Brett Meyer
has left a new comment on your post "
Creeds
and the Anti-Confessionals - Missouri and t...":
Wayne Mueller's UOJ
was used by the
CELC in a blasphemous essay on
Universal Justification.
A common mantra of the UOJ decision theology
apostates in the Lutheran Synods is a denigration of the Holy Spirit's faith.
The CELC essay is a classic example of how Buchholz, Webber, Zarling, R. Preus,
Pierce, Kilcrease, Krohn, Mueller, Humann etc etc etc turn the Righteousness of
Christ into a withered and outstretched beggars hand:
"Faith is like the
empty hand of a beggar..."
p. 8
http://www.celc.info/home/180010197/180010197/docs/2008JustificationThemeOutreachMessage.pdf?sec_id=180010197The
Christian Book of Concord has this to say about the Righteousness of Christ -
the Holy Spirit's faith:
BOC
Defense of the Augsburg Confession, Article
IV Of Justification
67]
"Faith cometh by hearing. And proof can be derived
even from this that faith justifies, because, if justification occurs only
through the Word, and the Word is apprehended only by faith, it follows that
faith justifies."71]
"but we maintain this, that properly and truly,
by faith itself, we are for Christ's sake accounted righteous, or are acceptable
to God. And because "to be justified" means that out of unjust men just men are
made, or born again, it means also that they are pronounced or accounted just.
For Scripture speaks in both ways. [The term "to be justified" is used in two
ways: to denote, being converted or regenerated; again, being accounted
righteous. Accordingly we wish first to show this, that faith alone makes of an
unjust, a just man, i.e., receives remission of
sins".http://www.bookofconcord.org/defense_4_justification.phpThe
Defense of the Augsburg Confession What Is Justifying Faith?, 48] "
The
adversaries feign that faith is only a knowledge of the history, and therefore
teach that it can coexist with mortal sin. Hence they say nothing concerning
faith, by which Paul so frequently says that men are justified, because those
who are accounted righteous before God do not live in mortal
sin."
http://www.bookofconcord.org/defense_4_justification.php
Luther, on the orthodox hand, has this to say about the Holy Spirit's
faith:
"The Scriptures ascribe no righteousness to Abraham except through
faith. The Scriptures speak of Abraham as he stands before God, a man justified
by faith. Because of his faith God extends to him the promise: "In thee shall
all nations be blessed."
Abraham was justified because he believed. Paul's
argumentation runs like this: "Since this is the unmistakable testimony of Holy
Writ, why do you take your stand upon circumcision and the Law? Was not Abraham,
your father, of whom you make so much, justified and saved without circumcision
and the Law by faith alone?" Paul therefore concludes: "They which are of faith,
the same are the children of Abraham."
The faith of the fathers in the Old
Testament era, and our faith in the New Testament are one and the same faith in
Christ Jesus, although times and conditions may
differ.
http://www.bibleteacher.org/luthercom_3.htm"As before said,
they regard faith of slight importance; for they do not understand that it is
our sole justifier. To accept as true the record of Christ--this they call
faith. The devils have the same sort of faith, but it does not make them godly.
Such belief is not Christian faith; no, it is rather deception." And here, "You
see how they make faith of no value to themselves, and so must regard as heresy
all doctrine based upon it. Thus they do away with the whole Gospel. These are
they who deny the Christian faith and exterminate it from the world. Paul
prophesied concerning them when he said (1 Tim 4, 1): "In later times some shall
fall away from the faith." The voice of faith is now silenced all over the
world. Indeed, faith is condemned and banished as the worst heresy, and all who
teach and endorse it are condemned with it. The Pope, the bishops, charitable
institutions, cloisters, high schools, unanimously opposed it for nearly four
hundred years, and simply drove the world violently into hell. Their conduct is
the real persecution by Antichrist, in the last times."
"You cannot
extricate yourself from unbelief, nor can the Law do it for you. All your works
in intended fulfilment of the Law must remain works of the Law and powerless to
justify in the sight of God, who regards as just only believing
children."
http://www.trinitylutheranms.org/MartinLuther/MLSermons/Galatians4_1_7.html
