"Barking Dogs and a Three Legged Hog"

“Barking Dogs and a Three Legged Hog”
Association of Confessing Evangelical
Lutheran Congregation (ACELC)
By Rev. Clint K. Poppe
2 Corinthians 5:14-24; Titus 1:9; Romans 12:9-18
Christian News, Vol 50, No. 9, February 27, 2012

I remember the day quite well. Several years ago on a cold and snowy day in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, I sat down over a bowl of popcorn with a man I barely knew. Dick Bolland and I had been corresponding and lamenting the problems as we saw them in our beloved Synod. Finally a face to face meeting and a chance to flesh things out. Little did we know at that time, but our theological conversation that day was in many respects the birth of the ACELC. In summary, we discussed the specifics of what we saw as divisions in the church; pastors being driven out of their congregations, revivalistic worship practices, law driven mission efforts, open Communion, unionism, and a general disdain for pure doctrine. We reviewed many of the confessional efforts that had burst on the scene and then faded quickly; some of which we had been involved in. Then I made a comment that struck a cord with my new found friend. I simply stated, “It seems to me like we have lost our material principle; justification.” Dick’s eyes lit up. In a few weeks he had captured in written form much of what we had discussed that day, and people responded. A movement had begun.

Soon we had pastors and laymen from all over the Synod involved in the discussion. We were all confessional, but at times had a problem with making the bold confession. Prior efforts had been primarily clergy-only efforts and primarily political efforts. Now the ACLEC was taking shape. A new group, if it was to form and last, would need to be more than confessional; it must be a confessing movement. Since the LCMS is congregational in nature, a new group could not be clergy only but clergy and laity working in concert, a true congregational effort. Most of all, people were sick and tired of the church politics. If this new movement was to happen, it had to be a theological, not political effort.11 I am not saying that there is not such a thing as “good” church politics. What I am referring to are efforts to manipulate the church’s order in ways that are contrary to the Word of God including but not limited to giving the appearance of evil.

Many, many months of hard work followed. Evidence of many errors in doctrine and practice were gathered. Documents were written, dissected, and then re-written. More and more people wanted to be involved, and each new person meant not only more help in the hard work, but another opinion on just how we ought to proceed. It was decided that this new group would be different in yet another aspect; 100% transparency. There would be no cloak and dagger activities, no secret this or that, everything would be done out in the open and in the light of day.

Roughly two years ago, we were ready. With a web site for communication and dissemination of information, many statements and documents to share, and a letter to announce our efforts, we made two major decisions. The letter, a “fraternal admonition” would be sent to every congregation in the LCMS. Also, we had discovered that many people were unaware of the extent that error had taken hold in our church and in fact, some found it difficult to believe. We knew that we could not speak of error in general, we had to be specific. This would be a difficult, but necessary task. In this we were following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who not only pointed out false teaching, who not only said beware of false teachers; He took teachers to task and called them by name. CFW Walther states it this way,

With great earnestness He cries out: “Woe unto you, scribes!” If He were to appear in our midst today, and did not tell us that He is the Christ, He would be condemned as a disturber of the peace. They would crucify Him today, just as they crucify us in books. The apostles, too, are always dealing with enemies; they call them dogs, mutilators of the flesh, and other epithets. Therefore Christians should be very careful not to reject Christ when they reject pastors because of the judgmental Word they proclaim. And it won’t do any harm whether we are considered saints, or whether we are slandered, so long as God above considers us faithful; but Christian congregations should also support their pastors, when they discipline false teachers, lest they reject Christ, who has commanded all pastors to exercise discipline. That is why Paul writes to Timothy: “Do not be ashamed of me, who am a prisoner for Christ.” Even though pastors are not bound in chains today, they are nevertheless despised. They bear this disgrace for their congregations. Pastors could easily be pious people, sit back in a corner, take no one to task; but then they would be fat, sleeping watchdogs, who do not bark.22 C. F. W. Walther, Essays For The Church, Volume I, 1857-1879, (St. Louis:CPH), 1992, 124.

A watchdog who doesn’t bark may be a good buddy and companion, but is worthless when it comes to alerting you to danger. A faithful watchdog must, at the proper time, bark. That brings us to the next major decision, one that still seemingly haunts the ACELC to this day; the timing of the letter. Some wanted to send the letter out immediately. Others, acutely aware of the political tensions in Synod, wanted to wait. I called a trusted friend and asked for advice.

Our effort was totally and completely theological so how best to communicate our concerns in light of the fact that a synodical convention was roughly four months away? His suggestion resonated with me. To send the letter at this time would certainly be seen by some as a political move and as an attempt to sway the election. To wait too long after the convention would be seen by some as a veiled attempt to manipulate the workings of the Synod or as some secretly planned effort by elected officials. The best way to avoid this type of “playing politics” criticism would be to send the letter out during the convention. That is what we did and for any who haven’t heard and will listen, now you know why.

The Association of Confessing Evangelical Lutheran Congregations (ACELC) was still only a concept and we had no idea if and how our idea would resonate. We had expected a negative reaction from those whose doctrine and practice we had pointed out as being in error. What we did not expect was the immediate and severe reaction from many on the “conservative” or “confessional” side of our synod. Not only were we criticized for the timing of our letter, but we were called “radical” and “extreme.” “Now we have a confessional synodical president so keep quiet and let him fix the problems.”

We were even accused of trying to set the newly elected president’s agenda; how silly. The criticisms then and now revolve mainly around the process, not theology. We were quite surprised when an email arrived from the new 1st Vice President of the LCMS inviting representatives to talk. Three meetings ensued, involving Vice President Mueller, District Presidents Sommerfeld and Mirly, and three representatives of ACELC, Dick Bolland, Drew Newman, and Dan Bremer. The meetings were fraternal, I am told, and for the most part cordial. We were assured that our concerns were real and valid and that they would be addressed in the newly forming Koinonia Project. Eleven months ago we called for a “free conference” and invited anyone who was interested to attend.

Theological papers were presented, doctrine and practice were studied and people found out first hand that we were serious about being theological and not political. At the end of our conference several congregations officially formed the ACELC. The idea had become reality.

Since our first official gathering last March in Kearney, Missouri, many things have happened. We have continued to write and to make our documents sharper and clearer. We have told our story to anyone who would listen and now we have twenty congregations officially a part of the ACELC with many, many associate members and friends. We have filed three official dissents with the CTCR, clearly demonstrating that we are serious about our concerns and willing to work within the synodical process where possible. We are very near completion of a request for a Gütachten, a theological opinion, from the four North American seminaries on the topic of the “divine deposal” of pastors from their call. Email blasts are sent out on a regular basis. Model overtures have been created to aid and assist congregations. A second letter was recently mailed to every congregation in synod. We have planned and held our second conference, here in Lincoln, and are already planning conference number three for next April in Austin, Texas. In short, we continue to bark,

A preacher must not only feed the sheep so as to instruct them how they are to be good Christians, but he must also keep the wolves from attacking the sheep and leading them astray with false doctrine and error; for the devil is never idle. Nowadays there are many people who are quite ready to tolerate our preaching of the Gospel as long as we do not cry out against the wolves and preach against the prelates.

But though I preach the truth, feed the sheep well, and give them good instruction, this is still not enough unless the sheep are also guarded and protected so that wolves do not come and carry them off. For what sort of building is it if I throw away stones and then watch another throw them back in? The wolf can readily tolerate a good pasture for the sheep, he likes them the better for their fatness. But what he cannot endure is the hostile bark of the dogs.33 What Luther Says, Volume 2, (St. Louis: CPH), 1959, 1053. Quoted in C. F. W. Walther: The American Luther, Essays in Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of Carl Walther’s Death, (Mankato, MN:Walther Press), 1987, 2-3.
Since I was elected Chairman of ACELC this past summer, I have tried to place that image before us, the image of a barking dog. Politically speaking we have no power or authority to do anything. We hold no elected office in the synod and are not anyone’s official ecclesiastical supervisor. All we can do is bark.

When your neighbor’s dog is barking and you are trying to sleep, how do you react? We expect the criticism to continue as our barking annoys some and infuriates others. However, in another respect, we have behind us all power and authority in heaven and on earth because what we are barking is the clear and sure Word of God.

Soon it will be two years since the Fraternal Admonition was mailed and Matthew Harrison was elected President of the LCMS. We are very thankful for his election and support his efforts. His leadership and theological focus has been a breath of fresh air. For the first time in a long time we are approaching matters theologically; we are together in our “Witness, Mercy, and Life Together.” Yet at the same time, by the most recent convention actions regarding the restructuring of synod, he has been consumed with administration and structure. We long for the day when his focus will be more and more doctrine and practice and less and less structure and bylaws.

The problems in our beloved synod are theological and not political. Our problems will not be solved by conventions and overtures and elections. For a true reconciliation to take place God’s Word must have free course and work its powerful work among us. Look around. Faithful pastors continue to be persecuted and removed.

Open Communion practices abound. In many places revivalistic worship practices are the norm. “Unity in Diversity” is often replacing confession and absolution and true reconciliation is lost. Congregations are encouraged to be transformed and revitalized as if the proper method, style, or business practice has more power than the Word of God. At times the Council of Presidents seems to resemble more a secret society or “College of Cardinals” than churchman working with the holy things of God. We are being told by some that Law and Gospel is outdated and antiquated and must be replaced by a new perspective on works and sanctification. It still seems, in many ways, that we have lost, or at least misplaced, our material principle of justification.

So what are we to do? Cling to Christ and His Word. Embrace the death and new life He gives in the waters of Holy Baptism. Feast on His body and blood in the Holy Supper where He gives what He promises, forgiveness, life, and salvation. We pray for our church and her leaders that God’s Word would rule the day. In love and humility we call attention to error, and for the sake of precious souls that are at stake, we call people to repent. We bark and bark and bark and then we bark some more. What do we bark about? Luther teaches us well,

If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the Word of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.44 Luther’s Works, Weimar Edition. Briefwechsel [Correspondence], vol. 3, pp. 81f.

But pointing out false teaching is not enough; there must be, for the sake of precious souls, proper church discipline. Imagine how your family would look if you taught the truth to your children, but never took time to correct, rebuke, or spank. Soon there would be chaos and anarchy. Walther teaches us the importance of this aspect of our life together,

“It is God who instituted the power to discipline.55 Das Strafamt.
It is God’s command, regardless of what our emotions might say. Here we are faced with two dangers. On the one hand, God tells every pastor, ‘Punish!’ God’s Word is also useful for punishment/discipline, and according to the Greek, it means disciplining false teachers, not disciplining for sin, which is more properly called ‘correction.’66 Besserung.

On the other hand the world says, ‘Don’t punish, that is contrary to love.’ Now whom should we obey, the world or God? We must be more ready to endure temporal calumny than to suffer the eternal fire when we are rejected by God.”77 Walther, Essays I, 132

My friends, every day that error is tolerated among us, it gets more deeply entrenched. To tolerate error in doctrine and practice is not a loving action. We in the ACELC have no power and authority to punish or discipline, but we have a sacred duty to encourage and support our elected officials in the church to do what they have been elected to do. In other words, we bark and in our barking we have this encouragement from Walther,

Now someone might get the idea that, in that case, it would be better if there were no Lutheran church. Then we could let people in their simplicity and ignorance and they would still not lose their salvation. But thank God that we do have the Lutheran Church to which we can cling, because: (1) False doctrine always keeps on spreading, imbeds itself ever more deeply in the heart, and in the end can cause us to forfeit our salvation in that the error ensnares us more and more. False doctrine is a poison that gradually permeates the entire body of the person who does not cleanse and purify himself of it. (2) How good it is that our Lutheran church stands there with its purity of doctrine, stubbornly abiding in the Word, and raising its voice like a trumpet! That intimidates the sects and enthusiasts, warning them not to go further with their erroneous ideas. Oh, how many Methodists will thank us Lutherans in heaven for always confronting their enthusiastic ideas with the Word of God and chiding them; thereby at least accomplishing this much, that we kept them from sinking deeper and deeper into them! Truly, next to gathering in the individual lost souls around the truth, the primary purpose of the Lutheran Church is to keep on raising the voice of its testimony. Whoever wishes to be a true disciple of Jesus must abide in His Word.88 Ibid., 133.

There is an old story about a feed salesman who pulls into a farmer’s place. As they talk the salesman catches a glimpse of a hog walking free about the farm, a hog with a wooden leg. Finally the salesman says, “That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen, a three legged hog with a wooden fourth leg!” The farmer beamed with pride. “That there is one amazing hog. Why just three months ago our house was on fire and me and my wife would have surely died, but that hog came crashing through the front door, woke us up and saved our lives.” “Is that how he lost his leg?” the salesman asked. The farmer smiled and said no. “Another thing,” he said, “last month I was working in the yard when a bolt of lightning struck that there tree, and before the tree came crashing down on my head, the hog came out of nowhere and pushed me aside and saved my life.”

“Amazing” said the salesman, “is that how he lost his leg?” The farmer said no. “And then just last week” the farmer bragged, “my little granddaughter was playing by that there pond and she slipped in. I don’t swim and I didn’t know what to do, but before I could even think, the hog jumped in and pulled her to safety.” “Amazing, the salesman replied, is that how he lost his leg?” The farmer said no.

Frustrated the salesman said, “Now I’m confused, if the hog didn’t loose his leg in the fire, or lightening storm or in the near drowning, how did the hog end up with a wooden leg?” Dumbfounded, the farmer smiled and said, “Well, you don’t eat a valuable hog like that all at one time.”

Friends, our efforts in the ACELC will not always be appreciated, but we are called to be and remain faithful to Christ and his Word. We desire healing and reconciliation in our church and we know that God loves healing and reconciliation; that’s why He sent Jesus. We are bold to ask God to bless us in our efforts and especially to bless us in our barking. We must be more ready to endure temporal suffering than to suffer the eternal fire when we are rejected by God. Amen.

SDG
Rev. Clint K. Poppe
Chairman, ACELC

Newsweek Feature: The WAR on Christians

Newsweek Feature
The WAR on Christians
Christian News, Vol 50, No 8, February 20, 2012

“The Rise of Christophobia from One End of The Muslim World to the Other, Christians are Being Murdered for their Faith” is the title of the cover story of the February 13, Newsweek.

Newsweek says in part:
“We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring’s fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.

“The portrayal of Muslims as victims or heroes is at best partially accurate. In recent years the violent oppression of Christian minorities has become the norm in Muslim-majority nations stretching from West Africa and the Middle East to South Asia and Oceania. In some countries, it is governments and their agents that have burned churches and imprisoned parishioners. In others, rebel groups and vigilantes have taken matters into their own hands, murdering Christians and driving them from regions where their roots go back centuries.

“The media’s reticence on the subject no doubt has several sources. One may be fear of provoking additional violence. Another is most likely the influence of lobbying groups such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation —a kind of United Nations of Islam centered in Saudi Arabia—and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Over the past decade, these and similar groups have been remarkably successful in persuading leading public figures and journalists in the West to think of each and every example of perceived anti-Muslim discrimination as an expression of a systematic and sinister derangement called “Islamophobia” —a term that is meant to elicit the same moral disapproval as xenophobia or homophobia.

“But a fair-minded assessment of recent events and trends leads to the conclusion that the scale and severity of Islamophobia pales in comparison with the bloody Christophobia currently coursing through Muslim-majority nations from one end of the globe to the other. The conspiracy of silence surrounding this violent expression of religious intolerance has to stop. Nothing less than the fate of Christianity—and ultimately of all religious minorities—in the Islamic world is at stake.

“At least 24 Coptic Christians were killed in Cairo during clashes with the Egyptian Army on Oct. 9., Thomas Hartwell / Redux

“From blasphemy laws to brutal murders to bombings to mutilations and the burning of holy sites, Christians in so many nations live in fear. In Nigeria many have suffered all of these forms of persecution. The nation has the largest Christian minority (40 percent) in proportion to its population (160 million) of any majority-Muslim country. For years, Muslims and Christians in Nigeria have lived on the edge of civil war. Islamist radicals provoke much if not most of the tension. The newest such organization is an outfit that calls itself Boko Haram, which means ‘Western education is sacrilege.’ Its aim is to establish Sharia in Nigeria. To this end it has stated that it will kill all Christians in the country.

“In the month of January 2012 alone, Boko Haram was responsible for 54 deaths. In 2011 its members killed at least 510 people and burned down or destroyed more than 350 churches in 10 northern states. They use guns, gasoline bombs, and even machetes, shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ (‘God is great’) while launching attacks on unsuspecting citizens. They have attacked churches, a Christmas Day gathering (killing 42 Catholics), beer parlors, a town hall, beauty salons, and banks. They have so far focused on killing Christian clerics, politicians, students, policemen, and soldiers, as well as Muslim clerics who condemn their mayhem. While they started out by using crude methods like hit-and-run assassinations from the back of motorbikes in 2009, the latest AP reports indicate that the group’s recent attacks show a new level of potency and sophistication.

“The Christophobia that has plagued Sudan for years takes a very different form. The authoritarian government of the Sunni Muslim north of the country has for decades tormented Christian and animist minorities in the south. What has often been described as a civil war is in practice the Sudanese government’s sustained persecution of religious minorities. This persecution culminated in the infamous genocide in Darfur that began in 2003. Even though Sudan’s Muslim president, Omar al-Bashir, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which charged him with three counts of genocide, and despite the euphoria that greeted the semi-independence he granted to South Sudan in July of last year, the violence has not ended. In South Kordofan, Christians are still subjected to aerial bombardment, targeted killings, the kidnapping of children, and other atrocities. Reports from the United Nations indicate that between 53,000 and 75,000 innocent civilians have been displaced from their residences and that houses and buildings have been looted and destroyed.

“Both kinds of persecution—undertaken by extra governmental groups as well as by agents of the state—have come together in Egypt in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. On Oct. 9 of last year in the Maspero area of Cairo, Coptic Christians (who make up roughly 11 percent of Egypt’s population of 81 million) marched in protest against a wave of attacks by Islamists—including church burnings, rapes, mutilations, and murders—that followed the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship. During the protest, Egyptian security forces drove their trucks into the crowd and fired on protesters, crushing and killing at least 24 and wounding more than 300 people. By the end of the year more than 200,000 Copts had fled their homes in anticipation of more attacks. With Islamists poised to gain much greater power in the wake of recent elections, their fears appear to be justified.

“Egypt is not the only Arab country that seems bent on wiping out its Christian minority. Since 2003 more than 900 Iraqi Christians (most of them Assyrians) have been killed by terrorist violence in Baghdad alone, and 70 churches have been burned, according to the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA). Thousands of Iraqi Christians have fled as a result of violence directed specifically at them, reducing the number of Christians in the country to fewer than half a million from just over a million before 2003. AINA understandably describes this as an ‘incipient genocide or ethnic cleansing of Assyrians in Iraq.’

“The 2.8 million Christians who live in Pakistan make up only about 1.6 percent of the population of more than 170 million. As members of such a tiny minority, they live in perpetual fear not only of Islamist terrorists but also of Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy laws. There is, for example, the notorious case of a Christian woman who was sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

“It should be clear from this catalog of atrocities that anti-Christian violence is a major and underreported problem. No, the violence isn’t centrally planned or coordinated by some international Islamist agency. In that sense the global war on Christians isn’t a traditional war at all. It is, rather, a spontaneous expression of anti-Christian animus by Muslims that transcends cultures, regions, and ethnicities.

“Instead of falling for overblown tales of Western Islamophobia, let’s take a real stand against the Christophobia infecting the Muslim world.

Tolerance is for everyone—except the intolerant.”

BETTER THAN THE SUPER BOWL

Luke 14:15-24
BETTER THAN THE SUPER BOWL
Theme: The Grace of Our God
Related reading: Ephesians 2:1-10
By Pastor Theodore Allwardt

Christian News, Vol 40, No 7 - February 13, 2012

Ahh! Super Bowl Sunday! The highest festival of America's folk religion: pro football! For it is very much a religion for many people! Every Sunday in the season either at a game or glued to a TV set! Enthusiastic talk about a favorite team! And giving money! Guess how much the cheapest ticket was for today's Super Bowl? $800! But a minimum of $2500 by yesterday with other tickets up to $7000 – or more for luxury boxes! Jesus said: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt 6:21). And rabid football fans show where their hearts are by how they spend their money! And their time!

Of course, not all pro football fans make a religion out of their excitement. But perhaps you (and I especially) need to examine our priorities, referring not only to pro football, which I personally really enjoy, but to other personal preferences about things or about activities. Are we as dedicated in using our time for the Lord's work as we might be for a hobby? Do we spend more on personal non-essential activities than we give for the Lord's work? Do we talk as enthusiastically about the value of what Jesus has done for sinners as we might brag about what a player has done for our team? Who really is in first place in our lives and attitudes? God's Word says that He is to be first! But so easily we can get caught up in the pleasures and cares and activities of this life with faith and life for God – according to His guidance because of what Jesus did for us sinners – losing out in our lives! Doesn't always happen – but there is danger, as Jesus warned in that parable about the sower and the seed: “(Some seed) feel among thorns... but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches, and pleasures” (Luke 8:7,14) and lose their faith. Who or what is first in your life?

Which is what the parable in our text is about! A man prepared a great party and invited many guests – everything was ready – everything was free! But nobody came! None of those invited! They all had other things to do, other things which were much more important to them than that man and his party! You can imagine how insulted that man felt! No wonder he crossed them off his list permanently! Wouldn't you? Instead of his arrogant so-called “friends” he invited the ordinary people, the needy people of the community – and then, when there was still room, the real outcasts of society. He had prepared a party, and he was going to have people enjoy it!

The original application of this parable, the reason why Jesus told it, was to condemn especially the Pharisees and religious leaders then who were rejecting Him as God's promised One. They were too good for this country hick called Jesus ! They had better things to believe! So God rejected them, because they had rejected Him! And the ordinary people, the hurting people, not just the physically, but the spiritually hurting, were invited – and were responding. And the Gentiles, the non-Jews from around the world, would also be invited – and we thank God for that invitation, because that's how we are allowed to attend God's “feast in the kingdom of God”, as our text puts it.

Which brings us to our day, to us personally. Last Sunday when I preached in Ferndale, CA, one member mentioned in conversation: as I came to church this morning, I saw so many people out walking, walking their dogs, just strolling. They take time for that – why don't they take time to come to church? Easy answer! They think their other activities are more important and interesting for them, because they think they don't need what God has to offer them through His Word in public worship! Which is also the reason why many church members, that is, people who say they believe and belong, don't come regularly or at all! It's not interesting to them, because they think they don't need it – they are good enough without whatever the preacher might say from God's Word – yes, they are good enough – they don't need it!

But how can that be? Aren't they sinners? Yes, but – not all that bad, they think (as we all are tempted to think) – not as bad as that Joe Paterno, for example, the football coach who just died in disgrace, because he didn't do enough to protect young boys who were being sexually abused – oh, he did something – but not enough – how terrible he was – and I'm not like that! So, I don't need any preaching which talks about sinners – not me!

Or else, on the other side of sin, some think they are just too bad as sinners, no hope for them – that's the thinking of every addict, made worse by what their addiction leads them to do to support their addiction! No one can accept me, not if they know what I have done, what I do! And especially God sure wouldn't accept me! So, no point in pretending that I'm not so bad by putting on a hypocritical face with those church people! No point! No hope! For me! I can't have it – I don't need it!

But there is also a third side to this, the side which says: and when I did go, it didn't have any meaning for me – it didn't speak to the needs I do feel – it was so boring – and the people seemed so hypocritical, because I know how some of them live during the week – and I even heard how some of them talked about others when they were at church before or afterward – no, nothing there for me!

Which is where they are all wrong, but are misled by the devil. For why did God send His Son into this world at all? Because it was a perfect world inhabited by good people? Nope! But because, and we know it, but because we aren't good, instead are bad in His sight, yes, bad! Not worthless, of course, but bad – because they sin, each one sins, each one is in spiritual and eternal need! Which includes you – which includes me! We are like the undeserving ones in the parable: spiritually poor and crippled and blind and lame, the outcasts! Nothing in us or by us to deserve any good from God – no reason why God should love us – every reason why He should not! Yet He does!

Which is called His “grace”, His undeserved love for us sinners, which caused Him to work out our acceptance to Him through the living and the suffering and the dying of the one He sent into this sin-filled world, Jesus, actually God Himself, the Second Person of God, to be theologically correct. His grace caused Him to plan the eternal party for those who cannot deserve it – His grace caused Him to buy the invitation-ticket to that eternal party through Jesus – His grace now works to cause us to accept His invitation for eternal celebration as well as for peace now in this life. His grace! The ones in the parable who did come to the party knew they didn't deserve it – they just enjoyed it – and thanked the party-giver for it! Same for us! Need it, because we're completely shut out of the party on our own, can't buy a ticket on our own! But we enjoy it, because Jesus has not just invited us, but brought us in!

However, a problem remains: all this goes against our human pride and our human nature which wants its own way instead of His way. This is why we need to hear the message of God's grace every week, His grace which reminds us that we are in need, His grace which assures us that He loves us and invites us and accepts us because of what He has done for us through Jesus. That message will keep us being thankful for His grace and happy to hear His message so we can show our thanks daily.

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE - The Material Principal of Biblical Theology

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE
The Material Principal of Biblical Theology
By Gary Ray Branscome

Christian News, Vol 50, No 6 - February 6, 2012

"A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
(Romans 3:28)

The material principle of any theology has to do with the central idea that shapes that theology, giving it its form and unity. Because justification by faith is central to God’s plan of salvation, it is central to Evangelical theology. And, because the Bible clearly tells us that we are justified through faith in Christ, no theology that denies, or in any way compromises, what the Bible says about justification by faith can honestly be called Biblical (Romans 3:21-28 and 5:8-9).

To justify someone is to absolve them of guilt, to vindicate them of any wrongdoing, to free them from blame, or show them to be innocent. Therefore, spiritually speaking, a just person is someone who is innocent, righteous, or blameless before God. We emphasize the fact that we are justified by faith "alone," because so many people miss the fact that faith "without the deeds of the law" is FAITH ALONE.

Now, it is important to understand that faith is not the reason we are forgiven! We are forgiven because Christ died for our sins. Faith is simply the hand that receives what Christ obtained for us (Romans 5:2). Faith is not a work. It is not something we do. It is our God given assur ance that forgiveness and salvation are ours in Christ.

The Proper Relationship of Law to Gospel
In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul begins his presentation of the doctrine of Justification by Faith by making it perfectly clear that the law cannot make anyone righteous. In chapter one, he mentions sins common among the gentiles. In chapter two he points out sins common among the Jews. And, in chapter three, he uses quotes from the Old Testament to drive home his point, that, "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). He then explains that the law cannot make anyone righteous, because it was given to condemn us (Romans 3:19-20). However, he then tells us that because the law cannot make us righteous, God has provided another way for us to be made righteous. Or as he put it, "Now the righteousness of God without the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all who believe:" (Romans 3:21-22).

Now these two facts:
1. that the law cannot make us righteous (Romans 3:9-20), and
2. that righteousness is only imputed to those who trust in Christ (Romans 3:21-28), are of key importance in understanding the proper relationship of law to gospel.

Since the law was not given to make us righteous, and cannot make us righteous, those who try to make themselves righteous through the law are only hardening themselves in unrepentance (Romans 9:31-32). In contrast, because the law was given to show us our need of Christ’s forgiveness, only those who acknowledge their sin and look to Christ for forgiveness are doing what the law requires (Romans 10:3-4).

Therefore, the only people who truly "Keep" God’s law, are those who do not try to make themselves righteous, but instead trust in Christ (Romans 9:30-32). Likewise, the only people who truly "obey" the law, are those who acknowledge their sin and look to Christ for forgiveness (Romans 10:3-4). Those who actively try to make themselves "obedient" are simply refusing to hear what the law says, because it condemns them.

True Repentance
It is only as we understand why the law was given, and realize that its purpose is to point us to Christ, that we can understand what true repentance is. True repentance comes only as the law convicts us of sin, showing us our need for forgiveness. And, as we turn to God, desiring assurance of his mercy, we find that assurance in His promise of forgiveness in Christ (1John 2:9, Galatians 3:6-8). Faith is believing that promise of forgiveness (Galatians 3:6). Furthermore, because all who repent and turn to Christ are sorry for their sin, they do not want to sin (1Corinthians 5:3, Psalm 51:17).

Living Righteously Apart From the Law
As long as someone is trusting in the law to make them righteous, God pleasing, or obedient they are not trusting in Christ. They may have a weak faith, but they are not relying on Him alone. They cling to the law because they do not understand how we can be righteous apart from the law. And, they will never be able to understand it as long as they think that the law is what makes them righteous. In fact, as long as they think that the law can make them righteous, or even partially righteous, they will think that freedom from the law is freedom to sin, and nothing could be further from the truth.

In order to fully understand the gospel, and the freedom that is ours in Christ, you need to understand that the law not only does not make you righteous, the law is what keeps you from being righteous. No matter how hard you try to keep the law, it will condemn you. Even your most sincere efforts at being righteous will be condemned as "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). Instead of making you partly righteous, the matters on which you fall short will bring the full condemnation of the law down on your head (James 2:10). Therefore, the only way we can possibly be righteous in the sight of God is to be freed from the law. To be freed from the law is to be freed from condemnation. And, to be freed from condemnation is to be freed to be a good citizen, a responsible parent, and a faithful spouse. We are freed from the law so that we can live "a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty," without being condemned by the law (1Timothy 2:2). As it is written, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one who believes" (Romans 10:4).

Those who fail to understand this point, are continually trying to find some way around what the Bible says about Justification by faith. Therefore, as soon as they learn that James said, "a man is justified by works and not by faith only," they assume that the words of James negate what Paul said (Romans 3:28, James 2:24). In their blindness they then feel free to ignore Paul’s warnings against trusting in works. However, a careful examination of what James said makes it clear that Paul and James were talking about two different things. When Paul spoke of faith he was referring to faith in Christ. In contrast, the words, "You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe and tremble," make it clear that the faith James regarded as "dead" was not faith in Christ at all. Likewise, when Paul spoke of works he was referring to works of righteousness, or obedience to the law. In contrast, the words, "Was not Rahab the Harlot justified by works, when she received the messengers, and sent them out another way," make it perfectly clear that the works James had in mind were not works of obedience, or righteousness, but what we would call the fruits of faith (James 2:19, 20, 25). Therefore, James was not saying that we need works of righteousness in addition to faith. Instead he was saying that if a person truly has faith in Christ it will make a difference in their life.

The Light of Faith
One reason justification by faith is central to Biblical theology, is because once we understand the proper relationship of law to gospel, and realize that it is faith, not the law, that makes us righteous, it affects our entire understanding of God’s Word.

For example: Deuteronomy 15:4-18 promises a number of blessings to those who keep God’s commandments. When those who do not understand the proper relationship of law to gospel read those promises, they assume that works determine who receives those blessings. However, once we understand that it is faith alone that makes us righteous in the sight of God, we can see that the only people who truly keep God’s commandments are those whose trust in Christ. As it is written, "If the inheritance comes by the law, it is not given by promise… But scripture has concluded all under sin, so that the promise might be given to those who believe, through faith in Jesus Christ" (verses 18 and 22). In short, all of the promises are ours through faith in Christ (2Corinthians 1:20).

Likewise, when those who believe that righteousness comes by the law read the words of 1Kings 15:5, "David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and did not turn aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite," they assume that David did not sin, except in the matter of Uriah.

However, once we understand that the law cannot make us righteous, we can see that David only "did that which was right" because as long as he trusted in Christ no sin was imputed to him (Psalm 32:2). However, in the matter of Uriah, it was imputed to him because he sinned willfully (Hebrews 10:26).

When Abraham believed God, his faith was "imputed to him for righteousness," not because faith is a work, but because he was trusting in Christ. That is what the Bible tells us. It tells us that Abraham believed the gospel (Galatians 3:8). It tells us that the gospel is the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection (1Corinthians 15:1-4). And, it tells us that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son because he believed that God was going to raise him from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19).

The words, "he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has PROMISED to them that love him," are not telling us that we can gain a "crown" through works. On the contrary, that passage refers to God’s promise. And, what God has PROMISED to us only comes to us through faith in Christ (Galatians 3:22, 2Corinthians 1:20). Works play no part in it.

Conclusion
While the truth is simple, the carnal mind does not want to rely on Christ. On the contrary, men are constantly trying to find some way to make God’s favor depend on works. Therefore, let me make it perfectly clear that we are not saved by "choosing Christ," "accepting Christ," or "asking Him into our heart". We are saved by believing that He died for our sins. From our point of view it may sometimes look like we are making a choice, but the words, "no one can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost," tell us that apart from God’s grace we would never make the right choice (1Corinthians 12:3, John 6:44).