Thesis 11
For example, to say,16 “Christ was absolved in the resurrection,” 17 is to employ an illustration that is not
truly apt, as an ‘absolution’ declares one innocent in spite of one’s guilt and inability to pay for his
transgressions, but the Christ’s ‘justification’ is, rather, the vindication of One who both is innocent by
nature and by conduct and who has paid for the sins of all others. The fact that the Christ was made sin
for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and bore our sins as His own (Psalm 69:5) does not require Him to be absolved,
since, again, He was not forgiven for our sins (forgiveness requiring someone else to pay the
debt). Instead, He Himself paid the debt.
Thesis 12
Rather, by the Christ’s vindication, absolution is won and, indeed, created for us. That is, by His bearing
the judgment for our sin upon the cross, He has made a new way—a new ‘place’—for our judgment to
take place: rather than the judgment of Sinai,18 we are judged at the Throne of Grace, where the Christ’s
perfect active obedience is credited to us because His perfect passive obedience has made payment for
all sin. Christ is Himself our absolution and apart from Him there can be no absolution.
16 As those who might be cited by both parties have done, e.g., both Gerhard and Walther, even though Gerhard (cf. the second footnote to Thesis 8, above) calls what has come to be known as “Objective Justification” an “absurd” idea.
17 And in Him so were, one party says, “all who trust in Him” and the other “all mankind.”
18 The judgment of our thoughts, words, and deeds not squaring with God’s description of the attributes of His People in the Tables He handed down on Sinai.
Thus far the theses.
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GJ - Thesis 11 is one of the turning points in the vast confusion caused by the Halle University party, aka the UOJ Hive. The adverb truly should not have been used in the first sentence, because the claim not apt, but inept, wrong, false, and dangerous.
Christ did not need absolution, unlike the rest of us. The term vindication is far better and fitting the Christology of the Scriptures. This is a point where improvement of language will help in future versions or explanations, since the Eldonites will doubtless give up on the entire Easter absolution of the world bunch.
The Hive is silent for now. SpenerQuest is in Beavis-and-Butthead mode, since they have no arguments. I predict a vast whispering campaign where motives and character are impugned on a global scale. Just remember - it comes from the LCMS leaders who have protected child molesters while silencing pastors - and WELS, where church workers murder spouses and distribute homosexual child porn. SP Schroeder - We did not know! But absolved anyway!
This passage was discussed on the Intrepid Lutherans blog, where ELS Pastor Jay Webber tried to substitute Rambach's Easter absolution language (dateline - Halle University) for Martin Chemnitz' orthodox exegesis, concerning this early creed found in 1 Timothy 3.
KJV 1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy [literally - our confession] great is the mystery of godliness:
God was: [six participles]
- manifest in the flesh,
- justified in the Spirit,
- seen of angels,
- preached unto the Gentiles,
- believed on in the world,
- received up into glory.
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| ELS Hymn - "I'd rather have Rambach, with silver and gold, I'd rather be his than have wisdom untold. I'd rather have Halle than Wittenberg U. I'd rather be led by a cell group guru." |
In spite of some words in common, there is no doctrinal connection between justification by faith and UOJ.
- UOJ denies the efficacy of the Word.
- UOJ denies the Biblical doctrine of the Holy Spirit working exclusively through the invisible Word of teaching and preaching, the visible Word of the Sacraments.
- UOJ rejects the Scriptural teaching of faith, mocking faith as a work of man rather than a creation of the Spirit through the Gospel Promises.
- UOJ rejects the Means of Grace by applying God's grace to all unbelievers, even before birth, nullifying everything about the Christian ministry while kidnapping the terms, liturgy, and creeds as a clever ruse.
- UOJ rejects the canonical Scriptures by substituting their own little essays, their pathetic books, and their talking points for the Word of God.
- UOJ promotes the Walther myth, the idea that he bravely battled the suddenly adulterous bishop (in reality, an abusive Pietistic cell group guru) to establish an orthodox Lutheran congregational federation in the Midwest.
- UOJ promotes unionism by removing all doctrinal barriers to working with the Left (ELCA) and anti-Lutheran groups (Fuller style).
- UOJ excuses all the errors of modern Lutherdom by allowing for Church Growth, cell groups, entertainment worship services, and the kelming of any sermon from any sect, as long as free graphics are included.
- UOJ ignores the work of Luther, the Concordists, and the Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy, except to make false and ignorant claims about the solafideists promoting UOJ. The UOJ hero is Samuel Huber, not Martin Luther.
- UOJ came from Halle University's rationalistic Pietism, from Stephan who gave it to Walther.
UOJ does not highlight the cross or God's grace in its solemn declarations. If you wish to find the fruits of UOJ, go to Victory of the Lamb for entertainment or The CORE for copied sermonettes in a former bar. Both of these synagogues of Satan provide cola and snacks for the service, so that one can hear the munching of popcorn and the swinish slurping of Coke during the prayers.
Luther was a Solafideist:
Links to the individual ELDONA Justification by Faith Posts.
