Posted on 05/21/2011 4:46:26 AM PDT by marbren
Camping is a victim of replacement theology. IMHO the lie of replacement theology is almost as insidious as idolatry. The key to holistic understanding of Bible prophecy is to understand the role of Israel in it. God keeps his promises to Israel. This is a model to the rest of us that he will keep his promises to us as well.
A majority of the church going world has been victimized. I believed the lie for 35 years. During the past 20 I have been seeking the truth and only recently did I stop saying IMHO replacement theology is a lie and replaced it with: Replacement theology is a lie dropping the IMHO. For those that do not know, Replacement theology is the lie that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plan.
The church was polluted by Replacement theology early on. Origen and Augustine, early Fathers of the church, were the first to muddy up the scriptures in this way when they arrogantly took on the mantle of Israel for themselves. Martin Luther apparently did not study it and this lead to his anti-Semitism and Hitler. In many ways IMHO it is like a reverse of the circumcision party that led to Acts 15.
This replacement theology lie has lead to the church we have today. Everyone is running around not knowing what is happening in these end times we are in. The truth is The Church, the Bride of Christ, has a role and Israel has a role. Think of men and women, children and parents, husbands and wives, angels and people, dogs and cats, sheep and goats, wheat and tares. All these have roles God invented.
So the solution: Open your Bible, drop your preconceived notions and open your mind, ask God to reveal the truth about all this Israel stuff written in the Bible. The Lord Jesus Christ is central in it all. Gods Grace and Mercy is incredible, He does all the work. Faith and hope and love permeate the entire Bible and the greatest of these is love.
Again, the perspective is on you and your attitude. LCMS doctrine doesn't support what you say you got out of it. The question should be not how Lutherans are prideful (in the sinful sense) of their doctrine, rather how you arrived at a sinful pride over it. Frankly I've never seen the sinful pride, what I experience is a sense of humility and honor to be blessed.
I know the truth and I am the true Israel.
Congratulations, welcome to the believers in Christ.
You beat me to it. Now, marbren since this is the issue, how has the LCMS undermined the pastor as shepherd?
The secular or left dealings of any Lutheran church are the province of the laity, spiritual issues presupposing a faithful shepherd, are the province of the called servant of the Word. If for whatever reason there is a vacuum, human nature will fill it. The LCMS is populated by sinful men and women.
marbren wrote:
“Does primary Lutheran doctrine found in the Book of Concord make room for this compromise?”
This is no comprise. It is called Christian freedom under the Gospel. You see, the Roman Church always viewed the argument with Luther to be about power and who has it. Luther viewed the argument as being about the Gospel, who cares who is in power, since Christ and Christ alone is Head of the Church. And there the rift has remained. The various reformed churches, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Congregational, thought that real reformation was only possible with the right form of church government. Unfortunately, the truth is that any form of church government is corruptible by - yes, here we go again - the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh.
As long as Christ reigns in the hearts of the people who are called by His name, the form of government a church employs is pretty wide open. A pastor, and the word is simply Latin for shepherd, is never anything more or less than an undershepherd of Him who alone is the Good Shepherd. If the local pastor is a mini-pope, that is simply off the mark.
The office of pastor or shepherd most certainly was established by Christ, and still remains in His church. But understand that it is referred to in other ways as well, indicating the various aspects of the office: Elder (presbyteros), Bishop or Overseer (episkopos), Minister or Servant (diakonos), Herald (keryx), Messenger (angelos), Preacher or Prophet (prophetos), Teacher (didaskalos). All are ways that the Bible speaks of this office. The truth is impaired if any one is played off against the others. The church tended to settle on Pastor as its favorite and most all-encompassing term, probably due to the simple beauty of the Good Shepherd imagery and its power to remind all that there is but one Shepherd. Much more could be said, but this will have to do for now, since I have to run.
LOL Check the context of my post. Humor can be very useful and I do appreciate it.
I will write it up as a fictional account I will change the names as much is still pending. It will of course contain my bias. It does have to do with the role of the Pastor based on Scripture, Book of Concord, and church constitution. These three sets of rules are not followed by the LCMS and in my case my local church. The main role of the LCMS should be to support the local Pastor. In my experience they have failed. Pastors in the LCMS are on their own.. Many are God fearing and it is a tough calling.
I await your fictionalized case study.
INDEED.
THX FOR YOUR KIND REPLY.
I think it is neat, Your LCMS laity perspective and Beltshazzar’s, I assume, Lutheran Pastor perspective will be very valuable. My best friend, I mentioned earlier, wants me to write a book on my LCMS adventures, as he has written several. I do not know how to write one maybe this is the start of the research for it.
Well, at least now you're twisting my words and not God's. I guess that's something to be grateful for.
Actually, Psalm 110 involves David being allowed to see a prophetic vision of how the Messiah will begin His reign from Zion. And, Psalm 110:1 has everything to do with the Millennial Reign. Thanks for making the point.
The temporal conjunction "until" tells us that there is a limit to the period of time that Jesus will remain seated at the Father's right hand.
The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
The seating in view in Psalm 110 comes to an end when the holy war described in the Psalm comes to it's conclusion just before the Millenniam begins.
According to Psalm 110:1,2, the Messiah is to sit at the right hand of His father in Heaven until it is time for Him to rule. So, the Messiah's rule as King will not begin until after His present session with the Father in Heaven.
So, it appears as though Psalm 110:1,2, especially as it is used in the New Testament, refers to the Millennial Reign.
And, just to set your mind at ease, just as we are not to assign our own meanings to Scripture by allegorizing it, it is not necessary to read too much into the fact that God repeated six times that the Millennial Reign of Christ was a literal thousand years. I mean we could also say, going by your logic, that since Psalm 110:1,2 is mentioned SEVENTEEN times in the New Testament, we then have to subtract one from seven and we get six which then means, continuing with your logic, we can't take those passages seriously.
Come on now.
Amen!!!!
The 5 Pastors
Pastor #0 Baptized me to age 5
Pastor #1 Fine conservative Lutheran through college and drinking days
Pastor#2 RIM pastor who introduced me to Jesus
Pastor #3 story to be told
Pastor #4 sometimes called Pastor #5 The main character in my story.
So through college, you didn't know who Jesus was? No Sunday school, who was your pastor between 5 and college, as I'll assume unless your real name is Doogie Houser you didn't go to college at 6.
P#0 Birth to Age 5
P#1 Age 5 to Age 25
P#2 Age 25 to Age 45
P#3 Age 45 to Age 47
P#4 Age 47 to present Age 55
Now, I am praying about whether I should proceed. Does Our Lord Jesus Christ want me to write this book? Is it about my approval needs? Am I too lazy to write a book?
You may well be right! What if my local church group is dysfunctional? I may have been projecting a bit much to all LCMS. Now what if the LCMS did not recognize and assumed, through failure of assumption, that my church was not dysfunctional?
Responsive Prayer
Pastor: Let us pray for those who are in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Also let us pray for all people according to their needs. Let us give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
C: O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. For His steadfast love endures forever.
Pastor: O gracious Father, forgive us when we make false claims that we love Your Son yet we bear no fruit.
C: Forgive me, gracious Father, for twisting my “yeses” into “no’s”.
Pastor: Gracious Father, enable us to understand that true love for Jesus must be expressed in service to Christ and His Church.
C: Forgive me, for turning my “yeses” into “no’s” by avoiding the tasks You have called me to do
Pastor: After giving Peter his task, You also told him where his love for You will lead. We are sometimes taught that if we love You, we will be free of problems and suffering. But this is not what You told Peter. You told him that he would be tied up, taken where he did not want to go, that his arms would be outstretched and that he would die, that he would be put to death, all because of his love for You and His Church.
C: Forgive me, for making my “yeses” into “no’s” by shunning Your tasks that will bring hardships to me.
Pastor: Risen Lord when You encountered a sad Simon, the one who denied You, You inquire about his love for You three times. Each time You gave him his task. His love for You was to be expressed in service love to You in the way You required. The same is true for us all. It is no good us just saying that we love You, our love must be expressed in acts love. The work You give us. Our service, will be different for each one of us. Give us the strength to do Your will not my will. So often we have lived our lives as if the resurrection had not occurred.
C: Forgive me, gracious Father, for making my “yes” into a “no”. For I have been timid when You have called me to be bold. I have been silent when You told me to speak out. Forgive me, for not walking in the way of the resurrection, by turning my “yeses” into “no’s”.
Pastor: Forgive us, when we have failed to walk where You send us, to love when our loving could make a difference. Instill in us, the joy of the resurrection. Yet You offer us resurrection upon resurrection in our own lives, providing us the grace and love we need to be the people of the resurrection.
C: Why am I so discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my trust in You, O God! Enable me to live- as Your child of the resurrection- by Your grace I can keep my yeses to be yes-thus always praising You — as my Savior and my God! In Jesus’ name I thank and ask this of You! Amen.
And how would they know, anyone talk to the circuit counselor, the district president about problems your church may have had? Our God is omniscient, the synod isn't. Like any organization, if there is no data, there can be no action. As adults, we assume no problems if no one comes forward.
by avoiding the tasks You have called me to do
The tasks God has called Christians to do are not veiled, they are enumerated in Scripture.
For I have been timid when You have called me to be bold. I have been silent when You told me to speak out.
Again, tasks objectively enumerated in Scripture. You 'feel' you should write a book, to what end? So you can feel like you're doing what God has called you to do, when God has objectively told you what to do. God's tasks entail risks, but they are minimal risks in this country: embarrassment, possible shunning, ridicule. Yet the tasks remain. Hark the Voice of Jesus Calling has a list of tasks for example for those who can't teach. Will your book edify the body, or grind a personal axe in an anecdotal way? Navel-gazing is fun, God's work not always. However the rewards associated with the first are eternally eclipsed by the rewards of the second.
Our District President is a close personal friend with powerful C#1 (Congregation member #1). Our District President is also a member of EG#1 (Ethnic group #1). EG#1 is a very proud ethnic group. We even have a word to describe this pride. I and C#1 are also members of EG#1. Our District President may be in denial about my Church’s dysfunctionality. He is also a product of its PROUD tradition. I, C#1 and DP may all suffer from the nasty type of proud Lutheranism.
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