“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2
Sunday Worship
The Children’s Portion of the Christmas Eve Service has been rescheduled and will be incorporated into our Sunday morning worship service on Jan. 3. Join us as we worship and praise our God for the gift of the Son and the life everlasting He won for us us by being born a true man that He might take our place under the Law of God and redeem us by His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross in our stead!
Paul’s Letter to the Believers at Colosse (continued)
“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.” Colossians 4:12-13 (Read Colossians 4:7-14)
Within the greetings of fellow believers shared by the Apostle Paul is the greeting of Epaphras, a believer from Colosse who came to visit Paul in prison and who was a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not only did Epaphras send greetings to his fellow believers, he prayed for them. Paul said to the Colossians that Epaphras was “always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.”
Epaphras’ prayers for the church at Colosse, as well as those in Laodicea and Hierapolis, were not brief, passing addendums. He labored fervently in prayer for them. He was continually wrestling with God and imploring God’s mercy and grace upon his fellow believers that they would not turn away from the truth and fall from saving faith in Christ Jesus but stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. He prayed that they would be brought to spiritual maturity and be filled up in all things pertaining to God’s will.
His prayer is similar to the desire of the apostle Paul for the believers at Ephesus, recorded for us in his letter, Ephesians 4:11-16: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”
The prayers of Epaphras and of the apostle Paul reveal to us God’s will for us as believers – that we grow up into Jesus Christ and heed His leading voice recorded for us in the Scriptures, that we no longer be carried this way and that with every wind of doctrine, but hold fast to Christ and His Word.
The prayers of Epaphras and the apostle are also an example to us for our prayers. Even when, for one reason or another, we are prevented from speaking to someone of the truth, we can labor fervently for them in our prayers.
Have we loved ones or children in this world who have been brought to Christ by the “washing of water by the Word” and introduced to their Savior through the teaching of the Holy Scriptures? Are they struggling with temptations from within and without? Lift them up in prayer, pleading with the Lord God to have mercy upon their souls and keep them from the evil one and the many dangerous and misleading lies of false teachers in the world. Pray that God would graciously restore the fallen and keep all of them in His protective hand and bring them safely through this evil world to Himself in heaven. Labor fervently in prayer that they might grow up into Christ Jesus, trust in Him alone and in His mercy for salvation, and “stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”
This is my prayer for my children, grandchildren and for all those I know and love in this world. Let it be your prayer too.
And, when we remember that it is only by the grace and mercy of God that any of us have been brought to know Christ and to trust in His life, death and resurrection for our salvation, certainly we must admit that it is only by the gracious working of God that anyone for whom we pray can be brought to faith in Christ Jesus, be preserved in that faith, and be brought safely into heaven!
O Lord God, heavenly Father, have mercy upon us for the sake of Your Son, Christ Jesus, and His innocent sufferings and death in our stead. Graciously keep us in the faith until we reign with our risen Savior in heaven. And, dearest Lord Jesus, have mercy upon our children and grandchildren and all our loved ones. Graciously cause them to hear Your Word, trust in You for forgiveness and life, be preserved from the false and pernicious doctrines of the devil, and be kept in the one true and saving faith unto life everlasting. Amen.
Pastor Randy Moll
We All Believe in One True God:
A Summary of Biblical Doctrine
By Wallace H. McLaughlin
(The entire book is posted under Pages on the Church Web log)
XVII. Election of Grace
The doctrine of the election of grace, or eternal predestination, has been revealed for the comfort and assurance of faith of cross-bearing Christians. It is not a speculative doctrine but eminently practical. All human perversions of this doctrine, however, which depart from the truth of Scripture, are the result of speculation, and do not impart comfort, but produce either doubt and despair or carnal security. Neither is this doctrine one which is remote from practical Christian life and experience, or which lies on the periphery of Christian teaching, but rather one which, as it is taught in Scripture, squares with the experience of every true Christian, and is most closely entwined with the central doctrines of our most holy Faith. For from the Scripture passages which treat of eternal election we learn that God has from eternity resolved to do for His Christians what He has effected in them in time. Hence we may define the election of grace as the act of God by which from eternity out of pure grace for Christ’s sake and by way of the means of grace He has decreed to bestow those blessings on the Christians which through His call they now enjoy, namely, conversion, justification, sanctification, and preservation in faith.
This definition is derived from Rom. 8:28–30, which reads: “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” Here we have an unbroken and unbreakable chain from the first link, “whom He did foreknow,” in eternity before the world was, to the last link, “them He also glorified,” in eternity when this present world shall be no more. To anyone acquainted with the Greek language the verb which is translated “foreknew” plainly implies a “knowledge with affection and effect” or “knowledge as His own.” But also to the attentive reader of the English Bible the connection in which this word is used and the series of consequences flowing from it conveys the same assurance. For Scripture assures us that God by His omniscience from eternity knows all about everyone; but not everyone is by God’s ordination conformed to the image of His Son, and through conversion and justification led unto eternal glory. Moreover this text does not speak of anything that God knew about men — their faith, piety, perseverance, etc. — but it says: “whom He did foreknow, them He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son … whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” The object of the verb “foreknow” and of all the verbs is personal not factual. The text does not speak of what He foreknew about the people of His choice, but that He foreknew the people themselves as His own and chose them to be His own, and predestinated them to be conformed to the image of His Son, and called or converted them to faith in His Son, and through such faith justified them, and finally glorified them (the past tense used futuristically, because that future glorification is as certain as though it had already occurred, as indeed it is already accomplished in God’s timeless purpose). And this chain of consequences is unbreakable. Every one whom He has in eternity foreknown as His own, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son; and every one whom He has thus foreordained, He also calls; and every one whom He has thus called or converted, He also justifies; and every one whom He has thus chosen, foreordained, converted, and justified, He will assuredly glorify. Not one of His elect can ever be lost. What a glorious comfort!
Thus Scripture traces back to eternal election as its cause, in the first place, the sum total of spiritual blessings imparted to Christians in time, Eph. 1:3–6: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved;” secondly, and specifically, their call, 2 Tim. 1:9: “God hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began;” thirdly, their conversion or their faith in the Gospel, Acts 13:48: “As many as were ordained to eternal life believed;” or, as summed up in Rom. 8:28–30, quoted above, their call, justification, and glorification. All these divine dealings are comprehended in the eternal act of election. Thus those who have followed through the previous chapters of this book, or any orthodox presentation of the way of salvation, in orderly sequence up to this point, learn nothing new in the study of this doctrine except that God from eternity purposed to do for His Christians what He effects in them in time. In the doctrine of eternal election a person can go astray only if he has previously forsaken the teaching of Scripture regarding the way of salvation, which is a way of grace.
It is important, therefore, that we consider eternal election in its proper setting. Scripture states: “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13). Here it is taught that election did not occur in a bare manner, as though God without means should have simply appropriated His elect unto Himself by His bare almighty hand. No; the choosing from eternity took place by means of “sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” God thrust His electing hand into the Word of the Gospel; the Gospel is the net by which the elect are plucked from the jaws of the devil.
Thus if we are asked by someone: “Am I elect?” we immediately ask the inquirer: “Do you believe the Gospel?” If he answers: “By the grace of God I do believe the Gospel,” then we shall answer his original question: “You can and should count yourself among the elect.” But if the inquirer raises an objection to our question concerning his faith in the Gospel, in some such fashion as the following: “What has my faith to do with it? If I belong to the elect, I shall and must be saved; but if I do not belong to the elect, I shall and must be lost, no matter whether I now believe or not:” then we shall have to answer that we cannot discuss election in this manner, for there is no such absolute eternal election without faith in the Gospel. Election is a comforting doctrine for believers because it assures them that the faith God has bestowed upon them is a carrying out of His eternal purpose of grace. But election is no concern of the unbeliever. He cannot comfort himself with the Scriptural doctrine of election, for there is no evidence that the doctrine applies to him. If he is elect he will be brought to faith. But only after that can he rightly concern himself with the doctrine of election. This practical way of regarding eternal election in connection with God’s revelation of His grace in the Gospel is the only correct and Scriptural way of using this doctrine. So important is this matter to the confessors of our Church who drew up the Formula of Concord of 1577, that they expounded the practical bearing of the doctrine of election in the famous “eight points” in such a simple and direct and clear manner that we are impelled to include the entire quotation (Concordia Triglotta, p. 1069) in this article as a presentation to which every Christian who accepts the Scriptural doctrine of election will necessarily agree:
“God in His purpose and counsel ordained:
“1. That the human race is truly redeemed and reconciled with God through Christ, who, by His faultless obedience, suffering, and death, has merited for us the righteousness which avails before God, and eternal life.
“2. That such merit and benefits of Christ shall be presented, offered, and distributed to us through His Word and Sacraments.
“3. That by His Holy Ghost, through the Word, when it is preached, heard, and pondered, He will be efficacious and active in us, convert hearts to true repentance, and preserve them in the true faith.
“4. That He will justify all those who in true repentance receive Christ by a true faith, and will receive them into grace, the adoption of sons, and the inheritance of eternal life.
“5. That He will also sanctify in love those who are thus justified, as St. Paul says, Eph. 1:4.
“6. That He also will protect them in their great weakness against the devil, the world, and the flesh, and rule and lead them in His ways, raise them again, when they stumble, comfort them under the cross and in temptation, and preserve them.
“7. That He will also strengthen, increase, and support to the end the good work which He has begun in them, if they adhere to God’s Word, pray diligently, abide in God’s goodness, and faithfully use the gifts received.
“8. That finally He will eternally save and glorify in life eternal those whom He has elected, called, and justified.”
Who, then, are the elect? The elect are not all men; the elect are not those actually saved plus those who “for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13) and “die in their sins” (Ezek. 3:20); the elect are only the actually saved children of God, since Scripture teaches that all the elect are surely saved, John 10:27, 28: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life: and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” Christ will never allow one who is trusting in Him (not in himself) for preservation in faith to fall from faith. Therefore Christians can and should be sure of their eternal election, for they are addressed as elect in Holy Scripture and are comforted with their eternal election; “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation” (2 Thess. 2:13); “having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself (Eph. 1:5); “knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God” (1 Thess. 1:4). To the Christians all things must work together for good, “who are the called according to His purpose.”
The way to become sure of one’s eternal election is by faith in the Gospel of Christ, since eternal election is revealed through the Gospel, 2 Tim. 1:9, 10; 2 Thess. 2:13, 14. The Gospel of Christ is a declaration of God’s love to the world, in which the lost sinner is assured that God is not angry with him but loves him, and loves him so much (John 3:16) that He gave His Son to become incarnate, suffer, and die for him. This is the argument of the apostle Paul in Rom. 8:31, 32. Hence also Luther writes: “Behold the wounds of Christ and His blood shed for you, and from these predestination will shine forth.” Indeed a Christian must first have put the Gospel in its manifold attestation (Word of the Gospel, Baptism, Lord’s Supper, Absolution) out of his sight before he can be uncertain of his election.
The relation of faith to the election of grace is two-fold. In the eternal act of election the faith worked by the Holy Ghost is the means of election: “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13). “God in His counsel, before the time of the world, decided and ordained that He Himself, by the power of His Holy Ghost, would produce and work in us, through the Word, everything that pertains to our conversion” (Concordia Triglotta, p. 1077, par. 44).
If we ask, however, as to the relation in which the faith which the Christians have in time stands to their election, Scripture teaches that their faith is an effect or consequence of their eternal election: “As many as were ordained to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). “The eternal election of God … is … a cause which procures, works, helps, and promotes our salvation and what pertains thereto” (Concordia Triglotta, p. 1065, par. 8).
The purpose of the doctrine of election is not the denial or restriction of universal grace (for Scripture clearly teaches universal grace, as has been demonstrated in the chapter on “Saving Grace,” Chapter V), but the confirmation of the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, as is evident, for instance, from Rom. 9:16: “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.” Scripture does not teach an election of wrath or predestination to damnation. The Scriptural doctrine of election is the doctrine of the election of grace. It belongs wholly to the Gospel. We close with a strong assertion of this truth from the Formula of Concord (Concordia Triglotta, p. 1093, par. 92): “For, as the apostle testifies, Rom. 15:4: ‘Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.’ But when this consolation and hope are weakened or entirely removed by Scripture, it is certain that it is understood and explained contrary to the will and meaning of the Holy Ghost.”
[Next week's installment from We All Believe in One True God will cover the Last Things.]
What Do We Believe?
What do we believe about the roles of Church and State? Consider the following summary statement and look up the supporting Bible passages:
CHURCH AND STATE
We believe that both the Church and the State are ordained of God – the Church for the eternal salvation of men, and the State for the maintenance of external righteousness and order among men in this world (Matthew 16:16-19; Ephesians 2:8-9, 19-22; Colossians 1:18-24; Acts 2:41-47; Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-14; 1 Timothy 2:2). In order that men might be saved, the Church has been commanded to preach the Word of God (Mark 16:15-16; Romans 1:16-17; 10:15,17). To maintain civil order and righteousness in this world, civil governments have been given power and responsibility to enact just laws, to punish evildoers (including the use of the death penalty), and to wage just wars (1 Peter 2:13-14; Psalm 82:1-4; Genesis 9:6; Romans 13:3-4). We reject as contrary to the Holy Scriptures any attempt to mix the powers of the Church and the State; such as, attempting to enforce the practice of any religion with the powers of civil government, or attempting to usurp the powers of civil government by any visible organization of the Church (John 18:11,36; 2 Corinthians 10:4; Ephesians 6:10-18).
Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday
The Adult Bible Class continues its study of the Gospel of John. To prepare, read John 3:1-8. Who was Nicodemus? Did the Pharisees accept John’s baptism of repentance? Cf. Luke 7:30. Why? When did Nicodemus come to Jesus? Why? What did he say to Jesus? What did he and the Pharisees acknowledge about Jesus? Was this enough? What did Jesus say to Nicodemus? Why? Can a person be a part of God’s kingdom – or even see it – without being born again? How can a person be born again? Cf. Titus 3:4-7. Of what must one be born to enter the kingdom of God? What does this mean? Can a person be born again of his own will or decision? Who works through the waters of Baptism to create and preserve faith in Christ Jesus? How is the working of the Holy Spirit like the wind?
The Catechism Class continues studying the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed and learning of Jesus and what He has done to redeem all mankind.
The Sunday Sermon will be based on Luke 2:8-20 and Matthew 2:1-11. In preparation, read these sections of Scripture and consider the following questions: What was the message of the angel to the shepherds? How did they respond to the good news that a Savior had been born for them? Why did the wise men later come from the east? How did King Herod respond to the news of the birth of the promised Seed of David and King over God’s people? How about the chief priests and scribes? How do you respond to the good news of the coming of God’s Son into the world as the Babe born in Bethlehem to be our Savior?
Remember to Pray
Remember to pray for our church and for all our members that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom, but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Ron Wellander who underwent surgery and is recovering at home – for those who have been absent from us, for our students who are away at school, and for our adopted soldiers. Pray for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. Continue to pray for the Lutheran Churches in the Philippines.
Upcoming Events
The Choir is practicing for upcoming services. More voices are always welcome.
The Church Council will meet at 7 p.m. this coming Wednesday, Jan. 6, at the church. Please note that the date was moved up from that printed on the January calendar.
Monthly Wednesday night Bible studies will begin in the new year and be held at the church at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month.
Other Announcements
Thank you – Pastor and Lonnie Moll thank the congregation and all the members for the generous Christmas gift presented to them on New Year’s Eve.
Meditations from Psalm 90 – A Prayer of Moses the Man of God – have been posted in the Pages section of the church Web log.
Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at mollfoto@yahoo.com.
“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: to God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.” Romans 16:25-27
A Blessed New Year To You as You Grow in Grace, Trusting in Christ Jesus, Your Savior!