HOW CAN THE LUTHERAN CHURCH-MISSOURI SYNOD SOLVE THE THEOLOGICAL
PROBLEMS FACED IN THE DOGMATICS, “BRIEF STATEMENT” AND A CTCR REPORT RELATED TO
OBJECTIVE JUSTIFICATION AND SUBJECTIVE JUSTIFICATION?
The greatest God-given treasure of The
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is pure doctrine. This treatise is a serious call for awareness and understanding
of theological issues and contradictions created in our Dogmatics, Brief Statement and a CTCR Report with
realistic questions about the biblical and Lutheran accuracy of “Objective
Justification” (OJ) and “Subjective Justification.” This writer understands OJ as Jesus’ death and resurrection as giving
full payment for all the sins of all people in the world, and “Subjective
Justification” meaning that only those who by the Holy Spirit and God’s grace
have faith and believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord receive the forgiveness of
sins and eternal life. If you at this
time disagree with these descriptions, please list the scriptural passages that
are violated.
This treatise will provide documentation
that shows historical and present LCMS writings that tell that “Scripture teaches that God has already
declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ,” while at the same time
contradicting such statements with the truth that only believers are saved
eternally for Christ’s sake and are justified and counted as righteous and
their sins are forgiven.
God in His wisdom communicates primarily
through words. His first reported use
of words brought this world into existence. Almighty God kept reinforcing His
words with other evidence which He had planted into creation (Ps.19: Matt.6:26;
Rom.1.18-20). In the written and spoken
Word, He shares His very self and certain attributes like power, permanence and
His Holy Name (John 17:6-20) and gives everyone direct access to Him.
DR. FRANZ PIEPER’S “OBJECTIVE JUSTIFICATION”
1.
“Objective Justification” (OJ) was proclaimed by our founder, Dr. C.F.W.
Walther in an Easter sermon in 1846. He
continued sharing his particular insight for the rest of his life. He, our outstanding teacher, was elected to
by Synod’s first president in 1847. Dr.
Franz Pieper, one of Walther’s most devoted and gifted pupils carried on his
mentor’s mission. This was easy for him
because he became not only Missouri’s dominant professor, but also a Synod
president. His most lasting legacy is Christian Dogmatics, an awesome tome, more
than a thousand pages, bristling with more than eight thousand Bible
verses. There can be no doubt that both
fathers were totally committed to Sola
Scriptura, but unfortunately sometimes we can force Scripture to bend to
our own notions. Christian Dogmatics contains one of these personal views, OJ, which
conditioned the LCMS to adopt certain convictions without recognizing them to
contradict other truths we hold dearly.
The undersigned will review about 100 pages in Volume II of Christian Dogmatics to portray clearly
that unbelievers are not declared righteous, are not saints, and are
desperately in need of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to
give them saving faith.
2.
Luther taught that every believer is both a saint and a sinner, but this
does not mean that unbelievers are both justified and condemned (Rom.
8:1). To introduce the contradiction
and conflict introduced into the Missouri Synod in 1992 when the LCMS formally
adopted Pieper’s Brief Statement,
that document contains mutually
exclusive teachings. A statement
which will be reviewed later, offers the following quotation, “Holy Scripture sums up all its teachings
regarding the love of God to the world of sinners, regarding the salvation
wrought by Christ and regarding faith in Christ as the only way to obtain
salvation in the Article of Justification. Scripture teaches that God has
already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ. (Rom. 5-19;2
Cor. 5:18-21; Rom.4:25,) that therefore not for the sake of their good works,
but without the works of the law, by grace for Christ’s sake, He justifies,
that is, accounts as righteous, all who believe in Christ, that is, believe,
accept and rely on, the fact that for Christ’s sake their sins are
forgiven.”
This paragraph
has a serious contradiction: “1.
Scripture teaches that God has already declared the whole world to be righteous
in Christ.” 2. God justifies, that it
accounts as righteous, all who believe in Christ. This statement “Wrought by Christ and regarding faith in Christ
as the only way to obtain salvation in the article of justification.” This
treatise is a request of the LCMS to decide which statement is true doctrine in
the LCMS – 1 or 2? None of the three Scriptures
cited support the statement underlined above that God has already declared the
whole world to be righteous. Christ
paid for all their sins in His death and resurrection, but our Christian Dogmatics is correct only
when it states that they become righteous with their sins forgiven by God’s
grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
The biblical doctrine of Justification is
changed by inventing the concept “Objective
Justification,” which is not in the Bible and therefore was not referred to
during the Reformation or in the Book of Concord. Since this is not in the Book of Concord, this enabled the LCMS
to adopt OJ without openly violating its subscription to the Confessions. OJ
3.
Starting now with Volume II, page
321, we find perfectly valid statements and at the same time a
contradictory statement, “… by this
glorious resurrection act declared that the sins of the whole world are fully
expiated, or atoned for (note: true),
and that all mankind is now regarded as righteous before His divine tribunal”
(note: untrue). This phrase makes
a statement that declares sinners righteous without faith in Jesus Christ. The latter “declaration” is not God’s Word,
but “Haeck dixit Pieper.” There is no
scripture to support that last phrase.
The truth is that the sins of the whole world have been paid for by our
Lord’s active and passive obedience which truth is known in Rom.5:6. Salvation for all (Ez.18:23) is the purpose of His self-sacrifice and is
achieved only in those who believe (Rom.4:25; Is.53:11). The payment of an expiation or atonement is
not effective in achieving its purpose until the sinner’s faith is generated by
the Holy Spirit to accept the transaction that God made on his behalf (John
1:10-12). Only upon conversion does God
issue the proclamation that a given person is justified before the Divine
Tribunal. Then the celebration can
begin (Luke 15:7). Justification
without faith is an alien theology to Scripture and to Lutheranism. The Confessions summarize that truth by
repeating “By faith alone we are
justified.” (Ap. IV, p.143, par.
74-89)
4.
We continue with page 321. We asserted that Dr. Pieper offered no Scriptural
support for the statement that “all mankind is now regarded as righteous,” but
his quoting of Rom. 4:25 in his next sentence doesn’t support such
universalism. He writes, “This
gracious reconciliation and
justification is clearly taught in Rom.4:25: ‘Who was delivered from our offenses
and was raised again for our justification.”’ This Scripture in Romans
reveals the necessity of faith does not prove that God declared the whole world
righteous, but it is adopted as one of the three proofs of OJ in the Brief Statement. Romans 3 begins with the fact that all men
are deservedly under condemnation so their only hope lies in a sinners reliance
on faith. St. Paul used that word or its synonyms trust, or believing, no
less that twenty four times leading right up to Verse 25, which therefore
naturally applies to those who have faith. Verse 24 emphasized that fact by describing their Christian
character, ‘for us , to whom the Lord
will credit righteousness – for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus
our Lord from the dead…(25)…for our sins…for our justification…”
5.
The text on page 321
continues, “The term dikaiosis here means the act of divine justification executed
through God’s act of raising Christ from the dead and it is for this reason
called the objective justification of all mankind. This truth Dr. Walther stressed anew in America. He taught that the resurrection of Christ
from the dead is the actual absolution pronounced upon all sinners.” Romans 4 says nothing about unbelievers
being justified by faith, but only believers.
If unbelievers are absolved from their sins, where in the Scriptures do
we see that they are righteous and not absolved from their sins. This is not a
rhetorical question. The concept of an
objective “absolution pronounced upon all sinners” is not in Scripture, for Romans simply contradicts it
completely. And when they say that
justification was “executed through God’s act of raising Christ” for if
“executed” were a valid verb here, the text would say that justification is
“executed through faith.” The alleged
pronouncement of absolution at the Resurrection is an unbiblical statement or
metaphor unsuited to establishing a doctrine.
The reference to Dr. Walther instead of to the Scriptures as
authoritative makes no sense when both completely rule out the essential rule
of faith by justification. Romans not
only contradicts but causes us to reject the claim that in Christ’s sacrifice
all people in the world are declared righteous and absolved from their sin in
Romans Ch. 6-10. Chapter 10, which
reveals that Israel rejected salvation through faith because they “did not know
the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they
did not submit to God’s righteousness.”(Verse 3) Referring to Christ’s resurrection, Romans 10:8-10 then reports,
“But what does it say? “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your
heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming. That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus
is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved. For it is with your heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess
and are saved.” Romans here destroys
any opening door for any church body, including the LCMS, to teach that God has
declared all people in the world righteous because of Christ’s sacrifice without
believing or having faith. Romans 10:11-13 adds an emphasis on blessing those
who trust and call on the Lord being saved or righteous, “Everyone who calls on
the name of the Lord will be saved.” OJ
tells that that all people are righteous, but do not have to call on the Lord
to be saved.
6.
At the bottom of page 347 Christian Dogmatics claims “Nineteen hundred years ago Christ effected
the reconciliation of all men with God.”
This language is disconnected from divine revelation. If those who crucified him had thereby been
reconciled with God, why did their hostility continue after Easter Sunday? Reconciled sinners would not keep fighting
against everything God stands for by trying to exterminate His disciples! Even true believers are desperately wicked
(Jer. 17, 9;Rom.7,19) although their reconciliation began immediately when they
are converted. When it is written, “We
are reconciled to God by the death of His son,” this truth applies to all who
believe, not the rest of the world.
This contradicts one of the most precious doctrines in the Word (Eph.2:8-9).
7.
Page 351 illustrates that the
text finds things in Scripture that are not there. It asserts, “Doctrine loses its Christian character and becomes
pagan work righteousness as soon as the full reconciliation of all men by
Christ’s vicarious satisfaction is given up.”
The only connection between reconciliation and Christ’s vicarious
satisfaction is justifying faith. Romans 9:30-32 contradicts OJ theology when
it insists that faith is for righteousness and salvation, “What then shall we
say? That the gentiles who did not
pursue righteousness have attained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but
Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not?
Because they pursued it not by faith …”
Here we learn that the gentiles did not gain righteousness, “Because
they pursued it not by faith…” This is scripture that all men are declared
righteous because of Christ’s sacrifice.
8.
Pages 404 to 418 are absolutely glorious, as if
written for an entirely different book.
They leave no room for OJ without faith, which have been quoted earlier here. However, page 419 contrasts and rejects that orthodoxy by asserting: “The Formula of Concord and the Lutheran
theologians begin with the doctrine of objective reconciliation.” Where is this found in the Formula of
Concord? The problem is, as we have
seen, that we read consistently that objective justification is defined as
God’s verdict of justification on the entire world of sinners, including those
without faith.
“THESES ON JUSTIFICATION,” a
Report of the Commission of Theology and Church Relations – The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, May, 1983
The CTCR Report, “THESES ON JUSTIFICATION,” is available from Concordia Publishing
House. Providing an analysis of this
document, this writer learned that “Objective
Justification” that was introduced into the LCMS by Dr. Walther and Dr.
Pieper is reported in this book commits the LCMS completely to the unscriptural
aspects of Objective Justification. The Introduction
of the “Theses” does not mention
that OJ is the big issue, but that
quickly becomes very clear.
Significantly, little or no evidence is presented that the OJ
affirmations in this report are quoted directly from Dr. Pieper’s Dogmatics.
It is said in this report that “The Theses
are not intended to go beyond the pattern of thought and terminology of
Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and the presentations of our respected Lutheran
theologians of the past.” Recognize
that objective justification is not found in the Lutheran Confessions, nor any
statement that God has declared all men justified because of Christ’s sacrifice
on the cross. The teachings of Dr. Pieper on OJ are not referenced in the
Lutheran Confessions. Significantly, “Our
respected Lutheran theologians of the past” are not named from the Reformation
era. Only the theology of Dr. Peiper
and his methodology and OJ theory is the CTCR’s real model.
The 1981 convention of the LCMS adopted a
resolution (3-12) asking the CTCR, the joint faculties of the Seminary, and the
Council of Presidents to make a study of the Doctrine of Justification within
one year, which gives proper expression to “all the aspects of what the
Scriptures teach on this matter.” It is
very important to notice that the request was not about what the Lutheran
Confessions or what our LCMS theologians said and wrote about Objective
Justification, but what the Scriptures say
about justification. The Introduction
also states, “In keeping with the Synod’s recognition that “the need has been
expressed to study anew what the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions say on
this doctrine,” these theses have been formulated for the purpose of presenting
the biblical doctrine of justification…” The CTCR Introduction continues, “The
theses are not intended to go beyond the pattern of thought and terminology of
Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and
the presentation of our respected Lutheran theologians of the past.”
(Italics added) There is no hint that
OJ of Dr. Pieper’s Dogmatics would
be included into the LCMS in 1981 or in 1983 with this report, which make
declaration of OJ that is outside of the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions,
and Martin Luther and the Reformers.
Thesis
3 emphasizes, “When used to refer to the sinner’s relationship to God, the
term ‘justify’ is used throughout the Scriptures to denote a verdict, i.e., a
forensic act whereby a person is counted righteous, declared righteous,
reckoned to be righteous, absolved, or forgiven…”
Thesis
4 brings OJ out into the open by asserting that “Because it is Biblically and Confessionally correct to refer to the
great sin-cancelling atoning work of the Redeemer as the “objective” or
“universal” justification of the whole sinful human race.” This is a total contradiction of subjective
justification in the scriptures and the Confessions, all of which informs that only
those who believe or have faith are justified and absolved of all their sins.
The Scriptures and the Confessions never modify justification as “objective,”
but the LCMS does this in its dogmatics that contradicts God’s Word. Neither God’s Word or the Confessions
labeled justification as “objective” and “subjective.” The LCMS dogmatics of
“Objective Justification” is contradicted in John 3:16 where we learn that
Jesus died and rose again “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but
have ever-lasting life.” John 3:18
teaches us, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not
believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of
God’s one and only Son.” Scripture says that those who do not believe in the
name of God’s Son are condemned already, not declared righteous. The Scriptures listed here all reveal that
only believers are saved and absolved, not non-believers, and that nonbelievers
are not declared righteous – which the CTCR document on OJ contradicts. It
should be noted that the disconnect between God’s inspired Word and Missouri’s
theologians’ doctrine regarding “Objective Justification” is exemplified in
Thesis 4, 5, 6, 19, 20, 22, 23, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 43, 44, 46, 50, 52,
53, 54 and 55. We must continually ask
how anyone can be declared justified and absolved when they have no faith in
Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Thesis
5 is a typical example of what strains credulity, stating that forgiveness
“both as has been acquired for the entire human race by Christ’s work of
obedience and in its stead declared by His resurrection…” How can an unbeliever be justified without
faith? The LCMS makes its statement
that non-believers are declared righteous without any biblical text declaring
that!
Thesis 19 records, “Christ is the
Savior of all. This means that the
whole world of sinners has been redeemed, forgiven, and reconciled in
Him.” How can we accept this on the
false premise that somewhere God has pronounced the whole world to be
righteous, when the Scriptures reveal only that Jesus’ death
and resurrection paid for the sins of all people. Romans 3:22 tells that
“righteousness from God comes through faith, “and Verse 24-25 says that
“redemption comes…through faith in His blood.”
These two Bible verses prove that righteousness comes from God through faith,
even while the thesis after thesis keeps on repeating the false OJ statement
which has Bible text that disprove it, and there are none that support OJ. Romans 5:10 says nothing about the whole
world of sinners being saved.
When Thesis
20 states that “God’s wrath against all sinners has been and remains still,
and Satan, death and hell have been and are conquered,” does this mean that
unbelievers without faith will not be condemned to hell but will be in heaven
as they the judgment throne on Judgment Day?
Repeatedly we read in this report theses which have no explanation
related to declarations regarding theological declarations and contradictory
statements of Scriptures against dogmatic theories without any defense.
Thesis
21, “Complete and perfect righteousness and forgiveness have been acquired
for all sinners,” which is a proper explanation of “Objective Justification,” which
they only receive “perfect righteousness and forgiveness” and absolution of
their sins by grace through faith, which is subjective justification. Logic does not allow taking this thesis and
turning it into a declaration that God through Jesus has declared the whole
world to be righteous and forgiven.
Thesis
22 with its “has declared (as proclaimed in the Gospel), or reckoned, the
whole world to be righteous” is the same OJ repeated over and over and over again
in these thesis that is not “in the Gospel” as they claim, and certainly not in
those Bible verses. This would be
righteousness and absolution without faith, or “faithless justification.” Where does the Gospel declare the whole
world to be righteous, beginning with John 3:16-18? This is LCMS dogmatics and
interpretation of the Scriptures which absently contradicts and rejects every
absolute statement in the Gospel that tells, like John 3:18 that tells that
anyone who does not believe is damned and condemned!
Theses
23 once again keeps repeating the same statement about OJ’s declaration of
forgiveness and absolution for all people in the world, but why say it again? Does the LCMS believe that we will
mindlessly accept their OJ false statement by repeating it over and over? How
can the LCMS indicate that salvation is “procured” for all people and “in no
way is dependent upon man’s response.”
But this is not only clouded but appears to be contradicted by the last
two sentences, “God has acquired the forgiveness of sins for all people by declaring that the world for Christ’s sake
has been forgiven,” and the last sentence, “The acquiring of forgiveness is
the pronouncement of forgiveness.” Repetitions
and repetitions is very poor teaching. If anyone can find a Scripture that
proves that, then we have a big problem that God contradicts Himself when Jesus
states what He states in John 3:18.
Theses
24 – 36 has some excellent expressions of Scriptural and Gospel truth,
although a few are not totally unalloyed.
Thesis
34 provides a good statement, but
creates a basic contradiction when it states that “It is contrary to Scripture
and the pure Gospel to teach: That God’s verdict of justification of
forgiveness is a conditional verdict which specifies that justification occurs
only when a person believes.” On what
biblical basis can the LCMS provide scriptures that show that this is true
doctrine? What Scripture, verse or
verses allows this statement to be confessed in orthodox Lutheran Church? Assuming the Scriptural understanding of
repentance and forgiveness through faith, how can this statement be made
without telling that faith must be added. This statement is made without any
Scriptural reference about what a person must do besides “believe.” The same is true of the second last
“contrary” statement, “That the redemptive work of Christ only makes it
possible to God to pronounce His declaration of forgiveness” – for how can a
theological report by the LCMS state that salvation is dependent upon something
else or more than “received by Faith”? What’s the answer?
Thesis
35, “Anyone who does not believe, teach, and confess that the sinner is
justified alone through faith in Christ does dishonor to Christ and obscures
the Gospel.” This statement fully
contradicts the teaching of OJ and declaration of righteousness in this
document. Can we agree that this pure
Gospel statement totally contradicts the dogmatician’s various statements on OJ
that God has declared all people justified and absolved while saying nothing
about being saved through faith?
Chapter
VIII, The statement “Impenitent sinners are not justified or forgiven but
condemned” is obviously true, but how can the “declaration of the entire world
as justified” be made when many of are “impenitent sinners” who are “not
justified and forgiven, but condemned,” which contradicts the OJ
statement! Very noteworthy is the
“contrary statement” that it is not right to teach: “That it is proper to speak
of saints in hell or to use similar expressions in describing
justification.” The CTCR must unravel
this one!
Thesis
38 But who can really understand
what appears to be “word games” and “theological talk” when it is stated that
“although faith does not cause justification,” but if that is true, then how
can it be said that “the lack of faith does not cause damnation”? Do our theological statements really need to
be confusing or at least require serious explanations or questioning?
Thesis
39 simply is another way to say the same thing that is repeated over and
over, that is, that “the justification of the world is Christ’s work
accomplished once and for all to…Christ.”
Repeating this a thousand times does not make it true when it
contradicts the saving Gospel. The
first sentence must be questioned, and the second sentence is true.
A number of the following THESES are pure
Gospel and classic LCMS theology.
Significant is the “contrary statement” in THESIS 13, that “it is
contrary…to teach: That anyone receives for himself the forgiveness granted in
absolution without faith.” Yet, the OJ
dogmatic says that the whole world is forgiven and absolved, and says nothing
about faith.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Consider
the often repeated statement in these theses that God has declared all people
in the world righteous and absolved from their sins, OJ theology, what
interpretation are we to make of Roman 6, “If we have been united with Him like
this and His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His
resurrection. For we know that our old
self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with…now
if we died with Christ, we believe that we all also live with Him. …in the same way, count yourselves dead to
sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Verses 5-6, 8, 11). The unbeliever is only the old man without
baptism has no new man or is a new creature.
This document continues a confounding of biblical theology that not only
offers nothing positive, but appears very offensive. This CTCR report does not discuss the possibility of a universalism
that all people in the world are saved because of Christ’s sacrifice, but they
don’t know it. Some Christian “universalists”
in the past declared that only if when they have heard the Gospel that they are
condemned, then it would appear proper to have anti-missionary societies to
stop all who want to bring the Gospel to the unbelievers because if they hear
the Gospel and reject Christ, they will be damned. Can the LCMS and the CTCR unravel this? Since these Romans 6 Scriptures apply only to believers, then OJ
has a problem because unbelievers among all people are not united with Christ
and are not alive in Him.
Another problem is created with the Gospel
statements in Romans 8 and the problem with OJ, “Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…in order that the righteous
requirements of the Law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to
the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” (8:1,4) How can unbelievers which OJ claims are
righteous and absolved from their sin meet the righteous requirements when they
are condemned and guilty because they have not faith. Or what about Verse 6, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the
mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace (Verses 6-7); the sinful mind
is hostile to God”? If “Objective
Justification” is an official doctrine of the LCMS as indicated in the CTCR
report, then why are there not Bible studies proclaiming it, and why do not CPH
publications and LCMS materials promote it instead of it appearing in an
isolated document by the CTCR in May, 1983?
When will we start the talking?
An easy solution can change this issue
into a very positive action by affirming the following: Objective Justification is the full payment and forgiveness of all the sins of all people in the world,
which is available to them only when they receive faith by the Holy
Spirit. Subjective Justification is the receiving of the forgiveness of
sins and absolution by all people who by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s
power believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
***
GJ - My only thought is - A Missouri Synod pastor feels it necessary to publish secretly. The author has applied the term OJ to redemption or atonement. The UOJ Stormtroopers insist on merging the two and absolving the entire world without faith, without the Word, without the Means of Grace. Changing the meaning of the terms will not bring oil and water together, even if the mixture is shaken vigorously.
