Preface
for
The Faith of Jesus: Against the Faithless Lutherans
The Faith of Jesus
“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” Romans 3:22 KJV
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works
of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus
Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works
of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Galatians
2:16 KJV
This phrase – the faith of Jesus Christ – is not
found in any modern translations except the American King James Version. The King James Version preserves the original
wording of the Greek text.
Some argue that the grammatical construction can
easily be translated as faith in Christ, and I am not going to argue that
point. However, the older language does attack and destroy the Universal
Objective Justification reactive hostility to the word faith. Perhaps their
animosity originates with a Calvinistic viewpoint hostile to the Arminians. To
be fair, these UOJ leaders do not want man’s faith to be a work, not that faith
has much influence on their thinking. But this rendition of the text is the
best approach to the Gospel.
The word faith can lead people to this thinking, “I
must make a decision for Christ. I must be able to date my conversion and
decision.” That is an error, since the Gospel of Christ creates faith, and that
faith often begins with the Holy Baptism of infants. Thus there develops an
unholy hatred of infant baptism, which was blessed by Jesus – do not forbid
them. Infant baptism was practiced from the Apostolic Age to the Reformation,
when the Radical Reformation invented faith before baptism – believers’ baptism
– and forbid infants to be baptized.
“By faith of Jesus Christ” removes the objection
about emphasizing man too much, and this phrase is used twice in justification
passages. Our justification rests upon the faith and work of our Savior,
because Gospel proclamation is Christ-centered.
This phrase explains the puzzling passage, from
faith to faith –
“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from
faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Romans
1:16-17
The righteousness of God is revealed from the faith of Jesus
Christ to the faith of believers. The Gospel teaches us about the Father Son
relationship, that the Son always spoke and acted in harmony with the Father’s
will, as witnessed by the Holy Spirit in the Word.
·
Jesus is the Man of
Faith, the perfect example.
·
He showed compassion on all.
·
He went to the broken, blind, crippled, poor
and grieving.
·
He
performed great miracles and raised the dead.
·
He knew of His Passion and felt its terror but
faced it like the lamb of Isaiah 53.
·
When railed at, He did not rail back or seek
revenge.
·
He asked forgiveness for those who crucified
Him and converted men while dying.
·
He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.
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| Mark Jeske's Change or Die! Conference is the perfect expression of LCMS-WELS-ELS apostasy: working hand-in-claw with abortion loving ELCA, another synod in love with universal forgiveness and salvation - without faith. |
Against
the Faithless Lutherans
This book was prompted by the despicable essay given by Jay
Webber at the Emmaus Conference in 2015. How tragic for Lutherans to be
planning for the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation while uniting
with ELCA in teaching universal forgiveness and salvation without faith.
Faithless has an ironic meaning, because the Universal
Objective Justification fanatics do not teach faith at all. They rail against
faith when speaking about their Objective Justification but are no better when
they mention Subjective Justification. That category is nothing more than
agreeing with Universal Forgiveness without faith. The plot has not changed
since CFW Walther took over the Easter absolution language that Bishop Stephan
learned at Halle University.
Faithless also applies to the so-called conservative
Lutherans who remain silent while their officials and professors lead people to
and fro, in error’s maze astounded. No wonder that the Missouri and Wisconsin
Synods feel at home working with ELCA. WELS Pastor Mark Jeske is celebrating
Reformation this year with another Change or Die! Conference, featuring and
planned by ELCA leaders in conjunction with WELS and LCMS leaders. Does
anything show more unity than this unified, annual effort?
