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Establishment of Good Order

Four and Twenty Blackbirds is a group blog written by 24 pastors.  Some of these pastors, such as Cwirla, Weedon, Curtis, and others, already provide decent content on their own blogs.

Credit: WorkPlaceSupply.com

Credit: WorkPlaceSupply.com

One of the topics is addressing the diversity of doctrine and practice in LCMS. This is a subject well worth our time.  St. Paul calls everyone to be unified in faith in Ephesians 4. We all should seek to be unified with what Scripture has taught all along.

One of the ways proposed on “Four and Twenty” to express that unity is to establish a Rule. There are rules in Christianity to our benefit: we must be born again by water and spirit, we must confess the Triune God, etc. Some rules have been established to elevate those who follow the rule over those who have not. Monastic orders are among these, but let’s not forget that altar calls and a trust in personal piety also divide Christians in ways unsupported by Scripture.

We have to be careful with rules. Our Augsburg Confession states in Article VII:

Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike. As Paul says: One faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, etc. Eph. 4, 5. 6.

Most rules seek to be proscriptive. I would prefer to see something that is descriptive. Something that polices itself, rather than submitting to a bishop or another human element to decide who stays and who goes. A rule whose first purpose is to denote those churches who preach Christ and Him crucified. Here is where you find the Gospel, such a rule would proclaim. Here is where forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are received. This is how God serves us and assures us that we are His own.

Once you have that, then have a web site where these churches and this description are listed, for travelers and those who are moving. :)

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One Comment

  1. The creeds were the first rules to put together to help Christians with a norm. You are right on “self policing”, which I think we are told we should do. As for the list on a website, there is the confessional Lutheran webpage, but that has not been updated as regularly. Let me know if you find something more up-to-date.