 |
| Read DP Seifert's UOJ here. |
Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post " LPC has left a new comment on your post "Is Walt...":
Dr. Cruz is correct. “…if a person is justified without reference to faith then he is justified even though he loses faith…” (W)ELS’ own S.W. Becker confessed the same teaching in his often Kelmed essay on Justification.
Siegbert W. Becker - Justification
We ought to teach universal and objective justification because the Bible teaches it. Even if we could not see why it is important, that would still be the duty of every orthodox theologian.
But universal and objective justification is one doctrine whose place in the victorious Christian life is clear. Wherever men teach that faith comes first as a condition that must be fulfilled or a work that must be done or even as a fact that must be recognized before forgiven (sic - error in original PDF) is bestowed or becomes real, men will be trained to look into their own hearts for assurance rather than to the words and promises of God. If my sins are forgiven only if I first have faith then I have no solid foundation on which to rest my hope for eternal life. I must then know that I have faith before I can know that my sins are forgiven.
But there are times when a Christian does not know that he has faith. And many people who think they have faith do not have it, and many that think they are not believers are believing children of God. In regard to our own faith we may be in error or filled with doubt. But there is nothing uncertain in the truth that is proclaimed in the Gospel. Your sin is taken away, wiped out, forgiven, cancelled, swallowed up in the empty grave in Joseph’s garden. To that we must cling. To that we can cling. On that we can build a solid hope that will not make us ashamed.
In times of temptation when I am no longer aware of my faith, when my heart tells me that I am an unbeliever, I have no place to turn for assurance if faith must come before forgiveness. But if forgiveness comes first, if it is always there, if it is true whether I believe it or not, I do not need to know whether I have faith or not before I can cling to God’s promise. I know that my sins are forgiven whether I feel forgiven or unforgiven. I know that my iniquity is pardoned whether I believe it or not. And when I know that, then I know also that I am a believer. John teaches us that when he writes, “Brethren, if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” Take away objective and universal justification and you have gone a long way toward cutting the heart out of the Gospel message.
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BeckerJustification.pdf
Page 13
***
GJ - The text highlighted in blue is a logical short-circuit that keeps UOJ Stormtroopers in the loop of Enthusiasm. The sentences comprise an army of straw men - setting up false arguments and destroying them with great vigor.
Whenever men teach that...
The question is what the Word of God teaches and what we confess as orthodoxy Lutherans, in harmony with the Word. The SynCons are adept at setting up faith in Christ as something bad. When they are done plunging their rusty swords into stacks of straw, nothing is left.
The Gospel of John teaches the necessity of faith. The purpose of the entire Bible, which is simply a sermon about Jesus, is to plant and sustain faith in His work as our Savior.
KJV John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not
written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
and that believing ye might have life through his name.
faith comes first
No Lutheran who teaches justification by faith claims that "faith comes first." The Gospel Promises plant the seed of faith and nurture that seed. In fact, the UOJ fanatics teach that salvation comes first, given without the Word to the entire world. Therefore, UOJ faith is rooted in the self rather than the Gospel.
as a condition that must be fulfilled or a work that must be done
This phrase is a stealthy way of turning faith into something bad, confusing faith with good works (as a condition) and calling it a work.
KJV John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
These verses refute the false claim and also anticipate the effort to poison the well (make faith seem bad in every context). Faith is the work of God. That is why believers are called a new Creation (by the Word) and not a new Decision.
KJV 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [Creation in the Jackson New Living KJV]: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Is faith a condition of forgiveness? Let's ask St. Paul, who published often on this subject.
KVJ Romans 4:22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Jackson New Living KJV. And therefore it was counted as forgiveness for Abraham. Now it was not written for Abraham's sake alone, that he was counted forgiven because of faith. But it was written in Genesis 15 for us as well. For we will be counted forgiven if we trust completely in Him Who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, Who was betrayed and crucified for our offences and raised up for our forgiveness.
A contingency--or a condition--is met by this little word "if." The false teachers betray themselves by rejecting the clear and compelling witness of the Scriptures.
or even as a fact that must be recognized before forgiven (sic - error in original PDF) is bestowed or becomes real
Ministers and professors are stewards of the mysteries of God. Forgiveness and salvation are mysteries, like the Holy Trinity, Two Natures of Christ, and the Virgin Birth. If Sig Becker had been honest about UOJ he would have admitted that UOJ teaches this error with great clarity. In UOJ, universal forgiveness and salvation (without faith) must be decided upon before this forgiveness can be true for the individual. He is forgiven even before birth but not really forgiven until he decides he was forgiven before birth - along with the cannibals, Hindu, and Commies.
The Lutherans who deny this UOJ hairball of confusion are excommunicated, even though they were forgiven and saved before they were born.
men will be trained to look into their own hearts for assurance rather than to the words and promises of God.
The opposite is true, which is why UOJ Stormtroopers become enraged when their salvation without faith is challenged, when historical proofs from Halle University are cited. One WELS pastor had the entire congregation recite UOJ mantras during the sermon - repeat after me style - so they would be firmly fixed in his error. Only the UOJists are saved, but not really, because the WELS banner for "evangelism" said to the community - "I am saved, just like you."
Wayne Mueller, one of the prime movers for Church Growth in WELS, has always been fanatical in teaching that everyone is already forgiven and saved. That makes mission work easy, he claims. It also makes apostasy, unionism, and infidelity easy.
 |
| Some were offended by the nickname "Thundershorts." That is the name given Lindemann by his fellow pastors. Behold how the brethren love one another. |
If my sins are forgiven only if I first have faith then I have no solid foundation on which to rest my hope for eternal life. I must then know that I have faith before I can know that my sins are forgiven.
Here the entire chapter of Romans 4 is contradicted, but on what basis? Faith in God, Who raised Jesus from the dead, is a solid foundation. The bedrock is God's work in Christ, not a philosophical construct from the fetid bowels of Halle Pietism.
One must be incredibly stupid or slavishly dependent on Holy Mother Sect to utter such nonsense. This variation on the straw man theme strains to make faith something terribly evil when faith is the purpose of the entire Bible.
Dog owners will agree with this analogy. I can take Sassy Sue out for a walk without a leash because she trusts me. If I command, "Git over here," she will pivot and come right back to me. That trust is based on the time we spend together and the care I give her. I can say at a busy intersection, "Stay!" and she will lean against me, knowing that I can get her across safely. I do not have the same power over other dogs because they do not know my voice or belong to me.
These UOJ Enthusiasts have made faith so complicated and contradictory that the final conclusion can only be - it does not matter, since everyone is forgiven and saved.
However, faith is simple. If the Gospel message fills an individual with comfort and hope, that person certainly has faith in Christ. But if the message of faith in the crucified and risen Christ enrages someone, there is no faith. Perhaps the wrath will lead to additional study and conversion. Agitation can also lead to study and hardening of the heart. The Word will be efficacious, one way or the other - blinding or enlightening, converting or hardening.
There is no co-inky-dink in the Church Growth/Emergents belonging to the UOJ Hive, always buzzing about looking for new victims to sting. They mock the Word and preen their tiny wings, because they are proud of the loot they have gathered in their honey-combs.
All their work is hay, straw, and stubble, and the fires have started. Nothing will be left of the Schwan buildings and phony projects invented for consuming the estates of widows.
