WIC6: "The Open Heaven" (1929 Synod); Walther "remains firm, like steel and diamond"

      This continues from Part WIC5 (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — This sixth of six essays completes the series of essays that Prof. J. T. Mueller translated in 1933. It is a fitting essay for the finale, as Christians must always keep their eyes on the hereafter. This is largely a Bible lesson and will place a Christian's faith on solid ground and in… the Open Heaven. 

      I am sorry that Prof. Mueller did not include much of the emphasis of wording as these are critical to get the full power of Pieper's teaching. Again, this is one of the main benefits of my translations over Mueller's. This essay was not printed in the convention report but rather in 3 installments of Lehre und Wehre, vol. 75, pp. 196-201, 225-233, 257-264.

Notable Quotes:

Part I: How was heaven opened?

198: "of this heaven we say from Scripture that it is open to all men.… Yes, heaven is open!"

198: "Of course, heaven was closed to us humans because of the Fall of our first parents."

199: "He also committed Him to take upon Himself the whole guilt of sin that lay upon the human race.… thus opened heaven again completely to all men without exception."

199: "For the apostle does not say: 'God was in Christ, reconciling' half the world or a quarter of the world to himself, but 'the world.'"

200: 2 Cor. 5:19 – "word of reconciliation": "does not refer to the reconciliation that takes place in the heart and conscience of man…[but] the reconciliation by which God reconciled the whole world to himself" [I. e. not subjective reconciliation, but objective reconciliation.] 

200: "He who does not preach heaven open to all men through Christ does not preach the gospel"

201: "everything that the world generally puts under the comprehensive heading of "worldview" is trivial."

201: "As far as reconciliation through Christ is concerned, there is no distinction of race, color, class, culture and unculture, worldly respectability and worldly reproach."

Part II: Unitarians, Calvinists, Romanists and Arminians, American Lutherans want to close the open heaven.

225: "Unitarians openly practice the closure of heaven.…deny that God was in Christ…"

226: Unitarians "invoke Christ … 'In my Father's house are many mansions.'" Answer: "'I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.'  John 14:6"

226: "If [Unitarians] continue to deny the Lord who bought them with his blood, they exclude themselves from the open heaven."

226: Calvinists "teach that Christ has acquired grace and opened heaven for only a part of mankind"

228: "Calvinist Reformed thus take the liberty of simply crossing out Scripture words like these: 'God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself'" [2 Cor. 5:19]

228: "as soon as man is struck by God's law,… he logically counts himself among the eighty percent whom Christ did not purchase from eternal damnation with his blood" [According to Calvinists.]

228-229: "the Calvinist must become Lutheran, that is, believe in God's completely unlimited general grace, if he is not to perish through despair in temptation and agony"

229: "Let us therefore also be careful when recommending Calvinist writings." [Examples: Spurgeon, John MacArthur]

230: Synergists: "The Roman Church places itself before the door of heaven… and demands that those who wish to enter must show a fulfillment of 'the law of God and the commandments of the Church'."

230: The Arminian Reformed [Methodists, Holiness groups, Pentecostals, Mennonites] also stand before the door to heaven…God's grace in Christ is not enough …man must contribute to this" [Some want to distinguish Arminians from Reformed, but Pieper corrects that notion.]

231: "the saddest event in the history of the Church and the world in recent centuries"…within the American Lutheran Church in particular, 'by grace alone' was also fought against and rejected with great seriousness.…taught that conversion and salvation depended on the right conduct of man"

Part III: Against Reformed attacks on Lutheran doctrine

257: "…attested in our Lutheran Confessions, that God has reconciled the whole human world to himself through the vicarious life, suffering and death of his incarnate Son, and that heaven is thereby open to all people without exception. We must teach and confess this truth clearly and tirelessly."

257: "Krummacher wrote an article …entitled: "Why we are not Lutheran, but Reformed.…to propagandize for the Reformed Church against the Lutheran Church in this country""

258: "two things are held up as Lutheran doctrine against the Reformed…unrestricted universal grace, …and unrestricted grace alone"…God's Word teaches both." 

Both Calvinists and synergists are against God's Word that teaches both universal grace and grace alone. This refutes the notion that Arminian/synergists are distinct from the Reformed. Their difference is only superficial, as they both deny God's clear Word. One of the most confusing theological topics is found when asking the Internet "intelligence" whether Arminians are "Reformed" or not. One gets conflicting explanations when exploring this (search "are Arminians Reformed?") on the Internet. The Calvinists and synergists are united in their opposition to Lutheranism, and God's Word.

258: "…the Lutheran Church in its Confessions believes God in his Word"

259: Walther: "He who has not yet learned to hold both — universal grace and grace alone — … has not yet passed the last necessary test of his ability to teach within the Christian Church"

260: Walther "remains firm, like steel and diamond, in his judgment and condemnation of the opposing doctrine that God's grace and mercy are dependent on human good behavior".

261-262: "Every chain, as Dr. Walther used to remind us, is only as strong as its weakest link.… The chain forged by God for our salvation is strong…O pity! — people have come up with the idea of improving the divine chain of grace by inserting human good behavior.

263: "So we should not be lax in spreading the message of the open heaven, but rush out into the world with it, as it were"

      Now I present my full translation of Pieper's 1929 essay. Again all of Pieper's emphasis of wording has been retained, unlike the translation by Prof. Mueller in 1933:

Download file without highlighting >> here <<; German text file here.

      Prof. Mueller chose well in selecting these essays as they cover a broad spectrum of topics and are all edifying for the Christian faith and life. One could even think of this selection as an abbreviated, less technical, version of the 3-volume set of Pieper's Christian Dogmatics.

      But I would like to add one more essay that I feel should have been included in this compendium. It's topic would go along with the above essay on "The Open Heaven", and I am including it as an Appendix to this collection, in Part 7 in the next blog post.

WIC5: The Holy Scripture ("The Holy Bible"; 1921 S. Illinois); "entire world…our enemies"

      This continues from Part WIC4e (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — This fifth of six essays is one I have been looking forward to as especially important for today. Being delivered in 1921 to the Southern Illinois District, is would be a prelude for what he taught 3 years later in his Christliche Dogmatik, volume one. I have blogged about that previously, but this 1921 essay is a wonderfully concise yet thorough version that will be even more accessible for the general reader.

      There was no greater point of controversy in the Lutheran conferences in the 1930s and 1940s in America than the matter of "Verbal Inspiration" and "Inerrancy" of Holy Scripture. One may read about this in Clifford Nelson's 1972 book Lutheranism in North America, 1914-1970, search for "verbal inspiration". One comment by Nelson indicates the source of the problem: "Lutheran scholars in Germany and Scandinavia". Pieper's essay is the perfect antidote to their corrosive influence in America.

Notable Quotes:

9: Luther "stuck to sola Scriptura. Scripture alone must teach Christianity and govern hearts and consciences"

10: "we have virtually the entire world, the host of hell, and most of contemporary external Christianity as our enemies."

11: Papists at Luther's time "left unchallenged…the proposition that Holy Scripture is the Word of God."

11: "Scripture is [by deniers] called "divine-human" in the sense that human error is also found in Scripture alongside divine truth. [C.D. I, p. 216] [Cp. with the LC–MS’s and Dr. Samuel Nafzger’s Confessing the Gospel, and others.]"

13: How do we know "that Holy Scripture…is God's own Word"? "1. The words of the Old Testament Scriptures are quoted in the New Testament as God's words. [C.D. I, p. 214]

13: "scriptural passages that are sometimes overlooked…the passages of Scripture that say that all events in the world must be or happen according to the Word of Scripture" [C.D. I, p. 214]

14: "the writings of the apostles of the New Testament are … also God's own Word"

14: "The apostle Paul explicitly refers the Christian churches of his time to his letters and demands that the churches should accept the letters he has written as God's Word"

15: "1 Cor. 14:37: "…let him acknowledge the things that I write unto you: for they are the commandments of the Lord.""

16: "We cannot come closer to God for our salvation in this life than in His Word."

17: "The world is wrong in its assessment of current events. …[Christians] can and should put all these things in the light of the Word of God." [I.e. judge all "news" in light of the Word.]

18: "Are we diligent to commit as many words of Scripture as possible to our memory" [This catches me as I find the Internet usage a hindrance to doing this memorization. But as I was first returning to my old faith, I bought a Billy Graham book with tear-outs of Bible verses to commit to memory. I thank God for that!]

18: "Many unbelievers have been converted to Christ by reading the Bible. [Contrary to some in the LC-MS!]

19: "This divine act of inspiration is the reason why Holy Scripture…is not the word of man but the Word of God." [C.D. I, p. 235: "There is no danger that the 'human side,' [of Scripture] …will be overlooked."]

19: "Scripture…does not consist of "persons" or "things" but of words, so certainly the inspiration of Scripture is word or verbal inspiration"

20: "every dispute is decided by words. By saying "It is written" three times, Christ confronts the devil with the words of Scripture and wins the victory.

20: "If ye continue in my word…"

20: "Guided or directed by God and inspired by God are quite different concepts."

21: "civil society is to be instructed from reason about good and evil. But in the church, a completely different order prevails"

22: Romanists "want to lower the prestige of Holy Scripture and, on the other hand, raise the prestige of the "oral tradition" they fabricate." [Against Prof. Biermann and his “tradition”!]

22: Deniers of Inspiration "deny that there is a God who has all 'accidental occasions' in his hands."

23: Luther on the general authority of Scripture are "blasphemers, blind people, and people of disturbed minds"

23: "that Holy Scripture is inspired by God and is therefore God's own Word also implies its complete inerrancy" [I.e. deniers of inerrancy deny Scripture is God's Word.]

24: "The sacred writers were no more and no less than organs or instruments of the Holy Spirit in the creation of Holy Scripture."

24: Of the individual writers of the Scriptures were: "…the Church Fathers' image of a musical instrument. [Cp. this blog post.]"

24-25: "every critic of the Word of God is struck by God's judgment,…denies his natural understanding…becomes unreasonable and illogical." [There are many "Lutheran" theologians who have been "struck by God's judgment".]

25-30: Objections to the inspiration of Scripture: with Pieper's answer

25: 1) different styles: "different styles do not contradict divine inspiration, but are required by it, because God spoke not only through one, but through several men, each of whom had his own style"

26: 2) human research, human information, and human knowledge: God "used the historical knowledge that the writers had through their own experience or through research or through communication from other people"

28: 3) various readings (variants): "…it is thereby presupposed and promised that the apostles' word will not be lost until the Last Day, but will be present."

29: 4) contradictory passages: "If, however, a case should occur to us where we do not recognize a possibility of reconciliation, we as Christians leave the matter alone, because we believe the inerrancy of Scripture on the authority and clear testimony of the Son of God… John 10:35"

      Now I present my full translation of Pieper's 1921 essay. Again all of Pieper's emphasis of wording has been retained, unlike the translation by Prof. Mueller in 1933:

Download printable file without highlights >> here <<; German text >> here <<.

 

      May readers who want to believe their Bible find refreshment for their faith in Pieper's powerful essay. Amen! — In the next Part WIC6…

WIC4e: Lay movement and the Christian walk (Thesis 3); full essay downloads

      This continues from Part WIC4d (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — This section of Pieper's fourth essay covers the good works of Christians, or the "tangible fruits of faith". — From pages 62-67.

Notable Quotes:

62: "…all Christians should also work diligently… through their Christian walk in all circumstances of life"

63: "an advertisement of the Christian Church…through the good walk of Christians"

63: "But before men who cannot see into the heart, we are only justified by works."

64: "we are to pursue good works with the greatest seriousness and zeal"

65: "We have the outward witness of the Holy Spirit in that the Holy Spirit produces tangible fruits of faith and moves us to good works."

66: "Every time we give offense to a brother through evil conduct, so that he is in danger of falling, we are busy destroying a work of the Holy Spirit"

67: "the world has a judgment on the walk of Christians."

67: "People are not converted by the ringing of bells in our churches, but they are called into the church to hear the Word of God."

      Now I present the full polished English translation of Pieper's essay that follows the original more closely than that of Prof. Mueller's translation. Importantly, it retains Pieper's emphasis of wording:

Download the above in a non-highlighted version >> here <<; German text file here; 

One hundred years ago, the "Lay movement" was a "hot topic". Pieper counsels this movement to encourage it, and to show its limits in certain cases. — In the next Part WIC5, we cover the fifth essay in this compilation.

WIC4d: Lay Movement: Financial matters (Theses 1 & 2)

      This continues from Part WIC4c (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — This post covers pages 37-61, on the financial matters of a "lay movement".

Notable Quotes: Financial terms (pages 37-61)

38: "We do not, however, impose tithing as a duty on the conscience of New Testament Christians. … because it would be contrary to Scripture."

38: "on the other hand, …we should not turn the freedom with which Christ has set us free into a cover for sin"

40: "it is a terrible abuse of Christian freedom when Christians use the freedom from tithing to give Christ as little or nothing as possible for his kingdom"

41: "the weakest Christian should start in Christian freedom where the Jew left off, namely with 10 percent"

42: "But alas, when the "mite" is misused by those who are not poor widows, but who have plenty of earthly goods, to seek the smallest possible gifts and to soothe their conscience with the 'widow's mite'!"

45: "the desire for small gifts also easily becomes an offence to the unbelieving world."

45: The unbelieving world "rejoices immensely when it perceives that Christians…even resort to gambling and dubious entertainments in order to drive out money [for their cause].

46: "…the goal of Christians to give first to the kingdom of God"

48: "But in many, many cases, the poverty or small possessions of Christians is also due to the fact that they give so little for God's kingdom."

48: "…whether we too have not become a blight on the land through our ingratitude and stinginess in giving to the gospel."

49: Luther Germans lack of giving: "If this is how it is to be in German lands, I am sorry that I was born a German or that I have ever spoken or written in German."

50: Christians "owe their teachers reverence and sustenance"

51: Scripture "warns both sides [congregations and pastors] against selfishness and avarice."

52: "What should the preachers be paid for? The work, the hard work."

52: "story of a Negro preacher": "‘Dat’s true, brudder, but de congregation mus’ pay for de pipin'" ["That's true brother, but the congregation must pay for the piping"]

54: "we can also point to congregations in our midst that now provide amply for their preachers after the preachers have endured their poverty."

54: On pastors and teachers: "…avarice, which happens when the real aim of their ministry is to provide for earthly needs and to maximize their salary"

54: "True men of war [pastors, teachers] do not see their life's work in foraging, but they leave it to the commissary department to supply their rations."

55: "we expect our pastors, …to preach under certain [temporary] circumstances even without a salary."

57: Financial sluggishness comes from "a partial lack of clarity in the doctrine of justification."

57: "The more seriously we teach good works in a Christian manner, the more powerfully we preach the gospel."

59: "let us not neglect…to familiarize our Christians with the needs of the kingdom of God"

59: "As a Christian, you are obliged to keep your own eyes open. Perhaps you don't even keep a church newspaper, for example Der Lutheraner, [or the Lutheran Witness]"

61: "a discussion about the support fund for old and sick pastors and teachers and their families and surviving dependents"

61: "If this [enough wages for pastor] is done, they have money left over for sickness and old age."

      When I read of these financial matters, one could sympathize regarding the load on congregations to support their pastors and teachers and their families, including for sickness and old age. The cost of healthcare is massively out of balance due to the socialist nature of medical care in the United States. — In the next Part WIC4e,  the "The 'lay movement' in the Christian walk in general".

WIC4c: Women and the "Lay Movement"; Klemet Preus counsels his LC-MS

      This continues from Part WIC4b (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's convention essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — On pages 36-37 of the fourth essay of Pieper is a short explanation on women teachers, certainly a "hot topic" for today. We have visited this topic over 12 years ago on this blog post. But the importance of the topic for today calls for a complete reprint of this section from Pieper's essay. In Pieper's Thesis I, he calls out a special case of the "Lay Movement", the matter of women in the preaching of the Word. He then gives a short, yet Scriptural instruction on this matter. Again, from pp. 36-37:

The preaching of the Word by women,

its legitimacy and its limitation.

It is a clear teaching of Scripture that the woman should also teach. According to Titus 2:3, the older women are to be teachers of the younger women. Example: Timothy is reported to have known the Scriptures from childhood because he had good teachers in his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois, as we see from 2 Timothy 1:5. Luther therefore wanted not only teachers, but also "female teachers" [Lehrerinnen, lereryn] in the schools. (St. L. X, 479 [WA 15, 47; AE 45, p. 371 is not translated properly.]) But Scripture excludes women from teaching in public assembly before men. Two passages support this. 1 Tim. 2:11 ff.: "Let the woman learn in silence. … 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." 1 Cor. 14:34-35: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak.… And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." It has been objected that these are Oriental views that have no validity in the New Testament, especially in America, where we live far away from the Orient. To this it must be said: there is nothing in the text about restrictions to the Orient and to certain times. These passages show that the prohibition of teaching is valid for all regions and for all times until the Last Day. The very reason for the apostle's prohibition ("for Adam was made first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived") shows that the prohibition is binding for the Christian Church of all places and all times. The woman is to be a good teacher in her own circle, but not publicly before men. — It has also been asked in our midst whether women and girls could also be teachers in our parish schools. This teaching is perfectly acceptable as long as it is teaching children. Women should not be excluded from teaching children. But as soon as it is a matter of adult men, even adolescent boys, the woman is no longer in the right place with her teaching. Objection: However, in individual cases even in the Old Testament, women have taught by appearing, driven by the Holy Spirit, and instructing those present with God's Word, such as Miriam, Exodus 15:20-21. With regard to the example of Miriam, it must first be said that Miriam appears here as the leader of the women of Israel. But from the example of the judge and prophetess Deborah it can be seen that in special cases, at God's instigation, women appeared as teachers before men, Judges 4 and 5. To this we must say: If God makes exceptions to his rule, we cannot do the same. For us humans, the rule applies; we must leave the exceptions 37 to God. Luther says: "God hangs down the law, but He does not take it up again", that is, He acts as He wishes; we humans, however, remain bound by the rule. The objection that some women are smarter and more eloquent than men does not apply either. We have to admit that. God also knew that. Nevertheless, he gave order: "Let your women keep silence in the churches", 1 Cor. 14:34, and: "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", 1 Tim. 2:12-13.

The following applies to women's right to vote in the state: because the right to vote in the state implies participation in the rule over men, it is contrary to the natural order that God has made with regard to the relationship between man and woman. Again, the objection that women are often smarter than men, can make better election speeches and vote more intelligently does not apply. We are bound to the order God has made, Gen. 2:18; 1 Tim. 2:12-13, and the reversal of the Creator's order is severely avenged.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

    Contrast Pieper's biblical instruction with a report by Pastor Klemet Preus († 2014) on women in today's Lutheran Church in his 2004 CPH book The Fire and the Staff (CPH 2004), pp. 299-301. On women in the LC–MS, page 300:

"In The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod today, our practice is similarly changing. Women are invited to assume the responsibilities traditionally assumed by pastors—reading the Scriptures in the Divine Service, distributing the Sacrament, leading the service, addressing the congregation during the service, preaching.")

On p. 303-4, Pastor Preus relates an encounter with a progressive LC–MS congregation:

     "I asked  my  third  question:  “I  noticed  that  women  seem  to  do everything  that  men  do  in  this  church.  They  read  the  lessons  and gave  the  children’s  sermon  and,  I assume,  lead  some  of the  Bible studies.  Do  you  limit  the  involvement  of women?  Could  a  woman preach?” 

     Their  answer  was  clear.  “We  have  found  that  women  are  just as capable  as  men  and  just as  much  called  by God  to  do  these  things.…"

Of course, Pastor Preus points out one of the Bible verses that Pieper references, 1 Cor. 14:34, as the norm. — In the next Part WIC4d, we conclude the "Proclamation of the Word", then review his Thesis 2, "Financial terms".