Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Was Luther a UOJ Fanatic?


Anonymous: This isn't related to the above post, but I wanted to ask you something.

Here's what Martin Luther wrote:

"Even he who does not believe that he is free and his sins forgiven shall also learn, in due time, how assuredly his sins were forgiven, even though he did not believe it" (LW 40, 366f)

Was Luther a "UOJ fanatic" and heretic like the LCMS and WELS are? Or do you want to rethink your condemnation of UOJ?

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GJ - I have answered this around 20 times already.
1. I do not have that volume, so I cannot check the context of the quotation.
2. All the efforts to find a UOJ citation in the Book of Concord have failed miserably. The Concordists, in harmony with Luther, did not teach forgiveness without faith, without the Word, apart from the Means of Grace.
3. We do not subscribe to all of Luther's works, whether the American edition or the Weimar or the Lenker sermon set. The Anonymous argument would support praying to Mary, which Luther offered in his Magnificat commentary.
4. There are several quotations of Luther where he spoke of being "already forgiven" as an expression of the universal Atonement. This is the treasure which lies in one heap until it is distributed by the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace. The repeated asking of this UOJ question is a sign of Lutherans being illiterate in doctrine, especially Luther's doctrine.
5. The centerpiece for UOJ is the Brief Statement of the LCMS. People often admit that the Missouri Synod went downhill from that time on. Cause and effect? I think so. UOJ paved the way for Gospel reductionism, the Bible being a man-made book, and the various forms of Pentecostalism and Church Growthism rampant today. There are many fine pastors and congregations in the LCMS, WELS, and ELS today, but their synods are overcome by Enthusiasm and papism.