Thanks for the Comments

I enjoy hearing from readers, one way or another. Some stop by. Some phone. Others email or send messages via mutual friends.

Today there were 2,000 views. Recently it soared to 3,000. The annual rate is about 1 million views.

The gardening articles are very much appreciated and fun to write. That will be the next book.

Having a couple stop by at the right moment got me into high speed finishing The Faith of Jesus: Against the Faithless Lutherans.

Someone referred to my "scorched earth policy," an interesting term. In gardening, burning off dried weeds will fertilize the soil and open it up to new growth. Otherwise the old field weeds choke off growth.

I do not think publishing Luther's sermons and many other Lutheran materials could be called scorched earth. Reporting on crimes and false doctrine should not fall on me alone but it does. No one else will do it. The blogs want to chat about the common cup and the American flag. I am praying for the day when those are my biggest concerns.

Luther wrote - and you confess - that lazy ministers should be chased out of town, baited with dogs, and pelted with dog manure. If you do not know that passage, you are not familiar enough with the Book of Concord.

The collapse of Lutheran doctrine and worship is precisely because of apathy at the congregational level. People think electing a different synod president will make a difference.

How is Pope John an improvement over George Orvick in the ELS?

How is Mark Schroeder better than Gurgle? And Gurgle better than Mischke?

How could Matt Harrison run for president with Paul McCain's help and have any integrity?

It goes deeper - or shallower, if you will. Wayne Mueller finally left the Holy Office of First VP of he Wisconsin Sect. His replacement was a Fuller alumnus - Jim Huebner, son of Al Just's character witness.

Future elections fill me with the same ennui.

Tim Glende wants to follow Rutschow as DP
when the Brit retires. 

So SP Mark Schroeder Was Against the New NIV? - From 2011

I grabbed the graphic above. Someone sent me the graphic below, commemorating Schroeder's complete lack of spine when facing the New NIV proponents at Mequon and at Mordor - St. Marcus.

Someone visited and went into shock about WELS making the New NIV paraphrase the official text of the WELS.

I had to repeat myself that NPH was going through with this on Meditations and almost certainly the new hymnal. We will not know for sure until Schroeder posts an outraged denial on WELS.net.

Schroeder was elected for his putative dislike of Church and Change, but that evaporated quickly enough, then transformed into 100% backing of everything the Jeske-Patterson Crime Family does. His backing of the Booze Brothers, Tim Glende and Ski, showed that the Synod President would move heaven and earth to protect those two graduates of Jeske's Synagogue of Satan - aka St. Marcus.

The Booze Brothers - watch their further adventures.

Would Mark Schroeder drop everything and attend a congregational meeting when a faithful pastor was being railroaded? No. In fact, he interference on behalf of Ski was unprecedented, and Dugout Doug Engelbrecht bragged about the support he got. Zank, who also supported the Booze Brothers, became the new DP after Engelbrecht's heart gave him an excuse to retire.

The Fake Blog from Fox Valley WELS congratulated Schroeder on his handling of the Hochmuth child porn swapping case. Shortly after the light sentence with work release was handed out, Hochmuth re-offended and went back to the hoosegow for five years, a busman's holiday considering his hobbies.

What does this show, readers in Milwaukee, Mankato, and St. Louis? Answer - Those who need a cover-up appreciate watching one in action. However, such man-made devices come undone, and the web of deceit grows. But I do not have to tell the synod officials that. Their list of lawsuits attests to their methods.

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, 2015. The Seven Ones

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, 2015

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn #  44                    Ye Lands              

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #203            Morning Breaks                  

The Christian Life

The Communion Hymn # 315            I Come O Savior             

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 361                     O Jesus, King
              

KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

KJV Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? 6 And they could not answer him again to these things. 7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We beseech Thee so to guide and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not exalt ourselves, but humbly fear Thee, with our whole hearts hear and keep Thy word, and hallow the Lord's day, that we also may be hallowed by Thy word; help us, first, to place our hope and confidence in Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who alone is our righteousness and Redeemer, and, then, so to amend and better our lives in accordance with Thy word, that we may avoid all offenses and finally obtain eternal salvation, through Thy grace in Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God. world without end. Amen.

The Christian Life

KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Paul was in prison when he wrote this epistle, so his future was bound to be cut short. No one is sure about all the facts, whether Paul had another missionary journey or not. His life was extended over a scandal that allowed him to live, and he had some privileges as a Roman citizen. The severity of Roman justice meant he had reason to communicate forcefully and also in a concise manner. That gave us remarkable works, his prison letters.

John Bunyan, who wrote from prison in England, had a similar situation, having the chance to write in his cramped quarters. But he also converted his jailer, so he had the chance to go out and visit his members. One time the inspection committee came back to check on him. The jailer was afraid of losing his job and even his life, but when they opened the cell Bunyan was back from his rounds. Prison gave us Pilgrim's Progress, the most read English work in history - after the King James Version of the Bible. Bunyan's favorite work after the Bible was Luther's Galatians Commentary. 

As a prisoner he wanted to cheer up his congregations with the long view, and also encourage them to live their lives in faith and hope, not in despair because of his likely death sentence.

Walk worthy of the vocation...
We use that term rather loosely, forgetting the origin of the term. Vocation seems to mean "a job," but that is not the meaning of the word. Vocation means calling, and that really pays homage to Creation and God's management. He places in our hearts and desire to do certain things and the ability to carry them out, glorifying His Name. It is easy to covet someone else's talents and fail to see our own. At a time of crisis, where we are as a nation, other vocations seem far more appealing because they promise more security or money.

Ministers are not comforted by this observation by Luther - In all professions, the better one is, the more rewarded he is. But the pastor is punished, the better he is at what he does. Does anyone wonder why so many ministers go astray? They become angry and disillusioned that good efforts lead to bad results. For instance, I insisted on a woman having surgery when her husband was blocking it. She had an obstruction that would have killed her. I did not know what was wrong, but clearly she needed medical attention. She was very grateful in the hospital, and we never saw them in church again.

Honest professionals will have no trouble finding dishonest peers who make millions from being crooked, greedy, and breaking all rules. One partner kept screaming at his business partner until the more timid person surrendered his part of the business. He could not stand the constant bombardment.

Vocation in this passage does not mean job, but calling in the station we fill. First of all, God calls us to be Christians. We are invited by the Holy Spirit to be Christians and gathered by Him into a church. Much of what he did is like our work today. He could not be in all the congregations, so he blogged - or rather - wrote letters to them. We have deeply personal letters that are inspired by the Holy Spirit and treasured as God's Word - not all his letters were preserved or circulated. The Church also excluded fake writings that some tried to manufacture and promote as the real thing. When those are discovered every 20 years or so, everyone gets excited until they find out they have Al Capone's empty vault again - nothing to see.

Vocation for Luther meant doing one's work in his station in life, faithful to God's Word. Whatever the vocation, it is easy to look over the fence for something better, as it seems. But by being steadfast in the vocation and in the Scriptures, the daily responsibilities bear fruit, as they must. The Gospel Word is so full of divine energy that it must bear fruit.

I ran into a discussion between a mother and daughter. The daughter was complaining that nothing she did was quite good enough. It was not an argument, simply one of those generational issues. I wrote, "One has to become a mother to know what a mother experiences, and we do not realize how much our mother's sacrificed for their families until she is gone." My generation has been losing their mothers, one after another. A few are alive at 90 plus. The mention of their mothers is very common. And they remember mine often too, because she taught most of them.

Parents were so dedicated then. They had few luxuries and little time for themselves. I knew a bunch of teachers who worked like coalminers all week for their classes. On Sunday they taught Sunday School - glad to do it. Later I found that few people wanted to teach the children and many of them did not have jobs outside the homes. We took it for granted in my childhood that  mothers simply worked all the time. 

One of my animal loving friends wrote about puppies staying with their moms for 8 weeks, not just until they could eat on their own. This vet said they know puppies do better when raised longer. I wonder if those insights could be shared about humans. Day care is not a substitute for mothers at home, but we disparage mothers "who don't work" and raise normal children by working very hard at home.  Of course, due to our heartless society, many women have no choice but to work outside the home. But we glorify what is not God's plan for the family.

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

The first two attributes are the characteristics of Jesus - lowliness and meekness. And he was forbearing, longsuffering and patient in His love.

Being called into the Christian life means reflecting Christ's own lwork in all we do. And that is quite enjoyable, too. We do not live for ourselves but for others, as Luther taught -

Luther:
5. Let the Christian know his earthly life is not unto himself, nor for his own sake; his life and work here belong to Christ, his Lord. Hence must his walk be such as shall contribute to the honor and glory of his Master, whom he should so serve that he may be able to say with Paul, not only with respect to the spiritual life — the life of faith and of righteousness by grace — but also with respect to its fruits — the outward conduct: “It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.” Galatians 2:20. The Christian’s manner of life may be styled “walking in Christ”; yes, as Paul elsewhere has it ( Romans 13:14), “putting on” the Lord Jesus Christ, like a garment or an ornament. The world is to recognize Christ by his shining in us.

That should be the norm of our behavior, living for others. I know young parents who delight in doing the most for their children, not in luxuries but in teaching them the Word of God and showing them life's lessons as only parents can do. I have taught thousands online and face-to-face. No one is as receptive to learning as one's own child. That way every single person can be a teacher and be a favorite teacher for one, two, or even ten students (yes, I know one family of ten children).

Teaching is always going to involve frustrating, challenging, and correcting the student. That is going to be like petting the cat the wrong way and getting scratched, at times. I have adult teachers who resist and fight against me trying to improve their job skills. One told me afterwards, "I was ready to quit the class until the end, when I caught on to what you were trying to get me to do." Parents have the same challenge, except they do not get a new batch every semester or so.

Gospel work in all forms will mean resistance but will also bear fruit. The cross we bear is seeing so little fruit - or none - for a long period of time. Of course, one problem is not seeing. Not that it is absent. We take many things for granted until they are gone. And the lack of fruit may be quite true until an abundance is realized much later. We are impatient and want to see results with the work, but the results come along as God wills. That teaches us that the results are divinely caused rather than ours. We see the miracles when they arrive. Unbelievers have miracles too, but they never see them, take them as the result of their hard work and wisdom, and often squander them. The most talented often make no effort because everything was so easy.

One novel has a man preening and strutting around a house he is visiting, not knowing he is penniless. He thought he was inheriting a vast hoard. Then he becomes greedy and looks for someone to replace that fortune and ends up foregoing a real fortune for something far less. That could be seen as a metaphor for what the Lutheran Church has done, praising itself while coveting the fool's gold of the carnival barkers at Fuller Seminary and worse institutions. They scorn what they had and end up with nothing.

3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Because Spirit and Word go together at all times, keeping the Word and esteeming it means enjoying the unity God gives to that and the peace that comes from it. That does not mean forging a false peace which is no peace, but always pursuing truth through study, meditation, discussion, and worship.

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

I have seen the restless ones stir up dissent and divide congregations for the last 50 years. As Luther says, this is the most wicked thing they can do. In dividing and scattering by forcing their false doctrine, they murder souls. The damage they do remains because someone is always repeating the errors they forced upon others.

There are too many examples to name, but I can offer my home congregation as something hardly anyone sees today - liturgical services - always, Biblical sermons, dignified dress for the minister, historic readings from the Bible, the Creeds, the Sacraments offered in the service not hidden away lest someone be offended.

That was taken for granted and it is largely gone from all Lutheran Churches in America. Large groups (not all) have forgiveness without faith forced upon them. Withdraw good books from print. Replace them with false teaching. Excommunicate those who object or hate them away.

The true Church is invisible and not defined by denominations and synodical borders. That is the ideal Paul is teaching in this section of 7 ones and the implied invocation of the Holy Trinity.

Luther:
24. But they are not members of the true Church of Christ who, instead of preserving unity of doctrine and oneness of Christian faith, cause divisions and offenses — as Paul says ( Romans 16:17) — by the human doctrines and self-appointed works for which they contend, imposing them upon all Christians as necessary. They are perverters and destroyers of the Church, as we have elsewhere frequently shown. The consolation of the true doctrine is ours, and we hold it in opposition to Popedom, which accuses us of having withdrawn from them, and so condemns us as apostates from the Church. They are, however, themselves the real apostates, persecuting the truth and destroying the unity of the Spirit under the name and title of the Church and of Christ. Therefore, according to the command of God, all men are under obligation to shun them and withdraw from them.

Luther's Sermon on the Seven Ones - Ephesians 4:1-6

Luther's sermon for the SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. Ephesians 4:1-6


TEXT:

EPHESIANS 4:1-6.
 I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called, 2 with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.

THE CHRISTIAN CALLING AND UNITY.

1. This, too, is a beautiful sermon, delivered by Paul to the Ephesians, concerning the good works of Christians, who believe and are obedient to the doctrine of the Gospel. In the knowledge of good works Paul desires Christians to grow and increase, as we learned in the epistle for last Sunday. The ground of all doctrine, of all right living, the supreme and eternal treasure of him who is a Christian in the sight of God, is faith in Christ. It alone secures forgiveness o£ sins and makes us children of God.

Now, where this faith is, fruits should follow as evidence that Christians in their lives honor and obey God. They are necessary for God’s glory and for the Christian’s own honor and eternal reward before him.

2. Paul, remembering the imprisonment and tribulations he suffered because of the Gospel and for the advantage, as he before said, of the Ephesians, gives the admonition here. He would have them, in return for his sufferings, honor the Gospel in their lives. First he names a general rule of life for Christians. “To walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called.”

THE CHRISTIAN CALLING.

3. The chief thing that should influence a Christian’s outward walk is the remembrance of his calling and appointment by God. He should be mindful of why he is called a Christian, and live consistently. He must shine before the world; that is, through his life and God’s work, the Word and the name of Christ the Lord must be exalted. Christ exhorts his disciples: “Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16.

4. Similarly, Paul would say: “You have received God’s grace and his Word and are a blessed people. In Christ all your needs are blessedly supplied. Be mindful of this and remember you are called to a far different and vastly higher life than others know. Show by your manner of living that you seek a higher good than the world seeks — indeed, that you have received far greater blessings. Let your lives honor and glorify the Lord who has given you such blessings. Give no occasion for dishonoring your treasured faith, or for scorning his Word. Rather, influence men by your godly walk and good works to believe in Christ and to glorify him.”

5. Let the Christian know his earthly life is not unto himself, nor for his own sake; his life and work here belong to Christ, his Lord. Hence must his walk be such as shall contribute to the honor and glory of his Master, whom he should so serve that he may be able to say with Paul, not only with respect to the spiritual life — the life of faith and of righteousness by grace — but also with respect to its fruits — the outward conduct: “It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.” Galatians 2:20. The Christian’s manner of life may be styled “walking in Christ”; yes, as Paul elsewhere has it ( Romans 13:14), “putting on” the Lord Jesus Christ, like a garment or an ornament. The world is to recognize Christ by his shining in us.

6. But the so-called Christian life that does not honor Christ makes its sin the more heinous for the name it bears. Every sin the people of God commit is a provocation of Jehovah; not only in the act of disobedience itself, but also in the transgression of the second commandment. The enormity of the sin is magnified by the conditions that make it a blasphemy of God’s name and an occasion of offense to others. Paul says in Romans 2:24: “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” So a Christian should, in his life, by all means guard the honor of God — of Christ. He must take heed that he be not guilty of blaspheming that name and of doing wickedness. The devil, aided by the world, construes every act, when possible, to reflect upon God’s honor and glory. His purpose is to manifest his bitter hatred against Christ and the Word; also to injure the Church by charging offenses, thus deterring unbelievers from embracing the Gospel and causing the weak to fall away.

7. To guard against such disaster, Christians should be particularly careful to give, in their conduct, no occasion for offense, and to value the name and honor of their God too highly to permit blasphemy of them. They should prefer to lose their own honor, their wealth, their physical wellbeing, even their lives, rather than that these, their most precious possessions and greatest blessings, should suffer disgrace. Let them remember that upon keeping sacred the name and honor of God depends their own standing before God and men. God promises ( 1 Samuel 2:30), “Them that honor me! will honor.” But pursuing the opposite course, Christians bring upon themselves God’s sternest wrath and effect their own rejection and shame. For he says further: “They that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” And in the second commandment God threatens certain and terrible punishment to abusers of his name; that is, to them who do not employ it to his honor and praise.

8. Well may every Christian examine his own life to see if he is careful to guard against offense to the Gospel and to regulate his words and conduct by God’s first commandment, making them contribute to the honor and praise of the divine name and the holy Gospel. Weighty indeed and well calculated to cause complaint are the sins to which every Christian is liable in this respect; well may he avoid them lest he heap to himself the wrath of God. Especially need we be careful in these last and evil times when the Gospel is everywhere suppressed by great offenses. Man was created to be the image of God, that through this his image God might himself be expressed. God’s image, then, should be reflected in the lives of men as a likeness in a glass, and a Christian can have no higher concern than to live without dishonor to the name of God.

ADMONITION TO SPECIAL CHRISTIAN VIRTUES.

9. Such is the first part of Paul’s admonition concerning the general life of Christians. He goes on to make special mention of several good works which Christians should diligently observe: humility, meekness, longsuffering, preservation of the unity of the Spirit, and so on. These have been specially treated before, in other epistle lessons, particularly those from Peter. Humility, for instance — mentioned in today’s lesson — is taken up the third Sunday after Trinity; patience and meekness, the second Sunday after Easter, and the fifth Sunday after Trinity.

10. The text here presents good works sufficient to occupy all Christians in every station of life; we need not seek other nor better ones. Paul would not impose upon Christians peculiar works, something unrelated to the ordinary walks of life, as certain false saints taught and practiced. These teachers commanded separation from society, isolation in the wilderness, the establishment of monkeries and the performance of self-appointed works. Such works they exalted as superior to ordinary Christian virtues.

Indeed, their practice amounted to rejection of the latter, and they actually regarded them as dangerous. The Papacy has in the past shamelessly styled the observance of Christian good works as worldly living, and men were compelled to believe they would find it hard to reach heaven unless they became ecclesiasts — for they regarded only the monks and priests worthy — or at least made themselves partakers of the works of ecclesiasts by purchasing their merits.

But Paul — in fact, the entire Scriptures — teaches no other good works than God enjoins upon all men in the Ten Commandments, and which pertain to the common conditions of life. True, these make not such brilliant show in the eyes of the world as do the self-appointed ceremonials constituting the divine service of hypocrites; nevertheless, they are true, worthy, good and profitable works in the sight of God and man. What can be more acceptable to God and advantageous to man than a life lived, in its own calling, in the way that contributes to the honor of God, and that by its example influences others to love God’s Word and to praise his name?

Moreover, what virtues, of all man possesses, serve him better than humility, meekness, patience and harmony of mind?

11. Now, where is a better opportunity for the exercise of these virtues than amidst the conditions in which God destined us to live — in society, where we mingle with one another? Upon these conditions, self-appointed, unusual lives and monastic holiness have no bearing. For what other person is profited by your entering a cloister, making yourself peculiar, refusing to live as your fellows do? Who is benefited by your cowl, your austere countenance, your hard bed? Who comes to know God or to have a peaceful conscience by such practices on your part, or who is thereby influenced to love his neighbor? Indeed, how can you serve your neighbor by such a life? How manifest your love, humility, patience and meekness if you are unwilling to live among men? if you so strenuously adhere to your self-appointed orders as to allow your neighbor to suffer want before you would dishonor your rules?

12. Astonishing fact, that the world is merged in darkness so great it utterly disregards the Word of God and the conditions he designed for our daily living. If we preach to the world faith in God’s Word, the world receives it as heresy. If we speak of works instituted of God himself and conditions of his own appointing, the world regards it as idle talk; it knows better. To live a simple Christian life in one’s own family, to faithfully perform the duties of a man-servant or maid-servant — “Oh, that,” it says, “is merely the following of worldly pursuits. To do good works you must set about it in a different way. You must creep into a corner, don a cap, make pilgrimages to some saint; then you may be able to help yourself and others to gain heaven.” If the question be asked, “Why do so? where has God commanded it?” there is, according to their theory, really no answer to make but this: Our Lord God knows nothing about the matter; he does not understand what good works are. How can he teach us? He must himself be tutored by these remarkably enlightened saints.

FRUITS OF ORIGINAL SIN.

13. But all this error results from that miserable inherent plague, that evil termed “original sin.” It is a blind wickedness, refusing to recognize the Word of God and his will and work, but introducing instead things of its own heathenish imagination. It draws such a thick covering over eyes, ears and hearts that it renders men unable to perceive how the simple life of a Christian, of husband or wife, of the lower or the higher walks of life, can be beautified by honoring the Word of God. Original sin will not be persuaded to the faithful performance of the works that God testifies are well pleasing to him when wrought by believers in Christ. In a word, universal experience proves that to perform really good works is a special and remarkable grace to which few attain; while the great mass of souls aspiring after holiness vainly busy themselves with worthless works, being deceived into thinking them great, and thus make themselves, as Paul says, “unto every good work reprobate.” Titus 1:16. This fruitless effort is one evil result of the error of human ideas of holiness and the practice of self-chosen works.

14. Another error is the hindrance — yes, the suppression and destruction — of the beautiful virtues of humility, meekness, patience and spiritual harmony here commended of Paul. At the same time the devil is given occasion to encourage fiendish blasphemy. In every instance where the Word of God is set aside for humanly-appointed works, differing views and theories must obtain. One introduces this and another that, each striving for first recognition; then a third endeavors to improve upon their doctrine.

Consequently divisions and factions ensue as numerous as the teachers and their creeds; as exemplified in the countless sects to this time prevalent in Popedom, and in the factious spirits of all time. Under such circumstances, none of the virtues like humility, meekness, patience, love, can have place.

Opposite conditions must prevail, since harmony of hearts and minds is lacking. One teacher haughtily rejects another, and if his own opinions fail to receive recognition and approval, he displays anger, envy and hatred. He will neither affiliate with nor tolerate him whose practices accord not with his own.

15. On the other hand, the Christian life, the life of faith with its fruits, controlled as it is by the Word of God, is in every way conducive to the preservation of love and harmony, and to the promotion of all virtues. It interferes not with the God-ordained relations of life and their attendant obligations upon men — the requirements of social order, the duties of father and mother, of son and daughter, master and mistress, servant and maid. All life’s relations are confirmed by it as valid and its duties as vital.

The Christian faith bids each person in his life, and all in common, to be diligent in the works of love, humility, patience. It teaches that one be not intolerant of another, but rather render him his due, remembering that he whose condition in life is the most insignificant can be equally upright and blessed before God with the occupant of the most significant position.

Again, it teaches that man must have patience with the weakness of his fellow, being mindful of how others must bear with his own imperfections.

In short, it says one must manifest to another the love and kindness he would have that other extend to him.

16. To this Christian attainment, contributes very largely the single fact that a Christian is conscious he has, through Christ, the grace of God, the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. And these not for his own merits or peculiar life and works, but because he is, no matter how insignificant in condition before the world, a child of God and blessed; a partaker, if he but believes, in all the blessings of Christ, sharing equally with the most eminent saint. So, then, he need not look about for works not enjoined upon him. He need not covet those wrought in prominence and by the aid of great gifts of God — of unusual attainments. Let him confine himself to his own sphere; let him serve God in his vocation, remembering that God makes him, too, his instrument in his own place.

Again, the occupant of a higher sphere, the possessor of higher gifts and accomplishments, who likewise serves in his vocation received from God, should learn and exhibit harmony of mind. So shall he continue humble and be tolerant of others. He should remember that he is not worthier in the eyes of God because of his greater gifts, but rather is under deeper obligation to serve his fellows, and that God can use the possessor of lesser gifts for even greater accomplishments than himself can boast. Having so learned, he will be able to manifest patience, meekness and love toward his weak and imperfect neighbors, considering them members of Christ with him, and partakers of the same grace and salvation.

THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT.

17. Now you have the reason why the apostles Paul and Peter everywhere so faithfully enforce this virtue, the unity of the Spirit. It is the most necessary and beautiful grace that Christians possess. It holds together the Christian community, preventing factions and schisms, as before explained.

So Paul here admonishes men to be careful for harmony, making every endeavor to preserve it. The term “unity of the Spirit” is used to make plain the apostle’s meaning. He would thus emphasize oneness of doctrine — the one true faith. Since the Holy Spirit is present only where there is knowledge of and faith in the Gospel of Christ, “unity of the Spirit” implies a unity of faith. Above all things, then, the effort must be to preserve, in the Church, the doctrine of the Scriptures, pure and in its unity.

18. One of the wickedest offenses possible to commit against the Church is the stirring up of doctrinal discord and division, a thing the devil encourages to the utmost. This sin usually has its rise with certain haughty, conceited, self-seeking leaders who desire peculiar distinction for themselves and strive for personal honor and glory. They harmonize with none and would think themselves disgraced were they not honored as superior and more learned individuals than their fellows, a distinction they do not merit. They will give honor to no one, even when they have to recognize the superiority of his gifts over their own. In their envy, anger, hatred and vengefulness, they seek occasion to create factions and to draw people to themselves. Therefore Paul exhorts first to the necessary virtue of love, having which men will be enabled to exercise humility, patience and forbearance toward one another.

19. The character of the evils resulting to the Church from divisions and discords in doctrine is evident from the facts. Many are deceived; the masses immediately respond to new doctrine brilliantly presented in specious words by presumptuous individuals thirsting for fame. More than that, many weak but well-meaning ones fall to doubting, uncertain where to stand or with whom to hold. Consequently men reject and blaspheme the Christian doctrine and seek occasion to dispute it. Many become reckless pleasure-lovers, disregarding all religion and ignoring the Word of God. Further, even they who are called Christians come to have hard feelings against one another, and, figuratively, bite and devour in their hate and envy. Consequently their love grows cold and faith is extinguished.

20. Of so much disturbance in the Church, and of the resulting injuries to souls, are guilty those conceited, factious leaders who do not adhere to the true doctrine, preserving the unity of the Spirit, but seek to institute something new for the sake of advancing their own ideas and their own honor, or gratifying their revenge. They thus bring upon themselves damnation infinitely more intolerable than others suffer. Christians, then, should be careful to give no occasion for division or discord, but to be diligent, as Paul here admonishes, to preserve unity. And this is not an easy thing to do, for among Christians occasions frequently arise provoking selfwill, anger and hatred. The devil is always at hand to stir and blow the flame of discord. Let Christians take heed they do not give place to the promptings of the devil and of the flesh. They must strive against them, submitting to all suffering, and performing all demands, whether honor, property, physical welfare or life itself be involved, in the effort to prevent, so far as in them lies, any disturbance of the unity of doctrine, of faith and of Spirit. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.”

21. Christians should feel bound to maintain the unity of the Spirit, since they are all members of one body and partakers of the same spiritual blessings. They have the same priceless treasures — one God and Father in heaven, one Lord and Savior, one Word, baptism and faith; in short, one and the same salvation, a blessing common to all whereof one has as much as another, and cannot obtain more. What occasion, then, for divisions or for further seeking?

22. Here Paul teaches what the true Christian Church is and how it may be identified. There is not more than one Church, or people of God, one earth.

This one Church has one faith, one baptism, one confession of God the Father and of Jesus Christ. Its members faithfully hold, and abide by, these common truths. Every one desiring to be saved and to come to God must be incorporated into this Church, outside of which no one will be saved.

23. Unity of the Church does not consist in similarity of outward form of government, likeness of Law, tradition and ecclesiastical customs, as the Pope and his followers claim. They would exclude from the Church all not obedient to them in these outward things, though members of the one faith, one baptism, and so on. The Church is termed “one holy, catholic or Christian Church,” because it represents one plain, pure Gospel doctrine, and an outward confession thereof, always and everywhere, regardless of dissimilarity of physical life, or of outward ordinances, customs and ceremonies.

24. But they are not members of the true Church of Christ who, instead of preserving unity of doctrine and oneness of Christian faith, cause divisions and offenses — as Paul says ( Romans 16:17) — by the human doctrines and self-appointed works for which they contend, imposing them upon all Christians as necessary. They are perverters and destroyers of the Church, as we have elsewhere frequently shown. The consolation of the true doctrine is ours, and we hold it in opposition to Popedom, which accuses us of having withdrawn from them, and so condemns us as apostates from the Church. They are, however, themselves the real apostates, persecuting the truth and destroying the unity of the Spirit under the name and title of the Church and of Christ. Therefore, according to the command of God, all men are under obligation to shun them and withdraw from them.

Apalling, Ugly, Nasty, Disgusting UOJ Quotations - And a Few Lies Thrown In. The Faith of Jesus: Against the Faithless Lutherans

WELS Siegbert W. Becker

"Faith does nothing more than accept the forgiveness proclaimed in the Gospel. It is not a condition we must fulfill before we can be forgiven. It is not a cause of forgiveness on account of which God forgives us. The forgiveness comes first. Faith is merely the response to the message. God says to us, “Your sins are forgiven.” This is objective justification, and God’s message to us is true whether we believe it or not. Faith makes God’s message its own and says, “My sins are forgiven.” This is subjective justification. The whole doctrine is just as simple as that." Page 12

"One really becomes a guilt-free saint only through faith, if we limit ourselves to the biblical usage of the word. However, since our holiness, as Augustine says, consists in sin’s remission rather than in life’s perfection, we could say that when God forgave the sins of the whole world he regarded all sinners as guilt-free, but if they are guilt-free we might also say that they are considered sinless in the sight of God. But a sinless person is a holy person, a saint. The fact that unbelievers do not consider themselves to be forgiven does not change the truth of God’s Word that tells us that God does not impute the sins of all men to them, or that through one man justification has come upon all men." Page 14

“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.  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.”

http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BeckerJustification.PDF

WELS AZ/CA DP Pastor Jon Buchholz

"Faith doesn’t bring anything into existence that doesn’t already exist. Faith doesn’t cause something to happen. Faith simply grasps— trusts—something that already is in place." Page 14

"Since the term objective justification is found neither in Scripture nor in the Lutheran confessions, we can understand the term correctly as referring to the justification of the entire world."

"Jesus then offered his innocent life as the payment (atonement) for the guilt of sinners. In this great transaction that took place on the cross, God removed the guilt of the world’s sin and replaced it with the righteousness of Christ."

"Here is the legal or juridical nature of justification, revealed at Calvary. The change does not take place in the sinner. The change takes place in the relationship or the status between a sinner and God.2 A verdict has been rendered, which declares man free of sin and guilt, righteous in God’s sight, and worthy of eternal life, for Jesus’ sake."

"God has forgiven the whole world. God has forgiven everyone his sins." This statement is absolutely true! This is the heart of the gospel, and it must be preached and taught as the foundation of our faith. But here’s where the caveat comes in: In Scripture, the word "forgive" is used almost exclusively in a personal, not a universal sense. The Bible doesn’t make the statement, "God has forgiven the world."

"God has forgiven all sins, but the unbeliever rejects God’s forgiveness." Again, this statement is true—and Luther employed similar terminology to press the point of Christ’s completed work of salvation.16 But we must also recognize that Scripture doesn’t speak this way." "God has declared the entire world righteous." This statement is true, as we understand it to mean that God has rendered a verdict of "not-guilty" toward the entire world. It is also true—and must be taught—that the righteousness of Christ now stands in place of the world’s sin; this is the whole point of what Jesus did for us at Calvary. However, once again we’re wresting a term out of its usual context. In Scripture the term "righteous" usually refers to believers. "

http://archive.wels.net/cgibin/site.pl?2617&collectionID=1161&contentID=76707&shortcutID=26388

WELS Our Great Heritage states, "And yet many Lutherans still labor under the delusion that God does not forgive us unless we believe. Instead of seeing faith as nothing more than the spiritual hand with which we make the forgiveness of God our own, they see it as a reason why God forgives us. They believe that Christ has indeed provided forgiveness for all men, that God is willing to forgive them, but before he really forgives he first of all demands that we should be sorry for our sins and that we should have faith. Just have faith they say, and then God will forgive you. All the right words are there. The only thing wrong is that the words are in the wrong order. God does not forgive us IF we have faith. He has forgiven us long ago when he raised his Son from the dead." (p. 59)"

WELS MLC President Mark Zarling

"Faith does nothing more than receive the forgiveness which is offered in the Gospel. It is not a condition we fulfill nor is it a cause of forgiveness. We are already forgiven. God's message of justification in Christ is there whether we believe it or not. Faith then receives the blessings." And, "Faith that accepts the good news of universal justification is the work of God the Holy Ghost." Page 7

“the glorious Gospel: In Jesus, God has declared the entire world righteous and forgiven, irregardless of whether or not the world believes it. Such is the jewel described by objective, universal, or general justification.” Page 2

Quoting Permit Stoeckhardt, “If God has already in Christ justified all men and forgiven their sins, then I also in Christ have a gracious God and the forgiveness of all my sins.” Page 5

“Irregardless of man's faith, God declares the world just.” Page 6

“Our salvation is an accomplished fact. It is done. It is finished. The resurrection is the proof that God has declared the sinners justified!” Page 6

“Faith does nothing more than receive the forgiveness which is offered in the Gospel. It is not a condition we fulfill nor is it a cause of forgiveness. We are already forgiven.” Page 7

“Simply present Law and Gospel. Warn sinners that unbelief damns, and rejection of Christ will bring eternal torment. Then comfort them with the glorious objective reality that all sins are already forgiven in Christ.” Page 7

http://www.wlsessays.net/files/ZarlingJustification.pdf

THOLUCK - I suppose my American brethren would consider me orthodox in general, except for my Universalism.

INTERVIEWER - They would, most certainly. But with them that one point would be a serious matter. With this sentiment you could not hold a standing in our orthodox churches. Now, where did you find this doctrine - in the Bible, or in your philosophy?

THOLUCK - In both.

http://books.google.com/books?id=W3QpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA123&dq=herald+of+truth+tholuck#PPA123,M1

Pastor James Humann, Evergreen Lutheran High School, WELS

quoting from the WELS Our Great Heritage: "And yet many Lutherans still labor under the delusion that God does not forgive us unless we believe. Instead of seeing faith as nothing more than the spiritual hand with which we make the forgiveness of God our own, they see it as a reason why God forgives us. They believe that Christ has indeed provided forgiveness for all men, that God is willing to forgive them, but before he really forgives he first of all demands that we should be sorry for our sins and that we should have faith. Just have faith they say, and then God will forgive you. All the right words are there. The only thing wrong is that the words are in the wrong order. God does not forgive us IF we have faith. He has forgiven us long ago when he raised his Son from the dead." (p. 59)

"If forgiveness were dependent on faith in the sense that God does not forgive

until we believe, we would always have to be sure that we are believers before we would be sure that we are forgiven." (p.60)

Email to Brett Meyer

Principal Greg Thiesfeldt, Evergreen Lutheran High School, WELS

“I am in agreement with Pastor (James)Humann’s statements as printed in the paragraphs from Our Great Heritage. They are correct and consistent with Gods Word and the position of WELS. Forgiveness is not conditional; it is universal. The unbeliever, however, forfeits Gods universal and unconditional forgiveness through rejection of Gods grace and unbelief.”

Email to Brett Meyer

Pastor Nathan Sieltz and Gary Ide, Board Chairman, Evergreen Lutheran High School WELS

“Jesus came as the substitute for all. He obeyed the law for all. He died in the place of everyone. When Jesus rose, he rose as the substitute for every sinner. By his resurrection God declared sinners, all of them, forgiven. This is the good news Scripture reveals. This is the good news we proclaim to contrite sinners: “God has reconciled you to himself. Your sins are already forgiven. Calvary and the empty tomb are the proof of it.”

“When objective justification is denied, faith becomes a condition of salvation instead of the means through which we receive salvation. When speaking of salvation, we don’t want to turn a person’s attention inward to his faith, but outward to the grace of God. Preaching about faith will not produce faith, but proclaiming God’s love and mercy and forgiveness will produce believing hearts. A change has taken place. The change was not in man. Man remained unchanged, by nature sinful, hostile to God. Orthodox theologians for the most part have spoken of the change as a change in man’s status before God. Previously God viewed the world apart from Christ—and it stood condemned. Now God views the world in the light of Christ’s work of redemption and has declared the world righteous, forgiven.”

“Quoting August Pieper to write for the third volume of the Quartalschrift: But whoever molests the doctrine of justification stabs the gospel in the heart and is on the way of losing entirely Christian doctrine and personal faith and of falling into the arms of heathenism, even if he ever so much emphasizes justification by faith.”

Email to Brett Meyer

J-556

"It must be admitted that when our Lutheran Confessions speak of justification they speak almost exclusively of that facet of justification we usually call 'subjective' justification, which has also been called 'special' or 'personal' justification. But the Confessions also show us that the basis for this justification is the justification that precedes faith."

Rick Nicholas Curia, The Significant History of the Doctrine of Objective or Universal Justification, Alpine, California: California Pastoral Conference, WELS. January 24-25, 1983. p. 13.

J-557

"The two terms are relatively modern. They are not used in the Lutheran Confessions. They are also not really synonymous. 'Universal justification' is a term denoting the doctrine that God has forgiven the sins of all men. Strictly speaking, the term objective justification expresses the thought that the sins of a man are forgiven by God whether he believes it or not. Objective justification is not necessarily universal, but if justification is universal it must of necessity be objective."  

Siegbert Becker, "Objective Justification," Chicago Pastoral Conference, WELS, Elgin, Illinois, November 9, 1982, unpaginated.

Hoenecke, Citing Gerhard, on General Justification

J-558

Adolph Hoenecke, Dogmatik, III, p. 354-5

“Justification is an activity of God, which takes place in a different time and manner for each individual sinner. But there is also a general justification which came upon all men, in the time of—and indeed, in—Christ’s passion and resurrection (Romans 5:18; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Romans 4:25). Our dogmaticians have not written much in particular about this general justification, but have made only occasional mention of it. For example Gerhard (Loci, l.c. XXXIII, p. 31):

304

‘It must be noted that Christ concurred most capably with our justification under three headings:

1) Meritoriously, he himself obtained the grace of justification with his own most holy and perfect merit.

2) Effectively, not only did he free us from sin, death and the Devil, and acquire for us the righteousness which avails before God, but he also offers that good, precious grace acquired so dearly in the word of the Gospel and applies it through faith.

3) Formally, in its application, for we are justified by no other thing before God than by the righteousness acquired by Christ and imputed to us through faith:’

Gerhard again (Annotations on the Epistle to the Romans, Jena Edition, 1666, p. 156):

‘By His resurrection [God] absolved Him, since our sins had been imputed to Him, and also in the same manner absolved us in Him, so that in this way the resurrection of Christ may be both the cause and the complete guarantee of our justification.’

Gerhard again (Theological Disputations, Jena Edition, 1655, XX, p. 1450.):

‘Because we have been absolved from our sins in the resurrection of Christ, so they cannot condemn us any more in judgment before God.’

And Ph. D. Burk (Rechtfertigung und Versicherung, p. 41) rightly said:

‘The difference between general justification and the more common usage of the term justification can be expressed as follows. The latter takes place precisely upon the appropriation of the former.’

An emphasis upon general justification is necessary in order to safeguard the material content of the Gospel.

We need furnish no extraordinary proof in regard to the justification of the individual sinner; let us suffice with the story of the publican. Justification takes place in the one who appeals to the grace of God, but it does not take place in the Pharisee. And the entirety of Scripture demonstrates that he who believes is always justified; this applies to every individual, the moment that faith is kindled in him.”

The popular justification literature tries to make J. Gerhard the father of Objective Justification, but that claim was easier to make when the theologian’s work was out of the reach of most people. The following quotations refute any claim that Gerhard can be blamed for promoting justification without faith.

J-559

"The entire Scripture testifies that the merits of Christ are received in no other way than through faith, not to mention that it is impossible to please God without faith, Hebrews 11:6, let alone to be received into eternal life. In general, St. Paul concludes concerning this [matter] in Romans 3:28: Thus we hold then that a man becomes righteous without the works of the Law—only through faith."

Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 165.

J-560

"Therefore, the fulfillment of this promise to Abraham is in no way to be interpreted to mean that Abraham's seed became righteous and saved without individual faith."

Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 167.

J-561

"The danger is that by use of the term subjective justification we may lose the objective divine act of God by which He declares the individual sinner righteous ek pisteos eis pisti the instant faith (embracing Christ) is wrought in him, leaving only the one divine declaration regarding the whole world of sinners, calling this an actus simplex, the only forensic act of God, and expanding this to mean that God declared every sinner free from guilt when Christ was raised from the dead, so many millions even before they were born, irrespective of faith, apart from and without faith. This surely wipes out 'justification by faith alone.' Only his faith is reckoned to him for righteousness."

R. C. H. Lenski, Romans, Augsburg Publishing House: Minneapolis, 1963 p. 85. Romans 1:17.

One person has claimed to find objective justification in the Book of Concord, directly connected with the term justification.²²⁴ The sentence from the Smalcald Articles is quoted below.

J-562

“Likewise: All have sinned and are justified without merit [freely, and without their own works or merits] by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood, Romans 3:23f. Now, since it is necessary to believe this, and it cannot be otherwise acquired or apprehended by any work, law, or merit, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us, as St. Paul says, Romans 3:28: For we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the Law. Likewise verse 26: That He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Christ.”

           Martin Luther, Smalcald Articles, The Second Part, #3-4, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 461. Tappert, p. 292. Heiser, p. 137. 

The Missouri Synod Contribution

Quotations from the Missouri Synod founders show that the major points of Kokomo justification were first made by Walther, Pieper, and Stoeckhardt:

1.    God pronounced the sins of the world forgiven or absolved, without contrition or faith or the Means of Grace, at the moment of Christ’s resurrection, based upon Romans 4:25.

2.    Reconciliation and justification are equated, using 2 Corinthians 5:19.

“Accepting the absolution by faith” has fallen out of many discussions defending objective justification in the Missouri Synod, Wisconsin Synod, and smaller groups. In practice, the efficacious Word is no longer proclaimed at all. J. P. Meyer introduced plenty of problems with his book Ministers of Christ but at least he advocated preaching the Word (see footnote).²²⁵ Now evangelism in the former Synodical Conference is nothing more than gathering those people who are “already forgiven,” and telling them they are already “absolved of their sins,” even though they do not know the nature of sin according to the Scriptures. This approach soon collapses to an appeal to join the congregation because this particular church is friendly, active, caring, and buzzing with lots of cell groups. A Unitarian minister with some charm and organizational skills can do as well with the same approach.

J-564

"For God has already forgiven you your sins 1800 years ago when He in Christ absolved all men by raising Him after He first had gone into bitter death for them. Only one thing remains on your part so that you also possess the gift. This one thing is—faith. And this brings me to the second part of today's Easter message, in which I now would show you that every man who wants to be saved must accept by faith the general absolution, pronounced 1800 years ago, as an absolution spoken individually to him."

C. F. W. Walther, The Word of His Grace, Sermon Selections, "Christ's Resurrection—The World's Absolution" Lake Mills: Graphic Publishing Company, 1978, p. 233. Mark 16:1-8.

J-565

"Now, then, if the Father raised Christ from the dead, He, by this glorious resurrection act, declared that the sins of the whole world are fully expiated, or atoned for, and that all mankind is now regarded as righteous before His divine tribunal. This gracious reconciliation and justification is clearly taught in Romans 4:25: 'Who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification.' The term dikaiosis here means the act of divine justification executed through God's act of raising Christ from the dead, and it is for this reason called the objective justification of all mankind. This truth Dr. Walther stressed anew in America. He taught that the resurrection of Christ from the dead is the actual absolution pronounced upon all sinners. (Evangelienpostille, p. 160ff.)… Calov, following Gerhard, rightly points out the relation of Christ's resurrection to our justification as follows: 'Christ's resurrection took place as an actual absolution from sin (respectu actualis a peccato absolutionis). As God punished our sins in Christ, upon whom He laid them and to whom He imputed them, as our Bondsman, so He also, by the very act of raising Him from the dead, absolved Him from our sins imputed to Him, and so He absolved also us in Him.'" [Bibl. Illust., ad Rom. 4:25]

Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1951, II, p. 321. Romans 4:25.²²⁶

J-566

"Scripture teaches the objective reconciliation. Nineteen hundred years ago Christ effected the reconciliation of all men with God. God does not wait for men to reconcile Him with themselves by means of any efforts of their own. He is already reconciled. The reconciliation is an accomplished fact, just like the creation of the world. Romans 5:10: 'We were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.' When Christ died, God became reconciled. As Christ's death lies in the past, so also our reconciliation is an accomplished fact. 2 Corinthians 5:19: 'God was in Christ, reconciling' (namely, when Christ lived and died on earth) 'the world unto Himself.' The katallassein of Romans 5:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:19 does not refer—let this fact be noted—to any change that occurs in men, but describes an occurrence in the heart of God. It was God who laid His anger by on account of the ransom brought by Christ. It was God who at that time already had in His heart forgiven the sins of the whole world, for the statement: 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself' means—and that is not our, but the Apostle's own interpretation—that

God did 'not impute their trespasses unto them.' And 'not imputing trespasses' is, according to Scripture (Romans 4:6-8), synonymous with 'forgiving sins,' 'justifying' the sinner. "The resurrection of Christ is, as Holy Writ teaches, the actual absolution of the whole world of sinners. Romans 4:25: 'Who was raised again for our justification.' At that time we were objectively declared free from sin."

Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1951, II, p. p 348. Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:19.

J-567

"This doctrine of general justification is the guarantee and warranty that the central article of justification by faith is being kept pure. Whoever holds firmly that God was reconciled to the world in Christ, and that to sinners in general their sin was forgiven, to him the justification which comes from faith remains a pure act of the grace of God. Whoever denies general justification is justly under suspicion that he is mixing his own work and merit into the grace of God.”²²⁷

George Stoeckhardt, Concordia Theological Quarterly, April, 1978, p. 138. Cited by Pastor Vernon Harley "Synergism—Its Logical Association with General Justification," 511 Tilden, Fairmont, Minnesota 56031, August, 1984, p. 1.

J-568

"The chief purpose, however, is to keep this article (general justification) before the people for its own sake. It cannot be presented and studied too often. Its vital relation to the subjective, personal justification by faith, cannot be stressed too strongly. It forms the basis of the justification by faith and keeps this article free from the leaven of Pelagianism. Unless the sinner knows that his justification is already an accomplished fact in the forum of God, he will imagine that it is his faith, his good conduct, which moves God to forgive him his sins. And unless he knows that God had him personally in mind in issuing the general pardon on Easter morning, he will have no assurance of his justification."

Theodore Engelder, Concordia Theological Monthly, July/ August/ September, 1933. Reissued by the seminary print-shop, Ft. Wayne, 1981. Cited by Pastor Vernon Harley, "Synergism—Its Logical Association with General Justification," 511 Tilden, Fairmont, Minnesota 56031, August, 1984, p. 1f.

J-569

"The entire Pauline doctrine of justification stands and falls with the special article of general justification. This establishes it beyond peradventure that justification is entirely independent of the conduct of man. And only in this way the individual can have the assurance of his justification. For it is the incontrovertible conclusion: Since God has already justified all men in Christ and forgiven them their sins, I, too, have a gracious God in Christ and forgiveness of all my sins."

Quoted with approval by Theodore Engelder, from George Stoeckhardt, Commentary on Romans, p. 264. Cited by Pastor Vernon Harley, "Synergism—Its Logical Association with General Justification," 511 Tilden, Fairmont, Minnesota, 56031, August, 1984, p. 2.

J-570

"The resurrection is God's public absolution of the entire world: 'Your sins are forgiven, all sins of all human beings; and there is no exception.' This is the meaning of the technical term 'objective justification.' The objective justification is central to the doctrine of salvation and derives logically from the facts that God's reconciliation, forgiveness, and declaration of 'not guilty' in no wise depend on the attitude or behaviour of human beings. If objective justification is denied, then it must follow that those who are declared righteous in some way have contributed to God's change of heart; justification is then no longer solely the result of God's grace."

Theodore Mueller, Concordia Theological Quarterly, January, 1982, p. 29. Cited by Pastor Vernon Harley, "Synergism—Its Logical Association with General Justification," 511 Tilden, Fairmont, Minnesota 56031, August, 1984, p. 3.

J-571

"The fact of the redemption and reconciliation of the entire human race through Christ, and with it the forgiveness of all sins for all men on God's part—which, indeed, is precisely what the Gospel proclaims, presents and gives—can by no means become a lie through the unbelief of men... even when the unbelievers don't receive it, but reject it for themselves and for this reason—indeed, for this reason alone—are lost."

Walther's colleague, Theodore Brohm, 1808-1881. Cited in Rick Nicholas Curia, The Significant History of the Doctrine of Objective or Universal Justification, Alpine, California: California Pastoral Conference, WELS. January 24-25, 1983. p. 16.

J-572

"The teaching of the Wisconsin Synod [of the old Norwegian Synod] is this, that in and with the universal reconciliation, which has occurred in Christ for the whole world—even Judas; the whole world—even Judas—has been justified and has received the forgiveness of sin. Therefore, according to Luther's clear words ("for where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation"), the whole world (i.e. every person who is a part of the world—even Judas) has become a child of God and an heir of heaven."

Gottfried Fritschel, "Zur Lehre von der Rechtfertigung," Theologische Monatshefte, volume 4, 1871, (1-24), p. 7.²²⁸ Cited in Rick Nicholas Curia, The Significant History of the Doctrine of Objective or Universal Justification, Alpine, California: California Pastoral Conference, WELS. January 24-25, 1983. p. 2.

Missouri Synod Brief Statement, 1932

J-573

“Scripture teaches that God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in  

Christ, Romans 5:19; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Romans 4:25; that therefore not for the sake of their good works, but without the works of the Law, by grace, for Christ’s sake, he justifies, that is, accounts as righteous, all those who believe in Christ, that is, believe, accept, and rely on, the fact that for Christ’s sake their sins are forgiven.”²²⁹

            Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod, 1932, “Of Justification.”

Missouri Synod CTCR

J-574

"It is contrary to Scripture and the pure Gospel to teach: That forgiveness and justification before God do not involve each other, or that justification and reconciliation are entirely different from each other, as though a person can be reconciled without being justified or justified without being reconciled."

LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations "Theses on Justification" St. Louis: May, 1983, #3.

J-575

"In normal Biblical and ecclesiastical usage the terms justify and justification refer to the ('subjective') justification of the individual sinner through faith (Romans 4:5, 5:1, etc.; AC IV, 3; FC SD III 25). But because theologically justification is the same thing as the forgiveness of sins (Romans 4:1-8; Ap IV, 76; FC Ep III, 7), it is Biblically and confessionally correct to refer to the great sin-canceling, atoning work of the Redeemer as the 'objective' or 'universal' justification of the whole sinful human race. (John 1:29; Romans 5:6-18; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 2:14-15; 1 Timothy 3:16; Ap IV, 103-105; LC V, 31, 32, 36, 37; FC SD III, 57)

LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations "Theses on Justification" St. Louis: May, 1983, #4.

J-576

"Thus objective justification or reconciliation is the forgiveness of sins both as it has been acquired for the entire human race by Christ's work of obedience in its stead and declared by His resurrection, and as it is seriously and efficaciously offered to all in the means of grace."

LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations "Theses on Justification" St. Louis: May, 1983, #5.

J-577

"Subjective justification or reconciliation is this same forgiveness as it is received, appropriated by, and applied to the individual sinner through God-given faith alone (sola fide)."

LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations "Theses on Justification" St. Louis: May, 1983, #6.

Hottentots Justified Without Faith

J-578

"So, then, we are reconciled; however, not only we, but also Hindus, and Hottentots and Kafirs, yes, the world. 'Reconciled,' says our translation; the Greek original says: 'placed in the right relation to God'. Because before the Fall we, together with the whole creation, were in the right relation to God, therefore Scripture teaches that Christ, through His death, restored all things to the former right relation to God."

F. R. Eduard Preuss, 1834-1904, Die Rechtfertigung der Suender vor Gott. Cited in Rick Nicholas Curia, The Significant History of the Doctrine of Objective or Universal Justification, Alpine, California: California Pastoral Conference, WELS. January 24-25, 1983. p. 24.²³⁰

Justification by Faith in the Old Missouri Synod Catechism

J-579

"#305. Why do you say in this article: I believe in the Forgiveness of Sins? Because I hold with certainty that by my own powers or through my own works I cannot be justified before God, but that the forgiveness of sins is given me out of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also true justification. Psalm 130:3-4; Psalm 143:2; Isaiah 64:6; Job 25:4-6 (Q. 124)."

Kleiner Katechismus, trans. Pastor Vernon Harley, LCMS, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1901, p. 164ff.

"#306. What is justification? Justification is that activity (Handlung) of God by which He out of pure grace and mercy for the sake of Christ's merits forgives the sins of a poor sinner who truly believes in Jesus Christ and receives him to everlasting life."

Kleiner Katechismus, trans. Pastor Vernon Harley, LCMS, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1901, p. 164ff.

The Kokomo Statements, 1979

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I. "Objectively speaking, without any reference to an individual sinner's attitude toward Christ's sacrifice, purely on the basis of God's verdict, every sinner, whether he knows it or not, whether he believes it or not, has received the status of saint."

II. "After Christ's intervention and through Christ's intervention God regards all sinners as guilt-free saints."

III. "When God reconciled the world to Himself through Christ, He individually pronounced forgiveness to each individual sinner whether that sinner ever comes to faith or not."

IV. "At the time of the resurrection of Christ, God looked down in hell and declared Judas, the people destroyed in the flood, and all the ungodly, innocent, not guilty, and forgiven of all sin and gave unto them the status of saints."

The letter sent to the two families quoted the statements and declared that the families were being expelled for denying them. Certain people have tried to confuse the issue by claiming the statements were made up by the expelled families to parody WELS doctrine. Three statements are almost verbatim from J. P. Meyer’s Ministers of Christ, now out of print. The fourth statement came from a controversy in the 19^th century but was added by Pastor Papenfuss to the previous statements from J. P. Meyer. Although WELS has often backed away from the Kokomo statements, the synod continues to defend the content and reproduce the most obnoxious falsehoods found in them. The Evangelical Lutheran Synod teaches Kokomo justification in their seminary. After a layman wrote to Bethany Seminary professor John Moldstad Jr., the following statements appeared in the Evangelical Lutheran Synod Lutheran Sentinel:

J-581

“When Paul uses the word ‘reconciling’ here, [2 Corinthians 5:19] he clearly means that forgiveness of sins is really imputed to ‘the world.’

John Moldstad, Jr., “I have heard some Lutherans say they do not believe the Bible teaches objective justification. How can they assert this and still call themselves ‘Lutheran’?”

Lutheran Sentinel, October, 1996, p. 11.²³⁴

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod teaches an ambiguous form of the same doctrine. Each synod (WELS, ELS, LCMS) teaches various forms of justification, with pastors teaching a version somewhere between the extremes of Universal Justification (without faith) and the Scriptural norm of justification by faith.

The Pohlman and Hartman families were suspended from Faith Lutheran Church on July 8, 1979. The circuit pastor, Alan Siggelkow, agreed with the suspension at the July voters’ meeting.

J-582

"Three of the four [Kokomo] statements, because of their lack of clarity, tend to confuse the issue. But since the disciplined laymen used them to advance their false doctrine, it was understandable that the congregation should also use them in its rejection of the falsehood being advocated. I do not consider any of the four statements to be false doctrine, but I would rather not use the language used in the first, second, and fourth." [conclusion of paper]

Siegbert Becker, "Objective Justification," Chicago Pastoral Conference, WELS, Elgin, Illinois, November 9, 1982, unpaginated.  [GJ – The first three statements came almost verbatim from WELS Professor JP Meyer, as Becker admitted in another essay. The two families were not advancing false doctrine but asking if WELS really taught these things, which the pastor, circuit pastor, Armin Panning, and Sig Becker said WELS certainly did.]

J-583

“The three statements unfortunately and inaccurately attributed to Prof. Meyer's Ministers of Christ are in reality inaccurate paraphrases. They were written by a lay member of the Kokomo congregation, who was questioning the WELS doctrine of objective justification as it was presented by the local pastor. The fourth statement was also a paraphrase not from any WELS source. The statements were called "a caricature of objective justification" by WELS president Carl H. Mischke.”

            John Lau, “An Apology and Correction, CLC Journal of Theology, December, 1997.

Compare what WELS seminary professor Siegbert Becker wrote at the time:

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"The first three statements are taken verbatim from WELS sources."

Siegbert Becker, "Objective Justification," Chicago Pastoral Conference, WELS, Elgin, Illinois, November 9, 1982, Unpaginated.

J-585b

“Faith Lutheran Church

3215 West Judson Road

Kokomo, Indiana 46901

November 19, 1980

Mr. and Mrs. David Hartman

R. R. #1, Box 90

Kokomo, Indiana 46901

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Hartman,

In accordance with the recommendations of the Southeastern Wisconsin District Panel of Review the voters of the Faith Lutheran Church have approved a resolution terminating your membership in the congregation unless and until such time as you accept the doctrine of justification as practiced by the WELS.

We encourage you to reassess your position on this matter and pray for a favorable decision so that once again we can work together for His Kingdom.

Yours in Christ,

Michael Liebner, Secretary”²³⁹

           

J. P. Meyer, Foundation for the Kokomo Statements

J-586

I. "Objectively speaking, without any reference to an individual sinner's attitude toward Christ's sacrifice, purely on the basis of God's verdict, every sinner, whether he knows about it or not, whether he believes it or not, has received the status of a saint. What will be his reaction when he is informed about this turn of events? Will he accept, or will he decline?"²⁴⁰

J. P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 103f. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

II. "Before Christ's intervention took place God regarded him as a guilt-laden, condemned culprit. After Christ's intervention and through Christ's intervention He regards him as a guilt-free saint."

J. P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 107. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

III. "This applies to the whole world, to every individual sinner, whether he was living in the days of Christ, or had died centuries before His coming, or had not yet been born, perhaps has not been born to this day. It applies to the world as such, regardless of whether a particular sinner ever comes to faith or not."

J. P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 109. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.