"But faith is never presented as something necessary to complete a justification which God has only made possible."
A blatant STRAWMAN. Who is making that argument? Not the JBFA people of the Lutheran Confessions!
Rather, it is the UOJ - building as it were the arguments by JBFA Lutherans (when in fact it is not) then demolishes what he has already set up. Even the UOJ people by default accepted already the force of the strawman argument and hence, they are operating in that faith paradigm, when in fact the paradigm on faith is false.
Faith is produced by the Word (Law and Gospel), faith is never anything that has to be completed by man.
Those who accept UOJ eventually accept the false paradigm that faith is something to be completed by man. Proof, let us quote Walther here who said...
Only one thing remains on your part so that you also possess the gift. This one thing is—faith. And this brings me to the second part of today's Easter message, in which I now would show you that every man who wants to be saved must accept by faith the general absolution, pronounced 1800 years ago, as an absolution spoken individually to him.
I highlighted in bold to show how Walther and the Waltherians are operating in the false notion of faith as well.
LPC
***
GJ - Well done, LPC. The Walther quotation should remind people that JP Meyer's Decision Theology is simply a reflection of Walther's Decision Theology. The claim of UOJ is this - we will protect the Gospel from synergism.
But what does this Walther statement say? You must now do your part. That is synergism.
The proper understanding of justification is monergistic, not synergistic. God creates faith with the efficacious Word, so justification by faith is God's work - both in creating faith and in the declaration of forgiveness.
Walther's amalgamation of Pietism and Lutheran doctrine turned into a time-bomb that blew up the Synodical Conference.
The only solution is to identify and repudiate the false doctrine.
