Living in the End Times, Etc,.

Well, it has been quite some time since I have blogged -- sorry about that. I'm going to start doing more of that and hope that it can be a blessing, at least in some small way, to some . . . Below is the start of a discussion which I have had online at the Wittenberg Trail site with a man who had questions about end times stuff. Perhaps his questions are yours and perhaps my answers will help you, too. Feel free to comment or ask more questions below. His questions are in red. My answers are in purple (a nice, Lenten color) . . . /s/ ajw

They say that when we look back on the "Good Old Days", they weren't really as good as we might remember them. We may repress bad memories, focusing on our successes while seemingly forgetting our failures.

In Bible Study, most members seem to have the idea that things are getting worse and worse as time progresses. Some have leaned toward premillennialism, and see this pessimism in light of the end times. Another member is more optimistic and sees that some things have gotten better. She does not go along with the view that things are always getting worse.

If we were to look at specific things that have gotten worse, some may be legitimate (increased violence in schools) whereas some may not, as crimes and troubles are better reported today than in the past.

Scripture tells us that before Jesus returns again, things will be just like in the days of Noah. Pastor, it is true we can have great joy about the imminent return of Jesus, but regarding the sin that is rampant in the world, is it right to see each generation as more evil than the one before it, or is this a faulty look at the world, theologically? What is a healthy, Christian view of the overview of human existence on the earth over the centuries?

Dear __:

Neither pessimism nor optimism, as such, is in order for the Christian. We live by faith. To be sure, we know that in all things God works together for good with those who love Him (Romans 8:28); in other words, God will most certainly take care of us Christians. This is, in part, the Gospel teaching of election (do NOT fall prey to the false doctrine of double predestination). Herman Sasse, has a great quote about pessimism and optimism: "Only this faith in the living Lord poises us properly for our tasks. He guards us from the two great sins of Christianity of our times. The terrible sin of pessimism doubts the possibility that the church can accomplish anything, because it no longer takes seriously the confession of the present Christ. Such pessimism does not take it seriously that to Christ also today all power is given in heaven and on earth, and He is just as near to us as to Christianity of the beginning. He guards us too from the terrible sin of optimism, which overlooks the fearful reality of sin in the world, and knows nothing of the fact that the power of evil works most wretchedly where it destroys the community [Gemeinde] of Jesus. Pessimism and optimism are human emotions. Where they rule, faith is falsified. For faith has nothing to do with emotions. It is the unshakable trust in the unbreakable promises of God."

Will things get worse? Sure. The "signs of the end" are always intensifying. They have been in place all along but they continue to intensify as the world groans under the weight of sin (Rom. 8:18ff.). But we Christians have the reassurance of the Lord Christ Himself that He will preserve us safe. For the Lord's own discussion of the signs of the end AND His promise to preserve us, look closely at Matthew 25 -- in particular, note the changes in verb tenses in v. 22-25.

The book of Revelation indicates that there will be a "little season" of great trouble right before the End - Rev. 20:3. Of course, the church of every age has asked the question, "are we in the 'little season' now?" since it always seems as though it can get no worse -- at least to each succeeding generation. So we keep on crying out "How long?" AND we keep being fed with Word and Sacraments so that our faith may be kept alive during the trying times of our lives -- incidentally, I am right now working my way through a little book titled "Handbook of Consolations" written by Johann Gerhard -- in his book, he suggests that we all do quite well to closely contemplate death since death will come upon all of us, sooner or later (most American Christians, in my experience, hate to consider this b/c we seem to think that admitting to our mortality is somehow sinful (?)). Gerhard's book is an excellent devotional tool, in my opinion.

Is your friend wrong who thinks that things are getting better? Well, overall, yes. To be sure, we get to see some wonderful technological advances (the internet, for one -- well, mostly, although we have heard what pornographers and others have done with it, too). However, the world is wearing out: just as our bodies which are not perfect and are more and more subject to age and disease and will eventually succumb to them, so this wretched world which we think we know and love so well, will also betray us and will wear out.

Our hope is Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebr. 13:8)

Helpful? Want to unpack some of the stuff referenced above? :)

Then the gentleman asked this followup question:

Yes, this helps some. I shouldn't have really used the words "pessimism" and "optimism"--I knew as Christians we have a real, solid hope in Christ, who is able to do all things, who conquered the grave. "God desires all men to be saved..." This clearly doesn't leave room for pessimism. African-Americans are treated better today than they were over a hundred years ago. We have been given people with smart minds who have made all kinds of inventions, vastly improved transportation, and all kinds of convenience (yet while these conveniences have helped save time, much of the time they saved is now wasted, IMO). For decades, the Cold War dragged on, and in God's good time communism fell, the Berlin Wall came down, Poland and other satellite nations found new freedom. Yet today our country seems less of a democracy than in the past, and Roe v. Wade has not yet been overturned, socialized medicine is making inroads, replacing freedoms with governmental demands. Many needed jobs are still overseas, and uncontrolled immigration is still not solved, as U.S. citizens can no longer count on unity of language. Public schools are required to proselytize our children with a God-less form of universalism which demands tolerance yet is quite intolerant of Christianity. The government was only called to make sure all children had access to a good education, yet the government monopolizes education, and when budget cuts are inevitable, we sacrifice our children's exposure to art and music, even though some may be going into these fields. But even if I could only see the positives, optimism is not the way of the Christian, as we know the realities of Satan (who lurks as a lion, seeking whom he may devour) and his demons, their craftiness, and the world's blindness to their existence. St. Paul is quite clear about the evil in "the ways of the world", and how Christians are not to conform to this. Clearly, we are told that no matter how bad things get (or appear to get), God is still in control, Satan was defeated, death is dead, and God loves His people. The gospel has transformed us, taking us from the prison of spiritual death to new life and freedom, and we have been trusted to carry this Great News forward to others who dwell in darkness. But, overall, will the wickedness of future years, decades and centuries get more and more evil (unprecedented), and will persecution of God's people become as it was in the first century (a.D.) or worse? How could you explain this to us in relation to Amillennialism, to a generation who has largely been exposed to Premillennialism? Some talk of a required implanted chip with health records as if it were the "mark of the beast." Some seek to stockpile food to prepare for a period of unprecedented persecution. Amillennialists recognize that Christ could come back ANY day, and that nothing more needs to be fulfilled before the parousia. Could you please further explain this, contrasting Biblical eschatology to the dominant eschatology of the day, rampant in much of 21st century Protestantism, helped along by Hal Lindsey, the Left Behind books & movies, etc.? I appreciate your help here. You wrote, "Will things get worse? Sure. The "signs of the end" are always intensifying." I remember being told the world was going into another ice age, yet some herald "global warming" as a threat to our coastlands, and arctic habitats! I understand that there is to be an increase in natural disasters, but how will things get worse in other ways? When I was growing up, the thought of a one-world government was pure science-fiction, yet there are many who push for just that. Christians should not expect material prosperity beyond God providing for our daily bread. But how bad could persecutions really get here? And please return us to the comfort of God in Christ.

Dear __: How will things get worse? Your guess is surely at least as good as mine. But Holy Scripture makes abundantly clear that the world is not "curing" her problems -- not by a long shot. One of the big problems is that we all tend to think that we know so much about time AND eternity based on our relatively insignificant span of time. Example: So I live to be 100 years old (highly doubtful). What difference does my one life make in the greater scheme of things? I live, I sin, I am forgiven (by God's grace in Christ), and then I die. What changed? The only ways in which i might influence the future is by the faithful witness of faith in Christ which God may use to influence (an)other(s) -- so that the whole concept of Christian vocation becomes a central theme of my existence. Sure, every so often some bright shining star bursts upon the scene for a short lifetime and that person's life leaves a lasting influence (Luther for one) -- but in truth, unless that bright shining star changes things for eternity (as did Luther b/c he spoke, preached, taught and wrote of the things which are eternal), it has only changed things, at the most, for the short time of this world, a world which will come to an end. Some passages to contemplate in this regard: Romans 8:18ff. and 2 Cor. 5:1ff. There are others, but if you try to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest these very plain scriptures, they will remind you (and me) of how very frail our short existence is. I suppose that, speaking for myself, whenever I imagine what a difference my life ought to make in the greater scheme of things, I am being a bit (OK, a lot) vain. The global warming, new ice age, and blah blah blah debate is a classic example. People think that WE are such a big influence on the life of the planet. But those who closely study history note that the planet tends to cycle through things, or at least that seems to be the indication of science (I'm not a scientist so I cannot speak with the authority with which others speak). Who knows what will come? My grandparents (3 of whom I never ever met but at whose graves, in Lutheran cemeteries, I have stood) could not imagine just my mp3 player on which I listen to Issues, Etc. and other great stuff -- shoot, I didn't imagine such a thing 30+ years ago when I was admitted to the Pastoral Ministry (and I remember a secretary who REALLY did not want to give up her typewriter for 'one of those new computers' when i told her that it was the future -- that was a little over just 20 years ago). Imagine what else will change! I am as concerned as the next guy (probably more b/c I tend to worry -- may Christ continue to forgive me for that) about what governmental changes are coming to us and to our children and grandchildren, but even a cursory reading of especially the minor prophets will demonstrate how God picks up one nation and uses it to punish another, and how He changes the whole course of world history in the blink of an eye. I share some of the concerns of the Christians who get all worked up about chips being implanted. BUT, I also like 'plastic money" (debit cards) even though some fundamentalist Christians have warned against it for years (and likely will continue). I remember, in the very early '80's, when attending the MO. State Fair (at Sedalia in case you care), being behind fundies who had a hissy when the guy tried to rubber stamp their hand so they could be readmitted if they returned to the parking lot during the day ("Oh, God, it's the mark of the beast...."). All of that to say that i don't know altogether what to worry about b/c it seems like there's new stuff coming along all of the time -- and deadly serious stuff, but there are issues which remain the same: sins against the 10 Commandments, including adultery, a generally low regard for marriage, abortion (THE great moral failing of our age!), homosexuality, abusing our neighbors, turning our backs on God and His word, false doctrine, etc., etc. The premillenialists and postmillenialists and dispensationalists all misread Holy Scripture which is truly amillenialistic as that term is commonly understood. The 1,000 year reign of the gospel is a perfect number (10 x 10 x 10, aka 10 to the third power) and is the rule of the Gospel era -- not necessarily a literalistic 1000 year reign. Rather, at the end of time (as we know it), Christ will visibly return on the clouds of glory, the time of grace will be over, He will send His angels to gather the elect, and we will be with Him in the new heaven and new earth (whatever that will be like). I've heard some pastors try to describe the new heaven and the new earth as being in (a) new dimension(s) -- that seems plausible to my incredibly puny, finite mind. So I am driven back, again, to the things which do not change: God's mercy in Christ (but be sure to read 2 Cor. 6:1ff. lest you or I think that the day of grace will never end); Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebr. 13:8); God stands above time (2 Peter 3:1-13 is EXCELLENT commentary -- and note how succinctly the psalmist affirmed it in Psalm 90:2 and other psalms). In fact, in all of my contemplation, I try not to wander from these truths (alas, but I sometimes do) which do not change, for they are the truth of my salvation in Christ my Lord. I'm pretty sure that you already know this stuff but would just like to hear a pastor reaffirm it for you -- I'm delighted, frankly, to do so for you or anyone else. I think that a lot of Lutherans and other Christians have these kinds of questions but they never get around to asking them -- I wish they would so that they could be comforted and learn to live out their lives in humble faith in Christ, being fed by Him in His Word and Sacraments, and serving Him by serving their neighbors humbly. The Lord bless you and yours for Holy Week and bring you with humble joy to blessed Easter and the culmination of all our hopes! Again, I pray that this is helpful to you . . . .

The Ministry’s Promises: Vows Making and Vows Keeping and the Office of the Ministry

I have been a pastor for 30+ years now; I have not always been a good one. I give thanks daily that I live under the grace of Christ’s forgiveness.

I have been a husband for 31+ years now; I have not always been a good one. I give thanks daily that I live under the grace of Christ’s forgiveness.

And here is the intended tertium comparationes (the point of comparison) for this essay.

This pastor has, over the course of the years, witnessed the destruction of some marriages when the husband, by his sinful actions, has destroyed the bond between husband and wife. At other times, the wife, by her sinful actions, has destroyed the bond between husband and wife. Biblically, there are only two reasons why the Lord permits a marriage to end: [1] adultery, and [2] malicious desertion. God is never glad for a marriage to end since He Himself has established the estate of marriage and the vocations of husband and wife. This pastor has also witnessed some of those destroyed marriages restored to wholeness: forgiveness and restoration, though wholly undeserved, are powerful, life-imparting, one-sided gifts!

Similarly, this pastor has witnessed the destruction of the relationship between pastors and congregations over the years. Sometimes that relationship has been destroyed by the pastor’s own sinful actions, actions which in some sad cases disqualified him for the Office of the Ministry to which God had called him. At other times, that relationship has been destroyed by the sinful actions of the congregation, with the result that the pastor, though not disqualified for the Office of the Ministry, has been forced to leave the Office in that place, sometimes never to receive a Call to a congregation again. Historically, the church has only recognized two, or three, “grounds” for removing a pastor from God’s call to serve as the pastor of a given congregation. Those “grounds” are: [1] persistent teaching of false doctrine, [2] leading a scandalous and offensive life, and [3] the inability or refusal to perform the duties of the office. (“The Divine Call.” A Report of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. February 2003. p. 42-43. This same document notes, also on p. 43, “. . . the removal of a man from the office of the public ministry is a very serious matter and should not be carried out capriciously or arbitrarily.”)

In more recent years, this pastor has heard of “ecclesiastical supervisors” who have stated that there are, or should be, new ways and reasons for removing pastors from their calls to their respective congregations. This turn of events is of grave concern to this pastor because the act of removing a pastor from his office undermines the Office of the Ministry, denigrates the Word of God, and, besides the obvious devastating effects upon the pastor and his family, also results in the serious wounding of souls for whom the Savior Himself died. Whole congregations are thus weakened and the witness of the Gospel in a given community is compromised. The Lord is not honored thus.

THE BASIS OF MARRIAGE

If any do not know, then they must be taught that an essential element of marriage is the covenant relationship which is established by means of the mutual vows of husband and wife. Both husband and wife, mutually but independently, pledge their troth to one another, “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy will; and I pledge to you my faithfulness.” (The Rite of Marriage, Lutheran Service Book. In this same rite, husband and wife are charged, “[Name of bridegroom], will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony as God ordained it? Will you nourish and cherish her as Christ loved His body, the Church, giving Himself up for her? Will you love, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health and, forsaking all others, remain united to her alone, so long as you both shall live? Then say: I will.” And “[Name of bride], will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony as God ordained it? Will you submit to him as the Church submits to Christ? Will you love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health and, forsaking all others, remain united to him alone, so long as you both shall live? Then say: I will.”)

In their vows, properly made, wife and husband do not establish their vows conditional on the promises of the other; rather, the husband says to his wife that, whether or not she is faithful to him, he for his part will be utterly faithful; reciprocally, the wife pledges the same. This is the model of the perfectly unilateral covenant which God has made with His people in Baptism. Essential to marriage, then, is the promise given (and received) even as an essential element of God’s covenant with us is His promise unilaterally given (and received). With these faithful promises God fulfills the respective vocations of husband and wife, vocations which He Himself has established. With His faithful promise, He draws us into His holy family in Baptism. With faithful promises learned from God, husband and wife draw one another into marriage.

THE BASIS OF THE MINISTRY

The mutual promises of pastor and congregation is also an essential element in how God fulfills the Office of the Ministry. Pastor and congregation are also vocations which God Himself has established. The pastor is to care for the congregation, and the congregation is to care for her pastor. But what happens when one or the other, or both become unfaithful to their vows?

Consider the pastor’s vows of ordination:

+ Do you acknowledge that the Lord has called you through His Church into the ministry of Word and Sacrament?
+ Do you believe and confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice?
+ Do you believe and confess the three Ecumenical Creeds, namely the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds, as faithful testimonies to the truth of the Holy Scriptures, and do you reject all the errors which they condemn?
+ Do you confess the Unaltered Augsburg Confession to be a true exposition of Holy Scripture and a correct exhibition of the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church? And do you confess that the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Small and Large Catechisms of Martin Luther, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, and the Formula of Concord — as these are contained in the Book of Concord — are also in agreement with this one scriptural faith?
+ Do you promise that you will perform the duties of your office in accordance with these Confessions, and that all your preaching and teaching and your administration of the Sacraments will be in conformity with Holy Scripture and with these Confessions?
+ Will you faithfully instruct both young and old in the chief articles of Christian doctrine, will you forgive the sins of those who repent, and will you promise never to divulge the sins confessed to you? Will you minister faithfully to the sick and dying, and will you demonstrate to the Church a constant and ready ministry centered in the Gospel? Will you admonish and encourage the people to a lively confidence in Christ and in holy living?
+ Finally, will you honor and adorn the Office of the Holy Ministry with a holy life? Will you be diligent in the study of Holy Scripture and the Confessions? And will you be constant in prayer for those under your pastoral care?

Then consider the congregation’s vow:

+ Beloved in the Lord, Holy Scripture says, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Will you, the faithful, according to the Church’s public confession, and speaking for the whole Church, receive [name] as a servant of Christ and minister of Word and Sacrament? If so, then answer: We will.
+ Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, [name] has been called to be (a) pastor of [name of congregation]. I ask you now, in the presence of God: Will you receive him, show him that love, honor, and obedience in the Lord that you owe to the shepherd and teacher placed over you by your Lord Jesus Christ, and will you support him by your gifts and fervent prayer? If so, then answer: We will, with the help of God.
+ Will you honor and uphold your pastor as he serves Christ in all his God-pleasing responsibilities? Will you aid him as he cares for his family? Will you be diligent to “put the best construction on everything,” recognizing that “love covers a multitude of sins”? If so, then answer: We will, with the help of God.

In the marriage vows, husband and wife pledge their troth “till death us do part.” No provision is made to say, “till I get tired of you,” or “as long as my feelings for you remain this way,” or something similar. Husband and wife, by virtue of their vows, make it clear that they believe that their marriage is to last until God decides to end their marriage, by the death of one or the other of them. Their marriage is not a mutually agreed to contract; rather, God decides when the marriage is over. Husband and wife might have to endure all manner of trials and difficulties, hard times, frustrations, and disappointments with one another. But their vows are to remain; and the vows are written and given precisely in that way for that precise reason.

In the vows of ordination/installation, there is no provision made for “till we get tired of one another,” or “till you get older,” or even “as long as you keep improving your skills.” The pastor is pledged to faithfully serve God’s people in the congregation. The congregation is pledged to faithfully listen to and give respect to, honor and support their pastor as long as the Lord has placed pastor and congregation together. The Lord will decide when their time of service is over by the death of the pastor, moving the pastor to another place, or bringing the congregation to an end. The vows of both are to remain, even when – especially when! – there are difficult times for congregation and pastor. The vows are prepared and are exchanged in precisely that way for precisely that reason.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN OUR DAY?

As no fault divorce has impacted and brought about enormous changes – and not necessarily for the better, as most will agree – in the culture of marriage, so have these enormous changes impacted pastors and congregations – again, not necessarily for the better. Church leaders have long decried the fact that divorce statistics for Christians mirror the divorce statistics of our society. There is a crisis in fidelity.

No fault divorce turns its back on God’s institution of marriage and suggests that there may be any number of legitimate reasons for a divorce: husband and wife may “fall out of love,” they might become “sexually incompatible,” they might come to have “irreconcilable differences,” and any of a number of very creative “reasons” for the deposal of the marriage relationship.

But the Word of the Lord remains. The two Biblical grounds for divorce remain: adultery and malicious desertion. Even then the Lord only permits the divorce if the injured party is unable to restore the other. In an ideal relationship, the Lord wants the injured party, enabled by God’s love in Christ, to forgive and restore the other and thus to renew the marriage.

This same attitude of “no fault” divorce has found its way into the church’s understanding of the relationship between congregation and pastor. Are there other “grounds” for dismissing a pastor besides the three mentioned earlier in this essay? To be sure, some have shown great creativity in trying to define new “grounds” for the dismissal of a pastor from a congregation, but the question which must surely be asked again and again is, simply: are these “grounds” defined by God? Or, are they merely sinful man’s invention? Even as we in the church decry the divorce statistics of both the culture and the church, and as we vehemently decry the attitudes which result in our “divorce culture,” so we must surely learn to decry the statistics of congregations increasingly dismissing their pastors, and the attitudes which are producing a “divorce culture” or a “hire and fire culture” within the holy Christian church.

POPULAR ARGUMENTS . . .

“We have to get rid of our pastor. We just cannot afford him anymore.” One hears that argument and, because every congregation struggles with budget issues, one is inclined to agree with it . . . until you start to rethink it! Can a family decide that it is time to “get rid” of one of their children because rampant inflation is making it harder and harder to raise children? May God forgive those parents who do such a thing. Can a husband or wife decide to “get rid” of their God-given partner because s/he has gotten “too expensive?” The expenses may have come because of one who is unable to work, or is unwilling to work, or is ill, or even who is plain lazy. But the marriage vow said: “for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health ‘til death do us part.” In the same way that the family is held together by promises given and kept, so the relationship between pastor and congregation exists by promises given and kept. Economies change. Let congregation and pastor do as husband and wife are to do, namely, explore ways to keep things together in a God-pleasing manner!

“He doesn’t really love us.” A variation on that one is, “We don’t love him anymore.” This writer has actually seen people walk up to their pastor and say, as though not to hurt his feelings, “Pastor, we just don’t love you anymore.” It sometimes happens. It is very sad. People use this as their reason for an unscriptural divorce. Too many pastors and other church leaders accept that excuse as a reason to be rid of a pastor. God has not promised that every love will grow and flourish. Surely, it is the Lord’s will that love between husband and wife grow and flourish, but because of sin, it does not always happen that way. Sometimes the pastor grows weary. Sometimes the congregation or individual members of the congregation grow weary. But the promises are supposed to remain. May the Lord help love to be renewed. May the Lord lead all to a proper understanding of Biblical love!

“But we’re getting smaller.” This argument is advanced in two ways: [1] to suggest that the congregation simply cannot any longer afford to keep their pastor; and [2] to suggest that the pastor is “ineffective” at the work of “growing the church.” Sometimes the argument is used to suggest 1 or 2 above, sometimes to suggest both. Yet simple logic answers. Are the demographics of your community changing? Are businesses leaving? Are the young people leaving town in search of better jobs and greater work opportunities? Are people having smaller families? Are people generally waiting until they are older before they marry and have families? Are these things the pastor’s “fault?” Marriages and families go through changes, too, and not all of them are pleasant changes. Nevertheless, the “glue” of God’s love in Christ is what is supposed to hold the marriage and family together. Communities go through times of growth and decline; sometimes, they go through times of renewed growth. The changes in family sizes are certainly not the fault of the pastor (who himself might be trying to do his part by having a larger family than most – haha)! The answer, again, is for pastor and congregation to acknowledge those changes and to resolve, together, to continue to serve in the place where the Lord has placed them!

“His skills don’t match our community.” This argument is usually followed with “but he’d make a good seminary professor.” The truth is that the Lord of the church has called His pastors to be shepherds and teachers in the flock of God. He might be a “city boy” who sometimes ends up in a small town or rural parish setting. He might be a “country boy” who ends up in an urban or suburban area. Consider: how many husbands and wives have been joined in marriage to partners who did not grow up in the same circumstances as did they? The key is a loving teaching-learning relationship. There are things which congregations can gently teach their pastor – about farming, livestock, etc. If he is stubborn, he will need to be more gently taught. Similarly, there are things which congregations can be taught by their pastors: teachings from the Word of God. When people are stubborn with respect to Bible classes, etc. and expect their pastor to be patient with them, surely they can similarly be patient with teaching him! This is how the decision to love one another is supposed to work.

“He failed us!” Yes, he probably did. All sinners fail. It’s just a matter of when. Perhaps he failed to remember an anniversary. Perhaps he failed to make a hospital call, or a shut-in call. Have members of the congregation sometimes failed one another? Have they sometimes failed their pastor? Have we all sometimes failed God? Repentance and forgiveness are a part of that “glue” of love which God uses to hold His church together! If he is impenitent, then it becomes another matter. There are some failures which are egregious to the point that the pastor disqualifies himself for the Office of Pastor (the three reasons mentioned earlier). There are other failures which just plain happen. It is like when the husband forgets the wedding anniversary or the birthday of his beloved. It is truly painful. Hurt comes to the relationship. But it can be – and eventually should be – forgiven. Christ died so that our sins could be forgiven. Christ died so that we could forgive one another. Just like in marriage.

“He doesn’t make us feel good!" Increasingly, one hears variations of this complaint in our culture. It sounds similar to the adolescent who somehow becomes “ashamed” of his family. It is real. But it is immature. The Lord has not put His pastor into the local congregation to be in charge of eveyrone’s feelings! The Lord has put His pastor into the local congregation to preach and teach God’s Word of Law and Gospel and to administer the Lord’s Sacraments in that place. This pastor will attempt to be a genuine Seelsorger, that is, a pastor who is a “caretaker of souls.” Sometimes people will feel wonderfully good as the balm of God’s blessed Gospel comforts their hearts and consciences. At other times people will find themselves hurt by the application of God’s Law. The pastor is NOT in charge of people’s feelings even as a husband and/or wife is not in charge of his/her partner’s feelings or a parent is in charge of his/her child(ren)’s feelings. We care about one another’s feelings. We try to be considerate of one another’s feelings. And we forgive one another when our feelings do not cooperate.

“Pastors take calls willy nilly! Why should we be loyal to one who won’t be loyal to us?!” This is painful. It is sometimes true that pastors abuse their God-given calls. They view them as “stepping stones” to some other agenda. They are willing, when the going gets tough, to abandon their calls. This is to their discredit, for they are not fulfilling their God-given call. It also happens, of course, that the Lord may call a pastor to a given congregation for a relatively short period of time; this can be maddening to a congregation which has spent a great deal of money moving their pastor in, and which has invested all of the emotional interest in getting to know their new pastor and his family. This can also be quite maddening to a pastor and his family who tire of being called by God to pick up all of their earthly belongings and travel to a new place and try to get their whole family acclimated to a new place and congregation. Pastors who do abuse their calls are wrong! But it is not grounds for dismissing a pastor. If a spouse is, in some way large or small, disloyal to his/her spouse, it nevertheless behooves the other to act in a faithful way since that is the promise of the marriage vow.

CONCLUDING . . .

There is so much more which could be written on this subject. Much more probably will be written. This short essay has not answered all concerns. But this short essay has, the writer prays, accomplished what he has purposed to do, namely, to suggest that pastors and congregations and ecclesiastical supervisors all look at the divine call entirely differently from the merely pragmatic ways in which we have come to view it in today’s culture. Pastors make promises to God and to the congregation. Congregations make promises to God and to the pastor. In the same way husbands and wives make promises to God, to one another, and to their communities (yes, make no mistake about this latter facet of the marriage vow, one which we have not really discussed here, but which is vital to every community!). Where vows are broken, there must be repentance and renewal; this is the simple yet profound cure! Where inadequacies show up (not everyone gets to live in a perpetual honeymoon!), understanding is supposed to rule the day.

Grave harm has been done to many souls as congregations, pastors and families, whole communities, and the church’s public witness have been deeply harmed by improper understandings and practices surrounding the divine call.

May God have mercy on all sinners, lead us to repentance, and grant us a right understanding and a right practice. Amen.

"'Core Values' for Christians: Original Sin"

(This article is taken from the July Newsletter of Concordia Ev. Lutheran Church of Sikeston, MO. That entire newsletter can be viewed as a pdf file at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/concordialutheran-sikeston/ . At the end of the below article I will include the text - and introduction - of Article II of the Augsburg Confession -- or, go to this link and read it yourself: http://www.bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.html .)

Okay, Okay. My wife wants to know how “Original Sin” is a “core value” of Christians. Granted that sin is NOT something that we want in our lives as Christians, BUT sin is a reality with which the Christian Church and every single Christian must deal! If you think about it, if it were not for sin there would not, of course, be any need for a Savior, and the Savior would never have needed to start His Church! So, do we believe in “sin?” Absolutely. Do we like it? Absolutely NOT.

This short article is the second in a series of “core values” articles for our monthly newsletter. Each of our “core values” will be based on an article of the Augsburg Confession.” BORRRIIINNNNGGG!!!, right? Wrong! The Augsburg Confession was written with two closely-related purposes in mind: [1] to demonstrate that the “Lutherans” were not a bunch of oddballs who should be labeled as a mere sect; and [2] to define what a “Lutheran” believes, teaches, and confesses. When Emperor Charles V permitted the Augsburg Confession to be read, it legitimized Luther and others. Because of that history, it may well be said that it represents the “core values” of Lutheran Christians.

+ + + ARTICLE II - ORIGINAL SIN + + +

As I wrote before, this is not a “core value” which we long to have. Rather, it is a “core value” which we believe and with which we simply have to deal! Please go read Article II of the Augsburg Confession (at the end of this article or go to the above link). Then come back here. Please? Thanks! I’ll wait . . .

So . . . assuming that you have read the Article, what does it mean? The authors of the Augsburg Confession are confessing, from God’s Word, that every man, woman, and child is born with a problem. Ever since the fall (into sin) of Adam in the Garden of Eden, everyone is afflicted with sin. Sin is rebellion against God. Sin is not just something that you do but it is something which you have. It is kind of the way it is when a person has a bad cough: the cough is both something which he does and which he has. He coughs because he has a cough. In the same way, every person in the world sins because s/he has sin. We believe that. Scripture teaches it.

+ + + ORIGINAL SIN'S ORIGIN + + +

The first question which we always find ourselves asking, whether about sin or a bad cough or a cancer, is “Where did it come from?” Many people — because of the disobedience and pride which is the result of original sin — point their accusing finger at God. They want to imagine that, since God is the creator of all things, He must also have created sin. How convenient to blame God thus! Then they can also accuse God of being inconsistent and even cruel! Nice try. It doesn’t work.

Sin comes from the devil. When God finished with His creating work, His opinion of the world which He had made (without sin!) was that it was “very good.” In other words, because it was without sin, it was perfect! But sometime between the creation of the world and the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, there was a war in heaven. One of God’s perfect angels, with help from some of the other angels, decided to rebel against God and usurp their Creator (oh, the arrogance of it all). Another of the angels, Michael, fought back. Satan (the one who rebelled) was cast out of heaven. Seeing that he was defeated, he went off to make war against those who are believers in God. He sought to mess things up good. And he did.

That is how sin came into existence! Remember who tempted Adam and Eve to sin against God in their perfect Garden of Eden? Yep. The same wicked angel. He’s a great deceiver, make no mistake about it. Want some proof texts for the above? Call me. Or, get out your Luther’s Small Catechism and look up “angels” in the back and read up on it. (Or, you can access a version of the Small Catechism and then follow the link to the explanation of the Small Catechism at: https://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/LCMS/smallcatechism.pdf

+ + + SIN IN YOU AND OTHERS! + + +

Sin now gets passed on from one generation to the next. Here is the formula: Sinful Mommy + Sinful Daddy = Sinful Baby. If that seems simplistic, then so be it. Just as children inherit their eye color, hair color, and certain other physical characteristics from their parents, they also inherit this awful thing called “Original Sin” (aka “Inherited Sin”). It is not their (your, my, our) fault that they (we) have it. But we still have it. It is because someone before us was thoughtless and careless. And remember what it produces? As a cough will produce a cough, so original sin produces sins.

+ + + SIN AS A POISON! + + +

This sin poisons us inside and out. God told Adam and Eve that, as a result of their sin: [1] a woman’s child-bearing would not be as easy or as pleasant as it would have been by God’s original design; [2] a man would no longer find his work to be easy and enjoyable, but that now he would have to work with weeds, AND he would even sweat; [3] husbands and wives would no longer enjoy a perfectly happy relationship all of the time; and [4] DEATH had now entered into them and into God’s perfect creation! Sin had poisoned their lives and everything in it!

This pastor often uses the example of the child born addicted to crack or some other highly addictive drug. The mother uses the drug and the child ingests the drug in utero. Then the child is born, the umbilical cord is cut, and the truth is revealed: the newborn, so seemingly cute in the newness of his/her life, is nothing less than a drug addict! The doctors and nurses, recognizing that truth, need to deal with that baby’s addiction. If they don’t, the baby will die. When they save that child’s life, they remind that child — so that s/he can live a productive life — that s/he is a drug addict. S/He must learn that about him-/herself so that the drug does not control his/her life! This sin is a poison in our lives! It causes all kinds of other trouble, and dooms us to death.

+ + + SIN'S ANTIDOTE IS . . . + + +

. . . HOLINESS! BUT . . . NOT a “holiness” which comes from you! Rather, the righteousness (“holiness”) which comes from Christ and is put upon you. God gives you the holiness earned by the absolutely perfect life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do NOT fall prey to those who think that you can somehow earn God’s favor by your goodness (as did Pelagius of old, and as do the different “holiness” groups of the present); that will cause you either to despair or — just as bad — to think that you do not really need God in your life (like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day).

GOOD NEWS! Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has become God’s holiness for you! He lived under God’s Law in a way which we could not (He never sinned!). When God brings us to faith in Christ and we are baptized, the perfect holiness of Christ, like a great big coat, is put over us. When God looks at us, then, though He knows that we are sinners, He sees the big coat of Jesus’ holiness and He declares us righteous, or holy, in His sight!

The antidote for our sins and sinfulness is the Lord Jesus Christ, and His holiness. Where there is sin, Christ — Who lived perfectly, and therefore died innocently, and arose again victoriously — is everything which we need!

+ + +

May God preserve us safe in the holy, true and Christian faith! Though we Lutherans do not “value” Original Sin, we do “own” that it exists, AND we own that it exists in every man, woman, and child in the world. And, because it does exist in every man, woman, and child in the world (except for our Lord Christ, obviously), we ask God to help us do what He wants us to do in order that every man, woman, and child will know and trust in the only antidote to Original Sin: Christ!

In Christ, Pastor Wollenburg

The Augsburg Confession

“Chief Articles of Faith”

Article II

Original Sin

Our churches teach that since the fall of Adam (Romans 5:12), all who are naturally born are born with sin (Psalm 51:5), that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God, and with the inclination to sin, called concupiscence. Concupiscence is a disease and original vice that is truly sin. It damns and brings eternal death on those who are not born anew through Baptism and the Holy Spirit (John 3:5). Our churches condemn the Pelagians and others who deny that original depravity is sin, thus obscuring the glory of Christ’s merit and benefits. Pelagians argue that a person can be justified before God by his own strengths and reason.

In Concordia The Lutheran Confessions A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord, there is this “forward” which is intended to help first time readers of the Augsburg Confession understand the context in which it was written: “Sin is much more than thinking, saying, and doing things that are wrong. It is a terminal disease. We are all conceived and born in sin; we inherit it from our first parents, Adam and Eve. The disease of sin can be overcome, but only by one medicine: the cleansing, healing, and forgiving blood of God’s own Son. By rejecting Pelagian errors in Article II, the Augsburg Confression subtly refers to the Roman view of sin. The Roman Church taught and still teaches that concupiscence (the inborn inclination to sin) is not actually sin. By misdiagnosing our fatal illness, Rome leads people to blieve they are able to cooperate with God’s grace for salvation. Lutheranism rejects all teachings that imply we are responsible for or contribute to our salvation. (See also Ap II; SA III, I; FC Ep I and SD I.)"