THE CHURCH MARQUEE – GENESIS 12:3

Ad Finem Illum

Vol. 2 Issue 11

November 2015

Church marquee signs are ridiculously difficult to fill. The small space makes confessing something thoughtful sign nearly impossible. Sound doctrine is not necessarily fit for sound bites. Many alleviate this burden by filling their marquee signs with cliché sayings such as “CH__CH. What Is Missing? UR.” What these clichés really communicate is that the pastor is unoriginal and has nothing valuable to say. But when a pastor ventures outside of clichés for his church sign and endeavors to utilize the sign to teach those who pass by, he often ends up saying more than he ever intended.

For example, months ago I was driving through a neighboring town. A church’s sign read:

God will judge us on how we treat the nation of Israel. Genesis 12:3.

This was one of those times when the pastor meant to say one thing but ended up saying so much more. What the pastor meant to communicate is that Christians should support the modern nation of Israel because those people are God’s chosen people. If Christians treat them poorly, the church will be judged harshly. If Christians support Israel politically and financially then God will judge them favorably, since they treated God’s chosen people favorably. This is called Zionism.

It’s not uncommon to find non-denominational churches that have Zionist tendencies. There are several flavors of Christian Zionism but generally Zionism has three main points. First, Zionists believe that the reestablishment of the state of Israel in 1948 was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Everything the Scripture foretell about the future of Israel is about the state

of Israel. Second, this reestablishment is necessary to usher in Christ’s second coming, bringing about the literal millennium reign of Christ on earth. Third the Jews will then be saved, not by faith in Christ as the Gentiles are, but because they are God’s chosen people. According to this view, Christians ought to treat Israel with support, prayer, and generosity.

This is what the pastor of that church intended to communicate. But what is inadvertently communicated is unbelief in the words of Jesus. In Genesis 12:3 the Lord says to Abram, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This pastor sees the Old Testament through the lens of Zionism, not Christ. Zionism views the goal of the Old Testament, including the covenant with Abram, to be the nation of Israel. One’s righteousness is based on whether or not one is a member of that nation or at least blesses that nation. If one does not bless Israel but does the opposite, which is to curse the nation, then the Lord curses that person.

Contrast this view the words of Christ and His Apostle. Both describe the goal of the Old Testament, not as the nation of Israel, but Christ. Jesus says in Luke 24:44, “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” The Old Testament is primarily about the Messiah and the salvation He acquires and applies to all who believe the Gospel, both Jew and Gentile.

Consider also what St. Paul writes in Galatians 6:15-16, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace

and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” Who is “the Israel of God” of which Paul speaks? It isn’t Israel according to the flesh but the spiritual Israel, the Church. Romans 9:6-8 reads,

For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called." That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.

Belonging to Israel according to the flesh did not guarantee salvation even for Israelites in the Old Testament. Not all Israelites are true Israelites, believers in the promises of God. The New Testament stands firmly against anyone who teaches that the Jews will be saved simply because of their bloodline. St. John castigates such an antichristian belief in John 1:11-13,

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The goal of the Old Testament is Christ, which He Himself teaches. In John 8 the Pharisees claim the mantle of sons of Abraham because of their biological descent from Abraham. Jesus teaches them that blood does not matter, nor are they true sons of Abraham because they do not believe in the one to Abraham looked in faith. Jesus says, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). For all the promises of descendants, land, and a country that Abraham received, the promise to which he fervently held was the promise of Christ because Christ was the goal of the Abrahamic covenant. Abraham looked forward to Jesus’ day, not the day when he would have a nation from his loins.

Finally, Genesis 12:3 says that all families of the earth will be blessed through Abraham. How is this so? God provided the Messiah, who came from a particular people, Israel according to the flesh, to atone for the sins of the world. Are all families of the world blessed through the presence of the modern state of Israel? No. Instead, faith in Christ, the seed of Abraham according to the promise, brings Jews and Gentiles alike into the Israel of God, the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Whatever one’s politics are and however one views the modern state of Israel is irrelevant. They are not God’s people simply because of descent or the plot of land they occupy. That would make salvation based upon works and not faith in Christ.

The pastor of that non-denominational church did not intend to throw Christ under the bus. But that’s what happened. Zionism, along with its necessary component, dispensationalism makes Christ and the church a “Plan B” for everyone who is not of Israel according to the flesh. It also disregards the clear words of Scripture and the Lord Jesus.

We tend to think of church marquee signs as saying too little. More often than not they say more than intended. What is often proclaimed is that there are things more important than Christ for us. Keep an eye on church marquee signs. Keep an eye on our own sign. The goal of the Old Testament and the New Testament is Christ. Maybe He should be the goal of church marquee signs too. Ad Finem Illum!

The First Lutheran Martyrs

Vol. 2 + Issue 10 + October 2015

When one thinks of hymns written by Martin Luther, one probably thinks of “A Mighty Fortress” (TLH #262) or “Dear Christians One and All Rejoice” (TLH #387), or “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come” (TLH #85). The popularity of these hymns seems to have drawn attention away from a small but veritable gem from Luther’s early days as a reformer. That gem is “Flung to the Heedless Winds” (TLH #259) The hymn in TLH is brief, consisting of two stanzas.

Flung to the heedless winds
Or on the waters cast,
The martyrs' ashes, watched,
Shall gathered be at last.
And from that scattered dust,
Around us and abroad,
Shall spring a plenteous seed
Of witnesses for God.

The Father hath received
Their latest living breath,
And vain is Satan's boast
Of victory in their death.
Still, still, though dead, they speak,
And, trumpet-tongued, proclaim
To many a wakening land
The one availing Name.

W.G. Pollack, writing in The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal, records that Luther penned this hymn “in 1523 to commemorate the martyrdom of two young Augustinian monks, Heinrich Voes and Johann Esch, who had been condemned to death and burned at the stake in Brussels on June 30^th, 1523, because of their Lutheran faith.” In our day we may not think of ‘Lutheran martyrs’ for the faith, but many did exist in the first years of the reformation. Another example is Henry of Zutphen, who was martyred in December of 1524 for preaching the Gospel of justification by faith.

After Henry’s death, Luther wrote a tract of comfort to Henry’s congregation entitled The Burning of Brother Henry. (LW 32:263-286) For Luther it was important to commemorate these martyrs for the faith to teach us all that the pure doctrine of the gospel is worth more than everything, even “goods, fame, child and wife.”

While this hymn is brief in our hymnal, originally it consisted of twelve verses which told the entire tale of the duo’s martyrdom. Here is the entire hymn:

By help of God I fain would tell

A new and wondrous story

And sing a marvel that befell

To His great praise and glory.

At Brussels, in the Netherlands,

He hath His banner lifted,

To show His wonders by the hands

Of two youths highly gifted

With rich and heavenly graces.

One of these youths was called John,

And Henry was the other,

Rich in the grace of God was one,

A Christian true his brother.

For God’s Word they shed their blood

And from the world departed

Like bold and pious sons of God;

Faithful and lion-hearted,

The won the crown of martyrs.

The old Arch-fiend did them immure,

To terrify them seeking;

They bade them God’s dear Word abjure

And fain would stop their speaking.

From Louvain many Sophists came,

Versed deeply in the schools,

And met together at the game.

The Spirit made them fools;

They could not but be losers.

Now sweet, now harsher tones they tried

In artifice abounding;

The youths did firm as rocks abide,

The Sophists all confounding.

The enemy waved fierce in hate,

And for their life-blood thirsted;

He fumed and chafed that one so great

Should by two babes be worsted

And straightway sought to burn them.

Their monkish garb from them they take

And gown of ordination;

The youths a cheerful Amen spake

And showed no hesitation.

They thanked their God that by His aid

They now had been denuded

Of Satan’s mock and masquerade,

Whereby he had deluded

The world with false pretenses.

Thus by the power of grace they were

True priests of God’s own making

Who offered up themselves e’en there,

Christ’s holy orders taking.

Dead to the world, they cast aside

Hypocrisy’s sour leaven,

That, penitent and justified,

They might go clean to heaven

And leave all monkish follies.

They then were told that they must read

A note which was dictated;

They straightway wrote their faith and creed

And not one jot abated.

Now mark their heresy! “We must

In God be firm believers,

In mortal men not put our trust,

For they are all deceivers”;

For this they must be burned.

Two fires were lit, the youths were brought,

But all were seized with wonder

To see them set the flames at naught

And stood as struck with thunder.

With joy they came in sight of all

And sang aloud God’s praises;

The Sophist’s courage waxed small

Before such wondrous traces

Of God’s almighty finger.

The scandal they repent and would

Right gladly gloss it over,

They dare not boast their deed of blood,

But seek the stain to cover;

They feel the shame within their breast

And charge therewith each other;

But now the Spirit cannot rest,

For Abel ‘gainst his brother

Doth cry aloud for vengeance.

For their ashes never cease to cry,

The fires are ever flaming,

Their dust throughout the world doth fly,

Their murderers’ shame proclaiming.

The voices, which with cruel hands

They put to silence living,

Are heard, though dead, throughout all lands

Their testimony giving

And loud hosannas singing.

From lies to lies they still proceed

And feign forthwith a story

To color o’er the murderous deed;

Their conscience pricks them sorely

These saints of God e’en after death

They slandered and asserted

The youths had with their latest breath

Confessed and been converted,

Their heresy renouncing.

Then let them still go on and lie,

They cannot win a blessing;

And let us thank God heartily,

His Word again possessing.

Summer is even at our door,

The winter now hath vanished,

The tender flowerets spring once more,

And He who winter banished

Will send a happy summer.

Luther praised the martyrs for their faithfulness and their willingness to be consigned to the flames for the sake of Christ, who Himself had gladly followed the heavenly Father’s will though it led to the cross. They were willing to suffer all and die for the sake of the pure Gospel. Let us give thanks for their witness in Luther’s day because it strengthened the church. May their witness strengthen our faith as well, so that if we are called upon to suffer for the sake of the Gospel, we may join them in their praise of God. Ad Finem Illum!

Volume 2 Issue 9 September 2015 - Shellfish & Sexuality

SHELLFISH AND SEXUALITY

Another common argument heard in defense of homosexuality is the equivocation between Moses’ prohibition of eating shellfish and his prohibition of homosexuality in the book of Leviticus. The argument usually goes something like this: “The Bible says homosexuality is an abomination. But it also says that eating seafood without scales is an abomination. If you can eat shrimp why can’t you accept homosexuality?” But are these acts both abominations in the same sense? Are they equal?

There are two Levitical passages prohibiting homosexual acts. The first is Leviticus 18:22, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” The second is Leviticus 20:13, “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.” Chapter 20 deals with unlawful acts that defile the land, such as child sacrifice to Molech, consultation with sorcerers and mediums, and unlawful sexual relations. Chapter 18 deals specifically with the sexual abominations of the Canaanites which Israel were not to follow. In chapter 18, many of the sexual sins are called abominations while in chapter 20 only homosexuality is called an abomination. This is the context of the prohibitions against such acts.

Earlier in Leviticus the Lord lays out the dietary code for Israel. This occurs in chapter eleven. The verse we will focus on is 11:10 where the Lord says, “But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you.” Here, the eating of seafood without fins and scales is called an abomination.  By simply comparing the texts, eating shellfish and homosexuality are both abominations to the Lord.

But not so fast. In English both verses have the word ‘abomination.’ But that isn’t the case is the Hebrew text. In Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 the word translated ‘abomination’ is hb'[eAT (pronounced To-ay-vah). An abomination is something that doesn’t only defile the person participating in the act, but it also defiles the land of Israel. This is why in Chapter 20 homosexual acts are in the context of child sacrifice and sorcery. Idolatry among Israelites is also named as an abomination. The prescribed punishment for actions is typically death.

But the dietary restrictions in chapter 11 are a different animal. In Leviticus 11 the Lord says that certain animals are abominations to Israel so they are not to eat them. The Hebrew word translated ‘abomination’ in these passages is not hb'[eAT (to-ay-vah) but #q,v, (pronounced ‘she-ketz’). This is more accurately translated as “a detestable thing.” A detestable thing does not defile the person as an abomination does, nor is it punishable by death.

There is a theological difference between a detestable thing and an abomination. The detestable thing makes one ritually impure. Being unclean is a ritual punishment, meaning that the person is unable to enter the Tabernacle and participate in the Divine Service. Being unclean lasts until the evening. It is a temporal punishment for a ritual condition.  #q,v, (‘she-ketz’) is only used in chapter eleven the on dietary restrictions while hb'[eAT (‘to-ay-vah’) the Hebrew word for Abomination, never appears in that chapter. It is also never used throughout Leviticus in an association with ritual impurity.

What does this mean? It means that the argument in question is untenable. It’s simply not what the text says. Homosexuality is sin which merits death while eating shellfish makes one ritually unclean which makes one unable to worship until evening.

The reason for this is that Leviticus does not exist independently from the rest of the Scriptures, especially the other books of Moses. The Levitical laws in Chapter 18 and 20 are reinforcements of the creation narrative in Genesis 1-2. In Leviticus 18 the legislation concerns who is out of bounds for sexual relations. The chapter can be summarized as ‘no intercourse with family, animals, or the same sex.’ Why? Because all the acts listed in that chapter violate the institution of marriage in Genesis 1-2 especially where God said, “male and female He created them,” (Gen 1:27) and “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Gen 2:24)

The same is true for chapter 20, which deals with sexual sins as well as idolatry and sorcery, both first commandment issues of faith in the true God. It is clear (at least in Hebrew) that eating fish without fins and scales is not of the same caliber as intercourse with a member of the same sex. The dietary restrictions were solely for the people of Israel, not for Gentiles and these restrictions existed to teach Israel that “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Deut 8:3) The prohibitions about sexual relations are rooted in the creation,and thus apply to everyone since everyone has an innate recognition of natural law (Romans 1-2). 

In fact, that the laws about sexual relations are a part of natural law makes all of this Leviticus discussion a moot point. Christ has fulfilled the law of Moses. Christians are not bound to follow Moses unless he agrees with natural law, as in the Ten Commandments. The Levitical law, the observance of specific feast days, the Sabbath, and other sacrificial and ceremonial features Christ fulfills entirely. All things were established as “shadows of things to come, but the substance is Christ.” (Col 2:17) The Christian is not bound to Levitical law. This is reiterated in Acts 10 when Christ tells Peter in vision concerning unclean foods, “What God has cleansed you must not call common (unclean).” Even Jewish Christians are free from Moses.

We are not bound to Mosaic Law, but we are bound to the natural law, that which is written on our hearts since the creation (Romans 2:15) and the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are really just a summation of natural law into its simplest for). Natural law tells us that men are not to lie with a man as they would a woman and human biology (as part of nature) teaches against it. Man and man, woman and woman, are not sexually compatible. Those who ignore this are simply suppressing the truth apparent to everyone.

Thus we see that this argument of equivocation is nothing. Shellfish and sexuality are not the same. Besides, arguing from Leviticus amounts to nothing. The only true use of Leviticus for the Christian is to teach us Christ and His sacrifice upon Calvary, as our propitiation for sin and the thing which makes us clean from our sinful impurity, even the sin and impurity of homosexuality.  May we always read it so, and rejoice in Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away all the sin of the world.