ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
KJV Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore
come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
"Go to Dark Gethsemane"
by James Montgomery, 1771-1854
1. Go to dark Gethsemane,
Ye that feel the Tempter's power;
Your Redeemer's conflict see,
Watch with Him one bitter hour;
Turn not from His griefs away,
Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.
2. Follow to the judgment-hall,
View the Lord of life arraigned;
Oh, the wormwood and the gall!
Oh, the pangs His soul sustained!
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss;
Learn of Him to bear the cross.
3. Calvary's mournful mountain climb;
There, adoring at His feet,
Mark that miracle of time,
God's own sacrifice complete.
"It is finished!" bear Him cry;
Learn of Jesus Christ to die.
4. Early hasten to the tomb
Where they laid His breathless clay;
All is solitude and gloom,--
Who hath taken Him away?
Christ is risen! He meets our eyes.
Savior, teach us so to rise.
The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #159
Text: Lam. 3:19
Author: James Montgomery, 1820, 1825
Composer: Richard Redhead, 1853
Tune: "Gethsemane"
"Yea, as I Live, Jehovah Saith"
by Nikolaus Herman
Translated by Matthias Loy, 1828-1915
1. Yea, as I live, Jehovah saith,
I would not have the sinner's death,
But that he turn from error's ways,
Repent, and live through endless days.
2. To us therefore Christ gave command:
"Go forth and preach in every land;
Bestow on all My pardoning grace
Who will repent and mend their ways.
3. "All those whose sins ye thus remit
I truly pardon and acquit,
And those whose sins ye do retain
Condemned and guilty shall remain.
4. "What ye shall bind, that bound shall be:
What ye shall loose, that shall be free;
Unto My Church the keys are given
To ope and close the gates of heaven."
5. The words which absolution give
Are His who died that we might live;
The minister whom Christ has sent
Is but His humble instrument.
6. When ministers lay on their hands,
Absolved by Christ the sinner stands;
He who by grace the Word believes
The purchase of His blood receives.
7. All praise, eternal Son, to Thee
For absolution full and free,
In which Thou showest forth Thy grace;
From false indulgence guard our race.
8. Praise God the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit, Three in One,
As 'twas, is now, and so shall be
World without end, eternally!
Hymn #331 The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Ezek. 33:11
Author: Nikolaus Herman, 1560, cento
Translated by: Matthias Loy, 1880, alt.
Titled: "So wahr ich leb', spricht Gott der Herr"
Composer: Jeremiah Clarke, 1707
Tune: "St. Luke" and ideal for "Old Hundredth"
Nikolaus Herman was praised by Luther.
This hymn explains Law and Gospel, sin and grace.
The search for a Lutheran UOJ hymn continues,
fruitlessly.
This fine hymn
illustrates why the Shrinkers will not have much to do with this and the other
hymns posted here on Ichabod. These hymns are like a creed set to music. There
is no room left for error. The Shrinkers have the happy, slappy, clappy circus
church music to try and promote UOJ.
In part two of a series about former pastor Darwin Schauer, who is jailed in Hubbard County on 15 charges of criminal sexual conduct, the Enterprise outlines how he returned to serving at a church after previously being sentenced for sex crimes. The first part of the series appeared in the March 31 Enterprise.
BY Sarah Smith
ssmith@parkrapidsenterprise.com
Darwin Schauer reached out to the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod’s South District. He told a sympathetic minister he wanted to continue to serve the church.
The reverend helped get him accepted at Concordia in Mequon, Wis., after advising him that becoming an ordained minister was not possible with his history.Why not the lay ministry program?
Concordia Mequon’s registrar said Schauer was admitted in the winter of 1989 and by summer, was able to be certified as a lay minister. Because of his previous four-year degree, Schauer had completed the two-year program in less than six months.
“A lay minister program is a separate program,” explained Rev. Don Fondow, current president of the Synod’s North District. “If a person enters and already may have a degree, or if they have college credits, that is applied to how many courses they have to take because it’s a set certification so when you’re done you don’t necessarily receive a degree but you work towards certification and that’s what the situation was. He would have been certified, completed the program that would allow him to be certified as a lay minister. The (Concordia) faculty basically certified and then he’s available for placement in a position.”
Schauer’s first placement was with Immanuel Lutheran Church of Cass Lake, then Trinity Lutheran Church of Lake George, where he was commissioned as a lay minister. Initially a Blackduck pastor mentored or supervised him, allegedly aware of Schauer’s criminal history. The Trinity and Immanuel parishes merged in 2000.
His congregations had no idea a sexual predator was now rendering pastoral care to them.
“When I became district president, he was already in place and so what was said if anything at that time about anything, I don’t know,” Fondow said, noting he came to the district in 2003.
Fondow’s predecessor, now deceased, came to the region at some point to mediate a disagreement Schauer had with another pastor. Schauer and the supervisor discussed Schauer’s past at that time. The synodical official had come armed with a Star Tribune article dated in 1983, which apparently had been sent to the district president. The clipping detailed the Courtland charge and sentence.
Schauer had no problem discussing his past in a frank manner. But later some colleagues wondered if he had so compartmentalized his life that he truly believed he was discussing another person, not himself.
In that time he’d remarried once or perhaps twice and divorced. The only record located indicated a default divorce without children from Elgilyn Dongon Schauer in 2003, while the couple lived in Cass Lake. Acquaintances say he is now married to his fourth spouse. He has two biological sons who are estranged from him and live in the southern part of the state, from his first marriage.
His two parishes were still not informed of his past and he retired in 2008, replaced by Rev. Don Kirchner. Kirchner made an initial statement when the 2012 charges were filed, but has deferred all questions to the district and Rev. Fondow.
Suspicions began swirling through the parish of Trinity Lutheran Church of Lake George around late 2007, but it is unclear how much the congregation knew about the sexual predator in their midst.
One of Schauer’s responsibilities at the church was to teach communion classes to teens.
Around 2007, there had been extensive church discussions among synodical leaders as to whether Shauer could or should be ordained, so it was apparent church officials knew of his past. The ordination never took place.
He retired voluntarily in 2008, Fondow said.
He declined to discuss what the church knew and when officials knew about Schauer’s past.
“That I don’t know,” Fondow said. “I really couldn’t comment on that. I would have been in office in 2003.”
When asked how long he specifically had known of Schauer’s past, Fondow replied, “That part I can’t comment on.”
But Fondow assured the two parishes regardless of the sins Schauer may have committed in the past, their marriages and baptisms are not subject to question.
“They’re not invalid,” Fondow said. “The thing here is, all I can say here is according to the record I’ve seen is that he was certified and placed according to the procedure and process to place a lay minister.”
History repeated?
With the latest arrest, recriminations and second-guessing have begun.
Another teen came forward March 4 in Hubbard County to report identical incidents of abuse over a period beginning in 2009, as were reported in the 1983 incident.
Schauer is charged with 15 counts of criminal sexual abuse involving that teen. Like the 1983 charge, the sexual activity is alleged to have begun when the victim was about 10. An omnibus hearing is set for April 9.
A former Courtland resident is suspicious and wonders how many victims may come forward from the last three decades.
“You don’t go from 1983 and then do nothing and then in 2009 decided you’re interested in (a child) again,” she said. “He’s so slick. What if this all got pushed aside again? And then he continues to do things.”
Fondow doesn’t accept any blame.
“I simply say with the congregation, it’s one of those things that if as things transpire as they should, I just don’t want to see them have to pay for something this man did,” he said.
Is the church liable, he was asked?
“Not that I would say,” he added. “And the other thing I would say is right now, he’ll be removed. That process is already in effect right now. He’ll be removed as being a rostered church worker.
“As things have transpired over the years here just like the laws of the land, right now we have a zero tolerance policy for any kind of sexual impropriety,” Fondow said.
Kirchner is trying to stay out of the case, even though he has visited Schauer in the Hubbard County Law Enforcement Center a couple times since the arrest.
GJ - The Michigan District, WELS, put Floyd Luther Stolzenburg back in the parish ministry again, after he was forced to resign from his LCMS congregation in Black Jack, Missouri (North St. Louis). DP Robert Mueller and VP Paul Kuske could not do enough to make Floyd into a WELS pastor - even though Floyd was never a member of WELS.
I am sure that DP John Seifert and the rest of the Know-Nothings in Michigan will say, "I know nothing about it." The ELS leaders will say, "I know nothing about it." Jay Webber, Roger Kovaciny, and John Shep will say, "We know nothing about it."
How did the Marvin Schwan Foundation end up matching funds from Floyd's congregation, to build a church named after his in the Ukraine? Doubtless, no one can remember that or explain anything.
Drag a $100 bill on a string, through a COP meeting, and you will know the answers to all these questions. The whole group will follow you out the door.
Following my story on the hiring of a gay curate at St. Clement's and the fallout from lawyers being consulted, a Vestryman wrote VOL with new information including a story that Fr. Gordon Reid (a bachelor) was not entirely truthful about the facts and history of the church and his own personal stake in what is happening in the parish.
The Vestryman wrote, "We have not had a Curate at St. Clement's since Fr Richard Wall left for another parish a few years ago, and no budget passed since then has included provision for a Curate's salary. In April of 2011 Canon Reid announced to the Vestry that he intended to start a 'Curate Fund' to raise money off budget to cover salary, benefits, etc. Although some money was raised, it was not even sufficient to cover nine months at the minimum prescribed by the diocese. Nevertheless, Canon Reid found Mr. Jewett and presented him to the Vestry as a fait accompli, suggesting that we should invade the endowment principal to pay him, which we refused to do. It is true that the more we learned about Mr. Jewett, the less enthused we were about having him as our Curate; he is the antithesis of everything that makes up traditional Anglo-Catholicism.
"This gave rise to an ongoing conflict between ten members of the Vestry, who are in favor of fiscal prudence and a continuation of the traditional faith and practice that S. Clement's has been known for, and Canon Reid and two other Vestrymen, who are in favor of making S. Clement's into a "normal" Episcopal church and spending down the endowments to maintain an ultimately unsupportable approach to parish finances.
"One of the first "casualties" was our long-time Rector's Warden, John Lilley. He was not fired because he would not support the hiring of Ethan Jewett, but because he was opposed to Canon Reid's intent to transform (or destroy, depending on your point of view) S. Clement's, and because Canon Reid wanted someone he could control as his Warden. Canon Reid appointed Ron Emrich, one of his close personal friends. Ron came to both Anglicanism and S. Clement's during Canon Reid's incumbency, and he has little or no appreciation for Anglo-Catholicism apart from the music. John Lilley has dedicated the last forty years of his life to S. Clements, in every capacity from parish administrator, in the sacristy, as a server, etc., etc. He was dismissed from all of these roles, and not only that of Rector's Warden. Initially, Canon Reid attempted to persuade people that John had resigned, and when the truth was revealed there was a general outrage in the congregation.
PARISH WEBSITE
"One of the ways in which the remaining members of the Vestry tried to inform the rest of the parish and the wider church about our commitment to traditional Anglo-Catholicism and fiscal prudence was to put items on the parish website. This was rejected by Canon Reid, who stated that only he could publish anything in the name of the parish. Some history is needed here. The website was registered by an individual Vestryman in 1996, and paid for privately until 2005. That Vestryman and several other parishioners over the years put a lot of time and effort into the website. In 2004, Canon Reid put Marc Coleman in charge of the website, and requested the domain be put in the name of the parish to make it easier for Mr. Coleman to add content and functionality. This was done. Later, unknown to the Vestry, the registration was transferred from the parish to Marc's company, Tactile Design. So recently when we contested the Rector's exclusive use of the website, Marc Coleman asserted as his personal property, which led to the (quite correct) accusations of theft.
"Canon Reid's claim that the Vestry was trying to restrict his access to the website is patently false.
"Hence the high legal bills, as the Vestry attempted to regain access to the website. Fully half of that bill was incurred by the Rector and the Rector's Warden, who were, it should be noted, the only parties to demand an in-person meeting with the attorney. The simple fact is that if this illicit transfer had never occurred, these legal bills would not exist. Canon Reid and Mr. Coleman, and no one else, are responsible for these costs having been incurred. Regarding Canon Reid's assertion that the Chancellor would have provided legal advice at no cost, the Rector on several occasions claimed that she told him that she agreed with him about everything. When asked to show us emails, letters, etc., the Rector refused to do so. So it is another lie that we could have made use of the Diocesan Chancellor in this instance.
"The number of Vestrymen who resigned as servers was three and not six as Canon Reid claims; two others, John Lilley and one other person was fired. Only John Lilley resigned as a Vestryman; five others were voted off in the recent election, leaving only five traditional Anglo-Catholics on the Vestry.
FINANCIAL STATE OF THE PARISH
"The financial state of the parish is not good. All three of our professional endowment managers have strongly recommended that our draw downs from the endowment income should be decreased. The Vestry in its budget passed in December started a phased decrease. While our endowment totals are up of late, this is only because of the partial recovery since the 2008 crash; the difference between now and, say, 2006 paints a far less optimistic picture. Additionally, the amount of the Wippel bequest is overstated, and the amount to be received from the sale of the house is not known, nor do we know when it will be received.
"For Canon Reid to suggest that we can spend the money since we already spend so much on music is misleading. In fact, it was at his insistence that we have kept the music spending at levels that were really only sustainable when we had a benefactor who was willing to underwrite the additional costs. That benefactor has since died, but Canon Reid has been openly hostile to any suggestion that the music budget should be decreased. I would be the first person to speak in favor of a professional choir, etc., in support of our liturgical ethos. After all, that's the reason that many of these legacies were left to us in the first place, for just that purpose. That said, it could be had for far less than we have been spending.
"The Rector took a major part in the process of the Vestry election, subverting the principle of lay governance that the Episcopal Church is guided by. His newsletter article was an indictment of the current Vestry and contained numerous falsehoods, and at the parish meeting he demanded that his candidates be elected. This proved successful. Although the election was close, those who voted for the Rector's candidates were frequently those who attended S. Clement's two or three times a year, and those who are regular attendees generally voted for the incumbents.
"After the election of the new Vestry they ended the legal action against Mr. Coleman, and increased the draw from the endowments, contrary to what our fund managers have advised. They passed a revised budget which increases the total expense line to $614,772, over 18% than what was spent last year, and this includes a significant degree of deficit spending.
"Mention also needs to be made of the relationship between Canon Reid, Ron Emrich, Marc Coleman, and Curt Mangel. They are also close personal friends, and socialize together multiple times during the week. Ron and Marc had a civil partnership in Connecticut, which was solemnized in some sense by Canon Reid. Curt is a tenant of Ron and Marc. Ron is now Rector's Warden and Curt is the Accounting Warden.
AUDIT
"The audit which the Rector mentions was requested by him and not the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Thus far it has revealed absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, which the former Accounting Warden has heard repeatedly from the bookkeeper appointed by the auditors. There is nothing seriously amiss; this is another blatant lie.
"I'd like to emphasize that we still hope to help S. Clement's through this present crisis and see it restored as a traditional Anglo-Catholic parish in the Diocese of Pennsylvania. We certainly understand that some believe this to be a fool's errand, but it is what we feel called to do at the present time. We believe that all we want to do is preserve the legacy that we've been entrusted with."
It's best to examine the product without all the gushing PR about it.
The Bible business sells Rachel but delivers Leah.
District convention ballot for Bible translation
The synod presidium has manipulated established the ballot that will be used for voting on the issue of Bible translations at this summer’s district conventions. The ballot will include four choices, including the
English Standard Version (ESV) - Calvinist.
The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), Babtist - "100 scholars and English stylists from 17 denominations, prayerfully, translated what is one of the most significant Bible translations available, the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB).Taking into account the significant advancements in scholarship, translation theory, and contemporary English usage, the HCSB will satisfy both those new to the faith and seasoned scholars." Stetzer's Lifeway
The New New International Version (NIV11) - Mytho-porno-UOJ.
As well as a ballot choice that would delay a final decision on which translation is to be used in synodical publications until the synod convention in 2013.
The district conventions will receive an updated report from the Translation Evaluation Committee, which has been asked to continue its work in evaluating the translations under consideration. The conventions will also receive a report from the Translation Feasibility Committee, which is considering the feasibility and desirability of producing a new translation.
***
GJ - They will not have an up or down vote on delaying the NNIV decision. By making it one of four choices, the chance of the delay getting a majority of votes is slender.
The WELS convention made it clear that they loathed the NNIV. The normally docile DPs are not keen about it. Glaeske spoke with rare candor against it. I watched it live as Paul Wendland seethed about opposition to his precious UOJ Bible.
I already heard that no one in WELS is allowed to associate the odious name of Murdoch with the NNIV. He owns the NIV and the NNIV. Murdoch is in deep trouble in Britain for his illegal spying on the royal family and many others, via his media empire.
NNIV Romans 3
There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for allhave sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Classic NIV Romans 3
There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Classic KJV
for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
---
NNIV Genesis 4:1
Adam[a] made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.[b] She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth[c] a man.”
Genesis 4:1 Or The man
Genesis 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired.
Genesis 4:1 Or have acquired
Classic NIV Genesis 4:1
Adam[a] lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.[b] She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth[c] a man.”
Footnotes:
Genesis 4:1 Or The man
Genesis 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired.
Genesis 4:1 Or have acquired
Classic KJV
1And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Notice that no Bible associated with the Luther translation is allowed
in WELS or the LCMS.
But Calvinist-Babtist-Arminian versions? - woo-hoo.
GJ - The apostasy of WELS was underway when Mark Jeske graduated from The Sausage Factory in 1978. His father, aka Jester aka Jumpin' Jack, was indebted to the NIV money factory, as David Kuske was.
Let us not show shock or awe at Mark and Tom Jeske backing the New NIV money machine.
Davide Kuske replaced the Justification by Faith Gausewitz Catechism with his UOJ Catechism. Panning backed the excommunication of two families from Kokomo for questioning UOJ. Sig Becker wrote atrocious defenses of UOJ.
Gerlach went to Fuller Seminary and promoted false doctrine so obviously that he was edged off the faculty. (Not to worry, they had many more replacements.)
Among the students, the most addled about Lutheran doctrine were Papenfuss, who started the UOJ fuss in Kokomo, plus Rick Curia, a loyal defender of UOJ - and Marcus Montey, who landed on the Intrepids for daring to question UOJ dogma. The greenies are UOJ dominant while the yellows made their mark with Fuller doctrine and methods.
Wally Oelhafen was tickled pink that Robert Schumann was bringing his CGM obsessions to St. Paul German Village (Tim Glende's ALC home church). Schumann is an atheist today. We have to thank Elton Stroh for turning around the Latte Church served by a female WELS pastor. After months of his anointed service, the parish closed its hellish doors for good.
Richard Starr, in a bid to outdo LaughQuest, said his Brazilian experiment handed people video tapes to watch if they wanted to know more about the Christian faith. Evangelism Explosion! A mattress might have been better.
While it is semantically correct to call Pastor Mark Jeske a televangelist, it is not entirely accurate. His weekly show "Time of Grace" is syndicated to 35 television stations from St. Marcus Lutheran Church, 2215 N. Palmer St., in Milwaukee's Brewers Hill neighborhood.
But "I don't like the word" televangelist "and never use it," Jeske said. "I don't like the words preach or sermon, either. Why would people who don't want a sermon Monday through Saturday want one Sunday?
"I just talk to people. It's a conversation."
Jeske, a Milwaukee native who came to St. Marcus 30 years ago, lives in an 1880s Cream City brick home on the east side.
He is a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, but "Time of Grace" is not affiliated with any denomination.
In Milwaukee, the ministry is seen Sundays at 7:30 a.m. on WDJT-TV (Channel 58), Thursdays at 9 a.m. on WPXE-TV (Channel 55), and Saturdays at 1 a.m. on WTMJ-TV (Channel 4).
At a time when it often feels like the secular and spiritual are at war, it is tempting to see the show as a fruitful partnership between God and mammon. The television ministry has grown because "God is blessing it," Jeske said, but practical techniques and material considerations and technologies also go into its success.
"Time of Grace" has a professional staff of a dozen, including a full-time producer and digital editor who work in a "pretty well-equipped editing suite" in a new school building adjacent to the church. Jeske said most of each show is 26 minutes and 30 seconds "of me talking" in front of his regular congregation, into which studio segments and a "soft ask" for support are sliced.
"Product sales and books I've written are not profit generators," he said. "We almost completely depend on the goodwill of people who find value in the program and want to see it spread."
And the goal is for the show to be self-sufficient in each market.
As a member of the clergy, Jeske was trained as a public speaker, but adapting that skill to television "was a slow, cumulative" process, he said. It required "some mental juggling" to deliver an address aimed at his congregation that also can apply to TV viewers.
"After a while, I became very aware that I've got two audiences and have learned to multitask," Jeske said.
He also avoids references that will sound dated when they finally air. Seasonal episodes - like Sunday's televised Easter message - were taped 12 months earlier. Next year's Easter telecast will be taped this Sunday in front of his 1,100-member congregation.
His first shows a decade ago, were "OK, but we had a lot to learn technically," Jeske said. They were harshly lighted and his black-and-white clergy robes were "terrible colors" to wear on TV. They "drive the camera iris crazy," he said.
A creative consultant told him to get out from behind the pulpit and to wear business clothes to "create a much more colorful, balanced image."
Today's high-definition cameras also require that "every hair follicle has to be perfect."
"I've got to get really girly about my makeup," Jeske said. "Lint or pink powder on my clothes just scream" on camera.
Camera operators shoot his sermon from left and right pews and the aisle, and the director controls things in the editing suite.
"It took a little while" for parishioners to get used to the cameras, but "the lighting is even more off-putting. It's very bright."
Once edited, the shows are duplicated on DVD and sent to each station.
"Time of Grace" uses a national media buyer to find "low-demand" time slots in each market. And because ratings for the show "are vague, expensive and hard to get," Jeske said the ministry uses the number of "people who write or call to measure how we are doing. I think most people trip on us. They are channel-surfing."
But, "if they like you on television, they stay very loyal."
Not a televangelist?
If it walks like a duck, quakes like a duck....
***
GJ - One pastor in Milwaukee contacted me and objected to Mark Jeske owning his own house but listing it
as a parsonage. Jeske is good at living high on other people's money, especially the government's tax revenue. If he is a home owner and pretending to be in a parsonage, then he should do his fair share - or fare share, in this case.
I was also told this is not exactly rare in Milwaukee, to have the church list it as their parsonage when it is not.
I know an LCA/ELCA bishop who did the same thing, saving himself thousands each year.
No one in the (W)ELCMS even
bothered to look up from their Blended Worship bulletin insert when Joe and Lisa
Krohn were excommunicated from their fellowship for confessing and defending One
Justification By Faith Alone.
Doctrinal indifference has only been
exceeded by the pandemic of apathy in the Lutheran Synods due to the ferocious
efforts of the Synod Administrators, District Presidents to induce narcolepsy
within the laity. They are ripe for the picking. Even those clergy who see the
Gospel of Christ being perverted within their fellowship are too afraid to
openly oppose it for fear of excommunication and being shunned by men and women
who are disgusted by the Lutheran Confessions and teach that God's Word, the
Living Water of Life, is muddy and uncertain in regards to doctrine and
practice.
Now that Thrivent launders the money of the (W)ELCMS and ELCA
they are all supporting the United Nations URI (United Religions Initiative) and
makes the transition from Church Growth Emergent to full fledged New Age
Antichristian a simple exercise of threatening to expose their shameful
incompetence, abysmal lack of the Holy Spirit's faith and in some cases outright
deciet. The (W)ELCMS clergy and elders would rather their children and
grandchildren be engulfed by New Age Apostacy than to admit they were wrong in
true contrition and turn back to the efficacy and perpescuity of Scripture and
the faithful Lutheran Confessions.
1. Christ Jesus lay in death's strong bands,
For our offenses given;
But now at God's right hand He stands
And brings us life from heaven;
Therefore let us joyful be
And sing to God right thankfully
Loud songs of hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
2. It was a strange and dreadful strife
When Life and Death contended;
The victory remained with Life,
The reign of Death was ended;
Holy Scripture plainly saith
That Death is swallowed up by Death,
His sting is lost forever.
Hallelujah!
3. Here the true Paschal Lamb we see,
Whom God so freely gave us;
He died on the accursed tree-
So strong His love!-to save us.
See, His blood doth mark our door;
Faith points to it, Death passes o'er,
And Satan cannot harm us.
Hallelujah!
4. So let us keep the festival
Whereto the Lord invites us;
Christ is himself the Joy of all,
The Sun that warms and lights us.
By His grace He doth impart
Eternal sunshine to the heart;
The night of sin is ended.
Hallelujah!
5. Then let us feast this Easter Day
On Christ, the Bread of heaven;
The Word of Grace hath purged away
The old and evil leaven.
Christ alone our souls will feed,
He is our meat and drink indeed;
Faith lives upon no other.
Hallelujah!
The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn 195
Text: Acts 2:24
Author: Martin Luther, 1524, cento
Translated by: Richard Massie, 1854, alt.
Titled: "Christ lag in Todesbanden"
Tune: "Christ lag in Todesbanden"
Latin melody, c. 1100
Based on "Christ is erstanden"
"Awake, My Heart, with Gladness"
by Paul Gerhardt, 1607-1676
1. Awake, my heart, with gladness,
See what today is done,
Now after gloom and sadness
Comes forth the glorious Sun!
My Savior there was laid
Where our bed must be made
When to the realms of light
Our spirit wings its flight.
2. The Foe in triumph shouted
When Christ lay in the tomb,
But, lo, he now is routed,
His boast is turned to gloom.
For Christ again is free;
In glorious victory
He who is strong to save
Has triumphed o'er the grave.
3. This is a sight that gladdens;
What peace it doth impart!
Now nothing ever saddens
The joy within my heart;
No gloom shall ever shake,
No foe shall ever take,
The hope which God's own Son
In love for me hath won.
4. Now hell, its prince, the devil,
Of all their power are shorn;
Now I am safe from evil,
And sin I laugh to scorn.
Grim death with all his might
Cannot my soul affright;
He is a powerless form,
Howe'er he rave and storm.
5. The world against me rageth,
Its fury I disdain;
Though bitter war it wageth,
Its work is all in vain.
My heart from care is free,
No trouble troubles me.
Misfortune now is play,
And night is bright as day.
6. Now I will cling forever
To Christ, my Savior true;
My Lord will leave me never,
Whate'er He passes through.
He rends Death's iron chain,
He breaks through sin and pain,
He shatters hell's dark thrall,-
I follow through it all.
7. To halls of heavenly splendor
With Him I penetrate;
And trouble ne'er may hinder
Nor make me hesitate.
Let tempests rage at will,
My Savior shields me still;
He grants abiding peace
And bids all tumult cease.
8. He brings me to the portal
That leads to bliss untold
Whereon this rime immortal
Is found in script of gold:
"Who there My cross hath shared
Finds here a crown prepared;
Who there with Me has died
Shall here be glorified."
The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #192
Text: Col. 2:15
Author: Paul Gerhardt
Translated by: John Kelly, 1867, alt.
Titled: "Auf, auf, mein Herz, mit Freuden"
Composer: Johann Crueger, 1648
Tune: "Auf, auf, mein Herz"
Time of Grace update:
The presidium of the Southeastern Wisconsin District, along with President Mark Schroeder, met with leaders of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) to clarify how the LCMS defines and understands the Recognized Service Organization (RSO) status. The LCMS explained that the published guidelines defining the relationship are intended to be used by the LCMS in evaluating organizations for this status and that the guidelines do not require an organization to change its message or its program to comply. It was this understanding that led Time of Grace and the presidium of the Southeastern Wisconsin district to conclude that the RSO status did not represent a violation or compromise of biblical fellowship principles.
The LCMS officials also reported that they are currently in the process of reviewing the entire RSO program with the intention of developing new requirements and guidelines. From what was said, the new guidelines may include requirements that would make it no longer possible for a WELS organization to have RSO status. Once those requirements have been adopted, Time of Grace has indicated that it will evaluate what is being required and take the appropriate steps.
The New Age Emergent
Lutheran clergy running the anti-Ichabod blogsite are contending that Luther
promoted UOJ in their recent post.
This quote is along the same lines as
their abuse of Luther's Confessional teaching regarding the efficacy of the
Office of the Keys. They fail to explain how their false gospel of UOJ
eliminates the Key to Retain sin. What sins can be retained, according to their
central doctrine of UOJ, that God hasn't forgiven them for? In fact UOJ has God
declaring the whole unbelieving world righteous. Righteous! The sin of unbelief
cannot adhere to the unbelieving world if God declares them righteous. UOJ
teaches that God has declared and now sees the world's crimson rags as being as
white as snow - righteous. This is Universalism because when individuals have
what Jesus has - they are saved eternally and according to UOJ they've been
declared by the Almighty God to be this way regardless of whether they believe
it or not.
Tied to this is one of the multitude of contradictions that
UOJ teaches which is that God forgave the whole unbelieving world all of their
sins, declared them justified (forgiven of all sin) and righteous. So why do
they go to Hell if they don't believe it? UOJ teaches that they go to Hell
because of unbelief - not believing that God has declared them sinless,
justified and righteous.
So either Christ did not pay for the sin of
unbelief or God refuses to forgive anyone guilty of that sin. BUT EVERYONE WAS
BORN GUILTY OF THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. No one believed in Christ or their new false
gospel of UOJ when they were born. So then is UOJ prepared to admit that
everyone is going to Hell. Is their precious false gospel of abounding rational
comfort really a heinous joke where they sugar coat the horrific truth that
Christ didn't pay for the one sin everyone is guilty of.
Contrary to
UOJ, Scripture teaches that God's wrath remains on all those who do not believe
in Christ as the One who paid for their sins. They remain under His wrath and
divine judgement. But to all those who repent and believe on Christ by the
gracious work of the Holy Ghost through the Means of Grace, Word and Sacrament,
God forgives all their sin even the sin of unbelief and they are instantaneously
justified, declared righteous in Christ and saved eternally.
Let the
maggots fight over the carrion of UOJ - we have been given the beautiful feast
of Christ's pure Gospel of the forgiveness of sins given solely through the
Means of Grace which is perfectly harmonious with all of Scripture. Praise be to
God alone who gives us the victory over sin, death and the power of the Devil -
both in this world and that which is to come.
Mr. Jackson,
Since you seem to be the sole arbitrator of Lutheran Orthodoxy (and we both know how sad that fact is ), Could you point me to a comparative Rome Catholic site that would make the transition from Lutheranism to Rome Catholicism smoother, like slipping into a warm bath. I'm almost a pod person already as I don't care a wit about Scripture or doctrine.
this is a satire- don't publish my name
PTM.
***
GJ - We made a deal not to reveal his name. I thought this was a good satire, because Rome has hundreds of websites devoted to turning Protestants into papalists - and they are successful. False doctrine is also efficacious, just as cancer and gangrene are effective. But the efficacy is demonic and serves their Father Below.
Where are the Lutheran efforts? ELCA is busy crawling into the lap of the Antichrist and purring for him.
The LCMS is training ministers at their seminaries to become Roman or Eastern Orthodoxy.
WELS is better at turning out Babtists, Pentecostals, and generics.
Here is the great failure of the Synodical Conference (tm):
No decent books about Roman Catholicism.
No websites about Lutheran doctrine versus Rome, EO, and Fullerism.
Thank you for
this information. I had a quick read and White does acknowledge by his attempted
rebuttal support my contentions I made at Steadfast Waltherians blog. There I
said that Lenski enjoys the respect of non-Lutheran Protestants. White's
labor in trying to counter Lenski proves my point, that Lenski's views are
compelling exegesis admired by other Protestant. For after all, why do that hard
work if Lenski is not being taken seriously.
UOJers love to malign Lenski
because his exegesis has detrimental conclusions for UOJ.
So we know who
is the real Calvinist. It is not the Ichabodians or Team JBFA, it is really the
UOJers. Now with the recent project of CPH to counter Lenski's exegesis, we even
have more evidence that the UOJers are really the ones that are aligned with the
Reformed.
We have made this accusation for many years.
The truth
catches up on everyone one day, it just takes a while, but the truth eventually
gets there.
LPC
J. P. Meyer is correct about this, so where are all the J. P. Meyer fans in the Conference of Pussycats?
Thy strong Word did cleave the darkness;
At thy speaking it was done.
For created light we thank Thee
While thine ordered seasons run
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia without end!
Lo, on those who dwelt in darkness,
Dark as night and deep as death,
Broke the light of thy salvation,
Breathed thine own life-giving breath.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia without end!
Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous;
Bright with thine own holiness,
Glorious now, we press toward glory,
And our lives our hopes confess.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia without end!
From the cross thy wisdom shining
Breaketh forth in conqu'ring might;
From the cross forever beameth
All thy bright redeeming light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise to Thee who light dost send!
Alleluia without end!
Give us lips to sing thy glory,
Tongues thy mercy to proclaim,
Throats to shout the hope that fills us,
Mouths to speak thy holy name.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
May the light which thou dost send,
Fill our songs with alleluias,
Alleluias without end!
God the Father, light-creator,
To Thee laud and honor be.
To Thee, Light from Light begotten,
Praise be sung eternally.
Holy Spirit, light-revealer,
Glory, glory be to Thee.
Mortals, angels, now and ever
Praise the Holy Trinity!
Martin Franzmann, 1907-1976,
was an inerrantist fighting the new trends in Missouri.
His son was my client in St. Louis.
"Arm These Thy Soldiers, Mighty Lord"
by Christopher Wordsworth, 1807-1885
1. Arm these Thy soldiers, mighty Lord,
With shield of faith and Spirit's sword.
Forth to the battle may they go
And boldly fight against the Foe.
2. With banner of the Cross unfurled,
They overcome the evil world
And so at last receive from Thee
The palm and crown of victory.
3. Come, ever-blessed Spirit, come
And make Thy servants' hearts Thy home,
May each a living temple be
Hallowed forever, Lord, to Thee.
4. Enrich that temple's holy shrine
With sevenfold gifts of grace divine;
With wisdom, light, and knowledge bless,
With counsel, strength, fear, godliness.
5. O Trinity in Unity,
One only God and Persons Three,
In whom, through whom, by whom, we live,
To Thee we praise and glory give.
6. Oh, grant us so to use Thy grace
That we may see Thy glorious face
And ever with the heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Hymn #332 The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Eph. 6:13
Author: Christopher Wordsworth, 1862, alt.
Tune: "Erhslt uns, Herr"
1st Published in: Geistliche Lieder
Town: Wittenberg, 1543
"On My Heart Imprint Thine Image"
By Thomas Hansen Kingo, 1634-1703
1. On my heart imprint Thine image,
Blessed Jesus, King of Grace,
That life's riches, cares, and pleasures
Have no power Thee to efface.
This the superscription be:
Jesus, crucified for me,
Is my life, my hope's Foundation,
And my Glory and Salvation.
The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #179
Text: Luke 23: 38
Author: Thomas Hansen Kingo, 1689
Translated by: Peer O. Stroemme, 1898, alt.
Titled: "Skriv dig, Jesu, paa mit Hjerte"
Composer: Johann B. Koenig, 1738
Tune: "Der am Kreuz"
Thomas Kingo, Means of Grace Hymn Writer, 1634-1703.
Glende says Icha-buddies attack UOJ and
promote JbF, but this UOJers never take a break from attacking sound doctrine.
Today, I see McCain is attacking Lenski's justification by faith interpretation
of Romans:
What’s Coming Next in the Concordia Commentary Series? Apr
2nd,
2012:
According
to R. C. H. Lenski (Romans, p. 84), “the great theme of Romans is the Sinner’s
Personal Justification by Faith.” Dr. Middendorf suggests that a close reading
of the letter reveals that it is more about the community than the individual.
***
GJ - Here is the pseudo-academic quote from McCain, in royal blue, to match the new logo. To be fair, he is just kelming the PR blurb from his employer:
Dr. Middendorf suggests that a close reading of the letter reveals that it is more about the community than the individual. Even more importantly, Paul directs our attention primarily toward God and his righteousness, which is his gift to us in our Lord Jesus Christ.
This brief bio suggests he is part of the apostate doctrinal board of the LCMS:
Michael P. Middendorf is professor of theology at Concordia University, Irvine, California. He is the author of several books and articles including The “I” in the Storm: A Study of Romans 7 and “The Bud Has Flowered: Trinitarian Theology in the New Testament.” He also serves on the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
Back in the good old days, the ALC (pre-1960 merger) did everything possible to silence Lenski, because he was a leader in orthodox doctrine. In contrast, Middendorf participates in the destruction of Lutheran doctrine. I wonder why McCain failed to mention the Commission on Bad Theology item. Could it be their odious reputation throughout the synod?
Middendor's own resume suggests that he never stepped out of the LCMS for his education: bachelor's, MDiv, STM, and Th.D. As John Johnson, a previous St. Louis president said, a Missouri doctorate is worthless outside of the LCMS.
Thank you for
this information. I had a quick read and White does acknowledge by his attempted
rebuttal support my contentions I made at Steadfast Waltherians blog. There I
said that Lenski enjoys the respect of non-Lutheran Protestants. White's
labor in trying to counter Lenski proves my point, that Lenski's views are
compelling exegesis admired by other Protestant. For after all, why do that hard
work if Lenski is not being taken seriously.
UOJers love to malign Lenski
because his exegesis has detrimental conclusions for UOJ.
So we know who
is the real Calvinist. It is not the Ichabodians or Team JBFA, it is really the
UOJers. Now with the recent project of CPH to counter Lenski's exegesis, we even
have more evidence that the UOJers are really the ones that are aligned with the
Reformed.
We have made this accusation for many years.
The truth
catches up on everyone one day, it just takes a while, but the truth eventually
gets there.
I just wish they'd post my comments. My
most recent one was in response to their claim that they can't count "Jackson's
followers on one hand". I tried to comment in this simple way:
"That's
because they'll be excommunicated or forced to resign faster than you can say to
an openly impenitent parishioner, "You're already forgiven!"
We laugh at dogma like this,
not at the sound doctrine of the Book of Concord.
Tim Glende:
On his blog the past several weeks, Dr. Gregory L. Jackson and his cronies Brett Meyer, Joe Krohn, Bruce Church and others have been mocking and laughing at the central Biblical teaching of universal objective justification.
---
Article V: Of the Ministry.
1] That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, 2] the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear 3] the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ's sake.
4] They condemn the Anabaptists [like Andy Stanley] and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparations and works.
I just wish they'd post my comments. My
most recent one was in response to their claim that they can't count "Jackson's
followers on one hand". I tried to comment in this simple way:
"That's
because they'll be excommunicated or forced to resign faster than you can say to
an openly impenitent parishioner, "You're already forgiven!"
***
GJ - I have heard from people who are attacked because they know me. Glende knows me - they should attack him.
Shunning is a Pietistic characteristic. It is also necessary to attack the person who does not go along with the shunning.
Hmmm. Let's see. A
LCMS member calls you to commiserate, AND you post a bio of hymnist who lost all
his worldly possessions. I'd say there's a good possibility that this is a
seminary student who was told after his vicar year that he won't be receiving a
call, and he up to his eyeballs in student loans from Concordia U and seminary.
I refer to the reader back to this Icha-post:
SP Harrison welcomes news
student to debtors' prison:
GJ - This hymn came to mind after I read a long, anguished message from a Missouri Synod layman. Details? The usual assaults from the usual clergy suspects.
"Zion Mourns in Fear and Anguish"
By Johann Heermann, 1585-1647
1. Zion mourns in fear and anguish,
Zion, city of our God.
"Ah," she says, "how sore I languish,
Bowed beneath the chastening rod!
For my God forsook me quite
And forgot my sorry plight
Mid these troubles now distressing,
Countless woes my soul oppressing.
2. "Once," she mourns, "He promised plainly
That His help should e'er be near;
Yet I now must seek Him vainly
In my days of woe and fear.
Will His anger never cease?
Will He not renew His peace?
Will He not show forth compassion
And again forgive transgression?"
3. "Zion, surely I do love thee,"
Thus to her the Savior saith,
"Though with many woes I prove thee
And thy soul is sad to death.
For My troth is pledged to thee;
Zion, thou art dear to Me.
Deep within My heart I've set thee,
That I never can forget thee.
4. "Let not Satan make thee craven;
He can threaten, but not harm.
On My hands thy name is graven,
And thy shield is My strong arm.
How, then, could it ever be
I should not remember thee,
Fail to build thy wall, My city,
And look down on thee with pity?
5. "Ever shall Mine eyes behold thee;
On My bosom thou art laid.
Ever shall My love enfold thee;
Never shalt thou lack Mine aid.
Neither Satan, war, nor stress
Then shall mar thy happiness:
With this blessed consolation
Be thou firm in tribulation."
Hymn #268 The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Is. 49: 14-17
Author: Johann Heermann, 1636, ab.
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1869, alt.
Titled: "Zion klagt mit Angst und Schmerzen"
Composer: J. Hermann Schein, 1623
Tune: "Zion klagt"
Johann Hermann lost all his possessions, many times, when Catholic forces repeatedly sacked his city during the Thirty Years War, one of the worst times for faithful Lutherans. He also wrote "Ah Holy Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken," #143, and "O God Thou Faithful God" #395.
"O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken"
By Johann Heermann, 1585-1647
1. O dearest Jesus, what law hast thou broken
That such sharp sentence should on Thee be spoken?
Of what great crime hast Thou to make confession, --
What dark transgression?
2. They crown Thy head with thorns, they smite, they scourge Thee;
With cruel mockings to the cross they urge Thee;
They give Thee gall to drink, they still decry Thee;
They crucify Thee.
3. Whence come these sorrows, whence this mortal anguish?
It is my sins for which Thou, Lord, must languish;
Yea, all the wrath, the woe, Thou dost inherit,
This I do merit.
4. What punishment so strange is suffered yonder!
The Shepherd dies for sheep that loved to wander;
The Master pays the debt His servants owe Him,
Who would not know Him.
5. The sinless Son of God must die in sadness;
The sinful child of man may live in gladness;
Man forfeited his life and is acquitted, --
God is committed.
6. There was no spot in me by sin untainted;
Sick with sin's poison, all my heart had fainted;
My heavy guilt to hell had well-nigh brought me,
Such woe it wrought me.
7. O wondrous love, whose depth no heart hath sounded,
That brought Thee here, by foes and thieves surrounded!
All worldly pleasures, heedless, I was trying
While Thou wert dying.
8. O mighty King, no time can dim Thy glory!
How shall I spread abroad Thy wondrous story?
How shall I find some worthy gifts to proffer?
What dare I offer?
9. For vainly doth our human wisdom ponder, --
Thy woes, Thy mercy, still transcend our wonder.
Oh, how should I do aught that could delight Thee!
Can I requite Thee?
10. Yet unrequited, Lord, I would not leave Thee;
I will renounce whate'er doth vex or grieve Thee
And quench with thoughts of Thee and prayers most lowly
All fires unholy.
11. But since my strength will nevermore suffice me
To crucify desires that still entice me,
To all good deeds, oh, let Thy Spirit win me
And reign within me!
12. I'll think upon Thy mercy without ceasing,
That earth's vain joys to me no more be pleasing;
To do Thy will shall be my sole endeavor
Henceforth forever.
13. Whate'er of earthly good this life may grant me,
I'll risk for Thee; no shame, no cross, shall daunt me;
I shall not fear what man can do to harm me
Nor death alarm me.
14. But worthless is my sacrifice, I own it;
Yet, Lord, for love's sake Thou wilt not disown it;
Thou wilt accept my gift in Thy great meekness
Nor shame my weakness.
15. And when, dear Lord, before Thy throne in heaven
To me the crown of joy at last is given,
Where sweetest hymns Thy saints forever raise Thee,
I, too, shall praise Thee.
The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #143
Text: Luke 23: 20-24
Author: Johann Heermann, 1630
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.
Titled: "Herzliebster Jesu"
Composer: Johann Crueger, 1640
Tune: "Herzlebster Jesu"
Faithful laity need to be flogged regularly,
to keep them in the right frame of mind.
Whenever someone shows signs of thinking outside the synodical cesspool, the accusations start flying.
Various people have found this blog because they came to their own conclusions about UOJ. For instance, Brett Meyer must have doing some searching on the topic of UOJ, which I covered on a regular basis. Brett is the one who encouraged me to move up to video services. We had used phone teleconference before.
Rather than address the doctrinal issues, the UOJ wolves get out their flails and begin accusing, always in the most derogatory and nasty manner possible. I have heard it all before, from the same pack of wolves. I was a disciple of Larry Darby, or he was my disciple. I was a disciple of Walter Maier, although I did not read his material until recently.
Beating people up because they have posted on Ichabod should be called Icha-flogging. It will be entered into the official lexicon soon.
Many people have been chased away from this blog by a stern phone call or message from SP Mark Schroeder. The silenced ones are sworn to secrecy. And yet Mark is helpless to do anything about Jeske, Gunn, Glende, Ski, or Parlow. Church and Change has no better friend than Mark Schroeder, no better defender than the SP.
Anti-Ichabod is confirming that the denizens
of Sodom and Gomorrah are by their central doctrine of Universal Objective
Justification, declared by God to be sinless, justified and righteous. UOJ
teaches that they are now sinless saints in Hell. (W)ELS' Siegbert W. Becker
confirmed this in his foundational essay on Justification.
In response to
Kokomo #1
1) Objectively speaking, without any reference to an
individual sinner’s attitude toward Christ’s sacrifice, purely on the basis of
God’s verdict, every sinner, whether he knows it or not, whether he believes it
or not, has received the status of a saint.
S.W. Becker states, "The
first statement can easily be misunderstood and has caused confusion. The Bible
never uses the word saint, when applied to human beings, in any other sense than
a converted Christian. Those who have read those words in the context of John
Meyer’s Ministers of Christ know what Prof. Meyer wanted to say in that
sentence. The key words are “objectively speaking” and “status.” Meyer simply
wanted to say that the sins of all men are forgiven. “Status of a saint” to him
meant “the legal state of a forgiven sinner.” While we may disagree with his use
of English, we cannot as biblical theologians surrender what he wanted to say.
Nevertheless it would have been better if he had not used the word saint in that
connection, especially since the word “received” is also a word that is often
used in describing the function of faith in justification. We receive the status
of saint for ourselves or accept forgiveness through faith.
The same
criticism can be directed against the second statement. One really becomes a
guilt-free saint only through faith, if we limit ourselves to the biblical
usage of the word. However, since our holiness, as Augustine says, consists
in sin’s remission rather than in life’s perfection, we could say that when God
forgave the sins of the whole world he regarded all sinners as guilt-free, but
if they are guilt-free we might also say that they are considered sinless in the
sight of God. But a sinless person is a holy person, a saint. The fact that
15 unbelievers do not consider themselves to be forgiven does not change the
truth of God’s Word that tells us that God does not impute the sins of all men
to them, or that through one man justification has come upon all
men.
Even the fourth statement can be defended even though it leaves much
to be desired. As we have said, the statement is not drawn from a WELS
source. If it is true that God has forgiven the sins of the world then it is
also true that he forgave the sin of Judas. When Jesus called Judas “friend” in
the garden, he was in effect treating him as a forgiven sinner. If Jesus took
away the sins of the world he also took away the sins of the people who died in
the flood. It is surely no more difficult to believe that God forgave sins
that were already being punished than to believe that at the time of the
resurrection he forgave sins that had not yet been committed. How that is
possible I do not know. It very likely finds its explanation in the divine
attribute of eternity. But while the statement can be defended as expressing
a biblical reality, yet it would be best not to speak in such terms. In
Scandinavia it is customary on the part of some to ridicule universal
justification with the remark, “The damned lie in hell with their forgiven
sins.” So this fourth statement is a caricature which has a tendency to make
universal justification look ridiculous.
Enjoy your central doctrine
of UOJ Anti-Ichabod it is an abomination.
