The
Faith of Jesus:
Against
the Faithless Lutherans
Justification
in the Scriptures –
All quotations
are from the English Version of Luther’s Bible –
The
Tyndale Translation, edited after his martyrdom
as the
King James Version or Authorized Version of the Bible
Attributes of God’s Word
Clarity
or Perspicuity
The Scriptures are clear, easy to understand, and do not
require a priest to teach us the arcane secrets that only the elite understand.
Thy word is a
lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 118:105
--
19 We
have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed,
as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day
star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For
the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 1:19-21
--
For this
reason, all books and authorities are subordinated to the Word of God, because
the Scriptures judge all books, articles, commentaries, authorities, and
traditions. We call the Bible “the ruling norm” because nothing is above the
Word of God, the revelation of His will.
Luther
expressed this well when he preached,
"The Holy Spirit teaches man better than
all the books; He teaches him to understand the Scriptures better than he can
understand them from the teaching of any other; and of his own accord he does
everything God wills he should, so the Law dare make no demands upon him."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 280. Pentecost Sunday John 14:23-31.
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 280. Pentecost Sunday John 14:23-31.
Efficacy of the Word
The Word
alone has the divine power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish His will.
8 For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the
rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but
watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to
the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my
word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but
it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing
whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:8-11
The Isaiah passage contains three promises:
1.
The Word will never return void, just as rain
and snow always have an effect.
2.
The Word’s effect will be pleasing to God.
3.
The Word’s effect will be great, abundant, and
unmistakable, even if seen otherwise – such as Paul preaching and causing a
riot. (Acts 17:13)
The Word can also cause division and persecution, as seen during
the Reformation and the massacre of the Huguenots in France on St. Bartholomew’s
Day 1572. The efficacy of the Word hardens and blinds those who obstinately
refuse to listen with sincerity.
--
Genesis 1
and John 1 reveal the Son of God as the Creating Word, so that nothing in the
universe around us is created apart from Him. The Trinitarian Creation is
defined by God as the Father’s will carried out through the Word, witnessed by
the Holy Spirit, accomplished in six days.
--
3 And God said, Let there be
light: and there was light. Genesis
1:3
31 And God saw every thing that
he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning
were the sixth day. Genesis 1:31
--
1 In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same
was in the beginning with God.
3 All things
were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John
1:1-3
--
The Word of God always has this power and never
lacks in power, unless man dilutes it, distorts it, or creates an alloy made up
of one part God’s Word and 99 parts man’s opinion. Thus the power of God’s Word
is directly related to the purity of the presentation. Its latent power is
revealed in the faithful remaining orthodox, through the Scriptures,
Confessions, and classic hymns, while fads come and go in the visible church.
The power of the Word is made known in the way
it shows us the sin of unbelief and the destructive effects of sins against our
neighbor, but even more so in revealing the temptations and mercy of Christ to
us.
--
12 For the
word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 Neither is
there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked
and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
14 Seeing then
that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15 For we have
not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us
therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:12-16
--
False doctrine also has power to delude, harden, and blind people,
but that is really derived from God’s power when His Word is rejected in favor
of error. The frenzy of opposition to the Gospel is Satanic, because powerful
ecclesiastics are infuriated that a mere parish pastor or a layman can oppose
them successfully with the Word. Worst of all, their opposition and persecution
only spreads the truth and wakes up others from the slumber of indifference.
--
5 Remember ye
not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye
know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the
mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until
he be taken out of the way.
8 And then
shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him,
whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders,
10 And with
all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they
received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for
this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they
all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:5-12
--
The Means of
Grace
Because the Holy Spirit only works through the
Word, any claim about God’s will and work must be directly attributed to the
Scriptures. Therefore, the Word of God is the Means or Instrument by which
God’s grace is conveyed to people. The Gospel is the announcement of God’s
promises and blessings, chiefly the righteousness of Christ and the forgiveness
of sins, God’s victory over sin, death, and the devil.
Very Important
– God’s Grace Is Never Divorced from the Means of Grace
--
Unity of Truth
Luther is still respected – and hated – today because he read the
Scriptures as a unified truth, not as one particular item or another to be
taught. The Lutherans of the Reformation avoided speaking of individual doctrines
as if each one existed separately, but taught what the Word revealed as a
whole. Naturally, some distinctions have to be made for man, since comprehending
the entire Scriptures is an art and gift given to few men.
The Scriptures not only have divine power and efficacy – they are consistent,
without error or contradictions. Luther himself used the Latin for these words
in his Large Catechism, dealing with Holy Baptism – infallible and inerrant. The entire Christian Church, Roman
Catholics included, taught the infallibility of the Bible until the last
century or so. When rationalists began quibbling and double-talking about
“infallible in doctrine but not in history and geography,” some began using the
term “inerrant.” However, inerrant is simply Luther’s term, less vulnerable to
degradation at the moment. So we must be wary that leaders do not play with
words and use them to deceive, idly mentioning key terms and yet undermining
them by their actions.
--
11 If any man speak, let him
speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the
ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus
Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:11
Justification in the Bible
The new experts on justification do not seem interested in
justification in the Bible, unless they can use some phrases to launch into
their own private speculations, fads, and ethnic traditions, some almost 200
years old. But they are allergic to this ancient figure Abraham, who is
intimately connected to justification by faith throughout the Bible, in the Old
and NewTestaments.
--
15 After these
things the word of the Lord came unto
Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding
great reward.
2 And Abram
said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go
childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram
said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is
mine heir.
4 And,
behold, the word of the Lord came unto
him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of
thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 And he
brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars,
if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 And he
believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:1-6
--
The meaning of justification is to be counted or reckoned as
righteous. God not only promised Abraham a son of his own, through Sarah, but a
nation as great and numerous as the stars in the sky. We no longer see the
spangled heavens the way they appear, because of light pollution and
interference from tall buildings. The infinity of space and the billions of
stars communicated to Abraham how great this Promise would be – the righteous
through faith would be his heirs and fill the earth, with blessings impossible
for man to number. Abraham believed this Promise and trusted in God, so he
became the example of faith in the Old and New Testaments.
Romans is Paul’s great doctrinal essay, a summary of his Gospel
work, inspired by the Holy Spirit. False teachers have plucked one fragment of
one sentence out of Romans 4 to celebrate and emphasize their delusions. But
that deceptive effort must be seen in the context of the chapter. The first
three chapters destroy any possibility of justification by works, whether a
religious work- righteousness or a civil works-righteousness, always
contrasting this man-made righteousness of works with God’s justification by
faith.
Chapter 4 is a celebration of Abraham as the example of
justification by faith –
--
4 What shall
we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2 For if
Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 For what
saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for
righteousness.
4 Now to him
that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness.
6 Even as
David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works,
7 Saying,
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is
the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
9 Cometh this
blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also?
for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
10 How was it
then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in
circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
11 And he
received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith
which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them
that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be
imputed unto them also:
12 And the
father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who
also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being
yet uncircumcised.
13 For the
promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his
seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if they
which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none
effect:
15 Because the
law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
16 Therefore
it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure
to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which
is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
17 (As it is
written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he
believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be
not as though they were.
18 Who against
hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations,
according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19 And being
not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about
an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:
20 He
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God;
21 And being
fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
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.
5 Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom
also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in
hope of the glory of God.
--
Some say, “No fair. You said Romans 4 but included Romans 5:1-2.”
The chapter headings are late, man-made. However, there are definite thematic
breaks, but that does not mean we should stop reading at the end of Romans 4
and not see the next two verses as the summary of that little essay on Abraham.
Paul began with Abraham, applied this to anyone who trusts in the God who
raised Jesus from the dead – who was raised for our justification. And he
concludes by starting the next chapter, as we number them, with a two verse
summary of justification by faith – the only way we receive peace, forgiveness,
being reckoned as righteous in the same way as Abraham.
This Romans passage is clear so justification by faith has always
been taught by traditional Protestants and Lutherans, even Lutherans in the
LCMS and WELS. Naturally, one asks how Romans 4:25 by itself has been elevated
to a slogan often repeated – by Webber also – even though it is a fragment of a
sentence.
The Pietists misused 1 Timothy 3:16, so Romans 4:25 appealed to
them as support for their abuse of “justified in the Spirit.”
And without controversy great is the mystery of
godliness:
God was
·
manifest in the flesh,
·
justified in the Spirit,
·
seen of angels,
·
preached unto the Gentiles,
·
believed on in the world,
·
received up into glory. 1 Timothy 3:16
These six verbs strike most people as a well known confession of
faith, and “without controversy” can be translated from the Greek – “as we all
confess…” The error in stating that Jesus justified all people – without faith –
comes from assuming Jesus was justified in the same way we are. His
justification revealed Him as without sin; our justification is because of sin.
His resurrection shows His life without sin and His divine Sonship; our
resurrection is derived from faith in His righteousness and His atonement for
our sin.
The Pietists created this strange logical cul-de-sac, as if Jesus
Himself needed to be justified. They argue - since He was justified, the entire
world was justified in Him, because He bore the sins of the world. That is the
Easter absolution of Stephan, Walther, and all Pietists. They are blind to the
previous verse, Romans 4:24, and emphasize Romans 4:25 out of context. They are
wedded to the dogma of Halle Pietism and feverishly hope to make people forget
Romans 4:24, Chemnitz, Luther – and St. Paul. When someone like Jay Webber
infallibly argues against Chemnitz by quoting the Pietist Rambach, the poverty
of today’s Synodical Conference is evident.
One ardent supporter of UOJ wrote, years ago, “You cannot quote
Luther’s Romans Commentary. That was
early in his career.”
The way in which people believe and receive forgiveness is clearly
outlined in Romans 10, sometimes called the Means of Grace chapter in that
epistle.
--
8 But what
saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is,
the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation.
11 For the
scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there
is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then
shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a
preacher?
15 And how
shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the
feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good
things!
16 But they
have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord,
who hath believed our report? [Reference to Isaiah 53, the central Gospel
message of the Old Testament]
17 So then
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:8-17
--
The Holy Spirit clearly teaches us through Paul
that those who believe and confess the truth of Christ will be saved. We
believe unto righteousness, similar to the phrasing of the Formula of Concord –
the righteousness of faith.
The
Midwestern Pietists have a strange aversion to the word “faith,” which
may be explained by Walther always treating faith as a work of man. Anything
related to faith is a work, and to be disparaged, to emphasize grace. But that
is not unique to the Midwestern Pietistic Lutherans of the Synodical
Conference. ELCA and the other mainline Protestants delight in claiming grace
triumphant when faith is not necessary, especially among pagans who have not
heard or believed the Gospel but live in Eden-like innocence as “anonymous
Christians” (Rahner).
Scholarship
I do not find any Lutherans promoting UOJ who
have graduate training in theology. They are seminary graduates (and not always
that) who find themselves rewarded for repeating the limited knowledge of
Walther, a college graduate—and Stephan, who did not bother to graduate. If
McCain, Webber, Buchholz, and others would study modern theology and read
hundreds of books on this topic, they would find a striking resemblance between
Walther, themselves, and the modern apostate, mainline theologians. Whether
someone is a PhD from ELCA, or the Presbyterian Church, or European, the famous
theologians all caution the reader against “making faith a contingency.” If
faith is required, then it is no longer grace, but a work. They necessarily
conclude that everyone is already saved because of God’s grace. Anything else
is a denial of grace. The result in WELS, the ELS, and the corrupted echelons
in Missouri is an attempt to erase faith from the Christian Faith.
There are two kinds of scholarship. One is
based on formal training and earned degrees. For better or worse, a PhD at a
real university will expose the student to a wide variety of scholars,
opinions, and research methods. Drive-by DMins have no claim to scholarship,
because they have simply exchanged a lot of money for a chance to call themselves
“Dr” when they know they are only earning an easy, practical STM degree.
The other scholarship is simply study, whether
one earns degrees or honors. Anyone can be a scholar of the Bible. The original
Greek word for scholar meant “leisure,” which mean the scholars of the day took
the time to study and think about various topics. These scholars laid the
foundation of Western culture, law, science, arts, and architecture. Pastors
and laity can be scholars, and many of them are. They are the fifth column, the
resistance against the eructations of self-destructive Waltherians. These are
the Christians who hunger and thirst for righteousness and delight in the
clarity and efficacy of the Word.
Passages
Mangled to Promote Justification without Faith – UOJ
1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of
godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of
angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into
glory. 1
Timothy 3:16
At the risk of repetition, this needs to be stated again. This
verse is pivotal for Universal Objective Justification, because the fanatics
claim the entire unbelieving world was justified and saved – in Christ – when Jesus
rose from the dead. Nothing in the Bible
backs this claim – especially not this verse. This claim is held to be
efficacious for all time, so everyone is born forgiven and saved, as the
apostate Edward Preuss wrote. Instead of these outlandish assertions, this
verse simply teaches that God declared Jesus innocent in raising Him from the
dead, so all the world would see that Jesus died without sin to become sin for
us, that we might receive His righteousness in faith.
Romans 3
This is the first justification by faith chapter In Romans,
reinforced by chapters 4 and 5.
Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness
of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the
prophets;
22 Even the
righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all
them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God
hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance
of God;
The New NIV, now simply called the NIV,
displacing the 1984 version, gives WELS and Missouri what they want in UOJ.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God, 24 and all
are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that
came by Christ Jesus. New NIV
UOJ disciples wanted to say that the old KJV and NIV implied, even
declared that just as all are sinners, all are justified in Christ, applying
their misunderstanding of 1 Timothy 3:16.
The second all, which I have underlined, has been added by the New
NIV, so this translation is now in harmony with the WELS-ELCA-ELS-LCMS-CLC
Lutherans. They can get out their Bibles and point at the magical second all and say, “See, all are justified. Case closed.
Period. End of sentence. It is in your Bible.”
This mistranslation, like so many more, is simply additional proof
about the desperation of the false teachers. If the Bible truly taught this, it
would be abundantly clear in all passages, especially in this one. By changing
the words so dramatically, they are staging the crime scene to cover up their
sin.
Romans 4-5
The one most often cited is Romans 4:25, included in the list in
the 1932 Brief Confession. As shown before, the entire fourth chapter of Romans
teaches justification by faith, as Paul always does. But even more ironic, the
Enthusiasts ignore Romans 4:24, part of that sentence, which includes – “If we
believe…” That phrase alone shows the deceptive use of the Word to teach
against the Word. Inserting “raised for our justification into every UOJ debate
only alerts us to the distortions and manipulations of the Word.
Finally, the conclusion of their favorite chapter sums up the
message with Romans 5:1-2.
Romans 5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom
also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in
hope of the glory of God.
Freely translating, we conclude, through faith we are:
·
Forgiven through faith alone.
·
We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
·
We enjoy the grace of God and rejoice in His future Promises.
Knowing the passages arms us against the false claims, which come
originally from Stephan’s faulty education and Walther’s limited abilities with
the Scriptures. Starting with a thesis, a claim, and simply listing Biblical
passages can only be successful when working as a pope who declares his own
truth without teaching the Scriptures.
The opponents of justification by faith should be silenced by
Romans 4-5:2, but they are revived by an imaginary sudden shift – by Paul – to justification
without faith. How can this be? Is the Bible full of contradictions?
Romans 5:6 For when
we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
This is especially popular as a UOJ citation, but common sense asks
why. Of course Christ died for the ungodly. He could not have died for the
godly. God’s own time declared when His beloved Son would die for us, when we
were still like the man beaten, robbed, and left for dead on the road to
Jericho. The Good Samaritan comes to us and heals us, placing us in the midst
of believers with a pastor to administer the Means of Grace.
Romans 5:8 But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us.
This is the second of three passages - in Romans 5 - about the
grace of the atoning death of Christ. He died for us unworthy sinners. Absent
is any mention of the absolution of the world in the absence of faith, but that
remains in the mind of UOJ fanatics – their version of 1 Timothy 3:16 is their
diamond, as Zwingli might say. They combine the Atonement with universal justification,
so they find their favorite dogma everywhere.
Romans 5:10 For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
The opponents of justification by faith also see this verse as
universal absolution, combining the Atonement or redemption, with
justification, which obscures and eliminates Biblical justification by faith. Reconciliation,
as will be shown in 2 Corinthians 5, is not the same as justification. Merging
the meaning of two distinct Biblical words is dangerous to sound doctrine. The
Spirit is always at work with the Word and the the Word is never without the
Spirit, but no one would claim – we hope – that the Word and the Spirit are the
same thing.
2 Corinthians 5
15 And that he died
for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but
unto him which died for them, and rose again.
This is definitely an important part of the Gospel message,
because Christ did not die only for a few but for all. He atoned for the sins
of the entire world, for all time. He redeemed the entire world, the verbs
meaning – released from slavery, or paid with the price of His blood. But those
statements do not include absolving the entire world before and without the
Word of the Gospel. This verse comforts those who think that the Savior could
not have died for him, a great and terrible sinner. When a sinner is sunk in
misery, doubt, and despair, he is tempted to think – “Not for me, He only died
for good, reasonable, law-abiding people.” This is indeed a great and glorious
passage, but not one to be twisted into Universalism.
2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in
Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ,
as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye
reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
This passage can only be read by UOJ activists
as – “God was in Christ, absolving the world of all sin, and has committed to
us the word of universal forgiveness without faith…For God made Him to be sin,
so that the entire world would be without sin, even without the Word.”
This Universalistic interpretation rests upon 1
Timothy 3:16, which is not cited as often. A little bit of truth can be
dangerous when misused. The Greek word for atonement or reconciliation does
mean an exchange in Koine Greek, one for the other. However, we should not
indulge in Kittelitis, where every word in the Greek New Testament is
translated by its common use in secular Greek. Sometimes that is useful and
good, such as the two different verbs used for redemption (bought at the
market, released from slavery). But context changes meaning, so that should not
be stretched for homiletical hyperboles. The Greek word for fellowship is also
used for making something unclean, so a rigid use of Kittel is not useful.
Context – this letter is intended for the
instruction and benefit of believers, so this passage is not a declaration to
the world that when Christ became sin, the world was justified, forgiven of all
its sins. How do I know I am forgiven? Not through my emotions, feeling
forgiven and saved, but I know that Jesus has died for all my sins, and I trust
in this Gospel declaration as objectively true.
The UOJ fanatics still have a problem with the
Moment of Absolution. Some say the entire world was forgiven and saved, based
on “It is finished.” But others claim the entire world was forgiven and saved
on Easter, ending “raised for our justification, Romans 4:25!” Neither passage
teaches Universal forgiveness and salvation; the inconsistency of the UOJ Enthusiasts
is only a hint of their Biblical confusion and ignorance.
The Gospel of John
Nothing is quite as disheartening as seeing ordained Lutheran
pastors lean on the Fourth Gospel to teach unfaith. Here is their favorite
passage –
John 1:29 The next
day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world.
Using an atonement verse to argue for universal
forgiveness and salvation is quite the stretch, but this is often the case in
these darkened days of falsehood and deception.
As Luther observed, if the entire world believed
in Christ, every single person would be forgiven and saved. We would live in
peace. This verse means that the Savior atoned for our sins, that He paid the
price for them. Atonement is not justification, and that does not mean Lutherans
teach the limited atonement of the Calvinists.
The Gospel of John’s purpose is easily read, showing that the
Apostle does not mean forgiveness without faith –
John 20:31 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.
Gospel proclamation causes and nurtures faith, and faith in Christ
receives complete forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
