WELS church lady has left a new comment on your post "Luther - On Faith":
Pastor Nate Bourman! Yes, he is one of our younger pastors. Someone assigned Pastor Bourman to be an essay presenter, yet the wording of the conference paper is unlike his organized sermons. Most of us may remember that this essay was delayed in its posting on the SCD website. UOJ
I could quote Romans 3:22-24; however, these two get the most publicity on the subject. I will, instead, quote from The Book of Psalms KJV: Ps. 130:3-4 "If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared." Ps. 31:1 "In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: Deliver me in Thy righteousness." Ps. 143:2 "And enter not unto judgment with Thy servant: for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified."
Romans chapter four is what I rename the Second Book of Abraham. Even the "masonic" NIV says the righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.(Rom.3:22)Also, from the NIV, the first words of Romans chapter five: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of the Lord."
I borrowed the Psalm quotes from J.T. Mueller's "My Church and Others" booklet. There was NO NIV back then, so Brother J.T. had to settle for the King James Bible. Sadly, Mueller borrowed from F. Pieper when composing his Dogmatics from the 1930s.(Mueller threw in the term objective justification, but no guilt free saints in hell heresy) Fortunately, from the first printing in the 1920s to the last printing in the 1960s, "My Church and Others" retained its purity to the Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions.
It still puzzles me when I think of the time that I asked my pastor about universal objective justification(sic). He looked at me strangely and said, "Where did you hear something like that?" I love the WELS, but we cannot protect the synod when bad doctrine is being unaddressed.
In Christ,
Rebecca
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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Luther - On Faith":
(W)ELS on the withered hand of faith -
Pastor Nate Bourman
But, sadly, Satan worked and continues to work within the Lutheran ranks. Some wanted to make justification an act of God “at the moment of faith” and so they denied and even rejected universal, objective justification. Page 4
http://scdwels.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/justification-paper.pdf
The Jungkuntz disciples are the most significant destructive influence
in the Big Four Today - ELCA, LCMS, WELS, ELS.
President Mark Zarling
Faith is merely the receiving hand into which God pours out His grace through the Gospel. Our dogmaticians spoke of faith as the organon leptikon. Faith does nothing more than receive the forgiveness which is offered in the Gospel. It is not a condition we fulfill nor is it a cause of forgiveness. We are already forgiven. God's message of justification in Christ is there whether we believe it or not. Faith then receives the blessings. Unbelief rejects them, so unbelief will be damned. The reason there is confusion in regard to the role of faith is rather simple. Satan is always trying to get men to pat themselves on the back. The opinio legis inherent in every old Adam likes to think that it can somehow assist in working out salvation. Page 7
We dare not teach that faith comes first, or that faith is all-important. Whenever I must examine my faith, I find it weak and full of doubts. Faith gives no solid comfort. It turns man to look inward at his own heart, rather that at the sure promises of God as found in Scripture. There are times when I might doubt that I even have faith. However, there is nothing uncertain in the truth of justification. Sin is taken away, forgiven, and swallowed up in the empty tomb. Christ has accomplished forgiveness and salvation. It is true, even if I doubt it, even if I don't believe it. Page 11
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/ZarlingJustification.pdf
Siebert W. Becker
It is crystal clear that the announcement of forgiveness to all the world comes first; then faith builds on that announcement and finds comfort and assurance in it. Page 2
German Missouri catechism, Gausewitz (Syn Conference President) Catechism, Missouri KJV Catechism. Was Becker a liar or just ignorant? Apt to teach?
The doctrine of universal justification is often ridiculed with the argument that if God really forgives sins prior to faith then the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith becomes meaningless. Such conclusions demonstrate a rationalistic spirit that consciously or unconsciously refuses to be guided by Scripture alone. Page 12
Faith does nothing more than accept the forgiveness proclaimed in the Gospel. It is not a condition we must fulfill before we can be forgiven. It is not a cause of forgiveness on account of which God forgives us. The forgiveness comes first. Faith is merely the response to the message. God says to us, “Your sins are forgiven.” Page 12
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BeckerJustification.PDF
District President Pastor Jon Buchholz
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.
9 This very important truth—that faith is appropriative and not causative—can be illustrated thus: A sports fan may say, “I believe that my team will win the World Series this year.” Such faith does not bring about the desired outcome. The person’s belief doesn’t cause anything to happen.
Christian faith appropriates and holds onto the reality of God’s justification completed in Christ. It does not cause justification or forgiveness to take place. It simply grasps God’s justification that is already a reality. Page 5
http://www.wlsessays.net/node/390
