 |
Except the Dietrich catechism, which Missouri adopted,
the KJV catechism still being sold by CPH, the original Gausewitz catechism
for the whole Synodical Conference, etc. |
Brett Meyer
has left a new comment on your post "
Gunslinger
Shoots Himself in the Foot...Again":
WELS Siegbert W.
Becker"Faith does nothing more than accept the forgiveness proclaimed in the
Gospel. It is not a condition we must fulfill before we can be forgiven. It is
not a cause of forgiveness on account of which God forgives us. The forgiveness
comes first. Faith is merely the response to the message. God says to us, “Your
sins are forgiven.” This is objective justification, and God’s message to us is
true whether we believe it or not. Faith makes God’s message its own and says,
“My sins are forgiven.” This is subjective justification. The whole doctrine is
just as simple as that." Page 12, The Place of
Faith
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BeckerJustification.PDF
WELS
AZ/CA DP Pastor Jon Buchholz"Faith doesn’t bring anything into existence
that doesn’t already exist. Faith doesn’t cause something to happen. Faith
simply grasps— trusts—something that already is in place." Page 14
http://archive.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?2617&collectionID=1161&contentID=76707&shortcutID=26388
WELS
Our Great Heritage states,
"And yet many Lutherans still labor under the
delusion that God does not forgive us unless we believe. Instead of seeing faith
as nothing more than the spiritual hand with which we make the forgiveness of
God our own, they see it as a reason why God forgives us. They believe that
Christ has indeed provided forgiveness for all men, that God is willing to
forgive them, but before he really forgives he first of all demands that we
should be sorry for our sins and that we should have faith. Just have faith they
say, and then God will forgive you. All the right words are there. The only
thing wrong is that the words are in the wrong order. God does not forgive us IF
we have faith. He has forgiven us long ago when he raised his Son from the
dead." (p. 59)"
WELS MLC President Mark Zarling, "Faith does nothing more
than receive the forgiveness which is offered in the Gospel. It is not a
condition we fulfill nor is it a cause of forgiveness. We are already forgiven.
God's message of justification in Christ is there whether we believe it or not.
Faith then receives the blessings." And, "Faith that accepts the good news of
universal justification is the work of God the Holy Ghost." Page
7
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/ZarlingJustification.pdf
Question to
those who boldly confess the doctrine of Universal Objective Justification
(UOJ). Your doctrine of Objective Justification (OJ) teaches that by the
Atonement of Christ the whole world, including every unbeliever, has been
declared forgiven of all sin, justified, declared righteous by God's divine
verdict and God is at peace with them. OJ also teaches that justification is not
a change in man but a change in the relationship between God and man. Also in
UOJ's teaching concerning Subjective Justification (SJ) faith is simply and
empty hand accepting what was already declared to be true. That faith doesn't do
anything or bring about anything, it only receives. Then when does the
conversion of man take place and he becomes as a little child, Matt 18:2-3
(clearly a change in man)? When is a man born of water and the Spirit as Christ
declares in John 3:3-6? When does a man cease to be carnally minded in the old
man and become spiritually minded in the new man in Christ, Col. 3:9-10, Romans
8:6 and Eph. 4:22-24(clearly changes wrought by God in man through faith worked
by the Means of Grace)? How can man be a new creature in Christ through the
changes noted above if in UOJ there is no change in man, if faith doesn't affect
a change in man, 2 Cor. 5:17?
The Lutheran Confessions contend against the the Satanic apostasy of UOJ
throughout and especially here:
Also, 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.php
The Lutheran
Book of Concord rejects and condemns UOJ’s confession of faith, "Faith does not
justify a believer." And, "Faith in and of itself does nothing." And establishes
it’s clear confession that sins are not forgiven prior to the Holy Spirit
working solely through the divinely instituted Means of Grace – Word and
Sacrament.
BOC: 6] Let any one of the adversaries come forth and tell us when
remission of sins takes place. O good God, what darkness there is! They doubt
whether it is in attrition or in contrition that remission of sins occurs. And
if it occurs on account of contrition, what need is there of absolution,
what
does the power of the keys effect, if sins have been already remitted?…"
http://www.bookofconcord.org/defense_10_repentance.php
Luther foretold of the current persecution of the Holy Spirit’s faith by today’s
Lutheran Synods, churches, clergy and schools.
12. 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. 15. ...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. 22. Now, the Cain-like
saints have not, as they themselves confess, the
Christian faith which would
assure them of being the children of God. 29. 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. 37. Note,
Paul everywhere teaches justification, not by works, but solely by faith; and
not as a process, but instantaneous. The testament includes in itself
everything--justification, salvation, the inheritance and great blessing.
Through faith it is instantaneously enjoyed, not in part, but all. Truly is
it plain, then, that faith alone affords such blessings of God, justification
and salvation-- immediately and not in process as must be the case with
works 74. But
what is the process whereby Christ gives us such a spirit and
redeems us from under the Law? The work is effected solely by faith. He who
believes that Christ came to redeem us, and that he has accomplished it, is
really redeemed. As he believes, so is it with him. Faith carries with it
the child-making spirit. The apostle here explains by saying that Christ has
redeemed us from under the Law that we might receive the adoption of sons. As
before stated, all must be effected through faith. Now we have discussed the
five points of the
verse.
http://www.trinitylutheranms.org/MartinLuther/MLSermons/Galatians4_1_7.html
---
AC V has left
a new comment on your post "
Gunslinger
Shoots Himself in the Foot...Again":
P.T. McCain:
"We never want
to give anyone even the remotest impression that they should put faith in their
faith, or trust in their trust."Yet that is EXACTLY what "Objective
Justification" does. Here's how:
If I have the EXACT SAME justification
as the unbeliever, the only difference being that I have faith, then how can I
be sure that my justification is going to work? Don't I have to put FAITH IN MY
FAITH, TRUST IN MY TRUST?
Let's review: According to the Confessions the
definition of justification is (and remember, folks, this is supposed to apply
to UNBELIEVERS, too, according to UOJ):
“Accordingly, the word justify
here means to declare righteous and free from sins, and to absolve one from
eternal punishment for the sake of Christ's righteousness, which is imputed by
God to faith, Phil. 3:9. For this use and understanding of this word is common
in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament” (SD III:17).
Too
bad "faith" shows up in there....
...As it does time and time again in
the Scriptures and the Confessions when talking about the doctrine of
justification. You just shouldn't have a definition of justification - if you
are a Lutheran - without the word "by faith" coming out in the same breath.
