else does in one form or another, most of our battles over preaching and evangelism would not be an issue. We would be unified like many other churches, but at what cost? Since we confess God's Standard regarding salvation, which He told us was foolishness to men, we find that sinful man continues to contest and rebel against it.

And so, God's church, the purified bride of Jesus Christ, exists in those places where the Gospel is preached in its purity and the Sacraments are properly administered. These are the marks of the church. Since they are from God--not men--we humans find them difficult to achieve and even harder to preserve among us. It is easier for us to create our own definition of the church. It is easier to create a standard that we can meet or erect an earthly kingdom in which to house The Church. We strive to make it understandable and tactile. Those things may make people feel better, but they are merely human distinctions that are neither true nor helpful.

We who still remain are the Ecclesia Militans. It is going to be a struggle as long as we are here where sin and error remains. This struggle is that of truth against error. It only makes sense that the struggle will be the most extreme here where the most truth is found.

Thanks be to God that Christ saves us by faith and not by our feeble works. Thanks be to God that Christ preserves the church in spite of us.

Thoughts on Being Consistant

It seems that Confessional Lutherans have developed two different schools of thought:

1. Some have asserted that there are those who are aggressively decrying those who leave Lutheranism while largely ignoring the fact that many Lutherans have left Lutheranism a long time ago, but remain Lutherans.

2. Some have asserted (to include myself) that there are those who are aggressively decrying those who have watered down Lutheranism with protestant error while largely ignoring the fact that it is serious business when someone decides that the sound doctrine of Lutheranism is incorrect and officially passes from a pure confession to an error-filled one.

After a great deal of prayer and reflection I have developed a question: Are both positions right?

Both types of error are serious and must be addressed. Both types of error undermine the integrity of the true confession of the church. Both should be defended against with an equal amount of passion and vigilance. Is it possible that we need to take a step back and self-evaluate instead of telling other people how they should look at things?

At the risk of further irritating my only reader, I am going to engage in more stereotyping in order to speculate as to why people feel the way that they do. This is, of course, purely speculation on my part based on my limited life experience with people and looking at what makes them tick.

Question: If those who are hard on public converts are indeed soft on crypto-converts as some people believe, could it be because we are willing to overlook lesser errors due to the fact that we have all but written off those mistaken brothers as stubborn and largely unfixable? That would explain why we appear relatively cool to protestant error that has been running rampant for quite some time in some areas of the synod. We may be admitting that we feel that we cannot fix the problems internally, but at least we have the ability to defend the confessional ideal.

Question: If those who are hard on crypto-converts are indeed soft on public converts as some people believe, could it be because deep down they empathize with the frustrations expressed by those who have given up on Lutheranism and the LCMS in particular? That would explain why they appear relatively soft on those who have already left what appears to be a damaged if not sinking ship. They may be admitting that they feel that they cannot speak harshly against someone who at least started out with similar frustrations and observations about Lutheranism.

This debate is just another example of how Lutheranism is difficult and uncomfortable. The temptation is to view issues from either totally one side or totally the other when the truth is usually somewhere in between. I find it hard to believe that it is either one side or the other is totally correct here. I suggest that the both/and principle applies. We should be firmly presenting the truth to both mistaken brothers who remain Lutherans in name only and mistaken brothers who leave and adopt a confession that contains error.

Problems in the church militant never create a licence to embrace false teaching. Misgivings about our own failings do not disqualify us from presenting the pure doctrine and practice.

And we could all work on our tact.

Why This Will Work - Part 3

How often do the children of God try to fix or improve His kingdom using their own methods?

This approach, foolish and disobedient to its core, leads to nothing but division in the church. As sinful men, we want to do things our way using our timing. When an individual, movement, or initiative replaces Christ as the central focus of the church, the unity of the body is inevitably compromised. If there is a place where loving unity has given way to harsh discord, you will find people who have turned away from Christ and sound apostolic teaching.

Look at the discord--the unrighteous bickering--that has been born out of the progressive additions to the church. As more humanly invented systems are introduced you find more division and theological compromise. In many places, the mystical body of the faithful has been reduced to a collection of board meetings, politics, demographic marketing, and partisanship. Christians have abandoned their scriptural call to be "in the world but not of it" in favor of becoming "community-based", "relevantly modern", and "seeker-sensitive".

That does not make my conservative brothers and sisters innocent by any measure. In their zeal to combat this foreign invasion of the church, some have resorted to many of the same progressive methods. The conservatives have taken the bait and have invented their own board meetings, politics, and partisanship.

Rather than addressing the root causes of these issues, they have allowed it to degrade into an us-versus-them battle for the heart of the synod... a heart which should belong to Christ alone. Not only has this move led to more division, it has fundamentally failed to vanquish the errors that this strategy was employed to combat. Not only does progressive theology and practice persist, it seems to flourish and grow in many areas. Do the conservatives recognize this and correctly diagnose their weak strategy? For many this is sadly not the case. They have turned to hopelessness and hand-wringing.

My answer to all of this mess is to stop wasting time just talking about the problem and do what you can to fix it. The bickering has become so absurd that we now argue about whether or not we are arguing and how deep that arguing goes. If public debate and rhetoric was going to work, we should have seen progress by now. In fact, the exact opposite is true.

We only have so much time, so much energy, and so many resources to devote to this issue. All of those assets should be thrown into getting each of our congregations as close to the apostolic model as possible. Think of how far we could go toward unity under pure doctrine if we all got off of our lazy rears and did something about it at the place where it matters the most: the local congregation. We have way too many generals up in the command tent saying, "we are losing on this flank... and that flank... we should counter-attack here, here, and there." We do not have enough people on the front lines taking the steps that are necessary to bring this conflict to a favorable end.

If the battle to defend confessional Lutheranism is really going as bad as you all say, pick up a rifle and head to the front lines. That is where your efforts are actually going to make a difference. It is very easy to point out what is wrong and whine about it to an audience that agrees with you. It takes a great deal of blood and sweat to actually deal with the problem.

• Division is defeated by patience, love, and humility.


• Minimalism is defeated by boldly teaching pure doctrine and scripture.


• Partisanship is defeated by focusing on the entire mission of the church through dedication to the Word of God and deference to those who are weaker in the faith.


• Heresy is defeated by equipping everyone with the ability to discern truth from error.


• Unionism is defeated by encouraging love for the Lutheran confessions and Lutheran identity.
  

This kind of stuff takes sacrifice. It is very easy to identify a problem that should be fixed. It is quite another to devote yourself to the solution of that problem. If the problem in the LCMS is to be fixed, it will take a great deal of individual effort to repair the division from the ground up. The big question is: Are we willing to do the work?

Why This Will Work - Part 2

Despite the obvious division in our synod, there are still bastions of confessional Lutheranism in every city that I have visited. Such a statement of good news does not make for a popular blog post, but it is the truth. If one wants to find a confessional church, they are readily available in every city of every state that I have visited this year. These lighthouses of truth shine light out into the theological darkness of American Protestantism. Even in those places where progressive theology has all but replaced sound doctrine, stalwart churches stand against the tide of error and unionism.

If you visit a Mecca of works-righteous Christianity like Houston, you can still find dedicated Lutheran pastors saying things like:

"In order to fulfill this Great Commission, to baptize and make disciples, you--yourself--must be a disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ. A disciple by definition is a person who follows a particular teacher....To be a disciple, you must believe that what your teacher is teaching is the Truth; not just truth, but the Truth."

As the humanly invented programs and business models gain high praise here on earth, the angels in heaven continue to rejoice over the thankless grunt work that the good and faithful servants are doing every day. Despite what you may be told by the hot-heads on both sides, there are many churches who love sound doctrine and seek to walk with a spirit of peaceful mercy toward one another. They do not have the time to bicker and seek public glory for their many accomplishments. They are too busy following the New Testament model for the church: faith, love, good order, peace, unity, and righteousness. They are too busy lifting each other up, teaching their young children the Athanasian Creed, holding regular prayer services during the week, and helping the poor in their community.

In the last year, I have visited over a dozen faithful churches that you have probably never heard of or seen. Their humble spirits prevent them from attempting to draw attention their way. The various factions in the synod are so occupied with the task of tilting at windmills that they fail give these congregations a moment's notice. Do not lose sight of the fact that they do exist. Do not forget that there are places where the systems are working, the gospel is being taught in its purity, and the sacraments are being properly administered.

Church growth is not a popularity contest. The Body of Christ is not a place for division and discord. It is not a place for finger-pointers, doom-sayers, and credit-seekers. In all things we are a people of faith, hope, and love. I pray that God will cause this fruit to grow in all of us.

"Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

-James 3:13-18

Why This Will Work - Part 1

I apologize for the delay between posts. The demands of my vocation(s) have given me little time for online posting. I doubt that anyone reads this anymore, but that has never stopped me from opening my big mouth in the past.

There has been a wave of doom and worry flowing through the Lutheran blogosphere. It is really easy to get drawn into the "glass half empty" mentality. The LCMS has given people good reason to worry here lately. So what do we do?

That is a telling question: "what do we do?" It is easy to get anthropocentric when things become difficult. The devil wants us to despair. He wants the confessional elements in the LCMS to become cynical. He wants you to despair. He wants you to abandon your light house. He wants you to stop calling into the wilderness. He wants you to abandon your brothers and sisters and right them off as hopeless.

We are supposed to be a people of hope, brothers and sisters. Christ continues to care for His bride and protect the truth of the Gospel. All around the synod, the right things are taking place and the right things are being taught. I see it all the time in church after church as the Army sends me all across the United States.

If you joined the Lutheran Church expecting a unified body free from heresy and division, then you haven't paid attention to Lutheran history. If you think that there will be a time before the Last Day where we will not have to guard against things like pietism and crypto-calvinism, then you are not living in the reality of the church militant. We have been fighting this fight since Luther. It is not going to get any easier and it is not going to feel any better. Suck it up and perform your calling.

Someone give me a time in our history when these elements have not been on the brink of extinguishing the flame of confessional Lutheranism. Such a utopian day has never existed and is not likely to exist in this life. Do we lay down and die? Is that the legacy of Luther?
I am alarmed by the protestant errors that are infiltrating Lutheranism. As a recent convert from the charismatic movement, I think that it hurts me the most.

...but it doesn't take much to see the good that is going on all around. In a world where the squeaky wheel gets the grease, the LCMS is full of well-oiled, confessional people who quietly live out their vocations. We must not lose sight of that.

So the question: what do we do?

1 Timothy 4:6-16

"If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe."

"Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers."

Brothers and sisters, the sky is not falling... it has just always been lower than we want it to be. We shouldn't cry out in panic every time we look up.