ZITAT: 'A Unity That Cannot Be Questioned Cannot Be Real'

Unless I'm way off base with my basic translating skills (and have completely forgotten how to perform an accurate Google search!), I believe the English word "quote" (used as a noun as in "a quote") is translated to "zitat" in German. That will help to explain the strange "Z" word listed in the title of this post.

That being said, I'm always keeping my eyes and ears open for good Lutheran quotes that encourage prayerful consideration and deeper study of God's Word, His Sacraments, Christ's Church, and the Lutheran confessions of "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3). 
Plus, it certainly helps me in my on-going journey from American Evangelicalism to becoming a Confessional Lutheran .

Here's the latest... 

"Are we really united?" "Do we actually agree?" "Do we truly confess the same thing?" Questions like these are considered divisive in the Church today. Asking such questions divides, it is said. I disagree. A unity that cannot be questioned cannot be real. A unity that cannot be questioned is an assumed unity. "We simply assume that we are united. To do any less would be divisive." Nonsense. Unity assumed is unity denied. Pastors and congregations that are truly united around God’s Word don’t fear such questions. They welcome them as an opportunity to agree in God's Word, as an occasion to confess the truth together. And, isn't that a mark of true unity? 

*- Rev. Todd Wilken

 
I also like what Rev. William Weedon said in response to this quote on Pastor Wilken's blog:

    

Of a piece with this, I think, is this point: NOWHERE in Scripture are we ever exhorted to trust another fallen human being. In fact, we are warned against trust in man. But we ARE exhorted to trust in the Lord, and doing such, to “test all things; hold fast that which is good.” If I hear one more time that the problem with LCMS pastors is that they don’t trust each other… Grr.

Whatever happened to contending for "for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3) or not yielding "in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you" (Galatians 2:4-5)?

Let's remember that we need to pursue unity "in the apostles' doctrine" and not just unity in love and peace at the expense of truth all the time (Acts 2:42; Ephesians 4).

In a Lutheran layman's terms, "a unity that cannot be questioned cannot be real."

NOTE: I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or a Christian, Candy-Making, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this note, I'm also a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism a little over a year ago. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and point us back to) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Finally, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote on this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that category since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). In addition, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because we now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse notes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I defer to what other Lutheran Pastors have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries. I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a dude's diary in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Grace and peace to you and yours!

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