Introduction
Book Title - Justification By Faith Alone: Luther and the Book of Concord versus Pietism and the Synodical Conference. The book will be available in a printed version through Lulu.com, plus free PDF and Word downloads. Plenty of fully documented quotations will be featured.
A - Doctrine of the Word – Authority, Clarity, Efficacy
B - Law and Gospel
C - Atonement and Its Synonyms
D - Justification by Faith
E - The Means of Grace versus Enthusiasm
F - Calvin and Zwingli
G - Pietism
H - Pietists: Burk, Knapp, and Tholuck
I - Universal Objective Justification and ELCA’s Gospel Reductionism
J - Church Growth Loves UOJ
K - Returning to Luther’s Biblical Doctrine
UOJ has been the third rail of Synodical Lutheranism (not to be confused with Confessional Lutheranism) for a long time. Touch upon the idiocy of justification without faith and 100,000 volts turn you into someone to be mourned - "he was good once, but he drifted...so we had to...well, he needed killin."
Even worse is the hint that CFW Walther or F. Pieper could be wrong about anything. Tis better to discuss loathsome diseases at the ladies meeting than to suggest such blasphemy. If Walther and Pieper are denied infallibility, the house of cards collapses and pastors have to start studying again. It is so much easier to repeat slogans and denounce dissenters. More fun, too.
But if we reverse engineer the demise of the Little Sect on the Prairie, the Wisconsin Sect, and the Missouri Compromise Synod, some reason needs to be established for the clown acts that now pass for worship.
- Why did the Synodical Conference skip the vote on women's ordination, with women now teaching men and usurping authority with alacrity (and official approval)?
- Why are the worst Pentecostal, New Ager, Babtist, Emerging Church centers the best possible places to study for career advancement in the Synodical Conference: Fuller Seminary, Trinity Deerfield, Willow Creek, Granger Community Church, Mark Driscoll, Leonard Sweet (for pity's sake!), Ed Stetzer, Andy Stanley, and Craig Groeschel?
- How did the Synodical Conference turn the largest charitable gift--from the Schwan Foundation--into bankruptcy?
- Why is the Synodical Conference working with ELCA while pretending to be disgusted with ELCA?
"As an aside, the condemnation of Driscoll for his cussing is especially despicable. Driscoll has publicly repented of his former propensity to use vulgar language. If God can cast those transgressions as far as the east is from the west and remember them no more, what does it say about us when we insist on taking sins for which Christ died and of which Driscoll has repented and keep throwing them in his face?" Quoted here.
Here is the entire post:
On Mark Driscoll and the SBC
June 25th, 2009Though not in attendance at this year’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville, Ky. (for he’s not even a Southern Baptist), Mark Driscoll seemed to be omnipresent at the proceedings.
Judging by many of the motions made from the floor of the convention, a lot of Southern Baptist folks apparently don’t care too much for Driscoll, the edgy pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. One motion wanted LifeWay Christian Stores to expunge Driscoll’s books from their shelves. One motion sought to keep those who associate with Driscoll from speaking at the annual SBC Pastors’ Conference. One motion wanted such associates of Driscoll to be investigated.
The hating on Driscoll by a vocal minority was loud and obvious. They don’t like him because he is too sexually suggestive. They don’t like him because he drinks alcohol. They don’t like him because he’s been known to use some off-color language.
Fortunately, the SBC committee assigned to handle all the motions had the sense to toss these motions out, and to gently rebuke those who offered such slanderous measures.
I’ll be the first to admit that I think Driscoll sometimes goes too far when it comes to the language he employs. Sometimes he is too crude and suggestive. Sometimes his humor is inappropriate. (As an aside, the condemnation of Driscoll for his cussing is especially despicable. Driscoll has publicly repented of his former propensity to use vulgar language. If God can cast those transgressions as far as the east is from the west and remember them no more, what does it say about us when we insist on taking sins for which Christ died and of which Driscoll has repented and keep throwing them in his face?)
But I also know that Mark Driscoll faithfully and powerfully preaches the gospel, and he is committed to planting gospel-centered churches around the world. So I’m willing to put up with what I consider to be some of his shortcomings to embrace him as a brother and to applaud him for keeping primary in his ministry the message that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried and raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
I fear that far too many Southern Baptist churches have all but abandoned that message entirely. I hear about too many sermons dealing with matters of secondary importance – like how to handle your finances, how to be a good dad, how to eliminate stress, how to be a strong leader and lots of other trivialities that don’t amount to much in the eternal scheme of things.
We have lots of churches where nobody could possibly be saved because they’re not hearing the message of salvation, and yet we have messengers at the SBC annual meeting who want to launch a personal crusade against Driscoll because they’re uncomfortable with his language.
Give me the choice between Driscoll and his emphasis on the gospel (despite his faults) and many Southern Baptist churches where the language is perfectly appropriate and pristine and yet devoid of the gospel’s wonderful words of life, and I’ll take Driscoll every time.
