“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:16-19

This passage of the Bible is one which few accept. Why? Because it speaks of the curse brought upon all mankind by the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden; and who wants to acquiesce to a life filled with pain, sorrow, hard work, trouble, hardship and, finally, death and decay?

To the woman God said, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” How many women are willing to submit themselves to such a life of sorrow and pain?

To Adam God said, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

One doesn’t have to be a farmer to know that the ground brings forth thorns and thistles, but the curse includes the fact that we will have to labor and work hard to earn and produce our daily bread; yet we so often forget this and seek an easier way. We grumble and complain about the need to labor and work long and hard hours, but we shouldn’t expect things to be easy in this sinful world.

We also will all die and return to the dust of the ground. We try to put this truth far from our minds and we live as though death will not overtake us, but it will! We will return to the dust of the ground from which we were formed and created. Some go to great lengths to avoid the inevitable, but they too die.

And why all this suffering, sorrow, toil, pain and death? It is because of sin – because Adam and Eve doubted and disobeyed God’s word to them and because we are born in sin and disobedience to the perfect will and design of our Creator. The Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and these words are true. We die because we are sinners, and there is nothing we can do about it

Yet God has provided a solution to our self-inflicted dilemma. He sent His only-begotten Son into the world a true man to fulfill all righteousness for us, living in perfect obedience to the holy will and commandments of the LORD, and then to bear in Himself the full punishment for the sins of the world, by suffering and dying upon the cross, that we might be pardoned and acceptable in God’s eyes. This Jesus has done. He lived a holy life in our stead and then suffered and died upon the cross for our sins and rose again on the third day. In Christ Jesus, God offers and gives to us sinners forgiveness for all our sins and everlasting life with Him in heaven. As the Scriptures say, “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Yes, as sinners, we suffer the heartaches, pains and sorrows of this world. We have to spend our days here laboring for our daily bread. And, finally, when our days here are done, we die and our bodies return to the dust (cf. Psalm 90). But as believers in Christ Jesus who died for our sins and rose again in victory, we are assured that we too shall be raised up on the Last Day to life eternal. We are assured and take comfort in the fact that Jesus is right now preparing a place for us and will come again to take us to be with Him forever in the mansions of His Father’s house (cf. John 14:1ff.). For us “to die … is to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better”! (Philippians 1:21,23). Indeed, we live by faith in the Son of God who died for us, rose again, and is coming to take us to be with Him forever! We endure the pain and suffering of this world in eager anticipation of the life which is to come for Jesus’ sake!

O dearest Jesus, You lived the holy and sinless life which I should have lived, and You took the punishment I should have suffered when you were condemned and forsaken of the Father upon the cross. Thank You for paying the price for my sin and opening up for me the way of eternal life. Graciously receive me into Your everlasting kingdom and give me never-ending life with You in heaven. Amen.

The Augsburg Confession

Article XVI: Of Civil Affairs

Of Civil Affairs they teach that lawful civil ordinances are good works of God, and that it is right for Christians to bear civil office, to sit as judges, to judge matters by the Imperial and other existing laws, to award just punishments, to engage in just wars, to serve as soldiers, to make legal contracts, to hold property, to make oath when required by the magistrates, to marry a wife, to be given in marriage.

They condemn the Anabaptists who forbid these civil offices to Christians.

They condemn also those who do not place evangelical perfection in the fear of God and in faith, but in forsaking civil offices, for the Gospel teaches an eternal righteousness of the heart. Meanwhile, it does not destroy the State or the family, but very much requires that they be preserved as ordinances of God, and that charity be practiced in such ordinances. Therefore, Christians are necessarily bound to obey their own magistrates and laws save only when commanded to sin; for then they ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).

The Distinction between Orthodox

and Heterodox Churches

by Dr. Franz Pieper

Editor’s Note: Dr. Franz Pieper was professor of theology at Concordia Seminary (1878 to 1887), became president of the same institution in 1887, and was also president of the Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other states from 1899 until 1911. He served as editor of Lehre und Wehre, the faculty journal of Concordia Seminary. From 1882 to 1899, Pieper served on the Board of Colored Missions for the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America. He is the author of Christliche Dogmatik (3 vols., 1917-1924; translated as Christian Dogmatics, 1950-1953). He died in St. Louis in 1931. This essay was delivered by Dr. F. Pieper in 1889 to the Southern District Convention of the Missouri Synod. The original essay was translated by three former Synodical Conference pastors: G. Schweikert, P.T. Meicher and E.L. Mehlberg and appeared in a 1948 issue of the The Okabena Lutheran.

Thesis III

It is, therefore, not a matter of indifference which church group a Christian joins; but he has God’s earnest command strictly to distinguish between orthodox and heterodox churches, and, avoiding all church fellowship with the heterodox, to adhere only to the orthodox Church.

If, as we have seen in the Second Thesis, it is true that God wants only orthodox churches, and if the existence of heterodox churches is to be traced back to Divine permission only, then, as stated now in the Third Thesis, it is “not a matter of indifference which church group a Christian joins.”

Many Christians suppose that it makes no difference which church group a Christian joins, and they act accordingly. When they come to a place where any kind of Protestant church is found, they join it as members. There are people who were successively Reformed, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, depending upon the place where they lived. And we should not be surprised when this happens among the sects, for they are not certain about their distinctive doctrines, because they are not grounded in God’s Word.

But even such who want to be Lutherans, and who confess that the doctrine which they have learned from the Lutheran Catechism is the correct one, often have few misgivings about joining heterodox congregations. They, therefore, also act accordingly, as though it makes little difference to which church group a Christian belongs. But this is altogether wrong. Only then would this be a matter of indifference if, before God, there were no difference between orthodox and heterodox churches. But, now, there is a great difference, as we have seen in our Second Thesis — a difference so great that God wants only the orthodox Church, and, on the other hand, in His Word clearly condemns heterodox churches. Therefore, it is the duty of every Christian who wants to be guided by God’s Word alone to distinguish strictly between orthodox and heterodox churches. Before he joins a church group, he must answer the question: Is this church orthodox or not?

God also expressly requires that of Christians. “Beloved,” we read in 1 John 4:1, “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits; whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” And the Lord Jesus exhorts all Christians (Matt. 7:15): “Beware of false prophets.” So, those Christians who do not want to distinguish between true and false prophets, and, consequently, also not between orthodox and heterodox churches, are disobedient to an express command of God.

In our day, people either do not make this distinction at all, or at least not in the right manner. They not only fail to declare it the Christian’s duty to distinguish between orthodox and heterodox church bodies, but they even declare it to be a Christian virtue when people pay no attention to the doctrinal differences. Yes, they call it presumptuous when a church body maintains that in all articles of Christian faith it has the revealed truth of God’s Word. Thus, we are ridiculed in the General Synod, yes, even in the Council, because we make a strict distinction between orthodox and heterodox churches. The sectarians, indeed, also speak of the “orthodox,” that is, right-teaching preachers and church bodies. These, however, are not people who adhere to all doctrines of the Christian faith, but such who, in the general falling away, at least still confess a few important doctrines. They call such church bodies “orthodox,” which perhaps still believe that the Holy Bible is God’s Word, and that Christ is God’s Son; also that through conversion man comes to God, and through faith in Christ can be saved, even though they at the same time deny other doctrines clearly revealed in God’s Word. But that can never be called the right manner of distinguishing between orthodox and heterodox church bodies. Whoever judges on the basis of God’s Word can call only those teachers and church bodies orthodox which are obedient to God’s command, adding nothing to His Word and taking nothing away from it.

If you therefore ask on what basis a Christian must distinguish between heterodox and orthodox churches, the answer is: On the basis of beliefs, on the basis of doctrine. Only on that basis can a true judgment be reached; not on the basis that outwardly a Christian life appears to prevail in a congregation or that the minister gives the impression of being a pious man. That can all be sheep’s clothing which conceals the errorist, as Christ the Lord says in Matt. 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing.” Moreover, you cannot judge on the basis that a man appeals to Scripture and quotes Scripture; but Christians must examine whether the doctrine of Scripture is really also being taught. The devil, too, in the temptation of Christ, quoted Scripture.

Yes, Christians should not even be influenced by signs and wonders, for those wonders may likewise be only seeming wonders, deception, and Satanic delusion. Already in the Old Testament, God called the attention of His believers to this. In the passage already quoted, Deut. 13:1-3, it is stated: “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” This is a very powerful passage to show that in judging church bodies and teachers we should look alone at the doctrine to see whether they teach God’s Word purely and clearly. Even signs and wonders are not infallible distinguishing marks. These can look outwardly like wonders, but in reality be deception, or an effect produced by the devil. Signs and wonders should influence us only then when they are accompanied by the correct doctrine. If false doctrine is present, we should call him who presents it a false prophet, even if he would show us things that are ever so astounding. The Pope’s coming, according to 2 Thessalonians 2, is after the working of Satan with all kinds of lying power and signs and wonders. Of the Last Times, Christ the Lord says, Mat.24:24: “There shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Accordingly, the Christians have the duty on the basis of doctrine to distinguish between orthodox and heterodox churches.

But can they do this? Certainly! For Christ the Lord tells them to do this, and this at the same time implies that by God’s grace they can do it. Many suppose that only pastors are in a position to distinguish between orthodox and heterodox churches. But this is altogether wrong. Precisely all Christians, and not only the pastors, are exhorted by Christ the Lord, in Matt. 7:15: “Beware of false prophets.” And John says: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1); this passage is likewise addressed to all Christians alike. Christ the Lord has so arranged it, that all His dear Christians, the unlearned as well as the learned, can distinguish between truth and falsehood in spiritual things. He has revealed all doctrines in perfectly clear passages, in passages which can be understood by the unlearned as well as the learned. The Holy Scriptures are such a testimony, that makes wise also the simple (Psalm 19:7). When, therefore, a Christian simply holds to the Word of Scripture, then he can very well distinguish between truth and error.

That the Christians sometimes are confused and imagine that they do not know which is the true doctrine, is due to the fact, that they lose sight of the Word of Scripture, that they want to judge this matter with their blind reason, and not with God’s Word, which refutes all errors as soon as it is brought into the discussion. Thus, for example, there once was a dispute in a Methodistic gathering concerning perfect sanctification of a Christian already in this life. Most of them claimed that a Christian, already here on earth, can be entirely without sin. Then, one man arose and said that he had committed no sin for years! Another arose and, instead of making a long reply, simply quoted 1 John 1:8: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” By this one passage all were silenced. Before the eyes of all, the error was condemned by the clear Word of God. And so it is with respect to every doctrine.

The Christian who knows his Small Lutheran Catechism can defend himself with this knowledge against all errors, for the fundamental articles of Christian doctrine are the very ones against which the errorists offend.

Gerhard writes: “As the Church differs from secular associations which are outside the Church through the preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments, so it also differs from heretical communions which are in the Church through the pure preaching of the Word and the correct administration of the Sacraments.” (L. de ecclesia par. 131.)

We distinguish between erring churches, and the godless mass of people outside of the Church. The latter are those communions that, though they still call themselves churches, nevertheless no longer teach anything of the saving Gospel, or as our older teachers expressed it, have no essential parts of the revealed saving truth at all anymore. In such church bodies, insofar as their doctrine is concerned, nobody can come to saving faith. Such communions in our day are the Unitarian groups. These teach no Triune God. Consequently, they also do not teach that Jesus Christ is true God and as true God became man to redeem mankind by His substitutionary life, suffering and death. Consequently, nobody within this communion can come to faith in Christ as the Savior of sinners; accordingly, this group and similar ones no longer merit the name of “Christian fellowship.” They are altogether outside of the Christian Church, as it is also confessed by our Church in the first article of the Apology to the Augsburg Confession. We do not place these wholly un-Christian groups on the same level with heterodox churches. In all these heterodox churches it is still confessed that Christ is God’s Son, and that He died for the redemption of man, though indeed at the same time many errors are also being preached. But, nevertheless, souls can still come to faith in these churches. Now, we are not dealing here with the difference between the orthodox Church and the world, but with the difference between the orthodox and the heterodox Church, that is, between churches which confess the revealed truth in all articles of doctrine, and such churches which reject the truth and support error in a number of teachings.

Therefore a Christian can and should distinguish between orthodox and heterodox churches. He should then also act according to this knowledge. While avoiding all fellowship with the heterodox, he should adhere only to the orthodox Church. This God’s Word declares in all passages which admonish the Christian not to listen to false prophets, but to flee from them. For by belonging to heterodox congregations you listen to their preachers, the false prophets, and thus do the very opposite of that which Christ has commanded regarding false teachers. The passages already quoted, therefore, belong here: Matt.7:15: “Beware of false prophets”; and 2 John 10,11: “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine” – the doctrine revealed in God’s Word, the doctrine of Christ – “Receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed,” namely, as a brother in the faith. That you should not become a member of a heterodox fellowship is set forth also in Acts 20:30,31. Here the Apostle says: “Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” And for that time he gives the warning: “Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years, I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears,” that is to say, abide in the true doctrine which in the last three years I have taught you with such great labor and care, and do not adhere to those who speak “perverse things.”

Then, 2 Cor. 6:14-18 says most expressly: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

Objections have been raised against the use of this passage as proof that God has forbidden fellowship with heterodox churches. The objectors claim that this passage speaks of unbelievers, and not of erring believers. But erring churches are, to the extent that they err, also unbelieving. They are unbelieving with respect to quite a number of Bible passages. And to this they add the terrible sin, that on the basis of their errors they have established sectarian communions in the Christian Church. Thereby they split up Christendom and oppose, fight against, the orthodox Church. Word for word, the passage, 2 Cor. 6, applies to the erring churches insofar as they are such.

It says: “What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?” To preach false doctrine, and to believe false doctrine is the greatest wickedness there is, a sin against the First Commandment. Luther stresses this so frequently. He always repeats: “False doctrine is a sin against the First Commandment.” Whoever sets aside God’s Word, twists God’s Word around, puts his own meaning into God’s Word, he does not permit God to be his God, he acts unrighteously. God often says in His Word: “Thou shalt not steal.” But just as clearly and even much oftener we find it said in Scripture: You shall not believe false doctrine, you shall not preach false doctrine, you shall not listen to false doctrine. Now, just as he is unrighteous who steals, contrary to God’s command, so especially also is he unrighteous who, contrary to the equally clear command of God, preaches, accepts, or promotes false doctrine, and that in any amount whatever. When God says you must not steal, then you should not steal even a little bit. The same holds true in respect to hearing and preaching false doctrine. You already become a partaker of unrighteousness by spreading and advancing only one doctrinal error. The first part of Christian righteousness and Christian life is the trusting acceptance of the whole Word of God.

We read further: “What communion hath light with darkness?” But false doctrine is darkness, just as true, revealed doctrine is the light in this world. “What concord hath Christ with Belial?” All false doctrine is a work of the devil. It is lying in spiritual things against God. And the real father of this lying is the devil. Whoever supports false doctrine is doing the devil’s work. “What agreement hath the temple of God with idols?” The Church is God’s temple, and it is His temple for the very reason that God’s Word is proclaimed therein. Insofar as man’s doctrine, error, is preached in the Church, you teach the worship of a different god than the true one who has revealed Himself in Scripture. Yes, insofar as a different doctrine than God’s Word is proclaimed in the Church, you really turn God’s house into a temple of idols. That the coming out from among them, of which 2 Cor. 6 speaks, applies in particular to separation from the heterodox, is set forth in Rom. 16:17, where we read: “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.”

The objection is raised: “You yourselves admit that also in heterodox bodies there are still dear children of God, and yet by separating from these churches, you separate yourselves from these children of God; yes, you condemn them by avoiding these heterodox churches. In that case, isn’t it better to practice fellowship with the heterodox?” First of all, we answer: No! It cannot be better, because God expressly forbids us to do this. Moreover, we do not even separate ourselves from the children of God among the sects, but from the sects as such. Rather, the sects separate these dear children of God from us. They hold those who belong to us — for children of God are determined to accept the whole Word of God — captive among themselves. So these believers must outwardly support the wicked cause of the sects while in their hearts they belong to us. These children of God would at once come over to an orthodox congregation if they were better informed. It is also for the benefit of the children of God among the heterodox that we refuse church fellowship to these churches. Thereby we are constantly reminding them that they are in the wrong camp. According to God’s Word, Christians do not belong in the company of those who openly contradict some doctrines of Christ. Many a person for this reason also steps out of the wrong camp into the right one.

It must also by all means be held, that we do not cause any divisions in the Church when we avoid fellowship with the heterodox. According to Rom. 16:17, they cause divisions and offenses in the Church who teach doctrines besides the revealed truth. According to the Word of God, the situation is this: Whoever adheres to false teachers, and thereby strengthens their cause, cooperates in the division of the Church. But he that avoids false teachers and their followers, and practices no fellowship with them, is engaged in the holy work of preventing divisions within Christendom. But, sad to say, the devil has been successful here in falsifying the concepts and the language. The destroyers of unity are called the promoters thereof, and, on the other hand, the promoters of unity are called the destroyers thereof.

Now, what is included in avoiding all fellowship with the heterodox? It does not include that you avoid also all civil association with the heterodox. It also does not include that you should not occasionally, opportunely, speak with the heterodox about spiritual matters. We should rather do as St. Peter exhorts in 1 Peter 3:15-16: “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.” From our association with them, the heterodox should also notice that we have no passion for quarreling and condemning, but that we are God-fearing, truth-loving, peaceful people who act as we do only because we respect God’s Word — by the Command of God, which forbids fellowship with the heterodox, everything is forbidden whereby we strengthen the evil work of the heterodox body.

Christians, therefore, should not become members of heterodox bodies, indeed, under no circumstances. If in a certain place no orthodox church is found, the Christian must be content with private, home worship, for God has nowhere given release from this word: “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” Rom. 16:17. That divinely commanded avoiding of heterodox churches includes also this, that a Christian under no circumstances contribute to the building funds of sects, or even to the expenses of the Roman Church, for thereby he promotes heterodox churches. And a Christian should then, when he is approached for such a contribution, briefly and earnestly give the reason for refusing his support. He should openly state that according to God’s Word he is obliged to reject the false doctrine which the heterodox church teaches and therefore cannot help to bring it into house and home. You should in such cases not brush off those who desire an offering, perhaps by saying that you have no money, etc. Then they think that you are merely too stingy to give them something. No, here is the opportunity frankly and openly to confess your faith.

The following testimonies were pointed to as a confirmation of what was set forth in Thesis III.

After the Apology makes the concession that also the Baptism performed by unbelieving pastors in the name of the Church is effective, it continues: “Impious teachers are to be deserted (are not to be received or heard) because they do not act any longer in the place of Christ, but are antichrists. And Christ says Matt. 7:15: Beware of false prophets. And Paul, Gal. 1:9: “If any man preach any other gospel unto you, let him be accursed. “ (Trigl. p.243-5, par. 48.)

Smalcald Articles: “Paul commands that godless teachers should be avoided and execrated as cursed, Gal. 1,8; Titus 3,10. And 2 Cor. 6, 14 he says: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what communion hath light with darkness? To dissent from the agreement of so many nations and to be called schismatics is a grave matter. But divine authority commands all not to be allies and defenders of impiety and unjust cruelty.” (Trigl. p.517, par. 41.)

Furthermore: “Because Paul, Gal. 1.7f., enjoins that bishops who teach and defend a godless doctrine and godless services should be regarded as accursed.” Trigl. p.525, par. 72.)

Luther says: “Whoever knows that his pastor teaches Zwinglianism, should avoid him, and rather forego receiving the Sacrament all his life than to receive it from him, yes, rather also die and suffer all things.” (Warning against Zwinglianism. XVII, 2440.)

(To be continued next week with Thesis IV)

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

Scripture Readings appointed for Sunday are Psalm 5; Acts 16:16-40; 2 Timothy 4:6-22; Luke 18:9-17. Please read them in their context as you prepare for worship on Sunday.

The Adult Bible Class will continue in the Gospel of John at chapter 12:30ff. What question did the people raise about Jesus’ statement that He would be lifted up? Will the Christ abide forever? Cf. Luke 1:31-33; 2 Samuel 7:13. And, who is the Son of man? Cf. Daniel 7:13-14. Who was the light of which Jesus spoke in v. 35ff.? What did He mean by these words? How was this true? How is it still true today? Upon whom were they to believe? What did Jesus do after He spoke these words? Why did He hide Himself? Did the people, even after they had seen so many of His mighty miracles, believe on Jesus? What word of God did this fulfill? Where is this recorded in the Bible? Cf. Isaiah 6:1ff.; 53:1ff.; Matthew 13:10ff. How is this still true today? Who else also came to believe in Jesus? Why wouldn’t they confess Him? How does this happen yet today? What did Jesus cry out at the feast? What does this mean? Cf. John 14:6ff. How is Jesus the light of the world? Will the one who believes on Jesus walk in darkness? What does this mean? Cf. 1 John 1:3 – 2:2. What does Jesus say of those who reject His Word and do not believe on Him? What will be their judge on the Last Day? How does this apply to us and people of all time? Whose Word did Jesus speak? What message and word did Jesus proclaim? How does this relate to what ministers and teachers proclaim in the church? How is it that Jesus’ word will judge us and all people on the Last Day?

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for all our members, that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We pray for God’s healing and strengthening of our congregation. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Dawn Hiebert, who is recovering from knee surgery; Dick Stueland, also recovering from knee surgery; for Sam Rusch, who has had repeated stays in the hospital; the mother of Dick Rusch; for Dick Rusch who is recovering from shoulder surgery; for Regina Wood (the sister of Lonnie Moll), who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is recovering from surgery and starting chemotherapy; and for Bonnie Hawes and her family, upon the death of her brother, Vernon Rooker – for those who have been absent from us, for our extended families and for Christians who are alone and have no congregation. Pray for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. Continue to pray for the Lutheran Churches in the Philippines, for Christians in Nigeria, Haiti and Chile, and for believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering for their faith in Christ Jesus.

Events and Announcements

The church council will meet tonight at 7 p.m.

Anyone wishing to help with costs involved for Sam Rusch to visit the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota may place a gift in the offering with the designation: Sam Rusch.

The choir will be practicing after church on Sunday. More voices are always welcome.

A special Reformation Eve gathering, with a meal and a hay ride, is planned for 5 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 30. Members and guests are welcome and invited. A sign-up sheet for the supper is in the back of the church.

Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at goodshepherdrogers@yahoo.com.

“But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.” Psalm 5:7

[Except in direct translation from the German Scripture quotations, Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:14-15

Though, perhaps hard for us to fully understand, the serpent was cursed with a greater curse than that of the rest of God’s creatures for its role in the temptation and fall of mankind. Not only would it have to die, but it would spend its lifetime on its belly, eating the dust of the ground. There would be enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s seed. This enmity speaks of much more than a normal distaste for snakes and even destroying them when opportunity arises. It speaks of the offspring of the devil’s lie and the Seed or Offspring of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head and undo the damage done by the temptation of the devil in the garden.

The devil would fail in his attempts to deceive and mislead the promised Seed of the woman – Jesus Christ, Son of God and Mary’s Son – for Jesus did not give in to the devil’s temptations but was holy and without sin (cf. Matthew 4:1-11; Hebrews 4:15). And, Christ Jesus, when He suffered and died upon the cross for the sins of the world, paid in full the punishment for all mankind’s sin and destroyed the devil’s work, opening up for all of us a way of salvation through faith in Him and His shed blood (cf. Hebrews 2:14-17). And so, though the old evil foe bruised the heel of Christ Jesus when He suffered in agony upon the cross; Jesus crushed his head and destroyed his evil work, opening up for us the gates to heaven by paying in full for all our sins and then rising again from the dead in victory on the third day.

The devil used God’s holy law to bring about mankind’s condemnation by tempting Adam and Eve to disobedience and bringing them under the curse of the law. Jesus, true man as well as true God, obeyed God’s law in the stead of all mankind and then suffered the just punishment for the sins of the world, rising again on the third day in proof that our sins were paid for in full and are pardoned and forgiven. He did so that the law would be fulfilled for all mankind and the just punishment for sin fully satisfied for all people (cf. Galatians 3:10, 13).

It is also true that there is enmity between the offspring of the devil (the unbelieving) and the children or offspring of God through faith in Jesus Christ (the believers). Thus, true believers continue to suffer hatred and persecution here in this world from those who do not trust in Christ Jesus or follow Him. But, in the end, all who have not trusted in the innocent sufferings and death of God’s Son for their salvation will be condemned and cast into the eternal torments of hell; and all who have trusted in Christ Jesus will live forever with Him in the paradise of God (2 Thessalonians 1:3-10).

In Jesus’ own words, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life … He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3: 16, 18).

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of man, thank You for redeeming me from the curse and condemnation of God’s holy law by keeping it perfectly in my place, bearing my punishment upon the cross and rising again on the third day. Graciously keep me trusting in You and You alone for my salvation. Amen.

The Augsburg Confession

Article XV: Of Ecclesiastical Usages

Of Usages in the Church they teach that those ought to be observed which may be observed without sin, and which are profitable unto tranquility and good order in the Church, as particular holy days, festivals, and the like.

Nevertheless, concerning such things men are admonished that consciences are not to be burdened, as though such observance was necessary to salvation.

They are admonished also that human traditions instituted to propitiate God, to merit grace, and to make satisfaction for sins, are opposed to the Gospel and the doctrine of faith. Wherefore vows and traditions concerning meats and days, etc., instituted to merit grace and to make satisfaction for sins, are useless and contrary to the Gospel.

The Distinction between Orthodox and Heterodox Churches

by Dr. Franz Pieper

Editor’s Note: Dr. Franz Pieper was professor of theology at Concordia Seminary (1878 to 1887), became president of the same institution in 1887, and was also president of the Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other states from 1899 until 1911. He served as editor of Lehre und Wehre, the faculty journal of Concordia Seminary. From 1882 to 1899, Pieper served on the Board of Colored Missions for the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America. He is the author of Christliche Dogmatik (3 vols., 1917-1924; translated as Christian Dogmatics, 1950-1953). He died in St. Louis in 1931. This essay was delivered by Dr. F. Pieper in 1889 to the Southern District Convention of the Missouri Synod. The original essay was translated by three former Synodical Conference pastors: G. Schweikert, P.T. Meicher and E.L. Mehlberg and appeared in a 1948 issue of the The Okabena Lutheran.

Thesis II

The Divinely ordained external form of the Church is its orthodoxy. Heterodox church bodies have their existence only by God’s permission.

If a man has become a Christian, and if God does not take him immediately from earth into heaven, he should then not want to stay alone by himself but seek the outward fellowship of other Christians. That is God’s will. Consider the time of the Apostles. Wherever these men preached, those who had come to faith by the preaching of the Apostles entered into an outward fellowship with one another. And these communions which developed in the various localities, the Holy Scriptures called churches or congregations. Paul speaks in 1 Cor. 16:19 of the “churches in Asia”; 2 Cor. 8:1 of the “churches in Macedonia”; 1 Cor. 1:2 of the “church of God at Corinth”; Acts 8:1 of the “church at Jerusalem”; yes, in Rom. 16:5 of a “church in the house” of Priscilla and Aquilla. These are the so-called local congregations.

These are not something alongside, or outside, of the universal Christian Church, but they, together with the individual believing souls who are cut off from all outward fellowship with others, make up the universal Christian Church. These local congregations are founded by Christ. And to every local church, Christ has given all spiritual treasures and rights, as we see plainly, for example, in Matt. 18:17-20: “Tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them.” Here the universal Christian Church is not meant, for you cannot call it together, but the local congregation, as Christ expressly says: “Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Every Christian should, if he has the opportunity, join such a local congregation. With respect to the local congregation, Heb. l0:25 says expressly: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is.” Regarding fellowship in the local congregation, Acts 2:42 speaks with praise: “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship.” And verse 44: “And all that believed were together.” That Christian sins most grievously who does not join a Christian congregation when he has the opportunity, for such affiliation is God’s will. He who refuses to join a Christian fellowship, although he could, resists God’s will. After intensive and continued instruction he must finally be told: It is all a lie when you say that you have faith. Yes, the failure to join a Christian congregation can under certain circumstances just as clearly reveal unbelief as when a man is a drunkard, an adulterer, or the like.

Accordingly, it is God’s will that a Christian should join a Christian congregation. But if we now look at the congregations which call themselves Christian, we see that they do not all agree in confession of faith. The question confronts the Christian, which visible church should he join? Or, if he already is a member of a church, as is often the case, should he remain in this fellowship or look for another one? A Christian should and will govern himself in all things according to God’s Word. In order to answer this question, we set up, in accordance with God’s Word, the general proposition:

“The Divinely ordained external form of the Church is its orthodoxy. Heterodox church bodies have their existence only by God’s permission.”

God desires to have only an orthodox Church, or, in other words, it is God’s will that all Christians should belong only to an orthodox church. This truth is flatly denied nowadays. This accounts for the fact that even Lutherans speak of sectarian churches as “sister congregations.” They say, that as God desires to save people out of all nations, so He also desires to have various churches with various faiths. False reasoning is also employed for the purpose of calling the truth of our Thesis into question. They argue: If there are true children of God in heterodox churches, as you yourself concede, then it cannot be true that only the orthodoxy of the Church is pleasing to God. The Holy Scriptures, however, everywhere testify to the truth of our Thesis. Let us here present just a few basic reasons.

That God desires only an orthodox Church is manifest already from the fact that God has given us the Holy Scriptures, and in them has revealed all articles of Christian doctrine. Now, as surely as God has revealed all doctrines in order that they be accepted in faith, yes, under threat of His wrath has forbidden us to add or subtract anything from them, so surely God wants the Church to be orthodox and that alone; For an orthodox Church is one that believes and confesses all the doctrines revealed in Holy Scripture. The correctness of our Thesis is further proved by all passages of Scripture in which it is said that all Christians, no matter of what nation, should have only one set of beliefs, the one revealed in God’s Word. In the well-known words of 1 Cor. 1:10, we read: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” There are many differences among Christians in those things which belong to natural life, in culture, manner of living, etc. Christians may also establish different external forms of church liturgy. But in one thing, among Christians, whether they are white or black, educated or not, there should be no difference but the most complete uniformity, namely, in beliefs, in doctrine. This Eph. 4:3-6 also proves: “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Accordingly, as certainly as all Christians should have only the one creed as revealed in Scripture, just as certainly God also wants the Church to be orthodox, and that alone. In Eph. 4:11-14, the Apostle says that Christ gave some to be Apostles, some to be prophets, etc. For what purpose? That all might come to the unity of the one faith in, and confession of, the Son of God.

That God wants the Church to be orthodox in its external form, is evident also from the commission to the Divinely ordained office of the ministry. For every command of God in Scripture to preach the Word refers only to the preaching of the pure Word. When Christ the Lord says: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), He expressly adds, “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:20.) In Jer. 23:28, the Lord speaks to the preachers: “He that hath My Word, let him speak My Word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.” The praise of a true preacher according to Scripture is therefore this, that he preaches God’s Word purely, that is, without admixture of his own thoughts. In 2 Cor. 2:17, St. Paul confesses of himself: “For we are not as many which corrupt the Word of God.” But those preachers who depart from God’s Word, who mix the truth with error, are threatened in Scripture with God’s wrath. We read in Jer. 23:31-32: “Behold I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.”

That God wants the Church to be orthodox is evident also from the description which Scripture gives us of Christians. Christ says of them: “My sheep hear My Voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27.) According to the Scriptures, it belongs to the make-up of a Christian that he obeys only the voice of Christ, by faith adheres solely to God’s Word. Insofar as the Christians depart from the Word of Christ, they follow another, and deny Christ. In praise of the Jerusalem congregation, it is said: “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.” (Acts 2:42.)

Furthermore, all Christians are expressly warned to guard themselves carefully against false prophets. “Beware of false prophets,” Christ exhorts them in Matt. 7:15. And St. John impresses upon them, 2 John 10: “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine – namely, the doctrine of Christ – receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed,” that is, as a brother in the faith. Yes, the orthodoxy of the Church is such a serious thing with God that in the Old Testament, when He employed bodily punishments in the Church, He commanded His believers to stone the false prophets who led the people away from the Lord’s commands, even when that false prophet was the nearest relative. Thus we read in that noteworthy passage of Deut. 13:6ff.: “If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou has not known, thou nor thy fathers; namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; thou shalt not consent unto him; nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: but thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die.”

Thus God had ordained it in the Old Testament. In the New Testament this bodily punishment is expressly done away with. But with this law in the Old Testament, God has shown what a most serious thing the orthodoxy of the Church is to Him. In the New Testament, Paul expresses something similar when, in Galatians 1:9, he pronounces the curse upon all who stubbornly falsify God’s Word.

That God desires to have only an orthodox Church is evident also from the names which are given the Church in the Holy Scriptures. In I Tim. 3:15, it is called “the house of God,” a spiritual house that God has built for Himself, and in which God alone is Master. As otherwise in an orderly house, the master’s word prevails, so also in the Church, God’s house, God’s Word alone should rule, rule in everything that it says. The preachers must therefore preach the Word of God alone. He that sets God’s Word aside deposes God from being Master of the house. The preachers, as stewards in God’s spiritual house, must demonstrate their faithfulness by not preaching their own wisdom, but the pure Word of God. Therefore, we read in I Pet. 4:11: “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.”

The Church, moreover, is called God’s and Christ’s kingdom, (John 18:36). As in the domain of an earthly king his word rules, so also in the spiritual kingdom, the kingdom of Christ, Christ’s Word alone should rule. For Christ has made His Word the law in His kingdom. He says in John 8:31-32: “If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” In Isaiah 8:20 we read the well-known words: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them!”

Furthermore, the Church is called the Bride of Christ. She should therefore cleave to Him alone. This is done, first and foremost, in this way that she gives heed alone to the Word of Christ, in faith adheres alone to His Word, and permits nothing to separate her from that Word. Insofar as the Church listens to the word of another, she becomes unfaithful to Christ. Hence, the Israelite Church, insofar as she fell away from God, is often called an adulteress. Therefore the Church is also exhorted in Psalm 45, verses 10 and 11: “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him.” And St. Paul warns the Corinthians, 2 Cor. 11:2-3, against false doctrines by reminding them how the Church, as the Bride of Christ, should not allow herself to be led away from God’s Word, and in that way be defiled. In brief, wherever you look in the Scripture and whatever side of the Church you may consider, this truth always confronts us: God wants the Church to be orthodox in its external form. This truth must really become a living part of us. Then we have the right foundation for judging orthodox and heterodox church bodies.

Luther always comes back to this, that in the Church only the true doctrine should be proclaimed, that is, that the Church should therefore be orthodox. On 1 Peter 4:11 he writes: “If any man speak, let him speak it as the Word of God: that is a very necessary doctrine in the Church. And if it had been maintained until now, the world would not have been filled with Antichrist’s lies and deception…. For in Christendom, affairs are not so conducted as in earthly government and in those things which concern external matters and goods. In the latter men rule as they understand it and as their reason teaches. They have the right to establish law and order and, in accordance with them, command, punish, receive, and give. But in the Church we are dealing with a spiritual government where consciences are bound by God. And what is spoken, taught, commanded, or done there, must be carried out in such a way that you know that it is valid and stands in God’s sight; yes, that it proceeds and moves before Him, so that you can say: God Himself has said and done that. For in this house where He lives and rules, He should and will, also as the rightful Master, say and do everything Himself, even though He uses the mouth and hand of men to accomplish it. Therefore, first and above all things, both preachers and hearers must here see to it that in matters of doctrine there be clear and sure proof that such teaching really is the true Word of God, revealed from heaven to the holy patriarchs, prophets, and Apostles, confirmed by Christ Himself and commanded by Him to be taught. For it cannot by any means be tolerated that the doctrine is handled as each individual pleases, or to suit his own fancy and to harmonize it with his human reason and understanding, or to toy and juggle with Scripture and God’s Word, so that it is explained, directed, stretched, and patched at will for the sake of pleasing the people or for the sake of peace and unity. For in that case there would be no sure and abiding foundation on which the consciences could rest.” In the Church only God’s Word should be proclaimed. Insofar as man’s word is proclaimed, the Church is no Church at all.

Luther writes concerning the above-mentioned passage, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God”: “If anyone wants to speak, let him keep his own words to himself; let them count for something in the earthly government and in the home. Here in the Church he should speak nothing but the Word of the mighty Master of the house: otherwise it is not the true Church. Therefore the rule must be: God speaks. It has to be that way on this earth. If a prince wants to rule, then his voice must be heard in his country and home. Now if that is the case in this miserable life, so much the more should we let the Word of God be heard in the Church and in eternal life. All subjects and governments must be obedient to the word of their lord. This we call administration. Therefore a preacher is God’s steward by virtue of His command and office, and dare say nothing else than what God says and commands. And though one does much babbling outside of God’s Word; still the Church is not in the chatter, no matter if they should become mad and absurd. They only cry ‘church, church, you must hear the Pope and the bishops.”’ (Sermon on the 1st Pentecost Day, XII, 1413 ff.) Insofar as in the Church not God’s Word but man’s word is proclaimed, the church is no longer God’s house, but the devil’s. It is a terrible defilement of the house of God where God’s Word is not preached in its purity in the Church; and God will severely punish such defilement of His house.

Luther, in the above mentioned reference, writes further: “For this cause we must look to Christ and hear Him, how He describes the true Christian Church against their false hue and cry. For you should and must rather believe Christ and the Apostles, so that you speak God’s Word, and do as St. Peter and Christ the Lord here declare: Whoever holds to My Word, there is My dwelling. There is the Master Builder: My Word must remain in it, or it shall not be My house. Our papists want to do it better; let them therefore remain in the danger. Christ says: ‘We will make our abode with him,’ and there the Holy Ghost operates. It must be a people that loves Me and keeps My commandments. That, in brief, is what He wants…. On the other hand, under earthly government the Christian hears something different, how men should punish the evildoers and protect the good, and of stewardship. But here in the Christian Church it should therefore be a house in which only God’s Word is proclaimed.” Under earthly government it is indeed different. The citizens of different kingdoms can obey the most widely differing laws. But every citizen is guided by the country in which he lives. If he finds himself in America, he complies with American law; is he in China, then he lives according to Chinese law. It is not thus in the Church. As there is only one Church, one kingdom of Christ on the whole earth, so there is for all citizens of this kingdom, whether they are Americans or Chinese, only one law, the Word of Christ, as it is revealed in the Scriptures. Therefore, Luther also says that it is vain for them to cry “church, church,” if God’s Word is, nevertheless, not even preached among them.

When Luther discusses this subject, he can never exhaust it to his own satisfaction. Yet another passage may therefore be presented: “From this you can now answer those criers and spewers who have nothing in their big mouths but ‘church, church.’ Now tell me, dear Pope, what is the Church? Answer: The Pope and his Cardinals. Why listen here, you self-deceived and foolish man, where is it written in God’s Word that Father Pope and Brother Cardinal are the true Church of God? Or do you say this perhaps because the fine-feathered parrot and the black jackdaw have babbled this? Christ tells you and me something far different, namely, that is My Church where My Word is preached and maintained pure and unadulterated. Therefore St. Paul warns that we should flee and avoid those who want to lead us away from God’s Word. For whoever defiles God’s temple, which we are, him shall God in turn destroy, I Cor. 3:17. Now St. Peter also says, I Peter 4:11: Watch yourself, if you desire to preach, then you should preach nothing but God’s Word, otherwise you will defile God’s Church.” (Taken from the same quotation.)

But now there actually exist many heterodox churches, that is, such church bodies which do not in all parts remain with the truth which God has revealed. That there would be such church bodies is foretold in Scripture. This fact should therefore not seem strange to us. St. Paul says to the elders of Ephesus, Acts 20:29-30: “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” And these men who will speak false doctrine will succeed in gaining a following. In 1 Cor. 11:19 the Apostle actually says: “There must be also heresies,” that is, parties which will spread false doctrine, “among you.”

Now we ask: What is God’s will concerning these heterodox church bodies? Especially in our time, as already indicated, it is generally said that it is according to God’s will that there are different churches with different faiths. The different confessions, it is said, are the necessary consequences of this, that God leads persons and nations of differing abilities into the Church. Therefore the different tendencies in the Church, they say, have equal rights. It is said of us that we demand too much when we maintain that all Christians should have the same faith. This view is as wrong as it is widespread. As surely as God has revealed only one doctrine in the Holy Scriptures, and as surely as He commands all Christians to accept this one doctrine and forbids every departure from it, so surely it is not pleasing to God that there are heterodox church bodies. That such church bodies exist is not desired by God, but only permitted. God’s providence (rule of the world) has no more to do with the existence of heterodox church bodies than with every other sin. And this does not contradict the truth, that there are still dear children of God in heterodox churches. God, so to speak, just makes the best He can out of the heterodox church bodies. Also in these church bodies children are born to Him, insofar as in them parts of His Word are still preached. But God does not want them to exist as heterodox church bodies, or insofar as they depart from His Word. This we must firmly maintain on the basis of God’s Word. We must remember what these heterodox church bodies, as such, are, namely, churches which have inscribed false doctrine on their banner, and have established a separate communion. The Reformed, as an example, have founded a separate church body by writing on their banner false doctrine concerning Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; namely, that Baptism is not the washing of regeneration, and that in the Lord’s Supper the true body and the true blood of Christ are not present. That such a church body exists is only by God’s permission.

But then, why does God permit heterodox church bodies to arise? The Word of God answers that. Not as though God wants to have heterodox bodies together with orthodox bodies for the sake of variety in the garden of His Church, but in order that the Christians keep their distance from heterodox church bodies. I Cor. 11:19, indeed, says: “There must be also heresies among you.” But he does not add: God wants it that way in the Church, and now you have free choice to belong to any kind of group; but rather: “That they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” Thus, God permits the formation of sects also for this purpose, to test His own, whether they are sincere and honest about His Word, whether they will hold fast to His Word also then, when, under very deceptive circumstances, they are perhaps tempted to depart from His Word, and cling to error. We find proof for this in Deut. 13:3. This passage says in respect to a false prophet, even when he comes with signs and wonders: “Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Thus, these are times of trial for the Christians when God permits false prophets to come. God then tests the obedience of His Christians. For it is not God’s will that the Christians should join with false prophets, but that they should keep away from them, follow the voice of their Shepherd alone, and reveal themselves as the lambs of Christ, as Luther says in his writing against Hans Wurst: “When it happens that people disagree in doctrine, it has this effect, that it separates them and reveals who the true Christians are, namely, those who keep the Word of God in all its purity and excellence.” (Erlanger Ed. 26, 28.)

The same author writes: “These are not the words of an angry judge, but they are fatherly words. As though He wanted to say: I have given you My Word that you accept it with a good and peaceful heart, and hold to it; but I will send false apostles and will try you out, whether in all seriousness you will love Me and My Word.” (W.I, 2299.)

(To be continued next week with Thesis III)

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

Scripture Readings appointed for Sunday are Psalm 121; Acts 16:1-15; 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5; Luke 18:1-8. Please read them in their context as you prepare for worship on Sunday.

The Adult Bible Class will continue in the Gospel of John at chapter 12:20ff. Who at the feast desired to see Jesus? To whom did they make their desire known? How did word come to Jesus? What did Jesus say this meant? Why was this so? How would the Son of man be glorified? What did Jesus mean by His parable about the corn (kernel) of wheat? How was this true of Jesus? How is it also true of us? What will happen to the one who loves his life in this world and seeks to preserve it? What about the one who, in comparison to loving life in this word, hates it and lays it down and uses it for Christ and His kingdom? How is this true? How does it apply to you and to me? How can we serve Christ Jesus? Who must we follow to serve Christ? Where will Jesus’ servants be? With whom? Who will honor those who live their lives for and serve Christ Jesus? Why was Jesus’ soul troubled? What was He about to face? Was Jesus asking to be spared from going to the cross and suffering for the sins of the world? Why not? What had He come into the world to do? What was Jesus saying when He said, “Father, glorify Thy name”? What came from heaven? What did it say? What does this mean? How is this true? What did the people say when they heard the voice from heaven? Why, according to Jesus’ words, did this voice speak from heaven? How would the world be judged? Who is the prince of this world? How would he be cast out? What did Jesus say about His being lifted up on the cross? Who would He draw to Himself? How would this be? Of what was Jesus speaking? What question did the people raise about Jesus’ statement that He would be lifted up? Will the Christ abide forever? Cf. Luke 1:31-33; 2 Samuel 7:13. And, who is the Son of man? Cf. Daniel 7:13-14. Who was the light of which Jesus spoke in v. 35ff.? What did He mean by these words? How was this true? How is it still true today? Upon whom were they to believe? What did Jesus do after He spoke these words? Why did He hide Himself? Did the people, even after they had seen so many of His mighty miracles, believe on Jesus? What word of God did this fulfill? Where is this recorded in the Bible? How is this still true today?

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for all our members, that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We pray for God’s healing and strengthening of our congregation. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Dawn Hiebert, who is recovering from knee surgery; Dick Stueland, also recovering from knee surgery; for Sam Rusch, who has had repeated stays in the hospital; the mother of Dick Rusch; for Dick Rusch who is recovering from shoulder surgery; for Regina Wood (the sister of Lonnie Moll), who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is recovering from surgery and starting chemotherapy; and for Bonnie Hawes and her family, upon the death of her brother, Vernon Rooker – for those who have been absent from us, for our extended families and for Christians who are alone and have no congregation. Pray for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. Continue to pray for the Lutheran Churches in the Philippines, for Christians in Nigeria, Haiti and Chile, and for believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering for their faith in Christ Jesus.

Events and Announcements

The church council will meet Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m.

Anyone wishing to help with costs involved for Sam Rusch to visit the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota may place a gift in the offering with the designation: Sam Rusch.

Anyone wishing to help with the travel expenses of Ray and Bonnie Hawes to return to Kansas for her brother’s funeral may do so on Sunday or designate an offering for that purpose.

The choir will be practicing after church on Sunday. More voices are always welcome.

Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at goodshepherdrogers@yahoo.com.

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” Psalm 121

[Except in direct translation from the German Scripture quotations, Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” Genesis 3:1-13

The paradise which God created in the first two chapters of Genesis did not last long, for chapter three tells of the temptation of the devil, a fallen angel, who came to Eve in the form of the serpent.

“Did God really say that that you should not eat from any tree of the garden?” he asked, creating question in the woman’s mind. And when Eve said the prohibition and warning that disobedience would bring about death – alienation and separation from God – was only in regard to the tree in the middle of the garden, the devil distorted the truth by saying, “You will not surely die; for God knows that it in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.” Thus, he caused her to think that perhaps God was somehow holding out on her and keeping from her and her husband something good and desirable.

Of course, this still happens every day. The devil comes to us through friends and coworkers, through the media and entertainment industries, and in our own thoughts and minds and says, “Does God really expect you to keep all those commandments in the Bible?” And he works hard to convince us that God is trying to keep us from having fun and enjoying life, or that He is placing an impossible burden upon us, that He really doesn’t expect us to keep all of His commandments, or that breaking just a few of the commandments now and then won’t really alienate and separate us from God – after all, everybody does it.

And, like Eve, when we look at the thing we are being tempted to do, it looks good and desirable to us. We think it will be fun or pleasurable; it will work out for our good; it won’t hurt anything; no one will know.

And so, we rationalize and give in to the temptation and to our own sinful desires, and the result is death! We recognize our nakedness and guilt before God. We may attempt to cover it up or even learn to cope with it, but the guilt remains. We are afraid to stand in His presence. We would rather not hear God’s Word or walk into His house of prayer. Why? Because our sin and disobedience, though it may have appeared to be good at the time, brought about spiritual death and separation from God. When confronted with the presence of God and His truth, we hide ourselves. When questioned about our sin, we make excuses and blame others.

As a result of Adam’s and Eve’s sin, we are all born into this world sinners – our very thoughts and desires are turned away from God and His holy commandments. What David wrote is true of each of us as a result of that first sin: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Instead of loving God, trusting Him and desiring to honor and glorify His name, we think only of ourselves, disbelieve God’s Word and seek our own honor and glory. We are born in spiritual death and are alienated from God.

That is why we so desperately need God’s pardon and forgiveness. We need Him to find us, forgive us and give us life again. And God has come to us and reached out to us in love and forgiveness. He desires to free us from our guilt and shame and give us life everlasting with Him. He did this by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to overcome temptation and sin for us and then go to the cross to be condemned, forsaken of God and die in our stead that we might have God’s pardon and forgiveness and not be afraid of God or troubled by guilt and shame any longer. In Christ Jesus, the sin of the world has been taken away; and in Christ Jesus, your sin and mine has been pardoned.

O dearest Jesus, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy upon me, find me and wash away the guilt of my sin in Your shed blood. And, dear Jesus, grant me a place in Your everlasting kingdom. Amen.

My Dear Children

Our Good and Loving God

O LORD God, You have loved us with an everlasting love, and with lovingkindness You have drawn us (Jeremiah 31:3). Graciously grant that we come to know Your great goodness and Your everlasting love toward us in Christ Jesus, that we might trust in You, love You and show Your goodness and love to others. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

My Dear Children,

We think that we know true goodness and true, self-giving love; but we do not find true goodness or perfect love in this world, except in God. As Jesus said, “there is none good but one, that is, God” (Matthew 19:17); and as John writes, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Human goodness and human love (even among Christians) fails and comes short. It is infected by our sinfulness and fails to reflect the perfect goodness and love of God, our Father. To know goodness and love, we look to God; for God is good (Psalm 86:5; 118:1 ), and “God is love” (1 John 4:16). We see in Christ Jesus, the sinless Son of God, the goodness and love of God.

1. In Psalm 145:9, the Bible says, “The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” What does this passage say of God’s goodness? Read also Matthew 5:43-48. How is God good to all?

2. Psalm 33:5 says, “The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.” How is this so? What examples can you find in Psalm 33?

3. In Psalm 86:5, David writes: “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.” How does this passage describe God’s goodness? What comfort can we sinners find in this passage of God’s Word?

4. Psalm 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” What does this psalm encourage us to do? How can we do this? Read verses 9-10 of this psalm. What do these words tell us of the LORD’s goodness.

5. Read Nahum 1:7. “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” How is the goodness of the LORD toward us described here? What comfort can we take from these words?

6. Read Romans 2:4. To what is the goodness of the Lord to lead us? Why is God good to us and to all people?

7. In Jeremiah 31:3, the LORD Himself says: “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Does God’s love ever run out? How does God draw us with lovingkindness?

8. Read John 3:16 and 1 John 4:9-10. What do these passages teach us of God’s love? What did God’s love for us sinners move Him to do?

9. Romans 5:8 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Are we deserving of God’s love or of Christ’s death for our sins? Why did God send His Son, and why did Christ die for us?

10. Read Ephesians 2:1-10. What else did God do for us because of His great love?

11. Read Romans 8:31-39. What does this Word of God tell you of God’s love for you in Christ Jesus?

12. Read 1 John 3:1. What does this passage say of God’s love for us sinners?

13. Read 1 John 4:7-11. What should God’s great love for us move us to do?

GOD

We believe that there is only one true God (Isaiah 44:6; I Corinthians 8:4). This God (called the LORD or JEHOVAH) is one divine Being or Essence, but three distinct Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (thus the name, Triune or Three/One God), each being eternal and equal in power and majesty, because each Person is the LORD God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; I John 5:7; Isaiah 48:16-17; John 1:1; Colossians 2:9; I Corinthians 3:16; Hebrews 9:14; I Peter 4:14). We believe that no one can worship or serve the Triune God except he believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and the Savior of mankind from sin and its consequences (John 3:18,36; 5:23; 14:6; I John 2:23; 5:11-12). Hence, all who deny the Trinity of God (that God is three Persons) or the Unity of God (that God is one divine Being), or who do not trust in Jesus Christ, the Son, for salvation, do not worship and serve the true God.

Please Memorize: Psalm 145:9; Psalm 34:8; Psalm 86:5; 1 John 4:10; Romans 5:8.

The Augsburg Confession

Article XIV: Of Ecclesiastical Order

Of Ecclesiastical Order they teach that no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called.

The Distinction between Orthodox

and Heterodox Churches

by Dr. Franz Pieper

Editor’s Note: Dr. Franz Pieper was professor of theology at Concordia Seminary (1878 to 1887), became president of the same institution in 1887, and was also president of the Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other states from 1899 until 1911. He served as editor of Lehre und Wehre, the faculty journal of Concordia Seminary. From 1882 to 1899, Pieper served on the Board of Colored Missions for the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America. He is the author of Christliche Dogmatik (3 vols., 1917-1924; translated as Christian Dogmatics, 1950-1953). He died in St. Louis in 1931. This essay was delivered by Dr. F. Pieper in 1889 to the Southern District Convention of the Missouri Synod. The original essay was translated by three former Synodical Conference pastors: G. Schweikert, P.T. Meicher and E.L. Mehlberg and appeared in a 1948 issue of the The Okabena Lutheran.

Introduction

In accordance with God’s Word, we firmly maintain a twofold doctrine: first, that God does not only have His children in the orthodox Church, that is, in the visible fellowship where God’s Word is preached in all its truth and purity; but that children of God are also to be found in heterodox fellowships where God’s Word is not preached in all its purity, but truth is mixed with error. Secondly, however, we also maintain the great difference between orthodox and heterodox churches. What a great difference, according to God’s Word, exists between orthodox and heterodox churches will be more exactly set forth in the following Theses. Even we forget this difference only too easily. Indeed, it also happens in our own midst that people who move to other areas and find no orthodox church there, join heterodox churches. Why is that? One cannot always say that these people have already fallen away from the true doctrine in their hearts. But they have forgotten the difference between orthodox and heterodox churches. By taking up membership in heterodox churches, they commit sin and place their souls in danger. Even Lutherans join sectarian churches, or would like to do so, because the sects, for example, have more beautiful churches, are more popular people, and the like. Why? These Lutherans do not rightly and faithfully take note of the existing difference between orthodox and heterodox churches; they do not see the wonderful glory of an orthodox church. Even we pastors and teachers of the Church at times lose courage for work within the Lutheran Church when we observe the greater number and the externally more attractive conditions within the heterodox churches. That happens also because we view these things on the basis of our reason instead of judging the orthodox and heterodox fellowships according to God’s Word. Therefore, it is very timely that in these sessions we consider the theme:

The Difference Between Orthodox and Heterodox Churches

I. Every man’s first and principal concern should be, that he belong to the Communion of Saints, that is, to the Invisible Church.

II. The Divinely ordained external form of the Church is its orthodoxy. Heterodox church bodies have their existence only by God’s permission.

III. It is, therefore, not a matter of indifference which church group a Christian joins; but he has God’s earnest command strictly to distinguish between orthodox and heterodox churches, and, avoiding all church fellowship with the heterodox, to adhere only to the orthodox Church.

IV. Likewise, only in the orthodox Church is God given the honor which He requires; and, only in it are souls rightly cared for. Fellowship with heterodox churches militates against God’s honor, and is a constant danger for the soul.

V. We should, therefore, regard membership in the orthodox Church not only as our duty, but also as the greatest privilege and highest honor, even when the orthodox Church outwardly bears a very humble form.

VI. The reasons which have been advanced for joining heterodox church bodies, and for remaining in them, partly sound very pious; but they are considered in the light of God’s Word, altogether invalid, and originate in our blind, conceited, self-willed, and presumptuous flesh.

Thesis I

Every man’s first and principal concern should be, that he belong to the Communion of Saints, that is, to the Invisible Church.

All people are by nature under God’s wrath because of their sins, and are therefore children of eternal damnation. A terrible condition! But a part of mankind is delivered out of this terrible condition. Although they, too, are sinners, they are, nevertheless, no longer under the wrath of God, but they have God’s grace. And, because they have God’s grace, or forgiveness of sins, they are also no longer children of damnation, but heirs of eternal life. Who are these fortunate people? They are those who believe in Christ, in a word, the believers, the members of the Christian Church.

This is the Communion, the Church, outside of which there is no salvation. Why? Because without faith in Christ nobody can be saved, as it is written: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36. Again: “He that believeth on Him (God’s Son) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already.” John 3:18.

Whoever, therefore, desires to escape the wrath of God and eternal death, which he has incurred by his sin, and become partaker of the grace of God and eternal salvation, which have been gained for him by the incarnate Son of God, he must let it be his first and principal concern, that he belong to the Communion of Saints, to that blessed class of people who from the heart believe in Christ as their Savior. This faith is kindled and maintained through the Gospel by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of those who have acknowledged themselves before God as sinners.

These believers are scattered locally over the whole earth; they are found wherever the seed of the Gospel is sown. They are very different according to education, culture, language, and customs. They do not know each other personally. And yet, they are most intimately connected with one another; they are more closely related to each other than the closest relatives; for the One Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of them all. All have the same faith, namely, that they are saved by God’s grace in Christ; all have the same mind, they are one and all subject to Christ. Daily they make the same discoveries, namely, that they are lost sinners, and that God for Christ’s sake richly and daily forgives them all sins. They will afterwards also in eternity all have the same experiences, for their lot will be the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore at the right hand of God. This is the wonderful fellowship of the Christian Church. This Church is invisible in this life. Why? Because we cannot see that which makes a person a member of the Church, namely, faith. Only God, who knows the hearts, can see that. Visible this Church will some day be in yonder life, where its members will walk no longer by faith, but by sight, where they will be glorified by seeing God, and where they will shine as the brightness of the firmament.

This is the Christian Church spoken of in Matthew 16:18, where we read: “On this rock (namely, on the confession of Christ) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Again, Eph. 1:22-23: “God set Him (Christ) to be the Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.” So also in Eph. 2:19-22, the members of this Church are described as “fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Corner Stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.”

The only, absolute requirement for salvation is membership in the Invisible church. In this essay we will deal with the difference between the orthodox and heterodox churches, and in that connection, also of the necessity of outwardly affiliating with the orthodox Church. But this affiliation is not absolutely necessary, indeed, under certain circumstances not at all possible. Take the case of a man who just before his end comes to faith without being able to join a visible church as a member. This circumstance, then, that he did not belong to a Christian congregation, does not at all deprive him of his salvation. Furthermore, it can happen that a Christian lives in a locality where no orthodox church can be found. To join a heterodox congregation is forbidden him by God’s Word, but love hinders him from leaving the locality. A prisoner can also be in such a situation, that he must forego fellowship with an orthodox Christian body; and yet, he has, if he is in the faith, God’s grace and salvation. The outward membership in a Christian congregation is not absolutely necessary, as if thereby faith first would become true, saving faith. But under certain circumstances outward membership is necessary as a confession of faith.

John Gerhard recognizes a twofold entrance into the Church. The one is the joining of a visible Christian fellowship through the outward confession of faith; the other is the joining of the Invisible Church. The latter occurs through faith in Christ, and is accomplished in that moment when faith in Christ is kindled in the heart of a person by the operation of the Holy Ghost. The latter must occur in every person who wants to be saved, the former need not.

Yes, without saving faith in Christ all outward fellowship with the Church, even with the orthodox Church, avails nothing. Moreover, all outward fellowship without faith makes one a hypocrite. Also those who outwardly belong to the orthodox Church, who have zeal for it, who with their reason strictly distinguish between orthodox and heterodox fellowship are, if they do not truly believe, an abomination to God; they are outside of the Church of Christ and in the domain of the devil. This, too, we must constantly preach; of this we must also constantly remind one another. As also the Apostle Paul exhorts the members of the Corinthian congregation: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.” 2 Cor. 13:5. And, when in this document we insist that a Christian should stay away from all false churches and adhere alone to the orthodox Church, then this also serves the purpose: that we by no means suffer shipwreck concerning our faith, and thus fall away from the fellowship of that Church outside of which there is no salvation.

Of the One Invisible Christian Church it is said in the 7th Article of the Augsburg Confession: “Also they teach that One Holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of all saints.” (Trigl., p.47.)

Luther wrote (V.1792) on Psalm 118: “Whoever does not have the right faith and is not holy and righteous, he does not belong in the Holy Christian Church.” He who has living faith belongs to the Church; he that does not, whoever or wherever he may be, does not belong to the Church.

Our Confessions warn us not to regard the Church as an earthly association with religious rites, so that all, even the godless, who take part in these rites would be members of the Church.

The Apology says: “For it is necessary to understand what it is that principally makes us members, and that, living members of the Church. If we will define the Church only as an outward polity of the good and wicked, men will not understand that the Kingdom of Christ is righteousness of heart and the gift of the Holy Ghost, (that the Kingdom of Christ is spiritual, as nevertheless it is; that therein Christ inwardly rules, strengthens, and comforts hearts, and imparts the Holy Ghost and various spiritual gifts).” (VII, VIII, Trigl., p.231.)

The Large Catechism says in the Explanation of the Third Article, especially of the words, “I believe in the Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints”: “This is the meaning and substance of this addition: I believe that there is upon earth a little holy group and congregation of pure saints, under one head, even Christ, called together by the Holy Ghost in one faith, mind, and understanding, with manifold gifts, yet agreeing in love, without sects or schisms.” (Trigl., p. 691.)

In this Communion of Saints there is only one faith and no schism. All Christians are united by one faith and one love. We not only admit that there are children of God in heterodox church bodies, but we maintain also that these children of God are one with us in the faith. They are agreed with us in the central doctrine of Christianity, namely, they believe that they are by themselves lost, but are God’s children through faith in Christ Jesus. Therefore, it says here: “In one faith, mind, and understanding.” If you ask: how, for example, is this possible under popery, then Luther replies, that in the Pope’s church, besides Baptism, there remained also the text of the gospels. Whoever now in faith grasps and holds the Word of the forgiveness of sins for Christ’s sake, he belongs to the children of God. If the priest afterwards comes with his preaching of papistical errors, the believer does not accept them.

In his commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, Luther says: “The Church is everywhere in the world, wherever the Gospel and the Sacraments are.” And shortly before: “Therefore the Church is everywhere holy, also in those places where even the Enthusiasts and factious spirits rule, insofar of course as they still do not utterly deny and reject Word and Sacrament. For those who altogether deny these things are no Church anymore. But wherever Word and Sacrament essentially remain, there remains a Holy Church.” (On Galatians, VIII: 1588ff.)

John Gerhard says, concerning the necessity of joining a visible communion: “If such a time comes, when the visible glory of the Church is lost, then it is not absolutely necessary for salvation to join a visible local congregation; but it suffices that by true faith a person is a member of the universal Church, for of this Church alone it is said properly that outside of it there is no salvation.” (L. de ecclesia, par. 101.)

If one claims that for salvation more is necessary than faith in Christ, then the central doctrine of Scripture, the doctrine of justification by grace, is denied. For what does this mean, to become righteous, and gain salvation by grace? It means to be declared righteous, and gain salvation through no work done by man, no matter what it is called. Whoever therefore says that the outward joining of a visible church body is unconditionally necessary for salvation, he says thereby, that man becomes righteous and gains salvation not only by grace through faith, but also through this work (joining a church). Thus the Pope ties up salvation with belonging to his realm. Similarly, they err who think that for salvation more is necessary than this, that one by faith belongs to the Communion of Saints.

This first Thesis, it was yet stated, is of the greatest importance. If it is not rightly taken to heart, everything else will do no good. Yes, then one will apply everything that follows in the other theses to his harm; For this we have terrifying examples. At a colloquy in Buffalo the followers of Grabau were confronted with the charge, which was also admitted, that they always proclaimed an unconditional necessity of belonging to the orthodox Church. To clarify the matter, Dr. Walther said to a Buffalo colloquist: “If I heard correctly, you hail from the United Church (a union of Reformed and Lutherans in Germany). You claim that already therein you came to faith.” The person addressed acknowledged this. Then, Dr. Walther added: “If you had died at that time, would you not certainly have been saved?” The answer was “No.” Most terrible? According to that, faith in Christ would avail nothing unless a man would complete his outward joining of the orthodox Church.

(To be continued next week with Thesis II)

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

Scripture Readings appointed for Sunday are Psalm 111; Acts 15:1-41; 2 Timothy 2:1-13; Luke 17:11-19. Please read them in their context as you prepare for worship on Sunday.

The Adult Bible Class will continue in the Gospel of John at chapter 12:1ff. Where did Jesus come six days before the Passover? What did they do for Him there? Who served? Who sat at the table with Jesus? What did Mary do? Cf. Luke 10:38-42. What was the value of this ointment? Who objected to Mary’s gift? On what pretense? What was his real reason? What does this indicate about Judas? Was Judas alone in his objection to Mary’s gift? Cf. Matthew 26:6ff.; Mark 14:3ff. What did Jesus say about what Mary had done in the Matthew and Mark accounts? How would it be remembered? In the Matthew and Mark accounts, what did Judas do after this event? When else had a woman anointed Jesus? Cf. Luke 7:36ff. Did Jesus accept Mary’s gift? What did He say of it? How does this account have application to gifts given to the Lord Jesus even yet today? Why had many people come to Bethany? What did the chief priests consult to do? v. 10. Why? What does this indicate about them? Did they know the truth? Were they willing to accept it? Against whom were they sinning? cf. Matthew 12:31-32. What happened on the next day when Jesus came to Jerusalem? Cf. Matthew 21:1ff.; Mark 11:1ff.; Luke 19:28ff. What were the people saying of Jesus? Cf. Psalm 118:25ff. What other prophecy did Jesus fulfill? How? Cf. Zechariah 9:9. Did Jesus’ disciples recognize this at the time? When did they recognize this? Why did the people come out to greet Jesus with these words? What were they really saying of Jesus? How did the Pharisees react to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem? What truths can we learn from this today?

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for all our members, that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We pray for God’s healing and strengthening of our congregation. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Dawn Hiebert, who is recovering from knee surgery; Dick Stueland, also recovering from knee surgery; for Sam Rusch, who has had repeated stays in the hospital; the mother of Dick Rusch; for Dick Rusch who is recovering from shoulder surgery; for Regina Wood (the sister of Lonnie Moll), who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is recovering from surgery and starting chemotherapy; for Vernon Rooker, the brother of Bonnie Hawes, who is very ill and hospitalized in Wichita; for Pastor Moll, who is recovering from Rocky Mountain spotted fever – for those who have been absent from us, for our extended families and for Christians who are alone and have no congregation. Pray for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. Continue to pray for the Lutheran Churches in the Philippines, for Christians in Nigeria, Haiti and Chile, and for believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering for their faith in Christ Jesus.

Events and Announcements

Our evening congregational Bible study will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. A light supper will precede the study, beginning at about 6:15 p.m.

Anyone wishing to help with costs involved for Sam Rusch to visit the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota may place a gift in the offering with the designation: Sam Rusch.

The choir will be practicing after church on Sunday. More voices are always welcome.

Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at goodshepherdrogers@yahoo.com.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” Psalm 111:10

[Except in direct translation from the German Scripture quotations, Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth….” Genesis 1:1 (Read Genesis 1 and 2)

How did the heavens, the earth, and everything in them come to be? The Bible clearly tells us that the one true God – Jehovah God, who is one God, yet three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – created them out of nothing by His almighty Word. Reading on in the first two chapters, we see that He said of that which He created, “Let there be….” and “there was.”

It is as the Scriptures teach: “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6); and, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3).

That the LORD God created the heavens and earth and everything in them in six days is taught not only in the Genesis account, but is repeated as a basis for the observance of the Sabbath in the Old Testament Scriptures. “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:11).

The Church, which is made up of all true believers of all time, has always held to the truthfulness of the Genesis account of creation and confesses with Nehemiah the prophet: “Thou, even Thou, art LORD alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are therein, and Thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worhippeth Thee” (Nehemiah 9:6). So also, in the ancient creeds still used today, believers confess: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth….”

This same God, who called all things into existence by His almighty Word, has also created each one of us. He formed the first man from the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). He created the first woman from the rib of Adam (Genesis 2:18ff.) and He created and formed each one of us in our mother’s wombs (Psalm 139:13-16).

Not only has He created us and given us life, He sent His only begotten Son to die for us and bear the guilt and punishment for our sins that we might have life eternal through faith in Him; and He calls us to faith through the hearing of His life-giving Word.

This means that the LORD God has created you, forming you in the womb. And, even though you knew Him not because of the sin inherent in each of us through Adam’s fall (Genesis 3), He came into this world a true man to pay for your sins and make you His own, and He calls you to faith in Him through His gracious word of forgiveness and life in His Son, Jesus Christ!

O LORD God, Creator of the heavens, the earth and all things, thank You for making me, giving me breath and for giving me life through faith in the Son. Graciously keep me in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting. Amen.

My Dear Children

The Unchangeable God

O LORD God, “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end.” O unchanging God, grant that we hold fast to You in faith, knowing that You are always the same and that Your lovingkindness toward us in Christ Jesus will not pass away. Amen. (Psalm 102:25-27 NKJV)

My Dear Children,

Everything is changing around us. Schools change. Jobs change. Our world changes. People change. Relationships change. We change. We grow up and grow old and change in our appearance and our thoughts. Finally, we die. But God does not change. Not only is He eternal, without beginning and without end; He does not change! What was true of God at the beginning of the world is still true today. What God judged as wrong in the days of the Old Testament prophets, He still condemned in the days of Jesus and does so in our day. Not only do God’s judgments remain immutable (unchanging), His love for us in Christ Jesus does not come and go, but remains constant and never ending!

1. In Psalm 102:25-27, the Bible tells us: “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end.” What does God here tell us about His immutability (unchangeableness)? Will the heavens and the earth change? Will God change?

2. In Malachi 3:6, we read: “…I am the LORD, I do not change….” What does God say of Himself?

3. In Psalm 33:11, the psalmist writes: “The counsel of the LORD stands forever; the plans of His heart to all generations.” What does this say of God’s thoughts and plans? Do they ever change? Does His Word ever change? Does the counsel of the LORD change from generation to generation? What does this mean for us?

4. James 1:17 says: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” Who is the giver of every good and perfect gift? Is there any variation or shadow of turning with Him? What does this mean?

5. In Hebrews 13:8, we read: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Is Jesus unchangeable? Will His teaching ever change? Will His love and mercy upon His children ever change?

6. Consider what it means to us that God is unchanging. Will His Word ever change? Cf. Matthew 24:35. Will God’s Word ever become outdated? Will our generation be treated or judged any differently by God than other generations before us?

7. What of God’s love toward us in Jesus, will it ever change? Read Romans 8:31-39. If we repent of our sins and turn to God to forgive us for Jesus’ sake, will He always pardon us and wash away our sins in Jesus’ blood? Cf. 1 John 1:7 – 2:2.

GOD

We believe that there is only one true God (Isaiah 44:6; I Corinthians 8:4). This God (called the LORD or JEHOVAH) is one divine Being or Essence, but three distinct Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (thus the name, Triune or Three/One God), each being eternal and equal in power and majesty, because each Person is the LORD God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; I John 5:7; Isaiah 48:16-17; John 1:1; Colossians 2:9; I Corinthians 3:16; Hebrews 9:14; I Peter 4:14). We believe that no one can worship or serve the Triune God except he believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and the Savior of mankind from sin and its consequences (John 3:18,36; 5:23; 14:6; I John 2:23; 5:11-12). Hence, all who deny the Trinity of God (that God is three Persons) or the Unity of God (that God is one divine Being), or who do not trust in Jesus Christ, the Son, for salvation, do not worship and serve the true God.

Please Memorize: Psalm 102:25-27; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8

[Scripture for this study taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

The Augsburg Confession

Article X: Of the Lord’s Supper

Of the Supper of the Lord they teach that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present, and are distributed to those who eat the Supper of the Lord; and they reject those that teach otherwise.

Living in Denial of the Truth

People today are living in denial of a fundamental truth which affects us all, and that denial has far-reaching implications for all of us in every station of life. And, sad to say, this denial has infected churches and religious organizations as well as governments, schools and other secular organizations.

The truth of which I speak is the fall of man and the resulting fallen nature and curse upon all of creation. Not only do people question and deny the truth of the Genesis creation account, but many – even within the visible church – do not accept and take to heart the truths taught in Genesis 3 and related passages of Scripture, and this affects everything, from how people live their lives, to church activities, to government roles.

Adam and Eve disobeyed their Creator and brought upon themselves and all mankind spiritual death and alienation from God. As a result of their sin, all are born sinners, turned in upon themselves and in rebellion against the LORD God (cf. Romans 5:12). As a result of Adam’s sin, “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). Or, as Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:21-23).

When God confronted Adam and Eve in the Garden, “Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:16-19).

What people deny and do not take to heart is the depravity of all mankind, the wickedness of our hearts and the inclination to evil. People fail to realize and accept man’s – and especially their own – capacity for evil.

Again and again, when a horrible crime comes to light, we hear people express shock that one who was “such a good person” could do something so evil. But I put forward to you that no one is above the most hideous of crimes – most have already contemplated such things in their hearts and minds.

And if any of you are thinking, “I could never….” you had best reconsider. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Secondly, they fail to recognize and acknowledge that this sin which infects us all has brought with it consequences which also affect us all; namely, spiritual death (or a lack of true love for God and others and the inability to please God), sorrow, pain, suffering, hard work, temporal death and eternal condemnation.

And what are the implications of this denial? I’ll name just a few.

In governments, this denial leads to philosophies and dreams of a utopia on earth. Under Marxist communism, there was the foolish notion that the forced destruction of classes and the holding of all property and industry in common under state control would lead to an end of wars and revolutions and to a united world working together for the common good of all. But because it was based on fallacy, it only led to wars, bloodshed, a police state and, of course, to financial ruin.

Not accepting the truth about man’s nature, rulers today – regardless of whether they call themselves Republicans or Democrats, Socialists or Progressives – still strive toward the goal of absolute democracy and one-world government and somehow believe if they can gain enough power and rid themselves of dissenters, a new world order in which wars and killing will cease and people will all work for the common good is achievable. But they fail to acknowledge the depravity of man – that people are by nature self-seeking and sinful, that there will always be evil in this world, that there will always be wars and bloodshed and wickedness.

Remember what Jesus said: “Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:6-8).

How different this denial of the truth is from the way America’s founding fathers defined the form of government spelled out in the United States Constitution! They recognized the sinfulness and weakness of men and divided the federal government’s powers into three branches – executive, legislative and judicial – to guard against tyranny and the foolishness and wickedness of man. They recognized the constant dangers of war and cautioned against foreign entanglements. They realized the danger of mob rule and established a republic with checks and balances rather than a pure democracy in which simple majority wins the day. They also recognized the fact that the government they established could not survive if the people abandoned the moral principles taught in the Bible.

In churches, this denial leads to a false understanding of the gospel and misguided programs. Instead of preaching the gospel of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world and of pardon, forgiveness and everlasting life in heaven through faith in His name, churches have turned their attention toward trying to heal this present world and making it a better place to live by encouraging acts of love and charity, working for equal rights, fighting poverty and saving the environment. Because so many church leaders do not truly accept the truths taught in Genesis 3, they fail to preach the truths taught throughout the Scriptures about man and his sinfulness and about the redemption God provided in His own dear Son, Jesus Christ.

As individuals, we all tend to lead our lives in denial of our own sinfulness and propensity to think, say and do evil. We like to think of ourselves as basically good rather than evil and full of wickedness. For as long as possible, we refuse to face the fact of our own mortality. We place our hopes in diets, exercise and vitamins, but death still comes to us all. We don’t wish to accept the fact that living in this world means hard work to earn our daily bread – along with suffering, pain and sorrow. And, without acknowledging our own wickedness and just condemnation, we fail to grasp the need of a holy and righteous God-man Savior who shed His own blood on a Roman cross to make atonement for the sins of the world and make us acceptable unto God the Father.

My point is not just to show the pivotal importance of Genesis 3; it is to show the foolishness of denying it. We can live in denial of sin and the curse, but the consequences will not go away. We and all people are by nature inclined to evil and sin. Wickedness and evil will continue until God judges and purges His creation of all sinners. No church outreach and no ruler or government program will ever heal this fallen world. There will be no lasting peace, no utopia and no paradise in this present world. To think we can achieve it is a denial of the truth!

We – everyone of us – are sinners and suffer the consequences. We are born into this world in spiritual death and alienation from God, and that leads to eternal death and condemnation. We will all die temporal death. Because of sin, this world is under a curse. It’s dying too and, while we can conserve it, care for it and make wise use of its resources, we can’t change its ultimate end.

Rather than living in denial of the truth, we need to acknowledge and accept it. Governments must rule with a right understanding of God’s truth, of sinful people and the fallen world in which we live. Only then can its decisions and policies be wise. Churches need to refocus on preparing lost souls for the world to come rather than trying to preserve the world that is. And individuals need to recognize their own wickedness and guilt before the almighty and holy God that they might also, by God’s grace, come to know and accept the redemption He has provided for all in the sacrifice of the Son, Christ Jesus!

“Our Lord Jesus Christ … gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Galatians 1:3-5).

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

Scripture Readings for Sunday are Psalm 1; Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Acts 13:1-13; Luke 14:25-35. Please read them in their context as you prepare for worship on Sunday.

The Adult Bible Class will continue in the Gospel of John at chapter 10:1ff. What parable did Jesus speak to the people in the opening verses of this chapter? What is the earthly story? What is its heavenly meaning or application? What is the sheepfold? Who is in this fold? Who is the door of the sheepfold? How do the sheep enter the fold? Cf. John 14:6. How do thieves and robbers seek to enter into the sheepfold? Who are these thieves and robbers Jesus describes? Cf. Jeremiah 23:1-2; Matthew 7:15-23; Acts 20:28-32; Romans 16:17-18; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; Titus 3:10-11; Colossians 2:8ff. Why do the thieves come? How is this true yet today? Why did Jesus come? How does this apply to us yet today? Whose voice does God’s flock hear? Will God’s children hear the voice of a stranger? What will they do when they hear a strange voice? What will God’s children do when they hear teaching which is not that of their Shepherd and Savior? Cf. Matthew 7:15-23; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; Romans 16:17-18. Who is the Good Shepherd? What did He do for the sheep? How does Jesus’ parable compare to Psalm 23 and other Old Testament usage of the illustration of sheep and their shepherd?

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for all our members, that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We pray for God’s healing and strengthening of our congregation. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Dawn Hiebert, who is recovering from knee surgery today; Dick Stueland, also recovering from knee surgery; for Sam Rusch, who has had repeated stays in the hospital; and for the mother of Dick Rusch – for those who have been absent from us, for our extended families and for Christians who are alone and have no congregation. Pray for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. Continue to pray for the Lutheran Churches in the Philippines, for Christians in Nigeria, Haiti and Chile, and for believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering for their faith in Christ Jesus.

Events and Announcements

A special congregational dinner has been rescheduled for the second Sunday in September (because of Labor Day weekend) to kick off the new Sunday School and Catechism program for the year and the resumption of church choir practices. A special cookout is being planned for the event.

Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at goodshepherdrogers@yahoo.com.

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20

[Except where otherwise stated, Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.]

THE HOUSE ON THE ROCK AND ON THE SAND

Read Luke 6:46-49

“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”

Upon what have you built your life? Is it built upon Jesus Christ and His Word? Or is it built upon some earthly foundation? Jesus told this parable because of those who addressed Him as “Lord” and listened to His teaching but did not do what He taught. They heard Jesus’ words with their ears and called upon Him with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him (cf. Matt. 15:8). They did not trust in Jesus for salvation or seek to live their lives as He commanded.

The first man in Jesus’ parable, the man who dug down deep and laid the foundation of his house upon the rock, is like the one who hears Jesus’ Word and then trusts in Him and His redemptive work for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. As a child of God through faith in Christ’s shed blood, he then seeks to live his life for his Lord and Savior by hearing and doing His Word. When floods of trouble, suffering and persecution come his way, he is not moved because his faith and life are built upon Jesus Christ and His eternal Word.

The second man, who built his house upon the earth without a foundation, is like the man who hears Jesus’ Word and even calls himself a Christian; but he does not truly trust in Christ alone for forgiveness of sins and eternal life, nor does he truly seek and desire to live in obedience to the Word of God. His life is not built upon Christ, but upon the earth and its vain philosophies. When trouble, suffering or death come his way, his life crumbles because all that his life was built upon washes away.

Upon what have you built your life? Is it built upon Christ and His Word? or upon the unstable sands of this world? If you live your life according to the ways and standards of this world, both you and your works will not stand in God’s judgment. But if you build your life upon Christ and His Word, you will be “as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever” (Psalm 125:1).

Hear Christ’s Word and build upon it!

In faith, Lord, let me serve Thee; tho’ persecution, grief, and pain should seek to overwhelm me, let me a steadfast trust retain; and then at my departure take Thou me home to Thee and let me there inherit all Thou hast promised me. In life and death, Lord, keep me until Thy heav’n I gain, where I by Thy great mercy the end of faith attain. Amen. (The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn #381, Verse 3)

My Dear Children

The Omniscient God

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.” O LORD God, open up our minds and give us an understanding of Your Word that we might know You. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Psalm 139:1-4 NKJV)

My Dear Children,

Our knowledge is limited – we do not and cannot know everything. The more we learn, the more we find out that there is so much that we do not yet know and understand. Only a foolish man thinks he knows it all. But though we only learn and know in part, God knows ALL! Nothing is hidden from Him. This too is beyond our understanding to comprehend. God is omniscient; that is, He knows and possesses all knowledge.

1. In Psalm 147:5, the Bible tells us: “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.” What does God here tell us about His knowledge and understanding? What does this mean?

2. In 1 John 3:20, we read: “…God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.” Is there anything that God does not know?

3. In Psalm 139:1-6, David writes: “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.” What is David, by inspiration of God’s Spirit, teaching us about God? Is there anything that God does not know about us?

4. Hebrews 4:13 says: “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Is there anyone or anything hidden from the presence or knowledge of the LORD?

5. In John 2:24-25, we read that “Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” Is Jesus omniscient? Does He know everything about us? Does He know what is in our hearts?

6. Read John 16:30. Jesus’ disciples said of Him: “Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.” Why did Jesus’ disciples believe that Jesus was (and is) the only begotten Son of God, come into this world?

7.In 1 Corinthians 2:10, St. Paul writes: “The Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” Is the Holy Spirit omniscient.

8. Considering what you have just learned about the LORD God, is there anything hidden from His knowledge? How is this frightening to us as sinful people? How is this comforting to us as forgiven children of God?

GOD

We believe that there is only one true God (Isaiah 44:6; I Corinthians 8:4). This God (called the LORD or JEHOVAH) is one divine Being or Essence, but three distinct Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (thus the name, Triune or Three/One God), each being eternal and equal in power and majesty, because each Person is the LORD God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; I John 5:7; Isaiah 48:16-17; John 1:1; Colossians 2:9; I Corinthians 3:16; Hebrews 9:14; I Peter 4:14). We believe that no one can worship or serve the Triune God except he believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and the Savior of mankind from sin and its consequences (John 3:18,36; 5:23; 14:6; I John 2:23; 5:11-12). Hence, all who deny the Trinity of God (that God is three Persons) or the Unity of God (that God is one divine Being), or who do not trust in Jesus Christ, the Son, for salvation, do not worship and serve the true God.

Please Memorize: Psalm 147:5; 1 John 3:20; 1 Corinthians 2:10; Psalm 139:1-4

[Scripture for this study taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

The Augsburg Confession

Article IX: Of Baptism.

Of Baptism they teach that it is necessary to salvation, and that through Baptism is offered the grace of God, and that children are to be baptized who, being offered to God through Baptism are received into God’s grace.

They condemn the Anabaptists, who reject the baptism of children, and say that children are saved without Baptism.

Hear, O Israel

“Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9

God commanded His people to listen carefully and hold fast to this truth. The God of Israel was different than the many false gods of the peoples around them. “Jehovah our God, Jehovah is one.” The God of Israel, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (cf. Psalm 2; Isaiah 48:16ff.; Matthew 28:19) is one God – He is the Triune God. In 1 John 5:7, we read: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

Though any who reject the truth that Jehovah God – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is one Jehovah do not know and worship the true God, we (by the grace of God) know Him – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But to just know and profess that God is one still comes far short of what God requires of us. It is not enough to just profess and believe that the true God is the Triune God. In James 2:19, we read: “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”

To worship and believe in the Triune God – Jehovah God – of the Bible is also to love Him with all our heart, soul and strength. It is to treasure His Word in our hearts, to teach His Word to our children, to talk about His Word at all times and to keep His Word continually before our eyes (vv. 5-9; cf. Matthew 22:37; Colossians 3:16; Psalm 119:11; Ephesians 6:4). As we consider who the true God is, we ought also remember how He would have us regard Him and live for Him!

We know who Jehovah God is – the Triune God, three Persons and yet one God – but do we love Him with all our heart, soul and strength? Are we living our lives for Him? Have we studied His Word and kept it in our hearts and before our eyes? Do we speak of Him to our children when we sit in the house, when we walk (or drive) down the road, when we lie down and when we rise up? Our shortcoming and failure is clear. We profess to believe in the true God and to love Him, but our actions reveal the weakness of our faith and the shallowness and absence of our love!

Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah God in the flesh (cf. Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 1:30ff.; 2:10-11; John 8:58; etc.), so loved us that He went to the cross and died for our sins (cf. Rom. 5:8; Rev. 1:5). He paid in full that we might have pardon and forgiveness and life everlasting! The Bible tells us that “He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15). Jesus redeemed us with His holy and precious blood that we might now trust in Him, love Him and serve Him with all our heart, soul and might. He also dwells in us by His Spirit and strengthens us that we might truly worship and serve Jehovah God – the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

O God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the one Jehovah, forgive us for our failures to love Thee, keep Thy Word before our eyes continually, and teach our children of Thee. For the sake of Jesus’ holy life and innocent sufferings and death in our stead, pardon our iniquity and sin, and strengthen us that we might live our lives for Thee. Amen.

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

Scripture Readings for Sunday are Psalm 131; Acts 12:1-25; Luke 14:1-14. Please read them in their context as you prepare for worship on Sunday.

The Adult Bible Class will continue in the Gospel of John at chapter 9:1ff. Where were Jesus and His disciples? What did Jesus’ disciples ask Him? Why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sin or the sin of his parents? What miracle did Jesus do? How did He do it? On what day did Jesus heal this man? What did the people who knew the man think when they saw the blind man made whole? What did the Pharisees think? What did they do to verify that a miracle had indeed taken place? Why were the parents unwilling to tell all? Are people like this yet today?Did they then believe on Jesus? What did they say of Jesus? How did the healed man answer them? What did they do to the man who was healed? Why? Did Jesus leave this man to suffer alone for the consequences of his witness? What did He reveal to the healed man? How did the healed man respond to Jesus’ words? What did Jesus then say (v. 39)? How are Jesus’ words true today?

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for all our members, that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We pray for God’s healing and strengthening of our congregation. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Dawn Hiebert, who will undergo knee surgery on Sept. 1; Dick Stueland, who is recovering from knee surgery; for Sam Rusch, who has had repeated stays in the hospital; and for the mother of Dick Rusch – for those who have been absent from us, for our extended families and for Christians who are alone and have no congregation. Pray for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. Continue to pray for the Lutheran Churches in the Philippines, for Christians in Nigeria, Haiti and Chile, and for believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering for their faith in Christ Jesus.

Events and Announcements

The special congregational dinner has been rescheduled for the second Sunday in September (because of Labor Day weekend) to kick off the new Sunday School and Catechism program for the year. Please see the bulletin or next week’s newsletter for more details. A cookout may be in the works.

Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at goodshepherdrogers@yahoo.com.

“Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.” Psalm 31:5

[Except where otherwise stated, Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.]

THE HOUSEHOLDER

Read Matthew 13:51-52

“Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

By the enlightening of the Holy Ghost, Jesus’ disciples were beginning to understand the spiritual truths which Jesus taught in His parables. They had been instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven; so Jesus said, “Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus is here comparing a scribe or teacher of God’s Word who was instructed in the truths of God’s kingdom to a householder who brought out both new and old things from his treasure. How true this is! As one, through instruction from God’s Word, grows in his understanding of the kingdom of heaven, he can share from the Scripture more and more insights into God’s kingdom. He can share not only those very basic doctrinal formulations which he learned from the Scriptures; he can share new illustrations of those Scriptural truths and other new things which he has learned from the Word of God. In this way, the Christian teacher brings things new and old out of the storehouse of his knowledge which has been gained through the study of God’s Word.

For this reason, we all continue to search and study the Holy Scriptures, that we may learn more about Jesus Christ and His eternal kingdom, and that we may have more to share with others when we speak to them of God’s Word.

Laymen too can heed the admonition of Paul to Timothy: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth” (II Timothy 2:15).

Lord of the Church, we humbly pray for those who guide us in the way and speak Thy holy Word. With love divine their hearts inspire and touch their lips with hallowed fire and needful strength afford. Help them to preach the Truth of God, redemption thro’ the Savior’s blood, nor let the Spirit cease on all the Church His gifts to show’r – to them a messenger of pow’r; to us, of life and peace. Amen. (The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn #489, Verses 1-2)

My Dear Children

The Omnipresent God

O LORD God, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.” Let me stand in awe of Your greatness, O God, and take comfort in Your presence with me always and in all places. Amen. (Psalm 139:7-10 NKJV)

My Dear Children,

Everything we know is limited to space and time. We can only be present in one place at a time because our bodies are limited by space and time. Our homes, our possessions and everything we know is so limited. The angels are spirits, but they are not able to be present everywhere at the same time. Yet God is omnipresent; that is, present everywhere at all times! Can you understand this or how it can be? I can’t, but I believe it is so because that is what God tells us of Himself in the Bible.

1. The Bible says in Jeremiah 23:24: “‘Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?’ says the LORD; ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the LORD.” Is there anyplace where one can hide from the presence of the LORD? What does the LORD fill?

2. In Isaiah 66:1, the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool.” Where does God say He is present?

3. In Psalm 139:7-10, David writes: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.” What is David, by inspiration of God’s Spirit, teaching us about God? Is there anyplace where God is not?

4. Proverbs 15:3 says: “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Is there any place where the LORD God is not present? Is there any place where the LORD God does not see?

5. Read John 1:14-18 (especially verse 18). Was Jesus omnipresent while He lived among us in this world?

6. Read John 1:43-51. Where did Jesus see Nathanael? How did He do this? What did Nathanael believe and confess because of this?

7. Looking again at Psalm 139:7-10 (in question 3 above), is the Holy Spirit present everywhere?

8. Considering what you have just learned about the LORD God, is there any place where you can escape His presence? How is this frightening to us as sinful people? How is this comforting to us as forgiven children of God?

GOD

We believe that there is only one true God (Isaiah 44:6; I Corinthians 8:4). This God (called the LORD or JEHOVAH) is one divine Being or Essence, but three distinct Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (thus the name, Triune or Three/One God), each being eternal and equal in power and majesty, because each Person is the LORD God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; I John 5:7; Isaiah 48:16-17; John 1:1; Colossians 2:9; I Corinthians 3:16; Hebrews 9:14; I Peter 4:14). We believe that no one can worship or serve the Triune God except he believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and the Savior of mankind from sin and its consequences (John 3:18,36; 5:23; 14:6; I John 2:23; 5:11-12). Hence, all who deny the Trinity of God (that God is three Persons) or the Unity of God (that God is one divine Being), or who do not trust in Jesus Christ, the Son, for salvation, do not worship and serve the true God.

Please Memorize: Jeremiah 23:24; Psalm 139:7-10; Proverbs 15:3.

[Scripture for this study taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

The Augsburg Confession

Article VIII: What the Church Is

Although the Church properly is the congregation of saints and true believers, nevertheless, since in this life many hypocrites and evil persons are mingled therewith, it is lawful to use Sacraments administered by evil men, according to the saying of Christ: The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat, etc. (Matt. 23:2). Both the Sacraments and Word are effectual by reason of the institution and commandment of Christ, notwithstanding they be administered by evil men.

They condemn the Donatists, and such like, who denied it to be lawful to use the ministry of evil men in the Church, and who thought the ministry of evil men to be unprofitable and of none effect.

Significant Events in History of Mankind

Being interested in the history which has shaped the present-day world and in historical events which are of significance to all people, I have compiled a brief list of significant events to which all would do well to give heed. They are events about which most – at least in my generation – have heard but which many seem to ignore.

The most significant events in human history are not the rise of the Greek and Roman Empires. They do not include the discovery of the Americas or the formation of the United States. Important inventions or major medical breakthroughs are not on my list, either. Though certainly important, these and other significant events in human history rank small in comparison to the five events which I share with you in the following paragraphs.

The first event, of course, is man’s creation. All else is hinged to this event. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). And on the sixth day, “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26-28).

Genesis, chapter two, describes man’s creation in more detail: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (v. 7).

God created man in His own image and likeness. He gave man life, not only physical, but spiritual. Man was created knowing God and God’s perfect will, loving God, trusting Him and seeking God’s honor and glory. Man was perfect and without sin.

Because the LORD God created man, every one of us is responsible to the God who made us and all things. It is a fact we cannot escape even if we deny it.

The second significant event is the fall of man recorded in Genesis, chapter three. This event, too, affects everything. When Adam and Eve doubted God’s Word and disobeyed God’s command, all was changed. Read Genesis three.

Adam and Eve lost their perfect relationship with God. They were afraid of Him, hid from Him and sought to excuse themselves of responsibility for their sin by passing the blame. As a result of their sin, death came into the world – spiritual, physical and eternal. Adam and Eve lost the image of their Maker. Their knowledge of God and His will was darkened. Their love for God, trust in Him and desire to honor Him was gone. Instead, their thoughts and desires were turned in upon themselves and upon their own sinful longings – evil continually (Genesis 6:5; 8:21).

And, of course, this sin infects us all. The Bible tells us: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12; Cf. Psalm 51:5). Each of us, from conception and birth onward, are sinful in that we are self-centered and self-seeking rather than loving God, trusting Him and seeking His will and glory. Indeed, our lives, our families and the world in which we live are in ruins because of our selfishness and sin. Instead of listening to God, we by nature seek our own way and path. And what a mess we’ve made of things! All of creation suffers and is under a curse because of mankind’s sin.

Life, which was meant to be lived without end in fellowship with God our Maker, ends in death. “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19). And, as the Bible says, the ultimate end of sinful man is everlasting punishment in the fires of hell prepared for the devil and his evil angels (Matthew 25:41).

The third significant event in man’s history is God’s intervention on our behalf by coming into this world as a man to redeem lost and condemned sinners. God Himself took on human flesh and blood and became true man through the incarnation of the Son of God in the virgin Mary. God the Son, Jesus Christ, became true man, fulfilled all righteousness for us and suffered and died upon the cross, bearing the just penalty for the sins of all mankind, and rose again.

How amazing it is that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son….” (John 3:16)! “Our Lord Jesus Christ … gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:3,4). “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures … He was buried … He rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). “He hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:6,7).

Because Jesus Christ came into the world, suffered and died for mankind’s sin and rose again, God is gracious toward us and reaches out to us with love and mercy, offering us forgiveness and life everlasting in fellowship with Him! Through faith in Jesus, we can have forgiveness for all our sins and a place in God’s everlasting kingdom!

The fourth history-changing event is the outpouring of God’s Spirit and His gracious working through the Gospel to bring people to true and saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from God’s Spirit, none of us would understand and take hold of the message of the Bible. None of us would see and acknowledge our sinfulness or place our hope and faith in the perfect redemption accomplished for us by Christ Jesus. From the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) to His regenerative work yet today through the preaching and hearing of God’s Word, through the waters of Baptism and through the word and promises connected with the Lord’s Supper, the Spirit of God awakens sinners from spiritual darkness and death to faith in Jesus Christ.

“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:3-7).

“And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross” (Colossians 2:10-14).

As man’s fall into sin shaped the history of the world, with nations rising and falling, and people living for themselves and carrying out their own sinful longings, so also the working of the Holy Spirit shaped much in human history, with Christianity spreading around the globe and casting its influence upon governments, thinking and society in general. And, of course, it has shaped for many of us, our history after this world is done.

The fifth and final significant event in history is yet to come but will come just as surely as the first have happened. I speak of the end of this world as we know it and the day of judgment. It is the day “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).

It is the day when all who have turned from their unbelief and sin to faith in Jesus Christ will be received into God’s everlasting kingdom of glory, the day when this world and all the works of it are burned up, and the day when all who have not repented of their evil ways and turned to Christ Jesus will be condemned to everlasting torment in the lake of fire, which is the second death (cf. 2 Peter 3:7-13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11).

This final event will shape all of human history from then forward, for all the impenitent and unbelieving will be forever cast out of God’s kingdom to suffer in hell, and all who have turned to Christ Jesus will dwell forever with the LORD God in a new and perfect creation, never to sin or fall again (Isaiah 65:17ff.; Revelation 20-22).

And what do these significant events mean for us today? Quite simply, it’s time to believe the witness of God’s Word, the Bible, and take it to heart. It’s time to repent and look to Christ Jesus for forgiveness and life! The very reason this sinful world goes on is God’s patience with you and with me. He does not want us to be condemned with the world but to repent and be saved through faith in His Son.

As the Bible says, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come….” (2 Peter 3:9,10).

And since the Day of the Lord is coming – perhaps much sooner than most expect – we would be wise to consider these significant historical events recorded for us in the pages of the Bible and place our hope and confidence in the Son! On that day, the rest of human history will matter little.

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

Scripture Readings for Sunday are Psalm 50; Acts 11:1-30; Luke 13:22-30. Please read them in their context as you prepare for worship on Sunday.

The Adult Bible Class will continue in the Gospel of John at chapter 9:1ff. Where were Jesus and His disciples? What did Jesus’ disciples ask Him? Why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sin or the sin of his parents? What miracle did Jesus do? How did He do it? On what day did Jesus heal this man? What did the people who knew the man think when they saw the blind man made whole? What did the Pharisees think? What did they do to verify that a miracle had indeed taken place? Why were the parents unwilling to tell all? Are people like this yet today?Did they then believe on Jesus? What did they say of Jesus? How did the healed man answer them? What did they do to the man who was healed? Why? Did Jesus leave this man to suffer alone for the consequences of his witness? What did He reveal to the healed man? How did the healed man respond to Jesus’ words? What did Jesus then say (v. 39)? How are Jesus’ words true today?

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for all our members, that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We pray for God’s healing and strengthening of our congregation. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Dawn Hiebert, who will undergo knee surgery in September; Dick Stueland, who is recovering from knee surgery; for Sam Rusch, who has had repeated stays in the hospital; and for the mother of Dick Rusch – for those who have been absent from us, for our extended families and for Christians who are alone and have no congregation. Pray for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. Continue to pray for the Lutheran Churches in the Philippines, for Christians in Nigeria, Haiti and Chile, and for believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering for their faith in Christ Jesus.

Events and Announcements

The August evening Bible study has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Aug. 25, at 7 p.m. A light supper is also being planned at 6:20 p.m. for those who wish to come early for a meal.

A special congregational dinner will be held on the first Sunday in September to kick off the new Sunday School and Catechism program for the year. Please see the bulletin or next week’s newsletter for more details.

Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at goodshepherdrogers@yahoo.com.

“With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.” Psalm 119:10

[Except where otherwise stated, Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.]

THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS

Read Matthew 25:31-46

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

On the Last Day, when Jesus Christ returns with all His holy angels to judge the living and the dead, He shall separate the believers and unbelievers from one another as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats, putting the sheep on the right hand and the goats on the left.

The unbelievers, those who have not trusted in Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death for the forgiveness of their sins and everlasting life, will “go away into everlasting punishment.” But those who truly believe that they are forgiven and have eternal life for Jesus’ sake – because Christ died for them and rose again – will go into “life eternal.”

If it is through faith in Christ that one goes to heaven, and if it is through unbelief that one is damned and spends eternity in hell (cf. Mark 16:16), why does Jesus here speak of the works of believers for Him and the lack of works in unbelievers?

Jesus is not saying that those on the right hand go to heaven because of their works; it is only through Christ and His sufferings and death that they are acceptable in God’s sight and are given eternal life (Eph. 1:6-7). But since they have been brought to faith in Christ and are saved by God’s grace, they now love their Lord and Savior and gladly live for Him and serve their fellow-man (cf. Eph. 2:8-10). They – those on the right hand – are not depending on such works to gain God’s favor; they are not even aware of the many times they have served Christ by serving their brethren. Rather they love and serve their brethren because Christ has first loved and served them by winning for them eternal salvation (cf. 1 John 4:9-11,19).

Those who do not have saving faith in Jesus Christ cannot love and serve Him. Even when they outwardly perform many of the same charitable works as Christians, they are not done for Christ; for “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Heb. 11:6).

O Jesus, who my debt didst pay and for my sin wast smitten, within the Book of Life, oh, may my name be also written! I will not doubt; I trust in Thee, from Satan Thou hast made me free and from all condemnation. Amen. (The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn #611, Verse 5)

“Mark of a Believer”

“He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” John 8:47

Many claim to be believers and disciples of Jesus, but a mark of a true believer is that he hears and believes God’s words. A believer has a desire to hear God’s Word, to read and study the Bible, and he accepts and believes God’s Word in all that it says.

The unbeliever, on the other hand, does not hear and accept the Word of God. He has no real desire to hear God’s Word preached and proclaimed or to read and study the Scriptures. And when the words of God say and teach something contrary to his own belief or opinion, he questions God’s Word or attempts to explain in away.

Why is that so? Jesus explains: “Ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” In fact, just a few verses earlier, Jesus told those who did not believe and accept the truth He proclaimed and which is taught in the Scriptures: “Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not” (John 8:43-45). Jesus simply told His hearers the facts. They didn’t receive Jesus’ word because they were of their father the devil. As the devil brought about the spiritual ruin and death of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden with his lies and deception (Genesis 3), so the devil deceived Jesus’ hearers who were convinced they were God’s children by virtue of their descent from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Of course, the same is true today. Until God’s Spirit opens up and enlightens one’s heart and soul, the Word of God remains a closed book. People may hear and believe the historical accounts – they may even believe they are God’s children by virtue of their upbringing, works or their church membership – but they cannot grasp the Bible’s message of sin and guilt and of God’s mercy, forgiveness and pardon in Christ Jesus. Until a person is born of God, he is the spiritual offspring of the devil and his death-bringing deception (cf. John 1:9-13).

It is as Jesus said: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44); “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63); and “No man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father” (John 6:65).

St. Paul also writes: “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 12:3); and “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

By nature – by our natural birth – everyone of us is a child of the devil. We are born into this world in spiritual darkness and death. God’s Word is a closed book to us. We are deceived by our own wicked hearts (cf. Jeremiah 17:9). When God’s Word is preached or read, we may hear the words but we do not grasp their true meaning and we are unwilling to accept the truth the Bible proclaims.

But when the Spirit of God, working through Word and Sacrament, regenerates us, opens up our hearts and teaches us the truth, we begin to truly hear God’s words and accept and believe them (cf. Titus 3:4-7; Colossians 2:12). The Bible tells us: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27). And when we are children of God, God’s Spirit dwells in us and gives us the desire to hear God’s Word. He teaches us the truth and moves us to humbly believe and accept it.

Even as Christians, born again of God’s Spirit through the “washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26), we still have, until we die, our old sinful nature which wants nothing of God’s Word and the truth. But the Spirit of God, who dwells in our hearts, is at work as well, creating in us a new nature which loves God, desires to hear His Word and gladly believes and accepts its truth. And that same Spirit, working through the Word, continually assures our hearts of God’s mercy and forgiveness for the sake of Christ Jesus and His blood shed for us upon the cross. He assures us that for Jesus’ sake, we are indeed God’s children and have a place with Him in heaven. He assures us that, as Jesus was raised up from the dead on third day, so we will be raised up on the Last Day with a glorified and sin-free body to dwell with our Lord and Savior forevermore.

May God graciously grant us His Spirit and open up our hearts and minds to His Word that we might hear and believe the truth, that in Christ Jesus we sinners have full pardon and life eternal. Amen.

My Dear Children

Who Is the Almighty God?

“Ah, LORD God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.” Graciously grant us an understanding of Your almighty power that we might never doubt and lose hope, but trust You in all things. Amen.

My Dear Children,

The God we worship and serve is not limited in strength and power even though we often doubt that He can help in every situation and we fail to trust in Him to hear and answer all our prayers. Our God is almighty – that is, He has limitless power and strength. There is nothing that He cannot do, whether it be great or small! Have you stopped to think about this?

1. The Bible says in Jeremiah 32:17: “Ah, LORD God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.” What did God create? How did He do it? Read Hebrews 11:3 and Genesis 1:1ff.

2. Nehemiah 9:6 says: “You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.” If God created all things in six days by His word and still preserves all things (keeps them going) by that same word, is there anything that God cannot do?

3. In Genesis 17:1, God, speaking to Abraham, said: “I am almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.” What does God call himself? What does this mean?

4. When the angel Gabriel was speaking to Mary and telling her that she would conceive and give birth to Jesus, he also told her: “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37). When Jesus was speaking to His disciples about how hard it will be for a rich man to be saved, His disciples wondered who then could be saved (Matthew 19:25). Jesus told them: “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Again, can God do what is impossible to us? Is there anything that God cannot do?

5. List five examples from the Old Testament and five examples from the New Testament where God did what is impossible to man.

6. In Hebrews 1:1,2,3, we read: “God…has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Through whom did God create the worlds? Who is the express image of God’s person? Who upholds all things by the word of his power? What is this saying about Jesus? Is He almighty?

7. Read Genesis 1:1-2 and Psalm 33:6. Was the Holy Spirit active in creating the world and all things? Read Titus 3:5 and John 3:5. Who causes us to be born again and trust in Jesus as our Savior? Is this a mighty working of God in us? What does this tell us about the Holy Spirit?

8. If God is almighty, can He punish those who reject Him and disobey Him with everlasting punishment? Can He work faith in our hearts through His Word, save us, and give us everlasting life in a new heavens and earth?

9. What confidence can we have when we go to God in prayer? Is He able to hear? Is He always able to help?

GOD

We believe that there is only one true God (Isaiah 44:6; 1 Corinthians 8:4). This God (called the LORD or JEHOVAH) is one divine Being or Essence, but three distinct Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (thus the name, Triune or Three/One God), each being eternal and equal in power and majesty, because each Person is the LORD God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 1 John 5:7; Isaiah 48:16-17; John 1:1; Colossians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 4:14). We believe that no one can worship or serve the Triune God except he believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and the Savior of mankind from sin and its consequences (John 3:18,36; 5:23; 14:6; 1 John 2:23; 5:11-12). Hence, all who deny the Trinity of God (that God is three Persons) or the Unity of God (that God is one divine Being), or who do not trust in Jesus Christ, the Son, for salvation, do not worship and serve the true God.

Please Memorize: Jeremiah 32:17; Genesis 17:1; Luke 1:37.

[Scripture for this study taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

The Augsburg Confession

Article VII: Of the Church

Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.

And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike. As Paul says: One faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, etc. Eph. 4:5-6.

[Editor's Note: a reading of the Lutheran Confessions makes clear that the statement “to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments” is not to be viewed in a narrow sense of the Gospel, as though it is only necessary to agree concerning Christ's death on the cross for all sin. The word Gospel is here used in a wider sense, indicating, as the context reveals, Christians submit to and accept all that the Word of God teaches and they administer Baptism and the Lord's Supper in accord with Christ's command. On the other hand, it is not necessary that Christians agree in human traditions, rites and ceremonies instituted by men. Thus, Christians may use different forms of worship and observe a variety of different traditions and rites and still be one. But a mark of the Church – the place where we expect to find true believers – is where all the divine truth revealed in the Scriptures is accepted, believed, preached and proclaimed.]

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

Scripture Readings for Sunday are Psalm 119:81-88; Acts 10:1-48; Luke 12:49-56. Please read them in their context as you prepare for worship on Sunday.

The Adult Bible Class will continue in the Gospel of John at chapter 8:33ff. Who is a servant of sin? Can we claim to be good Christians or Lutherans and not in bondage to sin? Who alone can set us free? How? Cf. Genesis 21 and Galatians 4. How alone can we have a place in God’s everlasting kingdom? How were Jesus’ hearers of their father, the devil? What works were they doing? What would Jesus’ hearers do if they were truly born of God? Why could they not understand Jesus’ words? Could any convince or convict Jesus of sin? What is a mark of a believer or true disciple of Jesus? Why did Jesus’ hearers not truly hear God’s Word? How should we take all this to heart and apply it to ourselves?

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for all our members, that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We pray for God’s healing and strengthening of our congregation. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Dawn Hiebert, who will undergo knee surgery in September; Dick Stueland, who is recovering from knee surgery; for Sam Rusch, who has had repeated stays in the hospital; and for the mother of Dick Rusch – for those who have been absent from us, for our extended families, for Christians who are alone and have no congregation, and for our adopted soldiers. Pray for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. Continue to pray for the Lutheran Churches in the Philippines, for Christians in Nigeria, Haiti and Chile, and for believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering for their faith in Christ Jesus.

Events and Announcements

The Church Council will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 18, in the church.

The August evening Bible study has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Aug. 25, at 7 p.m. A light supper is also being planned at 6:20 p.m. for those who wish to come early for a meal.

Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at goodshepherdrogers@yahoo.com.

“My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.” Psalm 119:81

[Except where otherwise stated, Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.]

It is sad how few truly know and recognize the truth expressed by this ancient psalm.

In spite of what we may think, the LORD, Jehovah, is God. He always has been and always will be.

He made us. We did not make ourselves, nor are we the product of some chance evolutionary process. Not only did the Almighty God create the first man and woman (Genesis 1-2), He caused each of us to be conceived in our mother’s womb and He created and formed us there (cf. Psalm 139:13-16). We are indeed “His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

We have every reason to “enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise,” every reason to “be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” Why? Because “The LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.”

Think about it! Are we deserving of His care and blessing? Does He owe it to us to give us our families, our jobs, our food and our health?

When we consider how we have rebelled against Him and so often set aside His commandments, we truly deserve only His wrath and eternal punishment. Yet, He is merciful to us and continues to give us all that we need.

In His mercy, God even gave His own Son, Jesus Christ, to obey His commandments in our place, to suffer and die for our sins and the sins of the world and then rise again from the dead. For Jesus’ sake, the LORD God deals with us in mercy, graciously calling us to repent and return to Him for forgiveness and life everlasting.

And we can be thankful, too, that “His truth endureth to all generations.” His Word, the Bible, has not been lost or corrupted through the ages as some assume. He has preserved it as a witness to all people of all time of His goodness and mercy toward us in creating and redeeming us. His Word continues, even yet today, to teach us to know the LORD God who made us and sent His Son to die for us and redeem us. Through the Bible, we learn who the true God is. We learn His holy will and see our sinfulness. But we also learn of His love and forgiveness toward us for the sake of Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death in our stead.

Indeed, we have reason every day to do as the psalm enjoins us:

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

We thank You, dear heavenly Father for Your goodness and mercy toward us for Jesus’ sake. We praise and bless Your holy name. Amen.

[Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible]

THE TEN VIRGINS

Read Matthew 25:1-13

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”

Are you ready for Jesus Christ to return on the Last Day? Jesus told this parable to admonish us to be watchful and ready at all times for His return.

Jesus here compares the kingdom of heaven to ten virgins who “took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.” The wise virgins took extra oil for their lamps so that they would be ready even if the “bridegroom tarried.” The foolish took only the oil in their lamps and did not consider the possibility that their lamps would go out before the bridegroom arrived. As a result, these foolish virgins were not prepared and ready when the bridegroom came; and they did not enter with the bridegroom into the marriage feast.

With this parable, Jesus warns us against being foolishly unprepared for His return on the Last Day. It is foolish for us who believe in Christ today to fall asleep and not be watching for His return. It is foolish not to have our faith continually nourished and kept burning through the regular use of the Word of God and the Sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper). If we do not make such provision through the continued use of the Word of God in our homes and Word and Sacrament in our church, we may find our lamps empty and gone out at Jesus’ coming.

Those who have no living, saving faith in Jesus Christ when He returns in Judgment will be shut out of heaven, for it will be too late to rekindle faith at that time! But those who have wisely provided oil for their lamps – those who continue to nourish their faith by remembering their Baptism, using the Word of God, and receiving the Body and Blood of Christ given and shed for the remission of sins, that the Holy Ghost may through these keep their faith burning and assure them of forgiveness for all their sins and of life everlasting for Jesus’ sake – will enter into heaven with Jesus and enjoy its blessings forever (cf. Revelation 19:7-9; 21:24).

With my lamp well trimmed and burning, swift to hear and slow to roam, watching for Thy glad returning to restore me to my home. Come, my Savior, Come, my Savior, O my Savior, quickly come. Amen. (The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn #606, Verse 4)

“Don’t Die in Your Sins”

What a terrible thing to die in your sins – to die and stand before the holy Judge of all, still bearing the uncleanness and guilt of your sins! Yet, this is what was soon to happen to a great many of the Jews in Jesus’ day. Jesus warned them, “I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come” (John 8:21).

Because so many of His Jewish hearers saw no need to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus as their Messiah and Savior, they would die in their sins and face the eternal wrath and condemnation of God. Where Jesus was going – to be glorified at the right hand of God the Father in heaven (cf. John 14:1ff.; Eph. 2:20f.) – they would not be able to come! Instead, they faced a Christless eternity and the everlasting torments of hell!

Again, Jesus warned them, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).

Jesus’ words still ring out today! Many are headed to an eternity of everlasting punishment for their sins. Unless people repent and turn to God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who was lifted up upon the cross to suffer and die there for us and bear the full punishment for our sins and the sins of the whole world, they will die in their sins and come before the holy God in their own uncleanness and guilt to be judged and condemned to hell forever! Apart from faith in Jesus, people will die in their sins.

What about you? Will you die in the guilt of your sins and face the eternal wrath of an angry God? Or, will you, by the grace of God, turn to Jesus and receive His full and complete forgiveness for your sins and enjoy the everlasting blessings of life in heaven with Him?

The Bible tells us: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Jesus has already died and paid in full for your sins. His resurrection on the third day is proof that God accepted His death as full payment for the sins of the world (cf. 1 Cor. 15:3, 4; Rom. 4:25)!

Why die in your sins and be condemned of God? Trust in Jesus and His shed blood and be saved! (Cf. 2 Cor. 5:19-6:2.)

O dearest Jesus, have mercy upon our wayward hearts and draw us to You that we might not enter into eternity bearing the guilt of our sins and standing condemned, but having instead the assurance of forgiveness for all our sins and life everlasting for the sake of Your holy and precious blood, shed for us upon the cross. Amen.

My Dear Children

O Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You have created us and all things and desire that we know You, trust You and glorify You. You have revealed Yourself to us in Your holy Word, the Bible. Open up our hearts and minds to understand Your Word and learn of You. Amen.

My Dear Children,

You believe in God and worship Him, but do you know who He is? Take a moment and think about it. What do you know about the God you worship and serve? How can you learn of Him?

If you go to an art museum and look at the paintings, what can you learn about the people who painted them? If one artist’s work is simple in composition and lacks any detail, what might that tell you about the artist? If a painting is well composed, has a beautiful blend of complimentary colors and fine detail, what might this tell you of the artist?

Now, look at God’s artwork. Look at the heavens, the sky, the stars, the moon, the planets. Look at the oceans, the lakes, the rivers. Look at the fields, the woods and even the deserts. Look at a leaf, a flower, a butterfly. Look at your own body and how it is designed and works. What does all this tell you about God?

The Bible says: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork…..” (Psalm 19:1). What can you learn about God if you look up at the sky or into the heavens? Psalm 139:14 says: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” What can you learn about God from the intricacies of your own body and soul? Could any of this just happen by chance? Or, did an all-wise and all-powerful God make you and all things?

Do you think it is wrong to commit murder, to hurt other people, to steal, to lie, etc.? Why? How do you feel when you hurt someone else? When you disobey your parents? When you tell a lie? Why is that? How do you feel when you help someone in need? When you tell the truth? When you do what your parents or teachers ask you to do? The Bible says: “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another….” (Romans 2:14-15). Even people who do not have God’s Word know in their hearts that it is good to help others, tell the truth, and not hurt others or murder and steal. When they do wrong, their consciences bother and accuse them. They feel guilty and are afraid of God’s judgment. When they do right, their consciences excuse them and they feel good about what they have done. This is because God’s laws are written in their hearts, and they know, deep down in their hearts, that God will one day be their Judge.

While we can, from God’s creation and from our own consciences, learn many things about God and His will (Natural Knowledge of God), God has also revealed Himself to man in His Word, the Bible (Revealed Knowledge of God). In the Bible God tells us about Himself (Read all of Psalm 19).

Over the centuries, people, because they know there is a god, have worshiped and served many different gods and many different ideas of God. But who is the true God and what does He tell us of Himself?

Please consider the following questions and the answers given in God’s Word, the Bible:

1. In Isaiah 44:6, God says: “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” In 1 Corinthians 8:4, we read: “There is none other God but one.” How many true Gods are there? Were there ever any other true gods beside the LORD God of the Bible? Will there ever be another true god?

2. In Deuteronomy 6:4, God says: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.” How many Gods is the LORD God (Jehovah God) of the Bible?

3. When Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize people in God’s name, He said: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost….” (Matthew 28:19). If the LORD God is one God, why did Jesus command His disciples to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”? How many Persons are in this one God? Who are these Persons? Cf. 2 Corinthians 13:14 and 1 Peter 1:2.

We speak of the God of the Bible as the Triune God. You will not find the word “triune” in the Bible, but it simply means that God is the Tri (three)-Une (one) God. This is certainly taught throughout the Bible. God is One God, and God is Three Persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).

4. 1 John 5:7 reads: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” What does this passage of Scripture teach us about the Triune God.

5. Look up and read Isaiah 48:16-17. Can you find the Trinity (three Persons) in this passage? How? Who is speaking? Who sent Him?

6. Read John 1:1-3. Who is the Word (cf. John 1:14, 18)? Who was already in the beginning? Who was and is God? Who created all things?

7. Read 1 Corinthians 3:16. Whose temple are we? Who dwells in us? Is the Holy Spirit God?

8. Read Genesis 1:1-2. Was the Holy Spirit present in creation? Was He there already in the beginning?

9. Read Hebrews 9:14 and 1 Peter 4:14. What do these passages teach us about the Holy Spirit?

10. Read John 3:18, 36; 5:23; 14:6; 1 John 2:23; 5:11-12. Can a person worship and serve the true God if they do not believe in Jesus as God the Son and their Savior? What if they do not believe that the Holy Spirit is true God with the Father and the Son? Cf. the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds (in your hymnal).

11. Some organizations and religions do not believe that the only way to serve God is through saving faith in Jesus Christ. Do they worship and serve the true God when they believe and teach this? What are some examples of such groups?

GOD

We believe that there is only one true God (Isaiah 44:6; 1 Corinthians 8:4). This God (called the LORD or JEHOVAH) is one divine Being or Essence, but three distinct Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (thus the name, Triune or Three/One God), each being eternal and equal in power and majesty, because each Person is the LORD God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 1 John 5:7; Isaiah 48:16-17; John 1:1; Colossians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 4:14). We believe that no one can worship or serve the Triune God except he believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and the Savior of mankind from sin and its consequences (John 3:18, 36; 5:23; 14:6; 1 John 2:23; 5:11-12). Hence, all who deny the Trinity of God (that God is three Persons) or the Unity of God (that God is one divine Being), or who do not trust in Jesus Christ, the Son, for salvation, do not worship and serve the true God.

Please Memorize: Isaiah 44:6; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19.

The Augsburg Confession

Article V: Of the Ministry.

That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ’s sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake.

They condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparations and works.

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

Scripture Readings for Sunday are Psalm 100; Acts 9:1-31; Luke 12:13-21. Please read them in their context as you prepare for worship on Sunday.

The Adult Bible Class will continue in the Gospel of John at chapter 8:1ff. Who did the scribes and Pharisees bring before Jesus when He was teaching at the temple? Why did they bring her? How was their question like a double-edged sword? Cf. What did the Law of Moses require? What did the law of the Romans forbid? What did Jesus do? Do we know what He wrote? What did Jesus finally say when the woman’s accusers pressed Him for an answer? What happened? Why? Who was left to throw the first stone? Would Jesus have been justified in so doing? Why? What did He do instead? What admonition did He add? Why? What comfort can you draw from this passage of God’s Word? What did Jesus mean when He called Himself the Light of the world? Cf. John 1:1-14; Psalm 119:105, 130; Psalm 36:9; 1 John 1:1ff. How can we have the light of life? What does this mean? How did the Pharisees answer Jesus’ claim? What proof did Jesus offer that His testimony was true? Where did Jesus speak these words? Why did no one arrest Jesus?

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for all our members, that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We pray for God’s healing and strengthening of our congregation. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Dick Stueland, who is recovering from knee surgery; for Sam Rusch, who has had repeated stays in the hospital; and for the mother of Dick Rusch – for those who have been absent from us, for our extended families, for Christians who are alone and have no congregation, and for our adopted soldiers. Pray for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. Continue to pray for the Lutheran Churches in the Philippines, for Christians in Nigeria, Haiti and Chile, and for believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering for their faith in Christ Jesus.

Events and Announcements

Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at goodshepherdrogers@yahoo.com.

The August evening Bible study will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 11. The Bible study will begin at 7 p.m. A light supper will be held at 6:20 p.m. for those who choose to come early.

The Church Council will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 18, in the church.

“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” Psalm 119:130

[Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.]

The Apostle Paul warns his hearers, both at Colosse and around the world today, to beware “lest any man should beguile you with enticing words” (v. 4). Much is preached and proclaimed in the name of Christianity which is nothing of the sort. The messages may be enticing, but the result – even if the spokespersons are well meaning – is to deceive and take people away from saving faith in Jesus Christ!

The believers at Colosse had heard the Gospel message from Epaphras. He had proclaimed to them that Jesus Christ, the very Son of God and Creator of all things, had reconciled them to God the Father by suffering and dying upon the cross for their sins and rising again on the third day. In Jesus they had “redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (1:14). Through faith in Jesus, God the Father had “delivered” them “from the power of darkness” and “translated” them “into the kingdom of His dear Son” (1:13). For the sake of Jesus’ shed blood, they were “holy and unblameable and unreproveable in [God’s] sight” (1:19-22). And as a result, they had a certain hope of the everlasting blessings of heaven (1:5).

Therefore, Paul lovingly wrote to the believers in Colosse, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (2:6-7). They had all they needed in Jesus their Savior – nothing more was required of them to be saved.

But Paul also warned: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power” (vv. 8-10).

The apostle did not want them to be stripped of their faith and assurance in Jesus by human doctrines dealing with what foods they should eat, on what days they should worship and regarding spiritual knowledge and angelic intermediaries (cf. 2:16-18). They were complete in Jesus; for He fulfilled all of the righteous demands of God’s holy law in their stead, and He suffered and died and paid in full for all their sins and rose again on the third day. In Jesus they had forgiveness for all sins and the certainty of life everlasting! In Jesus, we too have forgiveness for all our sins and the certainty of a place in God’s eternal kingdom!

The Old Testament ordinances dealing with the Sabbath Day, holy days and foods were only a shadow of things to come to point us to Christ (2:17). Now that Christ has come and accomplished our salvation, it would be foolish to return to a mandatory observance of mere shadows and give up the blessings won for us by our Savior!

Rather, we should continue in the faith in Messiah Jesus, as taught to us in the Holy Scriptures. We should continue in the hope and assurance that He has redeemed us from all sin by the shedding of His holy and precious blood for us upon the cross. We have all we need in Jesus – we are complete in Him!

O dearest Jesus, thank You for fulfilling all the holy demands of the law for me, and thank You for paying the just penalty for my sins that I might have forgiveness and life everlasting with You in heaven. Graciously keep me in the true faith and let no false doctrine rob me of Your blessings. Amen.

[Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible]