Any gardener or farmer knows the truthfulness of the words: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” One cannot plant thorns and thistles and expect to reap good fruits and vegetables – it just doesn’t work that way. What you sow is what you will also reap.

In fact, it is also true that the thorns and thistles don’t need much help in taking over a garden plot. If they are not constantly pulled or hoed out, they will quickly spread and choke out the good seed planted there.

This is also true of our spiritual lives. Though many think they can live as they please, read what they want to read, watch what they want to watch, spend time doing those things which gratify our sinful human natures and still live and grow spiritually, it just isn’t true.

The Apostle Paul warned his readers: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

Though it is the Spirit of God who brings us to faith and keeps us trusting in Christ Jesus as our Savior, God will not be mocked. We cannot sow to the sinful longings of our flesh and expect to continue in the faith and go to heaven. We will reap what we sow – spiritual corruption and death and, finally, eternal damnation.

On the other hand, when we sow to the Spirit of God by continuing in His Word and partaking of the Lord’s Supper, He will use what is sown to nurture and strengthen our faith in Christ Jesus and preserve us in the true faith unto life everlasting. The Spirit of God will assure us of forgiveness for all our sins and of eternal life for the sake of the innocent sufferings and death of Christ Jesus, our Savior.

Don’t sow to the flesh, but sow to the Spirit and reap the results – life everlasting through faith in your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Forgive me, O Lord, for the times I have sowed to the flesh. Move me to sow to the Spirit by continuing in the Word, that You might strengthen and preserve me in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting. Amen.

[Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible]

Who is there in all of God’s creation worthy to open the book of God’s judgments upon the earth and of the establishment of His everlasting kingdom? Who is worthy to break it seals and carry out the divine decrees written therein?

This is the picture we see in Revelation 4 and 5. John sees in a vision (with similarities to that of Isaiah 6) the very throne of God, and the almighty and eternal God holds in His hand a book sealed with seven seals, containing God’s judgments upon the earth and His ultimate victory and triumph over all His enemies and the establishment of His everlasting kingdom of glory. But who is worthy to open the seals and bring to pass this great work of God?

John writes, “And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon” (Revelation 5:3-4).

No one was found worthy. All of mankind had sinned and come short of the glory of God (cf. Romans 3:23). God’s plan to save His elect and establish a glorious kingdom in which all creation will worship and serve the LORD God in holiness and righteousness forever could not be carried out. All appeared to be lost. John wept.

But all was not lost. God’s eternal plan would be carried out. “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne” (Revelation 5:5-7).

There is one who is worthy: the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Root of David (cf. Genesis 49:9-10; Isaiah 11:1,10). He lived a righteous and holy life in the stead of all mankind, and He took upon Himself the sins of all the world and made atonement when He suffered and died upon the cross. He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He was slain for the sins of all, but He rose again from the dead and He lives to establish God’s everlasting kingdom.

Because He suffered and died for our sins and rose again in victory, the battle is not lost. We need not weep. Instead, we can rejoice because our Savior and Redeemer lives and reigns upon God’s throne. He is exalted to the right hand of God the Father in heaven and rules over all things that He might establish and preserve His church, carry out His judgments and finally destroy all His enemies – all who continue in impenitence and opposition to Him – and establish His everlasting kingdom of glory.

Our Lord Jesus sent His Holy Spirit into the world and through the preaching of God’s Word is at work to bring people to repent of their sin and rebellion against their God and Maker and to trust in Christ Jesus for forgiveness and life. He carries out His righteous judgments upon the earth to move men to repent of their wicked ways and to turn unto Him for mercy. Ultimately He will destroy all His enemies, casting them into the fires of hell, and establish an everlasting kingdom in which all who have placed their hope and confidence in Him and His redemptive work will reign with Him forever in glory.

The picture is indeed comforting, beautiful and glorious! And so we too join in saying with all believers and all the hosts of heaven: “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth…Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Revelation 5:9-10,13).

O Lord Jesus Christ, Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world, You suffered and died for the sins of all and rose again in victory. You are worthy to take the book and open the seals and carry out the eternal plan of God for our salvation. You are the judge of all the earth and You will establish Your everlasting kingdom. Graciously grant us Your Spirit that we might repent of our own rebelliousness and sin and place our faith in You alone for salvation. Keep us and preserve us in the true faith that we might not be condemned along with the world but reign with You in eternal glory. Amen.

[Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible]

Most Christians have heard and read of the failings of God’s people Israel. They were all graciously redeemed of the LORD God and delivered from slavery in Egypt, but not all entered into the land of promise.

The Apostle Paul wrote of this to the believers in Corinth: “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”

In the same way as Christians are all baptized into Christ and partake of His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, so the people of Israel were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They partook of the manna which God provided them and drank water from the spiritual Rock which followed them, which was Christ. Yet “with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”

God’s Word says, “These things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.”

What is the apostle saying to us? Just because we have been baptized into Christ and have partaken of Christ does not mean we cannot fall away and lose the salvation God has so graciously provided for us. If we lust after and desire evil things instead of what the LORD God has given us and turn back into sin and unbelief, we too will lose the life Christ Jesus so desires to give us. If we do not walk and live by faith in God and the promises of His Word, we will also, like many of the Israelites, be overthrown in the wilderness of this world.

We ought not ever to think that we are Christian and all is well with our soul if we are living in the sins of the flesh. The Bible clearly warns us: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).

True Christians are sorry for their sins, trust in Christ’s atoning sacrifice for forgiveness and then, as a fruit of faith, seek to live for Christ in accord with His Word. They are led by God’s indwelling Spirit. Read 1 John 1-2.

Alone, we would most certainly fall and perish. But we have been redeemed by Christ. He walks with us and leads us. His Spirit dwells within us. He is with us always and never permits us to be tempted above that we are able. If we walk with Him, being led by God’s Spirit, He will bring us safely through the wilderness of this world to Himself in heaven.

It is as the Bible says, “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (2 Tim. 4:18).

Dearest Lord Jesus, forgive me for failing to follow You in faith. Lead me in the way everlasting for Your name’s sake. Amen.

[Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible.]

THE CORN OF WHEAT

“And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” John 12:23-25

When a kernel of wheat is safely kept and preserved, it remains only one kernel of wheat. If, however, it is planted in the ground, it will produce many more kernels of wheat.

Jesus used this illustration from nature to point out that He, should He preserve His life and be unwilling to die for the sins of the world, would remain alone and save no one. But by dying on the cross for the sins of mankind and being buried in the tomb, He would produce much fruit. He would provide salvation for all mankind, and all who believe on Him would be saved.

Jesus did not try to preserve his earthly life and avoid suffering the just punishment for our sins. He obeyed God’s Law perfectly in our stead and then willingly laid down His life for us sinners. “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…He was buried…He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3,4). Like the grain of wheat that must sacrifice itself in order to produce more wheat, so Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself to save mankind from sin and its eternal punishment. He died that sinful men like you and me might receive forgiveness for all their sins and become children of God through faith in Him. His resurrection on the third day is proof that His holy sacrifice was acceptable to God as full payment for the sins of the world (Rom. 4:25).

This little illustration of the kernel of wheat can also be applied to our lives. We cannot save ourselves or anyone else from sin and hell by our death; but since Christ has redeemed us by His innocent sufferings and death, we are to live our lives for Him (2 Cor. 5:15). If in this life we try to live for ourselves and are unwilling to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and follow Him by living in accord with His Word, if we are not willing to deny ourselves, take up the cross of suffering which we must bear as faithful Christians and follow Jesus Christ, then we will end up losing our lives forever!

But if we truly trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and set our hope upon eternal life with Him in heaven, we will then lay down the worldly goals and pleasures of this life and live our lives for the Lord Jesus, who has redeemed us from sin and eternal damnation and has given to us everlasting life with Him in heaven. If we let the Lord Jesus use our life for His purposes, He can produce fruit in our lives and through us save others.

“Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

Grant that I only Thee may love and seek those things which are above till I behold Thee face to face, 0 Light eternal, through Thy grace. Amen. (The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn #398, Verse 4)

Pastor Randy Moll

Appreciating our church membership:

Its blessing and its responsibilities

Dr. C.F.W. Walther

The glory of a congregation depends not on the size of its membership but consists in this, that its members are members of that body of which Christ is the Head, namely, that they are truly converted, believing Christians.

When Christians unite with a Christian congregation, they do so, not because they think that this outward act will make them Christians or in order to earn some kind of reward either here or hereafter. But being already sanctified and blessed children of God, they want to join also in outward fellowship those who belong to the Communion of Saints.

When a person becomes a member of a Christian congregation, many in our day ridicule him, asserting that he has taken a foolish step and will only heap shame upon his head.

Alas! Also many members of a Lutheran congregation do not prize their membership properly. They regret that so great a sacrifice of time and money is required. Theirs is a privilege to attend worship and to partake of the Lord’s Supper, but they rarely make use of it. Theirs is the privilege to take part in the meetings of the congregation, to join in the discussions, and to cast their vote; but hardly do they ever make use of it. They look upon their membership as a burden rather than an honor. Such people betray their spiritual blindness!

It is considered a great honor even today when a city which enjoys rare privileges extends honorary citizenship to some famous person. And yet, dear brethren, such citizenship cannot be compared with the privileges which membership in a Christian congregation carries with it.

A citizen is assured human protection; a member of a congregation, divine protection. A citizen enjoys earthy privileges; a member of a congregation, heavenly privileges. A citizen is part of a temporal kingdom; a member of a congregation, of an eternal kingdom. A citizen deals with temporal issues; a member of a congregation, with eternal issues. A citizen must acknowledge profane persons as fellow citizens; a member of a congregation is a fellow citizen with the saints, and a member of the household of God. A citizen, at best elects earthly rulers; a member of a congregation, stewards of the mysteries of God. The greatest benefit accruing to a citizen is that under good government he may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty; church membership, however, offers something far greater – forgiveness of sins, peace of conscience, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and finally eternal life. A citizen is the subject of a government composed of mortal men like himself; a member of a congregation is subject to the Son of God, but at the same time a King, a Priest and a Prophet. A citizen may gain honor before men; a member of a congregation is privileged to look forward to eternal glory, to a state of everlasting bliss in the presence of God.

Woe unto those who despise the privileges of church membership! Some day they will regret it. Blessed are you who have sought and found those privileges. God grant that both you and we make proper use of those privileges!

Some people cling to the opinion that a person must continue in that church body into which he was born, and in which he received his early religious training, and was confirmed. Such people are greatly in error.

If a person, who has received his religious instruction in a church whose doctrine disagrees with the Bible, later comes to recognize the errors of his church, it is his sacred duty to sever his connections with it. For it is written: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2 John 10, 11). “A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself” (Titus 3:10, 11). “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

If everyone were compelled to adhere through life to that religious system under which he was born, the heathen would have to remain heathen, the Jew a Jew, the papist a papist. Then Luther would have sinned by leaving the church of Rome. Then he should not have undertaken the great work of reforming the church. Then it would not have been necessary even for the Son of God to come into the world and found the New Testament Church.

It is an indisputable fact that we must leave a church whose doctrines are contrary to the Bible, even though on the day of confirmation we have sworn loyalty to it. On the other hand, it is equally certain that whoever was born, reared and confirmed in the church of the pure Word must remain in it and rather suffer death even, than fall away from it. Whoever does not take sides with those who stand for Christ and His pure Word, neither takes sides with Christ.

Oh, do remain true to your pledge! Join us in standing for the pure doctrine of the divine Word, and permit neither your reason nor your heart, nor earthly advantages, nor obstinacy, nor ill will or a grudge against someone to come between you and our flock and cause you to depart from us. But join us also in separating yourselves from the world, in renouncing the service of sin, and in fighting the gallant fight against the world, your sinful flesh and the devil.

You will never regret such loyalty; rather, you will rejoice when on your deathbed you will be able to say with Paul: “ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7, 8). May Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Mary, grant this unto you and all of us!

Many think that, if they do what a Christian is supposed to do, they are good Christians. Such people are greatly mistaken. Many things, though expected of us as Christians, do not in themselves make us Christians. Let me cite some instances:

To be a Christian, it is essential to pray diligently. He who does not pray is not a Christian. And yet, if a person prays diligently, that in itself does not make him a Christian.

To be a Christian, we must hear the Word of God diligently. We must be honest in business, truthful in our talk, liberal toward the needy; we must obey our parents, serve them and give back to them as much as possible for what they have done for us. We must be industrious in our calling; we must forsake the world and its vanity. We must pay our debts.

But even if we live up to all these requirements, this alone does not make us Christians! What, then, does? St. Paul answers this question in his Epistle to the Galatians: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature” (Galatians 6: 15 ). What he means by that he makes clear in another place of the same Epistle: “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love” (Galatians 5: 6).

Wherein does true faith consist … that faith which makes us Christians? It is a confidence produced by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of contrite sinners, the assurance that his sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake, that God is gracious to him, that He (God) has accepted him into His grace and favor, and that he is a child of God and an heir of everlasting life.

What Do We Believe?

What do we believe about the Sanctity of Life? Please consider the statement below and look up the Bible passages.

SANCTITY OF LIFE

We believe that every human life is a creation of God and that every human life is precious to God, for God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7,21-22; 9:5-6; Psalm 139:13-16). We also believe that, except in the cases of punishing evildoers and waging just wars to protect life and property, God has reserved for Himself the right to end or destroy a human life (Genesis 9:5-6; Romans 13:1-4; 1 Peter 2:14; Exodus 20:13; Psalm 31:15; 39:4-5; 90:1-3; Job 14:1-12; Acts 17:24-28). Therefore, we must condemn as murder and sin the practice of euthanasia, self inflicted death (suicide), and all other unjustified taking of human life.

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

The Adult Bible Class continues its study of the Gospel of John. To prepare, read John 4:1-26. Why did Jesus leave Judea? Which route did He take back to Galilee? At what city did Jesus stop? Why? What is significant about the location? Who met Jesus there? What did Jesus ask of her? How did she respond? Why do the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans? What did Jesus tell the woman in verse 10? How is this a fitting response yet today? How did the woman respond? What did Jesus tell her? What is the living water which Jesus offered (cf. Isaiah 12; John 7:37-39)? How does Jesus offer and give this water even yet today? Did the woman understand Jesus? What did she say? What did Jesus tell her to do? What did He say to her when she said she had no husband? Is there anything about us He does not know? Read Psalm 90:8. What did the woman then say of Jesus? What question did she ask Him? What is the significance of her question? How did Jesus answer? What does Jesus answer mean? How does that apply to our worship yet today? What did the woman say the Messiah would do when He came? Why? Cf. Deuteronomy 18:15-19. Who did Jesus claim to be?

The Catechism Class continues studying the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed and learning of Jesus and what He has done to redeem all mankind.

The Sunday Readings are Psalm 99; Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Hebrews 3:1-6; and Luke 9:28-36. Please take the time to read them and their context in preparation for Sunday. The sermon text will be the Gospel Lesson. Who did Jesus take with Him on the mountain? Why? What did they see there? Who spoke with Jesus? Why is this significant? About what did they speak? What was the response of Jesus’ disciples? Who spoke from the cloud? What did He say? What does this mean for us yet 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 continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Sarah Hardigan who is having trouble in the early stages of pregnancy, for Ron Wellander who underwent surgery and is recovering, and for Bonnie Hawes who underwent tests – for those who have been absent from us, for our students who are away at school, for our extended families and friends, 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 Haiti, and for believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering.

Events and Announcements

The Choir is practicing for upcoming services. More voices are always welcome.

Wednesday Evening Lenten Worship begins Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17. Worship will be at 7 p.m. A Soup and Sandwich Supper will precede the service at 6:20 p.m.

The Church Council will hold its February meeting following the Feb. 17 Lenten service.

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

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.”

Numbers 6:22-27

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

Message for the day -

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Dear fellow-redeemed sinners, ransomed by the shed blood of Christ Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior.

Who is this Jesus of Nazareth, that Babe born in Bethlehem but raised in Nazareth? We look to the Word of God, to the inspired testimony of the apostles who suffered all to faithfully follow Christ Jesus.

Today, we begin with the inspired testimony of the Apostle John, in his Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

The Word, spoken of here in the inspired Scriptures is Jesus, for John later writes, in verse 14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

In his first epistle, John writes (1 John 5:7): “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

This already tells us that Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God come into this world as a true man, that He had divine glory, and that He is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit (a Person of the Triune God).

The opening verses of John’s Gospel tell us that “in the beginning” – the same “in the beginning” when “God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) – the pre-incarnate Jesus, the Son of God, already was. He was with God and He, in fact, was and is God.

While some cult religions of our day (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons) would try to reduce Jesus to being only “a son of God,” the Greek text leaves no doubt: “The Word was with the God, and God was the Word” (the Greek definite article and the placement of God at the beginning of the second part of the sentence emphasizing that Jesus, the Word, was not only with God; He is God Himself – a Person in the Triune Godhead).

Some so-called “Christian churches” would make Jesus, the Son of God, less than and inferior to God the Father. This too is a rejection of the truth God has revealed to us in His inspired Word.

Not only was the pre-incarnate Christ there with God in the beginning before anything was created or made, He is the Creator God who made all things and gave all living things life and breath.

This is why the Christian Church has, for centuries confessed to believe “in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by Whom all things were made….” (Nicene Creed)

God tells us: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

Can it get any clearer than that? Jesus, before He took on human flesh and blood and became true man and was born of the virgin Mary, created all things. Nothing made or created was made or created without Him.

Read Genesis one in that light. Creation was not just the work of God the Father; all was created by God the Son and nothing was made without Him (cf. Colossians 1:15ff.; Hebrews 1:1-3). The Holy Spirit was also actively engaged in this divine work, for the Scriptures tell us that “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be….” (Genesis 1:2ff.).

In Jesus was life. When “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” (Genesis 2:7), it was Jesus, the eternal Word, who gave him life and made him a “living soul.”

And, lest we forget that life was more than physical life but included spiritual life and the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), Jesus is the One who gave to Adam and Eve a knowledge of God and a life in harmony and fellowship with their Maker. This life which Jesus gave was “the light of men.” They were spiritually alive, they knew God and His holy will, and they loved and honored Him and trusted in Him.

This was the life which mankind lost in the fall of Genesis three. Instead of loving God, trusting Him and seeking His honor, Adam and Eve rebelled against His commandment and then hid from His presence. And, even yet today, when this light shines into the darkness, the darkness does not comprehend it – it does not understand it or receive it.

People today – all of us as we are by nature – walk in darkness. We do not wish to accept the truth that Jesus is God the Son in human flesh, our Maker and our final Judge. Though the evidence is all around us, we do not wish to face up to the truth that we are sinners and guilty before God. We do not wish to hear of our sins and shortcoming and of the hell fires we so deserve. We would rather continue on in darkness, thinking that we are basically good and that God will not condemn us if only we do our best to be loving and caring people.

The light shines in the darkness, and we would continue on in darkness! We don’t want to give up our own selfish and sinful ways. We don’t want to return to fellowship with God because that would cramp our lifestyle! Instead, we would attempt to change God into a god who smiles at sin and disobedience and would punish no one. Of course, to form our own opinions of God instead of accepting what God tells us of Himself in the Bible is no different than making a graven image and inventing our own ways to serve it. It is idolatry!

What does God say? “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 1:5-2:2

In God – in Jesus Christ, the eternal Word – is light and life! If we claim to have fellowship with God but continue to hide and cover up our sins, pretending that all is well, we are lying and deceiving ourselves. God’s truth tells us that we are sinners, that we have failed to love God with all our heart, soul and strength or love our neighbor as God requires. God’s light reveals His holy will but also our failures to live in accord with His holy commandments.

But God’s light also reveals the way of salvation He has provided for lost mankind: “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Jesus, God the Son in human flesh, lived a righteous and holy life in our stead and He suffered and died for our sins and rose again. He satisfied God’s wrath against our sins and the sins of the whole world. That is why: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Jesus is still the life and light of men. He redeemed sinful mankind by His innocent sufferings and death in our stead. He offers to all people forgiveness of sins and life eternal in fellowship with Him. His light shines into this dark and sinful world, revealing God’s holy will and man’s sinfulness but also offering forgiveness and life with Him in His eternal kingdom. When He, by the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit through His Word, convinces us of sin and assures us of forgiveness – when He breathes into our nostrils the breath of life – we become living souls!

God graciously grant to each of you light and life in Christ Jesus, the eternal Word! Amen.

Psalm and Confession of Sins -

Psalm 32: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. (A Psalm of David, Maschil.)

O Thou crucified Lord Jesus Christ, who, as the truly patient Lamb of God, didst suffer for me the most shameful death on the cross and with Thy precious blood didst redeem me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, I pray Thee, give me the assurance of this redemption through Thy Word, govern my heart with Thy Holy Spirit, preserve me with Thy divine love, and hide me this day, both soul and body, in Thy holy wounds. Wash me clean from all my sins, teach me to live a life of good works, and finally lead me from this world of sorrows to Thine eternal joy and glory, Thou most faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, mine only Comfort, Hope, and Life. Amen. (The Lutheran Hymnal, page 118)

The Apostles Creed: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into Hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; The forgiveness of sins; The resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers: O Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Word, the everlasting Son of God, shine upon my heart the light of Your truth, reveal my sinfulness and disobedience to Your holy will, but also comfort me with the knowledge of Your holy life and innocent sufferings and death for my sins that I may take courage, rejoice in Your forgiveness, and walk in the light of Your truth until You come again and take me to live with You forever in Your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Blessing: “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” Amen. (Numbers 6:24-27)

[Scripture quotations from the King James Version of the Bible]

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

Read Matthew 13:1-23 (cf. Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15)

1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

What Kind of Hearer Are You?

What kind of hearer are you? As we read the parable of the sower and its explanation, we are quick to identify people we know with the poor kinds of soil and ourselves with the good ground. But when we do this, we miss the warning and comfort of this parable for ourselves.

We may think of ourselves as the good soil, but how often do we not also fit the descriptions of the poor ground? Many times we are like the hard ground. The Word of God is sown upon us, but it doesn’t sink in and produce fruit in our lives because we have been uninterested or inattentive and have not understood the Word. Then, as the birds eat up the seed which falls on the hard ground by the way side, so the Word is snatched away from us by the devil.

Often we are also like the rocky soil or the thorny ground. In times of affliction or persecution, we shrink back from a bold and faithful confession of the truths of God’s Word because we have not let that Word sink its roots deep into our lives. When times of persecution or suffering come, we turn away and doubt God’s love and mercy toward us in Christ Jesus.

And how often we let the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things in this life keep us from faithfully hearing and learning God’s Word! We are too busy to attend church services and Bible classes. We neglect to read and study our Bibles each day. And the focus of our lives is on earthly things and the concerns of this life.

When we are good soil, we can take no credit. We must say with Jesus that it is a blessing of the Lord God when the Word sinks in, grows and produces fruit in our lives (Matt. 13:16). It is the Lord who cultivates the soil of our hearts, breaking up the hard ground, removing the rocks and pulling the weeds and thorns from our lives, that the Gospel of forgiveness of sins and life eternal for the sake of Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death might be heard and believed by us and produce fruit in our lives.

Why did Jesus speak of God’s kingdom with parables? He answered that very question: “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”

It is a gift of God to truly hear and understand the Scriptures. Without the gracious operation of the Holy Ghost, one may hear the words and relate to the earthly story, but the true message remains hidden. The Bible is a closed book unless God opens our ears and hearts to hear and understand and believe.

As Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God … Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:3,5-6).

For most, the Word is sown but not received and understood and is quickly snatched away by the devil to keep one from coming to trust in Christ Jesus. And when it is received, so often people’s faith is shallow and they quickly turn away in time of adversity or trouble. And how often the Word is choked out and prevented from bearing fruit in one’s life by the cares and concerns of this world.

When the Word of God is received and one believes and lives by faith in the Son of God as his Savior, it is indeed a gracious blessing of God worked by the Holy Spirit of God. May He so bless you that you both hear and believe unto life everlasting.

Almighty God, Thy Word is cast like seed into the ground; now let the dew of heaven descend and righteous fruits abound. Amen. (The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn #49, Verse 1)

Pastor Randy Moll

Why Do We Preach Repentance?

(A Synopsis of Biblical Preaching)

From the fall of mankind onward, God has been calling upon people to repent and turn unto Him for forgiveness and life. The Old Testament prophets continually called upon God’s people to repent of their sinful ways and return unto the LORD for mercy. In words like those of Joel, they said, “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, Turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil” (Joel 2:12-13).

We read of John the Baptist: “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:1-2). The Gospel of Mark tells us that he preached “the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (1:4).

What did Jesus preach? The Gospels tell us: “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:14-15; cf. Matthew 4:17). And, before He ascended into heaven, what did He tell His disciples? He commanded them to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins through faith in His name. The Gospel of Luke tells us: “And He said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (24:46-47).

What did the apostles preach? Peter, in his Pentecost sermon, said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). On another occasion he preached: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord…” (Acts 3:19). Jesus, through the Apostle John, called upon the erring churches in Asia Minor to repent and return unto Him (cf. Revelation 2-3). The Apostle Paul summarizes his own ministry and teaching, saying that he testified “both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).

Therefore, the preaching of repentance should also be central to us; and a right understanding of repentance is key to understanding the Holy Scriptures and rightly applying God’s truth to ourselves and others.

What is repentance?

Repentance, in the narrow sense of its use in the Word of God, is worked by God’s Law, which reveals to man the holy and perfect will of God and also man’s failures, shortcomings and rebellion against his Maker. It reveals man’s sin and the consequences of that disobedience and sin; namely, spiritual death and God’s wrath and punishment. Thus Jesus preached “Repent ye, and believe the Gospel” and commanded that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name” (Mark 1:15; Luke 24:47).

In the broader sense, repentance, as used in Scripture, refers not only to the awareness of sins and failures and the fear of God’s judgment worked by the Law (contrition), but also to faith in the Gospel – the confidence that God accepts the sinner and mercifully forgives him for the sake of the holy life and innocent sufferings and death of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in man’s stead. In the broader sense, repentance can also include the fruits (result) of true contrition and faith, an amended life empowered by God’s gracious working through the Gospel but guided by the revelation of God’s perfect will in His Law. John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, but also warned against those who feigned repentance but did not bring forth the fruits of true repentance (Luke 3:3-18).

Essentially, preaching “repentance and remission of sins in Jesus’ name” is done by rightly preaching Law and Gospel, the two chief doctrines of the Holy Scripture.

Our catechism defines the difference between the Law and the Gospel in this way: “The Law is that doctrine of the Bible in which God tells us how we are to be and what we are to do and not to do. The Gospel is that doctrine of the Bible in which God tells us the good news of our salvation in Jesus Christ … The Law teaches what we are to do and not to do; the Gospel teaches what God has done, and still does, for our salvation. The Law shows our sin and the wrath of God; the Gospel shows our Savior and the grace of God. The Law must be preached to all men, but especially to impenitent sinners; the Gospel must be preached to sinners who are troubled in their minds because of their sins.” (A Short Explanation of Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism: A Handbook of Christian Doctrine, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 1943.)

Does this mean the Law and the Gospel are contradictory? Not at all. The Law teaches us what is good and right – God’s perfect and good will for us, His creatures. It also reveals the consequences of disobedience, sin and rebellion against our Maker – death, both spiritual and eternal.

The Gospel teaches what God has done and still does to save us lost and condemned sinners from sin and sin’s consequences. Thus the Gospel offers and gives forgiveness of sins, spiritual life and eternal salvation for Jesus’ sake.

There is nothing bad or faulty with God’s Law. It is good and right and holy. It condemns mankind because all of us, since Adam’s fall, are sinful and disobedient to God’s perfect will. In this way, God’s good Law is an instrument of death to us because we do not obey it.

St. Paul wrote to the Romans: “And the commandment which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the Law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful” (Romans 7:10-13).

While we may not always like it, a safe speed limit on the highway is good. When drivers follow it, it helps to make their trip safe. If, on the other hand, a driver exceeds the speed limit, there very well could be consequences. He may receive a speeding ticket or, worse yet, have an accident because he drove faster than the safe posted speed. The fact that the driver is cited for speed or has an accident does not make the speed law bad. He suffered the ill consequences because he disobeyed the law and drove in an unsafe manner.

The same is true of God’s commandments. They are good and right, commanding what is best for us and warning of the consequences of disobedience. Whether it be the command to have no other gods, to honor our parents or not to covet, steal, commit adultery or kill, the commandments require what is good for us and forbid those things which bring spiritual death, ruined lives and eternal damnation.

The problem is with mankind – with you and me – instead of loving God, believing that His Word is good and right and seeking to honor Him with our lives, we love ourselves, think we know better than God what is good for us and seek our own honor and glory and praise. Thus, the good Law of God condemns us because we have rebelled against it and gone our own way.

That is why each and every one of us needs to repent – to agree with God that His Law is right and we are wrong, and to trust in the Gospel which tells us of His mercy and forgiveness for the sake of the innocent sufferings and death of His only-begotten Son in our stead. And, as a result of true and genuine repentance, there will also be fruit – a sincere desire to amend our sinful ways and conform to God’s holy commandments.

The Scriptures tell us that God’s Law is indeed good and right. In Psalm 137, we read: “Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful … Thy word is true from the very beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (v. 137-138, 160). That is why the psalmist could also say: “I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me” (v. 73). Indeed, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (v. 105). “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (v. 130).

Jesus Himself did not abrogate God’s Law or throw it out, but amplified and explained its full implication in His sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7). He said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-19).

The writings of the apostles do not throw out the Law of God. Those ceremonies and practices which served only to point to the coming of the Messiah and Savior are not demanded in the New Testament writings, but the moral Law of God – His commandments – are repeated and explained throughout.

Why is this so? Why does God’s Law need to be taught even yet today? Simply, because it is God’s good and holy will for His creatures and our knowledge of it has become clouded by our own sinfulness. As the God’s Word says, man’s “foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:21). An honest look at the decline in moral values in our own society – people thinking nothing of sins which were clearly recognized as such less than 50 years ago – will reveal the effect of sin on our understanding of God’s Law which was written upon our hearts and proclaimed in our ears.

Thus preachers who set aside the Law of God and wink at disobedience to His commandments do great harm to the souls of men, for they do not hold forth God’s good and perfect will for our lives or the sad and devastating consequences of disobedience on our part. Their hearers do not see their utter sinfulness before God and are not troubled in their consciences over their disobedience and the impending judgment of the Almighty. And, not being troubled over sin and the judgment of God, the Gospel of forgiveness and life in Christ Jesus means nothing to them. They are left to go on in their sinful ways to a Christless eternity – to an eternity where they are judged and condemned for their sins because they have rejected Jesus, their only hope!

Indeed, without a right knowledge of God’s Law – His holy commandments – there can be no true repentance!

Of course, true repentance cannot be worked by the preaching of God’s Law alone; for if one is rightly shown what it is that God requires of him and sees his own sins and failures, he is left with nothing but despair and hopelessness. It is through the right preaching of the Gospel that the despairing sinner is comforted and assured of forgiveness of sins and life everlasting in Jesus Christ. The Law holds forth God’s good and perfect will but tells us that “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20) and that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Gospel, on the other hand, tells lost and condemned sinners that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures … that He was buried … and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4). It tells us that “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1, 2). It tells us that in Jesus “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). It tells us that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Thus, the right preaching of the Gospel assures sinners, troubled in their consciences over their sins, that in Jesus Christ and for the sake of His holy life and innocent sufferings and death in their stead they have full and complete forgiveness for all sins and the certainty of everlasting life in heaven!

Where the Law is preached in all truth and severity and where the Gospel is preached in all its truth and sweetness, there the Holy Spirit will be at work convicting consciences of their sins and failures and comforting lost and condemned sinners with the good news of forgiveness of sins and life everlasting in Jesus Christ!

Where the Spirit of God works true repentance – convicting hearts of sin and disobedience to God’s perfect will and comforting troubled hearts with the good news of pardon and peace in Christ Jesus – fruits of repentance will also follow. In fact, this is so certain that one can say, “Where there is no fruit, there is no repentance.” Yet, we must here remember that it is God who looks upon the heart and sees the fruits of true repentance. We, while we may in many instances see the results of one’s repentance, may misjudge. We may not see the sincere desire in a person’s heart to amend a sinful way of life, and we may not recognize in another feigned fruit of repentance which is for outward show only but not from a sincere heart.

God, of course, looks upon the heart. He sees and knows the heart that acknowledges and confesses utter sinfulness, and He knows and sees the heart which trusts in His grace and mercy for Jesus’ sake. God sees and knows when one is truly repentant, and He sees – and in fact, creates in the believer’s heart – the sincere desire and will to amend one’s life and live for Him. Jesus “searcheth the reins and hearts” (Revelation 2:23). “The LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts” (1 Chronicles 28:9).

Where one agrees with the LORD God about his own sinfulness and trusts in Christ Jesus for forgiveness and life eternal, there God will also work the fruit of repentance – a new will and desire to live for God in accord with His will. This new and regenerated life is worked in man through the Gospel, but is guided by God’s Law.

The Holy Ghost graciously calls us to faith in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. Paul writes to the believers at Thessalonica: “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto He called you by our Gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).

Indeed, we are saved entirely by God’s grace. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). God the Spirit created faith in our hearts, and He has also recreated us – giving us new life – to do those works which God “before ordained that we should walk in them.”

That is why David, in the Psalms acknowledged and confessed his sins, trusting in God’s mercy, and implored God to create in him “a clean heart … and renew a right spirit” within him (Psalm 51).

It is also why John the Baptist could say to those coming to him for baptism, “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children of Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Luke 3:8-9).

What We Preach

Thus, with the prophets and apostles, and with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, we preach repentance and remission of sins in Jesus’ name. We preach the Law of God as revealed to us by God Himself in the pages of Scripture. We don’t mince words. We call sin sin, and we teach that the wages of sin is death and eternal damnation.

But we also preach the Gospel to penitent sinners. We tell them what God Himself says to us in His Word; namely, that Jesus Christ suffered and died upon the cross in our stead and paid in full the just penalty for the sins of the world. We preach that God, for the sake of the crucified and risen Christ has pardoned mankind and reaches out to us in mercy and grace, forgiving all our sins for Jesus’ sake and giving us everlasting life in fellowship with Him. We add no conditions, for Christ has done it all. It is finished. Our salvation is sure!

We preach that where this is true repentance, there will also follow fruits of repentance. Those who have turned from their sins to Christ for forgiveness will also, as a fruit of their faith in the Gospel, seek to live for Christ in accord with God’s perfect will revealed to us in His Word – there is no true repentance where one has no desire and makes no attempt to live in accord with God’s will. But such works, wrought in us by the Holy Spirit, do not merit God’s grace or earn for us salvation; they are in response to God’s gracious gift of salvation to us in His Son. In accord with God’s Word, we also know and teach that such works in this life which result from faith in Christ are yet imperfect – we still fall short – but are accepted of God for the sake of the sacrifice of His Son. We are not justified and saved by our works, but a man justified and saved by the grace of God works.

Pastor Randy Moll

What Do We Believe?

What do we believe about the Final Judgment? Please consider the statement below and look up the Bible passages.

FINAL JUDGMENT

We believe that, at death, the souls of believers are taken to be with their Lord and Savior in heaven, and the souls of unbelievers begin suffering the eternal torments of hell (Luke 16:19-31; 23:43; Philippians 1:23; Revelation 14:13; 1 Peter 3:19; 2 Peter 2:4-9). On the Last Day, Jesus Christ will return to judge the living and the dead; and on that Day, all the dead will be raised up (John 5:28-29; Job 19:25-27; Revelation 20:11-15; Acts 10:42; 17:31; 2 Corinthians 5:10). The wicked and unbelieving will be cast, both body and soul, into the everlasting torments of hell; but those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation will, according to both body and soul, dwell with Christ forever, enjoying the blessings of heaven (John 5:29; Matthew 10:28; Luke 16:23-24; Isaiah 66:24; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Hebrews 9:27-28; Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 John 3:2; John 3:36; 17:24; 14:1-3; Psalm 16:11). We believe that the Day of Christ’s return is known only to God and not to man (Matthew 24:29-42; Mark 13:32; 2 Peter 3:10). Therefore, we also reject as false all contrary doctrines, such as purgatory or limbo, an earthly millennial kingdom and attempts to predict the time of Christ’s return.

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

The Adult Bible Class continues its study of the Gospel of John. To prepare, read John 3:7-21. Did Nicodemus understand what Jesus meant by being born again of water and the Spirit? Did He understand the working of God’s Spirit? Can we see the wind or know from where it came and to where it will go? How is that like being born of God’s Spirit? Can we see the Spirit of God? Can we see His working in us and in others? Did Nicodemus understand? What did Jesus say to him when he asked how these things could be? What did Jesus mean? Who came down from heaven and then ascended back into heaven? How could Jesus be in heaven while He was here on earth talking with Nicodemus? What did Jesus, in His conversation with Nicodemus, say must happen to Him? To what historical event did Jesus compare His coming crucifixion? Cf. Numbers 21. What are the similarities between these two events? How does the Old testament event point to Jesus and His crucifixion? From what does Jesus save us when we look to Him and His cross in faith? What will happen if we do not look to Him in faith? How does Jesus further explain the reason and purpose of His coming into the world? Did Jesus, at His first coming, come to judge and condemn the world? Why did He come? Will those who trust in Jesus for forgiveness and life be condemned on the Day of Judgment? What about those who do not look to Jesus in faith? When are they already condemned? Why are believers saved? Why are unbelievers condemned? Why do many people not come to Jesus and trust in Him? What is meant by verse 21? What is it to do the truth? Who works all that is good in believers? Cf. Ephesians 2:8-10.

The Catechism Class continues studying the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed and learning of Jesus and what He has done to redeem all mankind.

The Sunday Sermon will be based on Isaiah 62. In preparation, read this chapter of Scripture and consider the following questions: What does God say of Zion and Jerusalem? Why will God not hold His peace or rest? What will He accomplish? What names will be given to Jerusalem and the land of Israel? What do these names mean? Who will be a delight in Zion? To whom will Zion be married? How will God rejoice over Zion? What were Jerusalem’s watchmen to do? What has the LORD proclaimed, and what is to be said to the daughter of Zion? What will Zion and her people be called? What does this mean for us as believers 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 continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Ron Wellander who underwent surgery and is recovering at home – for those who have been absent from us, for our students who are away at school, for our extended families and friends, 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 and for believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering.

Upcoming Events

The Choir is practicing for upcoming services. More voices are always welcome.

Wednesday night Bible studies will begin tonight at 7 p.m. and be held on the second Wednesday of each month. A soup and sandwich supper is planned for tonight at 6:20. All are invited. The monthly studies will be topical but 100 percent Biblical, so bring your Bibles.

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

“My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” Proverbs 3:11-12

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

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” Luke 2:10-12

Come and join us at 7 p.m. Thursday as we gather to worship and hear again the good news of the gift of God’s Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Should the weather be bad – snowing or icy – and the roads more dangerous, the service will be postponed – possibly to New Year’s Eve.

Paul’s Letter to the Believers at Colosse (continued)

“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Colossians 4:5-6

How should we, as Christians, conduct ourselves in our dealings with those outside Christ’s church? This the Apostle answers in the closing words of his instruction to the believers at the church in Colosse: “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

We, as believers ought to live our lives wisely in regard to those outside Christ’s church, redeeming the time and making use of every opportunity God gives to make known to them the truth revealed to us by God in His Word.

We may not realize it, but how we live and conduct our business here in this world can either make one want to know more of our faith or make them want nothing to do with it. Sometimes an uncharitable word is all it takes to close the door to further witness. Thus, how important it is to be charitable and honest in all our dealings with those, not only inside, but also outside the church!

We ought to buy back the time commonly given to evil or frivolity and make use of every moment God gives us to share the good news of God’s mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus.

Our speech should be “always with grace,” reflecting the grace of God toward us in Christ Jesus. When we remember how much the Lord has forgiven us and to what lengths He went to bring about our salvation – even going to the cross and suffering and dying for our sins – should it be any trouble for us to speak kindly even to our enemies and to those who have mistreated us?

Being “seasoned with salt” means our conversations with those outside the church should neither be continual preaching against them nor only kind words devoid of any rebuke of the law and comfort of the Gospel. The Christian must wisely and consistently share the truth at every opportunity but use care not to drive away the unbeliever by too much preaching. It involves interspersing God’s truth in our conversations so as to raise awareness of the truth and draw interest in it, making it possible to continue to share the admonitions of the law and the good news of forgiveness and life in Christ Jesus.

The way in which we converse with those outside Christ’s church may be different with each person, making it so important that our speech be always with grace and properly seasoned with salt so that we, in the right way, give answer to every person. For this, we most certainly need the wisdom and direction of God’s Spirit in our daily lives and conversations.

But what if we have been less than honest and charitable in our dealings with those outside the church? What if, instead of being motivated by God’s grace toward us, we have dealt with someone from the selfishness and wickedness of our old sinful nature? What can we do?

There is no better way than to honestly admit our sins and misdeeds to the Lord Jesus and to those – even outside of Christ’s church – whom we have offended. We know from God’s Word that God graciously forgives us for the sake of Christ’s blood shed for us upon the cross. And, when we admit our sins and failures and forgive the sins and failures of others, what better witness to our belief in the righteousness of God and in our total dependence upon His grace and mercy toward us for Jesus’ sake!

We do not proclaim ourselves righteous and holy and the world sinful. We share and proclaim that we all have sinned and come short of God’s righteousness but that with God there is mercy and forgiveness for Jesus’ sake! Cf. Romans 3:23ff. The Gospel we share is the good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom we are chief (cf. 1 Timothy 1:15-16). If God shows mercy to me because of Jesus, He also can and will show mercy to you!

O Holy Spirit, grant me wisdom in my dealings with those who do not yet know and trust in Christ Jesus, that my speech may reflect Your grace and that I might wisely use the time and opportunities given me to share the good news of God’s mercy toward sinners for Jesus’ sake. In His name I pray. Amen.

Pastor Randy Moll

We All Believe in One True God:

A Summary of Biblical Doctrine

By Wallace H. McLaughlin

(The entire book is posted under Pages on the Church Web log)

XVI. The Ministry

The nature of the public ministry may be defined as follows: Under the office of the public ministry we understand the proclamation of the Word of God together with the administration of the Sacraments by commission of a Christian congregation. The establishment of the public ministry always presupposes the commission of a congregation; and the very word “public,” as used in this connection, has reference to the Christian public, or congregation, which stands behind the public minister, and through whose agency God has made him a minister by means of the divine call extended to him. He is a public servant, or minister, because of that definite Christian public, or congregation, on whose behalf, by whose commission, and as whose representative, he exercises all the functions of his ministry, both in house to house visitations and in the pulpit. The minister can no more divest himself of his public character, as representative of his congregation, when admonishing a sinner in private or comforting an individual Christian in distress, or administering Communion at the bedside of a sick person, or officiating at a burial, than he can when he stands in the pulpit or ministers at the altar. Always and everywhere, when performing the functions of his office, the minister acts as the representative of Christ and of the Christian congregation which has called him to function in its behalf in accordance with the revealed Word and will of God, and hence is at all times responsible to Christ and the congregation for every act which he performs in such capacity.

The commission of the congregation is expressed by the word rendered in our King James Version of Acts 14:23 as “ordained,” a word which has no connection with the act of “ordination” spoken of elsewhere in the New Testament. The difference between the word used in Acts 14:23, and which refers to the conducting of an election by a show of hands (in its only other occurrence in the Greek New Testament, 2 Cor. 8:19, it is correctly rendered “chosen” in our KJV), and the New Testament word for ordination (as used, for instance, in 1 Tim. 4:14 and 2 Tim. 1:6) is that the former means, literally, “stretching out of hands” (to vote in an election), while the latter means “laying on of hands.” Thus the office of the public ministry is conveyed by the call of a Christian congregation which results from the choice, or election, of a certain individual to exercise the official functions of the ministry by commission of the congregation.

Besides the public ministry which is committed or delegated to an individual by the call of a congregation we must hold fast to the divine institution also of that ministry which is enjoined upon all Christians in 1 Peter 2:9; 3:15; and Col. 3:16 (not in a public capacity, but as a personal spiritual endowment or spiritual priesthood, which is inseparable from personal faith in Christ), which neither should nor can be superseded by the public ministry.

Also missionaries in the field of foreign or home missions are in the public ministry, even when congregations have not yet been formed in the field of their labors; for behind the missionary stand Christian congregations which by God’s command send out missionaries, Matt. 28:19, 20.

As to the relation of the public ministry to the spiritual priesthood of all Christians, as taught, for instance, in 1 Peter 2:9, we must hold that the public ministry is distinct from the spiritual priesthood for the following reasons: a), because the public ministry requires a special call from a congregation for its legitimate exercise; b). because a special aptitude to teach is requisite in order to serve an entire congregation with the Word of God: 1 Tim. 3:2; 1 Cor 12:29 (“Are all teachers?”); and a special holiness of conversation is needed in order to be an example of life to the congregation, 1 Peter 5:3. The catalogue of qualities which should be found in a pastor is given (with very slight variations) in two passages in St. Paul’s “Pastoral Epistles,” which are so important both to pastors (that they may always be conscious of what God requires of them) and to their flock (that they may know what they may rightly expect of their pastor, and the qualifications which are requisite in one to be called to this holy office) that we shall here devote the space to print them out in full.

1 Timothy 3:2–7: “A bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth well in his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the Church of God?) not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

Titus 1:7–9: “A bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; holding fast the faithful Word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.”

The public ministry is not a human, but a divine institution. What do we mean by calling the ministry a divine institution? Under the divine institution of the public ministry we understand the fact that it is not left to the option of the Christians who live in a certain place whether they wish to establish the office of the ministry among them or not, but they have a divine command to do so. This command is found in Titus 1:5, where we read, with reference to the purpose of leaving Titus in Crete: “that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain” (the word used in the original means “establish,” and has nothing to do with the laying on of hands) “elders” (here in the sense of “preaching elders,” or pastors, “elder” being the usual New Testament name for the local pastor) “in every city” (city by city, wherever congregations had come into existence), “as I had appointed thee.” The word “appoint” is used in the sense of “command, charge, give order,” a common usage of the word in King James English and in full accord with the Greek original. Since Paul was not accustomed to issue orders on his own authority (compare 2 Cor. 8:8: “I speak not by commandment,” and v. 10: “herein I give my advice, for this is expedient for you”), we must regard this command of Paul to Titus as being given by divine authority, and hence as proof for the divine institution of the ministry. Also the expression “the things that are wanting” indicates that a congregation in which the office of the ministry was not yet established lacked something which was essential to its divinely ordained form. That it was also apostolic practice to establish the office of the parish pastorate in each individual congregation we see from Acts 14:23, cited above, which may be plainly translated from the original: “When they had conducted elections for pastors (elders) in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.” This is also the teaching of our Lutheran Church in accordance with Holy Scripture. In the Smalcald Articles we read (Triglotta, p. 523, par. 67): “Wherever the Church is, there is the authority (command) to administer the Gospel. Therefore it is necessary for the Church to retain the authority to call, elect, and ordain ministers.” See also Smalcald Articles, page 507, par. 10 (in translation from the German text): “The office of the ministry proceeds from the general call of the apostles.” Therefore if any one were to ask us where the words of institution for the office of the ministry are to be found, we should reply, with our Church, that they are to be found in Matt. 28:19, 20. To put it in the words of Dr. Walther (Walther and the Church, p. 72): “The divine institution of the ministry of the New Testament appears from the call of the holy apostles to the ministry of teaching by the Son of God, as recorded Matt. 10; 28:18–20; Luke 9:1–10; Mark 16:15; John 20:21–23; 21:15–17 (‘Feed My sheep’), and of the seventy disciples, as recorded Luke 10:1–22.”

As to the necessity of the public ministry, we must regard this necessity, like the necessity of receiving the Sacraments, as not absolute but relative. The public ministry is not absolutely necessary for salvation, because faith in Christ can be created and preserved also through the reading of Scripture and the functioning of the spiritual priesthood. However, an abuse of this truth occurs when Christians do not diligently hear God’s Word in the public preaching, when the pastors do not diligently prepare their sermons, and when congregations and pastors do not diligently make provision for the education of preachers and teachers. As not the deprivation but the contempt of the Sacraments damns, so we may say also of the public ministry, in accordance with Luke 10:16: “He that heareth you” (preachers of God’s pure Word) “heareth Me; and he that despiseth you despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me.”

The incumbents of the office of the public ministry form no special spiritual order superior to that of the Christians, like the priests of the Old Testament, but are officers (public servants) among the Christians. Therefore we call the incumbents of the public ministry not “spiritual” or “priests,” because these titles, according to the Scriptures of the New Testament, belong to all Christians (see 1 Peter 2:5, 9; 1 Cor. 2:15). Scriptural names of the incumbents of the office of the public ministry have reference either to their relation to God or to their relation to the Christian congregation, a). With relation to God: “ministers of Christ” (1 Cor. 4:1); “servant of the Lord” (2 Tim. 2:24); “steward of God” (Titus 1:7). b). With relation to the Christian congregation: “your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5). An incumbent of the office of the public ministry therefore occupies a twofold position of service; he is the servant of Christ and of the congregation. However, he is not fifty percent Christ’s servant and fifty percent the congregation’s servant, but one hundred percent Christ’s servant and therefore also one hundred percent the congregation’s servant. This does not mean serving two masters. For in serving the congregation, which in its call requires him to perform his office in complete accord with the Word of God, he is not serving men, but Christ Himself, as Paul writes, Gal. 1:10: “If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” Only if the congregation should demand, contrary to the provisions of the divine call, that their pastor serve them otherwise than God’s Word teaches, would the pastor be confronted with a situation in which, in order to “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29), he would have to leave the service of such a congregation. Since the congregation is the original possessor of the power of the keys, and hence the means of grace (Matt. 18:17–20), and by divine command delegates the public administration of the means of grace to competent persons (Acts 14:23), therefore the administration of these delegated powers remains under the supervision of the congregation, Col. 4:17. In this respect it is stated in the Smalcald Articles (Triglotta, p. 507, par. 11): “The Church is above the ministers.”

Since the Christian Church is an absolute monarchy, in which Christ through His Word has sole dominion, Matt. 23: 8–10, there results there from a double truth: a). With regard to the authority of the servants of the Church, obedience is due them when they teach God’s Word, Heb. 13:17; Luke 10:16; but obedience is to be refused when they depart from God’s Word, Rom. 16:17. b). With regard to the relation of the servants of the Church to one another, all superiority and subordination is not of divine but only of human right, for by divine right all are equal. In Luke 22:24–26, when the disciples of Christ strive about rank, Christ answers them: “Ye shall not be so,” adding the instruction that there are superiors and subordinates only in worldly kingdoms.

At this point we quote with great satisfaction, in accordance with our aim of demonstrating the agreement of Lutheran doctrine with universal Christian Biblical doctrine, the testimony of a great Bible scholar who belonged to the Anglican or English Episcopal Church, where it is commonly taught that there are three distinct and divinely ordained orders or ranks of the clergy, namely bishops, priests (or presbyters), and deacons. Henry Alford remarks on 1 Tim. 3:1 (“If a man desire the office of a bishop,” etc.): “The ‘bishops’ of the New Testament have officially nothing in common with our bishops. The identity of the ‘bishop’ and ‘presbyter’ (or ‘elder’) in apostolic times is evident from Titus 1:5–7.” In connection with Acts 20:17 (“called the elders of the church”) and verse 28 of the same chapter, and referring to the same persons (“take heed to yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you bishops”), Alford points out the unfairness of translating the Greek word for “bishops” in the latter verse as “overseers,” whereas in every other passage of the New Testament where it occurs it is translated “bishops.” If it had been uniformly rendered, as it ought to be, in Acts 20:28, then, says Alford, “the fact of elders and bishops having been originally and apostolically synonymous might be apparent to the ordinary English reader, which now it is not.”

The public ministry is the highest office in the Christian Church. As the local congregation is the only divinely instituted society in the Christian Church (societies outside the congregation, such as synods, and societies within the congregation, such as young men’s, young ladies’, ladies guilds, men’s clubs, etc., are only human ordinances), so also the office of the public ministry is the only divinely instituted public office in the Christian Church. Auxiliary offices within the congregation can according to need be branched off from the office of the ministry (elders, teachers, almoners, etc., Acts 6), but these remain under the supervision and responsibility of the pastor according to Acts 20:28: “Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you bishops.” In this sense Luther calls the office of the public ministry “the highest office in Christendom.”

At least a few lines must be added here with reference to the Scripture doctrine concerning the Antichrist; for it is here, and not in the treatment of “the last things,” that this doctrine belongs. Nothing in Scripture suggests that either the rise or the revelation of the Antichrist is to take place at the end of the world, though indeed his final destruction will be accomplished by “the brightness of Christ’s coming” (2 Thess. 2:8). The Scripture warnings against the Antichrist form an appendage to the doctrine of the ministry for the reason that the Antichrist described in 2 Thess. 2:3–12 represents the grossest perversion of the office of the public ministry. He “sitteth in the temple of God,” that is, in the Christian Church, and claims to be “the vicar of Christ,” and in that capacity to rule the church on earth as a visible monarchy, setting himself above all divine authority (“Object of worship”) and divinely ordained authority in the kingdoms of this world (civil rulers in this respect being rightly “called gods,” as in Psalm 82:6, cited John 10:34, as those who “are sent by God for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well,” 1 Peter 2:13, 14), as though Christ had abdicated the throne of His Church upon earth or absented Himself from His dominion in this world (2 Thess. 2:4). Yet the whole rule and authority of Antichrist is nothing but the supreme apostasy from the central article of Christian doctrine — justification by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith, without the deeds of the Law — which the papal sect curses in the Sixth Session of its Council of Trent, especially canons 11, 12, and 20. Compare 2 Thess. 2:3, where the Holy Spirit calls the rule of “that man of sin,” “the son of perdition,” by the name of “the apostasy” (“falling away”). If anyone should fail to recognize that all these marks or criteria of the Antichrist, including the “power and signs and lying wonders” of 2 Thess. 2:9, are completely fulfilled in the Roman papacy, and in it alone, or should imagine the possibility of a still greater apostasy than the cursing of the central doctrine of Christianity and substituting a human authority for that of Christ — then such a person would show such ignorance of the chief enemy of our holy faith as would be inexcusable in a teacher of Christians, or would expose his failure to appreciate the supreme importance of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Finally, the suggestion that the Antichrist is not assuredly identifiable would tend to make Scripture’s solemn warning not to let ourselves be seduced by Antichrist vain and unprofitable for Christ’s people.

As the blessings of the Gospel ministry are dear and precious to us, so vigilantly must we guard against the seductions of its counterpart, the Roman Antichrist.

N.B. For further information on the subject of the closing paragraphs see Smalcald Articles, Part II, Art. IV (Triglotta, pp. 471–477), and “Of the Power and Primacy of the Pope” (Triglotta, pp. 503–521); also “Brief Statement,” Art. 17 (par. 43); and finally, “Our Confessional Platform,” by Dr. P. E. Kretzmann, Art. 6, d.

[Next week's installment from We All Believe in One True God will cover the Election of Grace.]

What Do We Believe?

What do we believe about the Public Ministry? Consider the following summary statement and look up the supporting Bible passages:

PUBLIC MINISTRY

We believe that, while God has given to all true believers the right and duty to preach His Word and administer the Sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper), He has also commanded Christians to gather together and call faithful men to publicly preach and teach God’s Word and administer the Sacraments among them and in their stead (1 Peter 2:9; Matthew 28:18-20; John 20:21-23; Jeremiah 23:3-4,28; Hebrews 10:19-25; Acts 14:23; 20:28; Ephesians 4:11-12; Titus 1:5-9; 2 Timothy 4:2). Only men meeting the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9 are to be entrusted with this office. Though the public ministry of Word and Sacrament exists by the will and command of God, those holding this office have no authority and power but the Word of God (1 Peter 4:11; Hebrews 4:12; Romans 1:16-17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Thus, obedience must be rendered to the public ministry only when the Word of God is faithfully proclaimed and applied (Hebrews 13:17; Luke 10:16). We reject as contrary to God’s will, and as sinful, the current practice of placing women into the public ministry or other positions or offices where they must teach or exercise authority over men (1 Timothy 2:11-15; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35).

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

The Adult Bible Class continues its study of the Gospel of John. To prepare, read John 3:1-8. Who was Nicodemus? Did the Pharisees accept John’s baptism of repentance? Cf. Luke 7:30. Why? When did Nicodemus come to Jesus? Why? What did he say to Jesus? What did he and the Pharisees acknowledge about Jesus? Was this enough? What did Jesus say to Nicodemus? Why? Can a person be a part of God’s kingdom – or even see it – without being born again? How can a person be born again? Cf. Titus 3:4-7. Of what must one be born to enter the kingdom of God? What does this mean? Can a person be born again of his own will or decision? Who works through the waters of Baptism to create and preserve faith in Christ Jesus? How is the working of the Holy Spirit like the wind?

The Catechism Class continues studying the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed and learning of Jesus and what He has done to redeem all mankind.

The Sunday Sermon will be based on Exodus 13:1-3a, 11-15. In preparation, consider the following questions: What did God command the Children of Israel to do in these passages? Why? Cf. Exodus 12:1ff. How were the firstborn among the men of Israel redeemed? Cf. Numbers 3:44-51. How was Jesus redeemed? Cf. Luke 2:22-23. What sacrifice was offered for Mary’s purification? cf. Luke 2:22-24; Leviticus 12:1ff. When was this done? See Leviticus 12:1ff. for the number of days following Jesus’ birth and His circumcision. How are we passed over in God’s judgment? Cf. John 5:24. Whose blood protects us? Cf. 1 John 1:7. To whom do we belong? Cf. 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. How are we offered up to God? Cf. Romans 12:1-2.

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 continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Ron Wellander who underwent surgery on Monday, and for Sam Rusch who had been hospitalized – for those who have been absent from us, for our students who are away at school, 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.

Upcoming Events

The Choir is practicing for upcoming services. More voices are always welcome.

Christmas Eve Worship, with the congregation’s children participating, will be held at 7 p.m. On Dec. 24. New Year’s Eve Worship is also tentatively planned for 7 p.m. Dec. 31.

Monthly Wednesday night Bible studies will begin in the new year and be held at the church at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month.

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

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:13-14

A Blessed Christmas To You In Christ Jesus, Your Savior!

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

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

Come and join us at 7 p.m. tonight as we gather to humbly consider our sinfulness and the grace and mercy of God extended to us in our Savior, Jesus Christ. A 6:20 p.m. soup and sandwich supper will precede the service.

Paul’s Letter to the Believers at Colosse (continued)

“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.” Colossians 4:2-4

The Apostle Paul, in prison for his testimony to the crucified and risen Christ, urges his fellow believers at Colosse to continue in prayer. And while they are praying to the Lord God, watching and giving thanks for God’s answers to their prayers, Paul urges them to remember him and his companions in their prayers as well.

Notice that Paul doesn’t request his release from prison, but rather the opportunity to speak of Christ and of the salvation Christ Jesus has accomplished for all mankind. Paul desires the opportunity to tell the mystery of Christ – that which had been veiled before and only in part revealed through the prophecies of the Old Testament but was now made known in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Paul was in bonds for telling the truth about Messiah Jesus, and he requested the prayers of his fellow believers that he would be given further opportunity to tell of Jesus and of the forgiveness and life which Jesus won for all mankind – both Jew and Gentile – by His holy life and His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross for the sins of the world. Paul asked for prayers on his behalf that he might make the mystery of Christ manifest and openly known to all. He asked for prayers that he might hold back nothing, even in the face of adversity, but speak the saving Gospel as he ought to speak it.

This should be the desire of all ministers of the Gospel – for open doors and opportunities to speak the truth and tell others about Messiah Jesus and His life, death and resurrection. And, this should be our prayer for all who are called to preach the Gospel – that they would hold back nothing of God’s Word, but preach the truth and proclaim Christ Jesus and His blood shed upon the cross as the only hope for sinful mankind.

No matter what our circumstances or what obstacles would prevent us from speaking of Jesus and making known the plan of God for the salvation of the world – that great mystery which has been revealed to us in the coming of Christ Jesus and made known to us through the Word of God – let us pray that God would give us opportunities to speak of Jesus and of the forgiveness and life He won for all, and that we hold nothing back, but speak as we ought to speak, that others, too, may know Him and trust in Him as their Savior!

O Spirit of God, we thank You for making known to us the mystery of the Gospel – for revealing to us that Jesus is God the Son in human flesh and that He has made full atonement for all our sins by His holy life and innocent sufferings and death upon the cross for the sins of the world. Open doors that we and all your called ministers may make known the mystery of the Gospel. Give us boldness to speak as we ought to speak, testifying against unrighteousness and sin but proclaiming divine mercy and forgiveness in the crucified and risen Savior, Christ Jesus. In His name we pray. Amen.

Pastor Randy Moll

We All Believe in One True God:

A Summary of Biblical Doctrine

By Wallace H. McLaughlin

(The entire book is posted under Pages on the Church Web log)

XV. The Church

It will be of advantage to treat our theme under two main headings, in accordance with the usage of Scripture, which employs the term “church” in two (and only two) significations: A. The Church Universal; B. Local Churches.

A. The Church Universal. The nature of the Christian Church, in the primary significance of the term, as referring to the one holy Christian Church (invisible) of our Creed, may be defined as follows: The Christian Church consists of men (people) who believe in Christ, that is, believe that God forgives them their sins for the sake of Christ’s vicarious satisfaction. This definition is clearly given us by Scripture in Acts 5:14 (cf. Acts 2:47): “Believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.” With this our Confession fully agrees, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession speaking of the Christian Church as: “men scattered throughout the whole world who agree concerning the Gospel.” All unbelievers, whether they are openly godless or hypocrites, are not a part of the Church, but are only mingled with the Church according to external association. The Scripture proves this by describing all unbelievers, whether heathen or Jews, as dwelling-places and workshops of the devil, “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:1–3). The designations which Holy Scripture predicates of the Church do not fit unbelievers, for instance, “house of God” (1 Tim. 3:15), “temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you” (1 Cor. 6:19), “body of Christ, fulness of Christ” (Eph. 1:23). In short, there is no substitute for faith in Christ as a means of entrance into the Christian Church, also not the administration of offices. Pastors, elders, school teachers, students, professors, presidents, visitors, who do not in their hearts believe on Christ as their Savior, are outside the Church. To believe on Christ or the Gospel is to have faith in the article of justification by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith, without the deeds of the Law. Hence Luther says of this article that it alone brings forth, nourishes, builds, preserves, and defends the Church, and without it the Church of God cannot subsist for one hour.

The attributes of the Christian Church, according to Holy Scripture, are: invisibility, unity, holiness, universality, and apostolicity.

a). The Church is invisible, because faith in the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins, which faith makes a person a member of the Church, is known only to God, but is invisible to the eyes of man. 1 Kings 8:39: “For Thou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men.” Luke 17:20, 21: “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” See also Acts 1:24; 2 Tim. 2:19. The means of grace, which have been falsely called the visible side of the Church, are the means ordained by God for the production and preservation of faith, and hence marks of the Church, that is, they show where upon earth, according to God’s promise (Is. 55:10, 11), the Church is to be found; but they are not a part of the Church, since the Church consists only of believing people.

b). The Church is one, John 10:16: “one fold,” or better: “one flock,” since all members of the Church “agree concerning the Gospel,” and therefore “one faith” (Eph. 4:5; Gal. 3:28: “ye are all one”) is common to all.

c). The Church is holy, 1 Peter 2:9: “an holy nation;” in the first place, entirely and perfectly holy through the righteousness of Christ imputed to faith, Rom. 4:5: “his faith is counted for righteousness;” in the second place, incompletely holy through the inherent righteousness of life, Rom. 6:14: “sin shall not have dominion over you,” every member of the Church being under the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit who dwells within believers (John 14:17: “He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you”).

d). The Church is universal, for it embraces the believers in the Lord of all times, among all peoples, and in all places. Acts 10:43; Gal. 3:6; Mark 16:15, 16. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession (Art. XII, par. 66) calls attention to the fact that Acts 10:43 gives expression to the real “consensus of the Church” when it declares: “To Him give all the prophets witness.” “I verily think that if all the holy prophets are unanimously agreed in a declaration (since God regards even a single prophet as an inestimable treasure), it would also be a decree, a declaration, and a unanimous strong conclusion of the universal, catholic, Christian, holy Church, and would be justly regarded as such.”

e). The Church is apostolic, in the sense of holding fast to the apostolic doctrine. Acts 2:42: “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Eph. 2:20: “Ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Corner-stone.”

The dignity and glory of the Church is seen in the fact that her members, as such, are subject only to Christ, that they are the possessors of the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and indeed of all things.

a). Her members, as such, are subject to no man, but only to Christ, Matt. 23:8; 1 Cor. 7:23: “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.” With this the command to “obey them that have the rule over you” (or better: “guide you”), “and submit yourselves” is not in conflict. For the obedience of Christians to their teachers is limited to God’s Word which the teachers proclaim; and if they teach otherwise than God’s Word teaches, then God’s command to the hearers is: “Avoid them!” (Rom. 16:17).

b). The members of the Church, or the believers, are the original possessors of the means of grace, 1 Peter 2:9; Matt. 28:19, 20, and consequently of the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, Matt. 18:18, which assertion is not refuted but confirmed by Matt. 16:18, 19, because according to the context the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are given to Peter, not in his character as an apostle, but inasmuch as he believes in Christ.

c). The members of the Church, or the believers, possess all things, 1 Cor. 3:21, 22: “all things are yours.” In their interest, and indeed by them, the whole world is ruled, Rom. 8:28. It is, moreover, a Scriptural axiom that the Christians, as the “body of Christ,” do with Christ all that He does. The Scripture proof for this assertion we have in Psalm 2:8, 9, compared with Rev. 2:26–28.

How is the Church founded and preserved?

a). God creates and preserves the Church according to His grace, Col. 1:12–14, and according to His omnipotence, Eph. 1:19–23. Those who teach that conversion and salvation are dependent not only upon God’s grace but also upon the different conduct of man or his lesser guilt in comparison with others, become guilty, by such teaching, of doing as much as in them lies to overthrow the foundation of the Christian Church, for the Church lives by grace alone.

b). God creates and preserves the Church not without means but by the means of grace. Hence Scripture also ascribes the working of faith to the men who administer the means of grace. Rom. 10:17: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” 1 Cor. 4:15: “I have begotten you through the Gospel.” Hence it is said in Gal. 4:26 that the Christian Church, the Jerusalem which is above, is the mother of us all (that is, of all members of the Christian Church). Those who teach an operation of the Holy Ghost without means do as much as in them lies to destroy the foundation of the Christian Church, for the Church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (of the Word), Eph. 2:20.

c). The State, with its external power, is neither a means nor an auxiliary means for the building of the Christian Church. The reason that we must maintain this assertion is that faith in Christ comes not through external power, but only through the Gospel. Therefore all those who want to employ the power of the State as an auxiliary means for the building of the Christian Church are acting foolishly and contrary to Scripture.

B. Local Churches. Scripture speaks of the Church not only in the singular (Eph. 5:25: “Christ loved the Church;” John 10:16: “one flock”) but also in the plural with designation of the place where the churches are located, for example, 1 Cor. 16:19: “the churches of Asia.”

The nature of the local church or congregation may be defined as follows: The Christian local congregation is the congregation of believers or saints which is gathered about Word and Sacraments at a particular place. The address of the Corinthian congregation reads, 1 Cor. 1:2: “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.” Also the functions which are entrusted to the local congregations presuppose faith. Col. 3:16: “teaching and admonishing one another … singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Rom. 16:17: Judging doctrine and avoiding false teachers. Matt. 18:15: Admonishing and exercising church discipline.

The local church is a divine institution. That the formation of local congregations is a divine ordinance is established both by direct and indirect Scripture proof, a.) The direct proof is derived from the fact that God has commanded the Christians who live in one place not only to read God’s Word but also to establish among themselves the office of the public ministry and to hear the publicly preached Word, Titus 1:5: “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.” (N.B. Paul did not give orders on his own authority, but only in accordance with a divine ordinance), b). The indirect proof is derived from the commission to the local congregation of certain functions which themselves are exercised by divine command, for instance, the exercise of church discipline on the part of the congregation (Matt. 18:17: “Tell it unto the church”), congregational celebration of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11: 17: “ye come together”), etc. The uniting of local congregations into synods, conferences, etc., is only an ecclesiastical ordinance, that is to say, it is left to Christian liberty, since there is no command of God to this effect in Scripture.

The distinction between orthodox and heterodox local congregations is Scriptural, because it is God’s ordinance that in all local congregations only God’s Word should be taught and heard, 1 Peter 4:11: “as the oracles of God.” Where there exists a deviation from the apostolic doctrine we are dealing with an organization which is disobedient to God, and here Romans 16:17 and Matthew 7:15 are to be applied in practice. “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). “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matt. 7:15). The much ridiculed terminology, “orthodox churches” and “heterodox churches,” is Scriptural. Erring communions originate and persist contrary to divine ordinance. In order to hinder the origination and perpetuation of such heterodox groups Paul commands Timothy, 1 Tim. 1:3, to “charge some that they teach no other doctrine” at Ephesus, and enjoins the Roman congregation to separate from such as deviate from the apostolic doctrine, Rom. 16:17. If doctrinal discipline is exercised against false teachers who arise in its midst (Acts 20:30, 31) the congregation or fellowship of congregations in which such discipline is maintained thereby retains its orthodox character, but if such discipline is neglected it forfeits its orthodoxy.

There are indeed children of God also in heterodox churches. There are members of the Christian Church also in heterodox communions if and because so much of the Word of God is still taught, heard, and read there, that men can thereby come to the knowledge that they deserve damnation (through the Law) and may come to faith in Christ as the Savior of sinners (through the Gospel). A Biblical example of this situation is the Samaritan church, which, according to John 4:22, was a heterodox communion, but in which, according to Luke 17:16, there could also be found believers. (N.B. The man’s gratitude was the fruit of faith in the Messiah, v. 19; but his knowledge of the Messiah had come to him from the Scriptures which he found fulfilled in Jesus). The truth of this matter is that every man who by the operation of the Holy Spirit believes on Christ the Savior of sinners is a child of God, regardless of the church body with which he is outwardly connected.

But God’s own recognition of His children also in heterodox communions does not permit orthodox Christians to practice fellowship with the heterodox. Church fellowship with the heterodox is strictly forbidden in Scripture, Rom. 16:17. Civil fellowship with errorists or unbelievers is not forbidden by God’s Word, 1 Cor. 5:10; but church fellowship or religious fraternization with the heterodox is strictly prohibited by God, Rom. 16:17; 2 John 10, 11: “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” The greeting here forbidden is not the civil greeting but that of brotherhood in the faith. Church fellowship with the heterodox (unionism, syncretism) is the cause of the wretched divisions in the Christian Church which offer such a serious offense to the world and to weak Christians.

By the word “schism” a division within the church is designated which should not occur, and is therefore sinful, for instance, a separation because of differences in church ceremonies, terminology, etc., in general, because of such things as are neither commanded nor forbidden in Scripture. The Lutheran Church repudiates such sinful divisions in the Seventh Article of the Augsburg Confession.

Christian congregations may in Christian liberty establish associations with sister congregations of the same faith, in which they are represented by delegates in accordance with stipulations agreed upon among the participants. But such a “representative church” does not exist by divine ordinance, and hence there are no individual persons (supreme head of the church, supreme head of the state) nor any college of persons either within a single congregation or among several congregations (board of elders, synodical delegates, council, board of directors, etc.) who can determine ecclesiastical matters in such a way that the consciences of the Christians should be bound thereby. For in the Christian Church God’s Word is the only authority which binds consciences. Matt. 23:8, 10: “One is your Master.” Therefore councils, synods, etc. have only advisory power, not any autonomous judicial power (“jurisdiction”) or legislative power.

The question may arise whether we may vote on any question at all in the Christian Church. The answer is that we may, but with this distinction: a). In matters of doctrine we vote not to establish doctrine, but to determine whether all have recognized the Christian doctrine in a point of controversy, b). In matters of indifference (matters not determined by the Word of God) we vote in order to determine what the majority holds to be fitting, while the minority then yields to the majority, or conversely, the majority yields to the minority for love’s sake.

[Next week's installment from We All Believe in One True God will cover the Ministry.]

What Do We Believe?

What do we believe about Church Fellowship? Consider the following summary statement and look up the supporting Bible passages:

CHURCH FELLOWSHIP

We believe that God commands all Christians to discriminate between churches which are faithful to Christ and that which is taught in His Word (orthodox churches) and those which are not faithful to Christ and His Word (false and heterodox churches), and to practice church fellowship (joining together in those things which one would do with fellow believers, such as, worship, prayer, reception of the Lord’s Supper, evangelism, mission work, etc.) only with those who are faithful to Christ and His holy Word (Matthew 28:18-20; 7:15-23; John 8:31-32; 1 John 4:1-6; Acts 2:42; Romans 16:17-18; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 John 7-11). We therefore condemn as sin the unionistic practices of our day, in which church fellowship is practiced and church union is sought without regard for full adherence to the Scriptural Doctrine.

A church’s faithfulness to Christ and His Word is to be judged, not only by its acceptance of and subscription to an orthodox creed or confession, but by what is actually taught and practiced in it. Errors in both doctrine and practice will continue to trouble churches in this world (Acts 20:28-32; 1 Corinthians 11:19); but those which are faithful to Christ and His Word will, through Scriptural admonition and discipline, continue to combat and remove such error from among themselves (Matthew 18:15-18; 2 Timothy 3:13-17; 4:1-5; Titus 3:10-11).

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

The Adult Bible Class continues its study of the Gospel of John. To prepare, read John 2:12-25. Where did Jesus live? Who was there with Him? What did Jesus do at the feast of the Passover? Why? What did Jesus say to those who bought and sold in the temple? Cf. Psalm 69:9. Does this have any application to churches today? Is it pleasing to God for churches to become places of business? What about fundraisers and church sales? What about fraternal organizations which sell insurance products and investments? How did God direct His people to support the work of the temple? Of the church? Why did the Jews ask a sign of Jesus? What sign did He give them? How did the Jews understand Jesus? What did Jesus really mean? Who remembered His words and later understood their fulfillment? What is meant by the last three verses of this chapter?

The Catechism Class continues studying the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed and learning of Jesus and what He has done to redeem all mankind.

The Sunday Sermon will be based on Micah 5:2-5: In preparation, consider the following questions: When did Micah prophesy? What did he, in the opening part of his prophecy, say would happen to Israel and Judah? Why? What does Micah say will happen in the last days? From what city or town would God’s appointed ruler come forth? What is significant about this? What other ruler did God raise up from this city? How long has this promised ruler been in existence? What would this ruler do? How does this relate to the prophecy of Jacob in Genesis 49:10? What kind of kingdom would this ruler establish? How was this prophecy fulfilled? What is meant by the statement: “And this man shall be the peace”? What is the significance of this for us yet 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 continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us, for those who have been absent from us, for our students who are away at school, 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 who have suffered much from repeated Typhoons.

Upcoming Events

The Choir is practicing for upcoming services. More voices are always welcome.

Christmas Eve Worship, with the congregation’s children participating, will be held at 7 p.m. On Dec. 24. New Year’s Eve Worship is also tentatively planned for 7 p.m. Dec. 31.

Monthly Wednesday night Bible studies will begin in the new year and be held at the church at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month.

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

“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Genesis 49:10

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

“After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison. Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 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 3:22-36

Both the disciples of Jesus and John the Baptist were baptizing people with a “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4) in the region of the Jordan. John, until his arrest and execution by Herod, continued calling upon all to repent and believe in God’s promised Messiah and Savior. Though we do not know the details of the question which arose between the Jews and some of John’s disciples, it likely was related to the fact that Jesus and His disciples were also baptizing, and all the people were coming to Jesus rather than to John the Baptist.

While most men would be grieved to see their own work and ministry waning and people going to another, John rejoiced because the people were going to see and hear Jesus. He reminded his disciples that he had told them he was not the Christ (the promised Messiah and Savior). In fact, John had pointed his disciples to Jesus, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). John told his disciples, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (v. 30).

Jesus is the Son of God come down from heaven. John was only a man sent by God to testify of God’s Son. Jesus testified to those things He had seen and heard in heaven. John could only testify to the words revealed to him on earth by the Holy Spirit. Jesus came and testified to the truth about sinful man and to the way of salvation God was providing in His Son. Yet people did not accept Jesus’ testimony.

Even today, Jesus’ Word sounds forth, testifying to the truth that all men are sinful in thoughts, desires, words and deeds — that the very thoughts and intents of man’s heart are evil from his youth (cf. Genesis 6:5; 8:21). Jesus testifies that only in Him — for the sake of His holy life in our stead and for the sake of His innocent sufferings and death on the cross for the sins of the world — is there forgiveness of sins and life everlasting!

But people do not believe His testimony, even though He is God the Son come down to earth in human flesh, even though He died for them and rose again. But those who, by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit, believe His testimony are assured that God is true. They are assured that indeed their sins are forgiven of God and that they do have the eternal joys of heaven awaiting them.

John the Baptist told his disciples that the Father loves the Son and has committed all things into His hands. “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” (v. 36).

These words of John remain true even today! Do you have life in the Son?

Dearest Jesus, I am a sinner through and through. Wash away my sins in Your shed blood and create in me a right spirit. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.]

If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O LORD, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Psalm 130:3-4

Come and join us at 7 p.m. tonight as we gather to humbly consider our sinfulness and the grace and mercy of God extended to us in our Savior, Jesus Christ. A 6:20 p.m. soup and sandwich supper will precede the service.

Paul’s Letter to the Believers at Colosse (continued)

“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” Colossians 3:22-25

Though people may joke about being slaves to their work, not many would actually count themselves as servants. Yet, this Word of God applies to employees and all who work for another; and this would take in almost every one of us at some time or another.

God would have servants and employees obey their earthly masters in all things – unless, of course such obedience would cause them to disobey God (cf. Acts 5:29). And such service should not be just when the boss is watching, but all the time. The Bible says it should be “in singleness of heart,” which means wholeheartedly and fully devoted to serving those over us. Such obedience should be rendered in respect and honor for the almighty God who has both created and redeemed us.

The Apostle Paul adds the words: “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

Whatever we do here in this world should be done for the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His holy and precious blood to redeem us from sin and eternal damnation and make us His own. Though we may work for other men, yet we who believe in the Lord Jesus really live for and work for Him.

And we know that, even if our earthly masters and employers do not justly reward us for our labors, Jesus will. He won for us forgiveness of sins and a place in His eternal kingdom, and He has promised to graciously reward those who trust in Him and live for Him. Earthly masters may give us little credit for our labors and even treat us unfairly for their own selfish ends, but the Lord of the whole earth who died for our sins and rose again to give us eternal life will not treat us so.

On the other hand, those who do not obey and wholeheartedly serve their masters and employers, even if they are not found out and punished here, are known of the Lord and will be punished by Him.

God’s Word says: “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.”

God does not show partiality. His judgment is fair and true. Those who rebel against Him and disobey Him – which includes disobedience and dishonesty toward earthly employers and masters – He will punish with everlasting punishment and torment in hell. God will not let some “slide” or get away with disobedience while He punishes others.

But those who repent – acknowledging their disobedience and sinfulness and trusting in the shed blood of Jesus for forgiveness and life – God will pardon and grant life everlasting in His eternal kingdom. Those who sincerely repent will also, with the help and aid of God the Holy Ghost, seek to amend their evil ways and live in obedience to the LORD God who created and redeemed them. And such obedience, of course, includes obedience to earthly masters and employers.

Dear Lord Jesus, forgive me for the many times I have not served my earthly employer wholeheartedly and given an honest day’s work for my wages. Forgive my sin and disobedience toward You for the sake of Your holy and precious blood shed for me upon the cross. And, with the help and aid of Your Holy Spirit, give me the desire and strength to serve and do my best at my job for those whom You have placed over me. Amen.

Pastor Randy Moll

We All Believe in One True God:

A Summary of Biblical Doctrine

By Wallace H. McLaughlin

(The entire book is posted under Pages on the Church Web log)

XIII. Holy Baptism

That Baptism is not a human invention, but a divine ordinance to be observed until the last day, is plainly taught by Holy Scripture: Matt. 28:19, 20: “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world;” and also Mark 16:15, 16: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Only if we hold fast the truth that Baptism is a divine ordinance do we recognize that in Baptism, though it is performed through men, God Himself deals with us.

To a real Baptism belong, as visible signs, water (Eph. 5:26: “the washing of water”) and its application to a human being. To substitute some other liquid for water is frivolous and makes the Baptism uncertain. The application of water may take place not only by immersion, but also by pouring or sprinkling, since the Greek word “baptize” in the usage of Scripture means not only immersion, but denotes every kind of washing, as is evident, for instance, from Mark 7:3,4 and Luke 11:37, 38. In Mark 7:3 the verb “wash” is used, for which in verse 4 the verb “baptize” is substituted (correctly translated in our KJV by the same English word as used in the preceding verse), and even “baptisms of tables” (better: “couches,” upon which people reclined at the table) are mentioned. In Luke 11:37, 38 the Pharisee marveled that Jesus had not first “baptized” before eating. This does not refer to any immersion or bathing before the meal, which was not a Jewish custom, but to the customary washing of the hands, as referred to in Mark 7:3: “The Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not.”

More important then the mode of applying the water is that which makes Baptism “not simple water only” but a Sacrament. That which makes the application of water a means of grace, a means of the forgiveness of sin, is God’s Word, that is, God’s command to baptize and the promise of the remission of sins connected therewith; or, as Luther puts it in his Small Catechism, “Baptism is the water comprehended in God’s command and connected with God’s Word.” In Eph. 5:25, 26 we read of Christ that He cleanses the Church “with the washing of water by the Word” (literally: “in the Word”). God’s Word is, as it were, the container (Luther’s “comprehended in” means “wrapped up in”), whereby the application of water becomes a purification from the guilt of sin. St. Augustine put this relation very simply when he said: “The Word comes to the element and it becomes a Sacrament.” Compare Luther’s answers, in the Small Catechism, to the two questions: “What is Baptism?” and: “How can water do such great things?”

In answer to the question as to which baptisms performed in other denominations we should recognize as valid and which we must regard as no baptism, we answer: Denominations in which the Word of God does not come to the element do not administer Christian Baptism. That is the case with all Unitarian bodies, since they deny the Holy Trinity (thus not only making their so-called “baptism” invalid, but definitely placing themselves outside of the Christian Church), and Baptism in the name of the triune God belongs to the essence of Baptism, Matt. 28:19: “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” On the other hand, we recognize the Baptism of the Roman Church and of the Reformed Churches (unless they have succumbed to Unitarianism) as valid, since they confess the triune God. The errors of these denominations in the doctrine of Baptism do not concern the essence but the fruit and effect of Baptism.

We rightly hold fast to Baptism in the name of the triune God, with the express naming of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity, since faith in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is that faith whereby the Christian religion is distinguished from all false religions. On the basis of Scripture we distinguish between natural and Christian knowledge of God. There is a natural knowledge of God, namely, that derived from the works of creation (Rom. 1:20) and from the Law of God which even since the fall is not entirely eradicated out of the heart of man, Rom. 2:15, 16. But the natural knowledge of God does not go beyond the knowledge that there is an eternal, almighty, and holy God, who rewards the good and punishes the evil; and the result of this natural knowledge of God is a bad conscience, since man becomes aware in his conscience that he has transgressed the Law of God (Eph. 2:12). The Christian knowledge of God, on the other hand, which is derived only from the revelation of God in His Word (from the Holy Scriptures), has as its content the truth that the one true eternal God is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and the result of this knowledge is a good conscience, since Scripture not only teaches that in the one God there are three Persons, but also that the Father so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to be the Redeemer, that the Son refused not to give His life into death to cancel the guilt of men, and that it is the office of the Holy Spirit to work faith in the forgiveness of sins obtained by the Son of God. When we apply this to Baptism we must say that we have in Baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost an expression of the faith and confession whereby the Christian religion is distinguished from all non-Christian religions. Therefore we hold immovably fast to the Trinitarian formula of Baptism given in Matt. 28:19.

“Baptism is a work, not which we offer to God, but in which God baptizes us, i.e., a minister in the place of God; and God here offers and presents the remission of sins” (Apology, Triglotta, p. 389, 18). That this statement of our Confession is Scriptural we see from Acts 2:38 and from the fact that Baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is Baptism in the name of the God who is gracious to sinners. The same is witnessed by clear Scripture passages such as the following: Acts 22:16: Ananias says to Saul, whose hands are stained with the blood of Christians: “Be baptized, and wash away thy sins” — and this Baptism does, not only in individual cases, but to the whole Christian Church in general, Eph. 5:25, 26: “Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.” And as the Word of the Gospel by offering the forgiveness of sins also works faith and is thereby a means of regeneration (1 Peter 1:23), so is this also the case with Baptism, according to Titus 3:5. The reader may find it most helpful, as the writer has for many years past, to store in his memory, according to their Biblical sequence, the following eight proof passages for the important truth that Baptism regenerates and saves: Mark 16:16; John 3:5; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Gal. 3:26, 27; Eph. 5:25, 26; Titus 3:5–7; 1 Peter 3:20, 21.

[Reprinted here for the benefit of readers:

Mark 16:16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

John 3:5: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Acts 2:38-39: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Acts 22:16: And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Galatians 3:26-27: 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.

Ephesians 5:25-27: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Titus 3:5-7: 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.

1 Peter 3:20-21: Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.]

Because Baptism offers the forgiveness of sins, therefore it is also an instrument of the Holy Ghost for awakening and strengthening the faith of the Christians (John 16:14), for regeneration and renewal (Titus 3:5), for implanting into the Christian Church (1 Cor. 12:13), for the hope of eternal life (1 Peter 3:21). He who denies that Baptism is a means of the forgiveness of sins makes out of Baptism, so far as he is concerned, a human work. In itself it of course remains what Christ has made it, a true means of grace. But the denial of the divine efficacy of the means of grace always imperils the chief article, of salvation by faith in Christ, for it takes away from faith at least part of its foundation and robs the Christian of the comfort which the means of grace offer him.

What Luther and the Lutheran Church teach concerning the relation of faith to the means of grace we may summarize as follows: First, without faith there is no salutary use of Baptism. Secondly, he, however, who bases faith upon faith instead of upon the means of grace, thereby apostatizes from Christianity, because he holds God to be gracious not upon the basis of the forgiveness of sins which Christ gained for us through His vicarious satisfaction, but upon the basis of a supposed or real good quality in himself. In the case of infant Baptism, the faith which relies upon God’s grace bestowed in Baptism, is engendered by the Baptism itself.

Baptism is not to be repeated, but it is to be used throughout the Christian life for comfort (Gal. 3:26, 27) and for sanctification (Rom. 6:4). Particularly is the use of Baptism for comfort throughout the Christian life taught in 1 Peter 3:21: “Baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God.”

Both children and adults are to be baptized. Infant Baptism was the rule in the Christian Church from the beginning, since Baptism took the place of the Old Testament sacrament of circumcision, according to Col. 2:11, 12, where Baptism is called “the circumcision of Christ.” From this fact it is also clear why infant Baptism, like other self-evident matters (for instance, the admission of women to the Lord’s Supper), is not specifically prescribed. But it is implied in the record concerning the Baptism of whole families (Acts 16:15: Lydia and her household; Acts 16:33: the jailer and all his). The assertion that children do not believe, and therefore cannot be baptized, contradicts Matt. 18:6; 1 John 2:13; and especially Mark 10:14. There is no participation in the Kingdom of God without faith, but those who believe not are damned (Mark 16:16). In Luke 18:15 the little ones who are brought to Jesus are specifically called “infants.” The fact that Christ commands to baptize “all nations” (Matt. 28:19) is sufficient to prove that infants must be baptized, for we dare not make a restriction which He does not make. That we baptize adults only when they have been instructed and come to faith, is likewise done upon the basis of Scripture, Acts 8:36–38. Baptism of inanimate objects (bells, ships, etc.) is a mockery of Baptism.

Pastors administer Baptism as called public servants of the congregation of believers. But since all Christians are the original possessors of the sacraments, therefore, in case of emergency when the services of an orthodox pastor cannot be obtained, lay Baptism — also by women — is a right and duty. See 1 Cor. 3:21–23. That the command, Matt. 28:19, 20, concerns not only the Apostles but also the Church of Christ until the last day, is evident from v. 20b: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

As to the necessity of Baptism, we must hold that only the contempt of the Sacrament damns anyone, not the mere lack or deprivation of it. This is so, because also through merely hearing and believing the Word of the Gospel, sin is forgiven and regeneration is effected, Luke 24:47; 1 Peter 1:23. John 3:5 relates to the despising of Baptism, as is evident from Luke 7:29, 30. Converts who desire to be baptized, or parents who desire to bring their children to Baptism, if life be suddenly cut off by an act of God, depriving them of the opportunity of Baptism, may take comfort in the mercy of God.

A final note on the Baptism administered by John the Baptist may be added, since some strange thoughts on this subject are current, as though this Baptism was essentially different from Christian Baptism. Also John’s Baptism was, according to Mark 1:4, a “Baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (and thus just like Christian Baptism, Acts 2:38), a means of the remission of sins and hence also a means of regeneration, as Christ Himself asserts in John 3:5 (“born of water and of the Spirit”), for there He is speaking of John’s Baptism. From this fact, it is evident that John’s Baptism, aside from its preparatory nature in pointing to a Savior who was immediately to appear rather than one who had finished His saving work, was essentially equivalent to New Testament Baptism.

[Next week's installment from We All Believe in One True God will cover the Lord's Supper.]

What Do We Believe?

What do we believe about the Holy Christian Church? Consider the following summary statement and look up the supporting Bible passages:

HOLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

We believe that there is only one Holy Christian Church and that this Church is made up only of true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, of those who have despaired of their own righteousness before God and trust that God is gracious to them and forgives all their sins for the sake of Jesus Christ and His redemptive work (Matthew 16:16-18; Ephesians 2:8-22; 4:4-6; 5:23-32; 1:22-23; Romans 12:4-5; 8:9; Philippians 3:8-9). We believe that this Church is invisible, in that God only, and not man, can see faith in the heart (1 Samuel 16:7; Luke 17:20-21; 2 Timothy 2:19). Nevertheless, the Holy Christian Church does and will continue to exist in this world wherever the saving Gospel is still in use (Matthew 16:18; 1 Kings 19:8-18; Isaiah 55:10-11; Romans 1:16-17; 10:17). We reject as false the claim that Christ’s Church in this world is to be identified with any particular denomination or church body.

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

The Adult Bible Class continues its study of the Gospel of John. To prepare, read John 1:29-51. What did Jesus say of Nathanael? What does this mean? Cf. Psalm 32:1-6; 1 John 1:5-10; Psalm 51. How did Jesus know Nathanael? What does this reveal about Jesus? How did Nathanael respond to Jesus? What did Jesus then say? What did Jesus say Nathanael would see? Who else had seen such a similar thing? Cf. Genesis 28:10ff. What does this reveal about Jesus?

The Catechism Class continues studying the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed and learning of Jesus and what He has done to redeem all mankind.

The Sunday Sermon will be based on Luke 3:1-20: In preparation, consider the following questions: When did John the Baptist begin his ministry? Where did he go? Why did he go and begin preaching and baptizing? How did John fulfill the words of Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 40)? What does it mean when the Bible speaks of the valleys being filled, the mountains being brought low, the crooked being made straight, and the rough ways being made smooth? What did John preach in the wilderness? How does this compare to the message of the Church today? How would all flesh see the salvation of God? Why did John call the multitude who came to him a generation of vipers? How might this be true yet today? What does John indicate was lacking in their outward repentance? Will it do anyone any good to rely upon being a descendant of Abraham? How about being of Lutheran heritage? What is at the root of the trees? What will happen to the trees which do not bring forth the fruits of genuine repentance? How does this happen yet today? How could it even happen to you or me? What does John direct the people to do as a fruit of true repentance? Where do we look for such direction? To whom did John point the people? John baptized with water, but who baptizes with the Holy Spirit? How does this relate to Christian baptism? What else does John say the promised Messiah would do (v. 17)? What does this mean for us and the world?

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 continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us, for those who have been absent from us, for our students who are away at school, 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 who have suffered much from repeated Typhoons.

Upcoming Events

The Choir is practicing for upcoming services. More voices are always welcome.

Advent Services, preceded by a soup and sandwich supper, will begin tonight and continue on Wednesdays through Dec. 16. Soup and sandwich suppers will begin at 6:20 p.m., and the services will follow at 7 p.m. The series of services will consider Luke, chapter one.

The Annual Voters’ Meeting will be held after church on Sunday, Dec. 6. A potluck dinner will follow the worship service, and the meeting will follow the dinner.

Wednesday night Bible studies will begin in the new year. Watch for more announcements about them as the time approaches.

Member photos – If any families or individual members yet wish to have a photo taken before the Christmas season (at no cost), please see Pastor Moll. He is offering to take the photos at church and write the images to a CD for members. He will also use the photos to update those on the bulletin board. If anyone else is interested, he can take the photos after church on Sunday.

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

“I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” Psalm 130:5-8

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