I have, over the years, conversed with many Calvinists, in person and over the Internet. I always ask them, “Do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are among God’s elect and are saved?” There are generally two reactions to that question: (1) A long and rather painful pause after which they say, “I hope I am. I do believe in Christ.” or (2) A quick, “Yes, I believe in Christ.” Now, let’s be honest here and admit that many Lutherans would answer in somewhat the same way. But here is the problem.
If our feelings of certainty in our salvation is (sic) based on our feeling that we have faith, we will flounder. The answer we must always give to the question of “Do you know you are saved?” is not, “Yes, because I have faith” but rather, “Yes, because Christ Jesus died for me” and of course, in my opinion, the very best answer of all is simply to point people to Luther’s explanation of the Creed and say, “Here, this puts it very well.”
Point yourself, and others, not to faith, not to subjective feelings that there is faith in your heart, but always, always, always, point people to Christ and what He has done for you and the whole world. Do not confused (sic) faith in faith, with trust in Christ. There is a key difference.
We are Christians, not Faith-ians.
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GJ - The UOJ Stormtroopers are getting increasingly touchy. Recently a branch of the Preus clan began denouncing those who "deny UOJ." So I asked, "Like Robert Preus?" That set off a longer rant, especially since I provided written proof, from Justification and Rome.
In the epic piece of balderdash copied above, Paul McCain has shown how little he understands Calvinism or Lutheran doctrine.
UOJ fanatics like to lead by attacking faith, using their weak little straw man arguments. They remind me of the ALC/LCA leaders who likewise said, "The Bible is not a book that fell from heaven," as if someone claimed that.
Paul, whose rudeness has been displayed publicly on Facebook, sounds just like Bucky Hellwig in this piece. It is no wonder I got them confused once, when Bucky was posting anonymously on LutherQuest (sic).
UOJ goes together with Enthusiasm, Church Growth, and Receptionism because they are all flavors of separating the Holy Spirit from the Word, grace from the Means of Grace.
If Paul had taken the time to engage in the scholarly study of comparative dogmatics, instead of packing his bags for the Purple Palace, he might have learned how to do more than preach to the double-justification choir.
The formula, left unspoken in his diatribe, is thus:
1. God absolved the whole world of sin, without the Word, without the Means of Grace, without faith, at the crucifixion or at the resurrection, the Moment of Absolution still being debated. That is General, Objective, or Universal, or Universal Objective Justification.
2. Everyone has to make a decision to believe in UOJ, but they are justified already (Part 1). They need Part 2 for Part 1 to be really, really effective, even though it is already really effective. Part 2 is called Subjective Justification.
This formula first appeared, in the fulness of time, in a very influential, prolixic, boring, confusing book by the Halle Pietist George Christian Knapp. It appeared in German and English, years before Walther placed his predestined and predestinating feet on the shores of the Mississippi. This book remained a primary theology book for all Protestants for most of the 19th century.
A variation on this theme of Universalism has been the mantra of the LCA and ALC moderns: God has already forgiven everyone.
This has been explained many times before, but I will repeat the quotations found on the lower part of this blog. They represent Lutheran doctrine rather than the Enthusiasm McCain endorses so smoothly:
"Nowhere in the Bible is any man constituted or declared righteous ‘without faith, before faith.’” R. C. H. Lenski, Romans, Augsburg Publishing House: Minneapolis, 1963, p. 382. Romans 5:19-20.
"They [the false teachers] fared like a man who looks through a colored glass. Put before such a man whatever color you please, he sees no other color than that of the glass. The fault is not that the right color is not put before him but that his glass is colored differently, as the word of Is. 6:9 puts it: You will see, he says, and yet you will not see it."What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 644.
"To this incline your ears, and be persuaded that God speaks through men and forgives you your sins; this, of course, requires faith."Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 200.From Thy Strong Word:J-520
"It is a faithful saying that Christ has accomplished everything, has removed sin and overcome every enemy, so that through Him we are lords over all things. But the treasure lies yet in one pile; it is not yet distributed nor invested. Consequently, if we are to possess it, the Holy Spirit must come and teach our hearts to believe and say: I, too, am one of those who are to have this treasure. When we feel that God has thus helped us and given the treasure to us, everything goes well, and it cannot be otherwise than that man's heart rejoices in God and lifts itself up, saying: Dear Father, if it is Thy will to show toward me such great love and faithfulness, which I cannot fully fathom, then will I also love Thee with all my heart and be joyful, and cheerfully do what pleases Thee. Thus, the heart does not now look at God with evil eyes, does not imagine He will cast us into hell, as it did before the Holy Spirit came...." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 279. Pentecost Sunday. John 14:23-31.J-528
"Faith is that my whole heart takes to itself this treasure. It is not my doing, not my presenting or giving, not my work or preparation, but that a heart comforts itself, and is perfectly confident with respect to this, namely, that God makes a present and gift to us, and not we to Him, that He sheds upon us every treasure of grace in Christ." Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV. #48. Of Justification. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 135. Heiser, p. 36.J-545
"These treasures are offered us by the Holy Ghost in the promise of the holy Gospel; and faith alone is the only means by which we lay hold upon, accept, and apply, and appropriate them to ourselves. This faith is a gift of God, by which we truly learn to know Christ, our Redeemer, in the Word of the Gospel, and trust in Him, that for the sake of His obedience alone we have the forgiveness of sins by grace, are regarded as godly and righteous by God the Father, and are eternally saved." Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, III. #10. Of the Righteousness of Faith before God. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 919. Tappert, p. 541. Heiser, p. 250.J-590
"For neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe on Him, and obtain Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Ghost through the preaching of the Gospel. The work is done and accomplished; for Christ has acquired and gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death, resurrection, etc. But if the work remained concealed so that no one knew of it, then it would be in vain and lost. That this treasure, therefore, might not lie buried, but be appropriated and enjoyed, God has caused the Word to go forth and be proclaimed, in which He gives the Holy Ghost to bring this treasure home and appropriate it to us. Therefore sanctifying is nothing else than bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which we could not attain ourselves."The Large Catechism, The Creed, Article III, #38, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 689. Tappert, p. 415. Heiser, p. 194.
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GJ - I do not see Luther as an enemy of faith, since the Reformer shows how the Holy Spirit works through the Word to create and sustain faith. This faith trusts the Gospel Promises. That is why Luther taught justification by faith in harmony with the Scriptures.
PS -
Jay Webber, in the ELS, went to Ft. Wayne at the same time as McCain. Robert Preus was deep into UOJ and CG at that time. Jay still defends UOJ too.
On LQ, the FW guys said the same things McCain just did. They have their Calvinist quip, their "faith in faith" quip, and a couple of other repeat-after-me sayings they memorized.
They never come to grips with the efficacy of the Word, the Means of Grace, or the classic passages in the Book of Concord about justification by faith.
Worst of all, they cannot address Robert Preus' own words in Justification and Rome.
