Luther Seminary Is 50% Online Now - And Selling Off Property, Offering Free Tuition

Mrs. Ichabod and I visited the campus, to do research on WELS and LCMS working with ELCA via AAL/Lutheran Brotherhood. She found the crucial article and said, "Now I've got you, you fat little liar."

https://www.parkbugle.org/luther-seminary-to-sell-15-acres-of-buildings-land/

 Unlike Brian Williams, I was there.
Someone asked, "How did you know about Paul Tiefel's material? I said, "We drove to Luther Seminary and looked it up." Mrs. I is a whiz in research, the best anywhere.

 We also found the proof that Cho was kicked out of the Assemblies of God for false doctrine - no small feat, getting kicked out of that sect.

Luther Seminary’s new “Campus of the Future” plan will bring big change to the school by offering free tuition to all incoming students starting this fall and to the St. Anthony Park neighborhood when it sheds 15 acres of land and buildings in the northwestern part of its campus.

In May, the seminary’s board of directors approved the sale of a parcel that includes Northwestern Hall, the administrative building at 1501 Fulham St.; Stub Hall, a dormitory at 2329 Hendon Ave.; several houses and the LDR apartments on Fulham Street; a vacant home in an alley off of Hoyt Avenue in Lauderdale; and the 7 acres of wooded land abutting the Lauderdale Nature Area, known as Breck Woods. Bockman Hall, what many consider the centerpiece to the St. Anthony Park campus at the top of the hill on 2400 block of Como Avenue, will also be sold.

Michael Morrow, Luther vice president of finance and administration, said the school is hoping to find an “outside partner” that would renovate Bockman Hall, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places, and create space that the seminary can use for short-term student housing.

“I know the noteworthy change for the neighborhood is the change to the campus, but we’re excited about the new vision we’ve adopted,” Morrow said. That “new vision” includes the new Jubilee Scholarships, which will give free tuition to all incoming students this fall and increased scholarships to current students.

“We are very concerned about the cost of higher education and people going into ministry with large levels of debt,” Morrow said. Student debt has hindered the number of people going into the ministry, he said. Students will still need to pay for room and board, transportation and books, but the Master of Divinity and Master of Arts students will get full tuition.

The land sale is all part of reshaping a seminary that no longer houses all of its students throughout the school year.

“We need a different campus,” Morrow said. “We have a much different student base. The campus we have was designed for larger enrollment with everyone here taking classes full time. Today we have 500 students. About half are in the distributed-learning program, which means they live all over the country [and] take most of their classes online. We don’t have that many people here.”

When students do come to campus, it’s for two to four weeks out of the year, he said.

“For us, it’s not what we are getting rid of; it’s what we are moving to,” he said. “We can meet our needs with Olson Campus Center and Gullixson Hall. Bockman would be a good housing place, but we don’t really need all of that.”

Olson will be the campus entrance and center and will remain open to community gatherings, Morrow said. For several years, the St. Anthony Park Community Sing has used the center on the third Monday of the month for a neighborhood sing. That should not be affected by the changes to the campus, he said.

The seminary properties will be offered as a package and put on the market in July, Morrow said. The price will be made public when it goes on the market, he said.

The seminary could sell Breck Woods separately if proposals were made, he said. “We know there are people interested in doing something with the woods, and if they want to make a proposal, we would be open to listening.”

A group of residents who live near Breck Woods have been looking at avenues to protect the woods from development.

“We have been advised that one of the nimblest resources for securing Breck Woods for the public is the Trust for Public Land,” said Cynthia Ahlgren in an email. “Trying to put together a consortium to buy the land requires a longer lead time and the seminary’s timeframe to sell is short.”

The group sent a letter to the city of Lauderdale, the Trust for Public Land and Luther Seminary on June 11 supporting conserving Breck Woods for public use and wildlife habitat. “Any decision to develop and change this valuable natural resource will be irreversible,” the letter said. “We support preserving the woods, recognizing the importance of green space not only for ourselves but for the wider community.”

Luther Seminary has slowly been selling under-used portions of its property for several years. In 2014, the seminary sold five apartment buildings on Eustis Street to Greenway Village. Senior housing developer Ecumen bought 1.6 acres at Luther Place and Como Avenue in 2015 to build Zvago, a 49-unit co-op currently under construction. HealthPartners purchased 4.5 acres of land across from its Como Avenue building in 2016 to build a replacement clinic. The date for the clinic groundbreaking has not been announced.

The large grassy lawn along Como Avenue will remain part of the seminary property for now. “It is not part of what we will be bringing forward [in July],” Morrow said, however, “we are not convinced that we have a long-term need for that property.”

As far as the current package that will be up for sale and any future sales, “we know that we are picking who our next neighbors are,” Morrow said. “We are real concerned about picking someone who is a good neighbor.”

---

https://alpb.org/Forum/index.php?topic=7020.msg445958;topicseen#msg445958

United [sic?] Seminary has had free tuition for those in ELCA candidacy since it began operating, and Mt. Airy had been doing so for a year or two before the merger with Gettysburg.

spt+

Gideon Will Not Enroll at Iliff - Apparently

 The blog post is linked here.

Pastor,

I've been thinking about this for a couple of days and it rather dovetails into the Concordia mess in St. Louis (debating Creation, or more accurately negotiating the veracity of Scripture).

So here we have ILIFF, the Methodist "seminary?"  Doing well apparently:

“It’s a social justice-oriented institution. It’s the perfect place for me because they care for people who are rejected and not accepted in society.”

“She worked to provide an alternative to the narrative that permeates our culture — the idea that everything around us can be traced back to individuals and their psychology, rather than social forces. At its core, this required constant (and frequently uncomfortable) critical thought. Given the nature of sociology, this also required us to think critically about our own lives and social positioning. It takes a special person to cultivate such a space for this. She always contextualized the need for such critical thought, as well.”

 My little seminary has been named Martin Luther University College, because its main program is now in counseling, with a side helping of seminary, its lowest enrollment. The dean's statement - "At the seminary, we have done so for decades. Our school has grown to become an inclusive and multifaith learning environment. Our students represent over 30 religious traditions — or claim to no faith tradition at all. Many are also members of historically marginalized groups including LGBTQ, physically challenged, Jewish, Muslim, and Indigenous communities."

At this point, it may be debated if LLIFF is even a seminary at all since it seems to be more concerned with sociology and psychology than the Gospel.  One may wonder how on earth did the church of Wesley get here.  The answer may be with Wesley himself:  “And at the same time that we are justified, yea, in that very moment, sanctification begins.”  And, this is true as far as it goes, but Wesley went further.  It has been said of Wesley, "Luther got Justification right, I will get Sanctification right." (Craig Parton said this once at a conference paraphrasing Wesley.  The Remarkable Decline of American Evangelicalism).

And so he went, and so many followed.  Sanctification becomes the focus and Justification became a mere academic point.  Our egos love it when we can do things, and we get so full of that self adoration.  Accomplishments feel good.  Our accomplishments.  This is the danger of getting away from the Cross (Justification).  Justification by Faith is something that God does; it's his gift to us, but Sanctification is something we do in response to give him glory-- as it should be.  BUT...once Justification is removed, things can and do go sideways.

This is not something unique to Wesley, but rather common to all men.  We want to have that "garden moment" when we can take that fruit and stand on our own.  God is forgotten; this is our moment.

So, what is the result?  Where did the successors and followers of Wesley (and his ilk) end up?  Eventually we have the things like the Salvation Army (as it exists today) and what was known as the "social gospel."  Neither had much or anything to do with the Cross, and I believe ultimately these eventually gave birth to the Social Justice movement we have today ( completely devoid of the Gospel and Christ and his Cross as evidenced by a complete lack of forgiveness of its adherents).  Hence, we have the Methodist LLIFF.  Seems extreme to say that's antichrist, but where's the Gospel in that "seminary."

Herein lies the importance of being grounded in what God does and not in what we do.  Law and Gospel.  The Scriptures.  The Confessions.  Cathechisis.  With these we never stray too far.

To be sure, the likes of Bonhoeffer will remind us of the importance of Discipleship, but we won't be need to be reminded if we remember how we are justified.  If we understand Justification by Faith for what it is (which does not tend to antinomianism)  and for what OJ/SJ/UOJ is not(which does tend to antinomianism).  Faith demands an answer on it's own.  2 Cor. 5 and 6 have much to say about this.  If one reads the entire chapter it become clear that those addressed are believers (and not the entirety of humanity).  We (not the world!) are compelled / controlled / constrained. (v.14) That's what faith does.  Without faith, look to the world, and ILIFF.  With faith (the faith that God [the Holy Spirit] gives through Word and Sacrament) we cannot help but bear fruit.  For faith bears witness to both the Law and Gospel.  This fruit is real and God pleasing.  We go beyond that, we become self important.

This is why Concordia needs to stop with this foolish debate over Creation.  What do the Scriptures say?  Case closed.  Persisting in this foolishness can only eventually result in a slow slide into apostasy.  Need proof?  Just run the history of the synodical conference in reverse and ask those who walked before what they think.  Yea, ask Luther, Chemnitz, Augustine...or better yet the Scriptures which are chock full of warnings about the slow slide.  Stop the slide!  Engage the world with the Gospel!  Matt 28-18-20.  We need faithful Pastors!

SDG,

Gideon

---

Another brilliant letter from "Gideon".

 

Thank you for posting.  It's a comfort to the soul.

 

Alec 

I Stand with the Concordia Seminary St. Louis Professors

Wrong focus, professors!

The claim was made that the seminary professors - at Concordia St. Louis - want to back away from the Six Day Creation, because that concept is hurting them with the youth. I agree with them and will argue with great ferocity for their intentions. They want to remove what is causing a rapid decline in the Missouri Synod, not to mention WELS, the Little Sect on the Prairie, and the CLC cult.

Their focus is bad, like the Space Telescope that was launched with the wrong prescription for its optics. In harmony with all Enthusiasts, the Concordia professors imagine that the right man-made solutions will cure their ills.

WELS, LCMS, Seminex, ALC - they are pointing in the same direction as Jungkuntz did.

What has their Missouri Synod obsessively promoted the last 50 years?

1. Objective Justification - Forgiveness without faith, as taught by their syphilitic founder, Martin Stephan, STD; Jungkuntz, who helped set up Seminex for the Metropolitan Community Church; Herman Otten, spiker of synod scandals;  David Scaer, and other enemies of the truth.
2. Church Growth - Gimmicks and manipulation, doctrine watered down to success ideology, established by no less than five (5) LCMS gurus in Church Growth - Waldo Werning, Kent Hunter, and three addition morons.

Focusing on results is all wrong - that is their problem, something that even the daft Walther realized (borrowing from Luther). One does not seek for the fruit, as Pietism does, but for the good tree - sound doctrine.

I would love to see the city slickers at Concordia Seminary shopping for gardening supplies. They would see the splendid bulb flowers from Dutch Gardens, order a bunch of them, and say, "Eeek! These daffodils and tulips are ugly, not at all what we imagined. We saw perfect flowers, but these are homely and smell funny." Fools. The best bulbs are just as ugly as bare root roses. That is why people buy both in pots, which does not change the reality, only the perception.

The various synods and cults need to abandon their Enthusiasm and their sneering at ELCA to return to the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace. ELCA makes them feel superior, so why are the quasi-conservative synods collapsing just as fast? Shouldn't the escaping ELCA members fill their pews and send their male candidates to college and seminary?

No - and this is why. The LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC entities are just another version of ELCA, working with ELCA, and secretly coveting ELCA.

A priest or Babtist or non-Christian can lecture at their schools, and there is no murmur, no opposition. But if I were named a guest-speaker, their customers and leaders would go nuts. Herman Otten is just their pretend whipping boy. The synods use him to keep their scandals from coming out, to help elect the right non-leaders to office. And Otten is happy for those moments of fellowship, those whispered phone calls, those "don't tell anyone I called" calls. If a candidate for the synod president composes a song of adoration and travels to the sacred publishing location to sing it, and the editor keeps it a secret, how far apart are they?

People over the years have contacted me about the abuse and scams of the synods. Thousands have given up having any impact on their own congregations and synods, so they quietly withdraw. That will continue because the leaders skim the cream for themselves and let everything else rot away.

The numbers they give out make me laugh. WELS has 400,000 members and ELS 20,000? They cannot even scrape up cash for capital repairs on their failing prep school in Saginaw. Now it is too late to have reasonable charges, which were once subsidized by synod offerings. The Lutheran schools are luxuries that many are happy to bypass.

The leaders were content to take the money for themselves, their deluxe office buildings, portly staffs, and let the student population borrow their way to an education. Now the overhead is beyond belief and everyone is drifting away, which accelerates the problems of cost and income.

Let's look at small numbers at a tiny college. If they have a total of 200 students and lose 30 in enrollment, that is 30 x $30,000 per year. The loss is $900,000 per year - same teachers, same buildings, same utilities, same insurance. There are many tiny Bible colleges like that. The big picture is much scarier, whether LCMS or WELS or ELS or CLC. ELDONA can lose their entire seminary study body once he graduates. Then they could merge with the CLC seminary as Andover did with Newton, and Andover-Newton did with Yale, and so forth.

Luther did not worry about results. He taught sound doctrine and rejected false doctrine. Many faulted him during the Reformation, as the Lutheran leaders of today do. But if we believe the Word of God is efficacious and powerful - as I do - then God will accomplish His will through His Word, as promised.

Snowden Sims - Who Role-Played a Gay GA Pope - Is Now Michigan District President, WELS

Pastor Snowden Sims, St. Paul, Columbus, Ohio -
where Floyd Stolzenburg started his evil, little Church Growth Agency, breathlessly announced as "the first Church Growth agency in WELS." When I witnessed the GA hazing event at the WELS seminary, he was chosen as GA Pope and played it gay. I last saw him on the staff of DP Buchholz' church in Tempe, Arizona.

 How small is St. Paul now?
Tim Glende got his clown church ideas from the source.
Later, when I was in Columbus, St. Paul hosted the CG speaker at their church. I attended and wrote it up for CN.

From Mirthless Mark Schroeder

Two of the districts elected new district presidents. Rev. John Seifert, who has served as the president of the Michigan District, is retiring later this summer. He has served as the Michigan District president since 1994 and was the longest serving member of the Conference of Presidents. Rev. Snowden Sims, serving at St. Paul’s, Columbus, Ohio, was elected to succeed Seifert and has already begun to serve as district president. Rev. Charles Degner has served since 2008 as president of the Minnesota District and has also announced his retirement. Rev. Dennis Klatt, serving at Holy Trinity, New Hope, Minn., was elected to succeed him and has also begun his work as the Minnesota District president.

We thank God for the faithful service of Seifert and Degner, and we ask for his gracious blessings on Sims and Klatt.

100th anniversary of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod

2018 marks the 100th anniversary of our sister synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS). The ELS traces its history back to 1853, when the first Norwegian Synod was organized in the midwestern United States. In 1917 the Norwegian Synod merged with two other Norwegian groups. A small group of pastors and congregations were opposed to the merger for doctrinal reasons; they met to form a new church body that was called the Norwegian Synod of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church. The name was later changed to the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

The ELS comprises approximately 20,000 baptized members with approximately 150 congregations. The ELS operates Bethany Lutheran College and Bethany Lutheran Seminary in Mankato, Minn.

We join our ELS brothers and sisters in thanking God for his blessings on our sister synod.

Serving in Christ,
President Mark Schroeder

 I remember John Seifert dumping pastors whose sin was criticizing Church Growth. Not allowed. And his CG district is in the dumper after his long leadership.
He was known for using the Judas goat method perfected by Ted Jungkuntz - encourage someone to say something, then leave him twisting in the wind.

Talking to Gideon: Finding the Treasure Often Means Scraping Away a Lot of Debris

Taking some time from fighting the Midianites, Gideon sent me a note about Luther's discovery of the Gospel.

That prompted a post I was considering for a time. As he said, Luther had to become disturbed by his study of the Scriptures and teaching them. The dogma of the Church did not match the Bible at all, and he could find ancient (Augustine) and current examples (Staupitz) of Gospel teachers.

The worst false teachers like to speak of their lineage, their family's time in the synod, as if ordination is a fine wine, aged in oaken barrels. Others work their way to the top as a snitch, as Stalin (a former seminary student) did. Once he was done betraying his friends to the police, he was the top terrorist.

Whether clergy or laity, sound doctrinal attitudes come more from scraping away and rejecting the debris from the past. I was criticizing Church Growth from a Disciples of Christ member - Donald McGavran - when a WELS seminary professor's son, Jon Balge, asked, "Didn't you belong to the Disciples, Greg?" - as if that neutralized what I was saying. For someone who lived and studied at Mordor, it was a mortal blow, because everything is family, aged like fine wine,  limburger cheese, and surströmming.

My parents had me baptized at a Congregational church and immersed at the Disciples of Christ church in Moline - now closed nota bene. Yes, the Disciples converted me - I loathed the superficiality of that church so much that I got out of the family car one Sunday and went to the Augustana Synod church across the street. I never came back. I was not happy seeing WELS drawn to the happy-clappy gimmicks I witnessed at First Christian in Moline:

 Rev. Charles Willey

• Rev. Willey riding a motorcycle down the church aisle.
• Rev. Willey wearing a chaplain's helmet and coming to church on a firetruck.
• Rev. Willey giving non-sermons with no content.

 First Christian in Moline, now closed,
is the canary in the coalmine. They were early with CG gimmicks and clowning.

Many have observed the same obsessions in WELS, though WELS is shrinking faster than bacon on a hot griddle.

Luther grew up in Medieval Germany and was trained first in law and then in Augustianian monasticism. As a priest and monk, he had all the wrong training, but getting a doctorate in the Scriptures and teaching the Word redirected him.

He admitted in the Galatians Lectures (Kregel edition, about page 90) that his Roman training still stuck to his bones.

I was brought up with evolution, not dogmatically, but generally the idea behind science. There was excitement about Luther when I joined Salem in Moline (still open). They took the Augsburg Confession for granted, as Pietists, but they did mention it as part of membership. Oddly, the conservative pastor taught The Mighty Acts of God, by Robert Marshall, a 100% historical-critical method book.

Augustana is Latin for Augsburg, as in the Augsburg Confession, but the Quia Marias of the Synodical Conference are just as indifferent to the Augsburg Confession as we were in the Lutheran Church in America, which digested the Augustana Synod.

I became interested in the Social Gospel when studying at Notre Dame, and that led to my dissertation about the Social Gospel professor at the Augustana Seminary - A. D. Mattson. That research necessarily got me more interested in the history of Lutheran synods in America. Clearly, the Social Gospel was not Lutheran doctrine, but it was the key motivating idea in Robert Marshall's LCA. Marshall - the failed PhD in Old Testament - became the successor to Franklin C. Fry.

 How could JP Meyer be wrong? He taught in WELS for 50 years! President Panning edited this pile of rubbish, endorsing its content by reprinting it at their little publishing house.

In spite of many fine words, WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC have these two passions in common:

1. The Church Growth Movement
2. Justification without Faith - UOJ.

But no one wanted to fight for liturgical worship and Biblical doctrine. Nevertheless, they certainly woke me up with their CG tasers and UOJ bludgeons. 

As Gideon indicated, the disturbances take us back to the Word, to the clear, plain message in the Scriptures.

 "Tell President Schroeder this district is peaceful again."
"I will, President Seifert."

The Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 2018. Romans 5 - Justification by Faith

This should be read carefully and remembered - one of the great statements about the Scriptures. Besides that, it is very important for those impressed by Biblical "scholars" who love to market their theories.

The Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 2018

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The melodies are linked in the hymn name. 

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The melody site is linked here.
• TLH Lyrics site is linked here.

The Hymn # 452                      The Son of God  
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 #657 Beatiful Savior

Romans 5 - Justification by Faith

The Communion Hymn # 308       Invited Lord  
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 # 413                     I Walk in Danger  

KJV Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

KJV Luke 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. 39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.

Fourth Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, who art merciful, and through Christ didst promise us, that Thou wilt neither judge nor condemn us, but graciously forgive us all our sins, and abundantly provide for all our wants of body and soul: We pray Thee, that by Thy Holy Spirit Thou wilt establish in our hearts a confident faith in Thy mercy, and teach us also to be merciful to our neighbor, that we may not judge or condemn others, but willingly forgive all men, and, Judging only ourselves, lead blessed lives in Thy fear, through Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

 By Norma A. Boeckler

Introduction
Two weeks ago I used Romans 4 for the sermon and posted it separately here. 

That exposition is essential for understanding Romans 5. The fanatical sects build their dogma on one verse or part of one verse, but the Holy Scriptures are one unit, one unified truth. Isolating a phrase, verse, or half-verse will always contradict the the Bible as the Book of the Holy Spirit (Luther).

Chapter 4 of Romans establishes Father Abraham as the example of being justified by faith, before he was circumcised. Thus he is an example for Jews and Gentiles alike, his later circumcision serving as a seal of what justification by faith had already accomplished.

Romans King James Version (KJV)

4 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

Paraphrase - Genesis 15 was not written for Abraham's sake alone, that he was counted forgiven (righteousness was imputed).

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;

Paraphrase - But Genesis 15 was written for us too, and we will be counted forgiven, if we believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Paraphrase - He was betrayed for our sins (Atonement) and raised again for our justification by faith.

  By Norma A. Boeckler

Romans 5 - Justification by Faith

Romans 5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

The first two verses are a summary of Romans 4 and a transition to the meaning of a Christian's faith. And Romans 5 leads to Romans 6 as an essay on the Christian life, which is called sanctification.

"Therefore" is an important bridge between Abraham as the example of the righteousness of faith, Romans 4, and not righteousness through the Law. We can see how significant that was to Paul's audience, both Jews and Gentiles. The Jews thought of themselves as children of Abraham - their great claim, which seemed to exclude the Gentiles, no matter what. The Pharisees used this claim against Jesus in John 8.

But Paul shows from Genesis - and emphasizes in Romans 4 - that Abraham unites both groups through the righteousness of faith. The Law does not save either group because no one can be perfect through the Law. The Law is limited in that regard, but still the work of the Spirit and useful for all.

We have peace with God through Jesus Christ because we are justified by faith. The phrasing is wonderful, because Paul leads with justification by faith as the cause of peace with God through Christ. Word order is used for emphasis and the first word is - Since we are justified by faith...

With this one word (having been justified by faith -  (δικαιωθεντες) everything that has been said in 3:21 to 4:25 is concentrated and predicated directly of Paul and of the Roman believers. 

Lenski, Romans, p. 332.

Our peace is with God, because a guilty conscience plagues us and we feel God condemning us. The strongest person cannot bear the accusations of a guilty conscience, so peace and forgiveness always go together in the Bible. Peace is and has always been sought after, because emotional pain is the worst kind. That can keep someone from doing anything or thinking of anything else. That is because lacking faith in a gracious, forgiving God, our mistaken faith (really blindness) sees Him and angry, vindictive, and punishing - so He becomes what we imagine, though it is a false view, a blinding and stupifying view.

This peace with God comes through the agency of Christ. The little preposition dia has a lot of meaning. I used to wonder exactly what it was supposed to mean when I read in Light from the Ancient East that it was a common expression, for example, to send something dia (through) another person. Peace with God comes through the atoning death of Jesus Christ. He is the Person who made that possible. And His resurrection remains the ultimate proof of His divinity and victory over death.

Having been pronounced righteous by God means that God has established peace for us objectively, the condition of peace, shalom, Heil, by removing all our sin and our guilt; all of his wrath is turned from us, all of his grace rests upon us. God is at peace with all the righteous, the justified. 

Lenski, Romans, p. 332.

 By Norma A. Boeckler

Access by Faith into This Grace

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

This clears up the confusion caused by mainline Universalists and Lutheran UOJists alike, who claim that everyone receives God's grace, without the Gospel Word or faith. The word for access is very simple and can be used as entrance or approach. Is someone approachable? God is, because of Christ - through Him we have access to God's grace.

Faith and Grace Not Opposed, Except among False Teachers

We do not stand on our merits or works but the grace of God, faith in Christ. One is not opposed to the other. The modernist, rationalist theologians warn people, "Do not create a contingency, an if, for grace. No, grace must be without an if we believe." Who else warns that way? The UOJists, who say, "You are not a Christian. Your faith is not in Christ. Your faith is in faith. You are a faithian." That comes from the "conservative" Concordia, Ft. Wayne Seminary. 

We have faith in Christ because He died for our sins and the Gospel teaches this. That is why Luther and the Book of Concord used the term - Means of Grace, or Instruments of Grace for the Word and Sacraments. Grace does not just happen, except in UOJ-land and liberal theological books. The Spirit conveys Christ and His Grace through the invisible Word of preaching and teaching, the visible Word of the Sacraments.

Because of this grace we rejoice in the hope of everlasting life. In Christ we have heaven and earth, the blessings of God that overflow into all aspects of life.

 By Norma A. Boeckler

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

The Holy Spirit connects this glorious grace with glorying in tribulations, because difficulties must accompany faith in Christ. Luther said, "The Christian does not look for the cross. It is already on his back."

Tribulations work patience; patience works experience (dokime) - The word for experience is also used for the conditioning of a soldier, tried and not wanting, as Lenski says.  Going through the difficulties of the cross make a believer more patient, more conditioned, and this conditioning leads to hope of eternal life, which becomes far more important as we age and lose loved ones.

And that hope will never leave us ashamed.

James said almost the same:

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

"We are not ashamed seems an odd turn until we think about the hopes that were dashed and left us disappointed, embarrassed, ashamed, etc. But this is not true about eternal life because the Gospel is efficacious in converting us and filling us with a love of God, knowing (as John shows so often) that Jesus is the voice and will and face of God the Father, working in perfect harmony with Him. To love the Son is to love the Father, and this is conveyed to us by the Spirit.

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

Verse 6 confuses the weak-minded, who ignore context and the content of Romans, not to mention the entire Bible. Romans - all the epistles - are written for Christians, so there is always an assumption of faith, even among the rather conflicted and dysfunctional Corinthians.

Christ died for the ungodly. - This simply affirms that Jesus died for sins of the entire world, for all time, not the absolution of the world - without the Gospel - for all time. For some reason the UOJ salesmen glory in unfaith and making the absence of the Gospel...their twisted Gospel for their little world. If someone is confused about this, he only need refer to Romans 4 - 

4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

This also seems to wind people back, at least to the Atonement, but even back to Adam and Eve. The atoning death if Christ is universal, but that does not make this verse a doctrinal statement in favor of Universal forgiveness and salvation. The point is God's grace and our lack of merit, certainly a major emphasis when the inclinations of Pharisaic Judaism were so strong. And that is good because the visible Church falls back into the same Pharisaical attitudes - look at my family, look at my synodical positions, look at my programs, all the good I have done.

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

What changed was Christ dying for the world - we were reconciled to God through the Savior. As Luther wrote so eloquently and the Confessions repeat, this Treasure of the Gospel remains true for all time. But the Treasure must be distributed by the Holy Spirit for us to have it for our own. Thus Gospel preaching distributes the Treasure, sin and death are vanquished, eternal life springs up.

"Receiving" is often used as a synonym for believing, trusting. The Atonement is the act of God, which moves us to faith, receiving the Treasure as intended for each and every one of us.

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

One can only marvel that people who claim, "I studied Greek!" would get this wrong. "Many" does not mean "all" but "many"! Greek is precise and eloquent. 

16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift [came] upon all men unto justification of life.

19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Here is another place where the best and brightest try to insert Universalism into Paul's message. If so, that means the Apostle veered away from a clear message of individual Justification by Faith into an implied doctrine of Universal Objective Justification.

That reminds me of many a liberal Biblical scholar marveling at how poorly written and slanted various new Testament books were. Good thing they could explain to us deplorables. 

If the UOJists are briliant, then Paul is confused and addled. But if Paul is brilliantly clear (as the Word always is) then they are mixed up, dishonest, and lazy-crazy.

Verse 18

the free gift [came] upon all men unto justification of life.

The verb is in brackets because it is not present in the text. Instead, various translators insert a verb, and any verb is someone slanted when none was present.

This is done for emphasis, so what is being emphasized? The free gift = justification of life, anarthrous, so more like free-gift-all-men-life-justification. This is nothing less than the Gospel being for the entire world, all peoples. How is that mysterious to the faux-professors on Mt. Zion, at Mordor, at the Copper Top Chapel, The Fort?

To reduce confusion and restore clarity, these mixed-up beta-men should study Romans 10 and see the plan of salvation for themselves in Paul's Means of Grace chapter. It is so clear than no one uses it at the leadership level.