Lutheran Logomaniac

The following is a slightly edited version of an email I wrote recently responding to a question about what “we believe” regarding Gay & Lesbian Clergy. Since I’m sure it will come up in other contexts, here are my thoughts:

Dear Friend,

…The short answer is that we believe along with the Scriptures that any sexual activity that is outside of God’s intention of a man and a woman living together in lifelong marriage is wrong and spiritually dangerous, as is all sin. That is true for anyone, and that certainly includes pastors. So I think it would be fair to say that our church body (The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod) would probably fit into the socially conservative category when it comes to such things.

However, and this is very important, while homosexuality is a sin and is against God’s Word, it is only a sin. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, not just socially acceptable (or unacceptable) sins. As the hymn puts it, Jesus Sinners Doth Receive! So while these sexual sins are serious (as is all sin), we seek to be a place of healing and forgiveness. That means recognizing right from wrong. That also means recognizing we are all poor, weak sinners who need Jesus and the Gospel.

I hope that answers at least some of your questions. Please feel free to call me at church if you would like to get together and talk more.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Todd Peperkorn

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Trinity 8 (August 2, 2009)
Matthew 7:15-23

For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “The Fruits of the Gospel”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is the Gospel lesson just read, “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

When Paul made his farewell address to the pastors in Ephesus, he did so with a warning. The warning was that they were to pay hear to the whole counsel of God, and that they were to pay attention to their flock, the blood bought souls whom Jesus had commended to them. Paul warned that after he left ravenous wolves would come, that would seek to scatter the flock, devour them, and try to rob them of the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins. Even worse, Paul said, these wolves who come in won’t be outsiders, they will arise from their own flock, from in their own midst.

Jeremiah said much the same thing with the people of Israel, as they were about to be led into captivity in Babylon. God didn’t send these false prophets, but they came. They came, they spoke, the lied in the name of the Lord of Hosts, and they did it all trying to destroy the gifts of forgiveness of sins, life and salvation which God won for them with a mighty hand. The false prophets wanted to paint a picture for the Israelites that there could never be disaster, that things will not go bad because of their false belief, and that Baal would serve them as well as the true God.

So what are we to make of this? What are we to make of Jesus words that only those who do the will of His Father will enter the kingdom of heaven? How are we to understand Jesus’ warning about good fruit and bad fruit?

One thing is clear from these texts. We should never presume that just because there is a label, that things are what they seem. Just because David Koresh claimed to be Jesus in the flesh didn’t make him so. Just because you see the name “Christian” in front of a building does not mean they are Christians. By your fruits you shall know them.

So how are you to tell the difference? Jesus says that only those who do the will of His Father in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven? But what is God’s will? God’s will is two-fold. His will is that you keep all His commandments first of all. That will is unbending, firm and true. That will of God is for your good, even though you may not always see it as such. That perfect will of God also shows you how regularly and consistently you fail at keeping His will and desire for you. By all accounts, you and I have listened to the lying voices of the night, which seek to keep us away from the forgiveness of sins, and which want to drive us to despair.

But God’s will ultimately is that you be saved. God’s will is that you live, and that you be free of sin and every evil of body and soul. That’s what God wants for you. If you want to know whether a preacher or teacher or church is from God, find out what kind of Jesus they present to you. Is it the Jesus of the cross? Is it the Jesus that died so that you might live forever in Him? Is it the Jesus that forgives, that comforts, that consoles, that gives hope and healing in the midst of sorrow and pain? Or is it another Jesus?

Jesus says that only those who do the will of His Father will enter into heaven. But don’t be afraid at this news. This is good news for you, not bad. God’s will is that you live and have life in His holy name. You are baptized. That is God’s work and will for you. Doing God’s will doesn’t mean mighty acts and great deeds that impress the world. Doing God’s will first of all means receiving what He has to give to you in His Son. It’s free. It’s a gift. It is life in His name.

Believe it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.

Quotation from the Formula on the role of the Resurrection and the Two Natures in Christ:

16 11. Christ always had this majesty according to the personal union. Yet He abstained from using it in the state of His humiliation, and because of this He truly increased in all wisdom and favor with God and men. Therefore, He did not always use this majesty, but only when it pleased Him. Then, after His resurrection, He entirely laid aside the form of a servant, but not the human nature, and was established in the full use, manifestation, and declaration of the divine majesty. In this way He entered into His glory [Philippians 2:6–11]. So now not just as God, but also as man He knows all things and can do all things. He is present with all creatures, and has under His feet and in His hands everything that is in heaven and on earth and under the earth, as He Himself testifies [in Matthew 28:18], “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” [see also John 13:3]. And St. Paul says in Ephesians 4:10, “He … ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.” Because He is present, He can exercise His power everywhere. To Him everything is possible and everything is known.

The Formula of Concord: Epitome, art. viii, par. 13

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Judica, Lent V (March 29, 2009, revised from 2005)
John 8:46-56

For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “The Taste of Life”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is from the Gospel lesson just read from John chapter 8.

The time of Jesus’ passion and death grows nearer. This Sunday is traditionally called Passion Sunday, for it is on this day that we hear of the people’s rejection of Jesus as the only Messiah, and how they sought to kill Him. We drape all the crosses in the church to remind us that the price for our Lord’s passion is great, and so that when we next view the cross, it will be with new eyes.

Jesus properly points out to the Jews that if they truly were from God, they would love Him, for He proceeds from the Father and goes back to the Father. He then goes on to say that they, the people, are of their father, the devil. For the devil is the father of lies and is at the root of all sin and evil in the world.

This is how our Lutheran Confessions treat this text about the devil. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession writes: “Nevertheless, the cause of sin is the will of the devil and of men turning away from God, as Christ said about the devil (John 8:44), “’When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature.’”

In times of great evil and distress in the world, it is quite common to ask the question of why. Why is there so much evil in the world? Why is there so much hatred and violence? But if you dig even deeper, the question may even be asked of yourself: why do I do these things? Why am I so torn and possessed by sin? Saint Paul himself struggled with this very same question when he wrote:

Romans 7:18-20 (ESV)
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

This is the slavery to sin which we all are bound under and which we all struggle with every day or our lives. If you do not struggle and fight against sin, it is not a sign that you don’t sin. It is a sign that you are blind to sin and do not realize it’s stranglehold on you.

This is the message which so incensed and infuriated the Jews in Jesus’ day. He had the audacity and sheer gall to suggest to them that they were not going to be automatically saved because they were Jews. But even more, Jesus knows and understands the connection between sin and the devil. For the two always go together.

Now let’s step back and stop talking history for a minute. For Jesus isn’t talking about the Jews in this text finally; he’s talking about you. He’s talking about your desire to cling to pet sins. He’s talking about your wanting to always hold back on God. You know what I mean. I’ll go to church and be a Christian and all, but there are just some things that are too good to give up. There are certain sins which are mine, and I’m not going to let anything or anyone get in the way of doing what I want to do.

This is the trial Abraham faced in the sacrifice of his son. God had given him a son in his old age, and now God asked him to go and sacrifice his son, to prove his great love for the Lord. It didn’t make sense, and Abraham was sorely tempted to simply refuse. After all, this was his son, no one could take him away. He loved Isaac like no one else in the world. And yet it is precisely that love for his son which God tested. What are you willing to give up for me, the Lord asked. Your livelihood, your friends, your life, or even your son’s life?
Abraham walked by faith not by sight. He passed the test, because God gave him the faith to pass the test. But Abraham is not the only one God ever tested.

Every day or your life your faith is tried and tested in the furnace of the cross. There are constantly temptations for you to overcome, trials to face, and crosses to bear. But you know the dilemma: you fail at these every day. Like the Jews of Jesus’ day, you just can’t see past your own selfish nature and self-righteous judgment about the rest of the world.

So where is the Gospel? Where does the hope lie? The hope lies in those great words of Jesus: Before Abraham was, I AM. Those may sound like easy words to say, but those are words of sweet comfort for the hurting sinner. Those words draw you outside of yourself and your own failures and shortcomings, and draw you into His loving embrace and His everlasting comfort.

Let me explain. As long as you look at sin as something you can conquer like a bad habit, you will fail. We have a hard enough time conquering bad habits. Sin goes much, much deeper. Being a Christian is not like a diet program to get rid of sin. Sin is a part of your very nature as a human being since the Fall. You cannot simply reform your way of life. That is putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound. You must be reborn. You must be made anew. No set of laws or regulations or steps for living will cure this disease. It must come from outside of you.

Before Abraham was, I AM. What this means is that this Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has had your salvation planned before the foundation of the world. God knew you would fail, and His love for you is so great, so strong and powerful, that He ordained His only-begotten Son to come into your flesh and die so that the price would be paid for your failure.

The author to Hebrews put it this way: Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. Jesus enters into that most holy place and paid the price, the ultimate price of His very life for you. It is that body and blood which you eat and drink this day. It is that body and blood which will cleanse you and remake you into the image of God once again.

This message is offensive. It forces you to put aside all of your silly and pathetic ideas about yourself, about your worth and status, and strips away the layers of sin and death which infect us all. And in their place the very image of God is put upon you with water and the Word of God.

So it is in that message of life through death and salvation through suffering that brings hope and peace to you this day. Abraham rejoiced to see this day, and he saw it and was glad. For all of heaven rejoice when one sinner comes to realize their sinfulness and turns in faith to the only one who can save them, even Jesus Christ, our Lord.

As we prepare for our Lord’s Passion, death and resurrection once again, may this ever be your song: Jesus, sinners does receive. Believe it for His sake. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.

I got back from the CTS Fort Wayne 2009 Symposia yesterday, after getting a flat tire along the way. Despite that little mishap, it was a very enjoyable week. I hadn’t been back to Symposia for three years, since I got sick. So it was a welcome homecoming for me. And since this Symposia was on LCMS history, it was right up my alley. Here are my initial thoughts on the presentations that I was able to attend. I didn’t make it for the exegetical Symposia, save one.

* Dr. Arthur A. Just, Jr. Topic: “Lex orandi, lex credendi: Sacramental Unity in the Midst of Biblical Diversity”

This was basically a paper on liturgical, or churchly hermeneutics. Braaten/Jensen and Brevard Childs sort of talk. I did not consider it to be plowing new ground, since I’ve had Dr. Just for about ever class he’s ever taught. But he did a very nice job of putting the pieces together, and helping us to understand how the interpretation of Scripture happens most clearly in a liturgical and churchly context. Although he didn’t really expound upon it, the obvious connection in my mind is that the Scriptures are most clearly interpreted according to their intent in preaching. More on that another time.

* Dr. Lawrence R. Rast, Jr. Topic: “J. A. O. Preus: Theologian, Churchman, or Both”

I only heard the second half of this paper, much to my great chagrin. What I heard was quite good. He rightly observes that JAO Preus should not be villified as a political hack out for power, nor sainted as a “pure” theologian. The true is probably somewhere in between. I didn’t hear enough of it to speak more on this one.

* The Reverend Paul Robert Sauer. Topic: “Out of Step or Before His Times: Berthold von Schenk”

This was probably the paper that I found the most interesting, along with Shuta’s. He basically gave a biography in summary of the life of Berthold von Schenk, the founder of the St. James Society and early proponent for liturgical renewal in the LCMS. It was a largely uncritical presentation, as Sauer is the pastor at von Schenk’s former congregation. However, given the fact that nobody in the LCMS knows anything about this man, that didn’t bother me overmuch. We’ll have to wait for a more critical evaluation.

* Dr. David P. Scaer. Topic: “Making a Difference: The Theology of Robert D. Preus”

This one is hard to evaluate. Scaer’s life is so intertwined with RDP’s life, it’s difficult to separate if you are Scaer. I’ll frankly have to reread it in order to really understand it. One thing that I did take with me on this one was his observation about “top down” verses “bottom up” Christology, comparing Marquart’s to his view. I’d like to think on that more.

* Dr. David R. Schmitt. Topic: “Goal, Malady, Means as Law-Gospel Ersatz in the Theology of Richard R. Caemmerer”

This was a paper I wasn’t intending to hear, but he kinda sucked me in. First of all, it was masterfully presented. Clear, well thought out and rehearsed I’d even say. His point was that Caemmerer’s Goal/Malady/Means was laudable, but that it is now caricatured to such a degree that it is almost unrecognizable. I’d like to read more on the topic.

* Dr. Philip J. Secker. Topic: “”A Pilgrimage not Taken: Arthur Carl Piepkorn”

This was one of the paper’s I was most looking forward to hearing, and hence I was most disappointed. I have always found Piepkorn to be one of the greatest enigmas in the history of the LCMS. I want to know more about him. Unfortunately, Secker is not the man to do that. His paper was hesitant and sometimes just plain bombastic. I think his goal was to demonstrate that A) Piepkorn would have walked out had he been alive and B) That Piepkorn would support women’s ordination to day were he alive. I find both of those really hard to believe, given the evidence, and Secker just made the presentation difficult to hear. Bummer. It could have been great.

* Dr. Richard J. Shuta. Topic: “Dr. Walter A. Maier as Evangelical Preacher”

This one was worth the price of admission. Shuta is a bit of a difficult person to hear sometimes, but the topic was dynamite. He began to demonstrate that WAM I is the missing link between Billy Sunday and Billy Graham. He had evidence, and lots of it. I can’t wait to read the paper, and more of what he has to say. With WAM I and Piepkorn, you really see two of the major strands that influence the LCMS today. What a history.

* Dr. Robert L. Wilken. Topic: “A Pilgrim from Wittenberg to Constantinople: Jaroslav Pelikan”

This paper was gentle and beautiful. Wilken, a student and longtime friend of Pelikan, basically showed how Pelikan’s move from Lutheranism to Eastern Orthodoxy was much more of a kind of inevitable move of his studies than anything else. Pelikan also had simply no use for Protestantism, and the more he say American Lutheranism take on the characteristics of mainline Protestantism, the more he disliked it. See the comments on WAM I above.

It wasn’t a critical read, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Well, that’s my initial thoughts on the symposia. What are yours?

P

Symposia: Exegetical and Confessional Theology (Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN)

Rev. Greg Alms over at Incarnatus Est just posted about this NY Times article on the latest Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey. The survey is on the dramatic shifts that are taking place in the American religious scene, where upwards of 44% of people no longer are members of the church body they grew up in as a child. Thanks for drawing this to our attention, Greg!

Here’s the citation I’d like to think on a bit:

To Prof. Stephen Prothero, large numbers of Americans leaving organized religion and large numbers still embracing the fervor of evangelical Christianity point to the same desires.

“The trend is toward more personal religion, and evangelicals offer that,” said Mr. Prothero, chairman of the religion department at Boston University, who explained that evangelical churches tailor many of their activities for youth. “Those losing out are offering impersonal religion and those winning are offering a smaller scale: mega-churches succeed not because they are mega but because they have smaller ministries inside.” continue reading…