Jason Kaspar – Page 8 – What Does This Mean?

What is this “Sola Gratia” of the Reformation?

It’s one of the five solas of the Reformation. They are: sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus, and soli Deo gloria. The Latin means: scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone. Last week, we talked about Sola Fide. This week Sola Gratia is on the topic. Sola Gratia is also a corrective reaction to an error of Rome in teaching Christian works.

Rome’s confusion lay in the idea that grace was a substance, which added a superpower to humanity. Gratia Infusia (infused grace), delivered in baptism, forgave only original sin in their teaching. That infusion, they held, also gave people the ability to perform good works and merit a clear conscience before God.

As before, we can’t look honestly at our lives without seeing our sin on plain display. This flies in the face of gratia infusia. St. Paul teaches us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” [Ephesians 2:8-9]

It’s not my works that merit anything. Instead, Jesus died for my sins and delivers forgiveness to me, received through faith. St. Paul has more to say here. “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” [Romans 3:21-25]

This grace is delivered through means. The physical instruments by which we receive in our Baptism, the hearing of the Word, and the Sacrament of the Altar. Yes, yes, the Holy Spirit can inspire faith in anyone He desires by any means. But, we can have confidence that He will and does work faith and deliver grace through His means as promised. And, we should only look for grace where Jesus has promised to deliver it.

“While the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” [1 Peter 3:20b-21]

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” [Romans 10:17]

“And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” [Matthew 26:27-28]

So, this grace we receive means we are free to sin with reckless abandon, yes? No, St. Paul disagrees. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” [Romans 6:1-4]

So, we do have to do good works, right. Yeah, not quite. Let’s look at Ephesians 2 again. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [Ephesians 2:8-10]

The beautiful thing about grace is that even our works are prepared beforehand by God. The works merit us nothing. Yet, in faith, we forgiven by grace. And, our faithful hearts do the works for our neighbor. Not me, but Christ living in me.

Forgiveness, Life, and Salvation, by grace through means.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

What is this “Sola Fide” of the Reformation?

It’s one of the five solas of the Reformation. They are: sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus, and soli Deo gloria. The Latin means: scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone. Last week, we talked about Sola Scriptura. This week Sola Fide is on the menu. Sola Fide is a corrective reaction to an error of Rome in teaching the Christian faith.

The error, simply stated, is the attribution of works, to merit salvation for Christians. Popes and councils, cardinals and bishops had developed a teaching apart from the scriptures, that salvation came by way of baptism and the works done by Christians. It’s obvious to us, when we observe ourselves, that our righteousness isn’t greater than our sin. The papal solution was “treasury of merits” stored-up by the canonized saints. These could be bought and earned by the faithful.

The methods: confession, penance, indulgences, and the like deserve their own treatment elsewhere.

Martin Luther and the reformers who follow him found a different teaching in the Word of God. Our righteousness before God comes by way of faith. Our works merit us nothing before God. St. Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” [Romans 1:16-17]

Our salvation is from God. His righteousness is revealed by the faith we have been given. And, in this faith we dwell. The faith we received clings to Jesus. And through that faith, we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus.

Paul also teaches us, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” [Romans 3:21-24]

Grace and faith to believe are these gifts to us in Christ. Now, the opposite error lives among us in modern Christianity. We are tempted to think of our believing like a work. When asked we may say, “I’m going to Heaven because I believe.” We’re so trained in that idea, that the inconsistency passes right by us. Placing confidence in our “believing” is just another works-righteousness method of salvation. We’ve traded external works for an internal one. But, we make faith into a new work that we do for salvation.

The Disciples reacted differently concerning their faith in response to the command to forgive your brother. “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.’” [Luke 17:5-6]. They realized the smallness of their faith and the lack of its power to accomplish anything. The apostles also see that its source, Jesus, will make them better from without rather than from within.

The writer of Hebrews also exhorts us concerning good works and church attendance. “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” [Hebrews 10:19-25]

The faith we receive in baptism clings to Jesus for salvation. But, it also does things in us. It drives us to good works for the benefit of our neighbor. It drives us to gather with the faithful in the Lord’s house. We tend to think that great faith can exist in us, or more commonly, in our loved ones apart from works and the church. This just isn’t so.

The faith dwelling in us desires only to love and serve our neighbor. The faith dwelling in us desires only to dwell in the Lord’s house among His people. Selfishly keep our works from our neighbor, willfully absenting ourselves from the Lord’s house on Sundays, these are the marks of unbelief. We are called to exhort each other concerning this unbelief.

We: “Where have you been lately? I haven’t seen you in church.”

They: “Well, I’ve been busy hunting/attending kids’ games/sleeping in/out of town on vacation/attending an unfaithful church.”

We: “You know, faith can’t be kept from the House of God and the gathering of the faithful.”

That’s a brutally uncomfortable conversation. But, you owe it to your neighbor to serve them in love like this. Silence towards the marks of unbelief is the opposite of love.

Faith alone can never hate its neighbor, encouraging their unbelief.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

What is this “Sola Scriptura” of the Reformation?

It’s one of the five solas of the reformation. They are sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus, and soli Deo gloria. The Latin means: scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone. Sola Scriptura is the anchor of the Christian faith. I recently discussed how this concept defines the widening gap between the ELCA and the LCMS. Today, we’re talking about the history of sola scriptura by itself.

Prior to the Reformation, the scriptures were only available to Europeans in Latin and in expensive, closely guarded handwritten copies. Two men changed that situation. Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press (cir. 1450 AD), which made printed and reprinted materials accessible to many more people. Martin Luther translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into German (1521-1522 AD), which made the Word of God accessible to common folk, to read and hear. An unintended consequence of the Luther Bible was a codification of one dialect of German as predominant.

Shortly thereafter, vulgar translations appeared throughout Europe. Used this way, vulgar doesn’t mean “crass.” Vulgus, latin: common language, means the language spoken commonly by the people around us. The Vulgate, the Latin bible of St. Jerome, was created by the same impetus. St. Jerome wanted to provide the people with a Bible in their own language. It became ensconced in the European church as the only language for the Christian faith. But, St. Jerome and Martin Luther were inspired by similar intentions.

The Roman officials in Luther’s day opposed making the scriptures available in the common language for various reasons. One significant reason was perspicuity. Rome held that the common folk can’t understand the Word of God. For the Lutheran reformers, the opposite was true. We hold to perspicuity, understandability of the scriptures. Those passages that are less clear are revealed by the passages that are more clear. The principle, scripture interprets scripture, keeps us looking to God’s Word to reveal itself from within.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” [2 Timothy 3:16-17]

Now, American Christianity suffers from a selfish, egotistical view of the scriptures. We tend to think of the Word of God and its study as a pattern of life and knowledge outside the church. The Reformers would be aghast at this idea. We have no promise of receiving or sustaining saving faith apart from the public proclamation of God’s Word. It is the hearing that produces and sustains faith.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” [Romans 10:17]

We have a promise that by hearing, we receive. And, we do. The faith that comes by hearing is ours to receive often. It’s imperative for us to remember that me and my Bible in solitude, though plausible for us now, is not how God promises to work in us. His gifts through His Word are corporate in function. They are for the whole body, gathered together, as we do each Sunday morning.

Always hear and be conformed by the Word of God.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Christianity Without One of the Five Solas

The theology of the reformation centers upon five solas: scriptura, fide, gratia, Christus, & Deo gloria. That’s not French. But, please pardon my Latin. Sola means alone. I’ll talk about the five together in another article. Today, sola scriptura, scripture alone is the key to our conversation. This’ll be a comparative look at the two views of the scriptures between the LCMS and the ELCA.

This is a step into the way-back machine. The issues concerning the modern leadership of the ELCA are a result of the formational view of the scriptures. There are some important parts of the family tree to get in order. The LCMS was formed on April 26, 1847. The ELCA was formed on April 30, 1987 as a result of the merger between three American Lutheran church bodies.

These are the three Lutheran bodies comprising the merger, resulting in the formation of the ELCA. The Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was formed in 1962. The American Lutheran Church (ALC) was formed in 1960. The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) was formed in 1976. That last one is significant to our discussion. The AELC is the church body formed after the 1974 split from the LCMS and the “walk-out” of a significant number of faculty and students from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. That time period and its details deserve lengthy attention on their own.

The AELC’s influence on the formation of the ELCA can’t be undersold. For us today, the view of scripture needs to be understood in the way one is stated and the other restated. The center of the controversy between the LCMS and the dissenters, leading to the formation of the ELCA, was the reliability and the normative function of the scriptures. Those who walked out did so because the LCMS stood firm on a position that the Word of God, the Bible, is true and correct as we have received it.

The LCMS Constitution and By-Laws speak of the scripture this way in Article II, Confession. “The Synod, and every member of the Synod, accepts without reservation: 1. The Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament as the written Word of God and the only rule and norm of faith and of practice;”

That is to say, Scripture IS God’s Word and it conforms us to itself. The Word of God is specifically identified as the “only rule and norm of faith and practice.” Our understanding of the confessions of the Lutheran church flow from that. And, every member congregation is compelled by their membership in the LCMS to confess the same way. The scope of the Bible for us is for both faith and practice. So, all aspects of life in the church are subject to direction, correction, and formation by the Word of God.

The ELCA says four unique things in its Constitution and By-Laws. Hear them from the perspective of the longstanding statement of the LCMS starting in Chapter 2: Confession of Faith, 2.02.a and following. “a. Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and resurrection God fashions a new creation.” This definition creates a sense of a Jesus, who can be known outside of the scriptures. The deity who can be known apart from the scriptures is the one through whom everything was made and by whom new creation comes.

Second, the constitution also says, “b. The proclamation of God’s message to us as both Law and Gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy through word and deed, beginning with the Word in creation, continuing in the history of Israel, and centering in all its fullness in the person and work of Jesus Christ.” This defining characteristic cuts short the definition of the scriptures. It carves out the possibility that the inconvenient parts of the epistles of Paul, Peter, John, James, and the author of Hebrews can be excluded. Here God’s Word is further reduced in its normative function for me.

Third, the constitution says, “c. The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God. Inspired by God’s Spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God’s revelation centering in Jesus Christ. Through them God’s Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world.” Notice what isn’t said. In this definition God’s Word isn’t inspired and God-breathed as we received it. Rather, for the ELCA, the Bible is inspired through the authors, but not absolutely correct in the writing we received. Further, the faith inspired can override the words of the scripture, if we deem it necessary.

Lastly, this section says, “2.03. This church accepts the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life.” This statement seems authoritative concerning the scriptures. But, it follows a definition of what the scriptures are, which has carved out a space for my opinion of them and their interpretation.

The current situation in the ELCA is best understood not in reverse by a transgender bishop, the ordination of transgendered priests, homosexual clergy, or female clergy. We need to clearly see that the Word of God, the Holy Scripture we have received, is not authoritative to the ELCA. That lack of authority creates the space for all past, current, and future errors.

This matters for us in the LCMS. It matters because we are forever fighting the battle to maintain sola scriptura among our churches. It also matters because Christians on the other side of the fence are being served and taught by pastors who are thoroughly committed by ordination vows to this unfaithful definition of the scriptures. They are two generations deep into pastors, who believe, teach, and confess this error. Without a solid, reliable Bible, our faith stands on shaky ground.

You are responsible in the Christian faith to help your friends and family find a faithful church and a faithful pastor. Such a church can never be a church that denies or makes clear the path to deny the normative function of the scriptures, for faith and life.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” [2 Timothy 3:16-17]

Let us be ever instructed by the Word of the Lord! Thanks be to God!

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Is Patriarchy Better Than Matriarchy?

In all this data concerning fathers, does that mean the opposite is better? Only fathers should bring the kids to church? Should only men be the ones to function in a Christian way, in family and the church?

No, and that’s not what I’m getting after. A matriarchal structure of church governance and mothers solely leading their children to church won’t build strong churches or many church-going children as they grow into adulthood. But a patriarchal form and function is just an error in the opposite direction.

The first narrative of the creation teaches us, “then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ … And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” [Genesis 1:26-28, 31]

God created Mankind, male and female, in His image of perfection and holiness. We were made to have dominion over the whole earth without sin. That is to say, we were to have dominion without the inclination to domineer over the earth. This is a concept we can hear, but it doesn’t flow easily into our understanding. The corruption of sin in the earth makes dominion a burden in which we engage. Creation itself also battles against the dominion. It’s in the curse, thorns and thistles resist us.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. … Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’ Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens… But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” [Genesis 2:15, 19a, 20b-24]

The expansion of the sixth day narrative teaches us more about God’s love for mankind. He created us with a different care and detail than the beasts of the field. He made us incomplete by ourselves. The man, stronger and bolder, is made to toil, lead, provide, and protect. The woman, less strong and more gentle, is made to bear, nurture, produce, and protect. The roles of man and woman are different, complimentary, and only complete in each other.

I’ve used the protection descriptor in both cases on purpose. One of the best descriptions of the complimentary interrelation of women and men comes from a deaconess friend of mine. She says it’s out of Luther. But, I can’t corroborate yet. Someday I shall.

This is a paraphrase of the description: woman was made out of man, weaker, smaller, more in need of protection. She is taken from under his arm. Her place is there, under the protective, strong arm of her mate. The man is incomplete by himself too. In his strength, he has no protection from the hole in his side. His mate, under his protection guards his heart. The two have different and complementary roles. The one flesh is stronger and more capable to have dominion over the earth.

Relative to all of that, one of the foci of the reinvigoration of fatherhood as a critical function in the life of the church needs to be the whole family. The intended result is strong, faithful Christian families. That means Mom and Dad together with the kids on Sunday morning. Both teaching the kids to follow along, sing along, and participate through the hymns and liturgy. In repetition, the kids will memorize liturgical songs and some hymns too.

This conclusion comes out of the original data set too. Fathers are the stronger individual influence. BUT, mothers and fathers together are still 7% more influential than that solo paternal influence. Mom & Dad deliver a high-water mark of 74% of the kiddos growing into church attending adults. The very best thing we can see among our families is Fathers leading their whole family into regular, active church attendance.

Strong Christian parents, together, raise faithful Christian children.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Grandfathers: Do Y’all Want Them Back in Church?

Grandfathers, uncles, cousins, and male friends of fathers and fathers-to-be, this is addressed to all y’all. Let’s spend some time talking through some of the hows concerning getting the men back into church and bringing their children into the House of God. I discussed data concerning the importance of fathers to the long-term church life of their children in an earlier article. Take a look back at that one, if you’ve forgotten.

This may seem surprising, but men and women interact differently. In this particular case, the way that men encourage one another is to engage in useful tasks which can look and sound a little coarse to the eyes and ears of women who observe it. Watch men’s interaction in the driver’s lounge, on the sales floor, in the hardware store, or any other place where work is discussed in preparation to do more. You’ll see and hear men goading, mocking, and badgering one another about their performance in their various vocations of life. There’s nothing mean, cruel, or ill-intentioned about it. Offense is not given. Neither is it allowed to be taken.

The masculine behavioral rules are like the unwritten rules of adjective order in English. We are usually unaware that adjectives must follow the order: opinion, size, age, color, origin, material, and purpose (OSACOMP). A staggeringly large new blue Italian steel processional cross sounds perfectly reasonable. But, a processional large Italian new staggering steel blue cross sounds like it’s been described by a schizophrenic.

We don’t even know there’s a rule, so too with men’s interactions. We don’t know about the rules concerning the well-intentioned pressures applied between men to perform better until something is wrong. When a brother takes offense at an inoffensive comment, something is wrong. When a man appeals to his brothers in an emotional way, it rings strangely (brothers by relation not necessarily by kinship). We don’t notice until something is wrong.

There’s wisdom in knowing the value of good-natured ribbing. It encourages our brothers to do their various vocations in life with greater vigor.

The original sin of the man in the garden predicts the source of man’s sin in the future. Laziness, shirking of duty, this is our innate weakness in life. So much of our failure flows from that single source.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’ … So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” [Gen 3:1, 6]

Adam’s job in the garden was clear. He was to tend the garden and instruct his helpmate, Eve. Adam shirked his duties. The serpent had no business in the garden. The words of the serpent opposed the very Word of God and Adam said nothing. His laziness facilitated the fall and his curse reflects it.

“And to Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’” [Gen 3:17-19]

The curse tells us a little bit about what work in the garden was like. There was no pain. Thorns and thistles didn’t grow where they shouldn’t be. Eating from the fruit of the plants didn’t require the work to make it happen. And there was no sweat or pain afflicting him in the work he did. Now we struggle and suffer in the work we do. Getting those kids up, fed, dressed, in the car, attentive in the Divine service, and learning the hymns and liturgy is a chore … just like everything else good and profitable in life.

When your sons and other subordinate men aren’t bringing their families to church, try this. Treat them the same way you would if they failed to show-up for a tree trimming, as promised. Lob some sarcastic, friendly correction at them, be persistent about it, and grant no quarter for this important failure of duty. They need your encouragement.

Men, we help each other in this regard everywhere else in life. Let’s be intentional about the encouragement of our brothers in the faith too. Faith comes by hearing. I don’t want these men and their families to fall away from the faith for lack of hearing the Word of God. So, encourage them, rib them, goad them a little, in a kind way, about their duties as Christian fathers.

Strong Christian men raise faithful Christian children.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Fathers, Do Y’all Want Christian Kids?

My last article served to chastise us in the church for missing the largest target in the demographic game. This one is specifically for the fathers among us. Ladies, feel free to follow along. But, this is written for your husbands, sons, fathers, grandfathers, grandsons, cousins, and other God-fearing men in your life.

Restating the question: Fathers, do you want your children to grow up to be faithful Christians? Do you want them attending church regularly? Do you want your daughter to find a faithful, Christian husband? Do you want your son to find a faithful, Christian wife? Do you want your grandchildren raised in a home with regular church attendance?

I can’t imagine one of you answering with anything less than a fervent, “Yes!” to any one of those questions.

That last article spelled out some clear data on fathers and church attendance. You, men, are the most influential force on your children in their church attendance, as adults. You predict how they will behave, how their children will be raised, and if the future generations of your progeny will remain in or return to the church.

We could quibble at this point about the Christian faith and whether church attendance maintains Christians or not. There are gradations of grayness here. But, we, men, function better in a world with black and white distinctions. Here are those two simple truths:

Christians attend the gathering of the faithful in the Lord’s house often, to hear and receive His gifts for us.

Unbelievers do not attend the gathering of the faithful in the Lord’s house, because they neither fear the Lord nor desire His gifts.

If a child is raised never seeing a rifle, hiking through the woods, or tracking game, will that child grow up to be a hunter? Read that again substituting any activity in life: fishing, camping, ranching, farming, reading, speaking, walking, etc. Children are a collection of the influences and the activities in which they engage. They may not grow up doing everything they learned. But, it’s pretty unlikely that they’ll grow up doing a thing they seldom or never saw modelled for them.

You may say, “What does it matter? My kids know their Lord and their salvation in Jesus.”

St. Peter says this, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” [1 Peter 5:8-11]

Fathers are the strongest indicator of their children’s future church attendance, and church attendance is the strongest indicator of Christianity within people. Knowing that, how could you, a Christian father, not take his children to church often?

The Devil, the world, and this sinful flesh are seeking to separate your children from the love of God, and y’all too. Where? The Adversary’s influence is at play in everything we see, read, watch, and learn apart from the Word of God. Attending to the Lord’s house to hear His Word and receive His gifts vaccinates us against the works of the Devil and His minions. It’s not a perfect inoculation. But, the converse is a near perfect guarantee of failure.

Strong Christian men raise faithful Christian children.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX\

What if I told you… fathers influence their children’s church attendance?

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & PreschoolLa Grange, TX
©2021 Jason Kaspar. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com.

It’s my turn to ask a question. Mine stems from a collection of axiomatic “truths” shared within modern Christianity. All of them are attempts to answer questions about attendance. We’ve seen attendance fall for decades in the Christian church. There is a rise in self-identified secularism within America. We’ve been talking about it my entire life, from various perspectives.

The answers revolve around the question, “how do we keep kids, youth, and young families in church/returning to church?” The answers of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries are: Sunday school programs, daycares, adolescent activities, big youth groups/activities, small group Bible studies, single mother’s groups, and a host of other demographically specific parachurch (outside of worship) activities. Despite the best efforts of the church in these veins, she still shrinks daily.

What if I told you that we could expend our efforts on only one demographic group? What if I told you that we could see a 35% improvement in the retention of children, as adults, by focusing only on this one group? What if I told you the Christian church has largely ignored, marginalized, or even publicly denigrated this group?

Men, specifically fathers, are this one group. A large multi-national study on church attendance published by the Swiss government in the year 2000 found stark trends indicating the strong influence of fathers on the future church attendance of their children. Another study conducted on a much smaller scale later in the US found nearly identical results. (see Influence of Parents in this article)

Starting with the worst and most obvious, when neither mom nor dad attend church, 81% of the kids won’t either. When, only mom attends regularly, 39% of the kids will attend regularly as adults. When, both mom and dad attend regularly, 74% of kids will attend as adults. But, here’s the surprising number. When only dad attends regularly, 67% of kids attend as adults. Without mom’s influence, there’s only a 7% drop. Without dad’s influence, there’s a 35% drop.

No, I’m not suggesting, implying, or stating in any way that women and mothers are unimportant. The influence of women and mothers in the lives of their children is incalculable and irreplaceable.

That still changes nothing regarding a change in church attendance. If we want to see an improvement in the retention of our children in church, we must expend our efforts on improving the attendance of their fathers at church on Sunday mornings.

It is certainly worth noting that a rise in emotionalized and feminized worship practices in the Christian church run parallel to the decline in men’s attendance. There are probably many ways to work on this. We will have to pick this up again soon.

Strong Christian men raise faithful Christian children.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX
and
Mission planting pastoral team:
Epiphany Lutheran Church
Bastrop, TX

Why Is Pastor Kaspar So Heavy-Handed Towards the ELCA?

There is a fault line dividing Christianity. Those who choose to embrace our culture, while losing their grip on the Word of God, bit by bit. And those who embrace the Word of God, even the uncomfortable bits, and reject culture, bit by bit. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) are on opposite sides of this divide.

The criticisms I write, or quote in writing, are not borne out of animus, malice, or hatred. I’m grieved and afraid for the souls of those who are taught by the false teachers in the ELCA. To be perfectly clear, I’m certain many of our friends and family in the membership of the ELCA are indeed Christians. But, I am also certain the leadership and clergy of the ELCA have abandoned the scriptures in favor of worldly sociological and political positions, which are not compatible with God’s Word.

We believe teach and confess in the Lutheran church that those who hear the Word of God can still come to and retain saving faith contrary to what they are taught. This teaching is called the Felicitous Inconsistency. It is so called because the faith exists in opposition to what is taught. We also teach that no one should rely upon this possibility. Neither, should we encourage our loved ones to remain where false teaching prevails based upon the felicitous inconsistency. Continually hearing false teaching will eventually corrupt Christians and drive them from the faith. Sadly, they could easily remain in the ELCA as unbelievers without discomfort.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” [Romans 10:17]

The history of the downward spiral of the Jewish people in Judges and the fall of the divided kingdoms of Israel (Judah and Samaria) stand to teach us against this path. Embracing popular paganism in an attempt to mingle it with the true faith only ends one way. The true faith is lost and destruction and suffering come to those who mingled it.

In Judges we find, “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger.” [2:11-12] “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” [17:6] “And the people of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance. In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” [21:24-25]

And, in 1 Kings, “So [Jeroboam] the king [of Samaria] took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, ‘You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’ And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan [both in the Northern Kingdom].” [12:28-29]

“And Judah [under King Rehoboam] did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.” [1 Kings 14:22-24]

We sometimes think of America as a burgeoning atheistic culture, but that’s not a fair assessment. We are certainly a post-Christian culture. Political battles exist in our society, attempting to reject or regain the cultural elements that were the effect of Christianity‘s influence on our culture. But, Modern America is a religious culture with a god.

The big difference is that our god has no temple, no formal liturgy, no written scriptures. The god of American culture is the “me” in each one of us. Each person believes, thinks, and does what is “right for me.” The culture surrounding us worships itself, individually and collectively. Concisely, if my internal thoughts and feelings are the primary driver in a decision, the conclusion is probably flawed.

Now, this god can be right from time to time. Even a broken clock can be right twice a day. Even a broken escalator may still be a staircase. But, in the long term, this god will lead me to destruction.

This god is a selfish and capricious god. No evil deed is beyond its teaching. The internal self-justification of doing what is right in our own eye will authorize any act that benefits me. This may take days, months, or years. But, we will eventually abandon morality of any sort.

The only thing standing between us and abject abandonment of the faith, which we see in the leadership and clergy of the ELCA, and the culture it embraces, is the very Word of God. In His Word God condemns sin and teaches us to abandon it. But, it does more than that, He also gives us faith to hear and receive His forgiveness, through Jesus Christ.

Apart from acknowledged sin and forgiveness in Jesus, there can be no Christianity or salvation.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

What’s With That Crazy New Flag on Pastor’s House?

I recently started flying the US, Texas, and a Christian flag on the parsonage. This flag is a newly designed replacement for the “Christian Flag” from our friends at Ad Crucem, who made our newer sanctuary banners. They call it the Agnus Dei Flag. This flag is a bold visual confession of the Christian faith.

A red cross covers the white flag from top to bottom and left to right. That image is borrowed from banners flown by Christian soldiers in the crusades. There’s a sound argument to be made that the crusades were a rare moment of Christian unity. The imagery is more reflective a unified Christian faith than any modern, sectarian symbolism. We’ll never see a unified Christian church on Earth. But, the image of Christian unity in Christ in the resurrection serves as a fine symbol for our eyes on this side of the eschaton.

The shape covering the center of the flag is a trefoil. The trefoil consists of a triangle and three incomplete circles. It stands to symbolize the trinity. The circle by itself represents eternity. The triangle by itself represents the Trinity. Those two elements combine reinforce the notion of the Triune God expressed in the Athanasian Creed: a trinity in unity and unity in trinity with none before or after another.

Inside the trefoil, we find the Lamb of God, Jesus, to whom St. John, the Baptizer pointed. The Lamb bears a mortal wound on His neck. He has an Christological aureole around His head. And, He’s holding a triumphant banner (also crusadery in design). This Lamb is Jesus Christ crucified and risen again to forgive our sins.

The other little details are a bit busy, but they add wonderful meaning. Jesus is also presenting His Body and Blood in with and under the wafer and chalice of holy communion. He’s standing a in a heavenly sort of space on the clouds in the sky. He’s also standing atop a scroll with seven seals. The Lamb’s scroll contains the names, our names, of those sealed for salvation.

Many of us grew up with a different flag in our sanctuaries, assembly halls, and classrooms. It’s a white flag with a blue upper left canton and a red cross within the canton. This flag is commonly called the “Christian Flag,” but that an inaccurate name for the flag we see. It’s better called the “Methodist Young People’s Missionary Movement Flag,”

That flag was designed by British immigrant pastor Charles C. Overton with the help of Ralph Diffendor in New York. Its design features two deliberate attributes. It was simple in its expression to appeal to many Christian sects without revealing any theological inconsistencies between them. It was also designed using the colors and the familiar silhouette of the American flag to appeal to Americans especially.

It worked. The flag found use in the US military chaplaincy. The flag was adopted by the Federal Council of Churches in 1942. It’s been flown by a broad collection of Christian, christianish, and non-christian groups ever since. It is not a flag standing for a unified Christian faith. And, it never will be.

Instead, I fly a flag that does symbolize the Christian faith as I have received it.

– Pastor