Paul’s Letter to the Believers at Colosse (continued)

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4

In our baptism, we have been joined to Christ in His death and in His resurrection. Our sins and our old sinful nature were crucified, punished and put to death in Christ Jesus, upon His cross; and as Christ was raised from the dead by the working of God’s Spirit, so we have been raised to new life – brought to faith in Christ – by the operation, or working, of God the Holy Spirit (Colossians 2:10-15).

We are no longer dead in our sins and the uncircumcision of our flesh; we have been made alive to God through God-wrought faith in Christ, and all our sins have been forgiven and washed away in Jesus’ shed blood (cf. Colossians 2:13-14). In Jesus, our salvation is complete. In Jesus, we have all we need – God’s forgiveness and the promise of life everlasting!

Therefore, since we as believers have been raised up with Christ Jesus, He is our life.

As the Apostle John writes, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

By our natural birth, we all shared in the nature and sin of our first father, Adam, who disobeyed God’s commandment and brought sin and death upon us all. By our rebirth, the result and working of God’s Spirit in us through the “washing of regeneration,” “the washing of water by the word” (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 5:26; cf. Colossians 2:11-12), we are joined to Messiah Jesus. His death on the cross for the sins of the world was our death and the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Being raised up from the dead, His life is our life and the guarantee that we too shall be raised up unto life everlasting with Him in heaven.

Therefore, since our “life is hid with Christ in God,” and since we look forward to His return and being changed into His image and likeness, why would we want to set our love and affection on the things of this world – things which will pass away with the using and things which will be burned up with unquenchable fire at Jesus’ return?

Not only does this apply to man-made doctrines and rules about the foods we may eat, the days we must observe or ways in which we ought live to prosper in this world (cf. Colossians 2:20-23), it has application to the very focus of our lives. Are we focusing all our energy and all our resources upon this life – on such things as our homes, cars, clothing, recreational activities and the like – or are we focused on Christ, who is our very life and our only hope?

Paul’s point to us is this: If we have been joined to Christ in His death and resurrection – if we are indeed risen and alive in Christ – the focus of our lives will not be here in this world or on man-made teachings and rules to better life in this world; our focus will be on Christ and on those things He is working to achieve – the salvation of lost souls and the building up of His church, that we all might be saved and reign with Him in everlasting glory!

And so, while so many are focusing their attention on the betterment of life in this world – whether it be through the foods we eat, our lifestyles or teachings about love and charitable deeds – the true focus of Christians is on Christ and reaching out to lost and condemned sinners with the saving gospel of forgiveness and life in Jesus. You see, Christians know that this world is hopelessly under the sway of sin and will soon be judged and pass away. Christians know and believe that the only way to have life is Jesus.

One might also say it this way: Rather than using Christ and religion in an attempt to better one’s life and the lives of others in this world, the Christian uses his life and the goods entrusted to him in this world to save lives for the world to come. Does that include works of kindness and charity to help people in this world? Most certainly! But the focus is always on the chief work of Christ – the salvation of souls for His eternal kingdom, a kingdom which is not doomed to pass away as will this world!

Dearest Jesus, my Savior from sin and death and my life and eternal salvation, graciously keep my eyes on You and on those things You seek. Let the focus of my life be on You and the glories of heaven which await us at Your return, and grant that I seek what You seek, the salvation of lost souls, that they too might partake of the everlasting joys of Your kingdom. Amen.

Pastor Randy Moll

We All Believe in One True God:

A Summary of Biblical Doctrine

(The entire book is posted under Pages on the Church Web log)

IV. SIN

All who believe in the one true God, and in His only Son, Jesus Christ, and redemption through His blood, certainly believe the Biblical doctrine of sin. For none can believe in Christ as Redeemer without believing in that from which He redeemed us; and there is no knowledge of Jesus the Savior without the knowledge of sin. Our Lord Himself clearly points out this necessary connection when He says: “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick” (Matt. 9:12). All saints are poor sinners; all Christians know and acknowledge and lament their sin. Every Christian believer can join St. Paul in confessing: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:15). The Christian Gospel is for sinners only.

What is sin? The clearest and briefest definition is given in 1 John 3:4: “Sin is the transgression of the law.” In the creation God wrote His Law into man’s heart; and though this natural knowledge of the Law has been dimmed in consequence of inborn sin (of which you will read more later in this chapter), it may readily be shown that man daily transgresses also that remnant of the divine Law to which his conscience bears witness. That we may be left the more utterly without excuse, God has clearly revealed His Law through Moses, briefly summarizing it in the Ten Commandments, and causes it to be proclaimed to us in order to sharpen our knowledge of His just demands and so deepen our knowledge of sin. Only that which is contrary to God’s holy Law is sin; but everything which steps beyond the bounds of this Law, in desire, thought, word, or deed, is sin. “We daily sin much and indeed deserve nothing but punishment.” (From Luther’s Small Catechism. Explanation of the Fifth Petition).

The Bible, however, not only tells us what sin is, but also how sin was brought into the world and what a hold it has obtained upon our nature. The prince of the fallen angels, who “kept not their first estate” (Jude 6), as mentioned in the previous chapter, called the Devil and Satan (Rev. 20:2), seduced our first parents into unbelief and disobedience to God, which radically ruined their nature, depriving them of their concreated righteousness, and so also depriving of righteousness the human nature shared with them by all their descendants, corrupting the stream, as it were, at its source. The devil made a beginning with sin (1 John 3:8: “The devil sinneth from the beginning”), and the consenting will of Adam, the father of our race, brought sin into the world (Rom. 5:12: “By one man sin entered into the world”). The history of the fall and its immediate consequences is to be read in the third chapter of Genesis.

Romans 5:12, just quoted, continues: “And death by sin.” Death, spiritual, temporal, and eternal, is both the immediate and ultimate consequence of sin. “The wages of sin is death,” Rom. 6:23. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die,” Ezekiel 18:4, 20. Spiritual death is the separation of the soul from God. Genesis 2:17: “In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.” Eph. 2:1, 5: “You. . . were dead in trespasses and sins . . . We were dead in sins.” Temporal death is the separation of the soul from the body. Rom. 5:12: “Death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Heb. 9:27: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Temporal death would never have come upon man except as the consequence of sin. Turn to your Bible and read all of Rom. 5:12, noting the chain of cause and effect. Spiritual and temporal death will be followed, unless the guilt of sin is removed from the heart and conscience by faith in Christ, by eternal death. In other words, those who meet temporal death while still in a state of spiritual death will fall into eternal death. Eternal death is the eternal separation of soul and body from God in the torments of hell. 2 Thess. 1:9: “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.” Matt. 25:46: “These shall go away into everlasting punishment.”

The immediate and continuing effect of Adam’s sin upon his descendants is called original or inherited sin. It is the total corruption of our entire human nature. Psalm 51:5: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” John 3:6: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” This total depravity of our whole human nature involves both a deprivation or loss to human nature as it was originally created and also an evil inclination or positive evil state and tendency which human nature acquired in the fall and which inheres in the nature inherited by us all. In the fall man lost the original righteousness (“image of God”) in which God had created him, and is thus by nature without true fear, love, and trust in God, destitute of all righteousness: “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing,” Rom. 7:18. Positively, man is inclined only to evil: “The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth,” Gen. 8:21. Whatever we desire, think, speak, or do, of ourselves, by the prompting of our own original nature, is “only evil continually,” Gen. 6:5. “There is none that doeth good, no, not one,” Rom. 3:12. “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not,” Eccles. 7:20.

Looking a little more deeply into the Biblical teaching concerning original sin, we perceive that it embraces two things: hereditary guilt, the guilt of the one sin of Adam which God imputes to all men; and hereditary corruption, which in consequence of the imputation of Adam’s guilt is transmitted to all his descendants through the natural descent from the first fallen pair. In short, original sin means that we are both counted guilty of Adam’s sin and inherently corrupt in our own inherited human nature. The Scripture proof for the first (imputed guilt) is clearly furnished by Rom. 5:18a: “By the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation,” and Rom. 5:19a: “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.” If this imputed guilt should seem harsh to us, let us recall that it is the correlative of the precious doctrine which lies at the heart of the way of salvation, the doctrine of the imputed righteousness of Christ. To perceive this connection between the Scriptural doctrine of original sin and our blessed hope of forgiveness, life, and salvation look at Rom. 5:18, 19 in its entirety: “Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.” The Scripture proof for the second (inherited corruption) is Psalm 51:5: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me,” and John 3:6: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” Only this Bible teaching, which every Christian will and must believe on the basis of God’s Word, is a factual and realistic description and explanation of human nature as it actually is. Every system of education and every psychology of human behavior which fails to recognize these basic truths is utterly unrealistic and woefully at variance with the facts of experience as well as with the truth of Scripture.

Original sin is the prolific source of all actual sins. It is the underlying cause of which all sorts of actual sins are simply the natural result. Actual sins are variously classified in accordance with Scripture, the most familiar categories under which they are grouped being expressed by the terms: sins of commission (see James 1:15) and sins of omission (see James 4:17). Summing up, we may define actual sin as every act against a commandment of God in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds — which will be found to be in harmony with our Lord’s statement, recorded Matt. 15:19: “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” It is important that Christians, by examining themselves in the mirror of God’s Law, perceive ever more clearly the deep inward corruption of the thoughts and desires of their hearts, lest they fall into a Pharisaic externalism which regards only such crass outward transgressions as, when detected, are punishable by human law as being serious sins, while comparatively disregarding the far greater host of damnable sins which remain hidden in the depths of the heart. “Who can understand his errors? cleanse Thou me from secret faults. Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:12–14.

The next chapter deals with the “only hope for sinful mortals:” Saving Grace.

By Wallace H. McLaughlin

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

The Adult Bible Class will continue on Sunday with its study of Revelation, in chapter 22, at verse 20. What does Jesus mean when He says, “Surely, I come quickly”? Cf. v. 7 and 12. Cf. 1:7; 2:10. What does Jesus say of those who overcome and are faithful unto death in His seven letters to the churches? Cf. Matthew 24 and 25; Luke 21; Mark 13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13ff.; 5:1ff.; 1 Corinthians 15; Hebrews 9:27-28; Luke 18:8. How do believers respond to Jesus promise to come quickly? Why has Christ not yet come? Cf. 2 Peter 3:7ff.

The Catechism Class is studying the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed and considering how God preserves His creation. Catechumens may find it helpful to read Psalms 104 and 139, as well as Nehemiah 9:6.

Sunday School Classes are scheduled to study God’s providing for the prophet Elijah. Bible texts behind the lesson are in 1 Kings 17ff.

The Sunday Sermon will be based on II Peter 2. In preparation, read the chapter and consider the following: Will false prophets come? What will they bring? Why are heresies damnable? Of what sort of heresies does Peter speak? How might this be happening in our time and even in Lutheran churches? What will be the end of such false prophets and their heresies?

What Do We Believe?

What do we believe about Faith in Christ? Consider the following summary statement and look up the supporting Bible passages:

FAITH IN CHRIST

We believe that it is through faith alone – and not of works – that a sinner receives the forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation which Christ Jesus won for all by His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross. Such faith, which is also a gracious gift of God worked by the Holy Spirit, is simply to believe and apply to one’s self the Gospel message, the good news that God is gracious to us and has forgiven us all our sins for the sake of Jesus Christ and His redemptive work (John 3:16; Galatians 2:16; Romans 1:16-17; 3:20-28; 4:3-8; 5:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-9,11-18; Philippians 1:6,29; Colossians 2:12). We also believe that no one can be saved without such faith in Christ, for all who do not believe the Gospel message and trust in Christ alone for their salvation shall be condemned to eternal suffering in hell for rejecting the salvation God has provided for them in His Son (John 3:18,36; Mark 16:15-16; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for our families that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom, but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We continue to pray for Helen Hoth; for Sam Rusch; for Ron Wellander; for Dave Brown; for Tonny Mayer; for Rick and Karen Hawes and their family; for any others who have been sick or suffering among us; and for the soldiers we have adopted.

Mutual Encouragement

Now, more than ever, it is so important that we encourage our fellow believers to stand fast in the faith and not forsake the assembling of ourselves together for mutual encouragement and the comfort of God’s Word. We have been so blessed by God to have the precious promises of His Word and the assurance of God’s mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus given us each Sunday as we remember our Lord’s death until He comes. I encourage you to come and be with us as we worship and hear God’s life-giving Word, and I urge you to share that encouragement with others that they too might come and partake of God’s blessings with us.

“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Revelation 22:20-21

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

[Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible]

Mark 9:42-50

42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life 1maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 44 where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, 5into the fire that shall never be quenched— 46 where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— 48 where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

49 “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.

50 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”

“What kind of example do you want to set?”

I’m sure you’ve heard this question. Many people ask it, for different reasons. We hear it from our bosses, from our parents, from our teachers. Whether we realize it or not, and whether we want it or not, people are watching us, and they will make decisions about us based on our actions.

In this passage, Jesus teaches us much about how we are to live our lives as Christians. How should we feel about sin and temptation? How should we view our fellow Christians? Most importantly, what kind of examples are we going to be to our fellow Christians and to each other in this world?

This is certainly an unusual text. What of all of this business with self mutilation? I don’t know about you, but I’m not in any hurry to cut off my hands or my feet, or pluck out an eye. My eyes barely work well enough as is, I wouldn’t want to lose one of them!

In this passage, the verb that is translated “causes you to sin”, is the word that we get our term “scandal” from. So we might say instead, “if your hand causes you to get into scandals, cut it off.” We use the term “scandal” a lot, but what do we really mean by it? In Greek, the “scandal” is the bait in a fatal trap. The verb form of the word (which sounds like our word “scandalize” means to fall into a fatal trap.

Usually, when someone is involved in a scandal, it means they’ve done something obviously wrong. We see this with political scandals all the time – in recent memory, we’ve seen obvious misconduct by Senator John Edwards, President Bill Clinton, and others. Many scandals are related to sexual misconduct but not all are.

We’ve also seen recently where our military wounded from overseas were not being properly cared for at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. We also see scandals in sports, such as the allegations that Pete Rose bet on baseball, and during the 1994 Winter Olympics, when Tonya Harding hired someone to physically attack teammate Nancy Kerrigan, to keep her from competing.

Scandals shake our trust in people, and in institutions. They make us wonder whether we should keep believing in the things we believe in. Can we trust that athletes want to compete fairly?

Can we trust that politicians are telling us the truth? When our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters or other relatives are hurt, fighting overseas for our freedom and for the freedom of others, will they get the medical care they need? Worst of all, people see these scandals and wonder if it might be OK for them to do the same things. Some people get away with it, don’t they? At least, they do until they’re caught. We know we never catch everyone who does wrong. And in the course of these scandals we find that people have been getting away with bad things for years.

It is unlikely that any of us will ever be involved in a scandal like those. And yet, there are little scandals that we deal with all the time. Have you ever broken a promise to your parents, or to your children? Have you ever seen the hurt in their eyes, and known that you have done wrong, and damaged their trust in you?

This is the key thing in other places in the New Testament when this same verb is used, most notably in Paul’s first letter the Corinthians, 8:13. The verb is here translated “stumble”: 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

In this context, Paul speaks of doing something that is OK in and of itself, but which someone else believes is wrong. We have to be careful what we do in front of others – if someone else thinks that what you’re doing is wrong, that person may lose their faith over it. That is far too high a price to pay for the exercise of freedom.

This stumbling, or falling into scandal, is a very serious matter indeed. It is better, in fact, to do without a hand, an eye, or a foot than to fall into such a trap. The alternatives, as Jesus states them, are to either enter life, or the Kingdom of God, missing a body part than to go to hell, where: ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. It is bad to be maimed, lame, or blind, but far better that than to go to hell.

What, then? What should we do, if we are not to be scandals and traps for each other? Jesus gave himself for us so we would not need to suffer this fate. He lived a perfect life and died a perfect death, which enables us to enter life, or the Kingdom of Heaven. He never caused anyone to stumble, and his sacrifice is great enough to cover it even if we do cause anyone to stumble.

When we fear that we have done any wrong, such as causing someone to stumble, his Word tells us that this sin is forgiven, too, forgotten in God’s mercy, “As far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). When we feel the weight of sin and guilt, when we feel how vast the gulf is between what we do and what we should do, we may cry with Saint Paul, who called himself “the chief of sinners”, and also asked, “Who will save me from this body of death?” We must also remember the rest of what Paul said: 1 Tim 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

Because of Paul’s hope in Christ, he could also say: Phi 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Because of his sacrifice, and because of our hope that we share with Paul, we can be, as he calls us, “Salt of the earth.” Salt is many things – it is a seasoning, it is a preservative. It was valuable enough in the Roman world to be used as a currency, the way the Romans paid their army. The saying “worth his or her salt” refers to this practice.

So what is it that we, as Christians do, that makes us “salty”? Since the world, including people who aren’t believers, can see us, we should do our best to do the right thing, all the time. This is our testimony to the world and each other that we have been saved from sin, not for it.

We should always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15), and we should conduct ourselves in a way that makes people want to ask us! God is pleased when we obey his law. Our obedience, or good behavior, cannot convert people. Only the Holy Spirit working through the Word and Sacraments can do that.

But with God’s help, may our witness and testimony always be as salt, and not as scandal. And may we always be at peace with each other. In so doing, we will follow Christ’s example, and there is none better.

In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Marty Jackson

“Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” John 1:47 (Read verses 43-51)

When Philip brought Nathanael to Jesus, saying, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph,” Jesus said of Nathanael that he was a true Israelite in whom was no guile (or deceit). What exactly did this mean?

We find the answer in Psalm 32, where David writes, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile” (vv. 1-2). To have guile is to be self-deceived and deny one’s utter sinfulness and hopelessness before the LORD. Such self-deceit – thinking that one is righteous on the basis of his own life and works – keeps one from receiving and possessing the forgiveness which God gives through faith in His Son.

Nathanael was not deceived about himself as many others in Israel were at the time. Nathanael knew he had not kept the commandments of the LORD and was a sinner in need of a savior. Instead of pretending to be righteous of himself, he looked for salvation in the coming Messiah promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets. Thus, he was also an “Israelite indeed”; and he came to know and trust in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of Israel.

Today, too, our churches are filled with people who have guile in their hearts. They are self-deceived and think that all is well with their souls because of their own lives and works. They think that by going to church, doing good works, saying their prayers and the like they will find entrance into heaven. Sad to say, this keeps many from coming to Jesus and placing their hope and confidence in His holy life and His innocent sufferings and death in our stead.

What about you? Do you have guile in your heart? Are you self-deceived into thinking that all is well with your soul because of what you believe and do? Think again! Read what God’s Word says of you in Romans 3:9-20. Look at what it says of your heart in Jeremiah 17:9. Look to Jesus for your salvation! He is the Son of God in human flesh, and He has redeemed you by bearing on the cross the full punishment for all your sins (Read Colossians 1:19-22)! Only in Him, can you be saved (Read Acts 4:12)!

O Dearest Jesus, reveal to us our utter sinfulness that we be not deceived and full of guile in our hearts; but also reveal to us the forgiveness and life which you have won for us by your innocent sufferings and death upon the cross and which You assured to us by your glorious resurrection. By your Holy Spirit, graciously assure us of forgiveness for all our sins and renew our hearts. Amen.

Paul’s Letter to the Believers at Colosse (continued)

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ…” Colossians 2:16-17

The Apostle Paul, writing these words by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, makes his point. Believers in Christ are not to let anyone judge them in regard to their food or drink, in regard to observing certain holy days or religious festivals, or in regard to observing the Sabbath Day.

Why? Because believers in Jesus Christ are complete in Him. They are no longer subject to Old Testament laws which served only to point to the coming Messiah and the salvation He would provide for all mankind by His holy life and innocent sufferings and death upon the cross – the promised Messiah and Savior has come!

The word “therefore” is there for a reason. It gives the basis for the apostle’s assertion, referring back to what was already written in the epistle. God the Father has made us meet and fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light through the sacrifice of His Son. He delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, Jesus Christ. In Jesus, we have redemption though His blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Christ Jesus is the very image of the invisible God and the creator of all things. In Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells, and He made peace through the blood of His cross and reconciled all mankind to God by His atoning sacrifice in our stead.

Believers in Christ, even though they were at one time alienated from God and enemies in their minds by wicked works, are now reconciled to God by the death of His Son, Messiah Jesus, that He might present them holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight. And how? Not by being circumcised, obeying dietary regulations or observing certain days, but by faith in the Son – by continuing in the faith, grounded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel.

Believers in Christ are joined to Him in baptism, have their sins washed away, and are regenerated and given new life by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit, who also raised Christ from the dead on the third day.

Since believers in Christ Jesus already have forgiveness of sins, life and eternal salvation for the sake of His holy life and innocent sufferings and death upon the cross, why would they want to go back to mere shadows meant to point them to Jesus? Why would they listen to anyone telling them that to be saved and pleasing to God they must eat only certain foods, observe certain feasts and festivals and do no work on the Sabbath?

Jesus has already fulfilled all righteousness for us, and He has paid in full for all our sins. We rest from our labors when we place our trust in Him and the salvation He has won for us (cf. Hebrews 4).

In the early church, when certain men said it was necessary for salvation to be circumcised and keep the laws of Moses, the apostles and believers in Jerusalem laid no such burden upon the churches but simply asked them to refrain from “pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood” because of the large numbers of Jews in every region (cf. Acts 15).

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ …” You have all you need in Jesus; He won your salvation for you and gives you forgiveness and life through faith in His name! Simply hold fast to Jesus!

Dearest Jesus, thank You for fulfilling all righteousness in my place and paying in full the penalty for my sins. Graciously keep me trusting in You unto life everlasting. Amen.

Pastor Randy Moll

We All Believe in One True God:

A Summary of Biblical Doctrine

(The entire book is posted under Pages on the Church Web log)

III. The Creation of the World and of Man

The Christian believes that the Holy Trinity “in the beginning” (when time began) created the heaven and the earth out of nothing. That which is stated in Heb. 11:3 is an article of faith for every true Christian: “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

Every Christian receives the first two chapters of Genesis as the Creator’s own historical account of His own work of creation, and hence the only authentic history of creation which is or ever will be available to man. He finds this divine “Natural History” poetically embellished in the divine poetry of Psalm 104, and divinely confirmed and doctrinally expounded in the inspired Prologue of St. John’s Gospel (ch. 1:1–14, especially vv. 1–3).

God’s own account of the history of creation, as He gave it to Moses, clearly reveals the identity of the Creator, the time employed in the work of creation, and the sequence in which the various types of creatures were produced by the creative Word. The first topic, the identity of the Creator, specifically, the truth that the creation is a work of the Holy Trinity as such, not to be distributed among the three Persons or attributed to one Person only, has been treated in the third paragraph of the previous chapter of this book, to which the reader is herewith referred.

The second topic, the chronology of creation, is accurately described by the Creator as a period of six days, each consisting of evening and of morning. This is so before the creation of the sun and other heavenly bodies on the fourth day, as well as after. These are not “days of God” (compare 2 Peter 3:8), who exists outside of time in an eternal present, but days of the earth, days of creation. What we are to think of the millions of years comprised in the so-called “geological ages” is clear. They are pure fiction, the fabrication of ignorance which insists on speaking of what it cannot know apart from the revelation which it refuses to accept.

The third topic, the sequence of the “six days work,” is outlined in Genesis, chapter one, with a clarity which leaves nothing to be desired. One of the most notable points in this connection is that briefly referred to above, namely, that light, as well as the variation of light and darkness (“the evening and the morning”), existed before those celestial bodies which we are accustomed to regard as the sole source of the light illuminating our earth were brought into being. All human theories, therefore, which regard the earth’s existence as a part of the “solar system” as dependent upon the sun, especially the absurd fable which represents the earth as a particle thrown off from the sun and gradually cooling through countless aeons into the terrestrial globe upon which we dwell, are discredited as having no ground in fact and entirely unacceptable to Christian faith. Those who imagine that the Scripture passages, approximately sixty in number, in which the earth is said to stand still, and the sun and all stars are said to move, may be “interpreted” in such a way as if really the reverse were the case, we may leave to pursue their fruitless endeavors alone. The Christian way is simply to accept Holy Scripture as it reads.

Another exceedingly important point in the sequence of creative activity on the third, fifth, and sixth days is found in the constantly recurring phrases: “after his kind,” “after their kind” (Gen. 1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25). These phrases, then, are used of the various forms of vegetable and animal life upon which God has bestowed the power of reproducing their kind. According to God’s Word He created each species (to use the scientific term which corresponds to the Hebrew word translated “kind”) as a species and capable of reproducing only its own species. Every “scientific” theory of evolution, which teaches the transition or transmutation of one species into another, is irreconcilable with God’s Word, and hence with the Christian faith. That organic evolution is also irreconcilable with the ascertainable facts of nature has been scientifically proved by Christian writers with the specific learning requisite for this task; but such demonstration is beyond the scope of this book, which rests upon Scripture proof alone. Let us only add that we cannot be satisfied with the compromise of so-called “theistic evolution,” according to which some writers are willing to admit that God made the world, but assert that evolution correctly describes the “process” of His activity. God tells us in Genesis, chapter one, not only that “God created the heaven and the earth” (verse 1), but also that the “process” or “method” which He used was not organic evolution but the direct and separate creation of each species “after his kind.”

The account of the six days work in Genesis 1 and 2 omits any mention of the foremost invisible creatures of God, the angels, but Scripture is full of testimonies to their existence, nature, and activities. Since, however, they are creatures of God (“By Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,” Col. 1:16), they cannot have been in existence before the first day of creation, when there was only the uncreated eternal God, and they must have been created before the end of the sixth day, since then “the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them,” Gen. 2:1. The Bible also does not inform us as to the exact time when a large number of the angels rebelled against God, and “kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation” (Jude 6). This must have occurred before the fall of man, since the latter was brought about through the temptation of Satan. The existence, incurably sinful nature, and hopeless abandonment of the fallen angels, or devils, under their prince, “that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan” (Rev. 20:2), is all clearly taught in Holy Scripture. These evil spirits were also created good and holy (Gen. 1:31: “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good”); but they turned themselves from God of their own accord, and became enemies of God and man.

Nowhere is the lie of organic evolution more disastrous in its effects than when it is applied (as all evolutionists do apply it) to the origin of man. The Biblical teaching concerning the origin of man is crystal clear and sufficiently comprehensive: “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” Gen. 1:26, 27. As “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24), this image is not to be looked for in the physical makeup of man (though even in this respect man is incomparably superior to the beast), but rather in his intellectual and moral or spiritual nature. The fullest characterization in Holy Scripture of this spiritual likeness of man as he was created to his Creator is contained in two passages of St. Paul’s Epistles, in which the Apostle speaks of this image of God as it is partially restored, after its total loss in the fall of man, when he is regenerated or converted to faith in his Savior by the Holy Spirit. In this connection the restored image of God is spoken of as “the new man.” Col. 3:10: “Ye have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.” Eph. 4:24: “Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

As Gen. 1:27, quoted above, shows, this image of God was imparted both to man and woman in their creation. This spiritual equality, however, does not rule out a difference in the God-appointed sphere of activity of the sexes and a God-ordained subjection of the woman to the man, as taught in 1 Tim. 2:11–14 with reference to the very order of creation before the fall as well as to conditions as they obtain from that sad event on till the end of time: “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”

With this “transgression” we begin the next chapter, which deals with the subject of “Sin.” Therein we shall perceive the enormous difference between man as he is born into the world today and man as he was created.

By Wallace H. McLaughlin

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

The Adult Bible Class will continue on Sunday with its study of Revelation, in chapter 22, verse 18. What warning does Jesus give about altering the words of the Book of Revelation? Does this apply to all of Scripture? Cf. Deuteronomy 4:2; Matthew 5:17-20. How might this relate to the translation of Scripture and to our choosing of a translation for reading, teaching and study?

The Catechism Class is studying the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed and considering the foremost visible creature of God – man – and also how God preserves His creation. Catechumens may find it helpful to read Genesis, chapters 1-3, and consider what the image of God is and how it was lost.

Sunday School Classes are scheduled to study Solomon’s building of the temple. Bible texts behind the lesson are in 1 Kings 5-9.

The Sunday Sermon will be based on the appointed Gospel reading, Mark 9:38-50. In preparation, read the above reading and consider the following: What does Jesus mean by warning against causing offenses? How serious is it to cause others – especially children who believe – to fall into sin and unbelief? How do people do this? What does Jesus mean when He speaks of cutting off hands or feet which offend, or plucking out eyes which offend? Why does He say this? What does Jesus mean when He tells us to have salt in ourselves?

What Do We Believe?

What do we believe about Justification? Consider the following summary statement and look up the supporting Bible passages:

JUSTIFICATION

We believe that God, for the sake of Jesus Christ’s holy life and innocent sufferings and death upon the cross for the sins of the whole world, has pardoned all men and justified them, declaring them to be just, righteous, and acceptable in His sight (1 John 2:1-2; Ephesians 1:6-7; 2 Corinthians 5:19,21; Romans 3:23-26; 4:25; 5:18-19). We also believe and teach that one is individually and personally justified and counted righteous in God’s sight when he believes the Gospel message and trusts that God is gracious to him and has forgiven all his sins for Christ’s sake (Romans 3:28; 4:5; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 10:43). We reject as false all teachings which would make a man’s justification dependent upon his own works and merits or upon his own will or cooperation with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:8-10; Galatians 2:16; John 1:12-13).

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for our families that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom, but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We continue to pray for Helen Hoth; for Sam Rusch; for Ron Wellander; for Dave Brown; for Tonny Mayer; for Rick and Karen Hawes and their family; for any others who have been sick or suffering among us; and for the soldiers we have adopted.

Mutual Encouragement

Now, more than ever, it is so important that we encourage our fellow believers to stand fast in the faith and not forsake the assembling of ourselves together for mutual encouragement and the comfort of God’s Word. We have been so blessed by God to have the precious promises of His Word and the assurance of God’s mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus given us each Sunday as we remember our Lord’s death until He comes. I encourage you to come and be with us as we worship and hear God’s life-giving Word, and I urge you to share that encouragement with others that they too might come and partake of God’s blessings with us.

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”

Jude 24-25

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

[Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible]

“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:16-21

The Christian Faith is not built upon cunningly devised fables. It does not rest upon the visions of one or two founders (such as the faith of Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists or Islam) The Christian Faith, unlike other religions, is a religion based on historical fact – witnessed by not only a privileged few, but by 12 apostles, numerous prophets and hundreds and even thousands of eye witnesses.

The Apostle Paul could testify in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”

If people had doubts about the resurrection of Jesus, there were ample numbers who had witnessed Jesus’ death and had seen Him alive again after His resurrection. They didn’t have to take the word of one or two witnesses. The events surrounding Jesus’ life, death and resurrection were witnessed by so many they were undisputed. If you notice in the Gospel accounts, Jesus’ enemies didn’t dispute the things He had done; they disputed by what power He had done them.

Peter himself was a witness of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. And, as he says in this epistle, he was there on the mount of transfiguration with Jesus (cf. Matthew 17:1ff.) when God the Father spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

And we Christians have far more proof and documentation upon which to build our faith than just Peter’s testimony. As he writes, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

As Christians, we have the testimony of Scriptures, written over a period of about 1,600 years by approximately 33 different authors – though, in fact, it has only one author, and that is God who moved these men to write and put into their hearts and minds the words which they wrote so that all of Scripture is God’s own inspired or God-breathed Word (cf. 2 Timothy 3:15-17).

It is as is recorded of David in 2 Samuel 23:1-2: “Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.”

Notice that the Bible does not teach that the writers of Scripture were inspired – though God indeed did move them to write – it says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Scriptures themselves are God-breathed and inspired.

Though recorded by so many different men and over such a lengthy period of time, the Scriptures agree completely and throughout. There are no unexplainable discrepancies. The message is the same from beginning to end: Man has sinned and fallen short, but God provided redemption in His Son.

And so, our faith rests upon solid truth – upon the witness of so many eyewitnesses who were so convinced of the truth they gave their lives for it, and upon the witness of God Himself who gave us the Scriptures and has preserved them down through the centuries as a witness of the truth that we might be made “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15; cf. Matthew 5:18; 24:14).

Yes, the Scriptures reveal the holy will of God and our utter failure to live up to His law, but the same Scriptures assure us that “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2). The Scriptures assure us that God “hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:6,7).

We would do well to pay heed to the Scriptures “as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” When we read our Bibles, attend church where the Scriptures are faithfully taught and listen carefully to God’s inspired Word, the Scriptures are like a light shining in a dark place – they reveal to us Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior, the Light of the world.

Again, the Scriptures themselves say: “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Psalm 119:130).

Through the hearing of God’s Word, God shines into our hearts and reveals to us Jesus and salvation in Him.

It is as Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth (2 Corinthians 4:6), “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

And so, unlike other religions and faiths, our faith rests upon the witness of many chosen apostles and prophets recorded for us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. It rests upon the witness of God Himself, recorded for us in His inspired Scriptures. God’s Word shines like a light into a dark place – it shines into our hearts to reveal to us Christ Jesus and to show us the salvation God provided for us in Him! It tells us that in Christ Jesus we have a lively hope – the everlasting joys of heaven – because He shed His holy and precious blood to redeem us and make us His own and is risen again (cf. 1 Peter 1:3-9, 18-19).

God grant that the light of His Word shine in our hearts and reveal to us Christ Jesus and salvation in Him. Amen.

Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. John 1:35-42

We sometimes feel that we are not capable of leading others to Jesus if we do not have a formal degree or specialized training. But Andrew, who had only himself been directed to Jesus by the witness of John the Baptist – saying that Jesus is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” – first went and found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah,” and brought him to Jesus.

Of course, knowing the rest of the story, Jesus called Simon, “Cephas,” (which, in the Greek form, is Peter, and means A Stone). Peter became an important leader among Jesus’ disciples and, after his fall, boldly bore witness to Jesus as the crucified and risen Messiah and Savior.

While followers of Jesus will want to learn more and more of Him and His Word, even a new follower of Jesus, or untrained believer, can still tell others, “I have found the Savior.” Though a person may not know theological terms or formal Christian dogma, he can still tell people that Jesus died for the sins of the world and rose again, and that in Jesus we have forgiveness and life everlasting!

Nor should anyone minimize the importance of such witness for Jesus. The Holy Spirit can and does use the weak, the simple and even the uneducated witness of believers to call others to faith in Christ Jesus. Even if it is simply a “come and see” or “come and hear” witness, the Holy Spirit can, as He did in the case of Jesus’ first disciples, call people to learn of Jesus and bring them to trust in His sufferings, death and resurrection as the source of comfort, forgiveness and new life.

We learn, too, that Jesus’ disciples came to know Him and trust in Him by spending time with Him; for not only did they spend that day with Jesus, they spent three years walking with Jesus, hearing His Word and witnessing His mighty works and power. We too can spend time with Jesus by reading and studying His Word. The Scriptures were written to make us “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15). And through the Scriptures, the Spirit reveals to us Jesus – we see Him for who He is and we witness for ourselves His love and mercy toward sinners and learn of His love and mercy toward us!

Dear Jesus, reveal Yourself to me through Your Word and grant that I know You and Your love and mercy toward me. And, Lord Jesus, give me the opportunity to tell others of You and direct them to You that they too might come to know and trust in You as their Savior. Amen.

September 16, 2009

Paul’s Letter to the Believers at Colosse (continued)

“Ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” Colossians 2:11-14

Why would anyone want to insist that it is necessary for a Christian to be circumcised and follow all the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament to be saved when believers are complete in Jesus and are blessed with all that they need through their baptism into Messiah Jesus?

Old Testament circumcision (Genesis 17) was a cutting away of the flesh, performed by human hands, which indicated that one had entered into God’s covenant with man in which God promised to send a Messiah and Savior of the descendants of Abraham to redeem fallen mankind. It signified that a man could not stand before God in the power of his own flesh, but through the promised Seed of Abraham – Jesus Christ.

Baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19; cf. Acts 2:38-39) has replaced and superseded circumcision as the sign and means of becoming a part of God’s covenant with man. But baptism is so much more.

Circumcision was performed by human hands. Baptism, though administered by the hand of a minister or believer, is a work of the Triune God and administered in His name.

Baptism is called “the circumcision of Christ,” because the one who is baptized into Christ is joined to Christ in His death and in His resurrection.

The sins and fallen nature of man – his sinful inclination, the flesh – are buried with Christ in baptism; for Christ Jesus, on the cross, paid in full for the sins of the entire world. He died our death for us and took the just condemnation of God’s law in our place. He blotted out “the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” Though God’s holy law condemned us all, Jesus suffered our punishment and we are acquitted.

Not only is the Christian joined with Christ in His death through baptism, having all his sins paid for in full and washed away; he is also joined to Christ in His resurrection, so that as God raised up Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day, after He had made atonement for the sins of all, so also He through the “operation of” the Holy Spirit raises up to faith and new life those joined to Christ.

As Paul writes, “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.”

In his letter to Titus, Paul writes by inspiration of God’s Spirit: “But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).

Thus, we see that through Baptism God washes away sins and grants His life-giving Spirit, who creates and strengthens faith in Christ Jesus. Through baptism, God offers and gives to us all the blessings which Jesus won for us upon the cross and makes them our own. In and through baptism, God offers and gives forgiveness of sins and life eternal in His Son, Jesus Christ!

Baptism is so much more than an outward profession of faith in Jesus. Rather, it is the means through which God graciously works to make all of the blessings won for us by Jesus our own!

Therefore, if one has been baptized into Christ and has God’s forgiveness, His life-giving Spirit and the certainty of life everlasting for Jesus’ sake, why would he want to go back to Old Testament circumcision and the old covenant which pointed ahead to Christ and the salvation he has provided for all? In Baptism, Christians are joined to Jesus and are complete in Him!

Thank You, gracious Father, for working through our baptism to wash away our sins for Jesus’ sake and to raise us up to new life in fellowship with You through the gracious working of the Holy Spirit. Keep us in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Pastor Randy Moll

We All Believe in One True God:

A Summary of Biblical Doctrine

(The entire book is posted under Pages on the Church Web log)

II. The Triune God

“We all believe in one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” So we often sing in our orthodox Lutheran churches. But this statement is not merely a line from a Lutheran hymn; the hymn itself is a metrical form of an ecumenical (or world wide), catholic (or universal) creed which all Christians in the world have confessed since the earliest Christian centuries, which indeed the Christians (or believers in the promised Messiah) believed and confessed even before God’s Son came in the flesh, on the basis of the revelation of this doctrine in the Old Testament. There never has been a child of God, nor ever will be, in whose heart there has not lived this faith in the Father, who sent His Son to be our Savior, to whom the Holy Spirit testifies in the Gospel of our salvation, one eternal God in three coeternal and coequal Persons — and this for the simple reason that, as Luther puts it so forcibly in his “Battle Hymn of the Reformation:” “There’s none other God.” Any so-called “god” aside from the Holy Trinity is an idol of the sinful human imagination and has no real existence. This is the clear statement of Holy Scripture, which all true Christians receive as God’s own Word: “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also” (1 John 2:23). “All men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent Him” (John 5:23). “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9).

Every Christian believes in one true God, and confesses one only God who is infinite (unlimited), and beside whom, therefore, there can be no other God: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deut. 6:4, 5). He recognizes in the false worship with which he is surrounded, not only in heathen lands, but in so-called “Christian countries” like our own, that “there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many and lords many),” 1 Cor. 8:5; yet he cannot regard any of this false worship as being really addressed after all to the one true God, because God Himself does not so regard it. It is God who says: “All the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens,” Psalm 96:5. It is God who says: “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God,” 1 Cor. 10: 20. All attitudes which are more tolerant than God’s Word in this respect, giving “respect” or “reverence” to the worship of other objects than the one true and living God (such as lodge-religion and Boy Scout religion), are recognized by true Christians as manifestations of polytheism (the worship of more than one God), with which they can have no fellowship (“I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils,” 1 Cor. 10:20); for every Christian confesses with God’s Word: “There is none other God but one,” 1 Cor. 8:4.

Every Christian believes in Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He finds this triune God (three Persons in one divine Being) revealed on the very first page of his Bible, where God is said to create all things through His Word, that Word being explained in the first chapter of St. John’s Gospel as being in the beginning with God, and as being Himself God, through whom all things were made, “and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1–3). The same Word, we are told in the fourteenth verse of this chapter, “was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” That is our Lord Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary. As for the Spirit, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, the first chapter of Genesis tells us that “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,” thus participating in the work of creation. Later in this chapter (v. 26), in connection with the plan of the Holy Trinity to create man, we are told that God said: “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.” Of such testimonies to the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity the Old Testament Scriptures are full, so that to give a mere listing of them would exceed the limits of this summary. One very familiar passage is the Trinitarian benediction customarily pronounced at the close of our Morning Service, taken from the Book of Numbers, ch. 6, vv. 24–26.

The New Testament is even more clear and explicit in identifying the one true God as three distinct, but inseparable, coeternal and coequal persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This manifestation is given in visible and audible form at the baptism of Jesus, where the Word made flesh stands in the Jordan, the Father speaks from heaven, proclaiming Him as His beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove (Matt. 3:16, 17). In the baptismal formula, commanded for the use of His disciples until the end of the world, our Lord tells them to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” Matt. 28:19, thus naming the three Persons of the one God (“name,” not “names”) in the customary order. In that benediction, however, which we commonly call the Apostolic Benediction (2 Cor. 13:14), the order of naming the Father and the Son is reversed, thus showing the complete equality, the one Essence or Being, of the three Persons: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.” On this and other passages of Holy Scripture is based the admirably clear statement of our “Athanasian Creed:” “And in this Trinity none is before or after other; none is greater or less than another; but the whole three Persons are coeternal together and coequal, so that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped.” Of this faith the concluding sentence of the Athanasian Creed correctly states: “which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.” Please read this entire Creed, as you will find it on page 53 of your Lutheran Hymnal.

The personal distinctions within the Holy Trinity are defined in Holy Scripture as follows: The Father eternally begets the Son, and the Son is from eternity begotten of the Father (Psalm 2:7; also the many New Testament passages where Jesus is called the “only-begotten Son of the Father” — knowingly and intentionally falsified in the RSV, but correctly translated from the original Greek in our King James Version); the Holy Ghost from eternity proceeds from the Father and the Son (John 15:26: “Who proceedeth from the Father;” not, however, from the Father alone but also from the Son, being called “the Spirit of God’s Son” and “the Spirit of Christ,” Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:9).

We do not wish to anticipate some later chapters of this book by giving in detail at this place the Scriptural evidence for the Christian faith in the full and perfect deity of each Person of the Godhead. But we may at least mention one passage for each Person. While no false teachers, except the fools who profess to be atheists, deny the Godhead of the Father, yet none except true Christians even know the Father, for there is no God the Father except “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 15:6; 2 Cor. 1:3, etc.): “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him,” John 1:18. Every Christian worships Jesus Christ as true God, equal with the Father: “Christ, who is over all, God blessed for ever,” Rom. 9:5. (Here the RSV text deliberately mistranslates, giving the correct rendering of the Greek, in agreement with the KJV, only in a foot-note, though no other translation is at all admissible). Every Christian worships the Holy Ghost as true God, equal with the Father and the Son: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” 1 Cor. 3:16. Certainly the Spirit of God, dwelling in the temple of God, is God. Every Christian believes, confesses, and worships the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, “the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity,” the Triune God.

By Wallace H. McLaughlin

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

The Adult Bible Class will continue on Sunday with its study of Revelation, in chapter 22, verse 7. What does Jesus mean when He says, “Behold, I come quickly….”? Consider v. 11. What does this mean? Who will be outside of heaven and God’s eternal kingdom? What warning does Jesus give about altering the words of the Book of Revelation? Does this apply to all of Scripture? Cf. Deuteronomy 4:2; Matthew 5:17-20.

The Catechism Class is studying the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed and considering the foremost invisible creatures of God – angels – and the foremost visible creatures of God – man. Catechumens may find it helpful to read Genesis, chapters 1-3, and consider what the image of God is and how it was lost.

Sunday School Classes are scheduled to study wisdom of Solomon. Bible texts behind the lesson are in 1 Kings 3.

The Sunday Sermon will take the next section of Peter’s Second Epistle – 2 Peter 1:16-21. Is our faith built on fables and myths or upon solid testimony? What proof does Peter offer to prove that Jesus is indeed God the Son and the promised Messiah and Savior? To what are we to give heed and why?

What Do We Believe?

What do we believe about Jesus Christ and the Redemption accomplished by Him? Consider the following summary statement and look up the supporting Bible passages:

JESUS CHRIST AND REDEMPTION

We believe that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God from eternity, and also true man, being conceived by the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless and holy life under God’s Law in the stead of all mankind and then suffered and died upon the cross, paying the just penalty for the sins of the whole world, and rose again from the dead on the third day (John 1:1,14; Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25; Galatians 4:4-5; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:21-24; 3:18; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). We believe that Jesus Christ, by His holy life and innocent sufferings and death in our stead, has redeemed and reconciled the whole world of sinners to God (Hebrews 2:14-17; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Colossians 1:19-22; Galatians 3:10,13; Romans 3:23-26; 4:25; 5:6-11,18-19; John 1:29; 1 John 2:1-2; Isaiah 53).

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for our families 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. Continue to pray for Sam Rusch; for Ron Wellander; for Dave Brown; for Tonny Mayer; for Rick and Karen Hawes and their family; for any others who have been sick or suffering among us; and for the soldiers we have adopted.

Mutual Encouragement

Now, more than ever, it is so important that we encourage our fellow believers to stand fast in the faith and not forsake the assembling of ourselves together for mutual encouragement and the comfort of God’s Word. We have been so blessed by God to have the precious promises of His Word and the assurance of God’s mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus given us each Sunday as we remember our Lord’s death until He comes. I encourage you to come and be with us as we worship and hear God’s life-giving Word, and I urge you to share that encouragement with others that they too might come and partake of God’s blessings with us.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

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

[Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible]

“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.” 2 Peter 1:12-15

Businesses and corporations often adopt a mission statement and goals to help them stay focused on what is truly important. It keeps them from going off on tangents which waste company time and resources.

Several years ago, I adopted a personal mission statement to make sure I made it my focus to make known to my kids and grandkids the truths of God’s Word that they too might know and trust in their Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

As a theme verse, I would certainly include the following: “O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come” (Psalm 71:17-18).

I remind my children again and again to read and study their Bibles. Why? Because the Bible contains all we need that we might know and trust in the the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit works through the Word to reveal to us Jesus Christ and to create faith in our hearts. Through God’s Word, we see our sinfulness, and through the Word, we are assured of forgiveness and life for the sake of the innocent sufferings and death of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is why Paul reminded Timothy: “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for 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, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

That is what Peter is also doing in His two letters to believers. He says so in today’s text: “For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.”

While here in this world – and Peter knew his time was short – he reminded believers again and again of the precious promises they had heard before. In Jesus they had a living hope. They had been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. They had now received mercy and were a part of God’s people – of the family of God.

Peter, by the working of the Holy Spirit who moved Him to write and inspired the words he wrote, reminded his hearers again and again of the message of God’s Word and still reminds us today of the precious truths upon which our faith rests.

As your called pastor, I have included you in my family and in my mission statement. That is why I remind you again and again of the teaching of God’s Word. It’s why I’m leading you chapter by chapter and verse by verse through the Scriptures. It’s why I encourage you to read your Bibles. It’s why I post devotions and Scriptural lessons. It’s why I lift you up daily in my prayers.

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

It’s through the Scriptures that our faith in Christ is created, strengthened and preserved. That is why I direct you to the Scriptures.

And as a congregation, our mission is to encourage each other and build each other up in the true and saving faith through the hearing of God’s Word. This is especially important as we draw ever closer to the day of Christ’s return. That’s also why it is so important for us to reach out to our fellow believers with the encouragement of the Scriptures.

The Scriptures admonish us: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16; cf Hebrews 10:19-25).

I encourage you and will continue to remind you again and again to make it your mission statement to read and study the Scriptures, to come and hear the Scriptures and to receive the comfort and assurance of the Scriptures. And I encourage you to reach out with that comfort of the Scriptures to our family of believers.

Why? That none be lost to Christ’s kingdom. That we all continue to trust in Christ Jesus for forgiveness and life. That we continue in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting.

God grant this to us for Jesus’ sake.

1. What does the Bible tell us about the creation of man?

Genesis 1:26-28: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 2:7: And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 2:18-25: And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

The Bible teaches that God created man – both male and female – in His image. He formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. God created woman as a helper and companion for man, comparable to him. God placed man over the rest of His earthly creation.

2. What does it mean when the Bible says that man was created in the image of God?

Colossians 3:9-10: Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him….

Ephesians 4:22-24: That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Matthew 22:37-40: Jesus said to him, “’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

When the Bible tells us that God created man in His own image, it means that when God created Adam and Eve, they knew God and His will and loved God with all their heart, soul and mind and were perfect and without sin.

3. Do people as they are by birth still bear the image of God?

Genesis 5:3: And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. Cf. Genesis 3:1ff.

Genesis 6:5: Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 8:21: Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

Psalm 51:5: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.

When Adam and Eve fell into sin (Genesis 3), they lost the image of God. They were no longer holy and righteous. They no longer knew God and His perfect will, trusted God, loved Him with all their heart and soul or sought to honor Him. And, in the image of Adam after the fall, all of us are born into this world as fallen sinners, spiritually dead to God, blind, and turned in upon ourselves.

4. Do believers in Christ Jesus bear the image of God?

2 Peter 1:2-4: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

2 Corinthians 3:18: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Romans 8:29: For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Romans 12:1-2: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Read Philippians 3:7-16.

In believers, the image of God is being restored. The Holy Spirit is at work in each believer’s heart to make him more and more like Christ Jesus. But believers in this world are still sinners and have their old sinful nature. Thus, Christians in this world still come short and are not yet fully restored to the image of their Maker.

5. When will the image of God be fully restored?

1 John 3:2: Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

1 Corinthians 15:50-53: Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Psalm 17:15: As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

On the Last Day, sin and evil will be abolished and true believers will be changed into the perfect image of Christ. They will then, once again, truly know God, love Him, trust Him and seek to honor and glorify Him. They will be like Christ Jesus, holy and righteous forever.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” John 1:29-34

What was the testimony of John the Baptist? He testified that Jesus is that “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

How did John know? God, who told John to baptize with water and thus prepare God’s people for the coming of their Messiah and Savior, also told John that the one upon whom he saw the Spirit of God descend and remain was the promised Messiah and Savior, the very Son of God! He was the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. He would be God’s sacrificial Lamb and make atonement for the sins of the whole world (cf. 1 John 2:1,2).

So what did John do when he saw the fulfillment of God’s words (cf. Matthew 3:13-17)? Did he keep it to himself? Did he try to keep his own followers? No, John directed them to Jesus. When he saw Jesus coming toward him, he said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John also testified of Jesus, “And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

Has God, through His Word, revealed to you that Jesus is the Son of God in human flesh? That Jesus is the promised Messiah and Savior? That Jesus has paid in full for the sins of all by His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross?

Do you keep this to yourself? Do you talk of this truth only within the confines of your church? Or, do you say, as John the Baptist did, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”? Are you willing to point people to the crucified and risen Christ Jesus and tell them that He is God’s perfect sacrifice for sin, and that in Him alone there is forgiveness and life?

O gracious Holy Spirit, we thank You for revealing to us that Jesus is the Messiah and our Savior. Embolden us to bear witness of Him to others that they too may see Jesus for who He is and believe. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.