Monday, October 31, 2011
Another Christian Publisher Is Assimilated Into the Collective
Thomas Nelson has agreed to be purchased by HarperCollins, the corporation which had previously purchased Zondervan. The news release can be found here. Somehow I am not surprised. In recent years, Thomas Nelson seemed to be more concerned with what sells merchandise rather than quality of the product.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Facing the Emergent Church With the Ancient Church
Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, and other Emergent leaders are undermining sound doctrine by claiming to return to the ancient church to find the truth and bring it forward, except what they bring forward is usually not what the Church Fathers taught. In February 2010, Chris Rosebrough of Fighting for the Faith put together an argument against the major tenets of the Emergent movement using The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus (circa a.d. 130). The full PDF can be found here.
The following are his points followed by the corresponding ancient text and chapter number.
Was Mathetes a Universalist? Did he believe that adherents of other religions were already followers of Christ through their pagan sacred traditions? Absolutely not! Biblical Christianity has always been exclusive and has considered idolatry and false worship to be a breaking of the 1st commandment.
The following are his points followed by the corresponding ancient text and chapter number.
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Was Mathetes a Universalist? Did he believe that adherents of other religions were already followers of Christ through their pagan sacred traditions? Absolutely not! Biblical Christianity has always been exclusive and has considered idolatry and false worship to be a breaking of the 1st commandment.
they neither esteem those to be gods that are reckoned such by the Greeks, nor hold to the superstition of the Jews (1)Was Mathetes uncertain? Did he engage in a humble hermeneutic that claimed that knowledge wasn’t knowable and that truth was left to the individual to interpret through their experiences? Absolutely not! Not only was Mathetes certain about knowing sound doctrine, but he claimed Biblical doctrine was of divine, not human origin.
[lay] aside what you have been accustomed to, as something apt to deceive you (2)Did Mathetes deny the existence of hell and God’s judgement? Did he claim that because God was merciful and loving that it was contrary to God’s nature to judge the world and send people to hell. Absolutely not! Mathetes along with Jesus and His Apostles affirmed that God’s character was both loving and just, merciful and wrathful.
you hate the Christians, because they do not deem these to be gods (2)
you are sufficiently convinced that the Christians properly abstain from the vanity and error common [to both Jews and Gentiles], and from the busybody spirit and vain boasting of the Jews; but you must not hope to learn the mystery of their peculiar mode of worshiping God from any mortal. (4)
nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines (5)
They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. (5)
The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens. (6)
For, as I said, this was no mere earthly invention which was delivered to them, nor is it a mere human system of opinion, which they judge it right to preserve so carefully, nor has a dispensation of mere human mysteries been committed to them, but truly God Himself, who is almighty, the Creator of all things, and invisible, has sent from heaven, and placed among men, [Him who is] the truth, and the holy and incomprehensible Word (7)Did Mathetes believe in salvation by Grace Alone Through Faith Alone by Christ’s Work Alone? Absolutely! Mathetes along with Jesus and His Apostles affirmed that salvation is not through man’s works or his own self-righteousness, but through the work of Christ alone. Furthermore, Mathetes affirmed the Penal Substitution as well as the imputed righteousness of Christ.
but the very Creator and Fashioner of all things ... as a Savior He sent Him (7)
For He will yet send Him to judge us, and who shall endure His appearing? (7)
Do you accept of the vain and silly doctrines of those who are deemed trustworthy philosophers? (8)Did Mathetes affirm the doctrine of original sin? Absolutely! Mathetes along with Jesus and His Apostles affirmed that man is sinful by nature and fallen, dead in trespasses and sins and incapable by nature to do that which is necessary to attain eternal life.
But such declarations are simply the startling and erroneous utterances of deceivers (8)
so that being convinced in that time of our unworthiness of attaining life through our own works, it should now, through the kindness of God, be vouchsafed to us; and having made it manifest that in ourselves we were unable to enter into the kingdom of God, we might through the power of God be made able. (9)Did Mathetes believe in eternal conscious punishment a.k.a. hell? Absolutely! Not only does Mathetes believe in hell, he calls it the “eternal fire” and he contrasts the “eternal fire” of hell with the temporal sufferings and persecutions that Christians face in this life time. Those sufferings he calls the “fire that is but for a moment.”
and it had been clearly shown that its reward, punishment and death, was impending over us (9)
He Himself took on Him the burden of our iniquities, He gave His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for those who are mortal. For what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? (9)
O sweet exchange! ... That the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors! (9)
our nature was unable to attain to life (9)
it was [formerly] impossible to save (9)
He gave reason and understanding, to whom alone He imparted the privilege of looking upwards to Himself, whom He formed after His own image, to whom He sent His only-begotten Son, to whom He has promised a kingdom in heaven (10)Did Mathetes believe in the authoritative, accurate and binding Word of God? You bet your bippy he did! There is no trace of Modernist Liberal or Postmodernist Liberal destructive higher criticism in Mathetes. He believed God’s Word was of divine origin and was written by the Apostles & Prophets and absolutely true, authoritative, and binding.
then shall you condemn the deceit and error of the world (10)
which is reserved for those who shall be condemned to the eternal fire, which shall afflict those even to the end that are committed to it (10)
For who that is rightly taught and begotten by the loving Word, would not seek to learn accurately the things which have been clearly shown by the Word to His disciples ...? (11)Did Mathetes believe Genesis contains an accurate historical account of the World’s creation and man’s fall into sin through the tempting of the devil? Absolutely! Mathetes along with Jesus and the disciples believed the Book of Genesis to be accurate history, not myth or allegory.
Then the fear of the law is chanted, and the grace of the prophets is known, and the faith of the gospels is established, and the tradition of the Apostles is preserved, and the grace of the Church exults; which grace if you grieve not, you shall know those things which the Word teaches, by whom He wills, and when He pleases. (11)
it is disobedience that proves destructive. Nor truly are those words without significance which are written, how God from the beginning planted the tree of life in the midst of paradise (12)
For he who thinks he knows anything without true knowledge, ... knows nothing, but is deceived by the Serpent (12)
Texas Radio Station Cancels David Barton Program During Show
I just discovered today that KBJS-FM cancelled David Barton's radio show "Wallbuilders Live" while the show was airing because Barton refused "to distinguish between Mormon theology and Christianity."
Good for that radio station for upholding Christ. O, that more would do the same.
Good for that radio station for upholding Christ. O, that more would do the same.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The Blessedness of the Gospel
Man, don't you understand that all is in itself a gospel? For it is a blessed gospel that one is brought into despair, not by sin, nor by the superior force of Satan, but by the Holy Spirit of God, who could save one's poor soul from becoming a legalist and a hypocrite, and whose purpose in it all has only been to let the overpowering glory of Christ shine forth. In other words,… the Spirit would show us that one may receive forgiveness without making atonement by one's own sorrow over sin and without any personal merit or self-betterment; that one may be a child of God, one's sinful nature notwithstanding.
Bo Giertz, The Hammer of God, (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 2005), 101.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Who Are the True Gods?
Marcus Terentius Varro, the ancient Roman writer, had stated that idols made of hands could not possibly be true gods. Arnobius uses this in his own argument that they should not be worshiped. This leads to the pagans asking who the true gods are. Arnobius points out that he does not know, but they must certainly be similar to the Most High—eternal, self-existent, immutable—to be eligible. Of course, his overall argument in this work is that if they should seek out these unseen gods, they are best served to follow the one true, supreme God.
"Who are the true gods?" you say.
To answer you in common and simple language, we do not know;1 for how can we know who those are whom we have never seen? We have been accustomed to hear from you that a great many are gods, and are reckoned among the deities; but if these exist anywhere, and are true gods … it follows as a consequence, that they correspond to their name; that is, that they are such as we all see that they should be, and that they are worthy to be called by this name; nay, more,—to make an end without many words,—that they are such as is the Lord of the universe, and the King omnipotent Himself, whom we have knowledge and understanding enough to speak of as the true God when we are led to mention His name. For one god differs from another in nothing as respects his divinity; nor can that which is one in kind be less or more in its parts while its own qualities remain unchanged. Now, as this is certain, it follows that they should never have been begotten, but should be immortal, seeking nothing from without, and not drawing any earthly pleasures from the resources of matter.
1 Arnobius is not declaring his own opinions here, but meeting his adversaries on their own ground. He knows who the true God is—the source and fountain of all being, and framer of the universe (ii. 2), and if there are any lesser powers called gods, what their relation to Him must be (iii. 2, 3); but he does not know any such gods himself, and is continually reminding the heathen that they know these gods just as little.
"Who are the true gods?" you say.
To answer you in common and simple language, we do not know;1 for how can we know who those are whom we have never seen? We have been accustomed to hear from you that a great many are gods, and are reckoned among the deities; but if these exist anywhere, and are true gods … it follows as a consequence, that they correspond to their name; that is, that they are such as we all see that they should be, and that they are worthy to be called by this name; nay, more,—to make an end without many words,—that they are such as is the Lord of the universe, and the King omnipotent Himself, whom we have knowledge and understanding enough to speak of as the true God when we are led to mention His name. For one god differs from another in nothing as respects his divinity; nor can that which is one in kind be less or more in its parts while its own qualities remain unchanged. Now, as this is certain, it follows that they should never have been begotten, but should be immortal, seeking nothing from without, and not drawing any earthly pleasures from the resources of matter.
Arnobius of Sicca, The Case against the Pagans, Book VII, cap. 2
1 Arnobius is not declaring his own opinions here, but meeting his adversaries on their own ground. He knows who the true God is—the source and fountain of all being, and framer of the universe (ii. 2), and if there are any lesser powers called gods, what their relation to Him must be (iii. 2, 3); but he does not know any such gods himself, and is continually reminding the heathen that they know these gods just as little.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Abandoning the Care of Souls
Lucas Woodford at thisweconfess [sic] has a post addressing an unsettling trend in the church by those in spiritual authority. The opening sentence establishes his thesis.
If you should balk at his broad brushstrokes, I understand. We can each point out individual men faithfully caring for those in the local church. But what he is illuminating is very real and becoming more so as church groups become loosened from the moors of Scripture and take up the next thrust of relevance. What! Isn't the cross relevant? When did Christ become insufficient?
I pray that those who the Lord has overseeing your assembly are being faithful to Holy Writ rather than Wholly Rotten.
Within the North America church, the role of pastor has morphed from the biblical and historic role of Seelsorger (one who gives care of souls) and giver of God’s gifts, to that of a CEO, administrator, and/or therapist.He is writing as a pastor within the LCMS, so he has his own denomination in view, but the extracts cited from those in other denominations shows that the problem is wider spread.
If you should balk at his broad brushstrokes, I understand. We can each point out individual men faithfully caring for those in the local church. But what he is illuminating is very real and becoming more so as church groups become loosened from the moors of Scripture and take up the next thrust of relevance. What! Isn't the cross relevant? When did Christ become insufficient?
I pray that those who the Lord has overseeing your assembly are being faithful to Holy Writ rather than Wholly Rotten.
What Is Orthodoxy?
Christianity Today has reprinted an interview of Thomas Oden in honor of his 80th birthday. I enjoyed this question and answer:
In place of modernity you call for "a careful study and respectful following of the central tradition of classical Christian exegesis." In other places you call this orthodoxy. What is orthodoxy?The answer is a bit simplistic. Each of these men had his theological foibles but are the early spiritual stones upon which the church builds today. The entire article can be found here.
Lancelot Andrewes, a sixteenth-century Anglican divine, stated the answer as memorably as anyone, with a five-finger exercise: "One canon, two Testaments, three creeds [the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian], four [ecumenical] councils, and five centuries along with the Fathers of that period," by which he meant the great doctors of the first five centuries: Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and John Chrysostom in the East; and Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great in the West.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Zombies and the Art of Negotiation
Halloween is nigh, and American culture turns to the macabre with its multiple fictional creatures including the zombie. Watch B movies with a "living dead" plot, and you notice a recurring theme: be gone or be lunch. There is no reasoning with zombies because they no longer have the capacity. Driven entirely by instinct, they are dead and walk around with a single, voracious, insatiable purpose—self-satisfaction. So as I was pondering the advertisements being displayed during this time of year, it struck me like an old Norm Crosby line: I resemble that remark!
Jesus told one particular story about a father with two sons that described how dead men acted. The younger son demanded his share of the estate and squandered it all on reckless living and ended up slopping hogs and going hungry (Luke 15:11-16). Why did the son act so foolishly? Because he was dead: the father said as much (Luke 15:32). This sad state of affairs finally brought the younger son to his senses, and he said to himself:
You may not realize that there is another zombie that is less prominent in the story Jesus told. He is called the older brother. He does not appear to be as bad off as the younger, but he is. The only difference is that his self-satisfaction was derived from the long-term prospect of a future inheritance rather than short-term wonton living. But he was still dead as evident by the reaction to his father and the brother he refuses to acknowledge.
Is there a cure for the zombie condition? Yes, it is life. The younger son had planned to proffer a deal. After he confessed his son, the father refuses to allow him the chance to deal. Instead, he bestows extravagant grace on his son. The one who was dead is now declared alive and welcomed into the family (Luke 15:32). No amount of bargaining can gain this. It must be freely given by the One who alone has the authority to give it.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Eph 2:1-3)That's right: people come into this world as zombies—spiritual zombies. We are dead and do not realize it. (Bruce Willis was not the only one who had to figure this out.) Everything we do in this world is for our own appetites being guided by depraved thoughts. For the majority, the only difference between real people and movie zombies is that the former dress better, but inside both are dead men's bones.
Jesus told one particular story about a father with two sons that described how dead men acted. The younger son demanded his share of the estate and squandered it all on reckless living and ended up slopping hogs and going hungry (Luke 15:11-16). Why did the son act so foolishly? Because he was dead: the father said as much (Luke 15:32). This sad state of affairs finally brought the younger son to his senses, and he said to himself:
But when he came to himself, he said, "How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.'" (Luke 15:17-18)The son is absolutely correct in everything he stated. He recognized the sin and against whom it had been perpetrated, then made a definite plan to make a confession. But then he tried to concoct a plan:
I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants. (Luke 15:19)The son sounds very humble and pious, but what is really happening? He is trying to concoct a bargain. He wants to negotiate a deal. The problem is that he is dead. There is nothing to bargain with. This is exactly how the walking dead negotiate with the living, but the very attempt is ludicrous. For instance, how could someone present his righteous thoughts and deeds before the living God, when they are in actuality polluted items being presented by the unclean (Is 64:6)? Zombies are terrible negotiators, but they try anyway. They just don't know any better.
You may not realize that there is another zombie that is less prominent in the story Jesus told. He is called the older brother. He does not appear to be as bad off as the younger, but he is. The only difference is that his self-satisfaction was derived from the long-term prospect of a future inheritance rather than short-term wonton living. But he was still dead as evident by the reaction to his father and the brother he refuses to acknowledge.
Is there a cure for the zombie condition? Yes, it is life. The younger son had planned to proffer a deal. After he confessed his son, the father refuses to allow him the chance to deal. Instead, he bestows extravagant grace on his son. The one who was dead is now declared alive and welcomed into the family (Luke 15:32). No amount of bargaining can gain this. It must be freely given by the One who alone has the authority to give it.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:4-10)Life was made available by virtue of Christ, the only living one, coming into this world and dying on the cross for those who were dead in sin in order to make them alive. Believe it.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Why the Law?
Have you ever wondered why the Law came through Moses? Let's stop and think about this for a minute. Abraham was given a most wonderful promise (Gen 12:1-3) which extended to Jesus (Gal 3:16) and ultimately to those who believe (Gal 3:22). But between Abraham and Jesus, the law was given through Moses. Does anyone besides me find this peculiar? God gave a promise to two specific people filled with certainty based on what he himself had chosen to do according to the counsel of his will. It was free to the recipients. Between these two is something that appears counter because it appears to run counter to the whole concept of promise: God gave commandments, statutes, and precepts that required a certain response. The Law does not fit with the promise, so the question remains: why introduce it?
Thankfully, the Lord told us through Paul why the Law was given:
To rectify the ignorance and more fully reveal what divine character was truly like, the Lord proceeded to give the people 10 commandments broadly defining the person's relationship with God and man. He then proceeded to give hundreds of laws detailing how these were to be carried out, which they would certainly fail to perform—an affront to the Most High. To account for sinful conduct, a series of sacrifices were established to cover sin. For approximately 1200 years, the people of God worked under this system: a very long time period but necessary to prepare the people for the one "to whom the promise had been made"—Jesus, the Christ.
To summarize Galatians 3:22-26, the effectual work of the Law was to demonstrate our inability to meet God's righteous demands and hold those under it in a benevolent captivity and imprisonment as a guardian until the necessary sacrifice for all sin should be made by Jesus. Being now freed from the Law, we are justified by faith: not being baptized into Moses, but being baptized into Christ.
The promise given to Abraham was never rescinded or altered, but we needed to see the sinfulness of our sin. My abhorrent nature needs a Savior. The "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Is 53:3) has covered that by giving his soul as an offering for sin being crushed and put to grief by his Father (Is 53:10). What a thought, that one holy and spotless would die for me!
Thankfully, the Lord told us through Paul why the Law was given:
Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. (Gal 3:19)Some of you might be underwhelmed with this revelation, but bear with me. The promise given to Abraham was generous beyond imagination with the hope of land, seed, and blessing—and that blessing to the entire world. The only needed response was to believe it. The problem is in how that belief was worked out. Their efforts in life though influenced by the promise were governed largely by the societies they lived in and what had been handed down from their ancestors. Beyond that, this nasty condition called a sin nature was manifesting itself through these early want-to-be Promise Keepers. Daily, they sinned and transgressed against God but were unaware in what ways.
To rectify the ignorance and more fully reveal what divine character was truly like, the Lord proceeded to give the people 10 commandments broadly defining the person's relationship with God and man. He then proceeded to give hundreds of laws detailing how these were to be carried out, which they would certainly fail to perform—an affront to the Most High. To account for sinful conduct, a series of sacrifices were established to cover sin. For approximately 1200 years, the people of God worked under this system: a very long time period but necessary to prepare the people for the one "to whom the promise had been made"—Jesus, the Christ.
To summarize Galatians 3:22-26, the effectual work of the Law was to demonstrate our inability to meet God's righteous demands and hold those under it in a benevolent captivity and imprisonment as a guardian until the necessary sacrifice for all sin should be made by Jesus. Being now freed from the Law, we are justified by faith: not being baptized into Moses, but being baptized into Christ.
The promise given to Abraham was never rescinded or altered, but we needed to see the sinfulness of our sin. My abhorrent nature needs a Savior. The "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Is 53:3) has covered that by giving his soul as an offering for sin being crushed and put to grief by his Father (Is 53:10). What a thought, that one holy and spotless would die for me!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The New 95 Theses
Chris Rosebrough at Extreme Theology had posted in October, 2008, a modern rendition of Luther's 95 Theses in an effort to debate unbiblical trends rampant in the evangelical church. Whether one agrees or not with the Lutheran theological perspective behind this list, evangelicals should debate these things to see if their churches are in good order.
Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, the public bulletin board of his day. In like manner, we, Athanasius and Chrysostom, post these 95 theses on the door of the internet. Like the original theses, these are debatable, for we believe that it is through vigorous debate that the spirits are tested and truth is revealed.
In publishing these theses, we do not intend to foment division, but to expose those who are creating division within the body of Christ. We are not addressing any particular church body or person, but invite all who love the Gospel of Jesus Christ to engage in this debate. We do so in the spirit of the great Reformer, Martin Luther, as we implore the mercies of God upon His Church, for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church and Bishop of our souls.
1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” He willed that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance.
2. To “repent” means to be contrite for one’s sins and to trust Jesus Christ and solely in His completed work for one’s forgiveness, life, and salvation.
3. Those who describe the Christian life as purpose-driven deny true repentance, confuse the Law and the Gospel, and obscure the merits of Christ.
4. Impious and wicked are the methods of those who substitute self-help and pop-psychology for the Gospel in the name of relevance.
5. This impious disregard for the Gospel wickedly transforms sacred Scripture into a guidebook for living, a pharisaic sourcebook of principles, and sows tares among the wheat.
6. Relevance, self-help and pop-psychology have no power to work true contrition over sins and faith in Jesus Christ.
7. Like clouds without rain, purpose-driven preachers withhold the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins won by Christ on the cross and enslave men’s consciences to the law which they cleverly disguise as so-called 'Biblical Principles'.
8. By teaching tips for attaining perfect health, debt-free wealth, and better sex in marriage, the purveyors of relevance undermine true fear, love and trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
9. They are enemies of Christ, who distort the Word of God by tearing verses from their original context in order to use them as proof texts for their self-help, pop-psychology agendas.
10. Injury is done the Word of God when it is used as a source book for practical, relevant “life applications.”
11. In the name of relevance, our Lord Jesus Christ is reduced to a life-coach whose “gospel” assists and motivates people to achieve the objectives of their self-centered delusions of grandeur.
12. Apart from the Holy Spirit, the seeker cannot understand the things of God for these are “spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14).
13. The natural man does not naturally seek the Gospel. “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me” (Is. 65:1).
14. The true Seeker of men’s souls is our Lord Jesus Christ who came to seek and to save the lost by His death on the cross (Luke 19:10).
15. The truly “seeker-sensitive” church proclaims God’s wrath against our sin and His mercy for Jesus’ sake.
16. The preaching of Christ crucified is a stumbling block to purpose-driven pragmatists and foolishness to church growth consultants.
17. The true gold of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.
18. But this treasure is a stench in the nostrils of fallen and sinful men because it exposes man’s complete lack of ability to save himself by his own religious efforts.
19. On the other hand, the fool’s gold of self-help is preferred by sinful men, for it creates the illusion of moral progress and a life that is pleasing to God apart from repentance.
20. The gold of the Gospel is the net by which Christ would make us fishers of men.
21. The fool’s gold of self-help is a snare by which purpose-driven purveyors of relevance attempt to capture the riches and approval of men.
22. The church is holy sheep who hear the voice of their Shepherd.
23. How can sheep hear the voice of their Shepherd when false shepherds preach self-help and pop-psychology?
24. Purveyors of purpose-driven relevance are not shepherds of men’s souls but wolves in sheep’s clothing.
25. Purveyors of relevance claim that self-help, life-applications and biblical principles are the means to reach the unchurched because they meet people’s felt needs.
26. Yet a person’s greatest need is one he does not by nature feel, namely the need for the righteousness that comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ.
27. The true means by which fallen sinners are reached is the preaching of Christ and His sacraments. (Romans 10:17)
28. The true need that mankind is seeking but does not know is justification by grace through faith for Christ’s sake.
29. Since justification is through faith and not through works, natural man neither seeks it nor desires it.
30. Therefore, the teaching of justification by grace through faith is neither seeker-sensitive nor relevant to a world that naturally seeks self-justification.
31. To be in the church is to be union with Christ through faith.
32. Regardless of the number of people in attendance, the church does not grow unless men are granted repentance and faith by God through the action of His Word.
33. Scripture clearly teaches that the means by which God grants faith are the the hearing of the Word of Christ (the Gospel) and the water of Holy Baptism.
34. Therefore, even if a congregation, through their own marketing methods and business prowess were able to draw 100,000 people every Sunday, if the Gospel is not heard and the sacraments are not administered according to the Gospel there is no church and the true Church of Jesus Christ has not grown by a single soul.
35. If numerical growth is a measure of God’s approval, then we must conclude that God approves of Islam and the Mormons.
36. If financial success is a measure of God’s approval, then we must conclude that God approves of pornography and gambling.
37. Cancer and crabgrass both grow rapidly, as does the church that obscures the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
38. The purveying of purpose-driven relevance is the theology of glory; the preaching of Christ crucified for sinners is the theology of the cross.
39. The theologian of glory says that the kingdom of God is visible now in buildings, people, and dollars; the theologian of the cross says that the kingdom of God is an article of faith.
40. The theologian of glory asks “How much?” and “How many?”; the theologian of the cross preaches Christ regardless of how much or how many.
41. The theologian of glory prepares people to receive health, wealth, and happiness; the theologian of the cross prepares people to suffer and die in faith.
42. The theologian of glory preaches that God wants to grant you favors; the theologian of the cross preaches the favor of God for the sake of Christ crucified.
43. The theologian of glory proclaims 40 days of purpose; the theologian of the cross preaches daily dying and rising in Jesus.
44. God established the Church to be a “mouth house” of forgiveness not a madhouse of activity.
45. Christ wills that His voice be heard in His Church and not the voice of man when He says, “He who hears you, hears me.” (Luke 10:16)
46. Purveyors of purpose-driven relevance obscure the voice of Christ and so draw the sheep away from the Good Shepherd.
47. Christ saves from sin and death not through the motivation of the sinner to do good, but through baptismal death and resurrection.
48. The mission of the church is not to transform the world but to disciple the nations by baptizing and teaching (Matt 28:19-20).
49. Anyone who preaches a vision and demands allegiance to it sets up a new papacy among the churches.
50. A synod or church body is a human institution that exists by the will and consent of its member congregations and pastors.
51. A synod or church body is not merely an affiliation of churches that agree on a common purpose.
52. A synod or church body is not the Church, properly speaking, but a fellowship of churches sharing a common confession of faith and practice.
53. Synods are not of the church’s essence (esse) but for her well being (bene esse).
54. Synodical leaders are not lords over the churches, but servants of the churches and stewards of their common possessions.
55. Synodical leaders are not called to promulgate visions but to execute the collective will of the synod’s churches.
56. The old papacy arrogated the Church’s treasury of merits; the new papacy arrogates the Church’s treasury.
57. The old papacy said, “As the coin in the coffer clings, so the soul from purgatory springs.”
58. The new papacy says, “As the coin in the church coffer clings, so another program out of debt springs.”
59. The old papacy counted plenary indulgences; the new papacy counts money and people.
60. The old papacy suppressed the Gospel through canon law; the new papacy suppresses the Gospel through constitutions and by-laws.
61. The old papacy was a friend of Caesar; the new papacy is a friend of Mammon.
62. The old papacy bound a man’s conscience for the sake his wallet; the new papacy binds a man’s wallet for the sake of his conscience.
63. The old papacy promulgated infallible dogma; the new papacy promulgates undebatable visions.
64. The old papacy claims to sit on the seat of Peter; the new papacy claims to sit on the mandate of the majority.
65. The old papacy reserved the right to judge doctrine and practice; the new papacy judges doctrine and practice by commissions and committees.
66. The old papacy issued “bulls;” the new papacy issues task force reports.
67. The old papacy had a college of cardinals; the new papacy has high-priced consultants.
68. Just as popes and councils have erred in the past, so synodical leaders and synodical conventions err in the present.
69. A synod that is concerned for the true unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace does not excuse unionism and syncretism.
70. Unity in doctrine and practice means discernible interchangeability in teaching, preaching, and practice.
71. Unity in doctrine and practice does not consist in signing confessional statements, but in word and deed.
72. Worship is doctrine put into practice.
73. As one worships, so one believes.
74. As one believes, so one worships.
75. Christian worship consists in God’s service to us through His giving and our receiving in faith the gifts of Christ’s Word, Body, and Blood, and our service to God by our prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.
76. Worship that is focused principles for Christian living obscures the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His gifts and is detrimental to faith and salvation.
77. While Christian liberty allows that worship forms need not be altogether the same in every time and place, unity in faith and practice requires that worship forms must not be altogether different in every time and place.
78. Worship forms serve as identifying banners in the confessional field of battle.
79. Peculiar and novel worship forms obscure the unity of the churches and extol the creativity of the worship leaders.
80. In matters neither commanded nor forbidden in the Word of God (adiaphora), the churches of God are free to change ceremonies according to circumstances, as may be most beneficial and edifying to the churches of God. (Epitome, Art X.4)
81. Such changes must avoid all frivolity and offenses, particularly with regard to those who are weak in faith (Epitome, Art X.5).
82. Where the Gospel is at stake, concessions in ceremony must not be made so as to suggest unity with those who deny the Gospel (Epitome, Art X.6)
83. Therefore, it is contrary to the doctrine of adiaphora to hide the substance of Lutheran doctrine behind a non-Lutheran style of worship.
84. To create and sustain saving faith, God established the office of the holy ministry in the church to preach the Gospel and administer the sacraments according to our Lord’s institution.
85. No one may publicly preach, teach, or administer the sacraments in the churches without his being called and ordained.
86. Those who introduce novelties into the church are the true agents of division.
87. The ordination of women is a novelty that has caused great division in the church.
88. The introduction of worship forms not held in common by the churches is a cause of division and a stumbling block.
89. The church belongs to no man but to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, and Lord of the church.
90. Woe to the false prophets who cry, “Unity, unity” when there is no unity.
91. Again, woe to those who say, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.
92. Again, woe to those who say, “Gospel, gospel,” when there is no Gospel.
93. Blessed are those who say, “Cross, cross,” when there is no cross.
94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through all suffering, death, and hell;
95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven through many trials and tribulations, rather than through the assurance of outward peace, unity, and happiness.
[==================================================]
Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, the public bulletin board of his day. In like manner, we, Athanasius and Chrysostom, post these 95 theses on the door of the internet. Like the original theses, these are debatable, for we believe that it is through vigorous debate that the spirits are tested and truth is revealed.
In publishing these theses, we do not intend to foment division, but to expose those who are creating division within the body of Christ. We are not addressing any particular church body or person, but invite all who love the Gospel of Jesus Christ to engage in this debate. We do so in the spirit of the great Reformer, Martin Luther, as we implore the mercies of God upon His Church, for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church and Bishop of our souls.
1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” He willed that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance.
2. To “repent” means to be contrite for one’s sins and to trust Jesus Christ and solely in His completed work for one’s forgiveness, life, and salvation.
3. Those who describe the Christian life as purpose-driven deny true repentance, confuse the Law and the Gospel, and obscure the merits of Christ.
4. Impious and wicked are the methods of those who substitute self-help and pop-psychology for the Gospel in the name of relevance.
5. This impious disregard for the Gospel wickedly transforms sacred Scripture into a guidebook for living, a pharisaic sourcebook of principles, and sows tares among the wheat.
6. Relevance, self-help and pop-psychology have no power to work true contrition over sins and faith in Jesus Christ.
7. Like clouds without rain, purpose-driven preachers withhold the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins won by Christ on the cross and enslave men’s consciences to the law which they cleverly disguise as so-called 'Biblical Principles'.
8. By teaching tips for attaining perfect health, debt-free wealth, and better sex in marriage, the purveyors of relevance undermine true fear, love and trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
9. They are enemies of Christ, who distort the Word of God by tearing verses from their original context in order to use them as proof texts for their self-help, pop-psychology agendas.
10. Injury is done the Word of God when it is used as a source book for practical, relevant “life applications.”
11. In the name of relevance, our Lord Jesus Christ is reduced to a life-coach whose “gospel” assists and motivates people to achieve the objectives of their self-centered delusions of grandeur.
12. Apart from the Holy Spirit, the seeker cannot understand the things of God for these are “spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14).
13. The natural man does not naturally seek the Gospel. “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me” (Is. 65:1).
14. The true Seeker of men’s souls is our Lord Jesus Christ who came to seek and to save the lost by His death on the cross (Luke 19:10).
15. The truly “seeker-sensitive” church proclaims God’s wrath against our sin and His mercy for Jesus’ sake.
16. The preaching of Christ crucified is a stumbling block to purpose-driven pragmatists and foolishness to church growth consultants.
17. The true gold of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.
18. But this treasure is a stench in the nostrils of fallen and sinful men because it exposes man’s complete lack of ability to save himself by his own religious efforts.
19. On the other hand, the fool’s gold of self-help is preferred by sinful men, for it creates the illusion of moral progress and a life that is pleasing to God apart from repentance.
20. The gold of the Gospel is the net by which Christ would make us fishers of men.
21. The fool’s gold of self-help is a snare by which purpose-driven purveyors of relevance attempt to capture the riches and approval of men.
22. The church is holy sheep who hear the voice of their Shepherd.
23. How can sheep hear the voice of their Shepherd when false shepherds preach self-help and pop-psychology?
24. Purveyors of purpose-driven relevance are not shepherds of men’s souls but wolves in sheep’s clothing.
25. Purveyors of relevance claim that self-help, life-applications and biblical principles are the means to reach the unchurched because they meet people’s felt needs.
26. Yet a person’s greatest need is one he does not by nature feel, namely the need for the righteousness that comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ.
27. The true means by which fallen sinners are reached is the preaching of Christ and His sacraments. (Romans 10:17)
28. The true need that mankind is seeking but does not know is justification by grace through faith for Christ’s sake.
29. Since justification is through faith and not through works, natural man neither seeks it nor desires it.
30. Therefore, the teaching of justification by grace through faith is neither seeker-sensitive nor relevant to a world that naturally seeks self-justification.
31. To be in the church is to be union with Christ through faith.
32. Regardless of the number of people in attendance, the church does not grow unless men are granted repentance and faith by God through the action of His Word.
33. Scripture clearly teaches that the means by which God grants faith are the the hearing of the Word of Christ (the Gospel) and the water of Holy Baptism.
34. Therefore, even if a congregation, through their own marketing methods and business prowess were able to draw 100,000 people every Sunday, if the Gospel is not heard and the sacraments are not administered according to the Gospel there is no church and the true Church of Jesus Christ has not grown by a single soul.
35. If numerical growth is a measure of God’s approval, then we must conclude that God approves of Islam and the Mormons.
36. If financial success is a measure of God’s approval, then we must conclude that God approves of pornography and gambling.
37. Cancer and crabgrass both grow rapidly, as does the church that obscures the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
38. The purveying of purpose-driven relevance is the theology of glory; the preaching of Christ crucified for sinners is the theology of the cross.
39. The theologian of glory says that the kingdom of God is visible now in buildings, people, and dollars; the theologian of the cross says that the kingdom of God is an article of faith.
40. The theologian of glory asks “How much?” and “How many?”; the theologian of the cross preaches Christ regardless of how much or how many.
41. The theologian of glory prepares people to receive health, wealth, and happiness; the theologian of the cross prepares people to suffer and die in faith.
42. The theologian of glory preaches that God wants to grant you favors; the theologian of the cross preaches the favor of God for the sake of Christ crucified.
43. The theologian of glory proclaims 40 days of purpose; the theologian of the cross preaches daily dying and rising in Jesus.
44. God established the Church to be a “mouth house” of forgiveness not a madhouse of activity.
45. Christ wills that His voice be heard in His Church and not the voice of man when He says, “He who hears you, hears me.” (Luke 10:16)
46. Purveyors of purpose-driven relevance obscure the voice of Christ and so draw the sheep away from the Good Shepherd.
47. Christ saves from sin and death not through the motivation of the sinner to do good, but through baptismal death and resurrection.
48. The mission of the church is not to transform the world but to disciple the nations by baptizing and teaching (Matt 28:19-20).
49. Anyone who preaches a vision and demands allegiance to it sets up a new papacy among the churches.
50. A synod or church body is a human institution that exists by the will and consent of its member congregations and pastors.
51. A synod or church body is not merely an affiliation of churches that agree on a common purpose.
52. A synod or church body is not the Church, properly speaking, but a fellowship of churches sharing a common confession of faith and practice.
53. Synods are not of the church’s essence (esse) but for her well being (bene esse).
54. Synodical leaders are not lords over the churches, but servants of the churches and stewards of their common possessions.
55. Synodical leaders are not called to promulgate visions but to execute the collective will of the synod’s churches.
56. The old papacy arrogated the Church’s treasury of merits; the new papacy arrogates the Church’s treasury.
57. The old papacy said, “As the coin in the coffer clings, so the soul from purgatory springs.”
58. The new papacy says, “As the coin in the church coffer clings, so another program out of debt springs.”
59. The old papacy counted plenary indulgences; the new papacy counts money and people.
60. The old papacy suppressed the Gospel through canon law; the new papacy suppresses the Gospel through constitutions and by-laws.
61. The old papacy was a friend of Caesar; the new papacy is a friend of Mammon.
62. The old papacy bound a man’s conscience for the sake his wallet; the new papacy binds a man’s wallet for the sake of his conscience.
63. The old papacy promulgated infallible dogma; the new papacy promulgates undebatable visions.
64. The old papacy claims to sit on the seat of Peter; the new papacy claims to sit on the mandate of the majority.
65. The old papacy reserved the right to judge doctrine and practice; the new papacy judges doctrine and practice by commissions and committees.
66. The old papacy issued “bulls;” the new papacy issues task force reports.
67. The old papacy had a college of cardinals; the new papacy has high-priced consultants.
68. Just as popes and councils have erred in the past, so synodical leaders and synodical conventions err in the present.
69. A synod that is concerned for the true unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace does not excuse unionism and syncretism.
70. Unity in doctrine and practice means discernible interchangeability in teaching, preaching, and practice.
71. Unity in doctrine and practice does not consist in signing confessional statements, but in word and deed.
72. Worship is doctrine put into practice.
73. As one worships, so one believes.
74. As one believes, so one worships.
75. Christian worship consists in God’s service to us through His giving and our receiving in faith the gifts of Christ’s Word, Body, and Blood, and our service to God by our prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.
76. Worship that is focused principles for Christian living obscures the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His gifts and is detrimental to faith and salvation.
77. While Christian liberty allows that worship forms need not be altogether the same in every time and place, unity in faith and practice requires that worship forms must not be altogether different in every time and place.
78. Worship forms serve as identifying banners in the confessional field of battle.
79. Peculiar and novel worship forms obscure the unity of the churches and extol the creativity of the worship leaders.
80. In matters neither commanded nor forbidden in the Word of God (adiaphora), the churches of God are free to change ceremonies according to circumstances, as may be most beneficial and edifying to the churches of God. (Epitome, Art X.4)
81. Such changes must avoid all frivolity and offenses, particularly with regard to those who are weak in faith (Epitome, Art X.5).
82. Where the Gospel is at stake, concessions in ceremony must not be made so as to suggest unity with those who deny the Gospel (Epitome, Art X.6)
83. Therefore, it is contrary to the doctrine of adiaphora to hide the substance of Lutheran doctrine behind a non-Lutheran style of worship.
84. To create and sustain saving faith, God established the office of the holy ministry in the church to preach the Gospel and administer the sacraments according to our Lord’s institution.
85. No one may publicly preach, teach, or administer the sacraments in the churches without his being called and ordained.
86. Those who introduce novelties into the church are the true agents of division.
87. The ordination of women is a novelty that has caused great division in the church.
88. The introduction of worship forms not held in common by the churches is a cause of division and a stumbling block.
89. The church belongs to no man but to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, and Lord of the church.
90. Woe to the false prophets who cry, “Unity, unity” when there is no unity.
91. Again, woe to those who say, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.
92. Again, woe to those who say, “Gospel, gospel,” when there is no Gospel.
93. Blessed are those who say, “Cross, cross,” when there is no cross.
94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through all suffering, death, and hell;
95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven through many trials and tribulations, rather than through the assurance of outward peace, unity, and happiness.
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