Divine Service - Crumbling Pillars of Protestantism

Sermon Notes: Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Texts: Jeremiah 8:4-12; Romans 9:30-10:4; Luke 19:41-48

Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem

Grace and mercy to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

It is written, “And when Jesus drew near (Jerusalem), He saw the city and wept over it saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which belong to peace (with our Father)!  But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will dig a trench around you, surround you, and pin you in on every side, and they shall dash you to the ground, and your children within you; and they will not leave for you - one stone upon another;  (Why?) because you did not know the time of your visitation.

And Jesus entered the temple and began to cast out the businessmen, saying to them, It is written: And My house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it (an expensive tourist attraction).  

An Jesus was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests and the scribes and the (pillars of the community) sought to destroy Jesus; but they could not find what they might do; because all the people clung to Jesus - listening.  Thus far the text.

Let us pray: Creator Father, Your faithful people cling to Jesus and listen to Him.  Grant us the faith that clings to and listens to Jesus. For we desire to remain Your people; in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

This is another difficult text.  In the next few minutes may speak clearly a few things that are the most important.  The problem with speaking clearly on a text like this is that the congregation ends up divided.  Those who don’t believe in Jesus, will be admonished to repent and believe. This group will be offended.  Those who do believe in Jesus, will be warned that they too are close to unbelief and in need of repentance.  This group, too, will be offended. So you may all have this in common the strong possibility that you will be offended by the end of this sermon.

The heart of this text is that Jesus weeps over the coming struggles of those who despise Him; those who despise the Word of God.

There are two methods for dealing with unbelievers.  On method is a sharp rebuke. Jesus sharply rebukes whole cities for their unbelief in Matthew 11:23-24 saying,

23 And you, Capernaum, who is exalted to heaven, you will be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which (I have done among you), had been done in Sodom, (Sodom) would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you, That it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.  Thus far the text.

The second rebuke is in today’s text.  Jesus weeps over the suffering that will come upon all those who continue to despise God’s Word.

What kind of suffering will come upon the people?

Jesus predicts the destruction of Jerusalem, which is the city of God.  No more temple. No more access to God. A bloody, violent death for many at the hands of the Romans.  The destruction of Jerusalem did take place in 70 A.D. This is less than forty years after Jesus’ prediction.

Let me use this as a teaching moment by extending Jesus’ prediction to all Protestantism, which is the new city of God.  Bear with me. The gates of hell will surely never stand against the church. I am not predicting the destruction of the church but I am suggesting that Protestantism (including the Lutheran church) has already departed from the sure foundation of the Holy Scriptures; that church of Protestantism, like the church of Rome before her, despises the Word of God.

There are two Pillars of Protestantism.  All protestants share both pillars. All of Rome rejects both.

The two Pillars of Protestantism are:

1. The Inerrancy of God’s Word.

2. Justification By Faith Alone.

First, inerrancy.  This is the Biblical teaching that the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible clearly and without any errors.  The Bible is the Word of God. All Christian teaching is recorded in the Bible. All Christian teaching must be confirmed by the Bible.  The Bible has no error. Why? Because God wrote it.

It is hard for contemporary Christians to believe that the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible through the pen of the prophets and apostles.  It is hard to believe that Almighty God could communicate clearly, write clearly, and work in the hearts and minds of men, women, and children through what He has communicated in writing to us.

So, inerrancy of God’s Word is denied by many pastors and people in the Protestant churches.  It is the first crumbling Pillar of Protestant Church.

A dear Lutheran lady I know from a previous congregation visited her elderly mother in Illinois.  She grew up in a United Church of Christ congregation but became Lutheran shortly before her marriage to a lifelong Lutheran.  She came home upset. She said, “The pastor of my childhood church said - from the pulpit - that God did not write the Bible and that we all need to get over it.  The Bible is full of mistakes.” Ouch. I was not shocked but I am still sad.

There are LCMS pastors who deny the inerrancy of the Bible.  One pastor, in private, laughed and said, “Can you believe that there are people, even professors at our seminaries, that think God wrote the Bible and that it contains no errors?”  If I heard it from one pastor I have heard it said aloud, from at least ten or more, the teaching of inerrancy is foolishness. Not said from the pulpit but mocked clearly in private.

At our last District Convention, a minority of pastoral and lay delegates, exposed their denial of the inerrancy of God’s Word when they argued against the Biblical Creation account in six 24 hour days and also the Order build in to this Creation.  There needs to be room in the church for conservative forms of evolution, they said. There needs to be room in the church for conservative forms of woman leadership, maybe even ordination, they said from the convention floor.

No.  The church has room only for the Word of God.

The second pillar of the Protestant church is justification by faith alone.

The teaching is clearly written by the Holy Spirit.

What is justification by faith alone?

It is the teaching that the death of Christ is the treasure of the church.  The death of Christ goes by several names: atonement, redemption, propitiation, and by the simple phrase - the blood of Christ.  This treasure is distributed to sinners like you and me through God’s Word and Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior. Faith in Jesus goes by one other name: justification by faith alone.

So, justification by faith alone is also denied by many pastors and people in the Protestant churches.  It is the second crumbling Pillar of the Protestant Church.

Today, there is a competing view of justification.  It is called universal justification. This teaching in not Biblical.  It teaches that when Jesus rose from the dead, the whole world was forgiven  Whether you believe in Jesus or not, you are forgiven all your sins because of what Jesus did.  Whether you are a Christian or not, you are forgiven all your sins because all religions lead to the same god.  Hell is no longer an option because all are already saved.

Protestant churches that deny inerrancy hold to full throated Universal Justification.  Those Protestants believe that all people of all religions are already saved.

Our kind of Protestantism has a subtler view of Universal Justification.  The subtle view teaches two justifications. It is Universal Justification while also saying that you must believe in Jesus.  Faith in Jesus is the second or Subjective Justification. This double justification is growing in our circles. It is taught in the new LCMS dogmatics textbooks.  It is taught in the new LCMS Small Catechism with Explanation. It is only a step away from what the LCMS criticizes among other Lutheran churches.

So even we are part of the crumbling Pillars of Protestantism.

Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, the city of God.  Only a few believed Him.

Today, some are predicting the destruction of Protestantism, the city of God.  How can you prepare yourselves for the coming collapse of the church in our times?

First, the admonishment and warning.  The admonishment is for those of you who you don’t believe in Jesus, you have found your repentance.  So repent and believe in Jesus the Savior. The warning is for those of you who do believe in Jesus, pride comes before the fall.  So repent and believe in Jesus the Savior.

Second, worship God in the beauty of His holiness.  A Lutheran congregation has only one responsibility.  It is not to grow numerically, to be successful, to balance the budget, or to make people happy.  The sole responsibility of the congregation is to worship God in the beauty of His holiness. The Biblical marks of the church are:

1. Preach the Word of God in its truth and purity, and

2. Administer the sacraments according to the Scriptures.

Tenth Sunday after Holy Trinity

Divine Service - Tenth Sunday after Holy Trinity

Welcome to weekly Divine Service at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Muscatine, Iowa, U.S.A.  We are a congregation that confesses the Holy Bible as inerrant, that justification is by faith according to the Holy Bible and confessed in the 1580 Book of Concord, and a member congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.   God bless you.  Pastor Pautz.  Our contact information is:

2611 Lucas Street, Muscatine, IA 52761             

Church Phone: 563-263-0347

www.oursaviormuscatine.org     

email: oslcp@machlink.com 

Ninth Sunday after Holy Trinity

Ninth Sunday after Holy Trinity

Welcome to weekly Divine Service at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Muscatine, Iowa, U.S.A.  We are a congregation that confesses the Holy Bible as inerrant, that justification is by faith according to the Holy Bible and confessed in the 1580 Book of Concord, and a member congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.   God bless you.  Pastor Pautz.  Our contact information is:

2611 Lucas Street, Muscatine, IA 52761             

Church Phone: 563-263-0347

www.oursaviormuscatine.org     

email: oslcp@machlink.com 

Opening Hymn - 689 Let Me Be Thine Forever

P- In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost
C- Amen. midi

The Confession of Sins

P- Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart
and confess our sins unto God our Father, 
beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
to grant us forgiveness.
 

Our Help is in the name of the Lord.
 

C- Who made heaven and earth. midi
 

P- I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord.
 

C- And Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. midi
 

P- Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners
confess unto Thee that we are by nature sinful and unclean, 
and that we have sinned against Thee by thought, word, and deed.
Wherefore we flee for refuge to Thine infinite mercy, seeking and
imploring Thy grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.

C- O most merciful God, who has given Thine only begotten Son
to die for us, have mercy upon us and for His sake grant us
remission of all our sins; and by the Holy Spirit increase in us
true knowledge of Thee and of Thy will and true obedience to Thy Word, 
to the end, that by Thy grace we may come to everlasting life; 
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

P- Almighty God our heavenly Father, hath had mercy upon us and hath given His only Son to die for us and for His sake forgiveth us all our sins.  To them that believe on His name
He giveth the power to become sons of God and hath promised them His Holy Spirit. 
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.  Grant this, Lord, unto us all.
C- Amen. midi

Introit

Behold, God is my | helper;*

    the Lord is with those who up- | hold my life.

He will repay my enemies for their | evil.*

    Cut them off | in Your truth. (Psalm 54:4-5)

Save me, O God, | by Your name,*

    and vindicate me | by Your strength.

Hear my | prayer, O God;*

    give ear to the words | of my mouth.

For strangers have risen up a- | gainst me,*

    they have not set God be- | fore them.

He has delivered me out of all | trouble;*

    and my eye has seen its desire upon my | enemies. (Psalm 54:1-3, 7)

Glory be to the Father and  | to the Son* and to the Holy  | Spirit;

     as it was in the be | ginning*, is now, and will be forever.   | Amen.

Behold, God is my | helper;*

    the Lord is with those who up- | hold my life.

He will repay my enemies for their | evil.*

    Cut them off | in Your truth.

Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; 
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, 
world without end. Amen. midi

The Kyrie

Lord have mercy upon us, 
Christ have mercy upon us, 
Lord have mercy upon us. midi

Gloria in Excelsis

Glory be to God on high: And on earth peace, good will toward men. 
We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, 
we give thanks to Thee, for Thy great glory. 
O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. 
O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; 
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, 
That takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us. 
Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer.
Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us. 
For thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord. 
Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, 
art most high in the glory of God the Father. 
Amen. midi
 

The Salutation

P- The Lord be with you.
C- And with thy spirit.midi
P- Let us Pray (Collect of the Day)
C- Amen. midi

OLD TESTAMENT LESSON     2 Samuel 22:26–34           

David’s Song after Deliverance from His Enemies

26“With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; 27with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.  28You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.  29For you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness.  30For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.  31This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.  32“For who is God, but the LORD?  And who is a rock, except our God?  33This God is my strong refuge  and has made my way blameless.  34He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.

Epistle Lesson    1 Corinthians 10:6–13             

Israel's History as an Example For Us

6Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Gradual

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! midi

Gospel Lesson  -  Luke 16:1–9                                                       

The Dishonest Manager

1He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

C- Glory be to Thee, O Lord. midi

P- Here endeth the Gospel
C- Praise be to Thee, O Christ. midi

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary;
Suffered and died under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried; He descended into Hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Christian Church, the  communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Hymn of the Day - 730 What Is The World To Me

The Sermon

The Offertory

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me, 
Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. 
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit. 
Amen. midi
The General Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who are in heaven, hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread and Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass  against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory; Forever and ever. Amen.

The Words of Institution

Angus Dei

Distribution Hymns

750 If Thou But Trust In God To Guide Thee

801 How Great Thou Art

758 The Will Of God Is Always Best

536 One Thing's Needful

Nunc Dimittis

The Benediction

P- The Lord bless thee and keep thee
The Lord make His face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee,
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace.
C- Amen, Amen, Amen. midi

Closing Hymn - 924 Lord, Dismiss Us With Your Blessing

Eighth Sunday after Holy Trinity

Trinity 8 - Sermon Notes

Texts: Jer 23:16-29; Rom 8:12-17; Matt 7:15-23

In the Garden of Eden, Satan deceived Eve & Adam.

How did Satan deceive Eve? Satan said somethings that were true to God’s Word.  Such as asking Eve: “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”  How did Eve respond?  Eve answered saying, yes, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it lest you die.’ ”

How did Satan deceive Eve?  Satan also said some things that were false to God’s Word.  Such as telling Eve: “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  6 So when Eve saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Beware!  Satan is a false teacher even within conservative Protestantism.

Satan teaches half truths.  Therefore you mark and avoid him.

Yet, this is a hard sermon to deliver.  I am going to name a few names of false teachers that you may very well like.  The good thing about the following teachers is that about half of what they teach conforms to the Bible.  So you may have enjoyed reading their books or listening to their podcasts. The bad thing is that about half of what they teach is opposed to the Bible and dangerous to your soul.

I am not going to dwell on false teachers such as the Pope who places himself above the Bible.  I’m not going to focus false teachers in the liberal mainline denomination who deny the authority and inerrancy of the Holy Bible.  I’m not even going to focus on the women’s ordination movement, which is expressly condemned in the Bible, or even the Seminex movement within our own church body, even though I should.  

Rather, I’m going to focus on three false but popular teachers within conservative Protestantism.  This sermon is hard because you might enjoy their books or podcasts and you may even have grown in the Word of God because of them.  But beware, they are false teachers and just as you would not endorse Satan to be a worthy teacher of the Bible in this pulpit so also you should stop endorsing the following false teachers within conservative Protestantism.   Mark them and avoid them (Romans 16) as much as you mark and avoid Satan.

Here we go with three names and a few examples:

First.  Beware! Beth Moore is a false teacher

Beth Moore receives personal non-Biblical revelations.

Beth Moore writes in her book So Long, Insecurity, saying in this long quote:

I’d like to replay it to you in the form of a dialogue because when it occurred, it was as if God spoke every word concretely and audibly to me. In reality, what I’ll describe was expressed in my spirit rather than in my physical hearing. After spending years in relationship with God, seeking what He’s like and how He operates in Scripture, I, like many people, can get a sense of something He’s strongly impressing upon me without “hearing” precise words. When thoughts come to me out of the blue that I’m convinced did not originate in my own mind, if they’re consistent with God’s character and sound like something He would say in Scripture, I usually assume it’s Him. Ultimately, time proves whether or not I discerned the voice correctly. If it produces substantial fruit, I know it was God and I was on target. If nothing comes of it, I probably misunderstood or accidentally ascribed it to Him. None of us are beyond confusing our own thoughts with God’s, no matter how many times we’ve been around the bend with Him (Moore, “So Long,” pp. 325-326).

Response:  Receiving personal revelation from outside of the Bible is dangerous. God tells us that He has given us Scripture:

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NKJV, 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Yet, Beth Moore repeatedly relies on personal revelation that she has received from God outside of the Bible. She also encourages others to get personal, non-Biblical revelation and even incorporates their personal revelations into her books. This implies that the Scriptures are not sufficient to equip us. Ironically, Moore describes the danger of this non-Biblical revelation. Unfortunately she fails to recognize this significant danger even from her own writing.

Repent by marking and avoiding Beth Moore (Romans 16) as much as you mark and avoid Satan.

Second, beware! Joyce Meyer is a false teacher

Joyce teaches that Jesus stopped being the Son of God.

And I quote: "Jesus could have helped himself up until the point where he said I commend my spirit into your hands, at that point Jesus couldn’t do nothing for himself anymore. Jesus had become sin, Jesus was no longer the Son of God. Jesus was sin." (http://storage.carm.org/joycemeyer/joyce-meyer-Jesus-became-sin-stopped-being-son-of-God.mp3)

Response:  This is false teaching.  Jesus did not ever stop being the son of God.  Essentially what Joyce Meyer is saying is that Jesus stopped being divine, the eternal son, second person of the Trinity. This is an attack on the very nature of Christ and it is a dangerous false teaching.  Joyce Meyer needs to repent and retract this statement. There is no place in Scripture that says Jesus stopped being the son of God. She's adding to the word of God and placing in the hearts and minds of listeners false doctrine.

Also, Joyce Meyer said she is not a sinner.  Like many of you, Joyce grew up in a Missouri Synod church.  In this quote, Joyce attacks the confession of sins that you confessed a few minutes ago and refuses the absolution.  I quote:

"I am not poor. I am not miserable and I am not a sinner. That is a lie from the pit of hell. That is what I were and if I still was then Jesus died in vain. I'm going to tell you something folks. I didn't stop sinning until I finally got it through my thick head I wasn't a sinner anymore. And the religious world thinks that's heresy (false teaching) and they want to hang you for it. But the Bible says that I am righteous and I can't be righteous and be a sinner at the same time." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dmHJdM63hk)

Response:  1 John 1:8 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us."  Notice that John the apostle says "we." He includes himself with sinners. Also, Paul said in Rom. 7:19-20, 24, "For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me...24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?"  Is Joyce Meyer better in Christian character than the apostle John and the apostle Paul? I think not. Mrs. Meyer fails to recognize her own sinfulness, and so mistakenly denies her own sinfulness. I can only conclude that this false teaching comes from pride because it certainly isn't biblical.

Finally.  Beware! Joel Osteen is a false teacher.

The basic doctrine of Joel Osteen, as summarized on his church’s website, is orthodox enough: the inerrancy and inspiration of the Bible, the triune nature of God, and salvation by faith in Christ are all affirmed. The doctrinal problems come in other areas.

Mr. Osteen is a Health & Wealth preacher.  He says, God’s will is that we be blessed with material things, a view that contradicts 1 Timothy 6:6 that godliness with contentment is great gain.  I quote from his church’s website:

“To be successful in your walk with God, commit to honor God with your finances. When you commit to give the Lord the first 10% of your income, God promises He will pour out blessings you cannot contain. Tithing is the first key to financial prosperity.”

Mr. Osteen misuses Malachi 3:10 for his false teaching, where it is written,

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

It is a prime example of taking Old Testament promises to Israel out of context to apply them to the New Testament believers.

What Joel Osteen pushes is a shell of legitimate biblical Christianity, at best, and a dangerous counterfeit at worst. When all you have to offer is materialism and emotion, you’re not an evangelist. You’re a motivational speaker who borrows religious terminology. Nothing Osteen says is going to help a person with legitimate questions about faith and salvation. His message won’t build real disciples; there’s no more substance for the believer than for the unbeliever. Nor is his message going to sustain faith in a crisis. When things go bad, people quickly realize God’s blessings don’t come merely because they think happy thoughts. And if personal prosperity is the measure of their success as a Christian, then Osteen’s teaching has merely set them up for a fall.  https://www.gotquestions.org/Joel-Osteen.html

Beware of False Teachers says the Lord.  Beth Moore, Joyce Meyer, and Joel Osteen are false teachers.  They are Protestants, generally conservative in contrast to the mainstream church bodies, but they share in the false teaching of Kenneth Hagin Sr. of the Word Of Faith Movement

The Word of Faith doctrine teaches that based on the definition of the word sozo from which Christians get the word salvation, that the saving work done by Jesus on the cross included health and provision in this life.

What can you do to protect yourself from false teachers aside from not reading their books or downloading their podcasts?

First, keep hearing and reading the Bible.  Like you are doing right now.

Second, keep rereading and praying through the Small Catechism.  If the Holy Bible is like a street you want to keep your soul on, then the Small Catechism is like a street curb that keeps you from crashing into store fronts of false teachers like Beth Moore, Joyce Meyers, and Joel Osteen.

The Small Catechism curbs Beth Moore’s appeal to personal non-Biblical revelation when it states under the first commandment that we should fear, love, and trust in God above all things, including personal revelation.

The Small Catechism curbs Joyce Meyer’s claim that Jesus is no longer the Son of God when it states in the second article of the Apostles’ Creed that Jesus Christ is true God begotten of the Father from eternity.

The Small Catechism curbs Joel Osteen’s claim that God wants to give you financial gain for your faithfulness when it states under the seventh commandment that we should fear and love God so that we help to improve and protect our neighbor’s possessions and income.

All we have is the text.

So, in this place we teach the text of the Holy Bible.

And to prevent us steering away from that Holy Text, we teach the Small Catechism as well as all the Lutheran Confessions.

ACV [1] To obtain such faith God instituted the office of preaching, giving the gospel and the sacraments. [2] Through these, as through means, he gives the Holy Spirit who produces faith, where and when he wills, in those who hear the gospel. [3] It teaches that we have a gracious God, not through our merit but through Christ’s merit, when we so believe.  [4] Condemned are the Anabaptists48 and others who teach that we obtain the Holy Spirit without the external49 word of the gospel through our own preparation, thoughts, and works.

ACXIV Concerning church government it is taught that no one should publicly teach, preach, or administer the sacraments without a proper [public] call.

[1] The bishop of Rome claims to be superior by divine right to all bishops and pastors.1 [2] In addition, he claims to possess by divine right the power of both swords, [3] that is, the authority to confer and transfer royal authority.2 Third, he states that it is necessary for salvation to believe these things. For these reasons the Roman bishop calls himself the vicar of Christ on earth.3 [4] We hold and publicly declare that these three articles of faith are false, impious, tyrannical, and ruinous to the church. [5] In order that our assertion may be understood, we will first clarify what our opponents mean by the claim of superiority by divine right over all bishops. They take the pope to be the universal or, as they say, ecumenical bishop, that is, the one from whom all bishops and pastors throughout the world are bound to seek ordination and confirmation because he has the right to choose, ordain, confirm, and depose any bishop.4 [6] Moreover, he claims the authority to make laws concerning worship, alterations in the sacraments, and teaching. He wants his decrees and laws to be regarded as articles of faith or commandments of God and thus as binding on the conscience of the believer.5 Because he claims to exercise this power by divine right, he means it to   p 331 take precedence even over God’s commandments. And then, what is even more atrocious, he adds that it is necessary for salvation to believe all this.

Robert Kolb, Timothy J. Wengert, and Charles P. Arand, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2000), 330–331.