Dear friends in Christ,
We continue our survey of Church History from the book of Professor E.A.W. Krauss from our St. Louis seminary of a century ago.
This month we continue our look at founding father of our Missouri Synod, C.F.W. Walther. This month we conclude our look at a main figure and reason why Walther and confessionally minded Lutherans ended up in America—Pastor Martin Stephan. As we will see, Stephan was solid in his theology, certainly at first, but Satan was able to lead him into great sin. This is a tremendous call for us to examine our heart and life in the mirror of God’s holy Law. The upcoming Lenten season is the perfect opportunity for us to do that. We also see here that in spite of the sin and corruption that the devil works, God turns it around for the good of His Church and His dear Christians [Gen. 50.20].
44 [Part 5] Dr. C. Ferd. W. Walther
A subscription list was published with Stephan’s sermon book. It also gives an interesting insight into the wide circle of Stephan’s activity and correspondence. Besides Dresden and vicinity, besides all larger and smaller cities of Saxony, Berlin, Brunswick, Breslau, Cologne, Coethen, Ludwigslust, Merseburg, Gnadenfrei, Niesky, Peterswalde, Wernigerode, and Vienna were also represented. His sermons were just as much sought after in Mecklenburg, Lippe, Anhalt, in Silesia and Thuringia as they were in Saxony and Bohemia. Although it was mostly the average workers who sought out his book, so also a did number of higher and lower officials, sellers of rare books, so also did teachers, pastors, councilors of consistories and quite a few noblemen, occasionally want to have his sermons, purchasing two, four, six and even more copies. There is the Countess Bernhardine of Lippe, the Burggrave and Count of Dohna, Count Anton of Stolberg-Wernigerode, Count Reuss Heinrich XXXVIII and Prince Reuss Heinrich LXIII, the heiress Grand duchess Augusta on Mecklenburg-Schwerin and her household, Protestants, Herrnhuter and Catholics like Don Ignatius Thomas of St. Michael in Vienna.
Wherever people heard of him and his testimony of Christ, they were eager to hear more. And he did not allow these strings of spiritual connection to be broken. Hundreds turned to him like a spiritual father in spiritual matters seeking counsel and comfort for their souls which their Rationalistic preachers had left empty. Stephan regarded it as his duty and at times had so many letters to answer that his Bohemian congregation in Dresden, which, of course, had first dibs on him, began to complain of neglect. In the guidance he offered, he often spoke out against unfaithful pastors, hirelings, “stomach preachers” and false prophets. That meant that the number of his “spiritual” opponents grew in proportion to the number of those who desired his counsel.
Unfortunately, though, spiritual conceit and pride were also noticeably growing in him and those closest to him also suffered under his extreme brutal dogmatism in completely external, non-spiritual matters. In Saxony when complaints first began to be heard about his poor family life and about the female followers who were often found in his company both during the day and also during nightly walks, it was not difficult for him to quell the evil gossip about him and his household disintegration; this was especially easy for him to do with those people who lived a distance away. He said along with the good, “evil rumors” too had to be endured. These served as further evidence that “a man’s,” that is the Christian’s “foes will be those of his own household” [Mt. 10.36; Mi. 7.6]. When he was suspended, his followers regarded it as a suffering for Christ’s sake; and when part of his congregation charged him with inappropriately using church funds, that, too, was not believed. Nor did they believe that only great influence moved the king to dismiss the accusation of immoral behavior. They based this on the fact that the examination proved nothing and “repeated appointed judicial investigations had always ended with Stephan’s acquittal.” When Stephan announced at the beginning of 1838 his intent to depart that year: “Perhaps God intends something greater with me. Therefore I must have to experience so much disgrace and humiliation here. Whom God wants to make great, He humbles before, so that afterwards he does not extol himself.” (Vehse, pg. 5)
We haven’t at all yet dealt with Stephan’s emigration. Whoever wants more precise information may look up Koestering’s presentation of it and also perhaps that of Vehse. That account mentions many of the details not reported at first, but at the time of Stephan’s unmasking it describes very important events in a very incorrect light. We are dealing with the life of C.F.W. Walther. He and his brother, together with Pastors E.G.W. Keyl, their brother in law, and G.H. Loeber, E.M. Buerger and various theology candidates were among those who saw that it was impossible to preserve pure Lutheran Christianity in Germany, and in good faith they joined Stephan when he gave the order to set out for America in order to establish the church of the Lutheran confession in this land of political and religious freedom. With heavy heart, C.F.W. Walther resigned his office on the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity in 1838; several families of his congregation moved with him. They assembled together in Bremen. Since there was no more room on the Amalia, the ship he was to travel on, Walther went on the Johann Georg. Of the five ships which were to bring the immigrants to New Orleans, the Amalia sunk.
So far Professor Krauss
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LWML NEWS: We had our Epiphany dinner on 07 January. It was great, enjoyed by all and, of course, we had lots of food. Thanks to all of you for your help and time.
From the Church Fathers: St. John Chrysostom, Sermons on John, 25.2
Baptism
If anyone asks, “Why is water included?” In reply ask, “Why the dust of the ground?” [Gn. 2.7] employed at the beginning in the creation of man?” It is plain to everyone that it was possible for God to make an without dust. Do not be overly inquisitive….
What then is the use of the water? This, too, I will tell you, when I reveal to you the hidden mystery. There are also other points of mystical teaching connected with the subject, but for the present I will mention to you one of many. In Baptism are fulfilled the divine promises: burial and death, resurrection and life; and these take place all at once. When we immerse our heads in the water, the old man is buried as in a tomb below and completely sunk once and for all. Then, as we raise our heads again, the new man rises again, the new man rises again [in the old man’s] place. As easy as it is for us to dip and to lift our heads again, so easy is it for God to bury the old man and to bring forth the new. And this is done three times, so that you may learn that the power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit fulfills all this. To show that what we say is no conjecture, Paul says, ‘We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death’ [Romans 6.4]. And again, ‘Our old self was crucified with him [vs. 6]. And again, ‘We have been united with Him in a death like his [vs. 5]. Not only is Baptism called a cross, but the cross is called a baptism. Christ said, ‘With the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized’ [Mk. 10.39]. ‘I have a baptism to be baptized with’ {Lk. 12.50]. As we easily dip and lift our heads again, so He also died easily and rose again when He willed, or rather much more easily, though He tarried the three days for the dispensation of a certain mystery.”
[Quoted from: A Year with the Church Fathers, CPH, 2011]
ON 16 FEBRUARY WE REMEMBER THE BIRTH OF PHILLIP MELANCHTON, CONFESSOR
Second only to Luther in the reformation of the Church stood Philip Melanchthon. Related on his mother’s side to the great Hebrew scholar Reuchlin and drawn through his education to Erasmus, the foremost humanist of the day, Melanchthon became a classical scholar of great distinction. Reuchlin recommended him as professor of Greek and Hebrew at the new university in Wittenberg. Melanchthon’s biblical learning and humanistic spirit earned him the admiration of Luther, who proved himself a loyal friend through the many years they labored together at Wittenberg.
Melanchthon was a careful, cautious scholar. He lacked Luther’s depth, emotional power, and personal experience of faith. Yet he agreed with Luther’s concept of the Word as the final authority and tried to explain the contents of faith in clear and convincing style. In 1521, he produced the first theological textbook of the Reformation, the Theological Commonplaces (Loci Communes). As the events around him revealed the various ways the Reformation might go, Melanchthon became apprehensive. The Zwickau prophets and the Peasants’ War caused him to stress the necessity of order and obedience to government. He hoped a reform in the papal church would heal the divisions already evident, and even at Augsburg in 1530, when he drew up the Confession and the Apology, he thought in terms of reconciliation and restoration of unity. Scholars are still divided as to the real position of Melanchthon on several points of doctrine because it is hard to distinguish between his own thought and his official statements as spokesman of the Lutherans.
Melanchthon functioned as the schoolteacher of the Reformation. Despite his deficiencies as a leader, he rendered incalculable service at a critical period in the history of the Church. His pen framed the Augustana and the Apology, which gave the new movement solid ground to stand on in the battle. His textbook of theology, in many and enlarged editions, became the theology of generations of pastors and teachers. His methods became standard in the schools of Germany and beyond, and his reforms reshaped universities—Wittenberg, Leipzig, Tübingen, Greifswald, Rostock, Heidelberg, Marburg, Königsberg. His interest in the natural sciences gave them new importance, and his devotion to Aristotle was lifelong. It is impossible to conceive of the Reformation without Luther, but it is hard to imagine how the spiritual power of Luther’s teaching would have been conserved and channeled into permanent and fructifying streams of influence without the mental clarity of Melanchthon.
Devotional reading is from The Lutheran Difference, Reformation Anniversary Edition, pages 609–10 © 2014 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.
PRAYER: Almighty God, we praise You for the service of Philipp Melanchton to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church in the renewal of its life in fidelity to Your Word and promise. Raise up in these gray and latter days faithful teachers and pastors, inspirfed by Your Holy Spirit, whose voices will give strength to Your Church and proclaim the ongoing reality of Your kingdom; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
Why go to church?
When you stay away from church for no good reason, the bad reason is basically diminishing Jesus and intrusion of human factors. You are content with yourself and feel that you can manage another week without gathering in the name of Jesus and receiving forgiveness and strength from Him through Word and Sacrament. You can do it without the church. You know jolly well you can’t, and if you allow for these intrusions, this pushing off of Jesus, you aren’t in danger, you need some reformation. Don’t give up your reformation, your membership in the church. That membership is powerfully expressed as you worship your way through the liturgy and hymns, which is a pattern of worship in which you join fellow members in the holy Christian church of many centuries and many places/ This reaches a climax in holy Communion when we acknowledge ourselves to be together with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. –Dr. Norman Nagel
FROM OUR SYNOD—LCMS Stewardship Newsletter Article
The season of Epiphany focuses on how God was made manifest in the flesh of Jesus. The church spends time hearing of the miracles, the signs and wonders, of Jesus in the world.
And this made plain to all that Jesus was who He said He was: He was the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the only-begotten Son of the Father, in the flesh. For “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
It is revealed for all the world to see that Jesus is God in the flesh. It is made manifest by His words and His work, by what He said and by what He did. And these belong together, for “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Jesus is the Word and will of God in the flesh, that is, He is the walking, talking, enactment of God’s Word.
It is no different for us. We are called not just to believe in God in hearts, but also to trust in God in word and deed.
As James wrote: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22), and again, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? … So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. … Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. … For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:14, 17–18, 26).
Our faith is lived out in works for our neighbor. Our trust in the Word and will of God is lived out not in word only, but also in deed and in truth.
In other words, the Epiphany of the Lord creates in us an epiphany of our faith in our works of obedience to God who commanded them. By this, our faith is made manifest to the world. It is, as Luther wrote of faith:
“Faith is a divine work in us. It changes us and makes us to be born anew of God (John 1). It kills the old Adam and makes altogether different people, in heart and spirit and mind and powers, and it brings with it the Holy Spirit.
“Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. And so it is impossible for it not to do good works incessantly. It does not ask whether there are good works to do, but before the question rises, it has already done them, and is always at the doing of them.
“He who does not these works is a faithless man. He gropes and looks about after faith and good works and knows neither what faith is nor what good works are, though he talks and talks, with many words about faith and good works.
“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times. This confidence in God’s grace and knowledge of it makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and all His creatures.
“And this is the work of the Holy Spirit in faith. Hence a man is ready and glad, without compulsion, to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer everything, in love and praise to God, who has shown him this grace.
“And thus it is impossible to separate works from faith, quite as impossible as to separate burning and shining from fire. Beware, therefore, of your own false notions and of the idle talkers, who would be wise enough to make decisions about faith and good works, and yet are the greatest fools.” (Preface to the Book of Romans)
So, then, let our faith be active by God’s power in the Word through the Holy Spirit. And let then our faith be made manifest to the world by what this faith does: serving our neighbor — in church, in the family, and society — with the works of faith in time, talents, and treasures.
Faith Lutheran Voters’ Meeting-January 13, 2019
Meeting called to order at 12:18 with 8 voting members present.
From the LCMS Foundation: Greed or Trust
An under-appreciated aspect of the Christian faith is that it encourages people to move away from a self-indulgent appetite of tight-fistedness to conviction that carries a responsibility for the needs of others.
Greed however, thrives within all humans. The desire to have more, driven by an insatiable longing is one of the prevalent motivators in our culture. For proof, simply watch the lottery purchases from week to week.
Just like sin in general most people, even Christians, are not fully aware of how greed lives within, nor how it affects our thinking and decision making. If you ask most participants who partake in the lottery, they will tell you that it’s ‘just entertainment.’ Greed casts a longing passion for what we don’t have.
God thought it was important enough to focus two of the ten commandments specifically on this Greed tendency. Other commandments dealing with stealing, killing or adultery have their origins in greed.
Martin Luther used the word ‘trust’ often in his instructional catechisms. He states in the explanations of the commandments, ‘we should fear, love and TRUST in God so that . . . (we live according to His Will).”
Trust is the response of faith, believing in what we have not seen. Trust gives hope and increases reliance on the object of our trust.
When people number their days, they will typically have one of two reactions. Either they will avoid the thought of death, longing for more and more enjoyment of this life, or they will rely on the promise of this life turning to immortality.
Less than half of Americans prepare their estate plan before their death. We encourage people who know and trust in God, to move forward with confidence that our future is under God’s protection. He cares for us and promises to give all good things for our well-being. Trust today!
For more information, contact Robert Wirth, LCMS Foundation Gift Planner @ robert.wirth@lfnd.org or 716-863-4427
“People of the Passion” Lent Devotions
Centuries before Christ, God was preparing the way for His Son’s arrival. From mankind’s original sin through the children of Israel’s on-again, off-again obedience, God was faithful, honoring his promise to Eve (Genesis 3:15), the promise which first pointed to Jesus. In People of the Passion, the reader will see God working through the lives of ordinary people to achieve His ultimate aim; our salvation. There are prophets, priests, and kings, servants, soldiers, and civilians -- each with a role in the high drama of Christ’s passion.
Available to read online (www.lhm.org/lent) or as a podcast beginning March 6, 2019, People of the Passion can also be received as an e-mail subscription throughout the Lenten season. Churches can also download, personalize, and print them to give to congregation members or use as an outreach tool with guests and visitors. The audio version will be available on LHM’s daily devotion page starting March 6th.
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Gospel Adventures to Peru
(previously known as Online Mission Trip)
Previously called Online Mission Trips, Lutheran Hour Ministries is equipping teachers with five days of free interactive curriculum where students will experience life and Jesus on the other side of the world --- this year, to Peru. This new experience, developed in partnership with Group Publishing (www.group.com) comes with videos, recipes, music, & more. Teachers (including those who homeschool) can do this anytime (i.e. not just the end of January). To register, go to: www.gospeladventures.org
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Lutheran Hour Is On Various Media Platforms
In addition to being available on more than 1,800 traditional radio outlets throughout North America, over the American Forces Network, and online at www.LutheranHour.org, almost 90 years after its first airing the weekly broadcast can also now be heard through several new media platforms:
- A podcast subscription; subscribe at www.lhm.org/podcasts;
- A mobile app for Android devices and iPhones; visit lhm.org/apps for more information;
- Amazon Alexa, a voice-activated assistant to play media programming;
- Spotify, an on-demand media streaming service;
- iHeartRadio, a free broadcast and internet radio platform; and
- SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s Family Talk Channel 131 at 10 a.m. EST every Sunday.
Listen to Worldwide KFUO.org, your radio station for practical Lutheran talk, daily Bible and Confession studies, daily worship opportunities, and current issues from a Lutheran worldview. Programs are archived at KFUO.org for 24/7 on-demand listening. You can also find our programming wherever you get your podcasts! Have a question or comment? Find us at @KFUOradio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
This week on KFUO.org, we celebrate National Lutheran Schools Week on The Coffee Hour with guests from local Lutheran Schools (weekdays at 9:15 a.m. CT), continue studying the Gospel of Mark on Thy Strong Word with Rev. William Weedon and guest pastors (weekdays at 11:00 a.m. CT), and move forward with The New Covenant on Sharper Iron with Rev. Jonathan Fisk and guest pastors (weekdays at 8:00 a.m. CT). Find these programs on demand at kfuo.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
EXPERT GUESTS, EXPANSIVE TOPICS, EXTOLLING CHRIST...Issues, Etc.is a radio talk show and podcast produced by Lutheran Public Radio in Collinsville, IL and hosted by LCMS Pastor Todd Wilken. This week's topics include: Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence, The Will of God, Vocation & Baptism, St. Timothy and more. You can listen live or at on-demand at www.issuesetc.org and on the LPR mobile app.
AT TIMES LIKE THIS, ONE IS ASHAMED TO BE A NEW YORKER
The Governor and legislative leaders promised to pass a dangerous proposal called the "Reproductive Health Act" early in the 2019 legislative session. The bill was introduced and it was numbered S.240 and A.21. It was passed under the cover of darkness on 22 January. On this type of matter these politicians keep their promises! This bill eliminated New York's current restrictions on late-term abortion, empowered non-doctors to perform abortions, removed protections against unwanted or coerced abortions, and even legalized infanticide of live born infants. This bill greatly expanded late-term abortion!
The following is an open letter to Governor Cuomo written by the Roman Catholic bishop of Albany, Bishop Edward Scharfenberger. If you wade through a few sections in the beginning dealing with papistic matters, you will find an excellent letter that is worthwhile reading for all pro-lifers, like us Missouri Synod Lutherans.
Dear Governor Cuomo,
Although in your recent State of the State address you cited your Catholic faith and said we should “stand with Pope Francis,” your advocacy of extreme abortion legislation is completely contrary to the teachings of our pope and our Church. Once truth is separated from fiction and people come to realize the impact of the bill, they will be shocked to their core. By that time, however, it may be too late to save the countless lives that will be lost or spare countless women lifelong regret.
The so-called Reproductive Health Act (RHA) will expand abortion under the pretenses of choice and progress, which, in fact, it will do little to enhance. At the same time, this legislation threatens to rupture the communion between the Catholic faith and those who support the RHA even while professing to follow the Church, something that troubles me greatly as a pastor.
Contrary to what its proponents say, the RHA goes far beyond Roe vs. Wade in its aggressive extremism. Granting non-doctors permission to perform abortions does nothing to advance the security and health of women. Condoning coerced or involuntary abortions by repealing criminal sanctions even in cases where a perpetrator seeks to make his partner “un-pregnant” through an act of physical violence does not represent any kind of progress in the choice, safety or health of women. Removing protection for an infant accidentally born alive during an abortion is abject cruelty, something most people of conscience would deem inhumane for even a dog or cat. Finally, allowing late-term abortions is nothing less than a license to kill a pre-born child at will.
It is very difficult to understand how you can align yourself with Pope Francis and so vehemently advocate such profoundly destructive legislation.
I find myself wondering how it can be viewed as “progress” to have gone from a society working to make abortion “rare” to one that urges women to “shout your abortion” as some advocates of this bill boldly announce.
How is it progress to ignore the harm that this will do, not only to innocent infants, born and unborn, but to their mothers? Does the heartache of so many New York women who have been pained by their abortion decisions matter? Is anyone listening to them? How is it really “pro-choice” when a law, which claims to guarantee choice, moves to expand only one option for women?
If abortion is deemed a fundamental right in New York State, will the State then still be able to issue licenses to pro-life nurses or physicians? Will health facilities which do not provide abortions be certified? Will the law allow that even one dollar be given to maternity services without offering women the “choice” of abortion? These are unanswered questions, but I shudder to think of the consequences this law will wreak. You have already uttered harsh threats about the welcome you think pro-lifers are not entitled to in our state. Now you are demonstrating that you mean to write your warning into law. Will being pro-life one day be a hate crime in the State of New York?
Our young people especially, who have seen their sonograms and who follow the discoveries the sciences have made, know the lies and the despair that proponents of such dangerous and death-dealing legislation are promulgating, even if blindly or unwittingly.
Giving up on life is no excuse for us as a responsible and compassionate people. In so doing, we evade the challenge of accompanying women and the families they are trying to nurture on the long journey. They deserve our courageous and ongoing support in creating conditions under which they will be free to bear and provide for their children.
As a society, we can and must do better. The teaching and intuition of our common faith readies us to help. It is an essential part of our mission to support the lives of all, especially the voiceless, the most vulnerable and marginalized, as Pope Francis always reminds us to do.
Let’s not bequeath to our children a culture of death, but together build a more humane society for the lives of all of our fellow citizens.
Mr. Cuomo, do not build this Death Star.
Sincerely yours,
Most Rev. Edward B. Scharfenberger
Bishop of Albany
EQUIPPING THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS...Issues, Etc. is a radio talk show and podcast produced by Lutheran Public Radio in Collinsville, IL and hosted by LCMS Pastor Todd Wilken. This week's subjects include: Does God Change His Mind?, The Idea & Practice of a Christian University, The Presentation of Our Lord, Media Coverage of Religion, Daily Bread and more. You can listen live or at your convenience at www.issuesetc.org and on the LPR mobile app.
Listen to Worldwide KFUO.org, your radio station for practical Lutheran talk, daily Bible and Confession studies, daily worship opportunities, and current issues from a Lutheran worldview. Programs are archived at KFUO.org for 24/7 on-demand listening. You can also find our programming wherever you get your podcasts! Have a question or comment? Find us at @KFUOradio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Upcoming on KFUO.org, continue studying The New Covenant in 2 Corinthians on Sharper Iron with Rev. Jonathan Fisk and guest pastors (weekdays at 8 a.m. CT), join us for chapel services celebrating the season of Epiphany (weekdays at 10:00 a.m. CT), and discover curious topics to ignite your theological mind on Cross Defense with Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller (2/4 at 2:00 p.m. CT). Find your favorite programs on demand at kfuo.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
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