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| Luther always started with the Scriptures. Waltherians end their falsehoods with erroneous citations - often none at all. |
The OLCC has two congregations, plus another in Brazil. If this is the original Orthodox Lutheran group, LCMS SP Al Barry was a student with them in their seminary, which was lodged in a church basement. Barry was also in the ELS and WELS.
Pastor Jim Shrader disagreed with the OLCC statements on Objective Justification, so they beat him like a rented mule, but offered to take in his doctrinally-widowed wife, Chris. She did not buy that offer!
That topic is being discussed somewhere on Facebook, so I am dealing with their website instead, since it is easier to access and less changeable. When I quote people verbatim, the original pages disappear, unless I preserve them here.
OLCC on Justification
The OLs begin with ambiguity, not a great place to start. If the Bible were this confusing, no one would believe anything.
"Justification is the declaration of God that because of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ, the sins of the world have been forgiven, and God is reconciled with all people." OLCC
All we need to do is begin with Genesis 15:6. Why are these pretend theologians so allergic to the anchor of Justification by Faith? I can answer that question - They ignore Genesis 15:6, because they would have to begin with the Biblical doctrine instead of their fanciful argument.
Genesis 15 KJV
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 [imputed] it to him for righteousness.
Abraham believed God's promise and it was counted as righteousness. Abraham believed the Promise of a Messiah, the One who would establish an everlasting and ever-growing Kingdom. And that Messiah would come from his line.
Abraham is basic to the Spirit's message through Paul in Romans and Galatians, as well as being a key figure in the entire New Testament. That message is Justification by Faith, which is individual and not universal.
Romans 4 KJV
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 [GJ - same verb in the Greek LXX and here] 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.
Genesis 15 and Romans 4 fit together because Romans 4 is the Gospel explanation of Genesis 15. The Word interprets the Word, a rule of interpretation constantly on display in the New Testament.
Thus the true teaching of the Scriptures must be in harmony with the Scriptures, not with a man or men, not with sects, not with a hollow loyalty to the past.
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| Huber was a "former" Calvinist, the first pseudo-Lutheran to teach Objective Justification. |
"Declaration" language belongs with Justification, but there is no Biblical declaration of the entire world being forgiven without faith or saved without faith. There are three possible origins for this dogma:
- In Roman Catholicism, they sometimes speak of universal grace, which is interpreted various ways. There is no real grace since works must be included in forgiveness, which denies grace.
- Former Calvinists recognize the language as being similar to what they left behind. There is a universal grace, but only some are predestined, which is taught apart from the Means of Grace.
- Halle Pietism, the source of much of the Historical-Critical Method of denying the Scriptures, taught the entire world was forgiven when Jesus rose from the dead (Rambach, Jay Webber), in opposition to Martin Chemnitz and anyone who can read. Stephan had some of his inadequate education at Halle and Walther learned OJ from Bishop Stephan, STD.
Apostates Hate the Atonement
It is time to recognize the real message behind "OJ is not the Atonement." Robert Preus made that clear in his OJ and Church Growth days - he embraced both with Enthusiasm.
All the apostates hate the Atonement. They skip over the various synonyms for Christ dying for the sins of the world and claim the entire world was justified either at the death of Christ, or more in harmony with Walther and Pietism - when He rose from the dead.
Braaten/Jenson's ELCA Church Dogmatics denied the Trinity and the miracles of Christ, mocking the Atonement. That rowdy bunch calls itself Evangelic Catholics, Confessional Lutherans, and who knows what else. Nevertheless, Braaten left ELCA for the break-off ELCA groups, perhaps so he could poison them too.
The Life of Jesus movement (headquarters, Halle) did not accept the Atonement.
Walther Rauschenbusch and Paul Tillich, among others, found various ways to deny the meaning of the Atonement. Rauschenbusch said Jesus was showing solidarity with the poor.
By claiming "OJ is not the Atonement," the OJists skip the Gospel by landing on universal salvation, as the Universalists and Unitarians do. In fact, the separate Universalists and Unitarians rejoiced that they agreed on this - like the ELS-WELS-LCMS - and created the Unitarian Universalist Association.
The Gospel Is Not Universal Forgiveness without Faith
When people say, "Isaiah 53 is the Old Testament Gospel," they are saying - "the Atonement is the Gospel, Christ Jesus paid for our sins with His terrible suffering and death on the cross. This is portrayed in Isaiah 53 and described in Psalm 22."
Confusion, Error, and Ignorance
"The term Objective Justification, as it is used today, was adopted in the 19th century to describe an aspect of the Universal Atonement. Properly speaking, Objective Justification teaches that not only is the death of Christ sufficient to atone for the sins of the World, and not only has the debt of sin been paid by Christ, but that God has, in a forensic act, declared the sins of the world forgiven, imputed the righteousness of Christ to the world, and reconciled all people to God." OLCC
Objective Justification Comes from the Calvinist Translator of a Halle Pietist
To be clear, various sects and looney-toons have used the term Objective Justification, but the bloodlines of "Lutheran" OJ are easy to trace.
The General Synod (Muhlenberg), the Stephanite LCMS (Stephan), and the Wisconsin Sect (Hoenecke) came from Halle or Francke Pietism. Add to that the Scandinavian groups who were also Pietistic when they came to America.
The Muhlenberg tradition (General Synod, General Council, United Synod of the South) combined to form the ULCA in 1918, which became the larger part of the LCA in 1962.
On The ALC side of the ELCA merger were various Pietistic groups, but they opposed OJ at first and broke with Walther. The ALC veterans have forgotten leaders like Lenski and now agree with OJ, so that may explain why WELS-LCMS-ELS leaders are glad to work with ELCA via Thrivent. It could not be about the Thrivent money, could it? The loot is just a bonus on the side.
Counted/Imputed through Faith? or Without Faith?
The OLs have clearly broken with the Scriptures and Book of Concord by embracing Enthusiasm.
"God has, in a forensic act, declared the sins of the world forgiven, imputed the righteousness of Christ to the world, and reconciled all people to God." OLCC
This is what happens when people imagine they can teach sound doctrine by aping what leaders from the past have said. If they cannot base their doctrine on the Scriptures, they are nothing more than noisy, angry fools.
Counted/Imputed through Faith? or Without Faith?
The OLs have clearly broken with the Scriptures and Book of Concord by embracing Enthusiasm.
"God has, in a forensic act, declared the sins of the world forgiven, imputed the righteousness of Christ to the world, and reconciled all people to God." OLCC
This is what happens when people imagine they can teach sound doctrine by aping what leaders from the past have said. If they cannot base their doctrine on the Scriptures, they are nothing more than noisy, angry fools.
