October 15, 2012
To the presidium of the Arizona-California District of the Wisconsin
Evangelical Lutheran Synod, President Jon Buchholz, First Vice President Steven
Degner and Second Vice President David Clark:
Dear members of the AZ-CA District presidium, I write to you
in reply to your letter suspending me from the ministerium of the WELS, and
also in response to your shameful behavior over the past year. Since you have formally and publicly condemned
me as a false teacher, I no longer address you as brothers in Christ.
Your shameful
behavior
I was surprised, President Buchholz, to get a phone call
from you on Tuesday morning, Oct. 2, announcing the presidium’s resolution to
suspend me. This surprised me because
you stood in front of me and my congregation just six days earlier and
explicitly promised, “We will continue to study this issue with your pastor.” Many of my members expressed to me after that
meeting on Sept. 26th how encouraged they were by your promise to
continue studying this doctrine with me.
But you have proven yourself to be a liar.
When one of my members questioned your dishonest behavior,
you responded with this:
When
I spoke with Pastor Rydecki this morning (October 2) we agreed that we are at
an impasse.
That is a lie. You
asked me if I thought anything had changed between the meeting on Wednesday
(Sept. 26) and that morning (Oct. 2). I
said that I didn’t think anything had changed in those six days. I certainly did not agree that further study
would be unproductive or unnecessary, especially given your public promise that
such a study would take place.
You also wrote to my member:
Following
last Wednesday’s meeting I took the opportunity to seek advice and counsel from
the faculty of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and from the Doctrine Committee of
our WELS Conference of Presidents. All of the theologians agreed without
hesitation or reservation that the statement “God forgave the sin of the world
when Jesus died on the cross” (John 1:29; 1 John 2:2; Romans 5:18; 2
Corinthians 5:19; Apology IV, 103) teaches the truth of God’s Word and the
historic teaching of the Lutheran Church in a simple, clear, and unambiguous
way.
So you admit that you were emboldened to break your word to
my congregation by the support you received from the seminary faculty and from
the COP. You have thus implicated them
in your papistic attempt to establish new doctrine ex cathedra and to force your own made-up statements upon the
pastors and congregations of the WELS on threat of suspension. One would think that those who bear the name
of Luther would shun such behavior, but instead you have embraced it—to your
shame and disgrace.
I will mention more of your disgraceful behavior. You had numerous communications with members
of my congregation behind my back prior to my suspension, meddling in another
man’s divine call. You tolerated a
pastor of this district making a public accusation against me of heresy on the district
convention floor—in my absence, no less! —without denying his charge or
clearing my good name before the assembly.
You have tolerated any number of slanderous accusations made against me
behind my back by pastors of this district, knowing full well that not a single
one of them has communicated with me in any way, even to seek clarification
from me of my doctrine. And if they are
getting their impressions of my teaching from you, then they certainly are getting
the wrong impression.
Your shameful
misrepresentation and your confused doctrine
You have repeatedly misrepresented my doctrine, both to my
congregation and to various pastors of our synod. You have written:
Pastor Rydecki:
Jesus died and rose again so that the sin of the world could possibly be
forgiven.
Scripture:
Jesus died and rose again, so that the sin of the world is forgiven.
“Could possibly be forgiven?” You know I have never taught this. But neither do you understand the Scriptural
doctrine that God forgives sins through the Means of Grace, and that
forgiveness is a present-tense divine promise
made to “whoever believes and is baptized,” rather than some sort of past tense
“reality,” as you like to call it. All
your talk about “possibilities” and “potentialities” and “realities” is
worthless philosophical drivel.
Pastor Rydecki
(a false and unLutheran teaching): Faith causes a person to become forgiven.
Scripture:
Faith trusts the truth that Jesus has forgiven (1 John 2:2; John 1:29; John
19:30; Apology IV, 103; Apology XII (V),94; Smalcald Articles Part 2, Article
1).
Again, you do not understand the Gospel or the Lutheran
Confessions, so you do not understand my teaching. Whenever I have referred to faith as a cause
of justification, I have been careful to point out its role as an instrumental cause, just as the orthodox
Lutheran Fathers did. Faith is a cause of justification just as much as the
grace of God, the merit of Christ and the Means of Grace are causes of
justification. They are not causes in
the same sense nor do they have the same role, but they are necessary
components of the article of justification, so that without any of these
“causes,” sinners are not justified.
This is clearly explained in FC:SD:III:25.
Pastor Rydecki’s
gospel is: You can be forgiven, if you believe.
The
true good news is: Christ did forgive you. This is preached, so that you
may believe.
My gospel is not the one that you state above. You knowingly
corrupt both my teaching and the “true good news,” demonstrating again that you
do not comprehend the concept of divine
promise or the role of the Means of Grace.
The true good news is that “Christ did
make satisfaction for your sins by His death.
Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins! Whoever believes and
is baptized will be saved.” Or, speaking
to the baptized, the true good news is that “Baptism now saves you also,” or
“In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all
your sins. Your sins are forgiven. Go in
peace.” Or, “Take; eat. Take; drink…for
the forgiveness of sins.”
Perhaps the most disturbing condemnation you have made is
exemplified in your criticism of my Easter sermon, where you write:
Pastor
Rydecki’s teaching is subtle and deceptive. In many cases it is found not in
what he overtly says, but it is hiding behind what he refuses to say or in the
ways he limits or qualifies the gospel. The following notes were drawn from
Pastor Rydecki’s writings and sermons and compiled by Pastor Degner of our
district. The highlighting is his:
Paul Rydecki: Adding Faith to
the Proclamation of Forgiveness
Compiled by Steven Degner to show how the incorrect teaching on
justification by faith permeates the preaching and teaching of Paul Rydecki:
Easter Sermon
But for those who want a sure refuge from God’s wrath, for those who
want to be reconciled to God, for those who want Jesus for a Savior, the gospel
reveals this truth: that Jesus was delivered up for our sins and raised to life
for our justification. His death was sufficient payment for all sin, for every
sin, for the worst sinner, for his most bitter enemy; and his resurrection means that all who hope in
him, all who trust in him, all who look to him for forgiveness of their sins
are absolved before God’s courtroom in heaven. The empty tomb means the
justification of all who believe in the risen One.
Here,
Pastor Rydecki limits the work of Christ only to those who believe. He refuses
to acknowledge that the empty tomb was for the justification of all people.
In person, you accused me of preaching a “conditional
Gospel” here because I mentioned faith.
I am amazed that you have so directly condemned the Scriptural and
Lutheran Gospel of justification by grace through faith and redefined the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to exclude faith from its proclamation. Simply put, Pastor Buchholz, your “gospel”
without faith is not the Gospel.
Your suspension letter
Now, addressing specifically your letter of suspension:
I
am deeply disappointed that you have turned away from the teaching you learned
in your ministerial training and have instead denied the truth and fallen into
error.
On the contrary, my ministerial training prepared me in the
Biblical and confessional languages so that I could search the Scriptures and
the Book of Concord and study them in context.
My ministerial training taught me to rely on God’s Word alone and not on
this or that seminary professor’s interpretation. My ministerial training taught me that
learning from God’s Word and from history is not to cease when one graduates
from the seminary. And thankfully, my
ministerial training taught me that men and synods err; it taught me to avoid
the Romish practice of ascribing infallibility to a human organization and of formulating
new doctrines and then trying to read them back into the Scriptures and
Confessions.
After
numerous conversations with you and repeated efforts to admonish and instruct
you from God’s word, you have made it clear that you are not in agreement with
the doctrine of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).
You have never attempted to instruct me from God’s
Word. Instead, you have attempted to
instruct me from your personal interpretations, rationalistic conclusions and
philosophical assertions. The doctrine
of the WELS and the doctrine of God’s Word are not necessarily the same
thing. Neither I nor any pastor nor any
congregation has ever subscribed unconditionally to the WELS doctrinal
statements, and yet you have continued to insist that such a subscription is
mandatory for all WELS pastors. You have
insisted that we must confess This We Believe
as our “own personal confession,” in addition to the Book of Concord. This
is pure sectarianism.
I have opened up the Scriptures to every supposed sedes doctrinae for your universal
justification and attempted to walk through the exegesis with you and discuss
the historical Lutheran exegesis of these same passages in context. But rather
than showing me where my exegesis was faulty, you simply insisted that you have
personally studied these things, written a synod convention essay on it, and
therefore, you must be right. You have
boldly claimed that the WELS cannot be wrong on this issue, and that the doctrine
of justification can only be studied to demonstrate how the WELS is right. There can be no study done by the pastors of
our district that might call into question the WELS position. This is pure Romanism.
Specifically,
you have refused to acknowledge and confess that God forgave the sin of the
world when Jesus died on the cross (John 1:29; John 19:30; 1 John 2:2; Romans
5:18; 2 Cor. 5:19; Apology IV, 103).
First, I find it interesting that you have chosen the word
“forgave” rather than “justified” or “declared righteous,” since this whole
discussion has been over the article of justification. Granted, “forgive” and “justify” are closely related
and often used synonymously. But then,
justification is also used synonymously with “regeneration” throughout the Book
of Concord. Why the switch? Is it perhaps because the Confessions so
clearly teach that there is no justification apart from faith, and you have found
one paragraph in the Apology (IV:103) that does use the words “forgave” and
“all” in the same sentence?
Secondly, as I have confessed in your presence on numerous
occasions,
I believe and teach that
Christ…
- o has died for all people and paid for the sins of all people;
- o has made atonement for the sins of the world;
- o has been obedient to the Law for all people and has made satisfaction for the sins of all people;
- o has earned and acquired righteousness, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation for all men;
- o has redeemed the world;
- o wants all men to be saved;
- o truly offers and gives the forgiveness of sins in the Word of the Gospel, without any merit or worthiness on our part.
But you are correct. I have refused to acknowledge your
made-up phrase that “God forgave the sin of the world when Jesus died on the
cross,” because, as I have confessed in your presence, the Scriptures do not
say this. What they do say is that God
forgives sin only through the ministry of the Word as the instrument through
which the Holy Spirit alone creates faith in Christ the Reconciler and thereby
justifies believers, not because faith is a good work, but because faith lays
hold of Christ, the Mediator. “Faith is
imputed for righteousness.” This is the
“righteousness of faith” spoken of by the Apostle Paul in Romans and taught
throughout the Lutheran Confessions.
Your made-up
Scriptural support
I will address the passages you have mistakenly cited to
support your contrived gospel of justification apart from faith.
John 1:29 (NKJV) 29The next day John saw Jesus
coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world!”
This is a beautiful passage that you have corrupted to force
it to say more than it says. It speaks
clearly about the universality of Christ’s sacrifice, but it says not a word
about the application of Christ’s sacrifice to the world, as if all men had
already been forgiven or justified on account of it. Christ surely bore the sin of the world and
suffered for the sin of the world, and so has merited or earned forgiveness of
sins for all people. “By His death, Christ made satisfaction for our sins”
(Augsburg Confession:IV). Therefore,
John the Baptist rightly directs his disciples to “behold” the Lamb of God,
that they might become partakers through faith in the forgiveness of sins that
He merited for all (or, at that time, would
merit) through His sacrifice.
The Apology explains it this way in Ap:XXIV:53-55:
The Levitical sacrifices for sins
did not merit the forgiveness of sins before God. They were only an image of
Christ’s sacrifice, which was to be the one atoning sacrifice, as we said
before. To a great extent the Epistle speaks about how the ancient priesthood
and the ancient sacrifices were set up not to merit the forgiveness of sins
before God or reconciliation, but only to illustrate the future sacrifice of
Christ alone. In the Old Testament, saints had to be justified by faith, which
receives the promise of the forgiveness of sins granted for Christ’s sake, just
as saints are also justified in the New Testament. From the beginning of the
world all saints had to believe that Christ would be the promised offering and
satisfaction for sins, as Isaiah 53:10 teaches, “when His soul makes an
offering for sin.”
The Confessions clearly and consistently distinguish between
the satisfaction made by Christ and the justification that results for those
who believe in Him. For maintaining this
distinction, I have been branded a heretic.
It is hard to believe.
John 19:30 (NKJV) 30So when Jesus had received the
sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His
spirit.
I find it incredible that you cite this passage to prove
your novel doctrine. Just because you
want to slip justification into the “It is finished” spoken by Christ does not
make it so.
It can properly be said that Christ finished earning or winning the forgiveness of sins on the cross, as you know I have
said repeatedly, and as Luther also says in the Large Catechism. But when I have explained my position in this
way, you have said that it is still not enough.
According to you, one must also say that “God forgave the world” or “God
justified the world” or even “Jesus saved the world. Past tense.” To this I have objected.
Do you really mean to prove that God finished forgiving sins when Christ died, or that His work of
forgiving sins and justifying sinners is the “it” that was “finished” when
Christ died on the cross? So much for
the Absolution! “If you forgive anyone
his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven”
(John 20:23). So much for the Third Article of the Creed! “In this Christian Church he daily and fully
forgives all sins to me and all believers.”
And so much for Baptism that “works forgiveness of sin, delivers from
death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as
the words and promises of God declare.”
The Lutheran Church has a name for the work of Christ that
was “finished” on the cross. It is
called “Redemption” (cf. Small Catechism, Second Article). It is not called
“justification” or the forgiveness of sins (cf. Small Catechism, Third
Article).
For as much as you pay lip-service to the Means of Grace,
District President, your inclusion of the forgiveness of sins in the “it is
finished” of Christ nullifies any efficacy you might claim for the Means of
Grace. What you give with one hand, you
take away with the other. You know you
should say that God “forgives” sins through the Means of Grace, so you say it when
pressed (although not all of your followers are as quick to say it), but your
doctrine of “forgiveness finished” and declared once-for-all from the cross
negates whatever efficacy you might claim for the Means of Grace.
1 John 2:2 (NKJV) 2And He Himself is the propitiation
for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
This is another beautiful passage that you have corrupted by
inventing new definitions for words and by ignoring the surrounding context in
order to prove your contrived doctrine.
That Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world is
agreed upon without controversy, and you know very well that I confess
this. But propitiation is not the same
thing as remitting sins or justification.
As Apology:XXI:31 says,
For we know that confidence is to
be placed in the intercession of Christ, because this alone has God’s promise. We
know that the merits of Christ alone are a propitiation for us. On account of
the merits of Christ we are accounted righteous when we believe in Him, as
the text says, Rom. 9, 33 (cf. 1 Pet. 2, 6 and Is. 28, 16): Whosoever believeth
on Him shall not be confounded.
But we needn’t rely on the Confessions alone for this
understanding. The Apostle John himself in
the immediate context of the verse you cite explains when and how and for whom
sins are forgiven:
If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not
sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous. And He Himself is the
propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world
(1 John 1:8 - 2:2, NKJV).
Romans 5:18 (NKJV) 18Therefore, as through one man’s
offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through
one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in
justification of life.
This verse does not say (or even imply) that God has already
justified or forgiven all men. Adam’s
offense earned condemnation for all men, but not all men are, in fact,
condemned, for “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
(Romans 8:1) and “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and
believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into
judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24). In the same way, Christ acquired the benefit
of justification for all men, but not all men have been, in fact, justified or
made alive, but only those who believe in Jesus Christ, as the Apostle teaches
throughout Romans 3, 4, and 5, culminating in the first verse of this same
chapter, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God…”
Gerhard says the same thing.
Hunnius says the same thing.
Luther teaches the same thing. Luther’s own interpretation of Romans
5:18 is rather embarrassing for those who swear by This We Believe, which cites this verse to prove that “God has
justified all sinners, that is, he has declared them righteous for the sake of
Christ.” Luther says,
For in the same manner also St.
Paul writes in Romans 5[:18]: “As through one man’s sin condemnation has come
over all men, so through one man’s righteousness justification has come over
all men.” Yet not all men are justified through Christ, nevertheless he is
the man through whom all justification comes. It is the same here. Even if
not all men are illumined, yet this is the light from which alone all illumination
comes (Luther’s Works: Vol. 52: page 71).
This is not only Luther’s consistent interpretation of
Romans 5, but, even more importantly, it is the interpretation of the Book of
Concord as well:
Therefore, it is considered and
understood to be the same thing when Paul says (a) we are “justified by
faith” (Romans 3:28) or (b) “faith is counted as righteousness”
(Romans 4:5) and when he says (c) “by the one man’s obedience the many will be
made righteous” (Romans 5:19) or (d) “so one act of righteousness leads to
justification and life for all men” (Romans 5:18). Faith justifies
not because it is such a good work or because it is so beautiful a virtue. It
justifies because it lays hold of and accepts Christ’s merit in the promise of
the Holy Gospel. For this merit must be applied and become ours through
faith, if we are to be justified by it (Formula of Concord:III:12-13).
The Book of Concord says that Romans 5:18 means the same
thing as “we are justified by faith,” or “faith is counted as righteousness.” This directly contradicts your assertion that
God has already justified all people, whether they have faith or not. It is you who are teaching contrary to the
confessional writings.
2 Corinthians 5:19
(NKJV) 19that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to
Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the
word of reconciliation.
It is certain that Christ has made reconciliation between
God and men. He Himself, as the God-Man,
is the perfect Mediator between God and Man.
“God was in Christ.” He is where
the two parties are brought together and reconciled with one another. He is the One who has satisfied the offended
party (God the Father) and who, through the ministry of the Word, continues to
call out to the world, “Be reconciled to God!” (2 Cor. 5:20).
The present-tense participles in this verse in no way
indicate a one-time act of “having forgiven” or “having justified” all people
that supposedly took place at the cross.
God uses means to reconcile people to Himself. Through the ministry of the Word, He brings
people to Christ the Reconciler and does not impute sins to believers in Christ
(clearly expressed in Rom. 4:5-8). This
verse from 2 Corinthians does not teach that the world has already been justified,
and was never used by any of the Lutheran Reformers to teach such a thing. Melanchthon, Chemnitz and the Wittenberg
faculty all clearly taught that this verse does not mean that anyone was justified without faith (I would have been
happy to study this exegetical question with you, but you were unwilling). In fact, this “key” verse for your teaching
of justification doesn’t make a single appearance in the whole Book of
Concord. Instead, here is the teaching
of the Book of Concord:
Formula of Concord:SD:III:23-25
The righteousness of faith before God consists in the
gracious imputation of the righteousness of Christ, without the addition of our
works, so that our sins are forgiven us and covered, and are not imputed, Rom.
4, 6ff.
But here very good attention must be given with especial
diligence, if the article of justification is to remain pure, lest that which
precedes faith, and that which follows after it, be mingled together or
inserted into the article of justification as necessary and belonging to it,
because it is not one or the same thing to speak of conversion and of
justification.
For not everything that belongs to
conversion belongs likewise to the article of justification, in and to which
belong and are necessary only the grace of God, the merit of Christ, and faith,
which receives this in the promise of the Gospel, whereby the righteousness of
Christ is imputed to us, whence we receive and have forgiveness of sins,
reconciliation with God, sonship, and heirship of eternal life.
Finally, you cite one section from the Book of Concord to
support your “orthodox” teaching that God forgave/justified all unbelievers,
without means, at the cross. And yet it is only one phrase in that entire
paragraph upon which you base your novel teaching. If that whole paragraph is cited in context,
then your assertion falls to the ground.
Apology IV, 103-105
103] Here and there among the
Fathers similar testimonies are extant. For Ambrose says in his letter to a
certain Irenaeus: Moreover, the world was subject to Him by the Law for the
reason that, according to the command of the Law, all are indicted, and yet, by
the works of the Law, no one is justified, i.e., because, by the Law, sin is
perceived, but guilt is not discharged. The Law, which made all sinners, seemed
to have done injury, but when the Lord Jesus Christ came, He forgave to all sin
which no one could avoid, and, by the shedding of His own blood, blotted out
the handwriting which was against us. This is what he says in Rom. 5, 20: “The
Law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound.” Because after the whole world became subject, He took away
the sin of the whole world, as he [John] testified, saying John 1, 29: “Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” And on this
account let no one boast of works, because no one is justified by his deeds.
But he who is righteous has it given him because he was justified after the
laver [of Baptism]. Faith, therefore, is that which frees through the blood of
Christ, because he is blessed “whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered,”
Ps. 32, 1. 104] These are the words of Ambrose, which clearly favor our
doctrine; he denies justification to works, and ascribes to faith that it sets
us free 105] through the blood of Christ. Let all the Sententiarists, who
are adorned with magnificent titles, be collected into one heap. For some are
called angelic; others, subtle, and others irrefragable [that is, doctors who
cannot err.] When all these have been read and reread, they will not be of as
much aid for understanding Paul as is this one passage of Ambrose.
Both Ambrose and the Lutheran Reformers who cite him explain
where and how exactly Christ “forgave to all sin which no one could
avoid.” He forgave to all and continues
to forgive to all “after the laver of Baptism,” so that “faith is that which
frees through the blood of Christ, because he is blessed whose transgression is
forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Here
Ambrose clearly states that the “all” whose transgression is forgiven are the
same “all” who have been justified through Holy Baptism and faith. Melanchthon summarizes this teaching of
Ambrose in the words that follow, “He denies justification to works, and
ascribes to faith that it sets us free through the blood of Christ.”
I know you are not alone in citing this section from the
Apology to retrofit your universal justification into the Book of Concord. But an honest reading of the Apology does not
permit it. For you to assert that this
snippet from the Apology somehow proves “the central message of the Bible” (as This We Believe calls it) that all
people have been justified without means and without faith is not only
absurd. It is disingenuous.
Do not imagine that I have attempted to answer your claims
exhaustively. Many pages—indeed, many
books! —could be written to demonstrate the folly of your position. To be sure, the entire Bible and the whole
Book of Concord teach that sinners are justified by faith alone in Christ. But let these explanations suffice for now.
We
expect you to acknowledge and confess the truth that God forgave the sin of the
world when Jesus died on the cross, because this statement expresses the truth
of God's Word and the historical teaching of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
simple, clear, and unambiguous terms.
If it were “the truth,” I would certainly acknowledge it.
But as you teach it, it is neither the truth, nor the historical teaching of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church, unless by “Evangelical Lutheran Church” you
mean “The WELS.” More sectarianism.
Even so, there are many faithful pastors and congregations
of the WELS that do not teach this absurdity that God has already declared all
people righteous whether they believe in the Righteous One or not. You would be surprised how many laymen understand
the simple Gospel perfectly, without your confusing explanations and
redefinition of terms. Most WELS
members, even lifelong WELS members—even multi-generational WELS families have
never heard your “gospel” before.
You would also be surprised how many WELS pastors do not
claim This We Believe as their own
personal confession. Some still take
their ordination vows seriously—to uphold the Scriptures and the Lutheran
Confessions, period. Some still believe
that the WELS is fallible.
As an aside, here is your teaching in “simple, clear, and
unambiguous terms.”
a God
has forgiven all people, but if you don’t believe, then you’re forgiven but not
forgiven, even though all people are forgiven, and you stand both righteous and
condemned before God at the same time.
?????
a God
declared all people righteous on Easter Sunday—which includes the wicked souls
in hell. ?????
a Jesus
saved all people, but not all people are saved. ?????
a All
people were justified before they were born, but stand condemned already at the
time of their birth. ?????
a God
has changed the status of all people to “righteous,” but still counts
unbelievers among the “unrighteous.”
?????
a God
has declared all people righteous, either by imputing to all people the
righteousness of Christ apart from faith (as many WELS statements teach), or by
not imputing to them the righteousness of Christ at all (as Pr. Buchholz
teaches). ?????
a God
has acquitted all people in his courtroom of divine justice, but sentences
those who have been acquitted to eternal death if they don’t believe it. ?????
Can you not see the folly of your position? It’s one thing to accept a paradox that is
found in Scripture. But your manmade
paradox is recognized as folly by Jesus’ sheep, who do not hear their
Shepherd’s voice when you speak about God having already justified sinners
before His Holy Spirit brings them to faith in His Son.
You
have stated openly that you reject the portion of the article on justification
in our WELS confession This We Believe
that says, “We believe that God has justified all sinners, that is, he has
declared them righteous for the sake of Christ” (Article IV, 1). You have
publicly acknowledged your disagreement with WELS doctrine and have made it
clear that you do not walk together with the WELS in your teaching.
Until now, I have treated you all as brothers and have been
willing to study and discuss these doctrinal differences with you without
condemning anyone as a heretic. But in
true papistic fashion, you have refused from the beginning even to admit the
possibility that you could have erred or that the WELS doctrinal statements may
be wrong. You called me to repentance
for preaching that “all who trust in Christ are absolved before God’s
courtroom.” You stood in front of my
congregation and called me a false teacher for teaching the Gospel that sinners
are justified by faith alone in Christ, and now you have suspended me from the
ministerium of the WELS.
By your words and actions, President Buchholz, you have
revealed yourself, together with the presidium of the Arizona-California
District of the WELS, as enemies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I plead with you to turn from your human
philosophies and return to the Word of God and the confession of the Church
catholic, as summarized in the Augsburg Confession:
Article IV: Of Justification.
Also they teach that men cannot be
justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely
justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are
received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who,
by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for
righteousness in His sight. Rom. 3 and 4.
I will pray for you, that the Holy Spirit may turn your
hearts to see the error of your doctrine and of your actions, and may bring you
back to repentance and faith in Christ.
I will also continue to pray for all the faithful pastors, teachers and
congregations in the Arizona-California District and throughout the synod, that
they may be encouraged to study this important issue, that they may be protected
from persecution at your hand, and that they may be strengthened in the
conviction and the confession that sinners are justified by faith alone in
Christ.
Lord, have mercy on the WELS!
Christ’s unworthy servant,
+Rev. Paul A. Rydecki
cc: The Pastors of
the Arizona-California District
***
GJ - Someone who received this letter forwarded it to me for publication. The original email said, "Share," so so I am sharing.
District Leadership
District Presidium
Rev. Jon Buchholz
President
President
Buchholz Jon D (90) [Sandra E] 1821 E Apollo Rd
Phoenix AZ 85042-9111 -- 602-323-5655;
Off: 480-344-3781 office; azcadp@wels.net
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
715 West Southern Avenue
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 967-3991
Rev. Steven Degner
First Vice President
First Vice President
Degner Steven C -- scdegner@aol.com
Star of Bethlehem Lutheran Church WELS on the Central Coast
4465 South Blosser Road
Santa Maria, California 93455
Phone: 805 937-0339
Rev. David Clark
Second Vice President
Second Vice President
Clark David R (83) [Bonnie E] 7709 W Comet Ave
Peoria AZ 85345-6781 -- 623-412-0470;
Off: 623-842-4704 x 303; pastorclark@graceglendale.org
Grace Ev. Lutheran Church
5600 W. Palmaire Ave.
Glendale, AZ 85301
Phone: 623-937-2010
Fax: 623-937-4390
Rev. Daniel Schroeder
Secretary
Secretary
Schroeder Daniel M -- revdmscv@gmail.com
Risen Savior Lutheran Church, 625 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista, CA 91913 /
P: (619) 482-7748 F: (619) 482-7793 Email: church@risensavior.us
Circuit Pastors
Apache Conference
Rev. Andrew Luehring
Apache Circuit
Apache Circuit
Luehring Andrew T (06) [Nicole] 725 Pine Spruce Ln
Pinetop AZ 85935-7113 -- 928-369-8208;
revluehring@hotmail.com
Immanuel Church's Address:
4839 Vllery Ln
Lakeside, AZ 85929
Phone: 928-368-564
Black Canyon Conference
Rev. Paul Rutschow
Grand Canyon Circuit
Grand Canyon Circuit
Rutschow Paul D (97) [Johannah] 1280 E Fir St
Cottonwood AZ 86326-4871 -- 928-634-0630;
Off: 928-634-8727; herseyh@juno.com
Peace Lutheran Church
1450 E Fir Street
Cottonwood, AZ 86326-4885
Rev. Fred Casmer
Metro East Circuit
Metro East Circuit
Casmer Frederick W (80) [Susan C] 3832 E Captain Dreyfus Ave
Phoenix AZ 85032-6672 -- 602-403-8310;
pastor@PVLutheran.org
Paradise Valley Evangelical Lutheran Church
14845 North 40th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85032
Phone: 602-992-4981
Rev. John Ehlers
Metro West Circuit
Metro West Circuit
Ehlers John P (98) [Susan] 8642 W Rose Garden Ln
Peoria AZ 85382 -- 602-904-3501;
Off: 651-308-5822; john.ehlers@crossofglory.org
Cross of Glory Lutheran Church & School (PreK & Elementary)
10111 W. Jomax Road
Peoria, AZ 85383
Phone: 623-224-8839
Rev. Martin Spaude
Superstition Mountain Circuit
Superstition Mountain Circuit
Spaude Martin P (86) [Deborah L] 1270 N Dobson Rd
Chandler AZ 85224-8548 -- 480-963-9397;
mndspaude@juno.com
Calvary Lutheran Church
1270 N. Dobson Road
Chandler, AZ 85224480-963-9397
Northern California Conference
Rev. Michael Carr
Golden Gate Circuit
Golden Gate Circuit
Carr Michael T (03) [Christina M] 2405 Lincoln Ave
Clovis CA 93611-6224 -- 559-940-7345;
St. Peter Lutheran Church
pastorcarr@me.com
PHONE 559.360.1203
2550 Gettysburg Ave.
Clovis, CA 93611
pastorcarr@me.com
Rev. Guy Marquardt
Sierra Circuit
Sierra Circuit
Marquardt Guy M (94) [Linda R] 13021 N Elderberry Ct
Lodi CA 95242-9276 -- 209-369-8853;
gmarquardt@gmail.com
Christ Ev. Lutheran Church
420 S. Central Ave.
Lodi, CA 95240
(209) 368-6250
Southern California Conference
Rev. Donald Pieper
Las Vegas Circuit
Las Vegas Circuit
Pieper Donald J (83) [Karen S] 280 Cordero Drive
Henderson NV 89074-0986 -- 702-435-5371;
Off: 702-454-8979; dpieper@gvelc.com
Green Valley Ev. Lutheran Church
Henderson, Nevada
Rev. James Proeber
Los Angeles Circuit
Los Angeles Circuit
Proeber James N (82) [Suzan M] 760 Vala Dr
Santa Barbara CA 93111-1542 -- 805-967-3570;
Off: 805-967-1128; prabes@juno.com
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
770 Vala Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93111
Rev. David Salinas
Mountain View Circuit
Mountain View Circuit
Salinas David J (04) [Katie K] 16700 Green Tree Blvd
Victorville CA 92395-5616 -- 760-694-3561;
Off: 760-245-9090; djoesalinas@gmail.com
St. John Lutheran Church (WELS)
760-245-9090 16700 Green Tree Blvd
Victorville, CA 92395
Rev. Michael Foley
Orange Circuit
Orange Circuit
Michael L Foley -- thefoleys@dslextreme.comt
Rev. Aaron Boehm
San Diego Circuit
Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church
9191 Fletcher Parkway
La Mesa, CA 91942
Phone: 619.469.4197
Boehm Aaron D -- aarondb@hotmail.com
Gadsden Conference
Rev. Steven Spencer
Chiricahua Circuit
Chiricahua Circuit
Spencer Steven D -- revfrsds@orthodoxlutheran.info
Trinity Orthodox Lutheran Church
4422 East Snyder Boulevard, Sierra Vista, AZ
Sierra Vista, AZ
(Vacant)
Rio Grande Circuit
Rev. Nathan Kassulke
Saguaro Circuit
Saguaro Circuit
Kassulke Nathan P (05) [Elizabeth A] 5980 N Edenbrook Ln
Tucson AZ 85741-3754 -- 520-293-2935;
Off: 520-623-6633; revnpk@gracetucsonwels.com
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
830 N First Ave, Tucson, Arizona 85719, United States
Phone: 520-623-6633
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