Wonderful Hymn: “God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It”

     Last evening while studying and surfing the net, I was directed to this tender video:

     Casper and Disney are two boys who learned of the blessings of Baptism and wanted to be included in the kingdom of these benefits. Disney volunteers, saying:

And I was about five, too. At the beginning of kindergarten, I was crying a lot because I didn’t have a baptism and everyone else did.

     He was cut off before he could finish explaining. When asked why Baptism was so important to him he says: “Baptism was so important to me because I, because we become a child of God. That’s why it’s important to me.”

     This is why these boys wanted to be baptized. Their parents had not given this to them. They wanted what the other children had received. They wanted to be generated from above into the kingdom of God. They wanted to be adopted as God’s children. Disney automatically paused when he began to say “I” and corrected himself saying “we become a child of God.” This is a display of an amazingly deep theological understanding. This was not taught by his teachers but rose from his own realization of what Baptism is. While Baptism is applied to each individual, it is the way for all who are truly generated into God’s family. While it is unlikely that young Disney made this connection to the statements of Jesus in John 3, he received the Holy Spirit in his baptism and the Holy Spirit imparted to him the true faith and continues to instruct him in the understanding of this faith that has been generated in him.

     I find the mater-of-fact manner of responses from children to be delightful. This is the way that children speak when they are certain of their responses. These two boys have been catechized. They have been taught what the Holy Spirit declares. But their responses are more than what is heard as the result of programmed indoctrination. They are speaking from their hearts of what they have been moved by the Holy Spirit to believe. This is more than merely repeating what they have heard many times from parents and teachers. They speak from their hearts of what they themselves know. Disney’s response is especially delightful when he says:

Yeah, we get to be God’s child, like I just said.

     He says this after he was asked, “And what do you get in Baptism?”

     His response is: “The forgiveness of sins.”

     His questioner seems to be fishing for more, very likely what St. Peter declares in Acts 2:38, where he speaks of the gift of the Holy Spirit as well as the forgiveness of sins, but young Disney responds with what the forgiveness of sins means to the regenerated child of God, “Yeah, we get to be God’s child, like I just said.”

     When Peter preached to those who were gathered at Pentecost, he explained the how of the new life that accompanies the reception of the remission of sins through Baptism. The Holy Spirit is the one who works this miracle of faith through which the remission of sins is worked. The Holy Spirit is the one poured out in Baptism to preserve this faith within the newborn child of God so that this faith is nurtured and strengthened, so that it grows to maturity and in deeper understanding. But for young Disney, the unity of the Holy Trinity is so clear that he responds to the foremost issue, that the remission of sins means that one is received back into God’s family forevermore. Just as the Holy Spirit does not direct attention to Himself, neither does the child of God reflect upon this but rejoices first in the remission of sins through which he gets to be a God’s child. This is what Baptism foremost means to sinners who realize that their sin cuts them off from God. It is only when people begin to rely upon their own understanding and begin to focus upon their own displays of sanctification that they begin to focus strongly upon the gift of the Holy Spirit. When sinners truly realize their sinfulness, they count the remission of sins as the most important of their needs, and they rejoice in the reconciliation with God that remission of sins establishes.

     For this reason, it makes me very sad to realize that these dear boys are part of a church body that robs them of the fullness of being regenerated into God’s Holy Communion. I regretfully confess my own sin as a pastor in this regard, having taught the false doctrine and practice of Confirmation as a necessity for partaking of the Holy Supper through which the continual remission of sins is promised to the children of God. It saddens me that sweet children of God are baptized into His Holy Communion and then are taught that they must achieve an elevated status of understanding before they are allowed to be counted as true partakers of God’s kingdom. The very food by which God promises to sustain His children is denied to those for whom He promises it. Just as these two boys were denied Baptism until they cried for it, so they are being denied the family meal so that they still are looking on for what belongs to all of God’s family but they are not being counted as true communicant members.

     I rejoice that these dear boys have been baptized and that they rejoice in the promises of their baptism. Yet I grieve that the primary proclamation of the Lord’s death till He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26) is denied to them. Even though they are rightly instructed that their sins are remitted and that the true faith is generated in them and that the Holy Spirit is poured out to them to keep them with Jesus Christ in the one true faith, yet they are denied the Sacrament of the Lord’s Holy Communion for which their baptism generates them. The Supper of Life is denied to them. They are instructed that they are not yet worthy, even though the true faith in the merits and promises of Christ is the only cause of worthiness.

     Is it any wonder that more than half of those who are baptized in these church bodies become confused and disheartened and fall away? Is it any wonder that of those who do progress to the rite of Confirmation, more than half then lose their desire for the Sacrament? Is it any wonder that in these church bodies that their own statistics show that in nearly every congregation that less than half and usually even less than a third of the so-called communicant members partake of the body and blood of their Lord on a given Sunday?

     Should this be surprising when for the most important years of their lives they have been taught that they do not need the Sacrament? For the years of their greatest development bodily, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, they have been taught that all that they really need is their baptism and that the Family Supper is not necessary. Then, after Confirmation, these dear saints who have been thus falsely taught are suddenly to cast away all of these years of instruction in the lack of need for the Sacrament and now to begin to crave the Sacrament as a great necessity.

     Does this make any sense at all?

     Saint Paul is often quoted in this regard. This would be wonderful if his instruction were taken as he gives it rather than applying private interpretation to his words. Here is what the dear apostle says:

     Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.

     For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

     When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

     For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

     For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. (1 Corinthians 11:17-33)

     Sadly, verses 27-29 are usually quoted apart from and even contrary to the context in which St. Paul is speaking. These verses are usually used as a proof text. A proof text is a text used to make a predetermined point, rather than quoting the text in accord with the point for which it stands written.

     Thus these particular verses are quoted as proof that individuals must examine themselves concerning what they understand before counting themselves properly prepared [worthy] of partaking of the Lord’s Communion.

     However, even with only the immediately preceding verse as a reference for the context, these verses instantly are perceived very differently than they are generally interpreted. What is the context for the necessity of a man examining himself? If we review the second paragraph above the perception is greatly enhanced.

     For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

     What is the point of St. Paul’s chastisement? He is chastising for the divisions that exist within the congregation. In the third paragraph he declares that because of the aforementioned heresies that the congregation’s suppers are not even the Lord’s Supper. He is declaring that merely following the outward form and labeling it as the Lord’s Supper does not make it the Lord’s Supper. He is warning that this form of practice is actually the opposite of proclaiming the Lord’s death till He comes. Instead, it is actually a mockery of the Lord’s death and thereby brings judgement upon the communicants of these false suppers.

     So the real issue that a man is to examine is whether or not his household is gathering with a true congregation that is truly offering the Sacrament as a “shewing of the Lord’s death till He comes” in accord with the pure teaching of the Gospel.

     In this particular setting, the Corinthian congregation was so far from the right shewing of the Lord’s death till He comes that they were not even considering the purpose and meaning of the Supper. Their treatment of the Supper was so bad that they did not even care who partook of the Supper. They treated it as an individualistic participation rather than the Lord’s family meal of forgiveness and nurturing in His Communion. They were not rightly discerning the Lord’s body and therefore they were ignoring others so that they were left out, just like the doctrine and practice of Confirmation does to those who have not been “properly instructed and confirmed.”

     Young Casper and Disney have it right. “Baptism was so important to me because I, because we become a child of God. That’s why it’s important to me.”

     These boys have been taught a marvelous hymn, a hymn which they prize and sing from their hearts. It is a shame that the doctrine of this hymn is ignored by their teachers and pastors regarding their true place in God’s family.

     The words of this hymn are available at God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It and at Witness, Mercy, Life Together: God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It. From these I quote the 2nd and 3rd stanzas:

Stanza 2

Sin, disturb my soul no longer:
I am baptized into Christ!
I have comfort even stronger:
Jesus' cleansing sacrifice.
Should a guilty conscience seize me
Since my Baptism did release me
In a dear forgiving flood,
Sprinkling me with Jesus' blood!

Stanza 3

Satan, hear this proclamation:
I am baptized into Christ!
Drop your ugly accusation,
I am not so soon enticed.
Now that to the font I've traveled,
All your might has come unraveled,
And, against your tyranny,
God, my Lord, unites with me!

     What is the purpose of Baptism? What is the purpose of the Lord’s Supper? Young Disney says it wonderfully.

     Isn’t it time that the pastors, teachers, and parents learn it, too? Isn’t it time that they stop eating and drinking judgment upon themselves by refusing the Lord’s command to suffer the little children to come to Him? Is this not the invitation of the Supper as well as of Baptism?

     At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:25-30)

     The wise and the prudent imagine that admission to the Supper is dependent upon being able to express one’s understanding, forgetting that:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)

     Is this not what this wonderful hymn that is taught to the children teaches? Is this not their understanding that the Holy Spirit imparts to them and continually instructs them in connection with the one true faith given to them in their baptism?

     Here is the full hymn presented by Gillian and Paul Norris as a YouTube video:

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Weak = Strong

When things seem to be going well and we imagine ourselves to be standing on our own two feet then we are inclined to feel strong.  However, when things seem to be going poorly and we have been knocked down, then we feel weak.



Bodily infirmities can be ignored sometimes.  Other times a person can rise above the limitations or pain, perhaps even putting them out of mind, coping with whatever the person faces.  A person can feel as though anything can be overcome.  A person feels as though one can stand against anything.

This can apply to other areas of life, too.  A person can often overcome serious adversities.  Overcoming life’s difficulties can lead a person to begin to count oneself as strong and able to stand against whatever may come.

But this only lasts for as long as the person’s own strength does not fail.  Eventually one cannot ignore one’s own limitations and frailty.  This is true physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

St. Paul wrote warning against trusting in one’s own strength, especially in spiritual matters. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”  (1 Corinthians 10:12)

St. Paul was one who knew.  He had been a Pharisee, named Saul.  He had studied the Scriptures intensely.  He had devoted himself to the most stringent adherence to the Law of God as given through Moses.  He counted himself to be exemplary among the people of God.  He was influential to the point of being intrusted with letters to pursue and take prisoner those who were following in the way, the faith of Jesus.

On the way to carry out this mission, the Lord Jesus stopped Saul in his tracks and confronted him.

And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

  (Acts 9:1-8)


    The rest of this account tells how weak Saul suddenly realized himself to be.  Not only was he now unable to see, but he had just learned that his entire life had been in vain.  All of his efforts were worthless, even worse than worthless.  All of his efforts to serve God were actually damned!  All of his pride was shown to be idolatry.  All of his devotion was shown to be false worship.  He had actually been an enemy of God rather than God’s friend!

    After this Saul (asked for or desired) began to be known as Paul (little or small).  With his conversion and baptism and ordination as the apostle of Jesus to the Gentiles, Paul was now very small in his own eyes and his own efforts and devotion were counted as skubalon (crap).  Thus he writes:

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.

  (1 Corinthians 10:12-15)

First is the warning against relying upon one’s own reason and strength.  Then is the promise that God is faithful and will limit one’s encounters with temptations to the strength that He Himself gives to the beloved believer.

In the verses that follow, he explains this further, pointing to the means through which this strength is given to the believer.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

  (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)

This is the means through which God strengthens His saints for all that they encounter in their daily lives.  This begins with being baptized into the body of Christ.  It extends into the life of worship that flows from this regeneration into God’s kingdom.  As a living member of Christ’s body, this holy supper is the means through which God renews His saints in the faith in which they stand and live.

This is why we dare not compromise it through any form of idolatry.  For this meal is the Communion with God that Christ restored for us and to which we are regenerated and reconciled through Baptism.

This is why it is so sad, even heart breaking, to observe the many ways that those professing to be Christians continue to turn back to ways of seeking to be strong through their own reason and strength.  Even the Holy Supper itself they turn into a work of their own rather than the means through which the merits of Christ are given to us by God.  Worship and devotion and prayer are turned into the idolatry of imagining that these are somehow worthy of merit in themselves.  And so these become means of making oneself better and stronger through one’s own efforts rather than being God’s gifts through which He Himself regenerates us and renews us and strengthens us and keeps us in the one true faith of Jesus.

This faulty and idolatrous mindset is demonstrated in the way that Philippians 4:13 is usually translated.  The KJV is representative of this: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

What St. Paul actually writes directs us to a very different mindset: “For all things I am strong in the one empowering me, Christ.”

The mindset that St. Paul teaches is one of what the Lord works for us rather than what we work for ourselves and for God.  St. Paul teaches us to know God as the one doing the work in us rather than looking to find a way to use God like a helpful tool.  St. Paul very specifically avoids this idea that God gets us started and we must continue to work to complete what God begins by saying that we are strong IN the one empowering us.  He very carefully and deliberately avoided using the word THROUGH.  We are IN Christ through His means of grace, through which He works these blessings for us and in us.  We are made to be IN Christ through Baptism.  We are renewed IN Christ through His body and blood administered to us IN the Holy Communion.

When we understand this and believe it even as the Lord and His apostles declare unto us, then we begin to see that indeed God does provide the strength and the means of escape from all temptations.  Then we begin to see that we truly do not need to be strong on our own and that we do not need to stand by our own strength.  Then we begin to enjoy our life in Christ rather than striving to make it real for ourselves.  Then our times of weakness become times of true strength.

It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

  (2 Corinthians 12:1-10)

The Lord Jesus declares in response to our prayers and all of our efforts: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”  How did He triumph over the powers of the devil, sin, and death?  Not through visions or miracles or even prayers answered as He willed for Himself.  He triumphed through the weakness of subjecting Himself to the Father’s will which carried Him to the cross where He suffered an ignominious death after many hours of injustice, torture, and ridicule.

He continues to work His blessings and to display His victory in the same way.  Not through visions or grandiose miracles or answering our prayers as we present them, but through the means of grace He gives us the victory that He won for us.  Thus St. Paul directs us to rejoice in our weakness, for then we do not try to win the battle for ourselves nor even to glorify God through our own efforts.  Then instead we look to Christ and rely upon His grace in all things.  Then we receive the strength that knows no limits, even as Christ lives and reigns to all eternity.

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Living Faith

Today I visited a blog that I occasionally read because reading the posts there often moves me to dig more deeply into what the Spirit has given us in His blessed doctrine in His Holy Scriptures.  The blogger very often says much that sounds right, because parts of the truth are presented.  Yet these things only sound right to those who do not listen for the truth as a whole.  The truth cannot be broken apart with only part of the truth being embraced and told.  If this is done, what is told is not the truth, but only part of the truth.  The statements made are true insofar as they reach, but without the rest of the truth these true statements are false.  The various articles of the truth cannot stand alone.

I share this not as an attack upon anyone, but so as to remind us all that this false premise that the truth can be in any way truncated is truly a false premise that causes us to cling to a faith that is powerless to save us.  This false premise manifests itself in the ways that we express ourselves concerning the faith and life as Christians.

In We are Christians not Faith-ians the blogger attempts to address a very serious faux pas or false step among those who profess to be Christians.  The issue that Pr. McCain attempts to address is truly a serious issue.  It is good that he and others recognize this and desire to correct the misstep.

However, if one is careful in reading this post, one observes that the true problem is not really addressed. McCain’s concern is the misunderstanding of what it is that makes one a Christian and gives absolute assurance of one’s salvation and security in that salvation.  This is a valid concern.  He makes some valid points regarding this concern.  He attempts to direct his readers to the true definition of the faith in which true believers have their hope.

He makes a very valid point when he says:

Do not confuse faith in faith, with trust in Christ. There is a key difference.

What he is expressing is that the individual’s personal faith is not the faith that regenerates the person into the kingdom of God.  A common way in which this faux pas is expressed by those who profess to be believers is to call this “personal faith in Christ as one’s personal Savior.”  If one pays attention, the problem with this becomes “self” evident.

In this regard, consider this question:

Does a person who believes tell oneself,
“I must believe”?

McCain writes: “Never look to your subjective feeling that there is faith in your heart.”  And again he says:

Salvation rests on objective realities that have absolutely nothing to do with feelings or emotions. Faith is merely and only the receiving hand God gives us and into which He pours His good gifts, it is not the cause of our salvation.

We are Christians, not Faith-ians.

His warning against the feeling that people mislabel as faith is certainly correct.  But does that really get to the issue?

He says that faith is not the cause of our salvation.

How then will one respond to those who object to this quoting the Lord Jesus saying: “Your faith has saved you”?  How will one respond to the many “by faith” passages in the New Testament Scriptures, especially in the epistles of St. Paul?  For example, how many times does St. Paul write that we are justified by faith?  Actually, he writes “out of faith.”  Does this not call to remembrance what the Lord Jesus teaches Nicodemus concerning Baptism in John 3 and what St. Peter declares in 1 Peter 3?

Can we really say that faith is not the cause of one’s salvation?

Is this really even the issue?  Could it be that the real issue is one of a false definition of faith being embraced?  Could it not be that the real issue is what is taught by the author to the Hebrews?
 

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:2)

Is not the real issue the one whom we count as the worker of faith for us?  Is it not true that the problem is not really that we count faith as the cause of our salvation, but really that we only give lip service to counting God and His means of grace as the cause of our faith?  Additionally, is the problem not also that we look to our personal faith rather than the faith of Jesus in which all true Christians have their being?

St. Paul writes: “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”  (Romans 1:17) This is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4,

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

The Septuagint translation gives an interesting insight as one observes how they translated this text:

If he should draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him: but the just shall live by my faith.

With Hebrews12:2 in mind, does this not bring clarification to the issue under consideration?

Does this not bring to the fore that the real issue is not whether we are Faith-ians, but rather, whose Faith in which are -ians?

When a person understands the life of being a Christian from this perspective, it changes the person’s entire understanding of life as a Christian.

It is notable that McCain does not even mention the means of grace in this article.  Some of those who commented mentioned them, but this seems not to be what McCain had in his mind as he wrote this.

Perhaps this is because the means of grace are not regularly thought of by people as the means of faith.  It is common, especially among those who call themselves Lutherans, to speak of faith as God’s gift and the work of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel and through the Sacraments, but then to look away from them as if what has been said is not what really matters.  A powerful example of this is the way that 1 Corinthians 11:28 is misapplied concerning the Sacrament of the body and blood of the Lord.  This misunderstanding and misapplication leads to people and entire churches counting one’s personal faith as the cause of worthiness for coming to the table of forgiveness and life in God’s kingdom.

But the apostle is teaching the opposite.  He is teaching that a man, as the head of his wife and household should examine himself, that is, his household, to be certain that they recognize their need for the body and blood of their Lord so as to be moved by the faith that He has worked in them to come to the table, and that this man also examine himself to be certain that the table to which he brings his family is truly the table of the Lord and not a table of adulteration of the Sacrament.

When people share in this understanding, what is taught is that each head of each household should be instructed and reminded to look back with his entire household daily to the promises made in their baptism, that is, God’s promises made in their baptism.  Looking back to one’s baptism causes one to realize that being a Christian is not the product of one’s faith, but rather one’s faith is the produce of being remade to be a Christian.  Perhaps this point should be repeated.

Looking back to one’s baptism causes one to realize that being a Christian is not the product of one’s faith, but rather one’s faith is the produce of being remade to be a Christian.

This realization then moves the person to rise up from the false reliance upon one’s own faith so as to approach the Table of the Lord’s Remembrance, where he remembers whom He has made us to be and with His body unites us with Him in His remembrance and renews us again in the forgiveness and life in His blood.

This is how God works His grace in us and for us, which we perceive through the faith that He engenders in us.  Then we simply say “Amen” to what He has done, as He continually gives and teaches it to us anew through His means of grace so that we do remember that He is the Father and we are the needy children.  Then we rejoice in the doctrine that St. Paul very carefully sets before us:

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

    For 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 2:4-10)

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Václav Havel's View

I found an article regarding the recently deceased Czech leader, entitled, Living Responsibly: Václav Havel's View, an article that I found very informative and interesting.

Frankly, until today, I was ignorant of this man and his role in the struggle of mankind for knowing the truth and for understanding who we are. I saw some blog posts contrasting this man and the recently deceased ruler of North Korea. This motivated me to study more.

What I learned about Kim Jong-il is horrifying. What I have learned of Václav Havel is truly a contrast.

Two places where I learned of Kim Jong-il and his so-called leadership are: On the Death of A Diabolical Dictator – North Korea’s Killing Fields and Kim Jong-il, North Korean leader, dies. Both of these have videos that reveal the dreadful ways of those who promote themselves as saviors, in the stead of the one who gives Himself as Savior, whose great gift to the world we celebrate Sunday. The videos at “The Guardian” show how powerfully the people of North Korea, or at least the ones shown in the videos, were persuaded by the closed and controlled state media.

Truly the man Václav Havel stands in contrast to this. I find it amazing how American he is, unlike most of us who have enjoyed the freedoms afforded to “real Americans.” He offers a strong warning to America, to Western Civilization, and to the world.

Havel stands as an example of how even one who does not believe in the God who reveals Himself in the Bible can still benefit temporally from the statutes, commandments, precepts, and judgments therein recorded. Havel himself received these temporal benefits, and through his belief in the high morals and ideals many others benefitted as well.

It is sad, though, very sad indeed, to realize that temporal benefits do not equal everlasting benefits. For this man openly declared concerning the rumor that he had become a Christian: “genuine conversion, as I understand it, would mean replacing an uncertain ‘something’ with a completely unambiguous personal God, and fully, inwardly, to accept Christ as the Son of God.… And I have not taken that step.”

This means that he will be standing with Kim Jong-il forevermore. He will not suffer as greatly as the monstrous dictator, but he did reject the life of everlasting blessedness that the Lord Jesus purchased for him.

And this is the so-called Church’s fault. For where would he turn to hear the unadulterated Gospel today? Where would he look to see the holy catholic Church standing in perfect unity of doctrine? Where are the means of grace administered today in accord with Christ’s ordinance? And yet all of these divisive heretics (opinion holders) say that these divisive self held opinion promoters are the Church and are saved. Why then would someone like Havel be inclined to believe in “a completely unambiguous personal God”? From whom would he even hear of such a God so as to believe in Him?

Sadly, frighteningly, poor Mr. Havel is not alone in this confusion that fills the world through the so-called Church of tolerant deviance. When one considers how many victims this view of Christianity claims, who is the more monstrous tyrant, the little ruler of North Korea, or the pastors and other leaders who deny the efficacy of the means of grace and the true unity of the Church of God on earth? And of those who deny the efficacy of the means of grace and the true unity of the Church, who does it most powerfully, those who outright deny that God works salvation through these, or those who teach that they are true means of salvation but then allow that salvation can be received while rejecting them (and thereby the One who ordained them)?

The warning that Mr. Havel spoke to America, to Western civilization, and to the world certainly should be taken seriously by those who call themselves Church. Moreover, if Mr. Havel were able so to do, he would, like the rich man who called out to Abraham in whose bosom Lazarus rested, surely he would call out to the Church unitedly and honestly to warn his brothers concerning who Jesus really is and what Jesus has accomplished for us all.

Christmas, that is, the Christ Mass, is this Sunday. Never mind what this means TO the world. Isn’t it time that Christians first acknowledge what this means FOR the Church so as then also to be able to proclaim what it means FOR the world?

Is it possible that in spite of the infidelity of those who claim to be the Church that somehow, even with the lack of clarity and honesty of their preaching and practice, that somehow the Lord miraculously brought Mr. Havel into the true faith so that he also rests in the bosom of Abraham? This is a question that we have no business asking, for the Lord has nowhere given such a promise. Mr. Havel most certainly could have been converted in his last moments. But this is not our concern. Our concern is that he did not hear it from us! Furthermore, our concern is whether or not we will hear God calling us to repentance ourselves.

Throughout the world people will be singing:

Oh, come, all ye faithful, triumphantly sing:
Come see in the manger our Savior and King!

Where has He promised to be found? Where has He declared His manger to be? How has He said that sinners are to come to Him? Through what means has He said that sinners enter into the kingdom of God? John 3 How does His apostle say that sinners are empowered to be born as sons of God? It is through a decision? Is it through bloodline and heritage? John 1:12-13 How does He say that His blood of forgiveness is given and received? Matthew 26:27-28 Oh that together with one voice and as one true body the Church would gather for the Christ Mass and sing:

To Bethlehem hasten with joyful accord;
Oh, come let us adore Him, Oh, come let us adore Him,
Oh come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

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Do People Still Pray This Way?

Yesterday was the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. Below are the Collect of the Day and the first of the two prayers for praying after the distribution of the Holy Communion.

The Collect of the Day -- pg. 19 (TLH)

Almighty and merciful God, of whose only gift it comes that Thy faithful people do unto Thee true and laudable service, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may so faithfully serve Thee in this life that we fail not finally to attain Thy heavenly promises; through Jesus Thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.

The Prayer Following the Distribution:

We give thanks to Thee, Almighty God, that Thou hast refreshed us through this salutary gift; and we beseech Thee that of Thy mercy Thou wouldst strengthen us through the same in faith toward Thee and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

How many congregations even use these prayers anymore? Of those who do, how many worshipers actually ponder the words that they are praying? Do people today realize the depth of these prayers? Do people understand the fullness of what is being taught by God through these prayers? Do people realize what is being confessed and embraced as true and holy and good?

In the Collect we prayed in acknowledgment that true and laudable service to God is a gift that He alone works in us. We confess that true worship is not something that we produce by our own wills or reason. We confess that the only reason that we dare even to pray and the only reason that we dare to believe that God hears us graciously and the only reason that we have hope of everlasting life and salvation is because of the promises that God Himself makes in connection with the merits of Jesus, His Son, our Lord.

In the post distribution prayer, one of two marvelous prayers that are provided, we prayed in acknowledgment of the fact that the Holy Communion is the reason for the divine service and that through this salutary (healthful) gift of God we have been refreshed in the blessings of God’s Holy Communion. Moreover, we prayed that this gift would continue to work in us what God promises, namely, that in His mercy He would strengthen us in faith toward Him and in fervent love toward one another.

This is truly an amazing prayer. Do people pay any attention to these magnificent words? As I reflect upon the years of my growing up, I remember this prayer being prayed many times. Yet I cannot remember a single time that the pastors actually taught this in the sermons. Not once! Their sermons taught the exact opposite. Their sermons taught how we must strive to be more faithful and how we must learn to be more loving to one another. But this magnificent prayer teaches us that this is what God works for us through this blessed Sacrament!

Is this not cause for true thanksgiving? Does this not cause us to understand why this is called the Holy Eucharist, that is, the Holy Thanksgiving?

God promises that we do not have to strive to be faithful, because He works this strengthening of faith for us in this blessed gift from heaven. God promises that we do not have to work to become more loving toward one another because this is what He works for us in this meal of unity and true faith. As He pours out to us His forgiveness through the blood of Jesus, we are united in the faith that He works in us and renews in us. As we hear Him calling us to eat that which makes us one with Him and therefore with one another and to drink that which is given for the remission of our sins, we are refreshed and renewed and strengthened in the faith by which salvation and everlasting life are bestowed to us and we are united in the love that is poured out to us with the Holy Spirit in Baptism and in the gracious giving of this heavenly banquet.

The following distribution hymn, the last two stanzas being translated from Luther, teach and confess this yet again:

“O Lord, We Praise Thee”

1. O Lord, we praise Thee, bless Thee, and adore Thee,
In thanksgiving bow before Thee.
Thou with Thy body and Thy blood didst nourish
Our weak souls that they may flouish:
O Lord, have mercy!
May Thy body, Lord, born of Mary,
That our sins and sorrows did carry,
And Thy blood for us plead
In all trial, fear, and need:
O Lord, have mercy!

2. Thy holy body into death was given,
Life to win for us in heaven.
No greater love than this to Thee could bind us;
May this feast thereof remind us!
O Lord, have mercy!
Lord, Thy kindness did so constrain Thee
That Thy blood should bless and sustain me.
All our debt Thou hast paid;
Peace with God once more is made:
O Lord, have mercy.

3. May God bestow on us His grace and favor
To please Him with our behavior
And live as brethren here in love and union
Nor repent this blest Communion!
O Lord, have mercy!
Let not Thy good Spirit forsake us;
Grant that heavenly-minded He make us;
Give Thy Church, Lord, to see
Days of peace and unity:
O Lord, have mercy!

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Sermons, Why Bother?

Why should we still bother with sermons? Why not simply bypass them or do as many churches do and simply turn them into Bible Studies?

Is there a difference between a Bible Study and a Sermon? Many people think not. Yet I cannot imagine a single person counting standing in a grocery store checkout line as being the same as being called to the supper table. What is the difference? In the first instance the food items are gathered together and bagged and carried home. In the second instance the food items are prepared as a succulent meal and served to those hungrily awaiting to gobble it down.

A sermon is not merely gathering together facts to present to people in an organized manner. A sermon is not merely a lecture. A sermon is a prepared feast that is fed to those who have been called together to gobble it down. This feast is not mere facts and information. This feast is the very Word of God, the Lord Jesus Himself, fed aurally to those who have come to receive Him into their hearts yet again. The sermon is also preparation, like an appetizer, for the greater feast of the body and blood of the Lord in His Holy Supper of everlasting Communion.

Sermons are without a doubt a lot of work to prepare. The initial stages are sheer agony. But the pastor receives more than he exerts, and what he receives he delivers to those whom the Lord has entrusted to his pastoral care. They in turn receive what their loving pastor feeds to them and they carry it with them wherever they go throughout the week, sharing morsels with others whom they encounter in their daily journey.

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Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Does anyone really take the Lord Jesus’ answer to this question seriously? Why do the disciples even ask this question? Do the people who confess to believe the words recorded in the Bible really believe what the Lord Jesus teaches here?

At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! (Matthew 18:1-7)

We, especially pastors, need to hear what the Lord Jesus sets before us in this example. Why pastors especially? Because pastors are specifically those whom Christ calls to do the receiving of the little ones.

Matthew records that the Lord Jesus answered this question for His disciples. Why? They are the ones whom He was preparing to do the work of receiving into His kingdom those whom He purchased with His lifeblood.

When we consider the question, to whom do our thoughts turn? Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Of whom do you begin thinking? It really is ridiculous that we should have to think at all! The King is the greatest in the kingdom! The point is not for us to consider who among us is the greatest. The point is to realize that it is none of us. That is why the Lord Jesus says that whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Who did this? He did! He alone humbled himself. This is why He says of all of the rest of us, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” We all have to be converted, regenerated through water and Spirit to be brought into the kingdom of heaven. We have to be made to be humbled, to be made into the image of God again, the God who humbled Himself to be born as the little baby whom the world counted as nothing. But the Magi, who had been humbled by the Spirit to believe the Word, followed the star and bowed down to this little beggarly baby in the feed trough. The humble shepherds, also, humbled still further by the words of the angels, came and worshiped the baby Jesus.

“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

The word for offend is skandalise. It means to ensnare or trap or cause to stumble. The Lord Jesus warns very strongly against doing this. Moreover, He does not distinguish between doing so intentionally or unintentionally. Good intentions do not matter. Clever rationalizations and justifications do not excuse. Such only perpetuate the scandal. Such only propagate further hypocrisy and stumbling.

How is this demonstrated in the life of those professing to be the Church? In the next chapter Matthew records:

Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. (Matthew 19:13-15)

This text is oft used as a proof text for those who teach that the Lord commands that the babies be baptized, too. They are absolutely correct. Baptism is the means that the Lord Jesus has given by which all sinners are to be regenerated into the kingdom of God, into the body of Christ. To such as these belongs the kingdom of heaven.

Now if the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these, and this text teaches that they must not be denied Baptism as the means that Christ has given for their entrance into the kingdom, how then is it not also understood and taught that these little ones are to be recipients of the blessings given within that kingdom? How is it that partaking of the unity of the Lord’s body and partaking of the life of His blood is denied them? How is it that they are counted as unworthy of partaking of the Supper of the life of Christ’s Church?

Suffer the little children to come unto me. How do they come to Jesus so that He may commune with them? On the day that Jesus rebuked His disciples, they were being carried into His presence to have Him touch them and pray for them. How does He promise to do this after His resurrection and ascension? For what did St. Paul rebuke the Corinthians in regard to the Supper, saying that they were not even eating the Lord’s Supper? They were treating some of the members of Christ’s body differently than others. They were going forward and eating without including the rest of the members of the congregation. They did this because they did not treat seriously the purpose of the Supper. They did not rightly discern the body of Christ.

So what does this say of pastors and congregations who allow the children to be baptized into the household of God and then refuse to allow them to partake of that which Christ has commanded for the nourishment of the children of the kingdom? What does this say of those who forbid the little children from obeying Christ’s command to eat and drink? What does this say of the many children who are trained up to disobey Christ’s command to be one and to rely upon the Sacrament for their life in Him?

Are there enough millstones today? Do we need more? How does this really apply?

Consider what Christ says:

“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Where do Christ and His apostles teach that it is good for sinners to be drowned? Is Baptism not where this takes place? Should pastors and congregations not be returning to the waters of their baptism, confessing this great sin and receiving absolution so that they rise up in this repentance to sin no more?

Or should they continue making excuses, relying upon their sinful human reason rather than the clear words of Christ and His apostles? How long will they preach grace and deny the means by which Christ says that it is given? How long will they insist that God’s grace in the Sacrament is conditional? How long will they teach the children that salvation is by grace, but not once you are actually in the kingdom, that once you are in the kingdom you must make yourself worthy of the Sacrament of the kingdom? How long will they tell those to whom the kingdom belongs that they must sit in the corner until they are worthy to partake of the means by which they are to be nurtured and fed and made strong in the Lord? How long must the little ones to whom the kingdom belongs go hungry or be satisfied with only spiritual milk, if such compromised doctrine can even be called that? How long will pastors forbid the children from partaking of the Lord’s Table of forgiveness and grace and communion, and then wonder why when the children become adults that they rely upon their own prayers and other works rather than upon the means of grace? Who is teaching this to them? Who is causing them to stumble?