I noticed Lindee unburdening himself on the Intrepid blog, noting differences between Lutherans and Calvinists. He is a word-juggler, so one must discern what he is trying to say covertly. That came through early on, when he refused to answer a direct question about justification by faith.
I have linked the post. Mequon graduates - pass your mouse arrow over this link and left-click. It will appear. I have changed the font to blue.
Lutherans, on the other hand, do not teach that Grace is “particular” or that Christ’s atoning work was “limited” to some, but not to others. Instead, we confess what the Scriptures directly say, and teach Universal Grace (Jn. 3:16) and Universal Atonement (1 Jn. 2:2; Co. 1:19-22). Doug Lindee
That was far too clever, combining Universalism with "we confess" and "what the Scriptures directly say."
Universal grace? That comes from someone who also wrote about the Means of Grace. Therein lies the contradiction. One cannot teach the Gospel in the Means of Grace and also claim that grace has come to the entire world without Means, without the Word, without the Holy Spirit.
Thus everything else in Lindee's posts is a covering for his Enthusiasm. He is trying to set up a gullible audience for the UOJ two-step, hereafter cited as the Lindee Hop.
The Lindee Hop would have people cling to the Calvinist categories - general grace, particular grace, etc. The UOJ crowd thinks in terms of Calvinism and adopts the Calvinists' debate against the Arminians. That is called a red herring logical fallacy. I might as well say, "We do not believe in cannibalism" and hint that UOJ advocates do. Next they would have to defend themselves against charges of cannibalism. I see this switch to Calvinist/Arminian in the UOJ set because they rely on talking points. (Cue Jay Webber voiceover. "We have to carefully present UOJ...")
The Lindee Hop implies that disagreeing with UOJ means identification with Calvin's Limited Atonement. Avoided in his post (unless I am blind) are:
- Repudiations of UOJ.
- Distinguishing UOJ from justification by faith.
God loved the world, and Christ did die for the sins of the world. He redeemed the world, in both senses of the two Greek words used for one English world. He paid for our sins, and he released us from the bondage to sin. That is not disputed.
God appointed the Means of Grace so that this Atonement could be preached to the entire world, God's grace distributed through His Instruments of Grace, a term used in the Book of Concord but seldom repeated today.
Please do not mock the Means of Grace and the efficacy of the Word by claiming that the entire world has received forgiveness (grace) without the Gospel. The Universalists claim that, but they are much more charming and honest about it.
Karl Barth taught the same thing, using the term "restoration of the world." See his Dogmatics, II, 2. Barth is the official theologian of Fuller Seminary, hence also the patriarch of modern Missouri, WELS, and the micro-mini sects.
