Jesus Christ, our God and Lord made man, rightly described His holy Christians as sons of light, distinguishing them from the sons of this world, or sons of darkness, i.e., the servants and children of the devil. And it is certainly fitting that the sons of light would conduct their business in the light, without plotting, without dissimulation, etc. And because these sons of light are contrasted with the sons of darkness in the Scriptures, it will certainly be of benefit to consider the way of the sons of darkness, and how utterly opposed it is to the way of the sons of light. Then many matters will become quite clear, and it will be plain to all what is to be made of the secret plots of our enemies.
Ephesians 5: “Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’”
In this passage, God has certainly given us our marching orders: We are to expose the unfruitful and hidden works of the children of darkness by the light of Christ that shines in us. Hence we can in no way follow the impious bishops who plot in secret to silence the voice of truth. These wicked men, these children of the devil, pretending to honor the rights of the Church, order pious ministers of the Gospel to take action against these children of God. And even if they were above the common, despised pastors by divine right, which some of them imagine to be the case, still the pastors could not then obey them. For the prophets did not obey the priests — who could boast that God Himself had made them priests — when they taught and commanded things contrary to God’s word.
The first line of the Psalter begins: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.” And throughout Scripture we are told of these wicked counsels. Those who take part in them “plot evil,” “spread strife,” and “separate close friends” (Prov. 16). In these counsels the godless men, instead of covering offenses (which would be Christian), they “repeat matters” (Prov. 17). Cp. Luther’s explanation of the Eighth Commandment in his Large Catechism.
And against these wicked men the holy Lord declares: “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth?” (Jer. 23) and: “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape” (Prov. 19). And everywhere else in the Scriptures these men are explicitly condemned.
In contrast to this abominable conduct of the worst pagans, the Christian’s conduct is always plain to see. For we, having been risen from spiritual death, now have the light of Christ shining upon us; therefore we do nothing in darkness, but, as children of light, we are a light which reveals the secret plots of the ungodly, Ephesians 5. So I direct the Christian reader to Corey Mahler’s “Open Letter to Matthew Harrison, the Leadership of the LCMS, and All Christians.”
Altlutheraner 