Give It Back to the Kids or Good Grief , I Got a rock!

There have been many articles of late lamenting Halloween and these coming from secular sources. Basically they argue and with some sadness , how Halloween has been co-opted by adults. That its all about the parties and has become very overtly sexual in the costumes worn by many. It has become a adult "holiday" to throw off the restraints of society and be who you really want to be .

The sad thing about all this is , the little kids have been left out in the cold . If you don't think that is the case , visit the Halloween costume section of your local department store. The section for grown ups has pretty much over taken the kids section almost.

Now I will tell you right up front , I have never been a huge fan of Halloween. Yes I did go out trick or treating but pretty much stopped when I was around 11. It just never appealed to me . That being said , I'm not a kill joy . Seeing little kids dressed up in cool costumes and having fun getting free candy is fine. But its just gone way too over the top for adults .

Why has this occurred is perhaps in no time recent  history have we had a group of parents raised in the era of sex  , drugs and rock n roll. This  told them to rebel , be young forever , embrace the hidden you and do what you want . I have heard of in some situations the adults were more excited about Halloween than their kids. I find that strange and a bit disturbing. The quest to be forever young I hold plays a part .

So my thought is simple , let the kids have the day back . Let them take it over and return it to the fun it used to be before grown ups , acting as kids took it over. So costumes off and grow up and be an adult , or all you should get on Halloween is a rock . Nuff said.

Final Post of the 95 Theses from Martin Luther

 So there we have it , all 95 . It was the beginning of the rescue of the gospel from oppression, corruption  and superstition. There of course were pre-reformers as well like John Hus and John Wycliffe , so it was clear that God was moving to shine a light and once again show that the  gates of hell will never prevail. So happy reformation day and be thankful for a German monk , a mallet and a piece of paper.


             Luther's 95 Theses 

69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of apostolic pardons, with all reverence.
70. But still more are they bound to strain all their eyes and attend with all their ears, lest these men preach their own dreams instead of the commission of the pope.
71. He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let him be anathema and accursed!
72. But he who guards against the lust and license of the pardon-preachers, let him be blessed!
73. The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art, contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons.
74. But much more does he intend to thunder against those who use the pretext of pardons to contrive the injury of holy love and truth.
75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God -- this is madness.
76. We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its guilt is concerned.
77. It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter and against the pope.
78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit, the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written in I. Corinthians xii.
79. To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms, which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy.
80. The bishops, curates and theologians who allow such talk to be spread among the people, will have an account to render.
81. This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of the laity.
82. To wit: -- "Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial."
83. Again: -- "Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"
84. Again: -- "What is this new piety of God and the pope, that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul's own need, free it for pure love's sake?"
85. Again: -- "Why are the penitential canons long since in actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were still alive and in force?"
86. Again: -- "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?"
87. Again: -- "What is it that the pope remits, and what participation does he grant to those who, by perfect contrition, have a right to full remission and participation?"
88. Again: -- "What greater blessing could come to the Church than if the pope were to do a hundred times a day what he now does once, and bestow on every believer these remissions and participations?"
89. "Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls rather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons granted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?"
90. To repress these arguments and scruples of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the Church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christians unhappy.
91. If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved; nay, they would not exist.
92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace!
93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross," and there is no cross!
94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hell;
95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven rather through many tribulations, than through the assurance of peace.

Nearing the End of the 95 Theses

Keep in mind that as you read these it was the start of Luther's journey out of the  Catholic Church. At this point he stilled held many basic views of the Roman Catholic Church. However this was the snowball that began to roll and would not stop.

Luther's 95 Theses 


53. They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who bid the Word of God be altogether silent in some Churches, in order that pardons may be preached in others.
54. Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this Word.
55. It must be the intention of the pope that if pardons, which are a very small thing, are celebrated with one bell, with single processions and ceremonies, then the Gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.
56. The "treasures of the Church," out of which the pope. grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among the people of Christ.
57. That they are not temporal treasures is certainly evident, for many of the vendors do not pour out such treasures so easily, but only gather them.
58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the Saints, for even without the pope, these always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outward man.
59. St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church were the Church's poor, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.
60. Without rashness we say that the keys of the Church, given by Christ's merit, are that treasure;
61. For it is clear that for the remission of penalties and of reserved cases, the power of the pope is of itself sufficient.
62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.
63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last.
64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.
65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets with which they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches.
66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.
67. The indulgences which the preachers cry as the "greatest graces" are known to be truly such, in so far as they promote gain.
68. Yet they are in truth the very smallest graces compared with the grace of God and the piety of the Cross.

Continuing With Luther

I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth.
Martin Luther

Luther's 95 Theses 

34. For these "graces of pardon" concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man.

35. It is not according to Christian doctrine to preach and teach that contrition is not necessary for those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessional licenses.

36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.

37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.

38. Nevertheless, the remission and participation [in the blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in no way to be despised, for as I have said, they are the declaration of divine remission.

39. It is most difficult, even for the very best theologians, to commend to the people the abundance of pardons while at the same time encouraging true contrition.

40. True contrition seeks and loves penalties, but generous pardons only relax penalties and cause them to be hated, or at least, furnish an occasion [for hating them].

41. Papal pardons should be preached with caution, lest people falsely think they are preferable to other good works of love.

42. Christians should be taught that the pope does not intend the purchase of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy.

43. Christians should be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons;

44. Because love grows by works of love, and a man becomes a better man; but by pardons he does not grow better, only escapes penalty.

45. Christians should be taught that he who sees a person in need, and passes him by, and then purchases pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God.

46. Christians should be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep what is necessary for their own families, and should by no means squander it on pardons.

47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a voluntary matter, and not a legal requirement.

48. Christians should be taught that in granting pardons the pope needs and desires their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring.

49. Christians are to be taught that the pope's pardons are useful only if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if they lose their fear of God because of them.

50. Christians should be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St. Peter's church be reduced to ashes than be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.

51. Christians should be taught that it would be the pope's wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money, even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold, to many of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money.

52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is useless, even though the commissary, or indeed even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.

No Excuses From a Arm Chair Theologian

With the US election coming next year and the search for the republican candidate  in full swing , the issue concerning Mitt Romney and his Mormonism has played out. The issue whether or not a Evangelical Christian should vote for a Mormon and even further whether it is within the scope of the Christian faith.So the light has been shining on this belief system.

So many talk shows and news related items have been popping up. recently the famous smiling , tickle your ears Pastor , Joel Osteen , has been asked to comment about Romney and Mormon belief . I do not care about his responses concerning Romney as a candidate but it was his comments about Mormon beliefs that was so maddening. More or less he didn't take Mormon doctrine out of the flow of the Christian truth and all his answers where so , weak. Then he excused himself in a way saying he hasn't gone to seminary. 

Give me a break . First is his head in the sand that he doesn't have the time in a week to read a chapter from Walter Martin's Kingdom of the Cults and see how Mormonism and historic Christianity have no relationship at all. That the terms they use like Jesus ,God etc.. their teaching concerning sin , the virgin birth , well the list could go on and on are foreign to classic Christian teaching. To think this man has sold millions of books , attracts 20000 people each week and he uses an excuse , he never attended a seminary.

 In no time in history have Christians been so blessed to have excess to so much solid material. From solid christian histories by Phillip Schaff , John Calvin's Institutes , Luther works, Spurgeons sermons to more contemporary writers like Sproul, Horton , White , MacArthur to websites like Ligoinier ,White Horse Inn , Alpha and Omega Ministries , well I could keep going but you get my point. The resources are amazing.

Now I consider myself a arm chair theologian. I have amassed a decent library and have books about pretty much every major doctrine from the Trinity to the atonement. Along with numerous commentaries and study bibles , if asked whether  Mormonism is Christian  , I would answer clearly no and could give a basic over view why this is so . Guess what Joel , I have never set foot within a seminary. Fathom that !

In my opinion , no one who calls himself a pastor and shepherd of the flock and cannot discern falsehood , is fit to call themselves a pastor of Christ Church.

Osteen needs to step up or step down. He is simple embarrassing and is the poster boy of the type of person Paul says people will want for he tickles ears and feeds the masses what they want to hear. This is also why doctrine and teaching is crucial. But with all the resources out there , Osteen and anyone like him who thinks Mormonism is Christian in any way , are without excuse.Nuff said.

Continuing Luther's 95 Theses

Amazing what happened with a hammer and a nail .One note I would like to make . Luther at this time still held to the reality of purgatory , so keep this in mind as you read through his 95 theses . However as the reformation took hold and Luther made his complete break from Catholicism and allow scripture to be the standard of truth not a Pope or Magisterial board , by around 1530 , he had totally rejected purgatory . Luther said that not one passage from the word of God could be used to teach this doctrine .


25. The power which the pope has, in a general way, over purgatory, is just like the power which any bishop or curate has, in a special way, within his own diocese or parish.
26. The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not possess), but by way of intercession.
27. They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies out [of purgatory].
28. It is certain that when the penny jingles into the money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God alone.
29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal.
30. No one is sure that his own contrition is sincere; much less that he has attained full remission.
31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare.
32. They will be condemned eternally, together with their teachers, who believe themselves sure of their salvation because they have letters of pardon.
33. Men must be on their guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to Him;
34. For these "graces of pardon" concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man.
35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia.
36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.
37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.

Let the Word Speak

The main task of the pastor is to preach. To proclaim the word of God and expound on its truths and meaning to the congregation each Lord's day. It is a lofty and serious task to open the word of God for with doing so comes great responsibility  . One has the eternal nurture of the flocks souls. The pastor is called to feed the sheep . Just as any shepherd needs to care for his sheep , the pastor must fulfill this role with due diligence.

As a pastor he is called to do primarily three things with the text. To use hermeneutics , exegesis and exposition of the text. Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation , exegesis the examination of the text and its meaning in context and exposition is the applying what one has learned and preaching out the meaning for application to congregation. However first and foremost , one is preaching for God's glory and to Him , therefore how one handles the word should be done with the utmost reverence and seriousness to get it right.

The pastor is to hold to sound doctrine ( Titus 1:9) and be able to handle the word of God rightly ( 2 Tim 2:15). A pastor should not be carried away with trends and novelty nor apply his own thoughts or thinking over the clear teaching of scripture just to try and make a point . If he twist the scripture and wrestles it out of context to say something it really doesn't  , he is misrepresenting the word and by doing so , God . When a pastor does this it is called , eisegesis. Unlike exegesis , which seeks to draw out the meaning of the text , eisegesis is the reading into the text ones own interpretation  , doing violence to the word of God.

I have heard over the years many abuses like this and wonder why or how it could happen . I realize certain teachings we will encounter slight differences of opinion but if the pastor at least tries to handle the text honestly , no problem. But recently I heard what was one of the worse I have eve heard .

The text handled was the story form 2 Kings concerning the Prophet Elisha . It was just after Elijah had anointed Elisha as his successor as Prophet of the Lord . Elijah then is taken up into heaven by the Lord's chariot and Elisha shortly after performs two miracles .Using Elijah's cloak , he parts the river Jordan and crosses over . Then he heals the water near Jericho that was bad and not safe . So he shows himself confirmed to be the Lord's prophet.

The main part of the text that was so misused was the next part of the story . As Elisha is approaching Bethel , a mob of youth or young boys begins to taunt him and call out to him , "Go up , Baldhead , Go Up , Baldhead ". Now first we must understand Bethal was in a apostate way as one can read about in 1  Kings 12 . So to have this mob of youth show disrespect to the Lord's prophet is nothing more than an extension of Bethel's apostasy.  Plus to show contempt or disrespect to God's prophet is to disrespect God Himself , since the prophet is the representative of God.

So this mob of youth , numbering probably over 50 and we can conclude with some certainly , Elisah might have been in real danger knowing the the situation of Bethel , Elisha curses them and 2 female bears come out and 42 are mauled to death. God honored Elisha's cry and sent judgement upon them justly. The basic premise is , do not mock God's anointed or prophet . It is a theme that runs through Kings.

But what was said had something to do with cursing the next generation of youth who will be the leaders of the Church . Elisha it seems should have blessed these apostate , menacing youth and even though he was given a double portion of blessing , he failed to use it to pass the torch to these youth . May we not curse our youth but pray they do more then us . WHAT????

Do you see the problem . The text does not in any way go there . It was a just judgement towards a mob of hostile youth against God and His prophet.  But when one wants to make a point and allows there own agenda take over , the word of God becomes puddy in a one mouth to say what one wants it to say.

Is that rightly handling the word ? No it is not. We must be careful and understand that we have no right to inject a meaning into any text just to suit our own schemes or plans . Just like many who cheery pick scripture , which does violence to the context and meaning. I ask that we be like the Bereans who it is said of ,  "Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
(Acts 17:11 ESV)

May we follow their example and listen , read and examine to see if what is being preached and written truly honors God's word and is sound in its interpretation and application.Nuff said.