tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261814012053869943.post1061876352118755094..comments2023-10-09T03:39:02.388-06:00Comments on Expository Lutheran: Beware of the leaven, stand and shoot in both directions.Bror Ericksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913133289813136695noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261814012053869943.post-84184230938025620102011-05-25T06:36:38.836-06:002011-05-25T06:36:38.836-06:00"is in the words of my mentor Rod Rosenbladt,..."is in the words of my mentor Rod Rosenbladt, to stand and shoot in both directions"<br /><br />I LOVE that line.<br /><br />One has to wonder why they keep having to come back to Luther to regain the Gospel at all? I mean Lutherans that loose their way via pietism or some such don’t go running to Calvin or Spurgeon, they run back to the Confessions to see how they swirved.<br /><br />It all boils down to God coming (1) all the way down to earth and (2) to the man in particular (pro me). This is the fundamental root difference or absence in some cases (e.g. Baptist) on the sacraments and absolution and the “for me”. Thus, when the pastor forgives my sins in the stead of Christ such that it IS Christ doing it, it either is (Luther) or is not (Calvin, et. ali.). And at the end of the day when all is said and done that is the difference of two separate religions.<br /><br />So they like Luther in as much as they perceive he talks ABOUT the Gospel accurately, but when you get to the DOING of the Gospel Luther clearly espouses, (pro me in the Word and Sacrament), it is there they no longer like it and ultimately since the “for me” is touch point of the real Gospel, in so much as they deny this, they deny the Gospel – point blank.<br /><br />It’s like food to a starving dying person. Their doctrines know food IS as they know the Gospel IS, but they don’t FEED the food TO the Sheep. Christ said if you love me you WILL FEED My sheep, not taunt them with food that they cannot reach. In fact Christ very acutely defines the thieves and robbers as those that don’t feed the sheep but come to kill and destroy them, not in body but in soul. If we understood that then we’d understand why its so accurate to call Calvin for example a false teacher, the fruit of his doctrine is soul murdering. Any Christians that come about in things he said was due to the power of the Word IN SPITE of his added words. I.e. the Word was warring against Calvin’s words not in tune with them. The true shepherds give the sheep pasture and they go in and out, i.e. feeds His sheep. He doesn’t just talk about the accurate definition of what food is, he FEEDS it to them.<br /><br />Thus, the Gospel to be Gospel involves GIVING it to the person in particular, the absolution, the sacraments that actually DO what they say to the man (pro me). A Gospel that may be accurately defined only but not given, actual forgiveness given and pronounced is no real Gospel at all and creates nothing more than an historical faith that merely concurs with but does not believe (trust) in.Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13387712441394419154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261814012053869943.post-6345935788352869232011-05-25T06:05:33.503-06:002011-05-25T06:05:33.503-06:00Bror,
Man that is spot on the mark! And FEW woul...Bror,<br /><br />Man that is spot on the mark! And FEW would defend the faith that strongly! I mean damn few.<br /><br />Even famed Calvinist OPC J. Gresham Machen had to abandon his Calvinist confession (at least implicitly on his death bed) when he's reported as saying in his dying hour, "I'm so thankful for the active righteousness of Christ". The implication is clear, it was FOR HIM (pro me), and not some nebulous "elect".Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13387712441394419154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261814012053869943.post-90757896039772643792011-05-24T07:41:52.676-06:002011-05-24T07:41:52.676-06:00I say use it Scottydog.I say use it Scottydog.Bror Ericksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06913133289813136695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261814012053869943.post-303781574241791982011-05-24T07:28:17.657-06:002011-05-24T07:28:17.657-06:00WOW! Some quotes are just too precious to pass up...WOW! Some quotes are just too precious to pass up. "Calvinism has blossomed into a rather putrid tulip of damnation."<br /><br />Can I use that one on my Presbyterian friend? On second, thought, maybe I'd better just think it and try to be polite.Scottydognoreply@blogger.com