TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2011
Au Contraire Mon Frere
Forward in Christ for November has an article on forgiveness based on the Book of Hosea. Like many denominations today, liberty is taken with Bible stories to make them relevant. No where in Hosea does it speak of Hosea or God giving unconditional forgiveness. I challenge anyone to find a passage. In fact Chapters 12 and 14 urge Israel to seek forgiveness! It speaks of God's love, mercy and sovereignty; forgiveness accompanied by contrition.
Brett Meyer offers a great review here:
Brett Meyer said...
"In the November Forward in Christ the (W)ELS continues to teach the false gospel of Universal Objective Justification (UOJ) in the article, How Forgiving is God?.
I'll post three of many false and misleading statements.
Question - Hosea legitimized the children Gomer brought into the relationship. How has God done that in your life? What is the baggage that he accepted along with you? Answer - He has accepted us all with the sins of our past and the sins that still come from our sinful nature.
Here (W)ELS teaches the subtle UOJ confession that unbelievers and believers are no different in God's eyes. They are equally under God's wrath over their sin and under His grace and eternal forgiveness simultaneously. (W)ELS teaches that God accepts your sin because of His love. This is false, a direct consequence of their false central gospel. God does not accept sin. God's wrath abides on everyone who is alive to sin. It is through faith in Christ that His righteousness becomes ours, He in us and we in Him through the gracious gift of faith, which washes us from all sin. Washed clean in the blood of the Lamb we are accepted by God the Father. (W)ELS UOJ Pastor David Jay Webber put it this way, "Pastor Webber (ELS) states, "In Christ, as God looks at the world through Christ, all are under divine mercy and are forgiven, and are therefore invited to believe and be saved. But outside of Christ, as God looks at the world apart from Christ, all are under divine wrath and judgment, and are condemned. The same people - namely all people - are under consideration in each case." http://extranos.blogspot.com/2010/03/grinding-my-ax.html
Question - Detail God's plan of forgiveness for his unfaithful wife (vv. 19,20) and her children (v. 23). Answer - God would promise to remain faithful in his love and compassion for Gomer. She would respond with faithfulness and love for God. Her children would be embraced by the love of God and become part of his people. All this is about the nation of Israel and applies to all sinners.
God chooses to give forgiveness that transforms us from sinners to saints and members of his family.
These two quotes are the heart of the (W)ELS Universalism. The (W)ELS version of UOJ teaches the whole world, including all unbelievers are children of God. They would have to be if it were true that upon Christ's payment for the world's sin God the Father declared the whole unbelieving world totally forgiven, completely justified and absolutely righteous in the blood of Christ. The Kokomo 4 are the correct teachings of the (W)ELS, not only because they were formulated by J.P. Meyer (WELS) but because they continue to teach and confess them.
http://www.wels.net/news-events/forward-in-christ/november-2011/how-forgiving-god
The Hochmuth case is but the continuation of the (W)ELS harvesting the fruit of their false doctrine of UOJ. Their commitment to it was clearly confessed when they excommunicated Joe and Lisa Krohn for rejecting the false teaching that the whole world was forgiven before and without contrition over sin and faith in Christ."
'via Blog this'
