I Contributed to the Formula of Concord

"How is a person justified before God? This occurs solely by faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ; that is, freely, not because of any works or merits of one's own but only because of the one Mediator, Jesus Christ, who became the sacrificial victim and propitiation on our behalf. By this sacrifice, man obtained forgiveness of sins and became righteous; that is, God-pleasing and acceptable. His righteousness was imputed to man for Christ's sake, and man becomes an heir of eternal life when he believes with certainty that God gives him these blessings for the sake of His Son."
David Chytraeus, A Summary of the Christian Faith (1568), trans., Richard Dinda, Decatur: Repristination Press, 1994. p. 105.

"Christian righteousness is the forgiveness of sin, the imputation of the righteousness of Christ and acceptance to eternal life. It is free, not the result of any virtues or works but is given solely because of Christ, the Mediator, and apprehended by faith alone."
David Chytraeus, A Summary of the Christian Faith (1568), trans., Richard Dinda, Decatur: Repristination Press, 1994. p. 106.

"Scripture therefore uses these words, 'We are justified by faith,' to teach both: 1) What the reason (or merit) for justification is, or what the blessings of Christ are; to wit, that through and for the sake of Christ alone we are granted forgiveness of sins, righteousness and eternal life; and 2. How these should be applied or transferred to us; namely, by embracing the promise and relying on Christ by faith alone."
David Chytraeus, A Summary of the Christian Faith (1568), trans., Richard Dinda, Decatur: Repristination Press, 1994. p. 107.

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GJ - Chytraeus' book was a long-time best seller. He is often overlooked as a Lutheran theologian, but his contributions to the Formula of Concord cannot be ignored.

PS - The following comment is a real howler.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "I Contributed to the Formula of Concord":

"I" Contributed to the Formula of Concord?

I knew you were arrogant, but this takes the cake for a headline.

GJ - I am trying to stop laughing. Difficult to breathe, to type. Choking. May short out my keyboard. OK. Deep breath. Better now.

Directly below the headline is a big picture of Chytraeus, who contributed to the Formula of Concord. I thought most people could make the connection. I am trying to do a little education for the woefully ignorant Synodical Conference types. The Formula of Concord was completed several centuries before I was born, so a claim about making a contribution myself would seem to argue for the pre-existence of Ichabod, which I am not prepared to make.

I get the same type of comment from the same person daily. Most do not rise to this level of hilarity. All the nasty comments are anonymous. The interested laity who phone and write me are a little shocked by this. "The truth makes enemies," as Walther used to say (in Latin).

One Justification (By Faith) in the Book of Concord

Martin Chemnitz asks: "Have you read any of my books? Start with the Formula of Concord, which I edited."

“...God in His purpose and counsel ordained [decreed]:

1. That the human race is truly redeemed and reconciled with God through Christ, who, by His faultless [innocency] obedience, suffering, and death, has merited for us the righteousness which avails before God, and eternal life.
   
2. That such merit and benefits of Christ shall be presented, offered, and distributed to us through His Word and Sacraments.
   
3. That by His Holy Ghost, through the Word, when it is preached, heard, and pondered, He will be efficacious and active in us, convert hearts to true repentance, and preserve them in the true faith.
   
4. That He will justify all those who in true repentance receive Christ by a true faith, and will receive them into grace, the adoption of sons, and the inheritance of eternal life."

Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, XI. #15. Of God's Eternal Election. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1069. 2 Corinthians 5:19ff. Tappert, p. 619. Heiser, p. 288.

Status of Saints - Through Faith Alone

"Here belongs also what St. Paul writes Romans 4:3, that Abraham was justified before God by faith alone, for the sake of the Mediator, without the cooperation of his works, not only when he was first converted from idolatry and had no good works, but also afterwards, when he had been renewed by the Holy Ghost, and adorned with many excellent good works, Genesis 15:6; Hebrews 11:8. And Paul puts the following questions, Romans 4:1ff.: On what did Abraham's righteousness before God for everlasting life, by which he had a gracious God, and was pleasing and acceptable to Him, rest at that time?
Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, III. #33. Of the Righteousness of Faith before God. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 927. Romans 4:3; Romans 4:1ff; Genesis 15:6; Hebrews 11:8. Tappert, p. 545. Heiser, p. 252.

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GJ - Enchanted by its own hyperbole, the Wisconsin sect has guilt-free saints in Hell. Everyone on earth is forgiven. Everyone is absolved. Everyone is born forgiven, according to WELS, according to UOJ. Missouri and the ELS are a little shy about admitting to these follies; they only finesse the question a bit better.

Can UOJ Be Wedged into This Passage?

"Scripture thus uses the term faith, as the following sentence of Paul testifies, Romans 5:1: Being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Moreover, in this passage, to justify signifies, according to forensic usage, to acquit a guilty one and declare him righteous, but on account of the righteousness of another, namely, of Christ, which righteousness of another is communicated to us by faith...1 Corinthians 1:30. Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. And 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. But because the righteousness of Christ is given us by faith, faith is for this reason righteousness in us imputatively, i. e., it is that by which we are made acceptable to God on account of the imputation and ordinance of God, as Paul says, Romans 4:3, 5: Faith is reckoned for righteousness."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, III. #184. Of Love and the Fulfilling of the Law. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 205f. Romans 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21. Tappert, p. 154. Heiser, p. 60. (Emphasis in original.)

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GJ - The UOJ Enthusiasts, especially in WELS, like to use a forensic concept to argue their case that the whole world has been declared NOT GUILTY! because of the cross (or the resurrection of Christ). The Moment of Absolution has not been fixed, so sometimes they use the actual death of Christ. At other times they use the resurrection of Christ. Their arguments are like a vast ocean, two inches deep.

The universal decree--apart from the Holy Spirit at work in the Word of God, apart from the Means of Grace, apart from faith--is derived from Walther's Easter absolution sermon. The same nonsense is repeated in various Synodical Conference sources, including Pieper, J. T. Mueller, Theo Engelder, J. P. Meyer, Norm Madson, Sig Becker, Valleskey, Kelm, Dan Preus, Rolf Preus, and Pope John the Malefactor. In fact, Pope John offered Rolf the Left Foot of Fellowship when they were in complete agreement about UOJ.

In the Apology of the Augsburg Confession is a clear statement that the not guilty verdict comes to us through justification by faith. Every few months WELS will publish another little article about the NOT GUILTY! decree and declare the whole world has been given the same verdict. How does such colossal ignorance of Romans and the Book of Concord continue to exist?

Mentor Offers Advice

"Now you are catching on. First, we get ordained illegally. Then we dare the spineless men to take that away. The capons cannot handle our opposition, so we work on getting into higher offices. Enough of us network with the radicals to get someone like me in charge of the whole organization. Now we control the bishops, the priests, the schools, publishing, and the pension fund. Here's the big joke. The old fuddy-duddies worry that the Episcopal Church is shrinking. So what!"

California's First Female Episcopalian Bishop

The Venerable Mary Gray-Reeves, Bishop

Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts-Schiori and Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, Gather the Women Priests for a Group Photograph


California's first female Episcopal bishop ordained in Saratoga

Mary Gray-Reeves appreciates being a role model
By Kim Vo
Mercury News
Article Launched: 11/10/2007 10:03:22 PM PST

Episcopal bishop ordained
After she was ordained bishop of the local Episcopal diocese - the first woman to reach such heights in California - Mary Gray-Reeves gathered the female clergy for a picture. What was supposed to be a quick photo-op turned into an impromptu celebration as the women swayed, clapped and cheered around her. "We are marching," they jubilantly sang, "in the light of God."

Saturday's ordination marked several milestones, not just of gender lines but a new relationship between the faithful and their bishop.

Gray-Reeves was the first female bishop ordained by Katharine Jefferts Schori since the latter was elected last year as head of the national Episcopal Church. The sight of the nation's first female presiding bishop consecrating California's first female bishop was inspirational to those in attendance.

"It's thrilling - and to have my 11-year-old daughter see it!" said the Rev. Katherine Doar of St. Francis parish in San Jose. "My daughter didn't even know there was such a day when there weren't women bishops."

About 1,000 people packed St. Andrews in Saratoga for the daylong celebration. The ordination signaled a new start for the Diocese of El Camino Real, which was deeply fractured when its last bishop resigned under pressure in 2004. He was the second bishop to leave because of power and personality clashes within the young diocese, which went into an extended period of healing and introspection before calling for a new leader.

"Mary is a force for the future," said Deborah Kempson-Thompson, a member of All Saints in Carmel and a seminarian. "She's interested in moving on, and we need to move on."

With its new leader installed and relationships mending, the diocese is focusing on a more routine matter: how to increase falling membership. The diocese - which includes Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties - has only 12,000 members. Sunday attendance today is 5,200, down from 6,500 in 2000. It is projected to reach 4,400 by 2009 unless something reverses that trend. Attendance is shrinking while the surrounding population swelled. (GJ - Imagine that!)

Already, Gray-Reeves has asked each of the dioceses's 50 parishes to think of new ideas for revitalizing the church. "We've got nothing to lose," she says, "so we can try anything."

The diocese encompasses a multitude of languages, cultures and professions ranging from farmers to software engineers. That kind of diversity can make outreach challenging, members say, but it's also a gift.

That attitude was reflected Saturday. A Sudanese choir sang. Sherry LeBeau smudged the church with sage as her husband spoke in Lakota, a Native American language. And the day's prayers alternated between English and Spanish, as did the congregation's responses.

After Gray-Reeves read her vows, bishops who had come from around the world laid their hands on her head and consecrated her into the episcopate.

"Therefore, Father, make Mary a bishop in your church," they said. "Pour out upon her the power of your princely spirit . . ."

Bishop Leo Frade of southeast Florida - Gray-Reeves' former boss - wished upon her a "double share of God's grace" as she leads the diocese during a time of poverty, intolerance and high-tech innovation. A time when torture is justified, he said, and people are trying to create outsiders within the church.

The latter point alluded to the fractures facing Episcopalians over homosexuality since the ordination of an openly gay bishop in 2003. Since then, some churches - and in certain cases, entire dioceses, including the neighboring Diocese of San Joaquin - have threatened to leave the Episcopal Church.

In an earlier interview, Jefferts Schori said she hoped that acceptance of gay leaders would move faster than it did for women. The first Anglican woman priest was ordained in the 1940s in Hong Kong. More than three decades would pass before the Episcopal Church allowed women into the priesthood - they are still barred in certain dioceses. In the United States, all but a few Anglicans are called Episcopalians.

"For most people under 30, it's not an issue," Jefferts Schori said. "We're going to a place where we can see . . . the image of God in the people around us."

Gray-Reeves - the 15th female bishop in the Episcopal Church - longed for a day when she would be regarded simply as a bishop. "It's a great honor and a great privilege," she said Friday. "I think I'd feel that way if I were a man."

But she recognized that her status was significant for many, and she arranged for the photo so women in the diocese could indulge in the "rare moment" with both a female bishop and presiding bishop.

On Saturday, she reflected on her first inkling of being called to the priesthood. She was 9. And when she announced her intentions, the women in the room laughed. It was 1971 and they knew women weren't allowed as priests.

Gray-Reeves imagined another 9-year-old seeing Saturday's photo. Perhaps the girl lives in a country were women aren't currently allowed in the priesthood but feels the call nevertheless and thinks to herself: "If they can do it, I can do it."

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GJ: Grave-Reeves and Jefferts-Schiori share more than hypenated names and severe hair styles. Their ecclesiastic garments are definintely New Age. Symbols of Christian doctrine are almost completely absent.

When WELS and LCMS Merge:Envision the New Leaders

Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves (left) with President Bishop Katherine Jefferts-Schori

WELS and Missouri are working hard on women's ordination. LCMS President Kieschnick advocates women's ordination, as Ralph Bohlmann did before him. WELS is employing The Frog in the Kettle method of incremental steps, via Church and Change, Kelm-Parlow's leadership, and other agencies of apostasy.

Some people think I am kidding about The Frog in the Kettle. One WELS member said, "Guess what my pastor gave me to read - The Frog in the Kettle." The theme of the book is that incremental changes will boil the frog before he knows it, and achieve the goals envisioned by the Mission Vision Statement. George Barna, the author, is a Church Growth guru of the greatest magnitude, or turpitude. They trot him out whenever they want to win an argument. The Scriptures do not help them, but Barna does.

The message to Frog readers everywhere is: "We will boil you before you know it." That is like finding out that How To Serve People is a cookbook!

Golden Compass Bombs

Vulture Prepares for a Meal

"SATURDAY AM: Friday night only $8.6 million from 3,528 theaters with anemic per screen average. Weekend estimate is $27 million. Cost of movie: $200+ million (amid reports that director Chris Weitz confirmed the budget soared to $250 mil). This flop should sink New Line Cinema chairman Bob Shaye's chances to stay on when his contract expires in 2008... Full report Sunday AM."

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GJ - Concerned Christians helped get the word broadcast about this atheist stinkbomb. I noticed the old apostate theme used again - "Surely we can be exposed to various viewpoints. That should strengthen our faith."

NBC tried to veto an ad thanking our military. The outrage was so great that the network relented.

Both episodes show that our voices do matter.