Lost Sheep



The parable of the lost sheep, is the capstone of the three parables that are right in a row in the Bible, the other two being the lost coin and the prodigal (lost) son. The word parable means "to set beside", or as a comparison. These parables are told in a set of three to drive home his point and are told in response to the Pharisees and religious leaders accuse Jesus of welcoming and eating with sinners. They are all about God rejoicing when lost sinners return to the fold.

1) The main character possesses something valuable and does not want to lose it.
2) The main character rejoices in the finding of the lost thing, but does not rejoice alone.
3) The main character (God) expresses care in either the looking or the handling of that which was lost.
4) Each thing that was lost has a personal value, not just a monetary value: shepherds care for their sheep, women cherish their bridal jewelry, and a father loves his son.

In this parable, Jesus is the Good Shepherd, identifying himself with the God of the Old Testament (Ezekiel 34:11-16). It also points to Jesus as the Messiah due to being the fulfillment and descendant of the old Testament King David, who was a shepherd (think Psalm 23 and the parallels). The lost sheep is any sinful person, but more specifically, any old Adam. This could be an unbeliever/pagan or a Christian who fell away.

accusing under-shepherds of not taking care of flock

Some might think it is strange to throw a party for a Shepherd just does his job. But this shepherd loves his sheep and sheep who stray are in mortal danger. Therefore, there is great joy when the Shepherd finds the sheep because he saved his life.

shepherd finds the sheep. the sheep doesn't find the shepherd, or even know it is lost.

In Matthew he states that the sheep go astray on a mountain. In the Bible the mountain has a special meaning of a holy place. This emphasizes that the sinner is the one who is responsible for straying away from God.

In Luke, emphasizes that the sheep is lost by a Shepherd in an open field. This points to the undershepherds not doing their job in protecting their congregations. This is pointing blame on the Pharisees and religious leaders.

In either case, it is God who rescues the lost sinner with no help from the sinner himself. In fact, the sheep does not even know he is lost and in danger.

C.S. Lewis and Other Worlds

Rereading so much of C.S. Lewis' writings recently, I noticed a particular theme of "other worlds" starting to emerge. This hobby of his created some of his best (and best loved) works, but also brought him close to dangerous theology. The obvious one is, of course, Narnia in the Chronicles of Narnia fantasy series. However, one series (especially a fantasy one) does not make a theme, however, this topic comes up numerous times in both his fiction and nonfiction writings.

For example, in his essay, "Horrid Red Things," Lewis discusses how the language of heaven being "up" and hell being "down" is anthropomorphizing and perhaps using philosophical or scientific language might be a different way of thinking about Christianity. Maybe we could discuss Christ coming into the world from and leaving the world to another dimension. He concluded in the end to stick with historic language for consistency, but in my mind this thought has peril in that things like "dimensions" have definition in science and philosophy that are not Biblical.

The next series that has this theme is the science fiction "Space Trilogy." The main point of these books is that the other planets in the solar system are habited and some are unfallen. Lewis brings this up again in his book on Miracles. He states that the universe may be filled with unfallen creatures on unfallen worlds, that never needed redemption. The important ramifications of this is that in this view is that the fall into sin by Adam and Eve did not effect the whole universe, which is contrary to scripture. First of all, the Bible states that all of creation fell in Romans 8:22. Secondly, Lewis' view of the 6 day creation is suspect and in his book the Problem of Pain, he states that he does not necessarily agree that humans were created on the sixth day and are the crowning achievement of God's creative work.

Casting Lots



Some churches like to cast lots to decide things, so I thought I would look at this practice from a Biblical perspective. the main argument I have heard for this process is that Matthias was picked that way (Acts 1:15-26).

First of all, it was narrowed down to two candidates first after prayer and voting. This part is usually skipped in modern churches.

Secondly, casting lots also could have been a voting mechanism. Maybe each voter cast his lot for who he wanted to win the election.

Thirdly, throwing names in a hat to pick out by people who want to run, was not done. If you were not going to vote first, why not put all the eligible names in the hat. Many times only one name is in a hat. How is that letting God decide? Why not put blank names in to give God the option to veto the candidates.

More importantly, when someone says something is Biblical we must always ask ourselves if the action done in the Bible is descriptive or prescriptive. Acts 6 discusses selection by peers and appointment of church leaders. Acts 14 discusses appointment of church leaders. Therefore, we must conclude that Acts 1 is descriptive, not prescriptive. It is not a model, not a command, and has no promise associated with it.

Furthermore the Old Testament practice of casting lots as a way of letting God decide things was never mentioned after Pentecost in the Bible or in the early Christian church. In the last days, God works though people. prayerful voting is better (Joshua 14:2, Proverbs 18:18, Exodus 28:30). God works through  his means. Apostles had "supernatural" powers, that did not get passed on as discussed here.

Providence

Providence is the Latin word for foresight, and prudence. In religious parlance, it has come to mean the protective care of God in the present and the future. Divine providence means God's intervention in the world. General providence means God's continual upholding of existence and natural order. God's special providence means God's extraordinary intervention in the life of people (e.g. miracles and guidance). 

Annuit Cœptis means "He approves of the undertakings." Novus Ordo Seclorum means "New order of the ages". The pyramid is a symbol of strength and duration, but is unfinished, because the nation will become even more powerful and prosperous because God is watching over the nation and will guide it, approving of what we are doing, He will help. If we do good, he will help prosper.

The eye of providence (or the all-seeing eye of God) is a symbol of an eye surrounded by rays of light showing glory and enclosed in a triangle to show it is the eye of the Trinitarian God.  It represents God watching over humanity. In Calvinism this idea is important because if there is no freedom and everything is predestined, then God must have everything planned and is actively intervening continually to keep things happening.  While much of the modern church has rejected Calvinism with regards to not having free will for choosing God, strangely many have kept this idea of fate and God directly, continually intervening in our everyday affairs (which is the opposite of reality).This idea was also very prevalent in the puritans who founded the US, so it is on the back of Seal of the US, which is on the back of the one dollar bill.

However, there are two types of care that often are confused: physical care and spiritual care. When the Bible says in Romans 8:28 that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  This does not mean physically, but spiritually. This is clear from the rest of scripture that explains how we will have hardships in this life and be persecuted for our faith.  Of course God could work for our good physically and does, by providing our daily bread, but he has not promised us good lives before the resurrection.

Lutheran theology affirms God's preservation of creation, guiding of the universe (General Providence) mostly through His cooperation, allowing, and concurrence all that happens. For us personally, rather than physical care and special providence, God's providence is our spiritual care via word and sacraments. preservation of the church through all ages, preservation of his Word, through the Bible (i.e. VDMA).

Many cultures had a similar symbol, but only Chritianity attached the idea of God actively engaged in creation to it.

A "God's Eye" (Ojo De Dios in spanish), is an ancient religious, ritual, and magical object made from yarn of different colors and wood for many indiginous people of the Americas (especially in central America). It was normally part of a meditation ritual, where it symbolized of the power to see and understand things unknown. Some Christians have adopted the God's eye as a symbol of the eye of providence, and many today consider it a children's craft with no spiritual or religious meaning.

The eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and royal power. It was supposed to ward off evil and protect people.

Antinomianism vs. Legalism

The term "Antinomianism" was coined by Martin Luther during the Reformation, to criticize extreme interpretations of the new Lutheran soteriology. The Lutheran Church benefited from early Antinomian controversies by becoming more precise in distinguishing between Law and gospel and justification and sanctification.  An Antinomian is defined as "one who holds that under the gospel dispensation of grace the moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation."

Erlangen school of Neo-Lutheranism, tried to combine Lutheran theology with modern thought and focused on the second use of the law (which is it's primary function). Mainline protestants who are essentially moving toward Antinomianism, accepting secular things into their theology, essentially abolishing the law altogether.

Erring on the other side, the reformed, baptists, and new evangelicals have been preaching almost exclusively the third use of the law to the neglect of not only the other uses, but to the neglect of the gospel.  The so-called called Keswick theology focuses on a two-tiered  Christianity, where justification/salvation is only the first small step and sanctification occupies the majority of their preaching and teaching. Finally, then there are the legalists, who have little to no use for the Gospel at all and preach true works righteousness.

As a confessional Lutheran, I have been called both an Antinomian and a Pharisee by people on the opposite sides. Be that as it may, I will continue to go the middle (and correct path) of acknowledging all uses of the law, while keeping in mind the second use is its primary function because the Gospel must predominate.

The Slippery Slope Into Evangelicalism

Here is the slippery slope that I have, unfortunately seen.

• Nothing Evangelicals teach is inconsistent with what Lutherans teach (Syncratism)
• We are all "Just Christian", with the same basics, major in the majors (Reductionism)
• Doctrine (teaching) is not what is important. We should focus on, "deeds not creeds" (Confusion of Law and Gospel)
• Evangelicals know the Bible better, because they preach on more than just salvation, but also sanctification (Backward Law and Gospel)
• Evangelical teaching is better than Lutheran teaching (Heterodoxy)

Evening in the Lutheran Church?

As Th. Engelder stated in 1934,  “The Lutheran Church is the TRUE VISIBLE CHURCH; not the universal Church, not the only saving Church, not the only Christian Church, but the true visible Church; that is to say, the Church of the pure Word and the pure Sacraments…. Deriving all her doctrines from Scripture (formal principle) and coordinating them with the cardinal doctrine of Scripture, justification by faith (material principle), she confesses and teaches the full Christian truth. The life of the Lutheran Christians is far from perfect, but the doctrine of the Lutheran Confessions is absolutely pure. Not one of her doctrines needs correction.”*

This brings to mind a quote of Pastor Brian Wolfmueller, "Not everyone who goes to heaven will be Lutheran, but everyone will be Lutheran once they are in heaven." However, in reality, as Herman Sasse made the point that our loyalties lie not with the Lutheran Church, itself, but with the word of God.  While the Lutheran Confessions properly confess the Word of God, if Lutheran churches do not confess or practice it, then the  church has strayed.

Sasse also stated, "To give [confession] up or to let it rise or fall in the general confession of sins of the congregation would be a corruption of the Lutheran Sacrament and would open the door to a false understanding of the Lord’s Supper.”  He also made the point that “A Lord’s Day without the Lord’s Supper is absolutely unthinkable in the New Testament. Without the Eucharist the church would have ceased to be church.... The Lord’s Super is proclaiming the gospel (1 Corinthians 11:26)."**

Writing before the Semenix issues of the 1970's Sasse pointed out an issue that is still going on today, "The liturgical movement in the Lutheran church is part of a large movement that goes through all of Christendom and perhaps also touches humanity outside the church.... It came about with the end of the dominance of rank individualism and rationalism…. But it remains a tragedy that in the past generation the confessional movement and the liturgical movement did not find the way to each other. Liturgy is prayed dogma; dogma is the doctrinal content of the liturgy…. If this serious reflection does not take place, then the liturgical movement will become what it has become already for many of its adherents: the end of Lutheranism and the road to Rome [or the East].”**

Sasse then stated, “Evening is falling also upon the Lutheran Church.” as well as “Everything is waiting for the fall of Missouri.” Os Guinness stated about the decline of Christianity in the West, "Spiritual movements, even in the Bible, don’t last for more than three generations before they need a renewal." Pastor Will Weedon years ago thought that fall was eminent and inevitable, but he now has hope.

Weltschmerz is a Germans word that translates as world-weariness, but has a meaning of depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state.

Welt means world

Schmerz means pain, but an aching grief kind of pain

Kirche means church

Kircheschmerz I think is a good description of how a lot of Confessional Lutherans feel.

*Th. Engelder, W. Arndt, Th. Graebner, and F. E. Mayer’s book Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture, published by Concordia Publishing House in 1934

**Herman Sasse in his "We Confess Anthology" between 1952-1961

Differences between the LCMS and WELS

 

In the US, the two largest confessional Lutheran synods are the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). The next two largest synods are the AALC, which is in full fellowship with the LCMS and the ELS, which is in fellowship with WELS. Therefore, since the vast majority of Confessional Lutherans fall into one of these two groups, it is worth evaluating the differences. From my studies, there appear to be a few main theological differences between the LCMS and the WELS.

 

The first, and main difference, is the understanding of fellowship. The WELS holds to what is called the "unit concept" of fellowship, which places virtually all joint expressions of the Christian faith on the same level. In an official statement made in 1960 the WELS states, "Church fellowship should therefore be treated as a unit concept, covering every joint expression, manifestation, and demonstration of a common faith" (Doctrinal Statements of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, 1970, pp. 51-52). The LCMS, however, has historically not understood or practiced church fellowship in this way, but has made a distinction between altar and pulpit fellowship (for which full doctrinal agreement is required) and other manifestations of Christian fellowship, such as prayer fellowship (which do not necessarily require full doctrinal agreement). Disagreements on this issue led the Wisconsin to break fellowship with the LCMS in 1961.

 

In 2002, in order to defend the actions of one District President, the LCMS adopted the view that public serial prayer is not an act of fellowship because prayer isn’t worship. However, Martin Luther claims that prayer is an act of worship as follows:

"But the Scripture teaches not the invocation of saints, or to ask help of saints, since it sets before us the one Christ as the Mediator, Propitiation, High Priest, and Intercessor.  He is to be PRAYED to, and has promised that He will hear our PRAYER; and this WORSHIP He approves above all, to wit, that in all afflictions He be called upon, 1 John 2,1:  'If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, etc.'" (Augsburg Confession Article XXI.3 Concordia Triglotta page 57

"The First Commandment demands faith, that you believe that God is a Helper in due time, as Ps. 9:9 declares. The Second demands confession and prayer, that we call upon the name of God in danger and give thanks to God. The Third, that we teach the truth and defend and preserve sound doctrine. These are the true and only forms of worship of God, which God demands . . ." LW1:328-329

"Because no law had yet been given about worship in a certain place, they were free to sacrifice everywhere, just as we today are free to pray everywhere." LW2:192

". . . the real kernel of worship, which is to give thanks, pray, hope, and confess even under the cross and in disaster." LW6:237

Luther says: "In our days they [the papists] let obedience lie and lead us so deeply into works, that we have completely drifted from obedience, and we gape at works and despise our own mission and calling. Hence there is no doubt it is Satan's own doings that divine worship is confined only to churches, altars, masses, singing, reading, offerings and the like, as if all other works were vain or of no use whatever. How could Satan mislead us more completely from the right way than when he confines God's worship within such narrow limits, only to the church and whatever is done it?" In "Sermons of Martin Luther" [Lenker Edition], Vol. 1, page 245.

 

The second is the doctrine of the ministry. With respect to the doctrine of the ministry, since the days of C. F. W. Walther the LCMS has held that the office of the public ministry (the pastoral office) according to Scripture is the one divinely established office in the church, while the church possesses the freedom to create other offices, by human institution, from time to time to assist in the carrying out of the functions of the pastoral ministry. The WELS' Theses on Church and Ministry, expressly deny that the pastoral ministry is specifically instituted by the Lord in contrast to other forms of public ministry, such as teaching Bible studies.

The third is the role of women in the church. While both the LCMS and the WELS strongly oppose the ordination of women to the pastoral office on Scriptural grounds, most of the LCMS officially has concluded that the Scriptures do not forbid woman suffrage in the church (although some disagree). The WELS opposes woman suffrage in the church as contrary to Scripture.

The fourth is that on the "Church" the LCMS focuses on the local congregation as Church, pointing out that this is where the marks of the Church, the preaching of the Gospel and administration of the Sacrament, are found. In the LCMS view, things like Districts or Synod are not, strictly speaking, “Church”. The WELS, on the other hand notes that when the District or Synod gathers, it is still a gathering amongst Christians, often where the preaching of the Gospel and the Administration of the Sacraments are present. To its credit, the WELS is a bit more consistent on this than the LCMS, which gets around the whole District and Synod not being church and yet having a church service at such gatherings by having a local congregation “adopt” such a gathering (or school/university chapel).

Why Have a Synod, or Denomination?

With so many non-denominational, or unaffiliated churches nowadays many people ask why do we have denominations or synods anyway. It is important to remember that the word synod means walking or journeying together, which really means having the same faith. Below is the 14 reasons that the LCMS was formed, taken from its first constitution. Look how many of these have to do with purity of doctrine. On a separate note, why in the world have we gotten rid of number 10?!?

1. To stand guard over the purity and unity of doctrine within the synodical circle, and to oppose false doctrine.
2. Supervision over the performance of the official duties on the part of the pastors and teachers of Synod.
3. Common protection and extension of the church.
4. Publication and distribution of a church periodical.
5. Conscientious examination of candidates for the ministry and teaching profession.
6. To provide for ecclesiastical ordination and induction into office.
7. The preparation of future preachers and teachers for service in the Church.
8. To provide for congregations with out pastors, if the former apply to Synod.
9. To give theological opinions, also to settle disputes between single persons or between parties in the congregations. But the latter is to take place only in cases where all persons involved have applied to Synod for arbitration.
10. To strive after the greatest possible uniformity in ceremonies.
11. To have concern for the faithful execution of all the duties of the ministry, especially of the truly evangelical cure of souls in all its branches; in this respect also to help advance sound catechumen instruction above all, and especially with reference to the false doctrines of the prominent sects; also to institute and maintain catechizations every Sunday for the, confirmed youth.
12. To support indigent congregations who are members of Synod, that they may obtain the regular service of a pastor.
13. To gather church statistics within Synod and also to start a chronicle of American Lutheranism.
14. To establish connections with the Lutheran Church in foreign countries, especially Germany.