An excellent assessment of the current situation WM.
“One INSTINCTIVELY knows that something is REALLY wrong!" WM
WELS/ELS/LCMS will discuss the doctrine of justification
"These intersynodical discussions, conducted outside of the framework of church fellowship*, have been useful in clarifying our synodical positions and in sharing information on topics of mutual interest.”
GJ - *Note they worship with every denomination except the snake-handling Babtists.
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The Bible DOESN'T teach that there are two "Justifications," "Objective" and "Subjective." The Bible ONLY teaches JBFA.
But the Bible DOES teach that there are two different kinds of "Faith"--true, saving Faith, and false or "dead faith." This is taught in James 2.
True, saving Faith is the gift of God, created and sustained by the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace. False or "dead faith" is none of these things, but a Satanic counterfeit that cannot save anyone, because it is merely "lip service" to a "belief."
One way of distinguishing between the two different "faiths" is to remember that the Lutheran Reformation recovered the Scriptural teaching that true, saving
Faith--the gift of God, created and sustained by the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace--is TRUST in Christ as the ONLY Savior of sinners, the ONLY Savior Who can JUSTIFY, REDEEM, and RECONCILE those who otherwise CANNOT receive Justification because there ISN'T any OTHER Justification except JBFA!
The Lutheran Reformation REJECTED the false "faith" of Roman Catholicism, a "faith" that is nothing more than "assent to the teachings of the [Roman Catholic] church." There is NO need for the divine gift of TRUST here in order to be justified, because one's "justification" in the Catholic Church is NOT God's forensic declaration of righteousness for Christ's sake, received by God's gift of Faith, but rather an ongoing process of "interior renewal," of being "made righteous" which, if not "finished' in this life means that the individual must spend some period of eternity in what the Catholics call "Purgatory," where one "pays off" the rest of one's "debt" for salvation, since the Atonement of Christ DIDN'T pay for all of it. What a BLASPHEMOUS denial of the Gospel message of JBFA!
Obviously, in the Roman Catholic doctrine of "justification," the true, saving FAITH which is TRUST in Christ for Justification is unnecessary; only "belief" is necessary.
I have come to believe that this is true of the "faith" which the UOJers teach occurs in what they call "Subjective Justification."
Remember: in the UOJ "double justification" everyone was ALREADY JUSTIFIED when Christ rose from the dead at Easter--fully, completely justified!
Now, if a person was fully, completely justified 2000 years ago, they DON'T NEED the God-given gift of FAITH which is TRUST, created and sustained by the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace, they ONLY need the "faith" which is to "assent to the teaching of the [UOJers "Lutheran"] church"!
After all, you've ALREADY been "justified" and you only need to BELIEVE it, you DON'T need to TRUST in something which you ALREADY have! (Remember the Scriptural definition of true, saving Faith in Heb. 11:1: "Now faith is the substance of things HOPED FOR, the evidence of things NOT SEEN."
Here is what one UOJer wrote: "It ISN'T 'If you believe [in the Scriptural sense of TRUST,] you are forgiven,' it's 'You're forgiven--believe it!'"
I do not believe that UOJ "faith" is the Scriptural FAITH which is TRUST which was recovered by the Lutheran Reformation, but rather a return to the false, dead "faith" of Roman Catholicism. One DOESN'T need to TRUST in something which one ALREADY HAS!
May the Lord God in His merciful Grace keep us ALWAYS by His Holy Spirit through His Means of Grace in His precious gift of true, saving Faith which is TRUST in His Son Jesus Christ for our one true Justification which is JBFA! --WM\
