Is an Open Border Policy a Biblical Mandate?

[Jan001]

I suppose this is the Lutheran in me then. It seems to me that what has been received since the beginning is sufficient; I am in need of no new revelation; I have Christ, I have His apostles, I have His Word, I have His Church, I have His Spirit in which I receive all gifts from God, to be made righteous, holy, and comforted by the Gospel and instructed in God's way.

And, from Christ, and from His Apostles, and from His Church, and from His Word, and from His Spirit I know the warnings against chasing after false teachers, false prophets, and chasing after doctrines that tickle the ears.

And so when I profess, in the Apostles' Creed, my faith in the Holy Spirit, and in Christ's one and holy catholic Church, and in the Communion of Saints, I am confessing that all that I need, and all I ought desire, is to be found here in the bosom of Christ, where there is rest for my weary soul, and comfort that only the Comforter gives. That in Word and Sacrament I receive everything; and by His Law I am restrained, to know right and wrong and, by His grace and the power of the Spirit, walk in new obedience; to confess my sins, repent, and acknowledge my unworthiness before God as a sinner; and by His Gospel I am freed, awaken and made alive by grace, with an unguilty conscience before God, for Christ having made Satisfaction on my behalf has become my righteousness before the Father, and in this grace I might trust, believe, and live as a freeman. Hoping, trusting, living in Christ and from Christ.

What could a supposed "prophet" offer me what I do not already have from two millennia of faithful Christian teaching and practice? What new insights into the mind of God could there possibly be outside of what God has already declared from the beginning? If I believe what is written, and what has been handed down to me from the very beginning, then I have an inheritance of treasure to which nothing more could be added.

Not all, wrote Tolkien, that glitters is gold.

And, no, I am not against prophets; I believe the history of the Church is filled with many prophets. But they are not those who call themselves prophets, nor do they come bearing "revelation"; but those who boldly speak the word as it has been received, even when the powers and principalities would wish to silence them.

If you were to ask me an example of a prophet in modern times, I would point to someone like Dr. Martin Luther King or Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The prophetic is not in "revelation" or fortune-telling; but in a faithful declaration of Christian truth.

-CryptoLutheran

If you are content with your decision, then this is good for you. I will continue listening to my vetted prophets.

Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

 

[Jan001]

Prophets frequently are false (even vetted ones) prophets.
Even false (imitations/counterfeit) teachings of Jesus are most common.

Time will tell if the ones I listen to are true prophets or not. Until that time, I am encouraged by them that God will soon intervene in this mess on earth, like he did for the Israelites in the Book of Exodus.

 

[Jan001]

All my trust is in Jesus. Why do you suppose he gave us, and still gives us, prophets in the new covenant? I know it is for a good purpose because everything Jesus does is for our good.

It is true that in every age, Satan always counterfeits God's good things to deceive the people, but that is because he is a liar.

Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

We must test the spirits, which is what I do. If a prophecy from a new covenant prophet is proven to be false, I don't listen to his prophecies anymore, and I also disregard all his unfulfilled prophecies.

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

 

[ViaCrucis]

If you are content with your decision, then this is good for you. I will continue listening to my vetted prophets.

Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

I somehow doubt that you subscribe to the Hyper-Charismatic doctrine of a "five-fold ministry"; so let's not pretend that when St. Paul mentions prophets he speaks of generations and generations of self-described "prophets"; and then entertain the strange doctrines of Hyper-Charismaticism (a la NAR); such things would be just as heretical in your church as in mine.

As far as the passage from Amos goes, surely you know that there is a New Testament, in which Christ established His Holy Church, and through His Apostles installed the sacred office of the ministry--bishops and presbyters--who bear the responsibility of the word of God and its ministration to the people. For Christ has installed shepherds to watch, teach, preach, and guard the Faithful against the schemes of the devil and the machinations of false teachers. These things I have just said are just as much a part of your church as it is mine; though we may differ on how exactly that functions.

More to the point: Would your priest approve? Not said to shame, but to invoke serious thought and consideration. God in His mercy has put a shepherd and spiritual father over you. In order that you might hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Jan001]

I somehow doubt that you subscribe to the Hyper-Charismatic doctrine of a "five-fold ministry"; so let's not pretend that when St. Paul mentions prophets he speaks of generations and generations of self-described "prophets"; and then entertain the strange doctrines of Hyper-Charismaticism (a la NAR); such things would be just as heretical in your church as in mine.

As far as the passage from Amos goes, surely you know that there is a New Testament, in which Christ established His Holy Church, and through His Apostles installed the sacred office of the ministry--bishops and presbyters--who bear the responsibility of the word of God and its ministration to the people. For Christ has installed shepherds to watch, teach, preach, and guard the Faithful against the schemes of the devil and the machinations of false teachers. These things I have just said are just as much a part of your church as it is mine; though we may differ on how exactly that functions.

More to the point: Would your priest approve? Not said to shame, but to invoke serious thought and consideration. God in His mercy has put a shepherd and spiritual father over you. In order that you might hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.

-CryptoLutheran

I listen to and read past and present Catholic prophecies as well. I don't think my priest would be concerned.

My Bible specifically states the following:

Acts 13:1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul.

1 Corinthians 12:28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues.

I think prophets in the Church are important to God, or else he would not have appointed them. There are some illegitimate prophets in the Church now, but I know that God will deal with them in his own time.

I do truly thank God that he did not choose me to be a prophet. I much prefer anonymity.