Letter of Response

The number one question I am asked in response to "Proclamation" is, "Who are you?" I truly do not care who I am. But I will answer the question in this way. I am the father of five thriving children doing quite well in the real world and growing in the faith and grace of Jesus Christ. I have been married for 25 years and am 46 years of age. I was raised Baptist and went to Bob Jones University where I received a BA degree in Bible and completed about 70 graduate hours in theology. Later, I also completed the requirements for a teaching degree from Western Michigan. I have taught for a few years and have an MA in Counseling and am certified (LPC) and licensed in the state of Texas as a counselor. I have been Lutheran for about five years. The last two years we have worshipped in our home where we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ from the hands of various family members. I have been fired by two Lutheran churches as a counselor; and have been told I could not worship in the church God used to reveal to me the truth of the Gospel-truth this church did not care about. No matter the mistakes I have made due to my zeal for the Word, my sin is insignificant compared with their contempt for the Word, as evidenced by the fact that they never talked face to face with us. Mathew 18 was absolutely sidestepped. We have lost our friends and most of our family because of our, especially mine, zeal for the truth of God. I am sure they would all say I have pushed them away. That is fine. I have honored Scripture and rejected him who is an heretic after the first or second admonition. A person is not friend or family who will not at least consider who you are, what you are about, and things that are important to you. I am not talking here about baseball cards or when one's child took the first step. I am talking about the Truth of God-something that everyone knows but doesn't have time to investigate. We have all become instant scholars and super saints. Hey, we have the fancy Bibles to prove it. Well, this is my story. Trust me, I'm sticking to it.

The second question I am asked is, "Where did you get my name and why me?" I got your name from any number of websites I visit. You may have signed a guestbook or I may just be going down a list of particular churches. I have started with the LCMS churches because, in my opinion, they are the closest representatives of the True Church of God. I really do not care who I offend. The ELCA has obviously been taken captive by the Devil; the WELS has obviously been taken captive by their legalistic self-righteousness. The Baptist's have been stripped of everything except maybe a little faith. While they are wild donkeys, they are less culpable than the Lutherans, who have been the repository of the Truth of God. Today, you can write Ichabod over its doors. When I realized this, I realized, progressively, how serious the situation is and how close we are to the judgment and punishment of God. For this reason I have dedicated myself (or have I been dedicated) to reading, studying, and compiling Luther and placing it on the web so that if the need arises, sincere people will have a place to find hope and truth. As I have said before, I do not care who I am, but my enemies, those who have fired me, and many others have called me a prophet. Whatever I am, I will, by the grace of God, remain faithful to the teachings of one called Martin Luther, the GREATEST EXPOSITOR OF THE APOSTLE PAUL. So, for those of you who are confused as to why I SEEM to worship Luther, be it known to you that I am not worshipping Luther, but God Himself who has blessed me with this Tool whereby I can come to finally understand the Book I have loved, studies, read, memorized, meditated on, and prayed over since I was a young teen. If I had had this teaching as a teen, I might actually have become a Christian by now. Instead, I am still a hypocrite with very little time to be reformed. May God have mercy on me.

This listing of quotes from Luther's Genesis is in virtually no logical order. I have compiled them because they seem to explain the points and concerns I am trying to convey. I can only pray you will read them, consider them, and open your heart, mind and soul to them. I can only pray that you don't miss the meaning even though you read the words. Let him who hath ears to hear, hear. As Luther says: God creates the speaking tongue and the hearing ears. What will you allow God to create in you?

It is assuredly a remarkable factor that they {the brothers of Joseph} sat at the feet of the saintly parents, Isaac, Jacob, Rebecca, and the nurse Deborah for such a long time without any progress and improvement in morals and life. For they are described by Moses in such a way that it seems that their outrageous sins nearly equaled the disgraceful examples of the heathen. Therefore let us not be surprised if such a large multitude departs from true godliness in this last evil time and hears so many illustrious sermons in vain and let us be content when even a few retain an interest for the Word and are improved. (6/316)

*Either Luther defines true godliness or not. If he does not, if his opinions are only as valid as those of any other, then there needs to be an open debate and consensus on this. Otherwise, I resent the trouble his writings have caused me, because what I read in Luther bears very little resemblance to what I witness in "his" actual churches.

*Our sin of not sanctifying the Lord's Table is worse than a thousand abortion doctors ripping thousands of babies from the stomachs of mothers.

The same perversity is also today running through all ranks in the church, state, and home. For all men are grumbling against those who remind them of what is right, and they are indignant with those who reprove faults and sins, even enormous public sins. One must not oppose anyone but allow everyone to do what he likes! (6/320)

*No one will endure an insult today. We have entirely forgotten Luther's preaching that if we are deserving of Hell, what is a little temporal punishment? For that matter, we have forgotten his emphasis on punishment, that this whole life is a punishment, that God changes eternal punishment into temporal punishment for those who have the gift of faith; and that, as Psalm 90 teaches, God hates this life and wants it over with as quickly as possible.

But how unhappy and wretched men are when God leaves them to themselves and does not resist their raging lusts, although we are all constituted by nature in such a way we find it hard to allow a curb to be put on us. But woe to those at whose sins God closes His eyes! For at length what is stated in the common saying follows: "He who says what he wants will hear what he does not want." So also. He who does what he wants will experience what he does not want, for we do not control ourselves, nor do we check our desires by the precept of others. Therefore if God is indulgent to us, we fall into such madness and wretchedness that we are involved in horrible sins and punishments together with the Jews, and in the end we experience regrets and are ashamed too late. (6/327)

*We think we are easily curbed by simply reading the liturgy or spending 10 minutes having so-called devotions — and Voila!

*Our worship services are as prosperous as the economy.

*Will we be ashamed too late?

This, then, is a holy, blessed, and safe kind of life, when God does not close His eyes to our faults and forbidden pursuits but immediately corrects and chastises us with His rods, troubles, and crosses of every kind or through men who by their admonitions lead us back to the right path so that our foolish lusts are curbed. On the other hand, it is a very bad sign when all things succeed according to his heart's desire for a scoundrel who is plotting evil. Jeremiah says of the false prophets (Jer. 12:2): "Thou art near in their mouth and far from their heart," that is, whatever they purpose, teach, and do is approved by all in such a way and received enthusiasm as if it had been sanctioned by God. "Thou dost not check or curb their hearts, that is, their ungodly purposes and desires," the prophet means to say. But to what end? "Thou hast fattened them for sacrifice and the day of killing." (6/327)

*How do I know our pastors are scoundrels? By who they allow to receive damnation in the sacrament of the altar.

*Where is the persecution?

Christ says of His saints in the New Testament: "Will not God vindicate His elect, who cry to Him day and night? I tell you, He will vindicate them speedily" (Luke 18:7-8). O that we could believe this! If we could firmly assent to this voice of God's Son and have this spirit which could say with joy, "Let life, body, and goods be taken away and all things be lost, I am sure that God does and permits this by His excellent wisdom," then we would be true Christians and conquerors of the whole world, and that would truly be giving oneself over to the obedience of God and His will, as Paul says in Rom. 12:2: "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind." But this transformation hurts! Why? Paul goes on to say: "That you may prove what is the will of God, good and acceptable and perfect." Here you will learn by enduring, grieving, and groaning what God has decided concerning you.

*I did not hear this message in the church. I only heard, saw, and experienced pastors placating people in misery who brought misery on their own heads because of their disobedience. Instead of urging the divorced, the rebellious, the unwed pregnant, etc., to repent, they patted them on the rump and sent them to a recovery group. It seems they forgot the church is the "recovery group" and the hospitable for the sick. Pastors were quite willing to send their sheep to me instead of getting their hands dirty with their dirty problems.

Therefore I do not doubt that the groaning which reigns today in our hearts and the hearts of all the godly against the pope and the Turk, and the horrible blasphemies which we hear with great grief of hear, sighing and shouting "COME, O LORD!" will hasten the liberation of the godly! What if the groaning tears the world apart? God will not have patience, says Christ, but in a short time will execute vengeance. He will come; He will not stay away! And when He begins to judge, He will find a way by which the enemies are completely destroyed and the church is preserved. By means of the Flood He destroyed the whole human race when they were very smug and certain that no evil was impending because there were still many saints and wise men in outward appearance among them. In this way the kingdom of Babylon perished as well as Sodom, Jerusalem, and Rome. Who destroyed them? Those groanings and tears in the hearts of the saints! Moses cries out at the Red Sea, and what happens? The sea is divided, Pharoah enters and is drowned, and the people of Israel escape in wonderful fashion. (6/355)

*I have no doubt that the Lutheran Church is worse today than the Roman Catholic Church was 500 years ago. I say this not only because faith and human nature are obviously getting weaker, but especially because we now have the correct terminology, but perverted concepts of said terminology.

*It is our natural destiny to become smug! How can we be so sure we are not smug, exceedingly smug, today?

The fiercer our sufferings are, the greater and more wonderful are the things that are worked in the saints. This is the continuous teaching of the entire Holy Scripture and also God's will, namely, that we are mortified according to the flesh and made alive according to the spirit. Paul means to say the same thing in 2 Cor. 4:11: "For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus; sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh." He also goes on to say (vv. 16-18): "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen."

*I bear the marks of Jesus Christ in my body because I have submitted my mind and spirit to the authority of Luther-the greatest gift, teacher, and prophet the church has had in 2,000 years. Over a twenty year period I worked hard to mature as a person psychologically, only to sit at the feet of Luther and be fired from a job I loved; betrayed by ministers I loved, cherished, and submitted to in the fear of the Lord; lost virtually all my friends and family; and almost lost my wife and children. God was exceedingly merciful in the case of my wife and children in bringing them to the knowledge of the truth. What truth? The truth that Luther is the only hope for unity in the church. The truth that if every teacher, expositor, minister, is an authority, then no one is an authority.

This is the true and only knowledge of Christians, to which we have been called and chosen by Christ, as He says to His disciples in John 15:16: "You did not chose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide." Therefore He also disciplines and mortifies them that their fruit may be richer. In this manner He treats these holy patriarchs as if He did not know them. So He certainly arouses and accustoms the saints to meditate on the wonderful purposes of God. But He allows the rest to grow, to live lives of pleasure, and to practice usury and robbery of every kind in the greatest smugness. He indulges their desires; He does not chastise them; He does not check their smugness and ungodly endeavors. But what a sad and unhappy indulgence! Those are far happier whom He hurls into grief, misery, and death! God allows us to be tempted that He may have opportunity for satisfying, comforting, and filling those who have been emptied of all strength and stripped of all help. Otherwise we are sluggish and hear the Word with loathing and become quite torpid. Souring encourages eating, it is said. Hunger is a good cook! (6/356-7)

*If there is no persecution, then there is no hunger, and there are no Christians.

All things have been made and are restored through the Word; we are created from the Word, and we must return to the Word. The sophists also spoke in this way, but without understanding, saying: "We must return to the beginning from which we proceeded." This is easily said speculatively, but practically it is work and toil to be reduced in this way, to die, and to pass away into nothing so that nothing seems to be left either of life or of carnal feeling except the Word. When I die, I descend into hell; I perish! What am I to do? No help remains except the Word: "I believe in God, etc." To this I firmly cling, however angry He may be, however much He may forsake, kill, and lead me down to hell. Why? Because I have been baptized and absolved; I have made use of Holy Communion. I believe this Word. God grant that even though heaven and earth break apart, etc., the promise and the sacraments are not on that account rejected or denied, even if I should be cast down into hell! (6/361)

*What does it say when "Christians" run to the pagan bookstores for the answers to life? I am not saying they do not have some answers, but they certainly do not have THE answer and THE true definition of THE answer.
*When the judgment fires begin, remember this paragraph!

*We find it relatively easy to die to the things we decide we want to die to. But who is there who will die to his own opinions today. We do not understand that having faith does not mean our minds have been "that" renewed. We act as if most of our previous opinions about life have been sanctified by our faith. Dying to our opinions is the worse kind of death. Today, everybody is an expert. Virtually everyone disagrees with their pastor whenever they want. Of course, they deserve this disrespect because of their departure form the truth.

*Here is an example of how we do not die to our own opinions. One LCMS pastor wrote me and said that Christ's question, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth," was rhetorical. Who are we to believe? If Scripture does not have one sure and certain meaning, then surely It is meaningless. Luther clearly teaches the opposite of this fool. My question to him simply was, "Who is going to referee between you two titans in the faith?"

The heart which wishes no one ill but desires what is best for all and is ready to pardon must be free from all ill will, hatred, and envy towards its neighbor. For if ever official duty demands that we censure the faults of men whom we try to lead to repentance by chastising them, it should not be thought that the duty of love in any way ceases in such a case. For it is not out of hatred or the desire to harm but out of zeal for amendment and correction that such rebukes are administered. In the matter of prayer our heart should be quite indifferent to all hatred even though we should hate and detest the faults and sins of men. So, for example, it is right for us to pray for ungodly bishops, for we should not be so minded that we call down evils or destruction upon them. But I censure and reprove their ungodliness and their disgraceful acts with this end in view that they may be corrected. (6/395)

*This is my testimony.

*If the fireman are not around, then certainly every citizen has the right and the responsibility to put out the fire so the town can be saved. In like manner, I have the right and responsibility to raise a standard and stand in the gap.

There has been entrusted to us the ministry of the Law and the Gospel according to the direction of Paul: "Rebuke, be urgent in season and out of season, be confident in reproof and blame, and even be angry and indignant with sin" (2 Tim. 4:2). This pertains to the duty of the Law and the duty of fathers, teachers, magistrates and, indeed, private citizens also for the sake of brotherly reproof and admonition which has been entrusted by God to individuals so that as far as possible we may resist evil, each one in his own station, and take precautions that evil men do not rage with impunity either against us or against others. If that is done and nothing helps, I must be content and say: "You will punish not me, your teacher, but yourself." When we have made no progress by all these means, the only thing left for us to do is to be content at heart and wait for the vengeance of God. For they will experience to their great loss that they have gravely injured not others but themselves. The devil will be able to attend to their tortures! (6/400)

*This, too, is my testimony; but I will work while there is still a small amount of daylight, for the sake of the Elect, that small band of broken reeds and smoldering flax.

The ungodly do good to us by doing evil. (6/400)

*If we understood this there would be much less whining among us and less wasted effort in trying to make America "Christian." We understand this concept about as much as we believe our depravity. Instead, virtually all believe their intentions are basically good (contrary to Augustine's statement: "Even our good works need God's pardoning mercy.") and that our will is free to chose things spiritual. We love to make decisions. The Lutherans have allowed the Baptists to poison them; which thing they also deserve for not holding fast and proclaiming the truth from the housetops. Instead, they play kissy-ass.

God humbles those who are His to exalt them; He kills them to make them alive; He confounds them to glorify them; He makes them subject to raise them up. This is the art of arts and science of sciences which is not usually learned or discovered except with great toil and by a few; but it is nevertheless sure and certain, as this example testifies, for what is stated in Ps. 105:21 is true: "The Lord appointed Joseph king of Egypt and lord and savior of many." How? By having him sold, cast off, killed. These are works of God which are not understood unless they are fulfilled and completed. In the meantime, however, while they are being carried out, they cannot be grasped except by faith alone. For it is necessary simply to hold fast to this: "I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, Maker of heaven and earth, etc." (6/401)

*God is building His Church. I see this by faith, even though with my carnal eyes, reason, and senses, I know that His so-called pastors are not preparing us for eternity nearly as zealously as they prepare for their physical ease and their retirement.

Our ingratitude is to be deplored. Because of it we do not acknowledge God or give Him thanks that the Son of God has changed eternal death into temporal punishment

*This is absolutely a lost concept, even in the Lutheran Church. It may be on some dusty piece of paper, but it certainly is not part of their practice of godliness.

Many now hear us teaching and read our writings, but with their hearts they are wandering about in the kitchen or elsewhere. So it comes to pass that although they stand with ears erect, they nevertheless understand nothing. This is a kind of insensibility which is not natural but voluntary, by which man withdraws his heart from things present and observes and desires strange and lofty things. Hearts of this kind Isaiah calls hearts that have been made fat, as though they have been covered with slime, and eyes that have been made heavy, such as the disciples had in the garden who did not pay attention to what Christ was saying (Matt. 26:36ff). Of this kind are the majority among Jews and Christians alike. There are very few who have any regard for the doctrine of the fathers or who imitate their faith. (6/251)

*Here, I have to admit that Luther can be wrong. We are not wandering about in the kitchen, but rather in the sanctuary trying to figure out how we can make our services more relevant to the stupid people we have "trained." We may say we are building for Christ, but we are actually building wood, hay, and stubble. We will see how easily this will burn. I thank God that He will preserve the Elect despite our pastors' efforts to hamstring us. We will give Christ the glory, but Christ will harshly judge these faithless servants.

But the true church bears this disgrace, that it is heretical, straying, scandalous, and seditious and, as Paul says in I Cor. 4:13, "refuse and offscouring." (6/52)

*I only hear this about obvious cults. One-worldism is certainly alive and well in the so-called church. I have been called a heretic by my own LCMS church, and I only believe what Luther teaches. Again, I say, if Luther is not to be followed, then give me a list of which concepts I am to shun. I certainly am not picking obscure concepts from his writings to "worry" about.

A truly repentant heart is so affected that it dreads nothing else but the wrath and indignation of God, taking no account of disgrace among men, provided it knows that God is propitious, even as David expresses this feeling and sense of sin in Ps. 51. But the repentance of the wicked is such that they grieve more about the prohibition of their evil desires and sins than about the mortification of their corrupt desires and sins. These are acts of repentance according to the Law, which we usually call the repentance of the gallows. For if he were free of the fear of the cross and punishment, the thief would much prefer to steal than to abstain from another's property. (6/43)

*I went to the Lutheran church for three years and heard nothing about anyone dreading God's wrath or indignation. All I heard was a cheapened Gospel with an occasional mild warning which was not backed up with appropriate action. I taught the men's group every Saturday morning for three years and battled with the church leaders, many who attended the breakfast, over ideas such as this one. These people could only conceive of an absolutely loving God and could not be convinced that God is angry and punishes, even though this is outside His nature. To his credit, the pastor did come in at my request many times to validate that my teaching was sound. But with each new concept there was new and increased resistance.

Therefore Judah stated correctly: "She is more righteous than I." Nevertheless, incest is an infamous sin. But he committed more and greater sins-sins which conflict with the Law and with what is right in God's sight; and he could be accused of sacrilege, of homicide, and of wrongs of every kind. He was humbled in this way in order that he might acknowledge and confess his sin, namely, that he had ejected her from his house, had deprived her of her priestly and maternal right, and finally of descendants and an inheritance. The patriarch had to be described in this manner in order that he might know that he was a sinner and might not despise other sinners in comparison with himself, just as if he could not fall when he was encompassed by the authority and honor of a priest and a minister of the Word. But these matters are set forth for our consolation. Great saints must make great mistakes in order that God may testify that He wants all men to be humiliated and contained in the catalog of sinners, and that when they have acknowledged and confessed this, they may find grace and mercy. The sinner should not abandon his confidence in mercy. A righteous man should not be proud. This is the royal road between despair and pride. (7/44)

*If I have an "impression" from the Spirit, it is that I am to proclaim the truth to those who have teachable spirits, being exceedingly careful that I do not cast the pearl before swine. In obeying this injunction, I am sure I am sinning with my shortness and sarcasm. I confess this often. But, my sin is nothing compared with the sin of those who are withholding truth from their listeners.

Never does the consciousness of sin rule and flourish so much as it does in misfortunes and troubles. When things are favorable and flourishing, sin rests and sleeps. We live smugly from day to day. "Apart from the Law sin lies dead." (Rom. 7:8) Thus Paul says of himself: "I was once alive apart from the Law" (Rom 7:9). But misfortune opens his eyes and arouses his conscience, so that it rests no more but bites and torments. (7/47)

*We will wake up to our sinfulness and the Elect will be saved, and it will be so as by fire. May God have mercy on us. I exhort you to read Luther on the early chapters of Hebrews, or read my compilation of these chapters entitled, "Generation F."

Conclusion: I will not spend much time debating with anyone who will not spend some time reading Luther. My attitude is that if any want to be ignorant, let them be ignorant. Your foolishness will destroy you. I only pray that your destruction will lead to your salvation.

Subscript: I just read this. It perfectly describes our present distress. It is from Genesis, volume 7, page 104, discussing Joseph's situation.

"But it is very troublesome that my wisdom is only passive and I am ordered to mortify and kill it. Indeed, on this account many have fallen horribly, since they could not bear this mortification. Thus the Sacramentarians teach God most prettily: 'How could Christ's body be in the bread and wine when Christ has ascended into heaven?' For they think as follows: Because I cannot comprehend the presence of the body and blood in the Lord's Supper, I shall prescribe to God some way in which He can be present.' In this way, you see, they bring God down to their own order and teaching. They want to assign Him a place in heaven, and they do not know what or where heaven is. Why do you not rather close your eyes and ears and listen to the Word? Rather, they have been driven mad by the blind judgment of reason."

"Joseph, on the other hand, has walked like a blind man in the thickness darkness. He has seen neither God nor his father nor anything else than death and destruction. But he has clung to the Word which he had heard from his father: 'I am the Lord your God, and the God of your fathers.' This Word has been his life, and from this life he will later be rasied to immeasurable glory and honor. This is surely an example of the works of God. It shows how God exalts His saints, so that in trials they learn patience in faith and hope, even though hope is truly patience itself, because our life must be hidden. One must say: 'Close your eyes, and sustain yourself with the Word,' not only in perils and conflicts but also in the chief articles of the Christian doctrine."

*Our heresy is different from that of the Baptists. We fall by our own steadfastness to the truth of the Supper. We arrogantly trust in this and refuse to close our eyes and just believe that our people are truly eating damnation and judgment in this Meal. Instead we say, "Because I cannot comprehend the DAMNATION in the Supper, I shall instead console myself that I am better than my heretical Baptist pastor friends because I believe the elements to be the true Body and Blood of Christ. Never-mind that I am slowly allowing my people, of whom I shall give an accounting, poisoning God's heritage."

*There is one young lady who agrees with my assessment, but asks the question, "How is my pastor going to examine a thousand people? You should not criticize him until you have walked in his shoes." The point is missed. If we confess our sins, He will provide a way of escape. If we justify ourselves, well, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

A personal word: Many are offended at my abruptness. Do you not know that many very godly persons in Scripture were abrupt, even Christ Himself. I do not mean to imply one single thing about myself. But what if my impatience reflects God's disgust in that, to quote someone, we have lived in the shadow of the truth and have never grasped it! How would David respond to you crybabies when he was blasphemed by an ungodly man whose only loyalty was to a wicked king? He stopped his skilled warriors from taking off the man's head. Boy, have we come a long way to where no one can even be insulted (not that it is my express intention to insult anyone-rather my expressed purpose is to caution us in our smugness) by one who loves the doctrine. Why should I not be tolerated for a short time at least to see if my anger, sarcasm, vulgarity, and "bitterness" has legitimate grounds?

I am rejecting you because you are committing heresy. You are rejecting me because I called you a name. Your sin is far greater. You should be the one zealous to dialogue, but as it stands I am the one doing the begging. I am the one on the outside looking in. The outside of your heresy, that is. But, as Luther says, God's Word always goes begging.

Again, may God have mercy on us!