"'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.)"

Answering Satan's Attacks

One of the great hymns of the Lutheran Church is "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." Here are the words:

"A Mighty Fortress is Our God"
by Dr. Martin Luther, 1483-1546
Composite Translation from the Pennsylvania Lutheran CHURCH BOOK of 1868
1. A mighty Fortress is our God,
A trusty Shield and Weapon;
He helps us free from every need
That hath us now o'ertaken.
The old evil Foe Now means deadly woe;
Deep guile and great might
Are his dread arms in fight; On Earth is not his equal.

2. With might of ours can naught be done,
Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One,
Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this? Jesus Christ it is. Of Sabaoth Lord,
And there's none other God;
He holds the field forever.

3. Though devils all the world should fill,
All eager to devour us.
We tremble not, we fear no ill,
They shall not overpower us.
This world's prince may still Scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none,
He's judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.

4. The Word they still shall let remain
Nor any thanks have for it;
He's by our side upon the plain
With His good gifts and Spirit.
And take they our life,
Goods, fame, child and wife, Let these all be gone,
They yet have nothing won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth.

Hymn #262 The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Psalm 46
Author: Martin Luther, 1529
Translated by: composite
Titled: "Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott"
Composer: Martin Luther, 1529
Tune: "Ein' feste Burg"
1st Published in: Klug's Gesangbuch
Town: Wittenberg, 1529


So, what does the hymn reveal about Lutherans? Well, that we recognize that the devil is a big threat to our souls. Oh, not because the devil is so powerful - remember that Christ has defeated him! - but because of his lies (John 8:44), his deceptions, (2 Cor. 11:14), and his accusations ("Satan" means "accuser").


The below is from an email exchange with a college student who is a member of my congregation. No names, of course, but it occurs to me that the exchange might be useful to someone who decides to read my blog. So . . . read on . . .


POST ONE:
Hi Pastor,
So, I email to a list of friends these little devotions from a book called God Grant It: Daily Devotions from C.F.W. Walther. I had a church worker to be friend of mine reply to one of them and I'm hoping that you may have some insights that I can use when I talk to my friend. Please reference the two emails below. The first is the devotion...the latter is the response. Thank you for any advice and wisdom you might have! In Christ, { NAME }

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"But when He heard it, He said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." -- Matthew 9:12-13

The first and most earnest truth in the words "Jesus receives sinners" is that Christ does not want to have anything to do with people who do not recognize themselves to be sinners. This does not mean, of course, that He takes no pleasure in the company of the truly pious and just and derives satisfaction from evil and godless people. As the psalmist says, 'For You are not a God who delights in wickedness, evil may not dwell with You" (Psalm 5:4). If we were as pious and just as when God first created man, we would still be dear and pleasing to the Son of God. (But in that case, He would not have become man and entered the world since there would have been no need of a Savior and Redeemer.)

Jesus came to earth because, as Saint Paul said, all men are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. We were sick in our souls, fatally and eternally sick; and Christ came as a physician to restore us to health. By nature, we are great, lost, and condemned sinners, and neither we nor any other creature under heaven has the power to heal us. As long as we pretend to be self-righteous, Christ does not concern us. What does our going to church avail if we do not call out from depth of our heart, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner' (Luke 18:13)? What good is Baptism or the Gospel or the Holy Meal if we do not embrace it as sinners? To those who continue to think they can cleanse themselves and do not need to be washed pure by Christ, the word He spoke to Peter applies: 'If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me" (John 13:8).

In short, if we are unwilling to acknowledge that we are poor, lost sinners, we renounce Christ. The truth that 'Jesus receives sinners' remains for us, as it did for the Pharisees and scribes, a stumbling block and a hindrance to salvation. It remains a thunderbolt of the Law from Sinai underscoring our judgment to eternal damnation. How good it is, then, when we admit our sinful state and draw inexpressible comfort from the words 'Jesus receives sinners.'

When the Pharisees and scribes called those who approached Jesus 'sinners,' they were absolutely right. Some of them were great sinners. Tax collectors, for example, were manifest deceivers of the people. The woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair was a notorious prostitute. The only thing that distinguished the sinners who drew near to Christ from those who did not was not that their sins were less significant than others, but that they vividly recognized themselves as sinners and sought forgiveness from Jesus.

What a great comfort, then, lies in the words 'Jesus receives sinners'! No matter how great the sins you have committed, do not harden your heart but recognize your sins and go to Jesus. He will receive you. Do not hesitate because you have sinned for a long time or because you believe your sins are so great that you are beyond forgiveness. Remember Peter, who denied his Lord three times. Remember Saul, who persecuted the Church of God and ridiculed His Word. Remember the thief on the cross, who was a robber and a murderer. Jesus received each of them graciously and so will He receive you. Even if your sins are as many as the hairs on your head and as numerous as the grains of sand on the beach, you can find forgiveness in Christ.'

Jesus receives sinners.' May these words comfort us at all times, even until the hour of our death. He is always ready to receive us and to help us enter His heavenly kingdom.Though great our sins and sore our woes, His grace much more aboundeth;His helping love no limit knows,Our utmost need it soundeth.Our Shepherd good and true is He,Who will at last His Israel freeFrom all their sin and sorrow, Amen. (TLH 329:5)

--------------------------------------------------------------

My Friend's Response:
"Hey { NAME },
Thanks for the devotion. Something I've been struggling with lately is that I always hear people say, "You've never done anything that Jesus can't forgive". That's very comforting, I wholeheartedly believe it, and I use it in witnessing situations sometimes myself. Like this study points to Paul and the thief on the cross and Peter's denials of Christ, those things should be comforting as well. But for me they have become more troubling than anything.

What these three had in common is that they committed their sins before committing their life to Christ. Paul persecuted the church, but after his conversion never committed those sins again; the thief on the cross (granted he didn't have the opportunity) was the same; and Peter did deny Christ while he was a disciple, but after the resurrection there was a transformaion in his heart and he never again denied Jesus as Lord.

The sins that I have struggled with, and the ones that I still do, are all things that have surfaced while being a baptized and confirmed Christian. I feel that my sins are worse than any of the examples listed above, because I knew Christ as my Savior at the time. And now I am studying to become a leader in the Church, how can I struggle with an addiction and justify that? Although I have taken numerous steps to rid myself of this, like I found out yesterday, I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever completely go away. It is no longer a habitual sin, but nevertheless it still finds ways of creeping back into my life. I know that Christ will and has forgiven me for this and all my sins. But that doesn't mean that I should be working in ministry.

So I guess this is one example of how I can see only law in what is meant as Gospel. I cannot find anything in Scripture that makes me feel more at ease about studying for ministry while dealing with this particular addiction. All I find are more reasons for me to not be in ministry. Ok... I'm done... sorry to have dumped all of that on you. You really probably didn't need it. God bless."



MY REPLY:

Hello, { NAME }: Those are wonderful devotions. Whenever I see someone using these as their devotions, I find myself thinking that they are surely pretty mature Christians who seek to be more mature in Christ. Keep using them. Please consider just giving this to your friend and having him sit down to read what I write here. Your friend needs to get honest with the doctrine of original sin. Original sin is not what we do. It is what we are. And, original sin causes us to commit other sins - sometimes on purpose, sometimes not. Original sin does not care whether we have been brought to Christ already or not (and this whole business of thinking that our "commitment" to Christ will somehow make us exempt from sin and its effects is simply wrong).

I liken it to the child born of a crack-addicted mom. As soon as the umbilical cord is cut that poor kid is in deep trouble. He needs a fix. He doesn't know what's wrong - and it is certainly not his fault - but he knows that something's wrong. The best way to help that kid is to admit that he is most certainly a crack addict -- then he can be treated and maybe even saved. But until the doctors, et al. recognize and diagnose the problem they cannot help him. As that kid gets older, he does well to own the fact that he is a crack addict. He will remain thus his whole life. Sometimes he will fall. Because he is a crack addict.

Your friend does not like the fact - and in fact is troubled by the fact - that he sins. The deeper problem is the original sin which causes him to sin. Even when he doesn't want to sin. Romans 7:7ff. MUST be studied. It is written by Paul AFTER he has been brought to faith. But he still sees himself as a wicked sinner ("who will deliver me from this body of death" is a phrase rich and deep in meaning - loaded with nuance - ask me about it sometime soon). Paul is stuck with sin. It's in him. He can't root it out. It causes him to sin. he despises sin. He hates his sins. But he has Christ.

We in the Lutheran Church have, for far too long, discouraged individual confession and absolution. Huge mistake! Lutherans full well understand that we, though we are saved by grace through faith for Christ's sake, still have sin in us. Mom and Dad passed it on to us. It eventually results in death. It always leads us into other sins. When the troubled sinner confesses his sins to his pastor and his pastor speaks to him (sometimes even touches him in blessing!) and absolves him in Christ's name and for Christ's sake, the sin has been dealt with. The cure is given. The sin no longer has to control and accuse. Christ has paid for all sins.

But I also recognize the devil's ploys - there is nothing new in what your friend has written. It is exactly what Luther felt (go watch the movie "Luther" again - do this right away - and see when he was taught to pray, "I am Yours! Save me!"). Did you know that the name "Satan" means "accuser?" One of his chief ploys is to constantly accuse us! He accuses your friend of not repenting good enough. He accuses your friend of not being "good enough" for ministry (is he planning to go into the Pastoral Ministry?). The devil is not the least bit creative. I've been watching his b.s. for 29+ years of pastoral ministry now. It's what the devil does to every Christian, and also to unbelievers. If he can get us to think that we are "too bad," then he can get us to despair and thus deny the Gospel itself (and Christ!). That is why we must keep getting the Gospel in proper preaching every week AND rejoice to taste our Lord Jesus Christ in His Meal to sustain us -- then we can preach the Gospel to ourselves every time the "old evil foe" attacks us!

But Christ died for every sin! And for every sinner! We are saved by grace, through faith, for the sake of what Christ has done! We poor, miserable sinners (see? even the common confession on Sunday morning - unless you participate in that stupid contemporary worship - admits that, though we are saved, we are still poor, miserable sinners!) humbly fall before the cross and pray: "I am Yours! Save me!"

Please feel free to invite your friend to write to me. Please also direct him to my blog: http://lutheran-101.blogspot.com/ . Also please mention my page (with audio's of our Sunday worship services!) on the Wittenberg Trail: http://wittenbergtrail.ning.com/profile/PastorAlanWollenburg .

OK, that's about it for now. Pax tecum! - Pastor ajw



HOW IT CAME OUT:

Hi Pastor,

I sent your words, with a couple grammatical revisions to my friend. I had to email them because the person is back in { CITY } and I'm in { CITY }. Regardless, I thought you would appreciate reading the response.

In Christ, { NAME }

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey,


Thank you so much for that reply. God spoke volumes through you, more than you know. That was, for many reasons, the first time in a while I have been able to hear gospel in anything, which makes me realize what a serious predicament I had actually put myself in. I have heard Satan being called the Accuser, but never had I looked at that as his primary role. I have always considered his worst work to be done in tempting. However, the events of the past few days, now that I look back at them, have shown me that he is most destructive when he is accusing.

I have not been able to stop praising God since I read your email. A tremendous burden was lifted from me last night, and I am so glad that you were willing to let God work through you. I'm really not sure what else to say; I don't think I can actually explain what a blessing you and your words were. I guess that is one of God's wise ways, not to let us actually know what awesome and great work that He is doing through us. But I hope I can at least give you a glimpse of how much that meant to me. Thanks for being there, and for caring. God bless



WHAT DID WE LEARN HERE?

That the devil accuses. That we feel the burden of our sins. That we need Christ! That Christ sets us free! Look for other blogs, ok

"This is Most Certainly True!"

"This is most certainly true" is another one of those things that Lutherans like to say. Because we like to be right. Not just right about something which we have made up. But right in order to be right. There is a wonderful reason to be right. Come to think about it, we MUST be right. For the right reasons . . .

Some people like to be right about stuff because it makes them look superior and important. That is the wrong reason to be right.

I like it when my auto mechanic is right about things. When he fixes the car (or the old van), I then know that it is reliable for me again. I can depend on it. I can go someplace late at night and be reasonably certain that I will be able to get home again. I can drive it in bad weather and be reasonably certain of my safety in it. Sometimes my very life is in the balance. My mechanic HAS to be right. I need reliability. I need dependability. I need security. Genuine security. I bet that you do, too (go ahead, admit it!).

I need my religion to be the same way - because only the real Truth can get me into heaven. And I want it to be an unadulterated, un-watered-down, totally dependable religion. My very soul (immortal, eternal) is in the balance. My religion MUST be right! I need reliability. I need dependability. I need security. Genuine security. I bet that you do, too. And that is precisely where doctrine comes in.

Yes, I know - you might think that "doctrine" sounds too, well, doctrinal. Bear with me. Do you know why a theologian (and every Christian pastor had better consider himself to be a theologian!), if he is worth his salt, had better insist on sound doctrine? Because, if your doctrine is sound, then you can approach the most important part of religion and say, "This is most certainly true!" (Yes, there is a part of religion which I would say is "most important." We're coming to that.)

Think about it. If my mechanic does not know how to change a tire on my car, it's a sure bet that I will not trust the engine to him! If he cannot change a mere fuse, it's a sure bet that I will not trust the transmission to him! If he can't figure out the simple things, I am certainly not going to entrust the more complicated things to him. Frankly, I would be a fool to do so!

In the same way, if my pastor cannot teach me about Baptism, for example, then he really cannot teach me about the Lord Jesus Christ (because one of the ways that Jesus brings Himself to us is in Baptism - more on that some other time!). If my pastor cannot teach me about Holy Communion, then he cannot teach me about Christ as my Savior (again, because one of the ways that Jesus brings Himself to me is in the Lord's Supper - more on that some other time, too). I had better get the right stuff if I want to end up in heaven! It just makes sense!

So, here is the "job" of doctrine. All Christian doctrine supports the central and most important truth, namely: you and I and the whole world are saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ Who is Himself the perfect and only Savior of every man, woman, and child in the world! There! That's it! The central truth. And it is a truly profound truth. It is the most important truth (if you can say it that way).

Even if you have heard this truth over and over again throughout your life, it is still wonderfully profound. And if you are here reading about this truth for the very first time, it is wonderfully profound. God loves you. God saves you! He did this by the work of His only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is God who actually died for your sins. In truth, He took your sins (the little petty ones and the really big ones) upon His sinless shoulders, He faced the wrath of His Father against each and every sin, and He died as the one and only, sinless, once-for-all-time sacrifice for sin! For your sin! For my sin! For every person's sin! AND . . . ready for this? . . .

"This is most certainly true!" This HAS to be true! If this is not true, you and I and literally everyone else in the world will go to hell. If this is not true, no one can possibly go to heaven. The alternative is hell. There is no inbetween. Romans 6:23 - check it out!

Enter Martin Luther and his Small Catechism ( https://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/LCMS/smallcatechism.pdf ). Go to The Creed. Dr. Luther wrote an explanation to each of the three articles of the Apostles' Creed. The Apostles' Creed dates from about 100 A.D. It was not written by the apostles (disciples) of our Lord. It is so named because it is a statement about the apostolic (New Testament) faith! The New Testament faith tells us that God loves us, that God has worked out our salvation. Each "article" of the Creed tells us about a different "Person" of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (God has revealed Himself to us as the blessed "Three-in-One," aka "Holy Trinity," "Triune God,"). And, as Luther ends each article of the Creed, he affirms its veracity when he writes, "This most certainly true." In other words, you can depend on it. You can stake your very life on it! In fact, you can (and had better) stake your eternal life on it! This is most certainly true.

Dear friend, if you think that all truth is relative, you are plainly wrong and even sound reason tells you that you are wrong. If you think that there is no such thing as absolute truth, then bring your car over to my house and pay me $50/hour (a bargain these days) to fix it (I can always use the money). If you think that no preacher should be able to tell you sound doctrine, then why do you need a pastor at all? For that matter, fix your car (and your soul) by yourself.

Thinking about the above, do you really want to try to work out your own salvation? Do you really think that all Christian doctrine (teaching) should be "up for grabs?" Do you think that you can entrust your salvation to just any upstart preacher, or to a preacher who thinks that he should follow the latest trends? Or, to a preacher who trusts in his own cleverness and "cuteness?" Or to one of those "bait and switch" preachers (they promise you one thing but when you show up they give you something else)? Friend, do not reject absolute truth! Do not be a fool! Do not think that you are personally in charge of "truth" according to whatever whims of feelings you have! Truth IS truth! Thank God for it. THE Truth shows you everlasting life! THE Truth allows you to live (and die) in the holy, true, and Christian faith. And it is utterly dependable. I need that. So do you. Christ is the Giver! Christ is the Gift!

This is most certainly true! Sweet!