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| Robert Preus |
I am glad to see that Steadfast Lutherans finally replaced their dreadful pixelated graphic of Robert Preus with this version, above. But I am sorry to say they missed the point about pixelation.
Ichabod readers are spoiled by an avalanche of high quality graphics. I search for them all the time and improve them whenever possible. Nothing is more fun than a large file in Photoshop. I took a bad version of Chemnitz from Cyberbrethren and removed the crease mark that ran down the middle of the scan, from the book being placed on the faceplate. Later my improved version began appearing on Cyberbrethren. I told another Photoshop fan, "Imagine him stealing what I stole. The nerve."
Anyone can find a good graphic of Robert Preus, plus quite a few inferior ones. Google Images will produce samples from Ichabod on almost any Lutheran figure or topic. Putting up a bad graphic shows a lack of experience in the field or a lack of effort. I can help. Just send an email. My photo of Moline High suffered the same crease problems, and now people are borrowing it.
This is the pixelation issue in Lutheran doctrine. When people take part of a verse, out of context, and make that their proof of UOJ, it is just like pixelation. They show us little squares of various hues, which they magnify to absurdity. But they refuse to deal with the verses in context.
They argue, as Rolf and Peter Preus recently did, that Romans 4:25 proves the entire world has been absolved of sin, without the Word, without the Means of Grace, without faith. That alone shows they do not comprehend Biblical, Lutheran doctrine. But even worse, they cannot even read the plain English of Romans without their UOJ filters on.
Here is the verse in context:
KJV Romans 4:22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Abraham is the example of justification by faith in Romans 4, the first of all justified by faith. We are justified (declared forgiven by God, which is the imputation or reckoning) if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. God creates the faith, and faith receives the Promise.
This is confirmed by the great statement at the center of the Lutheran Reformation and all Protestant thought.
KJV Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God.
The UOJ Stormtroopers want us to believe them, but they do not believe the Word of God. They want us to trust them, but they read this beautiful passage and turn it into rationalistic Pietistic mush.
In fact, they are so blind that they cannot see what Robert Preus is clearly saying in Justification and Rome. Nor will they deal with it, point by point. Instead they repeat their talking points and banish the justification by faith adherents from their smarmy, self-congratulatory "Steadfast" blog.
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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Missing the Pixelation Message on Steadfast Luther...":
(W)ELS' Wayne Mueller inadvertantly stabbed UOJ in the heart when he admitted that the Lutheran Synod's false gospel replaced the Chief Article of Christian faith declared in Scripture and faithfully confessed in the Lutheran Confessions:
"Appeal to the Lutheran symbols did not resolve the objective justification controversy. (Note Vernon Harley’s use of the Confessions to limit exegetical conclusions in his “Exegetical Study of Scripture Passages Generally Used to Teach ‘Objective’ or ‘Universal’ Justification” 1984, p8)
“This is basically why they contend so strongly for ‘objective’ justification and go a step further than our Lutheran Confessions insisting that Objective Justification is the Chief article of the Christian Faith, while our Confessions give that honor to justification by grace through faith”"
Page 7
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/MuellerSymbols.pdf
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GJ - Wayne Mueller heavily promoted Church Growth in WELS, only to be replaced by James Huebner, a known alumnus of Fuller Seminary.
WELS pays Grace (Huebner's congregation) $10,000 a year for his valuable services. Who gets the dough?
And who used to be pastor of Grace, yet is not even mentioned on the congregation's website?
Gausewitz! - a pastor who created a famous catechism without bothering to mention UOJ. And yet, the entire Synodical Conference respectected Gausewitz enough to vote him president.
