Words of Encouragement for November 10, 2010

Meditations in Genesis

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Hebrews 11:7 (Read Genesis 6-9)

When the number of people grew upon the earth, so also did the wickedness and rebellion against the LORD God. The believers (sons of God) intermarried with unbelievers (daughters of men) and the result was more and more people who did not walk in the ways of the LORD but followed after the imaginations of their own hearts – after their own evil thoughts and desires.

Genesis 6 says, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me than I have made them” (v. 5ff.).

The account continues, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD … Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God” (v. 8ff.).

God told Noah, in days when the earth was yet watered by a mist (Genesis 2:6), that He would send rains and a flood upon the earth to destroy man and beast. And God commanded Noah to build an ark to save himself, his family and two of every kind of animal from the coming flood (Genesis 6:14ff.).

Even though a flood like that of which God warned was unheard of in Noah’s day, Noah believed the LORD and prepared an ark, warning others around him to repent of their wickedness and turn back to the LORD. By so doing, Noah forsook the present world and became an heir of the righteousness of God which is by faith.

Similarly, God calls upon all mankind today to repent and return to Him, warning that “the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7). God will once again judge this world and all mankind. As He was at the time of the flood forced to destroy those who would not repent and turn to Him for mercy, so He will soon condemn all who reject Him and the salvation He offers in the cross of Jesus. This present world and all of man’s evil works will be burned up on that day when Jesus Christ returns.

Those who heed God’s warning and repent, trusting in Christ Jesus and His shed blood for forgiveness and life, forsake this present world and look forward to another in which there will be everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness. They are forgiven and accounted righteous by faith in Jesus and walk in fellowship with the Almighty God by that faith and confidence in Jesus and His sacrifice for the sins of the world.

God’s judgment is coming. He is being patient with us, not desiring that any perish, “but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). He calls us to turn from our evil ways, trusting that in Jesus we have forgiveness and in Jesus we have life everlasting.

O dearest Jesus, Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us, forgive us and grant us a place in your everlasting kingdom. Amen.

The Augsburg Confession

Article XIX: Of the Cause of Sin

Of the Cause of Sin they teach that, although God does create and preserve nature, yet the cause of sin is the will of the wicked, that is, of the devil and ungodly men; which will, unaided of God, turns itself from God, as Christ says John 8:44: When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own.

The Distinction between Orthodox and Heterodox Churches

by Dr. Franz Pieper

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

Thesis VI

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

The reasons which should be named here were already partly covered in the discussion on the first five theses. Let us yet briefly refer only to a few of them. The reasons partly sound very pious, but considered in the light of God’s Word, they are altogether invalid. At times their origin, namely, that they come from the flesh, is written plainly on their face. So, for example, when it is argued that a man out of consideration for his business must belong to a heterodox church. To this we simply say: That is turning one’s faith into a business. In other words, we subordinate the question: “What must I do to be saved?” to that other one: “What shall we eat? What shall we drink? Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” Others say: Faith does not matter at all, the most important things, finally, are the deeds. That is an altogether heathenish statement. Faith matters so much, that, “He that believeth on Him (Christ) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18. And as for works which are well-pleasing to God, and through which faith should manifest itself, the chief work among them is this, that you firmly cling to the whole Word of God and confess it, and thus adhere to the orthodox Church.

This reason, however, sounds more honorable: “My relatives, yes, members of my family belong to a heterodox church, so I do not want to cause disturbance and disorder in my family by my lone membership in the orthodox Lutheran Church. I love my own too much for that.” If you earnestly love your relatives, then in all love and patience bring the testimony of Bible truth to them, that they may in all things give honor to the Word of God, and depart from error. You should not go over to them, but they should come over to you — that is God’s will. If you do not succeed, then you must forego the good fortune of being united with your loved ones in one and the same Church. True it is: it hurts, not to be able to have church fellowship with those near and dear to you. But, Christ the Lord has already taken such a case into consideration, and has definitely settled it. He says, Matt. 10:37-38: “He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me.” And Matt. 19:29: “And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” Therefore, at such a time, and in such a situation, consider this: the Lord, your God, is testing you whether you love Him, whether you love Him more than all others, who is the Savior of your soul and who shed His blood for you.

You may say: “I want to remain in the heterodox church in order to accomplish good in it, namely, to prevent it from losing the truth altogether.” If you happen to be in a heterodox church, then first of all, bear witness to the truth clearly and definitely. If they listen to you, good. Under certain circumstances, you can wait a little, to see whether the truth is accepted. But as soon as it is clear that they will not accept the truth, you must separate yourself from that group which holds to the error. If you, nevertheless, remain in it, then you are no longer reinforcing the truth, but rather, the error. It is blindness if you suppose that you are still a witness bearer for the truth, when you continue in fellowship with openly known errorists. It is an absolute contradiction to be both a witness-bearer for the truth, and an associate of false teachers. As Luther says: You “cannot remain in the same stall with others who propagate false doctrine or are attached to it or always speak good words to the devil and his crowd.” (XVI I, 1477.)

Again, it is said: If you distinguish so exactly between orthodox and heterodox churches, and want no fellowship with the heterodox, then the Church will be disturbed constantly, and it will suffer more harm than it can receive benefit therefrom. Such words come from the conceited flesh. Surely Christ the Lord knows best what will harm or benefit His Church. He says with respect to the false believers: “From such turn away.” 2 Tim. 3:5. “Avoid them.” Rom. 16:17. This do, if you want to be a Christian, according to the Lord’s Word, and do not presume to rule the Church with your blind thoughts. Besides, this objection is based on an altogether wrong conception of the Church. The Church is the communion of believers, of those who in faith cling to Christ as their Savior. The Church is benefited when only that is preached which works faith, and maintains it, namely, the pure truth revealed in Scripture, and when everything is kept away that hinders faith in Christ, that is, false doctrine. Indeed, if the Church were not the spiritual kingdom of those believing in Christ, but rather an earthly organization, an arrangement to provide a living for pastors, superintendents, and other ecclesiastics, or a society for the support of the civil state, then you would have to anxiously avoid everything that might disturb the outward peace of the Church; then outward peace would have to be bought also by tolerating false doctrine. But now, the Christian Church is an institution of Christ for the preaching of His pure word to save souls.

Another says: “I can very well take care of my soul, also in those church bodies which proclaim error in addition to the truth. Whatever is said there against God’s Word, I will not accept.” So speaks the presumptuous flesh. He who is really concerned about his soul will not speak that way. Do not trust yourself too much! Error is not such a harmless thing. Your heart is a breeding ground for all sins, also for every doctrinal error. This is proved already by your objection. The objection itself already reveals that you no longer have the right abhorrence for false doctrine. You are already half gone astray. Besides, you absolutely cannot take care of your own soul. That God must do. He wants to do it, and He will do it. He will protect you, so that you will not “dash your foot against a stone,” also in spiritual matters. That He has promised. But this He has promised to do, and He does this, when you walk in God’s Ways, that is, when you abide in God’s Word, when you avoid the fellowship of errorists, as God has commanded.

If, therefore, we judge on the basis of God’s Word, and not according to our own thoughts, then it is certain, that by avoiding all church fellowship with errorists, we walk according to God’s will and thereby serve the best interests of the Church in general, and also of our own soul in particular. May God always give us enlightened, spiritual eyes of our understanding, that we may at all times actively recognize the difference between orthodox and heterodox churches, and give us the right, holy love for the truth, that we may at all times act in accordance with this knowledge.

The End

Gaining Understanding through the Word

“Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.” Psalm 119:104 (Read Psalm 119:97-104)

Do you want to be wise? Do you want to have understanding? If so, let God teach you through His own Word, the Bible!

The psalmist writes: “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”

Our world is full of false ways and misguided directions. People, both knowingly and unknowingly, adopt beliefs and philosophies which lead to eternal ruin. They live their lives foolishly and without understanding, and they conclude their lives in fear and despair.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. God has given us a witness to the truth. Through His Word, He seeks to teach us to see ourselves as we really are and to know Him and the salvation He has provided for us in His Son, Jesus Christ, and His innocent sufferings and death in our stead. He seeks to teach us of Him and His ways and to lead us in the way everlasting!

The Bible tells us of the Holy Scriptures that they “are able to make [us] wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness….” (2 Timothy 3:15, 16). The Scriptures reveal to us that, though we are sinners, we have a Savior in the Lord Jesus Christ, who fulfilled all righteousness for us and then suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose again. The Scriptures reveal to us God’s truth, and through the study of God’s Word we obtain an understanding of that truth and hate every false way.

Do you want to know the truth? Do you want to know the way of salvation which God has freely provided for you in His Son? Do you want to know which is the right way to then live your life for Your God and Savior? Read His Word and meditate upon it! Study your Bible and turn from the many false ways which lead to death into that one way which leads to life everlasting! Repent of your sinful ways and trust in Jesus Christ’s blood shed for you upon the cross; and then, in the wisdom which God gives through His Word, follow Jesus, your Savior!

O Spirit of the living God, move me to read and study Your inspired Word and grant me a heart of wisdom to understand and turn from my sinful ways to Jesus my Savior for pardon and forgiveness. And then teach me Your ways that I might walk in them. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

Scripture Readings appointed for Sunday are Psalm 98; Malachi 4:1-6; Acts 18:1-17; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18; Luke 21:5-28. Please read them in their context as you prepare for worship on Sunday.

The Adult Bible Class will continue in the Gospel of John at chapter 12:44ff. What did Jesus cry out at the feast? What does this mean? Cf. John 14:6ff. How is Jesus the light of the world? Will the one who believes on Jesus walk in darkness? What does this mean? Cf. 1 John 1:3 – 2:2. What does Jesus say of those who reject His Word and do not believe on Him? What will be their judge on the Last Day? How does this apply to us and people of all time? Whose Word did Jesus speak? What message and word did Jesus proclaim? How does this relate to what ministers and teachers proclaim in the church? How is it that Jesus’ word will judge us and all people on the Last Day?

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for all our members, that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We pray for God’s healing and strengthening of our congregation, as well as for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – especially for Dawn Hiebert, who is recovering from knee surgery; Dick Stueland, also recovering from knee surgery and scheduled for another on Monday; for Sam Rusch, who was in the hospital; the mother of Dick Rusch; for Dick Rusch who is recovering from shoulder surgery; for Regina Wood (the sister of Lonnie Moll), who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is recovering from surgery and undergoing chemotherapy – for those who have been absent from us, for our extended families and for Christians who are alone and have no congregation. Continue to pray for Lutheran congregations which desire to remain faithful to Christ and His Word, for the Lutheran churches in the Philippines, for Christians in Nigeria, Haiti and Chile, and for believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering for their faith in Christ Jesus.

Events and Announcements

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

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

The Church Council will meet at 7 p.m., Nov. 17, at the church.

The Annual Congregational Voters’ Meeting is planned after church on Sunday, Nov. 21. A pot-luck dinner will follow the service.

A Special Thanksgiving Service is tentatively planned for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 24.

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

“He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” Psalm 98:3

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