WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Faith is the abundance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews xi. 1)
This is the noblest and dearest virtue of faith, that it closes its eyes and simply and joyfully leaves everything in the hands of God. It does not desire to know why God acts as He does, and it still holds Him to be the Highest Goodness and Justice, although to all reason, the senses and experience, nothing appears but wrath and injustice. That is why faith is called the proving of things not seen, and even the very opposite in what is seen. Therefore this is the highest honor and love towards God and the highest degree of such honor and love, that in these contrary things you can regard and praise Him as good and just. Here the natural eye must be completely plucked out, and there must be nothing but sheer faith. Otherwise there will be a grim and fearful vexation of spirit.
Letter to Haus v. Rechenberg, 1522. [W.A. 10. 323] Via Day by Day We Magnify Thee, pg. 237.
Via Gnesio Lutheran
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L P has left a new comment on your post "Faith According to Luther - And the Bible":
I notice for UOJers, faith is just the rearrangement of furnitures. Everything is already in the room, the chairs, tables and lamps are already in the room, they are just not in their right places.
Contrary to Luther who found faith a problem, for UOJers, there is nothing to it (faith). It is no problem at all. It is no sweat, it is easy. Hence, to have it requires no miracle. Eventually faith is a Do It Yourself (DIY) activity.
LPC
4 comments:
Luther (Faithful), "That is why faith is called the proving of things not seen."
(W)ELS (not so much),
We must understand that faith doesn’t create anything new. Faith doesn’t bring anything 27 into existence that doesn’t already exist. Faith doesn’t cause something to happen. Faith simply 28 grasps—trusts—something that already is in place. Faith grasps the objective reality of God’s 29 completed salvation in Christ. Faith appropriates the universal truth and takes personal 30 ownership of God’s forgiveness found only in the Savior. , 31 according to Scripture: (1) the grace of God and (2) the merits of Christ. There is nothing inside 32 man, including faith, which is a cause of salvation. Page 7
http://scdwels.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/schleicher-paper.pdf
We must understand that faith doesn’t create anything new. Faith doesn’t bring anything into existence that doesn’t already exist. Faith doesn’t cause something to happen. Faith simply grasps—trusts—something that already is in place. Faith grasps the objective reality of God’s completed salvation in Christ. Faith appropriates the universal truth and takes personal ownership of God’s forgiveness found only in the Savior.9 Remember the causes of our salvation, according to Scripture: (1) the grace of God and (2) the merits of Christ. There is nothing inside man, including faith, which is a cause of salvation. Page 5
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BuchholzJustification.pdf
"When we speak of objective justification, we mean (33) that justification is complete. It does not need to be completed by faith or any other work. It is (34) finished, perfect. God has declared the world righteous for Jesus' sake. This is an objective (35) reality, whether anyone believes it or not. Even if the whole world rejected the message of the (36) gospel, it would still remain an objective reality that God had acquitted the world of sin." Page 5
http://scdwels.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/schleicher-paper.pdf
(68)"But, sadly, Satan worked and continues to (69) work within the Lutheran ranks. Some wanted to make justification an act of God “at the moment of faith” and so (70) they denied and even rejected universal, objective justification." Page 4, The Doctrine of Justification since the Reformation, Pastor Nate Bourman WELS
http://scdwels.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/justification-paper.pdf
"But universal and objective justification is one doctrine whose place in the victorious Christian life is clear. Wherever men teach that faith comes first as a condition that must be fulfilled or a work that must be done or even as a fact that must be recognized before forgiven is bestowed or becomes real, men will be trained to look into their own hearts for assurance rather than to the words and promises of God. If my sins are forgiven only if I first have faith then I have no solid foundation on which to rest my hope for eternal life. I must then know that I have faith before I can know that my sins are forgiven." Page
13, Objective Justification By Dr. Siegbert W. Becker / The Importance of Objective Justification
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BeckerJustification.PDF
Cont...
Cont...
"The other extreme is to stress subjective justification without understanding the objective reality. This error leads to synergism in one form or the other. Stressing faith as the cause of justification makes it a meritorious work. We have then destroyed the sola gratia of the Gospel, and cause men to look within themselves for the assurance of salvation." Page 7,
Stand in Awe of Justification / IV. Avoid Dulling its Divine Brilliance, Mark Zarling
WELS http://www.wlsessays.net/files/ZarlingJustification.pdf
"To state it negatively, all sin has already been forgiven; it is a mutually exclusive proposition to say that God has given the obedience of His Son to all, and to say as well that man’s sin is not forgiven until he does something, or until he believes it. The imputation of guilt did not require that the individual sin, nor that he believe himself a sinner; likewise the imputation of Christ’s obedience needs no work or belief of man to effect it or complete it. In sum, the sin of the whole world has already been forgiven." Page 2,
On the Distinction between Objective and Subjective Justification / Statement of the Doctrine of Objective Justification [Chicago Pastoral Conference November 8, 1977] by D. Deutschlander
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/DeutschlanderDistinction.pdf
"Preus argued that if objective justification is not true, faith cannot be the means by which the sinner merely receives God’s forgiveness, but it must become meritorious. The denial of objective justification turns faith into a work. God will not justify the sinner solely on the basis of Christ’s redemption, but will justify the sinner only when the sinner meets the condition of having faith. Thus, the redemption of Christ does not actually cause God to forgive anyone, but merely makes God willing to forgive if sinners perform the necessary work of believing. Faith becomes a work".[35] Rev. Rolf D. Preus in The
Legacy of Herman Amberg Preus,
http://www.christforus.org/Papers/Content/LegacyHermanAmbergPreus.html#_ftn35
"I would eliminate faith as a requirement that makes justification true. That would be making faith a work of mine."
Franz August Otto Pieper, A Final Word,
http://www.franzpieper.com/
I notice for UOJers, faith is just the rearrangement of furnitures. Everything is already in the room, the chairs, tables and lamps are already in the room, they are just not in their right places.
Contrary to Luther who found faith a problem, for UOJers, there is nothing to it (faith). It is no problem at all. It is no sweat, it is easy. Hence, to have it requires no miracle. Eventually faith is a Do It Yourself (DIY) activity.
LPC
Good morning Pastor GJ. Let's make Luther's Catechism say somethong that it doesn't say. I hve before me a worn and torn 1956 Doctor Martin Luther's Small Catechism(Revision authorized by the Ev. Luth.Joint Synod Wis. a.o.s.) No place, and I mean NO PLACE, is there a mention of objection or univesal justification. Seeing as how the passages were diligently translated, we would not expect to see the two terms.
Now let us move away from 1956. One of the students that I drive was kind enough to let me glance at her Small Catechism book. Keep in mind that I only had a minute to glance! This is the blue colored book published by NPH and revised by Kuske. Revisions abound! In the glossary, under justification, is also says objective justification.(You don't find that in the old brown book) Understand, I did not have time to look at the pages that discussed justification. Truth and purity need to be restored to these books. What are we supposed to teach our children?
In Christ,
from WELs church lady
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