LPC has left a new comment on your post "Intrepid Lutherans: Some musings on the article of...":
Listen to what Walther said... C.F.W. Walther wrote in 1868: "…you often hear pastors preach, 'You are saved if you believe.' What they should be saying is, 'You are saved so that you might believe."
Now compare this with what Zwingli said...
"Faith itself does not save, speaking accurately, but it is a sign of salvation and election. The Father's drawing saves and justifies, and the operation of the Holy Spirit: faith, however, is the sign of all the Elect".
Can you see the difference? I don't. Of course, Walther was a sub-conscious Calvinist (and Calvin never broke free from Zwingli). He spoke like a true Zwinglian also.
In Calvinism as in UOJ, you are justified first then you have faith. This is all the result of unconditional election. Your faith is just the manifestation of justification which in eternity you already have even before you were born.
Walther said, you are saved so you might believe.
Now excuse me, where did Jesus say that?
LPC
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LPC has left a new comment on your post "Intrepid Lutherans: Some musings on the article of...":
"The doctrine that teaches such a particularism[absolute election] according to which God elected unto eternal life only certain particular persons directly without regarding faith, merely because it so pleased Him, --- this we consider Calvinistic and unchristian"--
Polycarp Leyser
(emphasis mine)
LPC
