Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Sola Fide Explains UOJ Discussions":
Anyone who read the last comment made by Pastor Martin Diers of the OLCC will see that he called me a liar when I accused him of teaching the specific doctrinal aspects of the Lutheran Synods chief article of Universal Objective Justification.
My comment in response is still up [GJ - for now] where I apologize for attributing to him the UOJ teachings.
In his refutation he clearly confessed One Justification Solely by Faith in Christ alone. He may retract this later but his scathing retort was faithful to Scripture. I believe this was the straw that broke the thread. They tolerated McCain's ranting and baseless ad hominem attacks against JBFAers but when it was clear one on their side of the discussion actually disagreed with UOJ it was too much. In fact this is quite common during these discussions to see the UOJists take opposing false positions against each other. Primary reason for this is that UOJ has no confessional foundation. There is no BOC style confession of this false gospel. They each have a different version that they adhere to. Joe Krohn's latest incarnation of UOJ is prime example. His teaching is inconsistent with (W)ELS and the LCMS. Yet, they tolerate each other because they receive comfort in a justification and righteousness given to them without faith.
UOJ is a house of man-made cards which is 100% putrified. None of it stands against Scripture and the Confessions. Neither does it stand up next to the confessors who drop kicked Huber years ago for the same teachings.
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GJ - Luther had one litmus test for sound doctrine - justification by faith. The satis est of the Augsburg Confession is virtually the same, expressed in different words. The reason behind this litmus test is the unity of the Scriptures. One cannot set aside one teaching and have the rest of the Biblical unified truth survive.
Justification by faith rests upon the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace. The Holy Spirit's exclusive work through the Word explains the efficacy word-group found so often in the New Testament, the Old Testament using different words to express the same thought. Some words and phrases, like Means of Grace, are short-cuts to express Biblical teaching.
If someone teaches justification by faith, his approach to the Trinity, inerrancy, and Holy Communion is likely to be sound. Justification by faith deniers have a wobbly, broken gyroscope, so they head off toward Fuller Seminary, Leonard Sweet, or the sweet incense clouds of Rome. Mother Mary welcomes them home.
Universal Objective Justification can be reverse-engineered to show its deadly flaws. One group claims that the entire world was absolved the moment Christ died. Another group connects this mysterious and never-revealed absolution to the Moment of Resurrection. They are like the advocates of the Assumption of Mary. Some say she died first and was assumed into heaven. Others say she was assumed without dying. The important part for them was the additional step of deification, not the obvious contradiction, not the utter lack of Biblical or historical support. The Assumptionists are like the UOJists - they believe in their own belief - so do not get in their way. It is safer to rob a she-bear of her cubs than interrupt a UOJ Stormtrooper in his folly.
Another deadly flaw in UOJ is double-justification. UOJ Enthusiasts have conceded that justification in the New Testament and in the Book of Concord can only mean justification by faith. UOJ advocates know this, but never grapple with the entire world being forgiven and saved, even before birth, and a second justification (by faith in this universal absolution) that makes it really real. The double-talk makes forgiveness utter nonsense, absolution meaningless, contrition irrelevant.
Christian News readers raged for years about the Moment of Consecration, with large groups of the Synodical Conference still connecting the Real Presence to its reception, sometimes to the No-Man's Land of "We don't know." However, the simple Biblical solution comes from the same efficacy of the Word taught throughout the Scriptures - the Word consecrates. I do not need to quote Chemnitz or Luther or Driscoll, because the Scriptures transcend all human authority, all man-made creeds and books.
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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Dr. Lito Cruz Sent This Note about Samuel Huber":
Hardt's essay states, "Hardt: “At length no reconciliation, however, was possible. The reason cannot, strictly speaking, be said to be the fact that Huber insisted on using the unusual term “universal justification” or on maintaining the idea that all mankind had been given, in some sense, part of Christ’s universal, substitutionary righteousness.”
Hunnius condemned the distribution of Christ's righteousness outside of the Holy Spirit's graciously worked faith. This is one of the teachings that Pastor Diers strongly insisted he did not teach. It is one that the UOJists base their false gospel on.
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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Thoughts on the Steadfast Lutheran Retreat. Eighty...":
Dr. Jackson -
I got thinking about all the comments that the steadfastlutherans website scratched [deleted]. Come to think of it; since first visiting Ichabod months ago, I've never once witnessed evidence of one comment deletion. It kind of makes me wonder who is running the scrub show on that "Lutheran" site.
Perhaps, a new website name is in order for them. Perhaps, they should change it to steadfastscrubbinglutherans.org? Or, better yet, to be in line with their Universalism worship; call the website: steadfastscrubbing.org - and be done with it!
Ichabod - Keep up the good work. Your website fairness and moderating skills are very commendable!
Nathan M. Bickel
www.thechristianmessage.org
www.moralmatters.org
