Friday, August 24, 2012

Confusion about the Atonement Helps the UOJ Thugs

According to Paul McCain,
the Nativity should be scorned,
because the room was rented and only a stable at that.

UOJ Enthusiasts create confusion deliberately with the way they treat the Atonement. They let people imagine that Universal Objective Justification (Objective Justification, or General Justification) is the same at the Atonement.

False Impression of UOJ:
UOJ is the same as the Atonement, propitiation, expiation, redemption.

Therefore, justification by faith is not a contradiction in the eyes of the innocent.

Correct Interpretation of UOJ:
UOJ is the merger of justification and the Atonement, so it means that every single soul is forgiven and saved, before birth, from the beginning of time.

For UOJ, faith is trust in the dogma of UOJ, not faith in Christ. Those who deny UOJ dogma are condemned, attacked, shunned, silenced, and given a public beat-down.

Thus every New Testament or Book of Concord reference to the Atonement becomes a UOJ proof-text for them. When they cannot wedge UOJ into the Biblical wording, they simply change it - some really means all, and if St. Paul is short an all, they add it. All have sinned and all are justified. Ta - dah!


Error Loves Ambiguities
When someone questions UOJ innocently, that individual is allowed to think that UOJ is exactly the same as redemption, atonement, expiation.

When another person knows all about UOJ, and can refute it, the Enthusiasts scream,

"He is teaching a limited Atonement. 
He is a Calvinist. Shun the evil-doer! 
Shun those who will not shun him!"

Ban the Anti-Biblical OJ/SJ Terms
There is no OJ in the Bible or the Confessions, no SJ in the Bible and the Confessions, no OJ or SJ in the post-Concord era of Lutheran Orthodoxy.




Pastor Nathan Bickel's Experience with Steadfast Lutherans



Ichabod –  Why do I feel that I’ve been in a fight when I never intended to be part of a fight; or, even to be part of some website participants’ angst and uncontrolled fervor?

You recently posted:

“Thoughts on the Steadfast Lutheran Retreat. Eighty-five Comments Erased from Their Attacks on Justification by Faith:”


"....The Assumptionists are like the UOJists - they believe in their own belief - so do not get in their way. It is safer to rob a she-bear of her cubs than interrupt a UOJ Stormtrooper in his folly."

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2012/08/thoughts-on-steadfast-lutheran-retreat.html


Ichabod – Perhaps, my (yesterday’s) experience may help to underscore this disconcerting and rabid “UOJ Stormtrooper folly.” I offer my following thoughts as I attempt to objectively recount that experience.

 


Yesterday while visiting the Steadfast site and commenting, I certainly gained that impression. Your "bear / Stormtropper analogy" is very perceptive; spot on!



I had visited the Steadfast site months ago and registered a comment or two [or so]. But, I happened to stop by at the site yesterday and then registered a number of comments. Shortly after commenting on the Steadfast site, the first thing that transpired was that I was accused of slander when I offered a complimentary comment to Daniel who was being questioned by others. 




Next comes a forum personality called, "McCain," who then launched into some personal vindictives. He ended up charging me with being a false prophet, after offering me his phone number. [Who is this guy?] After looking at the posted thread this morning, I notice that a number of his comments were apparently deleted. Personally, I cannot blame the Steadfast moderators for taking down these particular "McCain" comments. I too, would be embarrassed to leave them up. 


And, as far as I can recall, Diers, Preus and McCain were only reacting; they weren't interested in anything I actually stated, but only to pounce on my use of the "universalism" word. It seems apparent that a person who desires to comment on the Steadfast site won't be allowed to first base if his terminology doesn't match that of the rest of the Steadfast crew. 



Consequently, I suppose I'm more comfortable commenting on a more tolerant site, such as Ichabod. At least I know that its author is supportive of Scripture's integral doctrine of grace through faith and that a human soul is justified by faith alone as Luther and the Lutheran Confessions ascribe. [Why, after I have left the Steadfast site, do I go away with the distinct impression that some of the people commenting there, are tormented by their beliefs?]


Finally, I must say, that I have participated in my fair share of secular forums; but, my experience yesterday was unparalleled. I will grant that I am not the best (by any means) at expressing myself; but, I never would have imagined the rabid experience which I encountered on the steadfastlutherans.org website.


Nathan M. Bickel – pastor emeritus



Mayor Bloomberg says homeless-shelter population is booming due to improvements in accommodations - NYPOST.com

Mayor Bloomberg says homeless-shelter population is booming due to improvements in accommodations - NYPOST.com:

'via Blog this'

Blogger Alert - The Virgin Mary Is Still Lactating on St. Bernard.
What Is Concordia Publishing House Trying To Promote?

http://cyberbrethren.com/2012/08/19/commemoration-of-bernard-of-clairvoux-hymnwriter-and-theologian/#more-7920

The deification of Mary is one of the saddest aspects of Roman Catholic error. As many have noticed with alarm, the Lutherans seem to be falling all over each other as they slowly sinuflect to Rome. They do not want to do this openly, simply giving up their choice jobs. They want to take as many people as possible into the darkness.

Deification of Mary is one of four major Roman Catholic flaws, which are mutually supportive:

  • One must add works to faith for salvation, which is still not adequate.
  • Because no one is ever really forgiven, Purgatory is necessary to complete the job.
  • The Blessed Virgin Mary visits the suffering souls in Purgatory. She is the source of mercy, the Mediatrix of all grace.
  • The faithful know this is true, because the Pope infallibly teaches this nonsense.

Paul McCain never had a solid Lutheran education. He went to a parochial Roman Catholic high school, a source of great pride for him. He spent an inordinate amount of time at Concordia, Ft. Wayne, learning politics but little else. As of yesterday, McCain still does not know what Robert Preus published about justification by faith.

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2012/08/mccain-denounces-luthers-doctrine-on.html

Can the Steadfasters find false doctrine in their own midst?
Nope.
----

Here is a PS from a reader -


Study Luther on John 16:8-10.
Those Who Reject This Have Repudiated the Gospel


AC V has left a new comment on your post "Sola Fide Explains UOJ Discussions":

Pr. Martin Diers:

"Objective Justification = Universal Atonement. They are the same exact thing."

http://steadfastlutherans.org/?p=22176#comment-416312

The editors of the BoC took great pains to carefully define the terms used in Scripture so that we might know clearly how a person is saved. They were willing to die for these definitions. What makes us think we can improve on those definitions? Look at all the confusion the new terms "Objective/Subjective Justification" have caused. And those who hold to the Confessional and Scriptural definition of "Justification by Faith Alone" are considered suspect? Even heretical? God have mercy!

Synodical Conference leftovers, return to the correct definition of "justify" and "justification." It's in the Scriptures, of course. But if you want to call yourself a Lutheran, then you will define and teach the doctrine of justification the way the BoC defines and teaches it: "by faith alone."

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Dr. Lito Cruz Sent This Note about Samuel Huber":

Hardt's essay states, “At length no reconciliation, however, was possible. The reason cannot, strictly speaking, be said to be the fact that Huber insisted on using the unusual term “universal justification” or on maintaining the idea that all mankind had been given, in some sense, part of Christ’s universal, substitutionary righteousness.”

Hunnius condemned the distribution of Christ's righteousness outside of the Holy Spirit's graciously worked faith. This is one of the teachings that Pastor Diers strongly insisted he did not teach. It is one that the UOJists base their false gospel on.

Thoughts on the Steadfast Lutheran Retreat.
Eighty-five Comments Erased from Their Attacks on Justification by Faith



Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Sola Fide Explains UOJ Discussions":

Anyone who read the last comment made by Pastor Martin Diers of the OLCC will see that he called me a liar when I accused him of teaching the specific doctrinal aspects of the Lutheran Synods chief article of Universal Objective Justification.

My comment in response is still up  [GJ - for now] where I apologize for attributing to him the UOJ teachings.

In his refutation he clearly confessed One Justification Solely by Faith in Christ alone. He may retract this later but his scathing retort was faithful to Scripture. I believe this was the straw that broke the thread. They tolerated McCain's ranting and baseless ad hominem attacks against JBFAers but when it was clear one on their side of the discussion actually disagreed with UOJ it was too much. In fact this is quite common during these discussions to see the UOJists take opposing false positions against each other. Primary reason for this is that UOJ has no confessional foundation. There is no BOC style confession of this false gospel. They each have a different version that they adhere to. Joe Krohn's latest incarnation of UOJ is prime example. His teaching is inconsistent with (W)ELS and the LCMS. Yet, they tolerate each other because they receive comfort in a justification and righteousness given to them without faith.

UOJ is a house of man-made cards which is 100% putrified. None of it stands against Scripture and the Confessions. Neither does it stand up next to the confessors who drop kicked Huber years ago for the same teachings.


***

GJ - Luther had one litmus test for sound doctrine - justification by faith. The satis est of the Augsburg Confession is virtually the same, expressed in different words. The reason behind this litmus test is the unity of the Scriptures. One cannot set aside one teaching and have the rest of the Biblical unified truth survive.

Justification by faith rests upon the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace. The Holy Spirit's exclusive work through the Word explains the efficacy word-group found so often in the New Testament, the Old Testament using different words to express the same thought. Some words and phrases, like Means of Grace, are short-cuts to express Biblical teaching.

If someone teaches justification by faith, his approach to the Trinity, inerrancy, and Holy Communion is likely to be sound. Justification by faith deniers have a wobbly, broken gyroscope, so they head off toward Fuller Seminary, Leonard Sweet, or the sweet incense clouds of Rome. Mother Mary welcomes them home.

Universal Objective Justification can be reverse-engineered to show its deadly flaws. One group claims that the entire world was absolved the moment Christ died. Another group connects this mysterious and never-revealed absolution to the Moment of Resurrection. They are like the advocates of the Assumption of Mary. Some say she died first and was assumed into heaven. Others say she was assumed without dying. The important part for them was the additional step of deification, not the obvious contradiction, not the utter lack of Biblical or historical support. The Assumptionists are like the UOJists - they believe in their own belief - so do not get in their way. It is safer to rob a she-bear of her cubs than interrupt a UOJ Stormtrooper in his folly.

Another deadly flaw in UOJ is double-justification. UOJ Enthusiasts have conceded that justification in the New Testament and in the Book of Concord can only mean justification by faith. UOJ advocates know this, but never grapple with the entire world being forgiven and saved, even before birth, and a second justification (by faith in this universal absolution) that makes it really real. The double-talk makes forgiveness utter nonsense, absolution meaningless, contrition irrelevant.

Christian News readers raged for years about the Moment of Consecration, with large groups of the Synodical Conference still connecting the Real Presence to its reception, sometimes to the No-Man's Land of "We don't know." However, the simple Biblical solution comes from the same efficacy of the Word taught throughout the Scriptures - the Word consecrates. I do not need to quote Chemnitz or Luther or Driscoll, because the Scriptures transcend all human authority, all man-made creeds and books.


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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Dr. Lito Cruz Sent This Note about Samuel Huber":

Hardt's essay states, "Hardt: “At length no reconciliation, however, was possible. The reason cannot, strictly speaking, be said to be the fact that Huber insisted on using the unusual term “universal justification” or on maintaining the idea that all mankind had been given, in some sense, part of Christ’s universal, substitutionary righteousness.”

Hunnius condemned the distribution of Christ's righteousness outside of the Holy Spirit's graciously worked faith. This is one of the teachings that Pastor Diers strongly insisted he did not teach. It is one that the UOJists base their false gospel on. 

---

Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Thoughts on the Steadfast Lutheran Retreat. Eighty...":

Dr. Jackson -

I got thinking about all the comments that the steadfastlutherans website scratched [deleted]. Come to think of it; since first visiting Ichabod months ago, I've never once witnessed evidence of one comment deletion. It kind of makes me wonder who is running the scrub show on that "Lutheran" site.

Perhaps, a new website name is in order for them. Perhaps, they should change it to steadfastscrubbinglutherans.org? Or, better yet, to be in line with their Universalism worship; call the website: steadfastscrubbing.org - and be done with it!

Ichabod - Keep up the good work. Your website fairness and moderating skills are very commendable!

Nathan M. Bickel

www.thechristianmessage.org

www.moralmatters.org

Sola Fide Explains UOJ Discussions


rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Sola Fide Explains UOJ Discussions":

Luther's Commentary on Galatians is a stellar effort. So many of the ill informed point to his Romans commentary. I remember someone once saying that Luther had a way of getting to the heart of the matter. The Galatians commentary reminds me a bit of his Large Catechism. Few of us mortals have ever had a grasp on the Gospel like Luther did.















solafide (http://solafide.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Steadfast Lutherans Is an Open Forum for All Secta...":

So the something starts going against the way that the UOJ crowd wants it to, so they shut it down... hrmm, that kinda sounds familiar...

Oh wait! That sounds like the NIV2011 discussions!

It's also happening right this very instant at the WELS worker training schools, where if you don't agree with the UOJ'ers, you are ostracized and given 2nd-class student status until they find some technicality to boot you out on. On the other hand, if you worship at the UOJ altar, your many many nights of drunk and disorderly conduct are instantly forgotten about! In fact, you can miss those classes that you aren't supposed to miss, like 1st period pastor-track language courses.

Luther and Faith





2138 has left a new comment on your post "Luther's Sermons: Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. Ma...":

Luther would have been pelted with dung on Steadfast “Luther”ans for his repeated usage of the word “faith” in his sermons. The word “faith” even outnumbered the collective total occurrences of “Christ,” “Jesus,” and “Savior.” Obviously Luther’s hearers went home confused and wondering if they had enough faith to be saved…

From the First Sermon (1522):

“7. …Therefore, let everyone here remember, that no one dare undertake to be saved by the faith, or by the work of another person; in truth, it cannot be done by the faith or work of Mary, or of any saint, yea, not even by Christ’s work and faith, but through your own personal faith. For God will not permit Mary, or any other saint, not even Christ himself, to take your place, in order that you might be godly and righteous, unless you believe for your own self.

“8. …Unless you yourself draw out from God’s kindness and mercy a faith of your own, you will not be saved. Thus it must be; otherwise no other person’s faith or works avail, not even Christ, though he is the Savior of all the world; his kindness, his help will do you no good whatever, unless you believe in it, and are enlightened by it.”

“10. …For my own faith must stand before God’s judgment, and must fight so hard and cleave so firmly to God’s mercy, that the sweat will run down its face, if it is to prevail.

“13. … Thus, if I happen to notice that you have no faith of your own, or a weak faith, I go and ask God to help, you to obtain faith, not by giving you my faith and my works, but your own faith and your own works; so that Christ may give him all his works and salvation through faith, as he hath given them to us by faith.

“18. This we see in our text. These people approach the Lord in strong confidence, praying for the poor man, and their prayer is also heard. In the same manner, when baptism is performed we see this take place in the children’s faith. There are the infants, bare and naked in body and soul, having neither faith nor works. Then the Christian Church comes forward and prays, that God would pour faith into the child; not that our faith should help the child, but that it may obtain a faith of its own. If it has faith, then after that whatever it does is well done, whether it suckle its mother’s breast, or whether it soil itself, or whatever it may please to do. But if it does not obtain faith, our faith is of no value to the child.”

“19. … Hence, to sum up all, everything depends upon personal faith, as strong as it is, so much does it need the faith and prayer of other people in order to increase in strength.”

Compare Luther’s words above with this sage advice:

“We never want to give anyone even the remotest impression that they should put faith in their faith, or trust in their trust.” (http://steadfastlutherans.org/?p=22123&cpage=2#comment-416159)

Let the dung-pelting begin.