http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2013/01/the-witch-hunt-has-officially-begun.html#comment-form
Whether or not certain pastors and teachers in the WELS and abroad have expressed theology pertaining to "objective" and "subjective" justification in an orthodox or semi-orthodox way really misses the point. What matters is that the synod's semi-official pronouncements clearly say:
"We believe that God has justified all sinners, that is, he has declared them righteous for the sake of Christ. This is the central message of Scripture upon which the very existence of the church depends" (This We BelieveIV:1).
There is no sense in which this excerpt can be "properly understood." Either God has fallaciously and ineffectually declared the whole world righteous, or He only declares righteous those who are made one with His Son in Holy Baptism. There's really no wiggle room here. Either Pr. Rydecki is promulgating false doctrine, or the This We Believe statement is heretical and blasphemous.
There is no room for "both/and." This is not a confusion of terms. The devil is out to play, and once again he's attacking the Chief Doctrine on which the Church stands or falls. He's playing the same old "Did God really say?" card. Did God really say that we are only declared righteous in faith, or did he say that the whole world is declared righteous whether it believes it or not? I stand with Pr. Rydecki in confessing that the unbelieving person "is condemned already" in God's eyes, not righteous, and with the Solid Declaration in saying that "the unbelieving and unconverted...person is not reconciled with God." To stand anywhere else, in my opinion, would be to stand on sinking sand.
"We believe that God has justified all sinners, that is, he has declared them righteous for the sake of Christ. This is the central message of Scripture upon which the very existence of the church depends" (This We BelieveIV:1).
There is no sense in which this excerpt can be "properly understood." Either God has fallaciously and ineffectually declared the whole world righteous, or He only declares righteous those who are made one with His Son in Holy Baptism. There's really no wiggle room here. Either Pr. Rydecki is promulgating false doctrine, or the This We Believe statement is heretical and blasphemous.
There is no room for "both/and." This is not a confusion of terms. The devil is out to play, and once again he's attacking the Chief Doctrine on which the Church stands or falls. He's playing the same old "Did God really say?" card. Did God really say that we are only declared righteous in faith, or did he say that the whole world is declared righteous whether it believes it or not? I stand with Pr. Rydecki in confessing that the unbelieving person "is condemned already" in God's eyes, not righteous, and with the Solid Declaration in saying that "the unbelieving and unconverted...person is not reconciled with God." To stand anywhere else, in my opinion, would be to stand on sinking sand.
Holy Baptism makes no sense when someone declares the entire world is already righteous, forgiven, and saved, period, end of story.
Justification by faith takes place through the Word and the Sacraments.
